How to defeat Slaughterspine in Horizon Forbidden West

Slaughterspines live up to their terrifying name. They are one of the most dangerous machines in Horizon Forbidden West. The biggest threat they pose is that they will attack players with homing attacks that are very hard to dodge and avoid. Taking out the machine parts responsible for these attacks is a great way to save HP in battle.

The Slaughterspine's Plasma Earthblaster and Plasma Spine Launcher are both responsible for homing-projectile attacks. Take these out, and the fight against this machine will become much easier.

Slaughterspine's information

Strengths and Weaknesses

Players can attack machines with different kinds of elemental attacks. Elemental attacks in the game include Fire, Shock, Frost, Plasma, Purgewater, and Acid. The Slaughterspine will be weak to damage from Purgewater and Frost attacks. They will be resistant to damage from Fire, Shock, Acid, and Plasma attacks. Exploiting their weakness to Frost and Purgewater damage is a must for players facing this machine in battle due to their long list of resistances.

Related: How to defeat Tideripper in Horizon Forbidden West?

Body Parts

There are a few different body parts on a Slaughterspine and each one will drop different loot and deal different amounts of damage to the machine when attacked by players. The body parts on a Slaughterspine are:

• Body
• Processing Capsule
• Purgewater Canister
• Metalbite Sac
• Plasma Core
• Plasma Earthblaster
• Plasma Energizer
• Plasma Spine Launcher
• Capacitor Capsule
• Antenna
• Chillwater Canister
• Tail Canister
• Spinetail Lancer

Loot

Machines in Horizon Forbidden West will drop different loot items, with many being specific to each kind of machine. Some can be looted from a fallen machine, while others will need to be removed (shot off with an arrow or removes with a hit from the spear) while the machine is still alive. The Slaughterspine will drop a long list of loot items:

• Glowblast (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Piercing Spike (Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Metal Shards (Common) - Dropped from Body
• Crystal Braiding (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body and Plasma Earthblaster
• Sturdy Hardplate (Common) - Dropped from Body, Processing Capsule, Capacitor Capsule, Antenna, and Tail Canister
• Large Machine Core (Rare) - Dropped from Body, Processing Capsule, and Tail Canister
• Slaughterspine Circulator* (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body and Capacitor Capsule
• Slaughterspine Primary Nerve* (Rare) - Dropped from Body, Antenna, and Tail Canister
• Volatile Sludge (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body and Plasma Earthblaster
• Machine Muscle (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Braided Wire (Common) - Dropped from Body, Processing Capsule, Capacitor Capsule, Antenna, and Tail Canister
• Luminous Brainstem (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body and Processing Capsule
• Metal Bone (Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Blastpaste (Rare) - Dropped from Processing Capsule, Capacitor Capsule, and Tail Canister
• Purgewater (Uncommon) - Dropped from Purgewater Canister
• Metalbite (Common) - Dropped from Metalbite Sac
• Useable Weapon (Very Rare) - Dropped from Plasma Spine Launcher and Spinetail Lancer
• Chillwater (Uncommon) - Dropped from Chillwater Canister

*Loot items marked with an asterisk are exclusively dropped from the Slaughterspine machine.

Cauldron

In Horizon Forbidden West, Cauldrons allow players to override the machines that are within that Cauldron once they have completed it. Completing a Cauldron usually means traversing through its dungeon-like corridors and facing off against a boss at the end. The Slaughterspine is a part of the KAPPA Overrides Cauldron.

Interested in other machine guides in Horizon Forbidden West? Check out How to defeat the Slitherfang in Horizon Forbidden West on Pro Game Guides!