How to defeat Stormbirds in Horizon Forbidden West?

Stormbirds are one of the most dangerous machines in the world of Horizon Forbidden West. These enemies will prowl the skies, attacking players on sight with devastating elemental attacks. The best way to tackle a fight with a Stormbird, aside from exploiting its elemental weaknesses (Acid and Plasma damage), is to focus attacks on its vulnerable body parts.

Taking out a Stormbird's Storm Cannon disables its ranged shock attack, which is one of the most devastating it will throw at players in battle. Its Wing Thrusters are also nice targets as they will disable its diving melee attack when removed.

Stormbird'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 Stormbird will be weak to damage from Plasma and Acid attacks. They are strong against damage from Fire and Shock attacks.

Related: How to defeat Tideripper in Horizon Forbidden West?

Body Parts

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

• Body
• Wing Thrusters
• Chillwater Canister
• Storm Cannon
• Purgewater Canister

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 removed with a hit from the spear) while the machine is still alive. The Stormbird will drop a long list of loot items:

• Sparker (Common) - Dropped from Body
• Crystal Braiding (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body and Wing Thrusters
• Metal Shards (Common) - Dropped from Body
• Large Machine Core (Rare) - Dropped from Body and Wing Thrusters
• Stormbird Circulator* (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Stormbird Primary Nerve* (Rare) - Dropped from Body and Wing Thrusters
• Volatile Sludge (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Machine Muscle (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Braided Wire (Common) - Dropped from Body and Wing Thrusters
• Luminous Brainstem (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Metal Bone (Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Sturdy Hardplate (Common) - Dropped from Body and Wing Thrusters
• Blastpaste (Rare) - Dropped from Wing Thrusters
• Chillwater (Uncommon) - Dropped from Chillwater Canister
• Stormbird Storm Cannon (Legendary) - Dropped from Storm Cannon
• Purgewater (Uncommon) - Dropped from Purgewater Canister

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

Cauldron

In Horizon Forbidden West, Cauldrons allow players to override the machines 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 Stormbird 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!