How to defeat Thunderjaws in Horizon Forbidden West?

In Horizon Forbidden West, Thunderjaws will employ a range of accurate and devastating weapons against Aloy and can be a real pain to defeat. The best way to tackle a Thunderjaw is to remove its ability to attack. You can do this by shooting and removing its Tail (prevents Tail-based attacks), Disc Launcher (stops one of its long-ranged attacks), or Rapidfire Cannon (also stops one of its long-ranged attacks). Removing these body parts and dodging and avoiding the machine's melee attacks will ensure a quick victory for Aloy against the Thunderjaw.

Thunderjaw'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. Thunderjaws will be weak to damage from Purgewater and Acid attacks. They will also be strong against damage from Shock and Frost attacks.

Related: How to complete 'No Man's Land' Relic Ruins in Horizon Forbidden West?

Body Parts

There are many different body parts on a Thunderjaw, with each one dropping different loot and dealing different amounts of damage to the machine. The body parts on a Thunderjaw are:

• Body
• Data Nexus
• Rapidfire Cannon
• Radar
• Antenna
• Heart
• Chillwater Canister
• Disc Launcher
• Glowblast Canister
• Ammo Drum
• Sparker
• Tail

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 Thunderjaw will drop a long list of loot items:

• Glowblast (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body, Glowblast Canister, and Ammo Drum
• Metal Shards (Common) - Dropped from Body
• Crystal Braiding (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body and Rapidfire Cannon
• Braided Wire (Common) - Dropped from Body, Rapidfire Cannon, Radar, Antenna, and Ammo Drum
• Large Machine Core (Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Thunderjaw Circulator* (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body
• Thunderjaw Primary Nerve* (Rare) - Dropped from Body and Antenna
• Volatile Sludge (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body
• Machine Muscle (Uncommon) - Dropped from Body and Ammo Drum
• Luminous Brainstem (Very Rare) - Dropped from Body and Radar
• Metal Bone (Rare) - Dropped from Body and Ammo Drum
• Sturdy Hardplate (Common) - Dropped from Body, Rapidfire Cannon, Radar, Antenna, and Ammo Drum
• Chillwater (Uncommon) - Dropped from Chillwater Canister and Ammo Drum
• Useable Weapon (Very Rare) - Dropped from Disc Launcher
• Blastpaste (Rare) - Dropped from Ammo Drum
• Sparker (Common) - Dropped from Ammo Drum and Sparker
• Purgewater (Uncommon) Dropped from Ammo Drum
• Blaze (Common) - Dropped from Ammo Drum
• Metalbite (Common) - Dropped from Ammo Drum
• Thunderjaw Tail* (Legendary) - Dropped from Tail

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

Cauldron

In Horizon Forbidden West, Cauldrons allow players to override the machines that are within that 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 Thunderjaw 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!