Need to Know - Horizon Forbidden West Guide - IGN (2024)

Need to Know is a Side Quest you receive from Talanah at Camp Nowhere. It is a continuation of the Side Quest, The Burning Blooms. This Horizon Forbidden West Need to Know walkthrough will contain information on who to talk to, what to do, and any tips or tricks to help you defeat machines that come your way.

Need to Know can only be completed once you have done The Eye of the Earth and Cradle of Echoes. Talanah will travel through the Base to get further west.

In this Side Quest, Aloy reunites with Talanah and helps her find out what happened to Amadis once and for all. You will also receive a free weapon for completing this quest.

Need to Know Guide

Now that the Base is operational, Aloy hears from Zo that Talanah has made her way through the mountains. Maybe now Talanah will get her answers regarding Amadis. Aloy travels down to Camp Nowhere and meets Talanah there. With her is a scout named Ragurt who gives them information on Amadis. He confirms that Amadis was with the caravan and had asked Ragurt to inquire about a prison named The Rot.

The Rot is located far west near Thornmarsh, the capital of the Lowland Clan. Now that Talanah knows where he is, she sets off to Thornmarsh. Aloy agrees to meet her there.

Meet Talanah at Thornmarsh

When Aloy arrives at Thornmarsh she will find Talanah north of the settlement. Before they go any further Aloy asks about Amadis and his importance to Talanah. It seems that he saved her when she was injured from a hunt and then they both stopped a hunter-killer that was threatening a village. He trusted Talanah enough to tell her about the Red Raids and the woman he failed to save. He decided to make peace with Nessa's death by traveling back to the site of the battle, The Burning Blooms. But when he went to the battlefield, he learned that the Tenakth took prisoners and decided to follow the trail.

Talanah cares for him so when she didn't hear back from Amadis, she made the journey to the Forbidden West to find him.

Follow Talanah

Follow Talanah along the path to the Rot. Eventually, they will hear fighting and see Amadis is being chased by a Fireclaw. Help him defeat it.

Kill the Fireclaw

The Fireclaw is a large machine that has powerful Fire damage abilities. It is weak against Frost and Purgewater damage and strong versus Fire damage. In this fight, Amadis has set up traps for the Fireclaw that you can lead it to. It also has weak spots on its shoulders. There are components on its back that you can target for big damage as well. With the three of you fighting against this large machine, it does go down relatively easy.

Talk to Amadis and Talanah

Go talk to Amadis and Talanah. Talanah will be angry that Amadis didn't contact her, but after the Spinebreak tunnel collapse, all Amadis could do what push forward. Now that he knows about the Rot, he is hoping to find some answers. If you ask him questions, he will tell you about his relationship with Nessa and why it is so important that he finds her.

Now that he is so close to The Rot, he has to keep going. Talanah and Aloy agree to go with him.

Follow Amadis

The Rot is located along the shore, but the only safe path is through the woods. Follow Amadis and you will pass by the Relic Ruin, The Long Coast. Keep going along the path and you will arrive at the outskirts of The Rot. Together they scout the prison and Aloy sees that it is now under the control of Regalla's forces. Aloy believes that clues to Nessa's whereabouts might still be in the prison but she must find a place to enter.

Find an Entrance into the Rot and Kill the Rebels

The Rot borders the ocean, so go around the compound and near the water. There will be a large opening that leads into the ocean. Make your way into the Rot and kill the rebels that are there. You can try to make a run for the front gate to let Amadis and Talanah in so that they can join the fight or you can take on the rebels yourself.

After you clear out the rebels, one rebel approaches you with a device in his hand. Aloy recognizes it as a machine calling device. Talanah takes out the rebel, while Amadis destroys the device, but it is too late.

Kill the Tideripper

The Tideripper is a Heavyweight Acquisition Machine. It is weak against Frost and Shock damage and strong versus Fire and Purgewater damage. It also has the following components, abilities, and weapons:

• Processing Capsule: Located on top of its head, this component is detachable and contains valuable resources.
• Purgewater Cannon: Located on the sides of the Tideripper's face, this shoots beams of Purgewater. This is detachable and when you do it disables the attack.
• Purgewater Pouch: These pouches can be found along the Tideripper's neck. Destroy them and it will remove the Purgewater effect from certain attacks. They also explode when destroyed.
• Heart: This can be found at the core of the Tideripper. This is its weakest spot and extremely vulnerable to damage.
• Tail Canister: Found along the Tideripper's tail, these canisters contain valuable resources. They must be detached first.
• Chillwater Canister: Also found along its tail, these will explode when hit with Frost damage.
• Tail: This is the Tideripper's primary melee weapon. Detach it to disable the attack. It is also a key upgrade resource.
• Antenna: This can be found on its back. It is used to call reinforcements, so detach it to disable this ability.
• Tidal Disc: This disc shoots out Purgewater in a Water Spin attack. Detach it to disable to attack as soon as you can.
• Exhaust Port: Located at the base of its tail, these ports are vulnerable to damage.
• Sparker: Found along its tail, these will explode when damaged by Shock ammo.
• Glowblast Canister: Also found on its tail, these canisters will explode when damaged by Plasma ammo.
• Purgewater Sac: Found underneath the Tideripper. These will explode when destroyed. Once they are destroyed it removes the Purgewater effect from body slam attacks.

This battle will be a tough one. The Tideripper has plenty of attacks at its disposal. Aim for the Cannons, Tidal Disc, Tail, and Purgewater Sacs to remove its main weapons. Destroy the canisters to cause elemental explosions. Keep shooting from a distance and dodge out of the way of the Purgewater attacks. If it gets too close be aware of the body slam. And don't get caught in the corners of the prison.

Talk to Talanah and Free the Prisoners

After defeating the Tideripper, go talk to Talanah. She will open the gate to free the Tenakth prisoners that are being kept there. Amadis asks them if they know about Nessa and it turns out that Nessa is now one of the Tenakth. Nessa, now Ritakka, explains that the Tenakth welcomed her as a soldier when the Carja never could. She never planned on going back, hence why she never told Amadis she was alive.

Now that Ritakka is free, her squad will now secure The Rot. Talanah plans to take Amadis back to the Sundome and then head back to Barren Light. She gives Aloy the Lightning Hunter Bow as thanks.