Horizon Forbidden West – ‘To The Brink’ Walkthrough

‘To The Brink’ is the third overall mission in Horizon Forbidden West and the game’s second main mission. The mission follows Aloy as she enters The Daunt to attend an important Embassy at the border of the Forbidden West. Unfortunately, dangerous new machines have halted the Embassy from taking place, and Aloy wants to speed things up.

Mission Name	Recommended Level	New Tools	Machines	Rewards
To The Brink	5	Tripcaster	Scroungers Bristlebacks	2,500 XP 2 Skill Points

Go To Chainscrape

Immediately after entering the Daunt and the cutscene where you’re introduced to Studious Vuadis, you’ll receive two objectives; go to Erend’s last known location and visit the Chainscrape settlement. From your location, head down the cliff and follow the objective marker to Chainscrape. If you’re heading in the correct location, you’ll encounter the corpses of several new, large machines covered in acid – these are the machines preventing the Embassy from taking place.

Eventually, you should come to a bridge, cross it and head towards the gates of Chainscrape. Aloy will speak with the Oseram guards at the door, and once in, you’ll bump into a familiar face who introduces you to Ulvund, the self-elected leader of Chainscrape that has ordered a work stoppage due to the appearance of the new machines.

Once the cutscene ends, make your way up the hill to the heart of the settlement and then turn right towards the Hunter vendor. At this point in the story, all vendors are unavailable due to the work stoppage, and you’ll need to push forward through the story to unlock them. Our guide to unlocking merchants in Horizon Forbidden West has all the details.

Behind the Hunter vendor is a workbench, upgrade your Bow. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to find Erend.

Locate Erend

From Chainscrape, follow your objective marker and make your way to Erend’s last known location. You’ll eventually reach an open area with a ruined building. An Oseram Vanguard is sat atop, trapped by three Scroungers. Thankfully, he’s set up electrical tripwires around the building to stun the Scroungers. Use your rocks to lure Scroungers towards the Tripwires, and then attack them.

Once you’ve taken out all three Scroungers, Thurlis, the Oseram Vanguard, will climb down from the ruined building. Speak with him, and he’ll provide you with his Tripwire, allowing you to set up electrical traps for machines. Continue forward and you’ll spot a Relic Ruin. Head towards it and you’ll hear some commotion; two Oserams are fighting one of the dangerous new machines that have invaded the Daunt; Bristlebacks.

Rush towards them and help them take the machine out. Bristlebacks are weak to acid, and if you hit their acid canister, you’ll trigger a Chain Reaction that will blow them up and deal damage to anything nearby, including you. Once you’ve defeated the machine, follow one of the Oseram to a Bristleback corpse. The second Oseram is trapped underneath it, so free him using the R2 button. Helping the two Oseram will award you with Smoke Bombs that can help you escape tricky situations.

Clear The Quarry

Now you’ve officially met Bristlebacks, you’re going to need to clear the Daunt of the machines to solve the work stoppage and proceed with the Embassy. So, before continuing in your search for Erend, cross the nearby stream and into Redhew Quarry, which is overrun with Bristlebacks and Burrowers. Take all of the machines out, and then speak with the nearby Oseram worker.

To continue clearing the Daunt of Bristlebacks, you’re going to need to complete the side quest ‘The Bristlebacks’, which will also reveal how the Bristlebacks arrived in the Daunt.

Follow Erend’s Tracks

Once you’ve cleared the quarry and have completed ‘The Bristlebacks’ side mission, it’s time to follow Erend’s tracks. Head to the objective marker and scan the area using your Focus, highlight Erend’s tracks and follow them through the Daunt. After climbing a rocky cliffside and pushing forward, you’ll eventually come to a wrecked ramp covered in acid. Climb the wreckage to emerge into a fenced area and trigger a cutscene.

Erend and Aldur are injured and trapped, surrounded by two Bristlebacks and a Scrounger. Take on the machines using all of the tools at your disposal; your arrows, your Tripcaster, and anything else you’ve acquired. Once you’ve defeated the machines, approach Erend to trigger a cutscene.

If you’ve cleared the Daunt and completed the side mission ‘The Bristlebacks’, your next objective will be to speak with Ulvund to complete the mission. Doing so will end the work stoppage and allow the Embassy to continue. Once the cutscene has played, you’ll automatically start the next main mission; ‘The Embassy’.

Previous mission: ‘The Point Of The Lance’
Back To: Horizon Forbidden West Mission List
Next mission: ‘The Embassy’