The Bristleback is a machine in Horizon Forbidden West.
History
Bristlebacks were originally designed by the terraforming AI called GAIA. During the Derangement, HEPHAESTUS rewrote their programming to become hostile towards humans.
As a result of Ulvund's reckless and unauthorized mining, a cavern opened up beneath a pen of Bristlebacks kept by Regalla's Rebels. These Bristlebacks escaped in a stampede into The Daunt, resulting in massive collateral damage and delaying an upcoming Embassy with the Tenakth.
Appearance
The Bristleback resembles a large warthog. The head of the machine is boar like, with a binocular array of eight optical sensors, two panels above the back of the head resembling ears, and two metallic protrusions at the front, resembling tusks, ahead of the mouth, which contains two circular saws as the machine’s mouth. The back is lined with armor plating, save for one opening that serves as a place to mount the machine, and on its rear end is two elemental canisters, either with Blaze or Acid, depending on the variant. It appears to have elemental lines running under its belly, connecting to the canisters on its rear.
Behavior
Found in herds of two or four, Bristlebacks will become highly aggressive when threatened.
An idle Bristleback will periodically sniff out buried resources before digging them up with their tusks. This salvage, which is unearthed in round containers, generally carry Metal Shards but occasionally includes Metal Ingots.
Abilities
As a mount, the Bristleback is bulky but powerful, having over twice the health of a Charger in its normal state. They will utilize their tusks as weapons and charge with great force.[1] They can use their grinder disks to their advantage, grinding up pieces of scrap or earth and putting it in their mouth before covering it with blaze or acid to ram or throw at enemies. When overridden, it is mountable by humans.
Attacks
| Name | Windup Time | Damage | Residual Damage Area | Trigger Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tusk Smash | Short/Medium |
|
- | 3m - 13m | |
| Hoof Thrust | Very Short | 137 Melee | - | 2m - 8m | |
| Reverse Snout Swing | Short/Medium | 137 Melee | - | 3m - 9m | |
| Snout Swing | Short | 180 Melee | - | 4m - 15m | |
| Snout Bash Combo | Short/Medium | 180 Melee | - | 0m - 6m | |
| Spewing Twist Kick | Very Short |
|
 / 10/s buildup
|
0m - 7m | |
| Wreckage Rush | Medium/Long | 180 Melee
|
/ 5/s
|
14m - 47m | |
| Charge | Medium | 137 Melee | - | 14m - 47m |
Variants
There are a total of four Bristleback variants that can be cataloged.
| Variant | Weakness | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Acid Bristleback |  Shock
|
|
| Fire Bristleback | Shock
|
Fire
|
| Apex Acid Bristleback |  Purgewater
|
Acid
|
| Apex Fire Bristleback |  Frost
|
Fire
|
Components
| Name | Variant | Image | Description | Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body | All | Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems. | None | |
| Tusks | All | Metal tusks used to dig up natural resources. Detach or destroy both to disable its more damaging attacks |
| |
| Grinder Discs | All | Razor-sharp, circular blades used to dig up valuable underground resources. |
| |
| Acid Canister | Acid/Apex Acid | Metalbite storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with an Acid Arrow to detonate. |
| |
| Blaze Canister | Fire/Apex Fire |
|
Loot
Trivia
- This is the fourth Forbidden West machine to be named. However, this is the first to be given a classification.
- Bristlebacks are one of only three machines (the others being Glinthawks and Chargers) to resemble a creature which is definitively not extinct during the in-universe present, namely the boar.
Gallery
References
| Machines | |
|---|---|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | |
| Acquisition Class | Broadhead - Charger - Fireclaw - Frostclaw - Glinthawk - Grazer - Lancehorn - Rockbreaker - Scrapper - Snapmaw - Strider - Trampler |
| Chariot Class | Corruptor - Deathbringer - Metal Devil |
| Combat Class | Ravager - Sawtooth - Scorcher - Stalker - Stormbird - Thunderjaw |
| Communication Class | Tallneck |
| Recon Class | Longleg - Watcher (Redeye Watcher) |
| Transport Class | Behemoth - Bellowback - Shell-Walker |
| Unknown Class | Control Tower |
| Horizon Forbidden West | |
| Acquisition Class | Bristleback - Clamberjaw - Fanghorn - Plowhorn - Scrounger - Spikesnout - Sunwing - Tideripper - Widemaw |
| Combat Class | Clawstrider - Dreadwing - Grimhorn - Shellsnapper - Slaughterspine - Slitherfang - Specter - Specter Prime - Tremortusk |
| Recon Class | Burrower - Skydrifter |
| Transport Class | Leaplasher - Rollerback |
