- "Is that a machine or a walking fortress? Have to be careful with my aim."
- ―Aloy, spotting a Shellsnapper
The Shellsnapper is a machine in Horizon Forbidden West. It is a large combat machine, notable for its natural camouflage.[1]
History[]
Shellsnappers, being a combat class machine, were designed and produced by the rogue AI known as HEPHAESTUS during the Derangement. They were one of many kinds of 'hunter-killers' whose sole purpose was to kill humans.
Some time after the Battle of the Alight, Talanah Khane Padish and Amadis Beit Raveesh encountered a Shellsnapper in an underground lake near Sunbreak Valley, where it was seemingly guarding the entrance to a Cauldron.
Much later, Talanah and Aloy encountered and killed a Shellsnapper while looking for Amadis.
Appearance[]
The Shellsnapper resembles an enormous snapping turtle. Its main body is mostly unarmored, with an armored, flat skull akin to a turtle on an extendable neck, four big legs with minimal armor, a pair of Chillwater sacs and multiple ground drills on its underbelly, and a short, stout tail.
The bulk of this machine comes from its shell: a massive, circular, heavily armored piece that nearly covers the whole machine and is blue with energy, which will turn orange if enough damage is applied to it and can be covered in foliage depending on how long it sits. Along the shell are four connection bolts that keep the shell on, with two extra on a smaller, elevated area behind the shell, and four frost blasters, capable of spewing a frosty mist or shooting frost grenades.
Under the shell are four plasma generators that make plasma attacks, a few Sparkers, many refining cores, and a kinetic dynamo in the center that serves as the reason the Shellsnapper's shell turns damage to energy and is only exposed as a weak spot when the main shell is completely off.
Behavior[]
This machine guards the shores and swamps of the Forbidden West. It can dig itself in and lie dormant for weeks, during which its impenetrable shell can become covered by the surrounding foliage.[2] Despite this, it is capable of readying itself for battle in moments, effectively ambushing intruders.[1]
Abilities[]
Despite its size, the Shellsnapper is quite fast, and capable of leaping. It seems to be able to stretch its neck a small amount in order to bite opponents, similar to real-life snapping turtles. It is also capable of firing a power blast at targets, mainly frost balls. Not only is its shell capable of withstanding powerful attacks, but as it takes damage, it will build up a large amount of energy, and after a few more attacks, will release as a large burst, capable of stunning multiple hunters.
Weaknesses[]
The Shellsnapper cannot get energy from arrow attacks, and destroying the shell bolts removes a big section of the shell, exposing the plasma generator. When the main shell is fully off, the kinetic dynamo is exposed, providing a exploitable weakspot. Shooting the Chillwater sacs disables the Shellsnapper's frost blast attacks. The frost cannons can be torn off and used as a weapon. However, the Shellsnapper's resistance to frost damage renders the cannons next to useless.
Attacks[]
Name | Windup Time | Stance | Damage | Trigger Range | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Snap Bite | Short | Grounded
Shell Camouflage |
Snap Bite: 176 Melee | 8m - 10m | Gathers Frost in mouth before stretching neck and snapping jaws shut, generating a shockwave and columns of icicles that extend attack reach.
Frost damage disabled when Drenched. |
Forward Slash | Medium | Grounded
Camouflaged |
Forward Slash: 176 Melee | 6m - 22m | Swipes with front claws, generating a trail of icicles that extend attack reach.
Frost damage disabled when Drenched. |
Backward Slash | Medium | Grounded | Backward Slash: 176 Melee | 10m - 22m | Quick slash with hind legs and generates icicles that extend attack reach.
Frost damage disabled when Drenched. |
Tail Crack | Short | Grounded
Camouflaged |
209 Melee | 0m - 11m | Lunges backward and whips tail from side to side, generating a Frost explosion and a trail of icicles at the end of the swing. Can follow up two more times if it misses. |
Springing Belly Flop | Medium | Grounded/Burrowed | 329 Melee
Crushed 50 |
0m - 30m | Springs in air and flops on belly to crush target, generating a shockwave and Tremor effect on impact along with a trail of icicles from its tail.
Attack disabled when Slowed. |
Freeze Blaster | Medium | Grounded/Burrowed | Freeze Blaster: 80 Ranged, 80, 114 buildup | 20m - 50m | Fires a series of 3 Frost orbs that explodes on impact and generates a trail of icicles.
Attack disabled when Drenched. |
Tracking Cryo Blast | Short | Grounded | 55/s | 0m - 13m | Uses Frost Blasters to spray Chillwater and generate residual Frost damage areas on the ground.
Attack disabled when Drenched. |
Tracking Burst | Short | Grounded | 225 Ranged | 12m - 75m | Fires an artillery round from a Frost Blaster. |
Deafening Roar | Medium | Grounded | Deafened | 9m - 50m | Lets out a powerful roar that causes the Deafened status. |
Belly Flop/Power Belly Flop | Medium | Grounded | 400 Melee
Crushed 50 |
6m - 15m | Rises on hind legs and flops down on its belly, generating a large shockwave on impact. |
Power Blaster | Long | Grounded | Power Blaster: 100/s Ranged
End Explosion: 540 Ranged |
25m - 60m | Fires a powerful laser beam for 3 seconds before finishing with a explosion expanding from the point of impact. |
Components[]
Name | Variant | Image | Description | Attributes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Body | All | Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems. | None | |
Processing Capsule | All | Resource and materials storage for internal functions. Tear off to collect its contents. |
| |
Energy Shield Shell | All | Invulnerable shell. Absorbs the energy from all damage to power its most devastating attacks. Remove by detaching the Shell Bolts. |
| |
Shell Bolt | All | Energy Shield Shell fasteners. Detach or destroy to remove the shell and expose vulnerable components beneath. |
| |
Frost Blaster | All | A mid-range heavy weapon that sprays powerful blasts of Frost in a broad cone. |
| |
Plasma Generator | All | Highly protected power source. Destroy to cause a Plasma explosion and disable Plasma attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass. |
| |
Sparker | Standard | Shock storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with a Shock Arrow to detonate. |
| |
Acid Canister | Apex | Metalbite storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with an Acid Arrow to detonate. |
| |
Refining Core | All | Internal resource storage. Only accessible after protective armor plates have been removed. Tear off to collect its contents. |
| |
Kinetic Dynamo | All | Highly protected kinetic energy storage used to build up power for the most damaging attacks. Vulnerable to damage if exposed. |
| |
Chillwater Sac | All | Chillwater storage. Destroy to disable Frost attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass. |
| |
Resource Container | All | Storage container for valuable resources. Tear off to collect its contents. |
|
Loot[]
Body
- Metal Shards (100%)
- Purgewater (100%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (71%)
- Shellsnapper Circulator (70%)
- Large Machine Core (70%)
- Shellsnapper Primary Nerve (62%)
- Machine Muscle (45%)
- Braided Wire (30%)
- Luminous Brainstem (28%)
- Crystal Braiding (28%)
- Metal Bone (28%)
Processing Capsule
- Braided Wire (89%)
- Blastpaste (76%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (56%)
- Luminous Brainstem (16%)
Energy Shield Shell
- None
Shell Bolt
- Shellsnapper Shell Bolt (100%)
Frost Blaster
- Frost Blaster (100%)
Plasma Generator
- Glowblast (100%)
Sparker
- Sparker (100%)
Refining Core
- Braided Wire (89%)
- Blastpaste (75%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (57%)
- Large Machine Core (50%)
- Volatile Sludge (35%)
- Shellsnapper Primary Nerve (16%)
Kinetic Dynamo
- None
Chillwater Sac
- Chillwater (100%)
Resource Container
- Braided Wire (90%)
- Blastpaste (76%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (56%)
- Large Machine Core (31%)
- Shellsnapper Primary Nerve (15%)
Body
- Purgewater (100%)
- Metal Shards (100%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (71%)
- Shellsnapper Circulator (70%)
- Large Machine Core (69%)
- Shellsnapper Primary Nerve (62%)
- Machine Muscle (45%)
- Braided Wire (31%)
- Metal Bone (28%)
- Crystal Braiding (28%)
- Luminous Brainstem (28%)
Processing Capsule
- Braided Wire (90%)
- Blastpaste (75%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (56%)
- Luminous Brainstem (16%)
Energy Shield Shell
- None
Shell Bolt
- Shellsnapper Shell Bolt (100%)
Frost Blaster
- Frost Blaster (100%)
Plasma Generator
- Glowblast (100%)
Acid Canister
- Metalbite (100%)
Refining Core
- Braided Wire (90%)
- Blastpaste (75%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (56%)
- Large Machine Core (51%)
- Volatile Sludge (36%)
- Shellsnapper Primary Nerve (15%)
Kinetic Dynamo
- None
Chillwater Sac
- Chillwater (100%)
Resource Container
- Braided Wire (90%)
- Blastpaste (75%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (56%)
- Large Machine Core (31%)
- Shellsnapper Primary Nerve (15%)
Variants[]
Variant | Weak Vs. | Strong Vs. |
---|---|---|
Shellsnapper | Acid | Frost |
Apex Shellsnapper | Acid | Fire |
Trivia[]
- The Shellsnapper is the only large machine introduced in Horizon Forbidden West that is not part of the main quest.
- Shellsnappers were shown to have aquatic capabilities in the announcement trailer for Horizon Forbidden West and the Horizon Zero Dawn comic series, though they appear to completely lack any aquatic capabilities in the game.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Horizon Zero Dawn #4, page 1
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Guerrilla/status/1276228808236990465 Guerrilla on Twitter: "Meet the Machines!"