Skydrifter

"That machine could swoop down on me if I'm not careful."

―Aloy

The Skydrifter is a machine in Horizon Forbidden West.

Appearance[]

The Skydrifter closely resembles an Archaeopteryx. Its head is bird shaped, with the main scanning eye in between the "beak." Its body is slender, with a chest mounted tracking sprayer, two antenna on the back, and two big, feather styled metal wings. The machine has small legs that end in feet with three long claws, like a normal bird, and with two thin thrusters on the sides of the thighs it uses to quickly take off. There are two power cells on its hindquarters next to a long flexible limb that ends with a flat, diamond-shaped tail covered in razor sharp metal pieces that also are in a feather-styled pattern. The head, wingarms, and hind legs are white.

Behavior[]

The Skydrifter is an aerial recon machine, generally gliding a few meters above the ground and watching over acquisition machines below.

Abilities[]

Skydrifters are truly a masterful recon. Their eye is equipped with an advanced scanning unit able to detect any threat, even when the threat is hiding in tall grass without being spotted first. It scans this area in a cone while flying, or when it detects an anomaly. Being hit with this, regardless if the Skydrifter or something else saw you or not normally, will immediately get you detected. The unit on its chest is also able to spray an enemy, so it can be found if it goes back into stealth. The boosters on its hind legs allow it to fly quickly and move with incredible agility. The tail is razor sharp and used as an effective melee weapon.

Some Skydrifters are also equipped with antenna, allowing them to call for reinforcements if a threat is detected.

Weaknesses[]

The Skydrifter can scan with its scanning unit, but the unit can be shot off, leaving it unable to scan for those in stealth. Its tail can also be torn off, leaving it unable to use its tail melee attacks. The boosters are a vulnerable spot, especially when overheated.

Attacks[]

Grounded Stance[]

Name	Windup Time	Damage Type	Damage	Residual Damage Area	Trigger Range	Description
Tracking Darts	Medium	Ranged/ Tracked	151 Ranged, 50 Tracked buildup	10/s Tracked, 30/s Tracked buildup	12m - 18m	Uses Tracking Container to fire a projectile that reveals target's location to other machines. Creates a residual puddle that deals damage and inflicts buildup.
Razor Quills	Short/Medium	Ranged	151	-	12m - 44m	Uses Razor Tail to fire 8 quills in a tight horizontal spread.
Claw Dive	Medium	Melee / Fire	103 Melee, 69 Fire, 37 Fire buildup	10/s Fire, 10/s Fire buildup	7m - 16m	Propels itself towards target while slashing with its claws. Boosters create a trail of residual Fire damage areas. Attack disabled when Slowed.
Wing Slasher	Short	Melee	155	-	10m - 21m	Glides forward before slashing with one of its wings. Can follow up with another slash if it misses.
Spin Blast	Short	Melee (body) Fire (take off/landing)	108 (body) 50 Fire, 60 Fire buildup (take off/landing)	-	0m - 5m	Boosts vertically while spinning and slashing with both wings before slamming down. Boosters create Fire explosion and residual damage areas on takeoff/landing.
Razor Swipe	Very Short	Melee	140	-	4m - 14m	Hops a short distance and spins 360^o while striking with Razor Tail.
Blast Launch	Very Short	Melee (body) Fire (booster flames/fire explosion)	69 (body) 69 Fire, 37 Fire buildup (booster flames) 27 Fire, 27 Fire buildup (fire explosion)	-	20m - 35m	Activates Boosters to blast into the air. Attack disabled when Slowed.

Gliding Stance[]

Name

Windup Time

Damage Type

Damage

Residual Damage Area

Trigger Range

Description

Razor Swoop

Long

Melee (body)

Fire (booster flames)

180 (body)

90 Fire, 56 buildup (booster flames)

10/s Fire, 10/s Fire buildup

15m - 39m

Swoops at target in a corkscrew pattern while leaving a trail of residual Fire damage areas.

Attack disabled when Slowed.

Landing Air Burst

Medium/Long

Ranged (air burst)

Melee (body)

Fire (booster flames)

60 (air bust)

60 (body)

60 Fire, 60 Fire buildup (booster flames)

-

20m - 35m

Swoops in front of target and flaps wings to create a powerful wind blast before landing.

Attack disabled when Slowed.

Components[]

Name	Variant	Description	Attributes
Body	All	Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems.	None
Scanning Unit	All	Detection device. Projects a cone of light that reveals enemies, including those in stealth	Detachable Ability Removal Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Tracking Container	All	Produces a spray that can track a target's location, even if they attempt to re-enter stealth. Detach or destroy to disable.	Detachable Ability Removal Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Booster	All	Fire-based thrusters used to rapidly launch itself into the air. Especially vulnerable when overheated.	Indestructible Weak Spot
Antenna	All	Signal transmitter used to call in machine reinforcements.	Detachable Reinforcement Call Removal Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Sparker	Standard	Shock storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with a Shock Arrow to detonate.	Chain Reaction Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Acid Canister	Apex	Metalbite storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with an Acid Arrow to detonate.	Chain Reaction Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Razor Tail	All	A large metal tail used as a primary melee weapon. Detach or destroy to disable tail attacks.	Detachable Attack Removal Destroyed When Killed Key Upgrade Resource

Loot[]

Body

Scanning Unit

Tracking Container

Booster

None

Antenna

Sparker

Sparker (100%)

Razor Tail

Skydrifter Razor Tail (100%)