Horizon Forbidden West: How to Beat Tilda (Boss Guide)

Tilda van der Meer is the final boss that players face in the Horizon Forbidden West story, along with her machine called Specter Prime. As the central antagonist of the entire game, Aloy must defeat Tilda in order to stop her from leaving Earth with GAIA, as well as forcefully taking Aloy with her. Her Specter Prime machine is unlike anything players have faced so far, and it’s the only time in the game that they’ll face the machine overall.

Since Tilda has her very own machine to control, players will need to scan it before the fight is over in order to register it to their database. Unlike other large machines such as the Tremortusk or Slitherfang in Horizon Forbidden West, players will only have this boss fight as their one opportunity to scan Specter Prime. Missing out on the chance to scan Specter Prime prevents players from being to earn the “All Machine Types” scanned trophy. Should players forget to scan the final machine, they can reload their last autosave, and if they die during the fight after scanning they will have to scan Specter Prime once more.

Tilda and Specter Prime have a lot of repetitive attacks that involve flashy movements leading into a big slap or tendril extension. If it doesn’t appear that the machine is charging up for a ranged attack, players can expect an imminent close-quarters attack from Specter Prime. One of the best skills in Horizon Forbidden West to have unlocked for this fight is the Elemental Fury, which increases the buildup and effects of elemental attacks while simultaneously gaining resistance to elemental damage. By using this skill, players can bait Specter Prime into close-quarters combat to deal some massive damage with certain elemental types of attacks.

How To Beat Tilda In Horizon Forbidden West (The Fast Way)

Before the final fight in Horizon Forbidden West begins, players will want to make sure they have the tools needed to craft multiple Acid Traps. Specter Prime is particularly weak against Acid and Plasma attacks, and the Acid Traps will provide massive damage as the machine triggers them during its own attempts to injure Aloy. Players can also use the Forgefall Sharpshot Bow, one of the best weapons in Horizon Forbidden West, to inflict massive Plasma damage by aiming for the gold plates around the machine. The gold plates are where the machine is most vulnerable, and should always be aimed for regardless of the weapons players choose to use.

Specter Prime is resistant to Fire, Shock, and Purgewater elemental damage, so players should steer clear of those types of weapons. Additionally, Tilda’s machine cannot be overridden, so players will need to fully destroy its health bar to finish the fight. Once the fight is over, players will reach the end of Horizon Forbidden West until future DLC is released. Although the main story is complete, players can try to Platnium the Horizon Forbidden West story, which takes roughly 55-60 hours to beat.

Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

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