#or shellwalker?

[hzdtrees]

Valleymeet

[robo-dino-puppy]

coastal calm

[mr-jaybird]

miniature of the day: daemonic shellwalker

[admiralkrafto]

[ayaitch]

Don't know why, but this dead Shellwalker has a grumpy bunny face on it.

[west-tokyo-incidents]

redesigning torment and like not to make him even more of an urgot rip off and not to like engage in carcinization of my own characters (Become Crab)

but like what if Torment had like. spidery legs.

[thatbeeagain]

i hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sonyi hate sony

[ravensilversea]

The heck is this “Max number of traps/tripwires placed”? If I can’t turn a narrow passageway into a death trap, what’s the point of having traps

[one-of-many-journeys]

Day 74

Daytower

Dawn at the fort. Maybe it was a mistake leaving Meridian. Too late now.

Sunrise over the Sacred Lands. After all the sand and humid jungles, it's a refreshing sight. And a cold one.

As the sun rose and the rain started falling, I crossed the valley and headed into Nora lands. I stayed away from Mother's Crown, though it was on the way and I could've done with a rest. They'd probably throw themselves at my feet and not let me leave. From a distance, it was looking more populated than last I was there. More Nora leaving Mother's Watch and braving the ruins the Eclipse left behind.

South through Devil's Thirst as the day wore on.

I dived into the hidden cavern and inserted the final two power cells, setting the code into the locks that I found on a nearby datapoint. Finally, the clamps released, and I was able to remove the armour from the stand. It's just like the suit Elisabet wore when she went to her death outside Gaia Prime.

The base metal of the suit was corroded from the damp in the cave, but the plating was in good condition. Shield generators, almost like those of a Shellwalker, but smaller, able to cover the armour plates in a protective coating. I tested it a little with my blade; enough force will break the shield, but the components recharge quickly, pulling from batteries embedded in the suit. I extricated the components from the metal beneath, scrubbing away the rust. I took them from the shoulders, chest, and some from the legs, as well as prying part of the helmet free. The rest is defunct, but it'll be enough to build something magnificent...assuming I get the time. Best to return to Meridian in case the attack comes in the meantime.

Headed back west with the components in tow, first past the mountains near Mother's Crown, then into the valley. A pack of Scrappers tore down the hill and attacked my mount, knocking me down. Totally blindsided. They made short work of the Charger while I fought them off. On foot from there. I couldn't afford to lose time like this.

Over the rise; final stretch to the fortress. A Sawtooth stalked the Forsaken Village—or Mother's Vigil, as Rost once knew it.

Overrode the Sawtooth rather than risk sneaking by, then picked up another Charger from across the lake to speed up the rest of the journey.

I made a quick stop in Two Teeth and spoke to the Braves there. Many were stopping here on their way to Meridian, feeling safer here than in in a cursed Carja fortress. I encouraged them to keep moving west. I hope they make it in time to help in the defence.

Passed through Daytower once more. Meridian still stands. I'll be hard pressed to make it there by a reasonable hour.

Sunset at Morning's Watch as a sandstorm swept through. I kept on riding through the night.

I left my mount at the bottom of the road to the city gates. It was already morning by then, albeit very early. No signs of encroaching armies.

There was a guard waiting outside Olin's apartment, instructed to let me inside. When Marad said it was open to me, I almost turned him down instinctively. As much as I'd value a private space instead of sleeping in the lodge or the village bedhouse, it just felt wrong. There's no logic in that; the man is dead, his family likely back in the Claim by now, but the apartment is so extravagant. And I'm the one who killed him. I know that he would have fought by my side here against the Eclipse if I'd given him the chance. He wanted to help me. It was a stupid thing to do; a reaction, a reflex. He might have done good, might have discovered more in his delving. I know his family must miss him.

No point in ruminating. Better men than him will die if I don't defeat Hades.

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Armour Contest

There's always something in these side quests...

Okay. Finally found the stitcher in the Thornmarsh-- waitwut.

I mean, you have gorgeous armour that I must have, but you have even better armour. I just ... need to kill an Apex Dreadwing first. Okaaaay...

Upgrades for the gorgeous armour first-- Aaaaaaaaand I need to murder an Apex Dreadwing and a Slitherfang for the best upgrades. Good thing I'm pretty sure I trip over one of those in the next bit of main questline...

Right. Finally going to finish this last bit of Danur's salvage jobs. Hoping to find some campfires or something on the way. A few accessible points on the far west coast would be good to have.

None yet, buuuuuut Apex Acid Clawstriders in my way. Slow-time aaaaaaaaaand ... BOOM. I do not believe I forgot that mechanic for so long. Or that I did so well without it.

Okay, here we are. So I have to ... let the Spikesnouts reinforce the Behemoth ... and then kill it? Huh. Okay. That means ... not quite out of hiding, but hit someplace damaging but not one-shot kill. And ... here we go.

...Wow. Okay. This armour really is the best for stealth. And I got my bits. The one shot I used to take out the Behemoth even did massive damage to the Spikesnouts, so won't take much to finish them.

Right. CAMPFIRE.

...Shellwalker convoy! ...Convoy of one, but never mind.

Two campfires, two Shellwalkers, and a shelter later, I'm back over to Danur. Oh, you want me to see the competition? Cool; I can do that.

.........I have no idea what I'm going to do if they make me pick. Because something is going to go wrong--

Ah. So the problem is "Keruf is attempting to scam all of you". NOT ON MY WATCH, ASSHOLE.

So ... they all piece their designs together to make the best of all possible worlds, Keruf pays them all a portion of the winnings for the new design, and ... I get the armour as a selling point? Well. There it is. Thanks, guys. I could not have chosen.

Now, going to settle down near where I know a Dreadwing site is. I ... should get an Apex one eventually, right? Plus I need Stormbird too.

But for now, work.

[hzdtrees]

the way up north, pt. 1

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizontober 2023 | 7: pass

[thunderjawsandlightning]

COTM Bingo (aka we're frothing at the mouth for lore and meta implications)

*EDIT: included new squares (indicated with *)

**Edit: strikethrough squares that did not occur in-game

Three days out from the release of Call of the Mountain, and one of my friends will very kindly be streaming their gameplay, so to have some fun alongside the exciting new gaming experience, some friends and I from the niloy-hell discord have compiled some things to stick into a bingo card! Feel free to generate a card with this BingoBaker link.

**For obvious reasons, if you get a card that has contradictory fulfillment requirements (i.e. Urid lives/ dies) go ahead and generate another card. Remember, it's all just for fun!

For a bit of clarification on the squares:

Free space: game is gorgeous (pretty self-explanatory).

Fight [x] enemy

Fight a Watcher

Fight a Charger

Fight a Grazer

Fight a Lancehorn

Fight a Scrapper

Fight a Broadhead

Fight a Glinthawk

Fight a Trampler

Fight a Shellwalker

Fight a Bellowback

Fight a Ravager

Fight a Longleg

Fight a Sawtooth

Fight a Snapmaw

Fight a Thunderjaw

Fight a Stormbird

Fight a Behemoth

Fight a Stalker

Fight a hostile Oseram

Fighting bandits

Gameplay

Given a Focus from Aloy

Can override machines

Accidental fall to death (player)

Waterfall views (scenic vista views)

Spelunking in Old World ruins

Climbing tools have durability

Old World holos (interacting with Old World devices)

Team-up with Urid (cooperative efforts with Urid for combat or puzzle-solving)

dies to Thunderjaw (player dies during combat)

dies to Stormbird (player dies during combat)

flying on Stormbird (on its back or in its claws) *

exploring off the path (player exploration) *

Narrative

Fall down a waterfall (narrative)

"Keep steady now. " (Ryas talking to himself)

Chasing after Urid (Urid sent out on the same/ similar mission before Ryas)

Ryas' bow has a name

Don't kill the Stormbird

Machines are docile

Toppling a statue of Jiran

Grumpy old man Ryas (attitude or words towards other characters)

Ryas has a family (i.e. a wife and/ or child/ren)

Visit Ryas' home settlement (expicit mention of "home")

Urid lives

Urid dies

Ryas lives

Ryas dies

Flashback with Itamen (spiriting away Itamen and Nasadi from Meridian)

Ryas face reveal

Blood relation reveal to a known character (anyone previously met in Horizon media)

Guardian figure Stormbird (Stormbird is protecting something and initally non-hostile to the player) *

Ryas swears (full swear word or cut off) *

Any character says "all aboard" *

Ryas called by a moniker (any character refers to Ryas by something other than his name) *

Character & Location cameos

Janeva appearance

Sunstone Rock visit (flashback or present-day)

fucking DeRvAhL (appearance or mention)

Banuk appearance (tribe member)

Nora appearance (tribe member)

Avad appearance/ mention

Erend appearance

Itamen appearance (present-day)

Nasadi appearance (present-day)

Nil appearance (flashback or present-day)

Nil mention

Travis Tate mention

Nil name reveal (true/ birth name reveal) *

[stormhaven13]

Shellwalker

Took one down in the ambush salvage mission. Alone, and especially when at range, these aren't much of a threat. If you are forced to close into melee with them they become much more dangerous, especially if they're not on their own. Their shield means actually dealing with them is slow and clunky, not great when you have other threats to deal with.

[thepandabrain]

LEGO and Horizon Zero Dawn fans, rejoice! A new developer video has revealed epic LEGO builds of the Sawtooth and Shellwalker. Perfect for collectors! #LEGO #HorizonZeroDawn #legohorizonadventures #legoleaks #legonews

[contrivedchaos]

Anon went and chose my favorite fic of yours!! ❤️ Ikrie is so very dear to my heart. As are CaitVi. 😭 I had honestly wondered about an Arcane/Horizon AU before, but in the other direction. Could you imagine the Hextech that could be created from machine scrap??? Like Vi modifying some Shellwalker claws as her gauntlets?? Or Cait making a rifle out of a Ravager gun?? The possibilities are endless. But the anon also proposes an interesting concept. 👀 Hmmmm.

I actually finished "Put Your Spear Beside Mine" recently and 🥹🥹😍😍😍 absolute masterpiece! 🙌, I really hope one day you do an Ikrie x Aloy during/post Forbbiden West, I'll die screaming like a fangirl

AHHHH OKAY I hope it's okay to assume all these asks came from the same lovely person 😂 but I'm so thrilled that you enjoyed Put Your Spear Beside Mine! I still love Ikraloy so much and I still do hope we'll get to see my fave Banuk babe in a future game!

I will unfortunately say that I don't have plans to write a Forbidden West/Burning Shores sequel for this ship. I have too many fic ideas and genuinely not enough time to write, sadly 😭 but I'm so glad that you enjoyed what I did put out there!!

Re: the Banuk painting in Burning Shores -- I ACTUALLY HAVEN'T FOUND IT MYSELF YET. But I had peeked at what some other people had found, and I feel like it's more likely related to Brin, i.e. MY SECOND FAVE DESERT GREMLIN (he's now #2 after my beautiful Drakka LMAO). I'm still sad that Brin didn't appear in the DLC, but I'll keep my Banuk hopes high, especially since they're my second fave tribe after ye olde Tenakth 😂

Re: Aloy/Ikrie Arcane AU? HOLY FUCK YES AHHHHHHHHH. My mind instantly went to Caitlyn and Vi, and I'm already like -- who would be who?? I feel like Ikrie has the more bold and flirty vibes like Vi, but Aloy is TOUGH AS NAILS like our girl Vi 😂 I'm going to throw this one to the incredibly talented and wonderful @contrivedchaos as an idea to add to his pile, esp. since he's written Cait/Vi!!

Thank you for much for thinking of me when it comes to Ikrie and these two babes together!!

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika xoxo