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Horizon Zero Dawn

The War-Chief's Trail Walkthrough

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★ Horizon Forbidden West Guide & Walkthrough Wiki

Horizon Zero Dawn - The War-Chief
This guide will show you how to complete The War-Chief's Trail, a main quest in Horizon Zero Dawn. Read on to learn the objectives, strategies, location, and rewards for The War-Chief's Trail main quest.

Previous Quest Next Quest
A Seeker at the Gates Revenge of the Nora

List of Contents

The War-Chief's Trail Quest Information

General Info

Quest Name The War-Chief's Trail
Quest Giver Varl
Rewards 1750 XP
Recommended Level 7
Percent (%) Completion - -
Description Sona, the War-Chief of the Nora, went missing after an ambush killed dozens of braves. Varl wants Aloy to find her.

Quest Location

Horizon Zero Dawn - Main Embrace Gate
Map Location
Horizon Zero Dawn - War-Chief
World Location

Varl will give you this quest when he speaks to you outside the Main Embrace Gate. This occurs during the events of the A Seeker at the Gates quest.

The War-Chief's Trail Walkthrough

How to Complete

Objectives
1
Horizon Zero Dawn - Massacre Site Location
Go to the Massacre Site.
The Massacre Site will be to the northeast of Mother's Crown. Start heading north from the Main Embrace Gate to arrive at the location.
2
Horizon Zero Dawn - Investigate the Battlefield
Investigate the Battlefield.
Hit R3 and start scanning the massacre site. Scan and examine one of the damaged Corrupted Watchers as well as the destroyed Corruptor.
3 Horizon Zero Dawn - Speak to Dran the SurvivorTalk to the Survivor.
After investigating the battlefield, a survivor from the battle will approach from where you entered the clearing. Dran, the surivor, will tell you the War-Chief's last known position.
4
Horizon Zero Dawn - Go to the War Chief
Go to Sona's Last Known Location.
After talking to Dran the Survivor, head back into the Devil's Thirst. The last known camp of the War-Chief will be just past the Tallneck location.
5
Horizon Zero Dawn - Examine Sona
Investigate the Area.
Investigate Sona's Camp. Scan the different items highlighted in purple. Scannable items are as follows: Arrowheads, Food Scraps, Bow, Bandages, and Campfire.
6
Horizon Zero Dawn - Follow the Tracks of Sona
Follow the Tracks.
Hit R3 and highlight the tracks of Sona's group. Follow its path, past 2 Corrupted Watchers, until you reach a scrapped Sawtooth.
7
Horizon Zero Dawn - Examine the Dead Sawtooth
Examine the Sawtooth.
Approach and inspect the Sawtooth. This will trigger a cutscene that has you meet the Nora War-Chief.
8
Horizon Zero Dawn - Follow Sona
Follow Sona.
Run alongside Sona. She will lead you to the enemy dig site.
9 Horizon Zero Dawn - Shoot the Blaze BarrelsKill the Cultists and Corrupted Machines.
There are two ways to approach this mission. Stealth is difficult but affords more XP as most of the kills will be Aloy's. Direct Combat, on the other hand, is easier as the Nora Braves will help you out during the battle.
10
Horizon Zero Dawn - Speak to Sona at the Dig Site
Talk to Sona.
With the last of the Cultists killed, talk to Sona to trigger the investigation task.
11
Horizon Zero Dawn - Scan and Listen to the Datapoint
Investigate the Dig Site.
Hit R3 and start investigating the camp. There should be tracks of Blaze that you can highlight which leads to a Datapoint. Scan the datapoint and listen to it.
12
Horizon Zero Dawn - Tell Varl and Sona Findings at the Dig Site
Talk to Sona and Varl.
Tell Sona and Varl about your findings. After a brief discussion, Sona will give you the quest Revenge of the Nora.

Tips and Strategies

Override the Devil's Thirst Tallneck to Reveal the Map

Devil

To reveal a large chunk of map that you'll be exploring for this quest, go and override the Devil's Thirst Tallneck. This will allow you to see how to navigate to the Massacre Site and Sona's last known position in relative safety.

Additionally, overriding a Tallneck reveals all the machine sites and Campfires for this portion of the World Map, making it easier to hunt for resources and save points as you explore.

Tallneck: Devil's Thirst Guide

Shoot the Blaze Barrels at the Dig Site

Horizon Zero Dawn - Shoot the Blaze Barrels

Blaze Barrels are placed in strategic positions to deal with the Watchers and Scrappers patrolling the dig site. Use Fire Arrows to set them to explode on your unsuspecting foes.

If players opt to go the combat route or are detected prematurely, make sure to use these explosive barrels to quickly thin out the enemy camp.

Horizon Zero Dawn Quests

List of Main Quest Guides

Main Quest Guides

Main Quest Walkthroughs
A Gift From the Past Lessons of the Wild
The Point of the Spear Mother's Heart
The Proving The Womb of the Mountain
A Seeker at the Gates The City of the Sun
Maker's End The Grave-Hoard
To Curse the Darkness Deep Secrets of the Earth
The Terror of the Sun The Heart of the Nora
The Mountain That Fell The Looming Shadow
The Face of Extinction
Main Quests - Nora Tribe
The War-Chief's Trail Revenge of the Nora
Main Quests - Oseram Tribe
The Field of the Fallen Into the Borderlands
The Sun Shall Fall

Frozen Wild Main Quest Guides

Frozen Wild Main Quest Walkthroughs
Into the Frozen Wilds The Shaman's Path
For the Werak Firebreak
The Forge of Winter

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