Hammer and Steel

Follow this guide to complete the Hammer and Steel errand in Horizon Zero Dawn. Learn how to find lost hunters, defeat Behemoths and Shell-Walkers, and collect Behemoth Cables.

Alright, so you've wrapped up the 'Heap of Trouble' quest. Your next step for 'Hammer and Steel' is to chat with Kaeluf. He's feeling a bit guilty because he switched his duties with another hunter, and now two of them might be lost out there. You can have a quick word with Petra too, if you like, but then it's time to go find those missing hunters.

Kaeluf mentioned they headed northwest of Free Heap. When you pull up your map with the quest active, you'll see they're quite a ways from the village. Your best bet is to fast travel to a campfire that's nearby. Once you get close enough to their location, you should start hearing them bickering near a big stone arch. That's your cue!

So, it turns out Kaeluf was right – the hunters totally lost a herd of Behemoths. You'll have a choice here: do you bring the two hunters along with you, or go it alone? Honestly, with the number of machines you're about to face, having them around as distractions is probably a good idea. From the stone arch, whip out your Focus and scan the area to find their tracks. They'll lead you southeast, right to where the Behemoths are hanging out.

You're looking at three Behemoths and, to make things even more interesting, three Shell-Walkers escorting them. Your main goal here is to collect nine cables, and each Behemoth drops three. Yep, you guessed it – you'll need to take them all down.

Before you get spotted, here's a solid tactic: grab a freeze arrow and aim for one of the Behemoth's Freeze Canisters. If you can hit one in the middle, even better, as the freeze explosion will spread to more enemies. While they're all nice and frozen, unload as much damage as you can to quickly thin out their numbers. It's going to get a little hectic, so if any of the machines try to run, just let them go for a moment to catch your breath. Once you've dealt with all of them, make sure to loot those cables.

If you decided to bring the hunters along, you'll have a choice: hand over the cables to them, or take them to Petra yourself. If you went solo on this part, just head back to Petra to wrap up the quest.