Blood on Stone

Learn how to defeat the Rockbreaker in the 'Blood on Stone' sidequest in Horizon Zero Dawn. Get tips on weak points, attacks, and strategy to clear the quarry.

Alright, so you're ready to tackle the 'Blood on Stone' sidequest in Horizon Zero Dawn? It's a pretty straightforward one, but there's a nasty surprise waiting for you in the quarry. First things first, you'll need to head out of Meridian. Take the northern exit, and when the road splits, keep heading north. At the next junction, veer northeast – this will lead you to a small village called Cut-Cliffs.

Once you're in Cut-Cliffs, find the Quarry Foreman. He's got a grim task for you: some of his workers have been murdered right there in the quarry. Naturally, you're going to step in and figure out who's behind it. After you agree to help, head down into the quarry itself to start your investigation.

As soon as you start looking around, expect the unexpected! A Rockbreaker will burst out of hiding. These guys are tough, and this one's got a nasty trick: it can burrow underground. Keep your eyes peeled so it doesn't pop up right under you. A good tip here is to target its Digging Arms. If you can hit those, especially with Tearblast Arrows, you can actually stop it from burrowing. If you don't, it'll just keep popping up and down, hitting you for massive damage.

The Rockbreaker might also hang out above ground for a bit, shaking rocks loose around itself. It's best to wait until its whole body is out and visible before you focus on those Digging Arms. Once you manage to break off all four of them, you'll trigger the second phase of the fight.

Now, the Rockbreaker's main move is to just sit back and lob a barrage of rocks at you. Dodging these is a real pain because the range is huge and there's no predictable pattern. Your best bet is to just put some distance between you and the machine. Just make sure you're not backing yourself into a corner!

To really speed things up, you've got two main strategies: Blast Wires and hitting its Exhaust Port. While it's spitting rocks, it'll also try to pounce on you and move around. This is the perfect time to lay down some Blast Wires and try to lure it onto them. If you can get it to trigger these enough times, its Fuel Sac on its belly will rupture, setting it on fire and dealing some serious damage. The Exhaust Port on its back is another weak spot that'll take a lot of punishment. Once you finally bring this big guy down, head back to the Foreman to wrap things up.