Horizon Forbidden West is an action role-playing game from Guerilla Games. It's the highly anticipated sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn. Set six months after the ending of the first game, Aloy's world is in danger once more and it's down to her to try to save it.
An eerie red plague is spreading across the land, destroying everything it touches. Aloy ventures into the Forbidden West to figure out what the plague is, where it's coming from, and how to stop it. However, the plague is not the only threat she faces. There's a powerful new enemy called Regalla and a lot of new machines for Aloy to battle. However, if the story becomes a bit much for you, there are optional side-quests you can do. One set of activities that can take you deep into the world of the Old Ones are Cauldrons.
In this guide, we're going to show you all Cauldron Locations, explain what you do in them, and the rewards you get for completing them.
All Cauldron Locations
You can find the locations of all six Cauldrons on the map below.
What Are Cauldrons?
Cauldrons are large dungeons that Aloy can explore. They are technically the birthplace of machines as new ones are created at the heart of it.
Exploring a Cauldron can take a while and you need to use all of your skills to get through it safely. Within each one, you'll find different sets of machines that you'll need to sneak past or defeat. You'll also need to use all of your climbing skills and things you've learned about the game to figure out puzzles hidden within the Cauldrons.
What Do You Do in Cauldrons?
Cauldrons are half puzzle-based and half combat-based. Once you commit to going inside a Cauldron, it's quite difficult to get back out again without completing it. So, your only option is to see it through to the end.
You'll need to solve climbing-based puzzles and navigate moving objects to get through each section. Also, you'll need to assess an area and decide how you want to approach it. You can choose to stealthily sneak past the various machines guarding the Cauldron chambers, or you can choose to battle them. We recommend attempting to fight the machines as they often drop good loot. Also, take your time to explore each chamber carefully as rare high-tier loot will be hidden in them.
Combat cannot be entirely avoided as you need to fight a large machine at the end of each Cauldron. You'll need to battle the large machine and a few smaller ones. Once you have defeated them, a console will appear in the middle of the room. Aloy then needs to use her spear to download the override codes and data from that specific Cauldron. After learning how to override the machines, you will be able to find a way out.
- More Activities: Learn all about Hunting Grounds in Horizon Forbidden West.
Cauldron Rewards
Of course, you get good loot as you work through a Cauldron, but the end reward is the biggest one. Once you defeat the large machine at the end of the Cauldron, you'll learn how to override that machine and the family of machines it's from. The more that you complete, the more machines you will be able to override to use as mounts or in combat.
There seems to be a lot for you to do in Horizon Forbidden West, both inside and outside the main story. If you want to refresh your memory before picking up the new game, take a look at our Horizon Zero Dawn Story Recap. In it, we go back over the key points of the story from the original game and explain the ending. There are several ferocious new machines for Aloy to face in the new game, check out our Machines List to learn more about them.