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As the Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores DLC adds new machines for Aloy to defeat, it also adds the new Theta cauldron for Aloy to explore. This will also allow her to override new machines, and make her journey through the Burning Shores a little easier. The Theta cauldron will not be available until late into the DLC.
In the new Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores DLC, Aloy will travel to the city of Los Angeles, which is now a group of islands. She meets up with a young woman named Seyka, a member of the Quen tribe, who wants to rescue her sister and other tribe from a remaining Zenith named Londra. Londra has protected his holdings from Aloy using towers that will send attacks against any approach, and it is after the second tower is cleared that Aloy can get to the Theta Cauldron.
Finding the Theta Cauldron
The Cauldron is located on the island not too far away from the ending of the For His Amusement main quest. Once the quest is over, fly on her Waterwing mount north along the coastline of this island. Aloy will mention seeing the cauldron when she gets close, and there will be a cauldron door easily visible.
that once Aloy enters a Cauldron, she cannot leave until it is done, so be sure to stock up on resources and ammo before heading in.
However, upon inspecting the door, Aloy cannot open it due to the geological destruction around the place, and she will suggest looking around for another entrance. Head up the valley on the left of the door. There are several machines along the way, so be cautious. Follow the valley all the way to the back, where the lava flow ends. Aloy can jump down the tunnel, and it will lead to a secondary cauldron door.
Exploring the Cauldron
In the first room, there will be drones carrying Chillwater canisters across the chasm. They automatically drop it on a hot spot toward the right of the room. Aloy can use the geyser it creates to gain an updraft while gliding. The goal is to make it to the other side of the room. Jump and use the updraft to glide to make it to the ledge opposite the entrance of the room.
In the next room, there are several Apex Leapslashers on the lower ground, several Apex Red-Eye Watchers guarding the higher platforms, and Stingspawn around the room. The door can be seen but is unreachable by normal means. It will be much easier to solve the puzzle if the machines are cleared out first.
Solving the Second Room Puzzle
To Aloy’s right from the entrance is a long flow of lava from the ceiling. There is a drone carrying Chillwater canisters that appear as well. Shoot the Chillwater canister as soon as the drone flies down. It should land on the lava flow below. Jump off the platform right above it when the geyser starts, and, using the Shieldwing glider from Horizon Forbidden West, get an updraft to get on the higher platform just behind Aloy.
One of the Red-Eye Watchers is up here, if it wasn’t destroyed earlier, as well as a glowing blue crate that Aloy can push. Push the crate along the platform toward the other end. Do not push it over the edge to the ground. At the other end of the platform is a node that Aloy can override. Use it to create a bridge to the center platform.
From there Aloy can push the crate to the center along the bridge. Target the lava flow just to the left of the area below the door and when the geyser forms, glide over to the door.
Walk down around the corner and form another bridge by overriding that node. Use the newly created bridge to run across to the next platform. There’s one final node there to override. That bridge leads to the center, run across it to grab the crate from earlier, and walk it all the way back to the door. Put it on the triangle button in front of the door. This will hold the door open for Aloy to continue on.
Getting Past the Shield
From there, Aloy will walk down a set of hallways. When she spots a glimpse of the machine that lives here, there will be a platform with a grapple point and a chest up top. After grabbing it, continue down the hall and zip line down to the floor.
Walk across the lava flows carefully and grapple onto the hovering platform. Aloy can control it by standing on the outer bit of the platform in the direction she wants to go. She will not be able to get past the shield immediately. To the right, the platform leads to another chest.
To get past the shield, move the hovering platform to the left of the shield wall. There are climbing rods along that wall, jump up and follow the climbing path up and over to the left. Aloy will end up on a tower. From there she can see another hovering platform filled with eggs, which are the offspring of a new machine in Horizon Forbidden West in the DLC. It will keep moving no matter what. She will have to jump onto the platform and run across it to jump on the climbing bars on the other side of the room. It needs to be done in one smooth motion.
There’s a platform in the next room, but it is very high up. There is another drone with Chillwater crossing the room. Shoot the canister over a lava flow and use the geyser to get up onto that platform. In the next room, there is no need to use the Chillwater. Jump across to the next platform using the grapple point. From there, there is a Cauldron Door to override.
The Stingspawn Hallway
From here, there is a hallway filled to the brim with eggs. Depending on how many resources Aloy has, it is possible to shoot a fair number of eggs before they hatch from the entrance to the hallway. This will keep them from overwhelming Aloy as she traverses the rest of the hallway.
To the left is a chest. The objective is down the hall to the right. Staying back and clearing the Stingspawn as Aloy goes is the safest option, but if she doesn’t have the resources to spare, she can sprint for it. Follow the hallway until to the door to override. This is where sprinting might make the swarm of Stingspawn catch up. From there rappel down to the ground and then drop down a second time. There’s a node to override that will lower the shield.
Use the hovering platform to ride to the end of the lava flow. From there, Aloy will have to jump down and walk the rest of the way. At the dead end, glide down to the V-shaped opening below Aloy. She can glide directly to the Cauldron core. At this point, it might be best to check her resources and grab some of the medicinal plants if she's low, and equip the highest level of fire-protection armor Aloy has acquired.
Fighting the Apex Bilegut
At this point, players will have faced several Bilegut machines. The Apex Bilegut is a little faster, hits a little harder, and spits fire. It has the same weak points as a regular Bilegut, but the combination of sticky effects with the fire damage can be hard to combat. In the right circumstances, a single jump with the Bilegut landing directly on Aloy can kill her.
The best way to counter the Bilegut is with a good source of frost damage and following up with high damage. The Skyhammer, one of the new Legendary Weapons in Horizon Forbidden West, is a good source of quick frost damage. For instance, Aloy should have the Specter Gauntlet or an upgraded version by this point in the DLC. After the Bilegut becomes brittle, target a weak spot and then unload the Specter Gauntlet into it. Or use a Spikethrower to launch a high explosive attack into a weak spot.
Either way, stay on the move, there will be a lot of Stingspawn flying around. In general, ignore them unless they become overwhelming. The Bilegut will destroy a lot of them for Aloy, and they will all self-destruct when the Bilegut dies. Using the Ropecaster to hold the Bilegut down is also a good strategy to avoid having it jump across the room.
The Bilegut tends to do a lot of jumping, which may make traps and tripwires less effective. Sticking to slowing down the Bilegut by other means might be the best strategy. Be patient and keep moving, and try to target the weak points when possible. When the fight is over, Aloy can override the core, having defeated the Theta Cauldron in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores.
Source: YouTube|PlayStation
