Frozen Wilds Hunting Grounds Trials - Control, Onslaught, Chieftain's
A new set of hunting grounds trials has been added to Horizon Zero Dawn with the Frozen Wilds DLC. There’s three of them – control trial, onslaught trial and chieftain’s trial – and they’re all set in the Snowchants hunting grounds. Like the previous ones, each tasks you with killing a certain amount of enemies in a certain way, within a time limit. They’re pretty easy to complete, but if you’re aiming for first place (what used to be Blazing Sun), you’ll have to sweat a bit. In this guide, we’re going to help you get first place in Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds hunting grounds trials.
Control Trial
The control trial is supposed to test your skill with the Stormslinger. You’re going to have to kill six minor machines and one ravager before you run out of time. Here are the target times:
- First place: 00:55
- Second place: 01:20
- Third place: 20:00
Our advice would be to throw caution in the wind. The layout of the arena might make you think it’s smart to lay low and try to stealthily deal with the enemies, but rushing in seems to be the best choice. Don’t waste time on charging shots – simply spam bolts into the enemies as soon as you touch the ground. Two shots should be more than enough for one robot – except for the ravager. If you’re playing on a lower difficulty settings, you can also tank most of the damage, so you don’t have to worry about dodging.
Onslaught Trial
The onslaught trial requires you to defeat several waves of enemies as you progress through three different arenas. Each wave is comprised of 5-10 enemies, often grouped in 2-3 sub-waves. Here are the times you should aim for:
- First place: 03:30
- Second place: 05:00
- Third place: 20:00
The most useful bit of advice here would be not to waste any time. Don’t loot the bodies and don’t wait for enemies. Run towards the first gate, defeat the enemies, then run into the next area. Use the time between sub-waves to get closer to the next door. Use weapons that trade precision for speed – it’s better to shoot a hail of arrows in their general direction than to carefully aim at the critical spots. There are traps in the second area – if the enemies position themselves in a way that lets you use those traps, go for it. However, don’t waste time trying to get them there yourself.
Chieftain’s Trial
Chieftain’s trial is supposed to be the culmination of your hunting efforts. You’ll be pitted against three groups of two major machines each, and will have to deal with them fast:
- First place: 04:30
- Second place: 05:30
- Third place: 20:00
Your first opponents will be two scorchers. Scan them, then use tearblast arrows to knock the mine launcher off of one. Use the mine launcher to dispose of them both quickly. In the next area, you’ll fight two bellowbacks. Scan them, then wait for an attack. When one of them starts an attack, it’ll give you an opening to shoot it in the belly or throat. The frostclaws in the final area are the biggest challenge – their weak spots are well covered, so it’s mostly a regular fight. Use fire arrows, since they have a weakness to fire.
