The Wound in the Sand is another side quest that you can complete in Horizon Forbidden West. This is actually the second of a three-part storyline that starts with Thirst for the Hunt and ends with The Gate of the Vanquished.
In the Wound in the Sand side quest, Aloy heads out to investigate why the main water supply of the Desert clan is having issues.
How To Unlock The Wound In The Sand
The “Wound in the Sand” quest in HFW is unlocked after completing the “Thirst for the Hunt” quest. This quest is given to Aloy by Jetakka at Arrowhand. It is recommended to start this quest at around level 19.
This quest involves the water problem of the Desert Clan. The only well in the Capital of Scalding Spear, the “Wound in the Sand,” has gone dry, and the clan has to ration.
How To Complete The Wound In The Sand
With political tension rising and the blame game starting between the commanders of the Capital of Yarra and Drakka, Jetakka asks Aloy to take care of the problem.
Objectives
You will have to complete the following objectives in The Wound in the Sand quest in HFW:
- Meet Jetakka at Scalding Spear
- Follow Jetakka
- Follow Yarra
- Scan the Wound in the Sand
- Follow the pipes
- Kill the Machines
- Examine the Corpse
- Follow the pipes
- Find the source of water
- Scan the pump
- Find a way to repair the pump
- Talk to Yarra
- Return to Wound in the Sand
- Talk to the guard
- Go to Yarra’s quarters
You need to meet Jetakka at the Scalding Spear Capital. There you will meet a group of angry city folk arguing with their commander, Yarra, about the rations due to the current water shortage. The position of Yarra as commander is threatened, and Jetakka asks Aloy to help her.
After everyone disperses, Jetakka will lead you to Yarra. Yarra is unhappy to see Aloy and shows distrust as she is reluctant to accept her help. Jetakka persuades her, and she takes Aloy to see the well.
Yarra will lead you to the well or the “Wound” built by the “Old Ones.” You need to scan the base of the Wound, and a pipeline will be revealed to the left of the Wound leading to the outskirts of the Capital.
You will need to follow these pipelines. They cover a lot of distance and change directions, so you need to regularly check the location of the pipes as you move forward. There will be a large wall at the trail’s end, which you need to climb.
Across this wall is a corpse lying on a log in an area swarming with machines, mainly Spikesnouts and Widemaws. Widemaws are vulnerable to Water attacks, while the Spikesnouts are vulnerable to both Fire and Water attacks.
To help ease your fight against these machines, scan them and aim for their weak, yellow components located on their back. Do not worry about your arrows because Yarra will also help you in your fight.
Once you have defeated all the machines, you need to examine the corpse on the log near the wall you just climbed. Yarra believes that this person is one of Drakka’s men, and he is responsible for sabotaging the water, but Aloy says they cannot be so sure.
After defeating the machines and examining the corpse, you need to follow the pipeline once again, so use your focus to locate the pipes and follow the trail. This trail will lead to a few more heights/edges.
Once you climb the first edge after examining the corpse, the objective will change to “Find the source of the water.” After that, you need to climb a few more edges, which lead to a Greenshine Fragment; not far ahead from that is the water tower where the pipeline ends.
Once you enter the tower, you will see a pump right in front of you, which you need to scan with your focus, the lever, and the valve. The lever and wall will serve no use now because we have to find another lever.
Look up, and you should be able to see a beam and a grate on the wall. You’re right! Now comes the parkour part. You need to pull the grating and the beam down with your pullcaster.
Now scan the room to find some edges that you can use to climb up to the beam; these will be highlighted in yellow. Once you enter the vent, which leads to another room, go straight ahead, and you should see a valve that you need to turn. After you turn that valve, turn around and drop down.
Now comes the tricky part. There is a lever ahead of you, and once you pull it down, you are on a clock. You quickly need to turn the valve up above for a second time, and you only have a few seconds to get up and turn it.
To get up, you should use the beam located on the wall, which you again need to pull down using your pullcaster. On one side of the wall should be some ledges (highlighted in yellow by Aloy’s focus) which you will use to climb up to the beam. Once you climb the beam, jump towards the valve and turn it again.
Once you do that, the water problem should be solved. Head back out through the vent you came from and drop down. You now need to talk to Yarra. She will tell you to meet her back at Scalding Spear. You can either run back to Scalding Spear or fast travel there.
Upon reaching the Wound in the Sand, Aloy will be interrupted by guards who will ask her to go to Yarra’s quarters at the top of the tower.
In Yarra’s quarters, she and Drakka are arguing, and Drakka challenges her, which she accepts. Jetakka then asks Aloy to help stop their fighting.
This marks the end of the “The Wound in the Sand” quest and unlocks the “Gates of the Vanquished” quest.
The Wound In The Sand Side Quest Rewards
By completing this side quest, you will get 4750xp and 2x Skill Points.
