How to find every Horizon Forbidden West Tallneck and uncover the map

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A Horizon Forbidden West Tallneck guide will help you find every mega-mech, and tell you what to do with the locked Tallneck probably driving you mad at this point. Each one you override will reveal a chunk of the map, with everyone containing data on the area around it revealing all the various objectives and areas within. By finding and overriding every Tallneck, players will uncover the whole Horizon Forbidden West map and all the locations within it, making these special machines a real priority for anybody who wants to find their way around Horizon Forbidden West. However, all of them require some sort of puzzle or test of skill to override, so we’ve put together this page with all Horizon Forbidden West Tallneck puzzle guides and locations for you to work through. 

All Tallneck Locations in Horizon Forbidden West

There’s a total of six Tallnecks to uncover in Horizon Forbidden West, though at first glance you might think that there’s only five. Tallnecks are revealed clearly from the beginning, visible on the map as little stylised icons of themselves (white, flat-headed quadrupeds with extruding ridges down their back, visually somewhere between a brachiosaurus and Giger’s Alien). 

You don’t have to find them manually or go exploring to have them marked on the map, their locations are revealed as a default for you to go and find. We’ve revealed each one on the map above, but below you can find all the guides for how to specifically climb, access and override each Tallneck to uncover the map around it.

1. The Cinnabar Sands Tallneck

One of the first Horizon Forbidden West Tallnecks you’ll likely come across is circling around a damaged satellite dish, though the dish itself isn’t positioned in such a way to let you jump across to the machine’s neck or head. That can be corrected, but you’ll need to understand some special mechanics in Horizon Forbidden West that you might not have encountered before.

1. Underneath the Satellite dish you’ll see a generator with a battery icon on it which  needs a power cell to start it up.
2. Shoot the ladder on the North side of the Satellite to drop it, and climb up. Head right past the inactive console and leap across to the ladder, climbing further up. 
3. This’ll bring you to a wide platform with another ladder on its South side. Kick it down, but rather than drop off the end, leap to the climbing point on the right side and shuffle round to a device with another battery hologram on it.
4. Interact with the device to pull out a power cell. Carry it and drop down to ground level, then use it on the generator to power up the dish.
5. Climb back up to the console and use it so the dish turns and partially flattens out. Now turn left from the console rather than right, leaping across the gap and climbing up the ladder to the central platform again.
6. The dish is stuck so use your focus to identify two glowing power cables, and destroy them with arrows to let the dish to finish flattening out.
7. Now Aloy can climb up a ladder on the dish’s central support. Walk to one of the edges of the dish, then leap and glide to the Tallneck’s head when it’s close enough.

2. How to override the locked Tallneck in Shining Sands

This locked Tallneck and how to override it will probably bother you for most of the game. It’s marked with a padlock and whenever you try to approach it Aloy will simply state that she can’t climb it. Without spoiling anything, just live with it and move on for the time being. This particular Tallneck is tied to a late stage mission so there’s no climbing it until the story lets you. That won’t happen until you unlock the mission The Wing of the Ten, at that point the machine will be overridden as part of that mission. 

3. The Stillsands Tallneck

The Stillsands Tallneck is damaged and studying the documents in the area revealed that some locals tried to destroy it with ballistas, only to be attacked by machines sent in to protect it from just this kind of interference. However, while their execution was poor, the plan itself is sound. If you want to prioritise hacking this machine then follow the steps below. However, you can skip all of the below steps if you wait until after the mission The Wing of the Ten. If you have the patience, the method of overriding the Tallneck after that is much, much easier. 

1. Clear the area of machines. There’ll be more later, but you want to thin the numbers now before they get overwhelming.
2. Use your focus to scan the Tallneck and identify the weak points. These are fairly obvious glowing blue sections across its neck, body and legs, but make sure you are aware of all of them for what’s next.
3. Find the ballistas. There’s at least four spread around the Tallneck’s path. 
4. Use the ballista and shoot one of the weak glowing points to tie a large anchor to it. Your goal is to use each ballista to put an anchor in each weak point.
5. Each successful shot will summon machines to protect the Tallneck so either sneak around cautiously with smoke bombs or try and just deal with the new wave of machines each time you move to a new ballista.
6. Once you’ve shot anchors into every weak point, the Tallneck will stumble and fall over, so leap onto its head and override it.

4. Cauldron Iota Tallneck

The fourth Tallneck is actually hidden away inside Cauldron Iota. Work your way through the Cauldron to reach the core. It’s here that you find the Cauldron has been trying to make a Tallneck, but it’s gotten stuck. You’ll have to override the core, but the platform that usually lets you exit the Cauldron is being blocked by the Tallneck. 

Next, you’ll have to proceed further into the Cauldron to find the Tallneck’s disc-like head. You’ll then ride the head back until it’s reunited with its body. At this point, you’ll just stand atop the completed Tallneck as it’s lifted into the Forbidden West. Cue dramatic music and very nice panoramic shots. 

5. The Stand of the Sentinels Tallneck

This Tallneck orbits around an abandoned settlement of interlinked treehouses, now occupied by ferocious machines. This one requires a serious climbing puzzle to get to the top, as many of the neck protrusions normally sported by the Tallnecks have broken off, meaning that you need to get to the very top of its head on the first jump. Reaching the lowest ones won’t let you get the ones above – or at least, not directly. It’s a little complicated, but we’ve explained it below clearly and concisely – just remember that whenever you’re not sure about what to do, look for higher ground.

1. Stealth around the machines at ground level or kill them – we recommend the latter, otherwise you might end up having to deal with them anyway.
2. Head to the Southwest corner of the settlement where a ramp leads up to a grapple point to take you into the treehouses.
3. Follow the path around to the North, then left. There’ll be a ladder to kick down.
4. Jump over the ladder and glide across – you can’t reach the platform itself, but the trunk supporting it has a network of climbing points to grab. Clamber around and up.
5. Lower the ladder to the North side in case you fall, then wait for the Tallneck to come round in the gap to the left of that. When it does, leap across onto its neck prongs, wait for it to walk forward a little, then leap across again to the platform on the other side of its path (Aloy will even thank it for the ride).
6. Head East along the platform, kicking down another ladder, then jump across the log struts and up to some ropes you should tightrope across.
7. From here, glide or grapple hook across to the big complex of treehouses to the South. Be warned – there’s machines here dealing high fire damage.
8. Clear out the machines and go to the West part of the treehouses, where they’ll be a ladder to shoot down. Climb up.
9. Take the zipline South, then climb up the tree it puts you in, all the way to the highest point.
10. Three platforms placed side-by-side, each with ramps you can use to jump to the Tallneck when it passes. It’s tricky, but a well-timed jump will let Aloy grab the ridge on the side of its head, finally pulling herself up to the top and letting her override it.

6. Landfall Tallneck 

When you reach Landfall you’ll find a partially submerged Tallneck in the sea, just off the coast. It’s one of the lengthier ones to override as you have to find several parts to repair it first, then find a place where you can jump onto it’s head once it’s moving. Here are the steps to do that. 

1. Swim to the Tallneck and examine it, which will prompt you to head underwater and check out the damage. There are two empty sockets on either side. 
2. You’ll now have to retrieve parts from the Glinthawk nests marked on the map. 
3. At the first site push the crate into the water and use the Pullcaster to pull it near the ladder you can shoot down to reach the nest. 
4. A rope from this roof will let you reach the second nest. 
5. You’ll have to swim to the final site, where you can either go inside the building to find a Pullcaster point to take you to the roof, or you can find a pile of rubble around the side you can jump up. 
6. Once you have all the parts, return to the Tallneck and head underwater to install them. 
7. When the Tallneck is repaired, it will start patrolling around three partially submerged buildings. There’s no obvious way to climb them from outside so explore underwater where you should find a way inside one of the building where stairs lead to the roof. From there jump to one of the Tallneck’s shoulder blades as it passes and climb up.

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