Horizon Zero Dawn: The Point of the Spear - Fire Arrows, Bowcaster, Tripcaster, and how to beat Sawtooth

Horizon Zero Dawn's The Point of the Spear follows on a few years from the events of your last main quest, Lessons of the Wild, where Aloy is now an adult, and apparently pretty good at what she does now, too.

Your first task as grown up Aloy is to track down Rost, who seems to have wandered off just a couple of days before your big moment, the Proving.

If you're after help for other parts of the game, consult our complete Horizon Zero Dawn walkthrough and guide.

How to get the Fire Arrows and Bowcaster in The Point of the Spear

Follow the waypoint until you reach a small cliff face with a yellow object sticking out - this is an Uncharted-style hint that you can climb the surface, which is done by holding down the X button and pointing upwards with Left Analog. There, you'll find Rost, who's bothered by something and happens to have one final lesson for you ahead of the Proving.

Your immediate task is to gather some components for Fire Arrows, and go pick up a Tripcaster from a trader friend of yours called Karst, before meeting Rost at the North Gate to deal with this apparent disruption.

• Fire Arrows - the components for these, Blaze and Shards, are found from a herd of Striders nearby, marked on your map with a waypoint. Take them down however you like, but your best bet is stealthy attacks from the long grass nearby, so as to avoid spooking the herd and attracting the multiple Watchers nearby.
• Bowcaster - this is acquired from Karst, over in a nearby settlement in the South-East, again marked on your map. He asks for a component, a Watcher Lens, in the trade, which you'll already have in your bag, so you can complete either of these tasks in whatever order you like.

With those tasks out of the way, you're ready to meet Rost and tackle this problem outside the North Gate. It turns out you need to wait at the nearby campfire for nightfall - which is done by saving in this case - before you can head out.

How to beat the Sawtooth

After the cutscene, it's time to tackle this rather large beast, known as a Sawtooth, that seems something like an oversized sabre-toothed tiger. This will do major damage to you if it gets close enough, so your best bet is a combination of stealth, dodging, and traps from your new Tripcaster.

For more tips, explainers and advice on Horizon be sure to check out our main Horizon Zero Dawn guide and walkthrough hub, which includes advice for things like Horizon Zero Dawn's override Cauldrons and which machines they let you control, getting hold of the Golden Fast Travel Pack for unlimited fast travel, finding and unlocking the very powerful Horizon Zero Dawn Shield Weave Armour and Power Cell locations, and then for DLC players there's our main Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Wilds walkthrough and guide, a page on how to earn Bluegleam quickly, and finally, a page on the handy A Secret Shared quest and how to upgrade your spear in Horizon Frozen Wilds.

It's also weak to fire - hence the Fire Arrows quest - so use the Tripcaster to stun the Sawtooth for several seconds, then fire off a few shots and reposition to do it again. Remember you can craft on the fly and likely have the required components, so keep restocking yourself on ammo as you go.

With the Sawtooth down, rummage through it for components and another cutscene is triggered, as Rost has some lessons for you once again. It's time for your next quest in the main story, Mother's Heart.

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