Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores Cauldron THETA walkthrough
Can you face the heat and beat this Cauldron?
Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is the only Cauldron that has been added as part of the DLC. However, it's filled with puzzles to solve, machines to fight and lava to avoid.
Just like the ones in the main game, the Cauldron in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores will test your skills with the various pieces of equipment Aloy has picked up on her adventures.
With the potential to override machines beckoning you, you don't need to wait much longer. We're going to show you how to complete Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores and the completion rewards you can look forward to at the end.
On this page:
- Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores Cauldron THETA Location
- How to find the entrance for Cauldron THETA
- How to cross the first platforms in Cauldron THETA
- How to get the crate to the pressure pad
- How to find the crate for the pressure pad
- How to ride the floating platform
- How to deactivate the shield wall
- How to get through the Stingspawn Egg area
- How to get into the core of Cauldron THETAs
- How to beat the Bileguts
- Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores Cauldron THETA rewards explained
Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores Cauldron THETA Location
In Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, Cauldron THETA can be found on the eastern side of the Burning Shores, slightly north of Pangea Park.
We've marked its exact location on the map below:
However, you cannot enter the Cauldron via its main doors where the icon is on the map but you will still need to go here to be able to find the entrance.
How to find the entrance for Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
When you get to the location of Cauldron THETA, you should be able to see the Cauldron Doors and a Fireclaw prowling around outside of them.
As you already know that the doors are not the true entrance for THETA, you can avoid fighting the Fireclaw entirely by using a Flying Mount to hover above the main doors. All you have to do right now is face the sealed Cauldon Doors.
Once you are facing them on your Flying Mount, begin to fly to the left of the Cauldron and follow the lava fissure in the ground below you. A Scorcher will be pacing up and down the fissure too, so if you see this then you're in the right place.
Keep slowly following the fissure from the sky until you see a large opening appear that's surrounded by tall walls near the end of the fissure itself. It will look like this:
Land your Flying Mount here and head into the opening, this is the entrance to Cauldron THETA.
Need some help getting through the Burning Shores DLC? Check our out main quest guides that show you how to disrupt the tower weapon, find the door code in Heaven and Earth, how to find the words of Attainment, disable the lockdown, and how to find the Armory and open the Volcano doors. If it's a side quest you're stuck on, take a look at our a Splinter Within and a Friend in the Dark walkthroughs. We also have guides that show you all aerial capture locations, plus a Cauldron THETA and Murmuring Hollow walkthrough too.
How to cross the first platforms in Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Once you are inside the Cauldron, keep following the path forward. When you come to the first gap, you'll simply need to use your Shieldwing to glide across to the next platform. Once you are here, follow the path forward and you should see a door that's surrounded by eggs (don't worry, these ones aren't active).
Override the door and continue following the path to the next area.
Along this path, you will come to a gap between platforms that Aloy cannot jump or simply glide across. However, pay attention here, as how you cross this gap will become very important further into the Cauldron.
To cross this gap, wait for the machine floating above you to drop a Chillwater Canister onto the semi-solid lava below you. The canister will break and create an updraft for a few seconds.
Jump off the platform at the right time and use your Shieldwing above the updraft to get a boost. This boost will allow you to float across to the next platform.
Follow the path again and the quest marker should guide you into the next area where your first big puzzle awaits. Also, a lot of machines are waiting here for you too.
How to get the crate to the pressure pad in Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
In the next area, you'll need to find a way to permanently push down the pressure sensor outside the door at the back to be able to pass through it. To do this, you will need to get the large Crate across the area, but there's no simple way of doing this. You will need to make several bridges and deal with a few machines along the way.
How to make the first bridge
There are Redeye Watchers, Leaplashers and Stingspawn are hanging out in this area. Before you do anything else, we highly recommend taking them out. This will make solving the puzzle a lot easier, and it means that you will be able to deal with another wave of enemies later on without being overwhelmed.
When all of the machines are down, head back to the doorway where you entered this area from and face the main platform in the middle of the room.
From here, pan the camera up and look to your right. You should see another machine carrying a Chillwater Canister crossing above you. Look below the path that this machine takes and you should see more of the semi-solid lava.
Stand on the lava below the machine, slightly further back than the area you want the canister to drop in, and shoot the canister on the machine to make it drop onto the lava.
There are different types of flooring in this area. Some is the semi-solid lava that will set off the canisters, but the rest of it is normal floor. You must get the canister to drop onto the lava, or it won't erupt.
The canister will eventually erupt into another updraft if you do get it in the right place. Once it does this, jump into it and activate your Shieldwing to get a boost. You then need to glide to the platform nearest to the updraft. (If you're facing towards the platform in the middle, it will be the platforms against the wall on your right. You should also see a large Crate on them).
There may be another machine up here, take it down however you want to and then look around the platform until you see a Network Uplink node on the edge of it.
Walk to this node and override it to create the first bridge to the platform in the middle.
How to make the second bridge
To make the second bridge, head back to the entrance to this area and face the platform in the middle again. Look down and to the left of the platform. Again, you should see some semi-solid lava covering the floor and a machine carrying a Chillwater Canister passing above it.
As you did before, shoot the canister down onto the lava to make an updraft and use your Shieldwing to ride the updraft onto the platforms. The platforms you want to aim for will have a large shielded opening at the back of them.
It's worth noting that it's possible to do this from the middle platform too, but we found it easier to get the drop location right doing it this way.
Then, simply look for the Network Uplink node and override it to make the second bridge that leads to the middle platform.
How to make the third bridge
When you've finished overriding the second node, stay on the same platform and turn around until you see the shielded opening.
From here, walk towards the shielded opening and then turn to your right. You should see a ramp leading up to a slightly higher area of this platform. Follow the ramp until you come to the edge of it.
When you look across from the edge of this platform, you should be level with the currently locked doors. If you can see this, you're in the right place. If you can't, then look around until you're facing the direction of your quest marker.
From the edge of this platform, look down. Again, you should see yet more semi-solid lava and, you guessed it, a machine carrying a Chillwater Canister will be passing over above it.
Shoot the canister to get it to drop onto the lava, and ride the updraft across to the locked door. However, you cannot get into it just yet. There's still more to do.
Face the big doors and look to the left of them. You should see a small path leading down into a darker area. If you haven't taken it out already, there may be a Redeye Watcher lurking here.
Head down to this area and you should find the final Network Uplink node. Override it to create the last bridge you need to get the crate.
How to find the crate for the pressure pad in Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Now that you've made the bridges, you need to get the crate across them. When facing the middle platform from the entrance to this area, the crate is on the highest part of the platform on the right.
Grab the crate and begin to push it across the pathway you've made with the bridges.
When you reach the middle platform, a wave of machines will appear. Deal with them, then continue to push the crate across your pathway until you reach the pressure pad outside the big doors.
Push the crate onto the pressure pad until it lights up, then let go of it and the big doors should now be open.
How to ride the floating platform in Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Follow the path laid out by the quest marker and use the zipline to drop down into the next area. This is where you will come across the floating platform, the only truly safe way of traversing the bubbling lava down here.
Walk closer to the floating platform and use your Grapple to pull yourself onto the platform.
The platform itself can move in several directions:
- North
- North east
- East
- South east
- South
- South west
- West
- North west
The top of the platform is divided into sections. The sections represent the direction they will move the platform in if Aloy stands on them.
If you find yourself going in the wrong direction, then simply switch to another direction by changing where you're standing.
Now, in this area, you need to guide the platform north towards the quest marker and around the blockage in the middle of the lava. You can simply do this by guiding the platform slightly west to get around it.
Keep going until you hit the shield that prevents you from going any further. You will now need to find a way to bring the shield wall down.
How to deactivate the shield wall in Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
While you are on the floating platform, face the shield wall that blocks your path and then look to your left. You should see some climbing holds leading up towards the ceiling.
Guide your platform beneath these holds, then jump up and grab onto the first one. Then, follow the path of the holds until you reach the first platform. On here, pulse scan with your Focus and you should see the next holds appear near the left side of this platform.
Continue climbing up here until you reach the next platform where the climbing holds end.
Walk to the edge of this platform until you see this opposite you:
Getting across here is pretty simple. If you wait for a moment, you should see moving platforms float past you with eggs on them. All you need to do is to jump onto one of these platforms, run across it, and then jump up to the platform opposite you.
Follow the platform into the next area and it will be pretty dark in here. Pulse scan with your Focus and look up. You should see a climbing hold above you and machines carrying Chillwater Canisters crossing over above you every so often.
Like you did in the earlier chamber, shoot the machine, get the canister to drop onto the lava below the climbing hold and ride the updraft up to the hold for the platform itself. This may take a few attempts.
Then, when you are on the upper platform, turn around on yourself until you see another platform opposite you.
Jump across here and use your grapple to pull yourself up onto the next ledge. You should see another door on you right. Override this and follow the path through to an area filled with Stingspawn Eggs. Be on your guard in this next section, many of the Eggs are active.
How to get through the Stingspawn Egg area in Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Now, there are two ways you can go about getting out of this area. One, you can stick around and fight all of the Eggs that spawn Stingspawn. Two, you can do what we did, which is run and keep running until you reach the door.
If you want to run, then here's how to get through this place quickly.
Glide down from the raised platform into this area, then turn around until your view looks like this:
Then, head forwards and up the path on the left. Follow this path up and around. Stick to the left side of the path and keep running until you hit another locked door.
This door is surrounded by Eggs, so you don't have much of a choice but to fight them all off. However, you can attack the Eggs that have blue lights on them to kill the Stingspawn before they hatch.
Once you've got a gap between waves of Stingspawn, override the door and follow the path until you come to a rappel point. Use this to get down into the next area.
Continue to follow the path until you come across another Network Uplink node. Override this to deactivate the shield that was previously blocking your path with the floating platform.
How to get into the core of Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Now, follow the quest marker back to the room with the floating platform in it and continue to guide the platform across the lava. Following your quest marker for this section is the easiest thing to do.
Eventually, you won't be able to use the platform to get any further. When you get to this point, drop down and follow the quest marker until you reach the edge of a platform.
You should see a large opening in the structure opposite you. This is the entrance to the Cauldron's Core. All you have to do now is use your Shieldwing to glide through that opening and into the core itself.
How to beat the Bilegut in Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Now, when you get into here, you need to head to the core in the middle of the room. Start to override it to start the final part of this Cauldron. A Bilegut will make a grand entrance into the Core and you'll need to defeat it.
Here are a few tips that can help you defeat the Bilegut in this Cauldron:
- Plasma and Purgewater - The Bilegut is weak to Plasma and Purgewater damage, so using any and weapons that inflict these two types of damage is ideal.
- Use Advanced Purgewater Traps - If you have them, then using Advanced Purgewater Traps is uesful. The Bilegut is a big machine, so the basic traps don't seem to have too much of an effect on them - but the advanced ones do.
- Remove its Armor - The weak spots on this Bilegut area partially covered with armor. You can try to remove it using basic arrow types, but using Tearblast Arrows will speed the process along. Once you remove the armor, the weak spots are easier to get to.
- Tag the Bilegut - This machine can leap out of sight and reappear really quickly. If you scan and tag them, not only will you see its weak spots, but you will also be able to keep track of where it is to avoid any surprise attacks.
- Keep Moving - The Bilegut can jump up and land on you. This will crush you and take a large chunk of your health away. The easiest way to avoid this attack is to constantly move, especially if you see the Bilegut jump up.
- Deal with the Stingspawn - Around midway through the fight, some Stingspawn will appear. As tempting as it is to ignore them, you should really get rid of them. They can overwhelm you and make it much easier for the Bilegut to wound you, so it's easier to clear them out before focusing on the big one again.
- Use Smoke Bombs - Use Smoke Bombs to hide from the Bilegut for a few seconds. This can give you the chance to heal, load a weapon, place more traps or simply catch a breather to plan your next move.
Once you beat the Bilegut and have looted all the resources you need from it, head back to the Core and override it again to complete Cauldron THETA
Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores Cauldron THETA rewards explained
Once you complete Cauldron THETA in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, you will be able to get your hands on these rewards:
- Override - Bilegut
- 12,500 XP
- Skill Points
It may not be a lot of rewards for completing the Cauldron, but being able to override a Bilegut and watch it hop around like a big mechanical frog is quite entertaining.
That's it for this Cauldron, but if you want to indulge in more side-adventures from the DLC, then check out our Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores A Splinter Within walkthrough or our guide showing you All Aerial Capture Locations.