Horizon Forbidden West - Ultra Hard "No Upgrades" - Cauldron Gemini (Slaughterspine)

Full run playlist here:    • Horizon Forbidden West Ultra Hard No Upgra...   For run rules see part 1:    • Horizon Forbidden West - Ultra Hard "No Up...   I gave up on restricting myself to "Story Mission" weapons. I had violated the rule early on by purchasing the Slicing Shredder Gauntlet anyway, so it wasn't worth continuing to push my limits. I couldn't find an exploitable spot in this arena, and even if I had the Slaughterspine's Plasma attacks would likely have overcome any hiding holes, particular the attack where he summons plasma from underneath your location (which is a cheating attack and I don't like it). 0:40 For the fight itself, you want to keep a good buffer between you and the Slaughterspine. If he gets close his attacks will put you in stunlock and there's often no way to recover, so never let him close the gap for long. 2:20 This is exactly where you don't want to be. It's early enough in the fight that I play it risky here and hope I get out alive. If this had happened later on, I would have used a Smoke Bomb as a panic button. 4:55 At this point I'm out of Piercing Shredders so I switch to Lightning Shredders. These don't do as much damage on the fourth hit, but they're still a good option for the third hit. Really I should have crafted more Piercing Shredders, though, they're the way to go here. 6:30 I notice the Slaughterspine is sparking and injured and I don't want to lose at this point, so I use a Smoke Bomb and restock my Berries from a chest. 8:45 Let's break down the new weapons I've purchased: Thunderbolt Shredder Gauntlet - Purchased in Thornmarsh requiring a Behemoth Circulator, which can be purchased from Danur (   • Horizon Forbidden West - Ultra Hard "No Up...  ). This weapon does the heavy lifting for this battle, as each unit of ammo can deal so much total damage as long as you catch the majority of your tosses. The Ancestor's Return is easy to obtain (completing all Relic Ruins) and might be a better alternative, but for now I'm avoiding awards from side missions. Vanguard Hunter Bow - Purchased in Thornmarsh requiring a Tideripper Circulator, which I received from the boss fight. This bow comes with Advanced Hunter Arrows and has +15% Overdraw damage. I considered the Seeker Hunter Bow instead, but I don't think basic Frost Arrows will be effective on Ultra Hard. Barrage Blastsling - Purchased in Lowland's path requiring a Sunwing CIrculator, which can be bought from Runda/Handa. This gives me access to Advanced Explosive Bombs and Cluster Bombs, neither of which I will likely craft in battle as they are too expensive, but the initial stock is a good grip of damage. Siege Blastsling - Purchased in Scalding Spear requiring a Ravager Circulator, obtained from Runda/Handa. This gives me access to Explosive Bombs, which like the bombs above is free ammo I won't refill. Scalding Spike Thrower - Purchased at the Maw of the Arena (regular Hunter vendor) requiring a Spikesnout Circulator, obtained from Runda/Handa. This gets me access to Drill Spikes. These only require Metal Bones and Piercing Spikes to craft, so they don't conflict with my arrow ammo types (but the Spikes conflict with Shredder ammo). They're great at causing Knockdowns. The following weapons are in my inventory but haven't seen active use yet: Elite Ropecaster - Purchased in Thornmarsh requiring an Elemental Clawstrider Circulator, which can be purchased from Danur. Since I didn't use this in Gemini where it would have been most useful, it may never seen use. Only solo boss fights remain now. Delta Sharpshot Bow - Purchased in Thornmarsh requiring a Clamberjaw Circulator, which can be purchased from Danur. I bought this weapon to see if Strikethrough Arrows will help against Regalla. Warden Sharpshot Bow - This bow was purchased as an Arena reward with 54 Hunting Medals. This was my easiest access to Advanced Precision Arrows. I won't be using many of these as they have a bad Machine Muscle-to-Damage ratio, but having them means I can carry the initial four into fights. I could have skipped this and waited for Regalla's Wrath, which will eclipse it. Glowblast Spike Thrower - Purchased as an Arena reward with 54 Hunting Medals. This gives access to Advanced Explosive Spikes. I likely won't ever craft this ammo but I'm using the few that it comes with. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to allow the Hunting Grounds weapons, as I'm torn on whether or not they count as "Side Quests" or "purchases". For now I'm avoiding "side content" rewards. To obtain the necessary 108 Hunting Medals, I completed the following Hunting Ground challenges: Silent Looting Trial (Plainsong) Silent Strike Trial (Plainsong) Silent Gliding Trial (Plainsong) Tear Trial (Daunt) Shock Trial (Daunt) Shredder Catch Trial (Sheerside) These trials are all very easy even without upgrades and gets you enough medals for a couple of rewards from the Arena, but you'll have to complete this quest first:    • Horizon Forbidden West - Ultra Hard "No Up...