The Shellsnapper is a Combat Class machine in the Horizon Zero Dawn comic book and Horizon Forbidden West.

History

Development

The Shellsnapper, being a Combat Class machine, were designed and produced by the rogue AI known as HEPHAESTUS during the Derangement. They were one of many kinds of 'hunter-killers' whose sole purpose was to kill humans. It was equipped with a shell that absorbs attacks, converting the energy from them into its own attacks.^[1]

While Shellsnappers are primarily found in the Forbidden West, one has been encountered in the Sundom.^[2][3]

Horizon Zero Dawn (comic series)

Some time after the Battle of the Alight, Talanah Khane Padish and Amadis Beit Raveesh encountered a Shellsnapper in an underground lake near Sunbreak Valley, where it was seemingly guarding the entrance to a Cauldron. After a huge fight against the two hunters and the Burnished Sons, the Shellsnapper was finally defeated by Talanah.^[2][3]

Horizon Forbidden West

Much later, Talanah and Aloy encountered and killed a Shellsnapper while looking for Amadis.^[4]

A Shellsnapper was used to test the Gauntlet given from Boomer.^[5]

While searching for salvage under Runda's contract, Aloy stumbled across a Shellsnapper while attempting to retrieve it but she was successfully able to destroy it.

Appearance

The Shellsnapper resembles an enormous snapping turtle. Its main body is mostly unarmored, with an armored, flat skull akin to a turtle on an extendable neck, four big legs with minimal armor, a pair of Chillwater sacs and multiple ground drills on its underbelly, and a short, stout tail.

The bulk of this machine comes from its shell: a massive, circular, heavily armored piece that nearly covers the whole machine and is blue with energy, which will turn orange if enough damage is applied to it and can be covered in foliage depending on how long it sits. Along the shell are four connection bolts that keep the shell on, with two extra on a smaller, elevated area behind the shell, and four frost blasters, capable of spewing a frosty mist or shooting frost grenades.

Under the shell are four plasma generators that make plasma attacks, a few Sparkers, many refining cores, and a kinetic dynamo in the center that serves as the reason the Shellsnapper's shell turns damage to energy and is only exposed as a weak spot when the main shell is completely off.

Behavior

This machine guards the shores and swamps of the Forbidden West. It can dig itself in and lie dormant for weeks, during which its impenetrable shell can become covered by the surrounding foliage.^[6] Despite this, it is capable of readying itself for battle in moments, effectively ambushing intruders.^[7]

Abilities

Despite its size, the Shellsnapper is quite fast, and capable of leaping. It seems to be able to stretch its neck a small amount in order to bite opponents, similar to real-life snapping turtles. It is also capable of firing a power blast at targets, mainly frost balls. Not only is its shell capable of withstanding powerful attacks, but as it takes damage, it will build up a large amount of energy, and after a few more attacks, will release as a large burst, capable of stunning multiple hunters.

Weaknesses

The Shellsnapper cannot get energy from arrow attacks, and destroying the shell bolts removes a big section of the shell, exposing the plasma generator. When the main shell is fully off, the kinetic dynamo is exposed, providing a exploitable weakspot. Shooting the Chillwater sacs disables the Shellsnapper's frost blast attacks. The frost cannons can be torn off and used as a weapon. However, the Shellsnapper's resistance to frost damage renders the cannons next to useless.

Attacks

Name	Stance	Trigger Range	Windup Time	Damage	Description
Snap Bite	Grounded Shell Camouflage	8m - 10m	Short	Snap Bite: 176 Melee Ice Cloud: 44 Ranged, 44, 36 buildup	Gathers Frost in mouth before stretching neck and snapping jaws shut, generating a shockwave and columns of icicles that extend attack reach. Frost damage disabled when Drenched.
Forward Slash	Grounded Camouflaged	6m - 22m	Medium	Forward Slash: 176 Melee Ice Cloud: 44 Ranged, 44, 44 buildup	Swipes with front claws, generating a trail of icicles that extend attack reach. Frost damage disabled when Drenched.
Backward Slash	Grounded	10m - 22m	Medium	Backward Slash: 176 Melee Ice Cloud: 44 Ranged, 44, 44 buildup	Quick slash with hind legs and generates icicles that extend attack reach. Frost damage disabled when Drenched.
Tail Crack	Grounded Camouflaged	0m - 11m	Short	209 Melee 209 150 buildup	Lunges backward and whips tail from side to side, generating a Frost explosion and a trail of icicles at the end of the swing. Can follow up two more times if it misses.
Springing Belly Flop	Grounded/Burrowed	0m - 30m	Medium	329 Melee Crushed 50	Springs in air and flops on belly to crush target, generating a shockwave and Tremor effect on impact along with a trail of icicles from its tail. Attack disabled when Slowed.
Freeze Blaster	Grounded/Burrowed	20m - 50m	Medium	Freeze Blaster: 80 Ranged, 80, 114 buildup Damage Areas: 10/s, 10/s buildup	Fires a series of 3 Frost orbs that explodes on impact and generates a trail of icicles. Attack disabled when Drenched.
Tracking Cryo Blast	Grounded	0m - 13m	Short	55/s 36/s buildup	Uses Frost Blasters to spray Chillwater and generate residual Frost damage areas on the ground. Attack disabled when Drenched.
Tracking Burst	Grounded	12m - 75m	Short	225 Ranged	Fires an artillery round from a Frost Blaster.
Deafening Roar	Grounded	9m - 50m	Medium	Deafened	Lets out a powerful roar that causes the Deafened status.
Belly Flop/Power Belly Flop	Grounded	6m - 15m	Medium	400 Melee Crushed 50	Rises on hind legs and flops down on its belly, generating a large shockwave on impact.
Power Blaster	Grounded	25m - 60m	Long	Power Blaster: 100/s Ranged End Explosion: 540 Ranged	Fires a powerful laser beam for 3 seconds before finishing with a explosion expanding from the point of impact.

Components

Shellsnapper

Image	Name	Description	Attributes
	Body	Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems.	None
	Processing Capsule	Resource and materials storage for internal functions. Tear off to collect its contents.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
	Energy Shield Shell	Invulnerable shell. Absorbs the energy from all damage to power its most devastating attacks. Remove by detaching the Shell Bolts.	Indestructible Detachable Ability Removal Destroyed When Killed
	Shell Bolt	Energy Shield Shell fasteners. Detach or destroy to remove the shell and expose vulnerable components beneath.	Detachable Ability Removal Key Upgrade Resource
	Frost Blaster	A mid-range heavy weapon that sprays powerful blasts of Frost in a broad cone.	Detachable Attack Removal Persists When Killed Useable Weapon
	Plasma Generator	Highly protected power source. Destroy to cause a Plasma explosion and disable Plasma attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass.	Explosive Attack Removal Persists When Killed Contains Resources If Intact
	Sparker	Shock storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with a Shock Arrow to detonate.	Chain Reaction Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
	Refining Core	Internal resource storage. Only accessible after protective armor plates have been removed. Tear off to collect its contents.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
	Kinetic Dynamo	Highly protected kinetic energy storage used to build up power for the most damaging attacks. Vulnerable to damage if exposed.	Indestructible Weak Spot
	Chillwater Sac	Chillwater storage. Destroy to disable Frost attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass.	Explosive Attack Removal Persists When Killed Contains Resources If Intact
	Resource Container	Storage container for valuable resources. Tear off to collect its contents.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed

Apex Shellsnapper

Image	Name	Description	Attributes
	Body	Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems.	None
	Processing Capsule	Resource and materials storage for internal functions. Tear off to collect its contents.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
	Energy Shield Shell	Invulnerable shell. Absorbs the energy from all damage to power its most devastating attacks. Remove by detaching the Shell Bolts.	Indestructible Detachable Ability Removal Destroyed When Killed
	Shell Bolt	Energy Shield Shell fasteners. Detach or destroy to remove the shell and expose vulnerable components beneath.	Detachable Ability Removal Key Upgrade Resource
	Frost Blaster	A mid-range heavy weapon that sprays powerful blasts of Frost in a broad cone.	Detachable Attack Removal Persists When Killed Useable Weapon
	Plasma Generator	Highly protected power source. Destroy to cause a Plasma explosion and disable Plasma attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass.	Explosive Attack Removal Persists When Killed Contains Resources If Intact
	Acid Canister	Metalbite storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with an Acid Arrow to detonate.	Chain Reaction Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
	Refining Core	Internal resource storage. Only accessible after protective armor plates have been removed. Tear off to collect its contents.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
	Kinetic Dynamo	Highly protected kinetic energy storage used to build up power for the most damaging attacks. Vulnerable to damage if exposed.	Indestructible Weak Spot
	Chillwater Sac	Chillwater storage. Destroy to disable Frost attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass.	Explosive Attack Removal Persists When Killed Contains Resources If Intact
	Resource Container	Storage container for valuable resources. Tear off to collect its contents.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed

Loot

Gallery

See Shellsnapper/Gallery

Trivia

• The Shellsnapper is the only large machine introduced in Horizon Forbidden West that is not part of the main quest.
• Shellsnappers were shown to have aquatic capabilities in the announcement trailer for Horizon Forbidden West and the Horizon Zero Dawn comic series, though they are never seen using aquatic capabilities in-game.

References

1. ↑ Description of the Shellsnapper in the notebook in Horizon Forbidden West.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Horizon Zero Dawn: The Sunhawk 3
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Horizon Zero Dawn: The Sunhawk 4
4. ↑ The Burning Blooms
5. ↑ Boom or Bust
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/Guerrilla/status/1276228808236990465 Guerrilla on Twitter: "Meet the Machines!"
7. ↑ Horizon Zero Dawn #4, page 1

Wiki Navigation

Machines
Acquisition Class	Bilegut - Bristleback - Broadhead - Charger - Clamberjaw - Fanghorn - Fireclaw - Frostclaw - Glinthawk - Grazer - Lancehorn - Plowhorn - Rockbreaker - Scrapper - Scrounger - Snapmaw - Spikesnout - Stingspawn - Strider - Sunwing - Tideripper - Trampler - Waterwing - Widemaw
Chariot	Horus
Combat Class	Clawstrider - Corruptor - Deathbringer - Dreadwing - Grimhorn - Ravager - Sawtooth - Scorcher - Shellsnapper - Slaughterspine - Slitherfang - Specter - Specter Prime - Stalker - Stormbird - Thunderjaw - Tremortusk
Communications Class	Tallneck (HZD only)
Recon Class	Burrower - Longleg - Redeye Watcher - Skydrifter - Tallneck - Watcher
Transport Class	Behemoth - Bellowback - Leaplasher - Rollerback - Shell-Walker
Unknown Class	Bloodbeak - Control Tower - Defense Drone - Dreadclaw
Variants	Apex Machine - Corrupted Machine - Daemonic Machine