Queen's Gambit

This quest becomes available after completing Traitor’s Bounty. Head to the marked campfire and speak with Three-Toe Huadiv. He’ll tell you how he barely survived a rockbreaker encounter. This machine is stalking the grounds of the pass they’re supposed to be clearing so its up to you to clear it yourself.

Since the pass is narrow, you’ll have to engage the rockbreaker at dangerously close range. Like other rockbreaker encounters, you have to destroy the componets on its limbs to disable its burrowing ability. The tearblaster works excellently well at this range; just be prepared to evade often.

Once you successfully disable the limbs, you can now proceed in attacking its weak points; the sac on its belly or the exhaust fins on the back. After defeating the rockbreaker, loot the parts and carcass then report back to Huadiv to his disbelief.

Next, rest at the campfire to trigger the cutscene. Vanesha will arrive with the prince and his mother in tow. After the scene, you have a small amount of time to prepare an ambush for the pursuing cultists and their corrupted machines. This is just a small contingent but it will help laying down tripwires and traps along the main path to make the job a lot easier.

After taking out the first wave of cultists, talk to Vanesha to update the objective. Do not recover your remaining traps yet; you’ll need them in a short while. The second wave of cultists will arrive, including a corrupted thunderjaw. While you have two carja soldiers as escorts, they won’t last long against the even more powerful machine. However, if you’re hunting thunderjaws easily at this point, then you’ll be able to defeat this one with the same tactics, albeit a bit longer because of its enhanced HP and defense. There are also human cultists that will join the fray but they won’t be as dangerous as the Thunderjaw

You should have any of the rare ropecasters, then you can use it to tie down the thunderjaw. Switch to your tearblaster or sharpshot bow with tearblast arrows and target the disc launchers on its sides. Once you get them removed, take out the two head cannons as well. Repeat the method of tying it down and if there nearby cultists, take them out as well while the thunderjaw is struggling. Use the disc launchers to deal heavy damage, especially if you manage to hit the exposed heat core of the machine. Don’t let your guard down and avoid taking damage as much as possible. A full charge damage of this corrupted thunderjaw can instantly kill you, if you don’t have enough HP even at max health.

After defeating the thunderjaw, catch up with the others. After the cutscene, the quest will be complete.

Video Walkthrough

Breaking the rockbreaker

Cultish ambush

Corrupted thunderjaw

Shadow meets the Sun once more