Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores A Friend In The Dark walkthrough
How to complete the A Friend in the Dark side quest in Murmuring Hollow.
A Friend in the Dark side quest in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a quest that you stumble upon after completing a Relic Ruin. A mysterious voice follows you throughout the Burning Shores ruin, and this quest reveals who that is, and why on earth they are stuck there.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores takes Aloy to a new area of the Forbidden West, and one that introduces new friends, challenges, and machines for her to fight. However, hidden deep in one of the ruins is someone who sounds awfully familiar...
Without further ado, we're going to show you how to complete the A Friend in the Dark quest in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores.
Spoiler Warning: This is a walkthrough for a side quest in the Burning Shores DLC for Horizon Forbidden West. This guide may contain spoilers for the quest itself if you are not already on it and for the Frozen Wilds DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn.
On this page:
- How to start the A Friend in the Dark quest in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
- How to find the first Door Code
- How to get to the Key and Code locked door
- How to find the Code and Key
- How to climb up on top of the Train Car
- Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores A Friend in the Dark rewards explained
How to start the A Friend in the Dark quest in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
To start the 'A Friend in the Dark' quest in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, you need to have completed the Murmuring Hollow Relic Ruins.
Once you complete these Relic Ruins, you will be in a room where you collect the Relic on your left and there will be a locked door almost directly next to this.
Go back to the area outside of this room where the Train Car has half fallen off of the edge of the ruin, and grab the Energy Cell from the front of it.
Then, take the Energy Cell back to the room with the locked door and place it in the compartment to the right of the door. The door will then open. Head inside the room past the door and take the Key Module in the middle of it.
Exit the Key room and the Relic room, back to the area where the Train Cars are and head over to the Locked Door on the other side of the area. Use the Key Module on the console to the left of the door and it will open.
When the doors open, the person behind the mysterious voice will be revealed and you will begin the 'A Friend in the Dark' quest.
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 find the first Door Code for the A Friend in the Dark quest in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
The person behind the voice is none other than an old friend of Aloy's, an Oseram called Gildun. They may be a familiar face for you if you've previously delved into the Frozen Wilds DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn.
After Gildun finishes talking, follow them until you reach a locked door. The door needs a code, and luckily this one is pretty easy to find.
When you're at the door, go back through the tunnel you followed Gildun through to get to this point and you should come across a Datapoint around halfway through the tunnel.
Scan the Datapoint and the date mentioned in the text is the clue for the code. The date is January 17, which means the three digit Door Code is 117.
Head back to the door and put the code into the panel to the left hand side. Then, follow Gildun into the next room. This is where the majority of this quest takes place, so be prepared to be in here for a while.
When you are in the room, follow the stairs down to your left and walk over to the stone ramp in the center of the room. If you look up while standing on the ramp, you should see another locked door on the level above.
Aloy cannot reach the climb hold for the door by simply jumping, you will need to find a way to boost her up.
How to get to the Key and Code locked door in the A Friend in the Dark quest in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores.
From standing on the stone ramp in the room and facing the locked door on the next level, look across to your right until you see another Train Car tucked away in the shadows.
Walk over here and at the end of the Train Car you should see a railing. Grab onto it and wait for Gildun to join you. Then, once Gildun is there, push the Train Car until it cannot go any further.
Look to your left, an opening to a new area with a Crate inside of it should have been revealed.
Grab the Crate and pull or push it over to the top of the stone ramp in the middle of the room. Then, climb up onto it and jump over to the climbing hold to pull yourself up to the locked door.
Once at the door, Aloy will then realise the door needs both a Key and a Code to unlock it.
How to find the Code and Key in the A Friend in the Dark quest in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Face the locked door and then look to your left. Follow the tracks here into the darkness and then look to your left again. You should see another room with hologram displays in it.
In this room, look to your left again and you should see a Grate covering a Vent. Use your Pullcaster to pull the Grate open and then climb into the Vent.
Keep walking through the Vent until you drop down into the next room.
For the next part, you will need Gildun with you so you need to find a way to get them up to where you are.
How to get Gildun to your level
To do this, stand by the Train Car on the level you are on and do a Pulse Scan with your Focus. Then, look to your right. You should see some climbing holds that lead across to the other side of the room.
Follow the climbing path until you drop down on the other side of the room. Now, you should see a small open area connected to the platform you're on and the area will have a Datapoint in it.
Scan the Datapoint here and you will find out that the Door Code is 1247.
After that, turn back around on yourself and come out of that room. You should see a Grate covering an object on the edge of the platform you are on.
Use your Pullcaster to pull the Grate off of this, and it will reveal a Mount Wheel. Walk up to this and interact with it to find out that this wheel moves the elevator. Wait for Gildun to get into the elevator (the red room on the ground floor opposite you). Once Gildun is in, hold your movement control to the right to bring Gildun up to your floor.
When Gildun is safely out, let go of the Mount Wheel and climb back across to where they're standing. Then, together, grab the railing on the rear of the Train Cart and push it as far as it will go.
How to climb up on top of the Train Car in the A Friend in the Dark quest in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
Once you can't push it any further, you will then need to find a way to climb onto the roof of the Train Car.
To do this, use your Shieldwing to glide back down to the lower level and you need to grab the Crate on the stone ramp.
Pull the Crate into the elevator and then wait for Aloy to ask Gildun to help her get back up. You'll need to wait for a few seconds while Gildun climbs across to the Mount Wheel and then they will raise you to the next level.
When you are finally back on the next level, pull or push the Crate until it is sat on the tracks in front of the Train Car. Then, as you did earlier, use the Crate to climb up.
When you are on top of the train car, keep walking forward until you see the climbing holds that lead into a slightly higher area. Pull yourself in the next area and then ignite the Firegleam on your right.
Once the Firegleam has created an opening for you into the next room, head into it and grab the Key Module in the middle. However, be ready to fight, as Burrowers will invade as soon as you pick it up.
Take these machines out however you see fit, but there is a Deathbringer Gun in the room where you collect the Key Module which can make this a quick fight. Also, don't worry if you fall back to the lower area, Gildun is still able to use the elevator to bring you back up.
Open the locked door
Once the fight is over, head back to the locked door to put the Key Module and Code into it. When you do this, the door will open into yet another small area.
Scan the room until you see a Datapoint on the far side of it. Then, stand at this Datapoint and look in the opposite direction of it, you should see a Grate covering another Vent on the wall.
Use your Pullcaster to remove the Grate and then climb into the Vent. Follow the path until you drop into another area, and then examine what you find. Once you've done this, head back to Gildun to tell them what you've discovered.
Follow the cutscene and conversation, then the quest will draw to a close.
Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores A Friend in the Dark rewards explained
As well as having a small reunion with Gildun, there are a few rewards that you get for completing the 'A Friend in the Dark' quest in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores.
Here's a quick list of the completion rewards:
- 13,650 XP
- 2 Skill Points
- Last Argument Spike Thrower
The Last Argument Spike Thrower is a Legendary Tier weapon. You can see it's base stats below, and if you like Spike Throwers, it is one that's well worth grabbing.
That's it for this quest, 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.