In His Wake is the third and final side quest in the Burning Shores expansion for Horizon Forbidden West and becomes available once players have completed the For His Amusement main story mission. It's given to Aloy by Otosu, one of the Quen that she encountered while learning about Londra's Ascension plan earlier on in the game, and will take around twenty minutes or so to complete.
The quest sees Aloy attempt to track down Otosu's friend Lan, who has apparently been taken prisoner by one of Londra's lackeys. Rescuing Lan will require players to take down two fairly challenging enemies, though it's well worth the effort, as doing so will reward them with the materials needed to upgrade what is arguably the best weapon in Horizon Forbidden West.
How to Start the In His Wake Side Quest
To get the ball rolling, players will need to speak with Otosu in Fleet's End. He'll mention that Lan and some of the other Quen were taken from a beach to the north of the settlement. It's the same one that players visited earlier on during The Stars In Their Eyes, so they can fast travel to the nearby campfire if they like. Once there, they should examine the corpse near the shore and then check out the shrine, the supply crate, and the scroll.
How to Find Pirik's Camp
The scroll will provide players with some cryptic directions to Pirik's camp, the first of which requires them to fly west. Eventually, they'll come to the most westerly island on the map, at which point, the quest marker will change; pointing players to an area to the southeast of their current location. The yellow area is rather large here, but the base is actually relatively easy to spot due to the Specter patrolling the area.
Players should target the Specter immediately after dismounting to get it out of the way. Rather than dealing with all of the Devotees next though, they should instead look for the locked door in the central area and pry it open using R2. This will release a group of Quen prisoners who will help Aloy kill any remaining enemies. A prisoner named Valea will then reveal that there are more Quen locked away underground, which is where players will need to head next.
How to Find Pirik
After following the tunnel down and turning the wheel to the right to gain access to the excavation site, players will find themselves in another large-scale battle. There are a couple of Devotees with heavy weapons that players will want to focus the bulk of their attention on. Once they've been dealt with though, it all becomes relatively simple, particularly with the Quen prisoners helping out.
Up on the highest floor of the area, players will find Pirik's key in the room with the large red dragon sign by the door. They can then use this to open the door at the far end of the walkway, which will take them to a tunnel leading up toward an outdoor area. There are a few chests and safes along the way as well as a Brimshine Fragment, so players should be sure to keep their eyes peeled as they make their way up to the surface.
Once there, they'll need to take down Pirik and an amped-up Specter, the latter of which can be dealt with fairly quickly using the Specter Gauntlet. Pirik seems to be strong against Zenith weaponry though, so it's better to use arrows to remove his helmet and then hit him with a few good headshots. He'll fall surprisingly quickly with this strategy, after which, players can collect the Railgun Component from his corpse and open the nearby door to release the rest of the Quen.
In His Wake Quest Rewards
After a short cutscene in which it's revealed that Lan and some of the others actually went with Pirik willingly, players will be instructed to return to Fleet's end. Once there, they'll have two objectives: report back to Otosu and upgrade the Specter Gauntlet. Otosu can be found with Valea and Lan to the north of the settlement while the workbench needed to upgrade the Specter Gauntlet is located not too far from the main fast-travel point.
Though not technically classed as a quest reward, the weapon upgrade definitely serves as the main incentive for completing the In His Wake side quest, as the Specter Gauntlet was already one of the most powerful weapons in Horizon Forbidden West and becomes even more deadly with the Railgun Component attached.
As far as actual rewards go, players will get the Seagrass Swell Dye once they finish speaking with Otosu and Valea as well as two Skill Points and 13,000 XP. If players already completed A Friend in the Dark and The Splinter Within before starting the side quest, the Aided the Quen Trophy will also be unlocked at this time.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.