As well as an exciting new main story campaign, the Burning Shores DLC for Horizon Forbidden West brings with it a few new side quests, one of which is called The Splinter Within. This has players attempting to track down a Quen expedition that went missing while trying to recover a shipping manifest that could lead to some useful items.
Although completing The Splinter Within is pretty straightforward for the most part, there are a few parts of the side quest that can prove to be a little tricky. Horizon Forbidden West players are also able to tackle some of the quest's objectives in whatever order they see fit, which has the potential to unnecessarily prolong matters by a few minutes.
How to Start The Splinter Within
To start The Splinter Within, players will need to speak with a Quen woman named Theoa, which can be done not long after starting the Burning Shores expansion. Theoa can be found near the dock in Fleet's End and is marked with a green exclamation mark on the map. She'll ask Aloy to meet her at the burial grounds up the western hill, which is to the north of the player's current location.
Once there, players should wait at the campfire until Theoa shows up. She'll explain that a Quen expedition went missing while trying to find a shipping manifest and ask Aloy to help track them down. There are two locations that players can choose to visit at this point: the island where the manifest is supposed to be located and a nearby island where a distress signal was seen.
Though players can choose to visit these places in any order, it's best to go to the southwest island first.
How to Find the Manifest
Depending on where they are in the story, players may not be able to fly at this point in time. If that's the case, they should take Seyka's skiff and use it to sail to the island in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Upon their arrival, they'll need to take out a few Waterwings, after which, they should make their way west toward the dilapidated man-made structure.
At the front of the ruins is a water geyser which players can use to gain elevation. To do so, they'll simply need to jump and then press and hold Square to pull out the Shieldwing Glider, which will propel them into the air. This will allow them to climb to the very top of the structure, where they'll find a holo projector. It's then just a simple case of pressing the Triangle button to download the shipping manifest.
How to Find Out What Happened to the Expedition
Once they've obtained the manifest, players should make their way to the east of the island, where they'll find a makeshift Quen camp. Sadly, it looks like most of its inhabitants didn't make it, with several corpses strewn around the area. Examining the corpse near the pot containing smoldering embers will reveal a note and trigger the next stage of the investigation.
Once Aloy suggests using her focus to look for clues, players should scan and then examine the bedrolls, supplies, and the Frost Glinthawk remains. After doing so, they'll be able to pick up a trail using Aloy's focus. Following this trail will lead to a few more corpses but also unearth evidence that at least one member of the expedition escaped the island alive.
How to Find the Remaining Quen
Now that the southwest island has been fully explored, it's time to check out the smoke signal, which is on an island just to the east of the player's current location. When they arrive, they'll again need to clear out some machines, with a few angry Apex Ravagers waiting to welcome Aloy on the island's western shores. There's also an Apex Stalker and a couple of Apex Leaplashers elsewhere on the island that will need to be dealt with.
To make life easier for themselves, players should aim to dislodge a Ravager Cannon and then use it to take out all of the machines on the island.
Only after the area has been secured will the Quen survivor throw down his ladder, at which point players can head up and speak with Rokomo. If they came here first, players will need to head over to the southwest island and investigate the camp at this point, but those who've already done so can learn the truth right away. Rokomo will then point Aloy in the direction of Enki's Focus, which players will need to retrieve before returning to Theoa.
How to Recover Enki's Focus
Enki's focus is in the ocean to the east of the island with the smoke signal. Players should make their way over to the turbulent patch of water using the skiff and then dive underwater to take a look. Doing so will reveal an angry Tideripper with debris attached to its tail. After using Smoke Bombs to blind it, players can then press Triangle while near the Tideripper's tail to interact with the debris and obtain Enki's Focus.
The Splinter Within Rewards
Once they have recovered the Focus, players can fast travel back to Fleet's End and speak with Theoa to turn in the quest. Following a short cutscene in which Compliance Officer Rheng gets what's coming to him, players will receive the Quen Deadeye Legendary outfit and the Imperial Gold dye. They'll also get two Skill Points and 31,200 XP.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PS4 and PS5