Throughout your journey in Forbidden West, you will come across a variety of Machines, most of which will be out to attack you. This page will concentrate on the Recon Machine, the Skydrifter.

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(1 of 2) Skydrifter in the game

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Skydrifter in the game (left), Skydrifter in the notebook (right)

General Information¶

A gliding machine that easily spots and tracks potential threats. Whether in the air or on the ground, it is fast and agile, and can lash out with its razor-sharp tail and wingtips.

Level	Type	Cauldron	Weak	Strong
16	Recon	IOTA Cauldron	Frost	Fire

Tips for Defeating the Skydrifter¶

The Skydrifter is a fast and nimble Machine, which makes it an annoying fight. It is able to boost itself up into the air, thanks to the parts on its legs, then fly around a little bit before landing (most likely, due to the Boosters overheating). While up in the air, they can divebomb you, so be wary of that, especially if you are fighting more than just the lone Skydrifter. Also, it can be a little challenging keeping track of the machine while it’s up in the air, so you will need to have an even sharper eye. You will want to be careful in getting too close upon it taking off, as the Skydrifter produces some fire upon doing so.

If you see the machine charging up, then it’s about to unleash its eye attack that, should it hit you, will inflict you with the Tracked effect. This means that enemies can track your location, no matter if you try to hide behind something or re-enter stealth; a Cleanse Potion can get rid of this, but it’s not a a huge status effect. Shooting the Tracking Container on its chest area will get rid of this attack. Another thing to watch out for if you’re keeping a distance is the tail feathers attack, where the Skydrifter will shoot a spread of feathers at you. Your best option here is to roll towards the machine to try and dodge them, as the spread is wide enough to make dodging to the side a little more dangerous.

You might also see a lunging attack or two, with one leaving a trail of fire behind it. The one lunging attack will have the Skydrifter spin around and try to hit you. As already mentioned, while in the sky, it can divebomb you, with one variation leaving behind a fire trail. There is also another attack here where it looks like it’ll divebomb, but stop near the ground and produce a gust of wind from its wings. Despite just being wind, this attack does deal damage and can be difficult to avoid, due to its quickness.

When fighting Skydrifters, you will probably want to try and aim for the Razor Tail and Tracking Container, if you can help it, as both of those disable the range attacks. The Scanning Unit doesn’t really do anything, so you can leave it alone, unless you want some extra resources to loot. You will always want to be wary of your surroundings, too, since the Skydrifters move very quickly and it’s easy to lose their position when they’re in the air. Depending on the Variant being fought, you can also utilize the respective elemental damage on their canisters, as this can cause some major damage to them when they explode. Don’t forget that this Machine is weak to Frost, so build that up and it can slow it down some.

Loot (Body)¶

All of the loot in the table below can drop upon killing the Machine and looting its body.

Loot (Scanning Unit)¶

The Scanning Unit is essentially the eyeball on the Skydrifter, so you will know where to aim to try and remove it. This is what it uses to try and detect enemies while flying around, and it is a resource container, as it can contain a few items. This part is destroyed upon killing the Machine.

Loot (Tracking Container)¶

The Tracking Container can be found on the chest area of the Skydrifter. As per the in-game description, the one projectile it uses will make it so you cannot re-enter stealth while the status is active. Destroying this part will stop that move from happening. This part is destroyed upon killing the Machine.

Loot (Booster)¶

These are the thrusters that the Skydrifter uses to launch itself into the air, with them being located just above the legs. Note that when the Skydrifter lands on the ground, it is overheated. These parts are indestructible, but you can use them as a weak point to deal more damage than usual.

Loot (Antenna)¶

The Antenna is located on the back of the Skydrifter and is used to call in reinforcements. Destroying it will disable that function, so you won’t have to worry about more enemies appearing and become overwhelmed. This part is destroyed upon killing the machine.

Loot (Sparker/Acid Canister)¶

The Sparker is on the normal Sydrifter, while the Acid Canister will be on the Apex variant. It is located by the tail and like any elemental parts, using the same elemental Arrow will cause the part to explode after a few seconds, dealing major damage to the Skydrifter, as well as potentially harming other enemies in the vicinity. This part is destroyed upon killing the Machine.

Loot (Razor Tail)¶

As the name suggests, the Razor Tail is located on the end of the tail. Destroying/detaching this will remove the projectile attack the tail can do from its arsenal. If you can manage to detach it, then you will be able to loot the Razor Tail, which is the only way to get one. This part is destroyed upon killing the Machine.