Difficulty: Hard
Awards: High XP
Special: Tame the Great Scar Bear
After entering the area to begin the search for the Great Scar Bear, you work your way through a cave system, swimming through a tunnel, then climbing up to an area containing a cave painting detailing the threat of the Great Scar Bear. Examine it.
Once you’ve inspected the painting, you end up facing the exit of the cave. Follow the path out of the cave and head north until you find some bloody footprints with your Hunter Vision. Follow the footprints to a small campsite and examine your next clue, the recently extinguished campfire.
Use your Hunter Vision to follow the Bear tracks north out of the camp, eventually coming across a spike trap that the Bear has tracked through. Examine the trap before continuing along the trail.
The tracks lead to a broken, blood-stained tree. A few Wenja villagers are nearby. Examine the blood on the tree and then use your Hunter Vision to follow the footprints leading north or south.
Along the north path, a few Izila may scatter into the forest here as you approach a small camp containing the next clue. Once you’ve dealt with any Izila in the area, move into the camp and examine the broken tools on the ground.
Use the Reward Stash to stock up on Hardwood in your inventory and continue through the camp. As you follow the trail you come across three Izila Archers fighting off a single Brown Bear near your next clue. Use your bow to damage the Brown Bear and kill it before picking off the remaining Izila. Follow the tracks to your next clue, a beehive on the ground that was used by the Izila to attract the Bear.
If you headed south when the trail splits at the bloody log, follow the second path as it leads to a bloodstained stone to the east. Continue along the Bear’s trail north to find bee clusters lying on the ground, used as a trap by the Izila hunters.
Follow the tracks as they head up the hill. They lead to a small pond below a waterfall with a few dead Izila Hunters near a downed tree at the edge of the water. Investigate the dead Izila Hunter at the edge of the water. Climb up the cliff from the base of the pond using the grappling claw, where you come into contact with the Bear fighting the Izila (or allies). Quickly grapple back down to the base of the cliff and turn to the left so that you are heading up toward the hill. Set the Great Best Trap there and wait for the Bear to come down the hill. After he hits the trap, quickly run (it helps to have a speed boost active) in the opposite direction so that you are on the other side of the pond. There is a line of traps that you can set. Two traps and one spear are enough to get him to start running away toward the cave. If you take him along this path, the Bear can hit more traps along the way, making the next phase easier.
An Izila Archer and Spearmen spawn just north of the fight. Kill them quickly before the Bear kills all of your allies. Note that you only have Wenja allies during this phase of the fight if you have liberated the outpost before reaching the Bear. If you haven’t, you fight Izila and the Great Scar Bear here. Hop onto one of the nearby rocks and send your beast in to attack the Great Scar Bear. This keeps it distracted while you throw spears, making sure to aim for the Bear’s head.
Once the Bear reaches 50% health it stands up and roars before running off into its cave. Continue attacking the Bear as it runs. It is never immune to damage, allowing you to hit it with arrows while it retreats.
As you enter the cave, set the first traps you come across, the Bear waits for you in the front cave area in this second stage of the battle.
The Great Scar Bear roars before he advances on you, sending bats flying out of the cave. When you hear the roar, fall back behind the snare traps inside the cave. These are located underneath unstable stalactites which you can bring down with spears or arrows. This causes them to fall onto the trapped Bear, inflicting huge amounts of damage. Be sure to order your own beast away from the snare before hitting the stalactites as they can also cause massage damage to your companion. When he has taken a bit more damage he retreats to his den in the back of the cave. Chase him into the den, quickly crafting more spears or arrows while you use your Hunter Vision to stay on his tail.
Once you are in the den, the Great Scar Bear has hardly any health. Send in your beast to distract him while you finish him off.
