How to clear Horizon Forbidden West red crystal growths called Firegleam

Horizon Forbidden West red crystals are particularly annoying when you first discover them, as they appear all over the place to block your progress and in the early stages of your adventure there's nothing you can do to get past them. If you want to clear these obstructions, which are officially called Firegleam, then there's a piece of special gear you need – but you won't find out more about that until you've explored further, leaving entire areas of Horizon Forbidden West closed off initially.

Firegleam appears throughout the Forbidden West, but until you get the Firegleam Igniter you won't be able to do anything about it. So let's look at what this important piece of gear is, where you can get it, and how you can finally get past the Horizon Forbidden West red crystals and clear the Firegleam.

How to clear Horizon Forbidden West red crystals

Horizon Forbidden West firegleam — (Image credit: PlayStation)

You won't be able to do anything about the Horizon Forbidden West crystal growths until you complete the Death's Door mission. This sees you following coordinates you got from the Spire at the start, in search of Sylens.

Eventually you'll reach his workshop and the door to an underground facility that is blocked by the anomalous growth. Sylens will tell you it's called Firegleam and give you the schematics for a Firegleam Igniter to get rid of it.

However, to create the Firegleam Ignitor you'll need two specific resources before you can craft and attach it to your spear:

LeapSlasher Spark Coil
Kindleweed

Fortunately, both are right outside the facility. If you haven't already found one or the other item already on your travels, then head out and get collecting. You'll find kindleweed in the water nearby - just head deeper into the lake where you can swim underwater and look for red tinged leaves along the bottom:

Leapslashers are also nearby - they're the kangaroo style robots. To get the Spark Coil you'll need to shoot off its power cell before you kill it. So, when you reach them, try to approach stealthily so you can scan them with your Focus and highlight the power cell you need:

Tag the power cell once you've identified it and, when you have it singled out, make sure you target it exclusively to knock it off before the robot dies. The part will be destroyed on death otherwise. Using Concentration to slow things down can make this a lot easier.

When you have all the bits, head back to the workbench at Sylen's camp and craft the Firegleam Ignitor. Now, whenever you find Firegleam just have to use the ignitor to make it explode and clear the way ahead.

Remember, make sure you get clear before the Firegleam actually goes off as it will hurt you, but that's about all there is to it. The Ignitor is a useful tool once you have it, as Firegleam is a big part of some puzzles, as well as hiding away various bits of loot and treasure all over the map.