You'll be following the Orb's trail in Horizon Forbidden West as part of the Death's Door quest, which will eventually lead you to Sylens, but this isn't as simple as it may sound. That's because the Orb's trail isn't clearly marked at all in Horizon Forbidden West, and when you use Focus all you'll reveal is an unusual purple signal coming from the lake, which you can't get to easily. Don't stress though, as we have the answer to hand, so read on for an explanation of how to find Hades, Sylens, and follow the Orb's trail in Horizon Forbidden West.
Where to follow the Orb's trail in Horizon Forbidden West
You can find Hades, Sylens and the Orb's trail in Horizon Forbidden West by looking at the dirt. This objective is both frustratingly unclear and agonisingly obvious - there's a huge dirt furrow in the ground from where Sylens and Hades were before, and it's stretching across the beach because Sylens has been physically dragging the Orb to a new location. Rather than using the Focus to highlight invisible purple trails, just use your own unaugmented eyes to pick out the massive sandy trench that extends Southwest and then curves to the right, following the edge of the lake.
This path actually goes on for quite a while, and takes you through several groups of wild machines that will pose a threat if they spot you. How you deal with them is up to you - you can try and destroy them or sneak past. They're mainly Scrappers, but there's also a flying Glinthawk that could pose more of a threat. Even if you do decide to take them on, use stealth for as long as possible before launching into an all-out confrontation.
Where to find the Orb in Horizon Forbidden West
You'll know if you're following the trail correctly because Aloy will make periodic comments on Sylens and Hades. The path itself curves around the lake to the Southwest, before passing a trader and then heading uphill before it can intersect with the Leapslasher hunting ground. At the top of the path it leads to a cave with a workbench outside - go into the cave to find the next phase of the quest.
What's the unidentified signal in the lake?
Those who've been searching around with their Focus might've found a purple, unidentified signal to the lake South of your starting point. You'd think that might be Hades or the Orb - but it's not. It's actually an entirely unrelated collectible that you probably can't reach yet as you don't have a piece of mid-game equipment. Basically, ignore it and work on finding that Orb.
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