Part 4 - Horizon Forbidden West - 1st Playthrough

I had to realize that Forbidden West on Hard is much harder than Ghost of Tsushima on Hard. I attempted the level 15 main quest The Dying Lands while being level 16 and I couldn’t defeat the Grimhorn. It hit too hard, and I couldn’t craft enough acid arrows or carry enough healing potions. I gave up after trying 2x45 minutes on two different days. Then I thought, okay, I just had to do some side quests to level up. Well, I spent over an hour trying to clear some Eclipse camp, indicated as level 10, but I couldn’t as it was so full of machines and human enemies. The latter are still extremely annoying as they have way too much health for being humans. Eventually, after countless tries, I managed to complete the side quest Shadow in the West and gained some much needed XP and skill points. I next completed The Roots That Bind which was easier. I'm now level 17, and still not feeling ready to return to the main quest line. I picked up a side quest called Drowned Hopes, but it is level 22. I don't have more side quests left to do at this point, so I'll so some other side activites before returning to that damn Grimhorn in The Dying Lands.