Horizon Forbidden West Guide – 10 Things Everyone Should Know

With our Horizon Forbidden West guide, you’ll get to know everything there is to know. Take a close look at the guide to find out more.

In Horizon Forbidden West, you will play a character in the third person mode. Players control Aloy, a hunter who lives in a dangerous world populated by animalistic machines. The game takes place in the Forbidden West, which is a post-apocalyptic version of the western United States, specifically states such as California, Nevada, and Utah. The map of the new game is larger and filled with secrets hidden beneath the ruins of the Old Ones.

Yosemite Valley and ruined San Francisco are two recognizable locations. The primary addition is underwater exploration. Combat has been enhanced, climbing mechanics have been revamped, and traversal options have been improved with the Valor Surge system, freeform climbing, and many other improvements. Read our Horizon Forbidden West guide to know more.

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Horizon Forbidden West Guide: New Weapons

New weaponry, such as smoke bombs, sticky bombs, and spike launchers, are now available to players. Aloy utilizes the smoke bomb as a valuable new tool as she evades raiders and machinery. If players choose to stay and battle, the sticky glue that seems to be linked to adhesive explosives may stop even the biggest machines in their tracks.

Horizon Forbidden West Guide: Explore

Horizon Forbidden West cutscene
Cutscene (Sony)

After completing every objective, you will be well on your way to gaining access to the full open world. To traverse Forbidden West, you’ll need to master underwater swimming in one of the side quests. You can also access the spike thrower, a weapon class that is slow to fire but high in damage. Third, you’ll learn some climbing tricks, and get a good supply of crafting materials to get started. Open-world games are a lot about completion, so it’s likely you’re inherently competitive anyway, but still, don’t leave anything behind you.

Using Focus will help you a lot

The Focus is a device you are likely to come across very quickly. It cannot be overused. A pulse will be sent out from the right thumbstick, highlighting things of interest, like chests and climbing paths, in orange. You can scan machines to find weak spots and weaknesses by holding down the thumbstick. As you scan a machine, its information is added to your notebook, where you can consult strategies on how to defeat them and find out what loot they usually drop.

Look for Ladders

Horizon Forbidden West Guide cutscene
Aloy (Sony)

With their climbing mechanics and grappling hook, Guerilla Games has included some terrific platforming elements to the game, which mix with some unique puzzles for added exploring depth.

When you get beyond each major part, the creators usually give you a simple means to return there if you make a mistake. In some areas, you might be able to kick a ladder down. You’ll have to look for them because if you fall off while ascending the ladder, you’ll have no choice but to start over.

Take advantage of the grappling hooks

Although the grappling hook is not very freeform, it adds a tactical element to combat and allows players to traverse the terrain in a new way. It’s very effective in combat. By having more verticality, you can create some space between yourself and the extra aggressive machines. The time you save can either be spent replenishing your medicinal berries or taking some shots. You will find these ledges and poles in most areas of combat, so keep your eyes open for the circle and dot.

Understand your enemies

Enemies in Horizon Forbidden West
Cutscene (Sony)

Starting in Zero Dawn, you may use your Focus to scan machines to learn about their weaknesses, elements, and any parts that can be peeled away. Instead of assaulting immediately, you take your time and hit each adversary wisely. Once you start contacting them in this method, it will be a piece of cake for you.

Horizon Forbidden West Guide: Level recommendation

When you select the main quest, side quest, contract, and other activities from Horizon, it tells you what level you should be at. Ignoring it is not a good idea as you will face defeat only. So, do not ignore the level recommendations.

Do not hesitate to loot as you have a stash

Aloy
Aloy Cutscene (Sony)

The stash is one of the best features of Horizon Forbidden West. Technically, you don’t have a lot of storage capacity, but whatever you loot over your carry capacity will automatically be stored in your stash, which you can access from every shelter and settlement. After you hold down the Square button, all depleted resources will be automatically replenished. So, looting everything in view has practically no repercussions.

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Upgrade Warrior Bow

A warrior bow is one of the most useful weapons in your arsenal. While they aren’t particularly useful for dealing damage, they work wonderfully for inflicting a status effect on an enemy — burning, shocking, freezing. 

To trigger the status effect, you usually need to land half a dozen elemental arrows. With the warrior bow, you don’t need to pull back the string all the way to get a shot off; you can shoot off a lot of elemental arrows quickly. For it to achieve its full potential, you’ll need to stock up on ammunition first.

Take a stealthy approach

Stealth game
Stealth gameplay (Sony)

Horizon Forbidden West usually gives you the edge during battle. The game allows you to scan, tag, and highlight the walking routes of your enemies while remaining unseen. Even if they are two feet away, enemies can’t spot you if you crouch in red grass. After that, you can try placing traps in their path and hiding in cover. Match traps to their elemental weaknesses to maximize your chances of success. You can also use blast traps.

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Omer Khan
Omer Khan
Omer has a proven track record in the online media industry as a Content Writer. He holds a bachelor's degree in international journalism and mass communication and enjoys sports and video games.

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