Horizon Forbidden West Beginner Guide

The much-anticipated Horizon Zero Dawn sequel is here to take things to the next level with Horizon Forbidden West. Our Horizon Forbidden West Beginner's Guide can help answer questions like, "Which Horizon Forbidden West skills should I upgrade?", "Can I climb anywhere in Horizon Forbidden West?" and more! The Forbidden West can be a hostile place, but with our beginner's guide you'll be in good shape early in the game to take on every challenge that's ahead.

Which Horizon Forbidden West Skills Should I Upgrade First?

The Horizon Forbidden West skill tree offers six tiers for you to master:

• Warrior
• Trapper
• Hunter
• Survivor
• Infiltrator
• Machine Master

As you level up and complete side quests throughout the game, you'll receive skill points to spend on each skill tree. To start you can upgrade whichever skills speak most to your play-style – whether you want more powerful melee attacks, more potent healing abilities, wish to override machines faster, or other available skills. Fully learn all available skills for one skill tree to earn the Skill Tree Learned trophy.

Starting in Chainscrape, you'll find training pits that require you to have certain skills to accomplish. For the first Horizon Forbidden West training pit, you'll need the Block Breaker and Resonator Blast skills, which are under the Warrior skill tree. Once you beat these two challenges, you'll face the Pit Master and have to defeat him. There are more training pits in the Forbidden West for you to find, each run by a Tenakth clan. Master more skills and defeat the Pit Master at every training pit to earn the Defeated the Enduring trophy.

How Many Horizon Forbidden West Hunting Grounds Are There?

There are four Horizon Forbidden West Hunting Grounds for you to complete different challenges at. These Hunting Grounds are:

• The Daunt Hunting Ground
• Plainsong Hunting Ground
• Sheerside Mountains Hunting Ground
• The Raintrace Hunting Ground

The first Horizon Forbidden West Hunting Ground you come across is in The Daunt, a short way from Chainscrape. There are three trials for you to achieve here:

• Tear Trial
• Shock Trial
• Shock and Trap Trial

When you obtain three stripes at a hunting ground, you'll receive the Obtained 3 Stripes at a Hunting Ground trophy. Obtain three stripes at all Hunting Grounds and you'll receive the Obtained 3 Stripes at All Hunting Grounds trophy. Read our Horizon Forbidden West The Daunt Gold Hunting Ground Guide to see how to get full stripes on all three of these trials. You'll also receive a Shock Warrior Bow as a gift for arriving at The Daunt Hunting Ground.

How Many Side Quests Are There In Horizon Forbidden West?

The Horizon Forbidden West main story will take you across the entire map and require dozens of hours of dedication, but why rush to the end? Every settlement you come across will have a variety of people requiring assistance with errands and side quests. From gathering machine resources to crafting new armor to exploring a flooded mine, there's plenty to do off the beaten path as you explore Horizon Forbidden West. Tackle the Forbidden West side quests as you come across them, or save them for end-game challenges to return to later. Trophy hunters will definitely want to take on side quests. Side quest-related trophies include:

• Completed a Set of Salvage Contracts trophy when you complete all contracts at a Salvage Contractor
• Completed 3 Relic Ruins trophy when you discover and complete three Relic Ruins
• Defeated the Enduring trophy when you defeat all Pit Masters
• Completed Arena Challenge Set trophy when you complete one Arena challenge set.

How Do I Upgrade My Bag Capacity In Horizon Forbidden West?

To upgrade Horizon Forbidden West bag capacity, you'll need to collect different animal parts. Upgrading your carrying capacity is key early on in the game so you don't have to keep returning to your Stash to swap out items and resources while upgrading your quiver or bomb bag allows you to take fewer breaks to craft more ammo while in the heat of battle.

The Resource Pouch upgrade is an early improvement you can make at a workbench with easily accessible resources. You'll need wild boar parts, which are thankfully plentiful in The Daunt. If you'd like the Forbidden West Quiver upgrade to hold more arrows, you'll need two Raccoon hides, so keep an eye out for those creatures in your travels as well. Horizon Forbidden West upgradeable pouches include:

• Resource Pouch
• Tripwire Pouch
• Hunter Arrow Quiver
• Light Arrow Quiver
• Bomb Satchel TrapPouch
• Rope Pouch

Earn the Upgraded Every Pouch Type trophy when you upgrade the Food, Potion, Resource, Trap, and any ammo pouch at least once.

Can I Climb Anywhere In Horizon Forbidden West?

Sort of. Horizon Forbidden West offers a great improvement over the fixed hand-holds in Horizon Zero Dawn. During the early game, you're more limited to where and how you can climb, but once you're past The Daunt and the game opens up into the Forbidden West, you'll have much more maneuverability across the terrain. Use your Focus to scan vertical cliffs and structures to see what's climbable. Some of the best Forbidden West rewards and collectibles are tucked away in hard-to-reach places.

What Weapons Are In Horizon Forbidden West?

The Horizon Forbidden West weapons are similar to what players became accustomed to in Zero Dawn. You start with a Hunter Bow that can be upgraded to Level III, but you'll quickly acquire more pieces to your arsenal as you reach the Forbidden West. The available Forbidden West weapons in the early game include:

• Hunter Bow
• Fire Hunter Bow
• Sharpshot Bow
• Warrior Bow
• Shock Warrior Bow
• Ropecaster
• Tripcaster

Trade with weapons merchants and complete trials to unlock more weapons. Plus, the Horizon Forbidden West weapons wheel has been expanded to six slots from the four available in Zero Dawn, making it easy to more dynamically switch up weapons while on the go.

Horizon Forbidden West weapon trophies include: 

• Obtained All Weapon Classes trophy when you obtain one weapon from every class. 
• Picked up 5 Heavy Weapons trophy when you pick up five different heavy weapons. 
• Upgraded 3 Weapons trophy when you fully upgrade three weapons.
• Enhanced Weapon with Coils trophy when you equip a weapon of any tier with 2 coils.
• Unlocked 3 Weapon Techniques trophy when you unlock a Weapon Technique for three different weapon classes.

What Are the Horizon Forbidden West Collectables?

Collectables in Horizon Forbidden West include:

• Survey Drones
• Black Boxes
• Relic Ruins
• Vista Points
• Signal Towers

Earn the Recovered 5 Different Collectables trophy when you complete 1 Survey Drone, 1 Black Box, 1 Relic Ruin, 1 Vista Point, and 1 Signal Tower. 

Should I Play Horizon Forbidden West In Resolution or Performance Mode?

Wonder if you should prioritize Horizon Forbidden West Performance Mode or Resolution Mode? Each mode offers advantages, and the one you go with will depend on both personal preference and what kind of TV you're playing on. Horizon Forbidden West running at 60 FPS at 1800P in Performance Mode provides smoother gameplay, but there are some technical issues, and you do lose some of the detail that makes the world look so incredible. For Horizon Forbidden West on PS5, Resolution mode is the way to go if you don't mind locking the game in at 30 FPS. Hopefully, Horizon Forbidden West will receive a performance patch allowing it to run at a more stable 60 FPS at 4K.

How Does Horizon Forbidden West Run On PS4?

Being a cross-gen game, Guerilla had to develop Horizon Forbidden West to run well both on PS4 and PS5. The PlayStation 5 offers the most performance upgrades and is the way to play if you have access to a PS5, but the PS4 version was optimized to run well on that console as well. In the weeks leading up to the Horizon Forbidden West release date, Sony released gameplay trailers of Forbidden West running on PS4, showing their commitment to the 100+ million PlayStation 4 consoles that are out there. If you're playing on PS4, Horizon Forbidden West will run just fine and look great.

What Are the Horizon Forbidden West Changes from Horizon Zero Dawn?

The Horizon Forbidden West changes include a number of quality of life improvements that make the game more enjoyable. Accessibility settings allow you to customize the gameplay to your specific preferences while adding two additional weapon wheel slots makes it easy to get multi-weapon combos going in real-time. You can now upgrade weapons natively, as well as attach Coils to give them boosts, and navigating the terrain is now easier thanks to more climbable surfaces and the Shieldwing that allows you to glide over far distances. Glide uninterrupted for 60 seconds and you'll receive the Completed a Long Glide trophy.

Does Aloy Have Any Of Her Zero Dawn Gear?

During the tutorial section of the game, Aloy mentions how she lost a lot of her gear while traveling and battling on her own. This simple plot point means Aloy is starting fresh in Forbidden West, giving you the opportunity to acquire better armor, weapons, and upgrades as you progress further into the game.