Horizon Forbidden West is one of the most popular RPG-action video games developed by Guerrilla. The title presents a new world in the far west, known as the Forbidden West. The region is controlled by more threatening, knowledgeable, and well-equipped tribes, who are able to even override wild machines for their own benefits. Aloy, in her sequel journey, has to simultaneously solve the world’s problems and face those who stand in her way. The game was published in 2022 for PlayStation, and on March 21, it finally made its way to PC.
If you have already played the prequel, Zero Dawn, you would definitely reminisce that there are many unlockable outfits, bows, and skills in the game, creating great diversity and allowing you to fight enemies using different items. If you are a beginner, however, make sure to check this guide on tips for beginners first. Forbidden West introduces even more items, particularly skills, to let players more fully enjoy the adventure while proceeding with the story and seeking answers. Here is a guide of the best items a newcomer should quickly obtain to be able to more effectively confront the hostiles and even increase the difficulty of the game from the first place:
Horizon Forbidden West: Best Early Armors
Carja Blazon
The advantage of this armor is that it’s free to take. The Carja Blazon outfit is an OG armor, easy to achieve before reaching the heart of No Man’s Land. To get the armor:
- Head to the Rebel Camp: Eastern Lie. It’s situated to the east of the Plainsong.
- Defeat the rebels.
- Go to the furthest tent and pry open the chest.
- Claim the uncommon Carja Blazon outfit.
The armor is useful against fire and shock, and once upgraded, it becomes resistant to melee and ranged attacks. The fire protection is another benefit of this armor, as many machines use fire against Aloy.
Carja Blazon Armor
Nora Anointed
When you start playing Forbidden West, Aloy has the classic Nora Anointed armor. Once finishing the first mission, Aloy returns to Meridian, the place she saved in the prequel. There, she will be given an interesting gift by King Avad. Looking at her armor, it will be beautifully marked with a crown. This armor, despite being free, sounds really promising as it protects you against shock and acid attacks. Therefore, it’s also recommended to upgrade this armor instead of buying a new one.
Nora Anointed Armor
Nora Sentinel
This armor is a payable one among the list, and you need to purchase it via a Stitcher merchant. Nora Sentinel is strong against melee, ranged, fire, and shock attacks. However, it lacks protection for Aloy against Acid, which makes it slightly less useful, as in the early game, you have to fight with many Bristlebacks that use acid elements to attack. In order to buy this armor:
- Head to the Barren Light.
- Trade with a Stitcher merchant.
- Spend 399 Metal Shards and 1 Skydrifter Circulator. You can find Skydrifters in the Daunt on your way to the Barren Light.
Nora Sentinel Armor
Horizon Forbidden West: Best Early Weapons
Hunter Bow
Surprisingly, the Hunter Bow Aloy already owns is one of the best. Using the Hunter Bow, you can equip it with acid arrows, as the game also forces you to do, and it becomes extremely efficient against Bristlebacks. Similar to the Nora Anointed armor, it would be a better idea to upgrade the Hunter Bow rather than purchasing a new weapon, as other bows such as Fire Hunter Bow are not considerably more effective and can only help you, for example, to burn the machines.
Hunter Bow
Prototype Spike Thrower
But if you insist on buying a new weapon, the Prototype Spike Thrower is undoubtedly the best weapon you can add to your list while still being in the Daunt, even before reaching The Embassy main quest. You need to:
- Head to the Chainscrape.
- You’ll see Delah and her partner, Boomer, working on a new weapon. Talk to Delah. She will give you a new errand quest, called A Bigger Boom.
- Complete the quest by gathering 3 Charger Horns and 1 Fanghorn Rib. You can find a group of Chargers to the south of the Chainscrape and a group of Fanghorns to the east.
- Return the parts to Delah and get the weapon.
The weapon is of an explosive type, turning machines into pieces. If you have already played Zero Dawn, you certainly haven’t seen any similar weapon to this, as it was added in Forbidden West. With an impact damage of 20 and 70 damage for explosion, this item can significantly assist you in the upcoming strenuous battles.
Prototype Spike Thrower
Horizon Forbidden West: Best Early Skills and Valor Surges
Toughened Valor Surge
Valor Surges are Aloy’s special abilities that allow her to resist more strongly and deal a much more noticeable amount of damage to hostiles. To start unlocking skills and Valor Surges, you need to earn skill points through completing main and side quests, errands, and other activities. The first Valor Surge you must access rapidly is Toughened. In order to unlock this skill:
- Go to the Survivor skill tree.
- Here, you have to unlock Medicine Capacity, Potent Medicine, and Potion Proficiency skills. Medicine Capacity is at the top. For Potent Medicine, you should unlock Low Health Defense before. For Potion Proficiency, you should first unlock Low Health Regen.
- Once all skills are achieved, Toughened is ready to obtain.
Toughened Valor Surge, at level 1, regains your health for up to 30 every 2 seconds and rises melee damage resistance by 15%. In intense battles, if you don’t yet have a strong armor, make sure to activate this Valor Surge as it can extremely come in handy.
Toughened Valor Surge
Ranged Master Valor Surge
Ranged Master is used if you desire to deal considerable damage to enemies. It’s the best early Valor Surge under the Hunter skill tree that can help you fight dangerous machines. To unlock it:
- Head to the Hunter skill tree.
- Similar to Toughened, you have to first unlock these skills: Concentration+, Deep Concentration, Valor Surge Master, Concentration Regen, and Weapon Stamina+.
- Eventually, unlock Ranged Master.
When you activate this Valor Surge, Aloy features an amazing animation painting her face with purple face paint. With Ranged Master, ranged weapon damage is increased by 30%, along with a 5% recovery per hit. Since at the beginning of the game, you may not yet have powerful weapons, this ability would be absolutely practical for knocking down enemies much more easily.
Ranged Master Valor Surge
Braced Shot Skill
This skill might seem slightly difficult to obtain early; however, it’s the best single skill the game offers. With Braced Shot, Aloy kneels down and draws up to 3 of the selected arrows at the same time to fire a missile at a target. Remember, to use this skill, you should have enough weapon stamina. There are two paths to unlock Braced Shot, but for the best one:
- Go to the Infiltrator skill tree.
- Unlock the following skills: Silent Strike+, Stealth Ranged+, Quiet Movement, and Quiet Spear.
- Now, in the middle of the second row, you can see the ready-to-unlock Braced Shot skill.
Braced Shot Skill
