Horizon Starter Tips

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

Found a few starter tips on the net to be aware of.

Save the game often

Spoiler

Horizon: Zero Dawn does auto-save, but it only tends to do so during key story moments. Because the game's post-apocalyptic world can be quite wild, then, you'll want to ensure that you're saving at bonfires often otherwise you may lose progress when you inevitably eat the dirt.

Scavenge everything

Spoiler

Crafting is a key part of Horizon: Zero Dawn, and you're going to need the right gear to take advantage of it. You should be picking up virtually everything you see; prioritise the resources part of your inventory in errands to expand your available storage space, and ensure that you're always looting the carcasses of dead robot fiends.

Fail to prepare…

Spoiler

You'll run into lots of battles while wandering Horizon: Zero Dawn's open world, so it can be smart to do your preparations ahead of time. While it's not essential – crafting is relatively painless – ensuring that you have a plentiful supply of ammo, traps, and potions before entering battle can help you to focus on the task at hand.

Stay on the move

Spoiler

You should not be standing still in combat in Horizon: Zero Dawn. The game is designed around mobility, so make sure you're dodge rolling often and always looking for the best position in order to expose your enemy's weak points.

Stealth can help

Spoiler

You don't always need to approach every battle arrows blazing. Stealth is a big part of Horizon: Zero Dawn, so make sure that you use the tall grass to your advantage in order to get the drop on both bandits and robots. Remember that you can use your hacking abilities or corruption arrows to take control of enemies and turn the tides of battle.

Know thy enemy

Spoiler

Each time you encounter a new machine, make sure that you use your Focus to scan it by pressing the R3 button. This will add information about the enemy to your Machine Catalogue, which you can then read in order to learn more about its weak points and which kind of arrows it's most susceptible to.

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

Also, you can turn crafting into your own quests, which subsequently means you can hold more stash too. Love that idea.

[tronic44 3,642]

Nice Lee, really liking the sound of this game, think I may just have to pick it up sooner rather than later. 

I don't like the sound of having to safe often, think we may need to help each other out with this one.....or at least everyone can remind me 😄

 

 

[techno 3,510]

Think I'm going to look into this as I'm pretty bored with recent games I've played, just wish I could get into other genres 

[TigerBurge 2,375]

Skills to Focus On First

Silent Strike: This should be the first skill to unlock. Most enemies at the beginning of the game can be eliminated with a successful Silent Strike, and most combat scenarios are best approached with stealth, making Silent Strike an essential tool for making a stealthy approach. It only costs one skill point to unlock, so unlock it as soon as you have the opportunity.  

Concentration: When stealth doesn’t work, Aloy is going to have to bring out the bow and arrow. The Concentration ability slows down time, making it much easier to line up a shot. Many of the game’s machine enemies are fast, or have very small targets that have to be hit in order to maximize damage. Concentration is a good skill to have when trying to land those tricky shots. This is another one that only costs one skill point, so unlock it early.  

Gatherer: The Gatherer ability in the Forager column is useful because it squeezes more resources out of the different trees and flowers Aloy finds. If you unlock this skill early, it will pay dividends all game.  

Critical Hit: Critical hit lands a punishing blow to downed enemies. Staff combat plays a larger role toward the beginning of the game compared to later, when you're pitted against larger enemies. Early smaller enemies will be knocked down easily, and the Critical Hit will likely eliminate them.  

[TigerBurge 2,375]

Silent strike and lure is a pure win. Unlock both early 

[TigerBurge 2,375]

Buy the unlimited fast travel pack. It will be extremely useful later on 

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

I'm finding the concentration perk works well to hit crit shots quickly when you get found by watcher. Totally agree with Chris on Silent Strike too.

[Baabcat 1,646]

On 02/03/2017 at 10:25 PM, TigerBurge said:

Silent strike and lure is a pure win. Unlock both early 

Love silent strike, stealth aspects of this game are really solid

[Baabcat 1,646]

 

[NCA-Paendrag 2,758]

These were very useful! Forgot about Lure though.

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

Seen in a few PPRs that the Ropecaster is the best thing for birds.

Is there anything else you would recommend to kill certain enemies?

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

4 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

Seen in a few PPRs that the Ropecaster is the best thing for birds.

Is there anything else you would recommend to kill certain enemies?

 

I also use the trip caster and with traps. Lure what ever towards the wires (and often you can put multiples) and shock the hell of the them. 

That's what I did for the quest where you need the snap jaw lenses. Took both of them down at the same time.  That's what I have done in the Cauldron. If even work with human heavies. 

I tend to spam fire arrows when I do that . Shock and burn 

[ChaosGladiator 811]

Not sure if this has been covered before. But if you discover a machine site and you need a specific type of machine part from that machine you can do a quicksave after farming them, then reload last save point and farm them again. I did this 5 times yesterday to get that trampler part you need for the one shadow bow.

[NCA-Paendrag 2,758]

7 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

Seen in a few PPRs that the Ropecaster is the best thing for birds.

Is there anything else you would recommend to kill certain enemies?

Guess you figured this out but you only use the ropecaster to tie them down, not to kill them

 

And as Sebba mentioned in another thread, the Tearblaster is effective to stun and also do damage to enemies and you finish them off with a heavy melee of critical hit.