Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition: Complete Guide

A player-focused guide to Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition on PC: combat fundamentals, skill priorities, weapon progression, machine tactics, collectibles, The Frozen Wilds and PC settings.

Researched September 2026 — current as of PC version 1.11.2 (January 2022, the final patch for the original PC release). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Version note: Sony released Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered on PC on 31 October 2024 as a separate product with upgraded visuals, re-recorded dialogue and quality-of-life features from Forbidden West. Its PSN account requirement was dropped in February 2025. Complete Edition owners are offered a discounted upgrade. Gameplay, quests and skills below apply to both versions.

Quick Start

Scan everything with your Focus. Tag machines to see their weak points, components and elemental weaknesses, and track their patrol paths. Scanning first is the whole game.
Shoot components off. Machine parts like canisters, cannons and armor plates can be knocked off with the right ammo. Many drop valuable loot only if removed before the kill.
Take Concentration early. The first Brave skill slows time while aiming. It makes weak-point shots dramatically easier.
Get Silent Strike and Critical Hit early too — cheap, and they carry you through the opening hours.
Craft ammo on the fly. You can craft arrows and traps from the weapon wheel mid-fight. Keep ridge-wood and metal shards stocked.
Upgrade your pouches. Resource, ammo and medicine pouch upgrades need animal parts from hunting wildlife. Do these early; carrying capacity matters.
Climb Tallnecks. Each one reveals a huge chunk of the map.
Complete Cauldrons to unlock overrides for more machine types — ride and fight alongside them.
Sell machine cores and lenses, not rare parts. Vendors pay well for common machine loot, and metal shards are the main currency.
Play on Normal first unless you want a challenge; Ultra Hard is the toughest tier and is best saved for a New Game+ run.

Core Combat

Weapon types

Type	Role	Notes
Hunter Bow	All-rounder	Fast reload; fire, hardpoint and precision arrows depending on variant
War Bow	Status effects	Low damage but applies elemental and corruption quickly
Sharpshot Bow	Long-range damage	Slowest reload, huge damage; tear-precision arrows strip components
Sling	Elemental bombs	Arcing fire, freeze and shock bombs
Blast Sling	Explosives	Slow, high area damage; sticky and proximity bombs
Rattler	Rapid fire	Shotgun-like bolts; good against humans
Tripcaster	Traps with wires	High damage when machines trip them
Ropecaster	Tie down machines	Pins large machines so you can hit weak points freely
Spear	Melee	Finishing, silent strikes, overrides
Heavy weapons	Pick-ups	Disc launchers and cannons torn off machines; limited ammo

Elemental and status effects

Fire — damage over time; great vs humans and machines weak to fire. Some machines carry explosive fire canisters.
Freeze — makes armor brittle so all damage hits harder. Excellent opener against big machines.
Shock — stuns machines briefly, opening them to critical strikes.
Corruption — turns machines against each other.
Tear — damage to components and armor rather than health; use to remove weapons and plates.

Your Focus scan tells you what each machine is weak to and which components are explosive. Hitting an explosive component with the matching element (such as a freeze canister with a freeze arrow) causes a big elemental burst.

Machine tactics

Machine	Tip
Watcher	Early sentry; shoot the eye
Sawtooth	Aggressive; tripwires and rope-tie it, then focus the weak points your Focus highlights
Stalker	Cloaking sniper; tag it and watch for its shimmer
Ravager	Shoot the cannon off, then pick it up and use it
Thunderjaw	Knock off its disc launchers and use them against it
Stormbird	Freeze or shock it to bring it down, then use ropecasters
Rockbreaker	Tunnels underground; hit it when it surfaces, target the claws
Behemoth	Tear off its force loader; watch for its throw
Deathbringer	Heavily armed story war machine; attack from cover, target its guns
Corruptor	Its attacks corrupt; strip armor with tear ammo
Snapmaw	Freeze its canisters, fight from dry ground

Skills

There are three base skill trees plus a fourth from The Frozen Wilds.

Tree	Focus	Key picks
Prowler	Stealth	Silent Strike, Silent Drop, Strike From Above, Low Profile, Dodge Prowess, Strong Strike
Brave	Combat	Concentration, Critical Hit, Double Shot, Triple Shot, Fast Reload, Knock Down
Forager	Resources and survival	Healer, Herbalist, Gatherer, Scavenger, Combat Override, Tinker
Traveler (Frozen Wilds)	Resources and mounts	Improves resource usefulness and mounts

Recommended skill order

Concentration (Brave) and Silent Strike (Prowler).
Critical Hit (Brave), Healer and Herbalist (Forager).
Silent Drop, Strike From Above, Low Profile (Prowler) for a stealth-first early game.
Double Shot then Triple Shot (Brave) — huge damage bump for bows.
Concentration+ and Fast Reload (Brave).
Scavenger, Ammo Crafter, Scavenger+ (Forager) for resources.
Combat Override and Combat Override+ (Forager) — permanent overrides are fun and strong.
Tinker (Forager) lets you remove and reuse coils and weaves — very useful before swapping gear.
Dodge Prowess, Strong Strike, Strong Strike+ and the remaining Prowler/Brave skills.

Gear Progression

Bows and weapons

Weapons come in faction/variant tiers: base, Carja (more mod slots), Shadow (Carja-tier or better with more slots and special ammo), plus Banuk and Lodge variants. Rough progression:

Starter Hunter Bow and Sling.
Carja versions from merchants in the Sundom (Meridian region).
Shadow versions from merchants in later regions.
Lodge variants, tied to the Hunting Grounds and the Hunter's Lodge in Meridian — clear hunting trials (Blazing Sun marks are the top rating) and check the Lodge merchants.
Banuk variants from Frozen Wilds merchants.

Frozen Wilds unique weapons are the elemental Forgefire (fire), Icerail (freeze) and Stormslinger (shock). Each uses its own dedicated ammo (the Forgefire fires Firethrower ammo) and they are among the strongest weapons in the game. The Forgefire, for example, first drops from the rogue Oseram Ohlgrud at the Stone Yield bandit camp and can then be bought from merchants for 800 Metal Shards plus a Scorcher Lens.

The Complete Edition also includes the Carja Storm Ranger Outfit with the Carja Mighty Bow, and the Banuk Trailblazer Outfit with the Banuk Culling Bow, plus Carja Trader, Banuk Traveller and Nora Keeper packs. They are strong early and make the opening easier.

Outfits and mods

Outfits give resistances (fire, freeze, shock, melee, ranged) or stealth.
Weapon coils add damage, element or handling. Outfit weaves add resistances.
Very rare mods drop from bigger machines and hunting grounds.
Shield-Weaver armor, unlocked by collecting all Power Cells from the ancient ruins, gives a regenerating energy shield. It is the most famous reward in the game.

Collectibles and Activities

Activity	What it gives
Tallnecks	Reveal map regions
Cauldrons	Override new machine types
Bandit Camps	XP, loot, and unlocks a campfire fast travel
Corrupted Zones	Clear corrupted machines
Hunting Grounds	Trials that award Blazing Sun marks and Lodge weapons
Ancient Vessels	Collectible set, traded to a merchant for a reward
Banuk Figures	Collectible set with its own merchant reward
Metal Flowers	Collectible set with its own merchant reward
Vantages	Collectible viewpoints showing the old world; own reward
Power Cells	Shield-Weaver armor
Datapoints	Lore audio logs and text

Buy the map from a merchant for each collectible set to reveal locations.

Missables

Most content remains available after the final quest — the game returns you to the world after the credits.
Some datapoints and one-off areas are tied to story missions; Power Cells are in story ruins, so check each ruin before leaving it.
Hunting ground trials can always be replayed for better marks.

The Frozen Wilds

The Frozen Wilds is the included expansion set in the Cut, a snowy region in Banuk territory in the north-east. It adds:

New machines including the fire-breathing Scorcher, the bear-like Frostclaw and Fireclaw, and Daemonic machine variants.
Control Towers that repair nearby machines — destroy them first.
The Traveler skill tree.
The Forgefire, Icerail and Stormslinger unique weapons.
A level cap increase (from 50 to 60).

It's designed for a higher-level Aloy — aim to be around level 30 or higher before heading in, and bring strong elemental gear.

PC Settings

Patch 1.11 added NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR, replacing FidelityFX CAS. Use DLSS Quality on NVIDIA, FSR on others.
Shader compilation happens in the background and during loading since 1.11 — first loads may take longer on slower CPUs.
Patch 1.11.2 improved VRAM management when changing resolution or upscale mode.
Ultrawide and high FOV are supported; if you see visual artifacts at the edges with DLSS/FSR, make sure you are on the latest build.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Fighting without scanning. You miss weak spots and the loot components.
Ignoring pouches. Running out of arrows mid-fight is a pouch problem.
Using fire on machines that resist it. Check the Focus scan.
Melee-ing big machines. Spear is for finishing and stealth, not tanking a Thunderjaw.
Selling rare machine parts. Some crafting and upgrades need them; sell cores and lenses instead.
Skipping Cauldrons. Overrides make the world much easier to handle.
Going into Frozen Wilds underleveled. Daemonic machines hit hard.

Advanced Tips

Freeze, then Sharpshot. Freezing a heavy machine and hitting weak points with a Sharpshot bow is one of the highest damage combos.
Ropecaster big machines before a Triple Shot volley.
Tripcaster funnels — lay shock or blast wires where machines will charge.
Pick up heavy weapons after tearing them off; a Thunderjaw's disc launcher shreds other machines.
Use Lure Call to pull enemies one at a time into Silent Strike range.
Override a mount for fast travel between points without spending fast-travel packs.
Hunting grounds trials train you in precise, timed combat — do them early.

FAQ

Should I buy the Complete Edition or Remastered? Remastered is the version Sony now actively supports, with better visuals and QoL. If you already own Complete Edition, the discounted upgrade is the cheapest route. Gameplay is the same.

What is the level cap? 50 in the base game, 60 with The Frozen Wilds.

When should I start The Frozen Wilds? Once you reach about level 30 and have access to the northeast of the Nora lands.

How do I get Shield-Weaver armor? Collect all Power Cells from the ancient ruins/bunkers throughout the story and return to the armor's location.

Can I keep playing after the ending? Yes. The game returns you to the world before the final battle to finish side content.

What's the best early bow? The Carja Mighty Bow included in the Complete Edition packs is very strong early; after that, Shadow and Lodge bows.

Is there New Game+? Yes. New Game+ and Ultra Hard were added in a post-launch update on PS4 and are included in the PC Complete Edition.