Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition: Complete Guide

A spoiler-light guide to Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition on PC: combat fundamentals, elemental states, weapon classes, skill trees, progression order, side activities, Burning Shores, achievements and PC settings.

Researched September 2026 — current as of PC patch 1.5 (June 2024, AMD FSR 3.1 added), the latest content patch; no new content is expected. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Scan everything with your Focus. Tagging a machine shows its weak points, detachable components and elemental weaknesses. Most fights are won before the first arrow.
• Tear components off first. Shooting off weapons and valuable parts both disarms machines and gives you upgrade materials that you can't get any other way.
• Match elements to weaknesses. Each machine takes extra damage and suffers status effects from specific elements. Carry weapons covering several elements.
• Upgrade a few weapons fully instead of many partially. Upgrades are gated by machine parts, so focus.
• Do side quests. They give some of the best weapons, outfits and skill points, and many unlock more of the story's characters.
• Override Tallnecks early in each area to reveal the map.
• Use traversal tools. The Pullcaster, Shieldwing glider and later the Diving Mask open huge amounts of the map.
• Pick a difficulty you enjoy. You can change it any time, and Ultra Hard is available for new and New Game+ runs.
• Burning Shores comes after the ending. Finish the main story to start the expansion.

Setting and Characters

Aloy heads west into the Forbidden West to stop a blight and violent storms threatening all life. Along the way she deals with warring tribes (the Tenakth, Utaru and Oseram among them), the rebel leader Regalla, and forces from the old world. Recurring companions include Varl, Erend, Zo, Kotallo and Alva, with Sylens and Beta playing major story roles.

Combat Fundamentals

Focus and Weak Points

• Hold Focus to scan and tag machines; tagged parts stay highlighted.
• Weak points take bonus damage. Components can be knocked off (and often picked up and used, such as heavy weapons).
• Use Focus Highlight Track to follow a machine's path (on PC it follows your Weapon Wheel key binding since patch 1.4).

Elemental States

Inflicting an element fills a meter; when it fills, the machine enters an elemental state.

Element | What it does

Fire | Burning damage over time

Frost | Brittle; takes extra impact damage

Shock | Stuns the machine briefly

Acid | Corroding damage over time

Purgewater | Drenched state; hampers the machine (check its Focus entry for interactions)

Plasma | Builds up, then detonates for burst damage

Adhesive | Slows machines and limits their movement

The "Used all Elemental States" achievement requires inflicting every state at least once.

Weapon Classes

Class | Role

Hunter Bow | Precise, all-round bow; best for tearing off parts

Sharpshot Bow | Long-range, high-damage precision shots

Warrior Bow | Fast, close-range rapid fire

Boltblaster | Rapid-fire burst damage

Blast Sling | Lobbed explosives and elemental bombs

Tripcaster | Tripwire traps

Ropecaster | Ties machines down

Spike Thrower | Heavy thrown spikes

Shredder Gauntlet | Returning discs that build damage on catch

Specter Gauntlet | Burning Shores weapon, usable while gliding

The "Obtained All Weapon Classes" achievement asks for one weapon of every class.

Melee and Valor Surges

• Melee combos unlock through the skill trees and are essential against human enemies. Spear hits also charge a resonator that you can detonate with an arrow, which rewards mixing spear and bow.
• Valor Surges are powerful abilities charged by skilful play (hitting weak points, tearing parts, stealth kills). Each tree has its own surges; pick one that fits your build and upgrade it.

Heavy Weapons

Pick up detached machine weapons and heavy weapons on the battlefield for huge damage. They slow you down, so use them from safe positions.

Skill Trees

Tree | Focus

Warrior | Melee combos and melee damage

Trapper | Traps and trap damage

Hunter | Bow damage, concentration and ranged precision

Survivor | Health, healing, resistances, looting

Infiltrator | Stealth, silent strikes, fighting humans

Machine Master | Overriding machines and mounts

Recommended early priorities:

• Concentration and ranged precision in the Hunter tree (slow-motion aiming makes part removal far easier).
• Survivor healing and resistance skills to reduce deaths.
• Stealth strikes in the Infiltrator tree for rebel camps and early machines.
• One Valor Surge you like, fully upgraded.

Progression and Upgrades

Weapons and Outfits

• Weapons and outfits come in rarity tiers and are upgraded at workbenches.
• Upgrades need shards (currency), machine parts and resources. The part requirements are why you tear components off.
• Coils go into weapons and weaves into outfits for extra bonuses. Elite coils and weaves are the strongest.
• Fully upgrading weapons also unlocks weapon techniques.

Pouches

Upgrade the Food Pouch, Potion Pouch, Resource Pouch, Trap Pouch and ammo pouches. Bigger pouches mean fewer trips back to stashes. Upgrading every type at least once is an achievement.

Leveling

Aloy earns XP from quests, kills and activities. Skill points come from levels and certain side quests. Achievements exist for reaching levels 20, 30, 50 and 60.

Story Milestones (Spoiler-Light)

The main story unfolds in stages. Achievements track the key beats, which makes a handy checklist:

• Reaching the Daunt and saving it.
• Securing passage to and attending the Embassy.
• Establishing the Base.
• Recovering AETHER, POSEIDON and DEMETER.
• Recovering Beta and Alva's data.
• Flying on the Wings of the Ten (unlocks a flying mount).
• Discovering Faro's fate and learning of Nemesis.
• The finale.

You can return to the open world after the credits to finish side content.

Side Activities

Activity | What to know

Tallnecks | Override to reveal map regions

Cauldrons | Machine factories; overriding each core unlocks new mount and machine overrides

Rebel Camps and Outposts | Combat encounters; good for stealth practice

Relic Ruins | Environmental puzzles with collectible rewards

Salvage Contracts | Task sets for rewards

Hunting Grounds | Timed trials; earn stripes for rewards

Arena | Timed machine fights and challenge sets

Melee Pits | Learn and master melee combos

Gauntlet Runs | Races on mounts

Machine Strike | Board game with challengers across the map

Vista points, Black Boxes and other collectibles | Lore and rewards

Priority for power: Cauldrons (overrides), then Melee Pits (combos), then Hunting Grounds and side quests that reward weapons.

Mounts and Overrides

• Overriding machines at Cauldrons lets you ride or recruit them.
• Achievements track overriding 10 machine types, riding all regular mounts, and completing flying mount quests.
• Mounts massively speed up travel and can fight alongside you.

Burning Shores

Burning Shores is the story expansion included in the Complete Edition. It picks up after the main game, in a new hazardous region, and you need to finish the main story first.

• New machines (Bilegut and Stingspawn appear in its achievements) and a flying water-capable mount.
• The Specter Gauntlet weapon, which can kill machines while gliding.
• New activities including Aerial Captures and the Delvers' Trove.
• A new expansion-only currency, Brimshine, spent on special rewards in the region.
• The antagonist Londra and a final confrontation with his Horus.
• New skills and a level cap increase.
• An optional romance with Seyka.

Difficulty and New Game+

• Difficulties range from Story to Very Hard, plus Ultra Hard (added with New Game+).
• New Game+ carries your gear and levels and adds rewards (NG+ weapons, dyes and face paints).
• Ultra Hard is the hardest challenge in the game; its achievement accepts a fresh or NG+ run.

Achievements Checklist Tips

• Scan every machine type, including the Burning Shores ones.
• Kill one of every Recon, Transport, Combat and Acquisition machine.
• Complete all Hunting Grounds with 3 stripes.
• Beat the Machine Strike challengers.
• Win 2 Gauntlet Runs.
• Complete all quests for "All Quests Completed".
• Finish New Game+ and a run on Ultra Hard.

PC Settings (Nixxes Port)

• Supports NVIDIA DLSS 3 (upscaling and frame generation), DLAA, Reflex, AMD FSR 3.1 with frame generation, and Intel XeSS 1.3.
• For image quality without upscaling, set Upscaling Method to Off and choose FSR 3 Native AA or XeSS Native AA.
• Patch 1.3 added an Interface Text Size option (Large by default on Steam Deck).
• Ultrawide 21:9 and 32:9 plus 48:9 triple-monitor support.
• Full DualSense support (haptics and adaptive triggers) needs a wired connection.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Killing machines without removing valuable parts first.
• Spreading upgrades across too many weapons.
• Ignoring elemental weaknesses.
• Skipping Cauldrons, which unlock mounts and overrides.
• Fighting human camps head-on instead of using stealth.
• Not upgrading pouches.
• Ignoring Melee Pits; melee combos are a big power boost.

Advanced Tips

• Concentration plus Focus tagging makes precision part removal easy on any difficulty.
• Stack a status, then detonate. For example, freeze (Brittle) then hit with impact damage, or build Plasma before a big shot.
• Use traps and Ropecasters on large machines to set up weak-point shots.
• Coils and weaves can dramatically change a build; rework them for tough fights.
• Swap outfits for the situation (stealth, melee, ranged).

FAQ

Do I need to finish the main story before Burning Shores? Yes. The expansion takes place after the main story.

Can I keep playing after the ending? Yes. You return to the open world to finish side quests and collectibles.

What's the best early skill? Concentration-focused Hunter skills plus healing from Survivor make the early game much smoother.

Is Ultra Hard in the base PC release? Yes. Ultra Hard and New Game+ are in the Complete Edition.

What upscalers does the PC version support? DLSS 3, DLAA, FSR 3.1 (with frame generation) and XeSS 1.3.

How long is the game? Plan for dozens of hours for the story and far more for full completion, plus the expansion.

Sources

• Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition on Steam
• Horizon Forbidden West – Wikipedia
• Steam achievements list (app 2420110)
• Steam news – patches 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5