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- Every Weapon Type
Aloy might be known as a master of the bow, but Horizon Forbidden West puts a few more unique and interesting weapons at your disposal. Each of them brings a whole new style of play, and is suited to a certain type of situation – as such, you will be switching between these weapons often.
So, what are all of these weapons, and when should you use them? On top of that, what are all the various damage types you can use? Let's take a look at all of them, so you know which weapon to choose and for what purpose.
Damage Types
In Horizon Forbidden West, there is a varied amount of damage types for you to get lost in. From standard physical types to all of the elemental effects you could think of, it can be a little overwhelming at first. Luckily, the damage types are fairly straightforward, and as long as you keep a wide array within your arsenal, you'll do just fine.
Here are all the damage types and what they do, for easier readability.
Buildup: Most elemental damages use this, meaning the damage type will stack on an enemy until it leaves a lasting effect.
| Impact | This is the damage most of your arrows will be doing. Arrows also have varying types, but for the most part, they will inflict pure physical damage. |
|---|---|
| Tear | This damage type will focus on removing parts from machines. Useful if you need to damage an armored enemy, or need to remove a component to loot it. |
| Melee | Melee damage is inflicted by your spear and used by other human enemies. |
| Explosive | This damage type will affect the area around the point of impact, and can knock back enemies and machines. |
| Adhesive | Adhesive will apply the enemy, and will slow them down. Useful against larger machines or a group of fast enemies. |
| Fire | Fire will burn enemies, ignite blaze canisters, and damage machines over time on successful buildup. |
| Frost | Frost will apply cold damage to enemies, will trigger a reaction with frost components, and – if frozen on buildup – will increase any impact damage. |
| Shock | Shock damage will trigger a reaction with shock components on machines, and will stun the enemy on successful buildup. |
| Purgewater | Alongside triggering a reaction to purgewater components, this damage type will disable other elemental attacks for the duration of the buildup. |
| Acid | As with other damage types, acid will explode other acid components. It will also weaken and corrode armor over time on buildup. |
| Plasma | This damage will build up over time, and then another bar will appear. Maximize damage to fill the second bar, and a plasma explosion will result at the end of the buildup – the amount of damage depends on how full the bar was. |
Weapon Upgrades
Weapons will have base stats, but some might have locked-out abilities. You might get a new weapon and see it can also deal acid damage, but it appears locked – similarly, slots for weapon coils might be locked. This is where upgrades come in.
- Weapon Coils: These are found or bought throughout the world, and can be put into the slots on your weapons. They will increase damage types or effects, so are worth investing into your most used weapons.
You can upgrade your weapons at any workbench. Head into the menu, and you will see all of your weapons from your inventory – the first being the ones you have equipped at that time. Look at the weapon you wish to upgrade, and it will tell you how many times it can be upgraded, and what materials you need in order to reach the next upgrade.
If you're missing the materials needed for an upgrade, press Triangle to set it as a job – this will add it to your quest log and will set markers for the materials you need.
Every Weapon Type
Below is every weapon type Aloy can bring along on her journey into the Forbidden West, and what purposes they serve. Each weapon can vary in rarity, base stats, damage types, and can be boosted with weapon coils (if they have slots for them).
Various bows can also make use of Overdraw – this can be seen in the menu for the weapon, and is indicated by the crosshair focusing an extra amount while you hold the arrow drawn. When overdrawn, any arrow fired will deal a greater amount of damage.
Spear
The Spear is your default melee weapon, and you will have it at all times. It can only be upgraded in functionality as part of the story, and won't be interchangeable as you progress.
As you play through the game, the Spear will have many uses. It serves as your standard light and heavy attacks, as well as charged attacks. Later on, you can unlock combos within the skill trees that allow you to perform certain moves and abilities with the Spear. This includes block breaking, dash attacks, leap attacks, and even energy attacks.
Outside of combat, the Spear is used as the primary tool for stealth takedowns, and will be the default weapon when sneaking up on any enemies or machines. On top of this, the Spear is used to pry open doors and will obtain attached tools to progress past various blocked paths.
Hunter Bow
The Hunter Bow is the first type of weapon you will have on your adventure. It serves as the all-purpose bow, and while it doesn't quite pack the punch of some other weapons, it does manage to do just about everything you need.
Hunter Bows will use most commonly use standard impact arrows or elemental arrows, and offer a good balance between damage output and buildup speed. Make sure to upgrade the Hunter Bows you have to keep them level with the other damage outputs you have available.
Sharpshot Bow
For when you need a little more range and a powerful shot, the Sharpshot Bow is essential for fighting larger machines. As most will be on top of you, with this bow you can keep your distance and remove components or deal great damage to vulnerable areas.
These bows are ideal for any elemental damage you wish to build up quickly, and also for arrow types that specialize in removing armor and components from machines.
Warrior Bow
These bows are a lot smaller and a lot quicker. Only ideal for close-range combat, the Warrior Bows are an excellent way to fire off multiple arrows in a short span of time.
If you have a Warrior Bow that deals shock or plasma damage types, then the buildup speed here is unmatched. Quickly apply these status effects to enemies, and then switch out to another weapon to deal the damage.
Blastsling
The Blastsling is a weapon you'll receive early on in the opening story mission, and is a slingshot that fires off small bombs. As you aim it, you will see a white line indicating the travel path of the bomb fired.
The bombs used in a Blastsling can vary with damage types, but are excellent for buildup speed – especially at a longer range. Use frost bombs to freeze enemies quickly, or just plain old explosives to deal a wide array of damage.
Tripcaster
A returning tool from Zero Dawn, the Tripcaster is as useful as ever. Lay down tripwires across the battlefield – mid-battle or preemptively – and watch as the machines get caught in your traps. This is ideal for larger machines, but can be used to halt swarms of smaller enemies too.
The tripwires can trigger elemental attacks, such as shock or explosive. However, some will also lay down a shield between the tripwires, blocking off ranged damage coming your way. A great defensive tool, the Tripcaster is one you shouldn't ignore.
Boltblaster
The Boltblaster is a fun new tool in Horizon Forbidden West. Essentially a massive crossbow, the Boltblaster charges up and fires a burst of bolts towards an enemy. The damage isn't the highest, but it is perfect for utilizing buildup on an enemy.
Also, if a smaller machine is weak to plasma, and you happen to have a Boltblaster loaded with plasma bolts, you can make short work of it without having to worry about weak points or other vulnerabilities – just fire away and be done with it.
Ropecaster
Another returning tool from Horizon Zero Dawn, the Ropecaster is your saving grace when large machines won't give you some space. Charging up the ropes and firing them into a machine will tie them to the ground, limiting their movement greatly for a time. Ropecasters can also inflict elemental damage, affecting enemies further.
Some Ropecasters will also attach canisters of an elemental type to an enemy (rather than tie them down). These can then be shot with the correlating elemental arrows in order to trigger damage of that type. Perfect for any enemies that don't seem to have immediate vulnerabilities.
Spike Thrower
Spike Throwers are a powerful new addition to Forbidden West, and will launch large spikes into enemies that stick on impact. These are great for dealing a huge amount of damage, and have a good range to them.
Most will use standard impact, causing a massive amount of damage. However, other spikes will explode, cause elemental buildup, or you can even get drill spikes that stick and cause ongoing damage to machine components – needless to say, having one of these on you at all times is ideal.
Shredder Gauntlet
Finally, the last new addition to the game – the Shedder Gauntlet. These weapons will charge up a throw and launch circular blades at an enemy, causing repeated and penetrative damage to an area. Upon impact, the blade will also return to you, which you can catch by standing in its way.
While these are fairly good at dealing some damage, catching the blades is the focus. If you throw and catch the blade three times consecutively, the blade will hold a charge, and will deal heavy explosive damage on its fourth impact.
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