Horizon Forbidden West offers a whole new open-world to go explore. The game is packed full of locations, enemies, and newly introduced features not seen in Zero Dawn – plenty of things that you'll have to learn and become familiar with.
Whether you're thinking of picking up the game or are just getting started on your journey west, there are a few things you should know. From settings you should check in the options menu to features that will benefit you greatly in combat, here are all the things we wish we knew before playing Horizon Forbidden West.
Stand By Screen Mode
If you're playing the game on a PlayStation 5, then you're going to get some speedy load times. If you really want to make the most of this, before even starting a new game, you should toggle this setting in the general options menu.
Stand By Screen Mode will alter the loading screens and how they work. By default, it will be set so that you have to press to continue on every loading screen – this gives you time to read the displayed tips or to ready yourself. However, switching it to Immediate means it will load as soon as it is ready, often in only a few seconds.
Autosaves To The Rescue
Another thing that the game doesn't clearly tell you is the autosave mechanics. While you can manually save and quick save at campfires, and quick saves will also be created when fast traveling, this is often not enough for when there is a tough encounter.
That's where Boss Battle Autosaves and Quest Start Autosaves come in. These saves will be created when you begin a new quest, or just before a boss encounter. If you're struggling with a certain quest or a boss is perhaps too difficult for you at the time, you can use these saves to go back. Either prepare some different equipment or come back at a later date – either way, the option is there.
The Map Will Tell You That You Need A Tool
You might come across some obstacles throughout your journey into the west, and sometimes you won't be able to tackle them until much later. There are various tools you obtain as part of missions in the game, so backtracking is to be expected.
However, if you aren't sure, then check the map. The map will display a little archway and let you know that a missing tool is required to progress in that area. That way, you can be sure you're safe to leave it and come back another day.
Items Will Be Sent To Your Stash, And Can Be Quickly Replenished
In Horizon Zero Dawn, you would often run into the issue of item storage. Not being able to pick up more of what you want, and running out of what you need was a common problem. In Forbidden West, the item stash fixes this. You can pick up as much as you want, and any excess will automatically be sent to your item stash – so get looting.
Similarly, if you're running low on a certain item but don't want to run around grabbing more, head to your stash at a camp or settlement and hold Square to replenish all items. This will move over as many items as possible from your stash to you, topping up on everything you could need.
Use Mark To Sell, But Check The Descriptions
When it comes to selling items in Horizon Forbidden West, you will often find that you have looted a lot of different valuables that can be exchanged for Metal Shards. However, you don't have to sell each thing individually.
When in the selling menu at a merchant, hover over an item and press Triangle to mark it. This will mark it to be sold, and can be done with all the items you want to get rid of so that you can trade in bulk. Just make sure to check the descriptions under 'Used For' on each item you are selling. Some will just note it can be traded, but others might have crafting uses.
Don't Worry Too Much About Where To Put Skill Points
When you first open up the skill tree, it can be a little overwhelming. There are multiple trees you can invest points into, and it seems like a big commitment to throw your first earned points into the tree of your choice. However, you will earn a lot of skill points quickly, so don't worry too much about where to put them early on.
Instead, look to the trees focused on combat. As you'll spend a large amount of the early game fighting smaller machines, and later segments against human enemies, it's worth picking up the spear combos and bow abilities you can get. If you want to see which ones are the most useful, head to the melee pits and hunting grounds – the first of both can be found in The Daunt, and will provide tutorials and trials.
Reassign Your Quick Slots
In the bottom left of the screen are your quick slots – this is where you'll have access to potions, traps, and mounts, as well as other tools such as rocks or smoke bombs. You'll see these build up as you obtain new items and learn how to make new traps. However, it can get a little cluttered.
Something you'll want to do early on is reassign the quick slots. If you hold down on the D-pad, you can enter the menu where you craft traps and potions on the go. However, you can also press Square to edit a slot, or select an empty slot, and then pick what you want to put there. It's worth keeping on top of this to make sure all of your potions and traps are organized, and you can remove anything you don't plan on using.
Always Pulse Scan With Your Focus
A new function to the focus in Horizon Forbidden West is the ways you can scan. While Zero Dawn only had a full scanning mode, Forbidden West has two types – press the right stick to pulse scan, or hold it down to enter full scanning mode (for machine details, tracks, etc.)
The pulse scan is incredibly useful for multiple reasons. You can use it to reveal any loot or items around you, which will remain visible for a short while after. You can also use it to detect climbable surfaces on cliffsides and ruins. These are things you'll want to make plenty of use out of when traversing the world and searching for items.
Smash The Red Barrels
We know every other game tells you not to go up to a red barrel and smack it with a stick, but trust us – it's safe to do here. In fact, they can even contain resources you can pick up, so it's encouraged.
While they won't often contain anything of high value or worthwhile, you will find them all over – especially in bandit camps and ruined settlements. While you're there, smash them up and pick up anything that drops. It's a quick way to grab a few extra resources while out exploring.
Look Out For Rumors At Camps
There are a few settlements and camps throughout the world where you can find some people resting. Some will be merchants, others will be passing through, but oftentimes there will be a person sat by the campfire beckoning you for a chat – they will have a green boxed exclamation mark above their head.
Go over to listen to what they have to say. Aloy will sit beside them as they tell her a rumor, which will indicate a location on the map or begin a side quest for you in the world. It's worth noting where these characters are and checking in with them from time to time – you might just find something new from them.
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