Not only does it rip away armor plates - exposing the weaker machine innards - it also strips off weapons that you can then pick up and turn against your opponents. Tear is quietly one of the most effective tools in Aloy's robodino-hunting arsenal. Tear doesn't deal direct damage, but it's got the ability to strip components - including heavy mounted weapons - off machines of all sizes. Because of this, it's often a good idea to rapid-fire elemental arrows rather than wait for full-strength shots to build up.Īloy also has special "tear"powered attacks on some of her weapons. It's essentially the ranged version of Aloy's ability to hack nearby machines and turn them over to her side.Įlemental effects stack, so the more you pelt a machine with, say, freeze arrows, the more that freeze effect builds up and the longer it lasts. Machines that have been corrupted turn and fight their own kind for as long as they remain in that state. There's also a fourth element in Horizon, called Corruption. They also have added effects: fire comes with low damage over time shock locks machines in place and freeze slows them down while also boosting the damage taken from regular arrows. The elemental attacks - Fire, Shock, and Freeze - work best against machines that are weak to those elements. In truth, its ability to fire Precision, Tearblast, and Harvest arrows - all of which are useful for stripping machine enemies of their components - makes it a go-to weapon when you're facing one of the larger robodinos. So the Sharpshot Bow, for example, isn't Horizon's take on a sniper rifle. Let me say it again, in bold letters, to really drive the point home: ammo is everything in Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Horizon doesn't do a great job of explaining this: the ammo you can use is specific to each weapon, which in turn affects what you have quick access to when you're in combat. Each weapon is defined by the ammo it uses Prioritize upgrading those first, especially the Hunter and Sharpshot. It's also worth noting: while each weapon has value in different situations, you'll get the most use - by far - out of Aloy's bows. So if you pick up the blue Carja Sling from the early game vendor, you can sell or skip buying the green one. When it comes to inventory management, there is no point in keeping a lower-level weapon once you get your hands on its higher-level equivalent. Purple weapons represent the pinnacle: collect them all and you'll have access to every damage type in the game. Blue ones offer more power and ammo variety. Green ones are your entry-level items, picked up early and at a low price. You'll find a couple of these scattered throughout the game - including at least one that Aloy receives as a quest reward - but they all operate under the same basic rules that IRL shotguns do: short range, wide spread, high damage against large targets in close proximity.Īs you delve deeper into Horizon's world you'll notice that weapons are color-coded. Rattler: The Rattler amounts to a primitive shotgun. You use the Tripcaster to lay down tripline traps that produce an increasing variety of effects as you get your hands on more powerful Tripcasters.
Tripcaster: There's also just one of these. Multiple shots are necessary to immobilize larger threats. Shooting a machine creature with the Ropecaster tethers it to wherever you were standing when the shot connected. Ropecaster: There's only one kind of Ropecaster, and it only serves one purpose: immobilizing robodinos. Both are used to lob explosive rounds a short distance, with the latter being more focused on direct damage. Slings: There are two slings to choose from - the basic version and a Blast Sling. Each one serves a different purpose and there is value in owning all three. Knowing how each weapon behaves and what it works well, or poorly, against is critical to hunting robodinos in Horizon.īows: There are three types - Hunter Bow, War Bow, and Sharpshot Bow. There are five basic weapon types, with different variations available for each one.