The sequel to the long-awaited Horizon Zero Dawn, Forbidden West was one that fans all around the world were eager to jump into when it was first revealed during the PlayStation Showcase last year.

Horizon Forbidden West takes the main character, Aloy, on a brand-new adventure, and this time around it appears to be one that is elevated immensely off the formula they used in the first title. Furthermore, it seems developer Guerrilla Games is trying to bring more life into the game, with more NPCs to interact with, intriguing side-quests, and a bit more diversity within this post-apocalyptic world.

While you're traveling the world of Forbidden West, you're, of course, going to encounter numerous machines that you'll have to eliminate. Whether you choose to battle them with melee combat or from a distance, there's going to be a number of them that are posing a threat to you as they are mighty dangerous.

So, this is why we're going to run over all the best gear, weapons, skills, and more that you should opt into for Forbidden West. 

Horizon Forbidden West's Best Weapons and Gear

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Within Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games implemented a ton of new weapons for players to use while they venture into the world to fend off machine. Over the course of the story, you'll be able to discover these items through side-quests, story missions, vendors, and if you have the time to explore the world.

The game features various range weapons, close-up ones, and just all-around amazing gear for players to find, and the ones we're going to talk about fall under certain categories.

• Range
• Warrior Bows
• Snapshot Bow
• Thrower
• Gauntlet
• Slingshot
• Tripcaster

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Aloy has a variety of weapons compared to the 2017 Horizon Zero Dawn, and this time around, she'll easily get to utilize them more during combat.

While we're going to run over the best weapons/gear in Forbidden West, these are mainly legendary items you'll find throughout the story, so don't shy away from some of the other weapons in the game, as they're still useful in battles due to their technology, features, and capabilities.

Death Seeker's Shadow

Sony Interactive Entertainment

The first weapon we're going to highlight is Death Seeker's Shadow, which falls under the category of a Hunter Bow. This weapon excels in armor-piercing when battling machines, along with an electrifying aftertaste you'll leave in your enemy's mouths.

Furthermore, it can shoot heat-seeking arrows, which are essential for machines that are superior in speed, so it's definitely worth the time to find.

If you're looking to use this weapon, you'll have to play through the Arena games that are in Forbidden West. While this may take some time, we think it's certainly worth the investment, simply due to the sheer damage and target-honing missiles the weapon has to offer for players during their journey in 2022.

The Sun Scourge

Sony Interactive Entertainment

The second Hunter Bow we're going to talk about is The Sun Scourge, one of the premier weapons within the game, mainly due to the wide array of elemental arrows and other ammunition this weapon has to offer for players.

This bow has widely been touted as the one players will need to get when they load up Horizon Forbidden West, and it's easy to see why.

If you're looking for this bow, you'll have to complete the First Forged mission, which will become available to players once they conquer all Rebel Camps around Forbidden West.

The Blast Forge

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Moving away from Hunter Bows, we're now going to talk about The Blast Forge, which is an armor-piercing weapon that can be deadly against high-level machines who pack a punch when it comes to the amount of armor they have.

These Boltblasters are without a doubt some of the best ways you'll be able to go about the process of eliminating some of these machines during your exploration around Forbidden West.

So, it's in your best efforts to go out and track down this weapon. Thankfully, you won't have to do much in order to obtain this weapon, you'll just need to trade in 54 Arena Medals, which can be obtained during your ventures within the Arena matches when you unlock them in the future of your playthrough.

The Skykiller

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Moving along to another throwable weapon that Aloy will be able to unlock, we have a Thrower weapon called The Skykiller. This weapon excels in various categories, but more so when it comes to the explosive nature that the weapon is best known for.

Additionally, it's one of the easier weapons players will be able to access.All players need to accomplish is to enter the side-quest No Way Home, and upon completing this, they'll be granted the weapon, which will aid your search throughout the game.

Tinker's Pride

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Without a doubt, the best Tripcaster within the game, Tinker's Pride, is perhaps one of the premier items within this list that you MUST go out and obtain for your adventures in Horizon Forbidden West.

During the course of the game, you're going to have to track machine movements and strategize a little bit in regards to how you're going to take a flock of them out.

Well, this is where Tripcasters come in handy, as they're able to lay down traps to catch these monsters off guard, and there's no better one than the Tinker's Pride. This is without a doubt the best caster within Horizon, and dating back to 2017, it far exceeds some of the weapons we've seen in the previous installment.

In order to to obtain this item, you're going to have to complete Hunting Grounds mission throughout the world, and once you complete most of these, then you'll be able to access this amazing weapon for your use!

Ancestor's Return

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Moving away from projectile/support weapons once again, we're going to focus on another weapon that falls within the Gauntlet category, but it may be one of the hardest items for players to obtain throughout their adventure in Horizon.

Basically, you're going to have to capture and secure Ornaments throughout the game, which can be rather tedious to find, and they're most likely going to be found via the following methods.

• Ruins
• Missions

Once you've captured all of the, you're going to want to head over to Stemmur, and once they realize you've obtained all of them you'll be gifted this Gauntlet to use!

Oseram Artificer

Sony Interactive Entertainment

We're now going to move on to talking about some of the Legendary Armor sets that Aloy can gain access to within the post-apocalyptic world that is Forbidden West. These are going to be just as vital as Bows, Gauntlets, and other forms of weapons; as you'll notice quickly that this Horizon is vastly harder than the previous game.

This armor set will grant Aloy benefits against all elemental damage, along with a wide array of additional features and benefits that players will certainly want to take advantage of.

If you're looking to snag this piece of gear, you're first going to want to head further west, past Barren Light. Then, you're going to talk to Keruf, who'll task you with completing numerous Salvage contracts around the Horizon Forbidden West map, in total, there are four locations you're going to have to head to.

Once this is complete, head back to Keruf, and he'll notice that the armor sets aren't quite up to par on themselves, but molding them all together will give you the Oseram Artificer armor set!

Other Legendary Armor Sets

Sony Interactive Entertainment

While the Oseram Artificer gear is without a doubt the best within Horizon Forbidden West, there's some other ones that may be worth your time to achieve if you're unable to complete the Salvage quests.

While these aren't up to par as the Oseram Artificer, these are still classified as the Legendary gear set, and as such, have benefits to the following categories.

• Elemental Resistance
• Concentration
• Stamina Regeneration
• Health
• Defense
• Offense
• Traps

Below are also images of the Armor Sets along with some of the benefits they have.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Wings of the Ten

Sony Interactive Entertainment

We haven't talked about Blastslings yet, so no better time to talk about them than right now! Wings of the Ten is one of the Legendary Blastslings that players will find throughout their adventure and it'll greatly enhance their gameplay.

Wings of the Ten will fire off different types of ammunition and will greatly benefit you in fights against some of the faster Machines you'll encounter around Forbidden West. In order to obtain this Blastsling, you'll need to find and collect all 12 Black Boxes throughout the game.

Forgefall

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Another Bow we're going to talk about is the Legendary Sharpshot Bow, Forgefall, which is another weapon under the Legendary class in Forbidden West.

Although we've talked about weapons that specialize in Elemental Damage, this one separates itself from others in its class, due to the Plasma damage it offers for players when they fire an arrow onto Machines.

Plasma is perfect for getting rid of shields and armor that certain enemies have within the game, and in order to snag this bow, you'll have to pass in 54 Arena Medals within Forbidden West.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Horizon Forbidden West Tips and Tricks

Now that we've gone over some of the most popular and best weapons/gear within Forbidden West that Aloy has access to, it's also in your best interest to run over some tips and tricks we've encountered in our playthrough that we think will be helpful for you.

Encompassing some of the factors that made Horizon Zero Dawn one of the premier releases back in 2017, Guerrilla Games has expanded on their model once again, and we're able to use a lot of the same tips and tricks that we talked about more than five years ago.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Complete Cauldrons

This is a mechanic that was implemented during Horizon Zero Dawn and has popped up once again during Forbidden West, and players will be able to unlock this feature around the early portions of the game.

Basically, for those who don't know, Cauldrons are hidden locations around the map where players will be able to explore, solve puzzles, and more, with the rewards being able to overtake and ride more Machines within the game.

Completing these Cauldrons will further allow you to gain additional skill points so that you can maximize the efficiency of Aloy in combat, laying down traps, and so on.

Upgrade Your Items

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Workbenches are one of the first components the game introduces to you during your time playing, and you'll often find yourself visiting one over and over and over.

This is because this is where you'll be able to upgrade your weapons, traps, armor and even increase the number of materials you can carry in your pouches.

While this is going to cost you a decent bit of your in-game materials, the benefits are amazing, and you certainly won't regret upgrading your weapons and armor, as you'll also be able to unlock Slots and Weaves.

These are essentially Horizon's modifications, and once you fully upgrade an item, most of the time, you're further able to add one of these modifications, which will implement benefits such as the following:

• Elemental Resistance
• Elemental Damage
• Stamina
• Health Regeneration
• Critical Hit

Stealth Is Important

Sony Interactive Entertainment

One might assume being an open-world game such as Horizon Forbidden West, stealth isn't a major factor during the core gameplay of it. Well, in fact, Aloy's maneuvers around Machines, Rebel Camps, and other enemies are largely going to factor in stealth movements.

Staying out of the line of sight and not aggressing every enemy on the battlefield is basically how you're going to be able to stay alive during these missions and battles. This is why we recommend putting some time and energy into the Stealth tree of Aloy's skill tree, as some of the skills such as not being seen by enemies for longer durations of time are important.

The last thing you want to do is to head into an enemy camp, and immediately agro everyone sight, especially during the early portions of the game. Aloy is rather underpowered compared to some enemies that have access to Plasma weapons and whatnot, so taking the more methodical route is going to be vital here.

Explore

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Horizon Forbidden West is perhaps one of the best open-worlds we've seen within gaming over the last year or so, and this is largely due to the wide array of areas players will be able to explore during their playthrough.

With regions within the mountains, desert, underwater, and jungle variations of the map, there are so many forms of Machines that players will get to discover and track down throughout the West.

This all encompasses the numerous side quests and other tasks you can find within the world and not only are the exclamation marks going to signal when a new side quest is here. But, other NPCs will just want you to sit down with you and talk to you about an undiscovered sit of ruins or a Cauldron that you're bound to want to explore.

So, our last tip to give players is to simply roam around the map, don't be so focused on the main story, as the world that is Horizon Forbidden West is truly amazing, and one that players should explore more.

This wraps up our major guide into some of the best Legendary weapons, gear, and tips and tricks for players diving into the vast open world that is Horizon Forbidden West. If you're enjoying the new game, let us know some of your favorite aspects, and with other titles such as Elden Ring dropping this month, be sure to stay tuned for more news!

Top image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

This article was written by Nick Farrell, a multi-platform editor and writer in the games industry.