Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is the PC version of Guerrilla's 2022 sequel, ported by Nixxes and released on Steam and the Epic Games Store on 21 March 2024 with the Burning Shores expansion included. This is a different game from Horizon Zero Dawn: Aloy travels west into drowned and buried stretches of old America where Tenakth clans, Utaru farmers, Oseram forge towns and the newly arrived Quen all hold ground, and machines such as the Tremortusk, Slitherfang and Slaughterspine set the ceiling for what a fight can throw at you. The PC build adds DLSS 3, FSR, XeSS and DLAA support, an unlocked framerate, DirectStorage, ultrawide up to 48:9, and graphics presets from very low to very high.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best characters, weapons worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Focus scanning and weak points
Holding the Focus highlights a machine's components, elemental canisters and armor plates, and marks the parts worth shooting off. Tear damage removes those parts, which both disables the attack they power and drops the resource you need for upgrades.
elemental status buildup
Frost, fire, shock, acid, plasma and purgewater each build a meter on a target before triggering. Frost raises the damage a machine takes, acid strips armor over time, and purgewater removes a machine's own elemental attacks, so stacking the right two matters more than raw damage.
Valor Surges
Each of the six skill trees hosts Valor Surges, one-off ultimate abilities charged by fighting well. Ranged Master boosts ranged damage and heals on hit, Melee Might raises melee damage, Part Breaker increases component damage, and Toughened resists status effects while restoring health.
weapon coils and armor weaves
Weapons take coils and outfits take weaves, both of which add percentage bonuses to damage types, elemental buildup, stealth or health. Upgrading gear at a workbench unlocks more slots, so a fully upgraded rare weapon usually beats an unupgraded legendary.
Cauldron overrides
Cauldrons are machine factories running underground, and finishing one unlocks override codes for additional machine types. An overridden Clamberjaw or Tremortusk fights alongside you, and the same codes let you mount more machines for travel.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition combat guide.
Characters Overview
| Role | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Sharpshooter | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Warrior Melee Brave | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Trapper | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Infiltrator | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Machine Master | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Weapons Guide
| Weapon | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Sharpshot Bow | Slow, heavy single-shot bow built for precision damage into weak points and canisters. | Stripping cannons, canisters and armor plates from large machines at range |
| Hunter Bow | The general-purpose bow that carries several ammo types, including the elemental arrows you use to build frost, fire or shock. | Applying elemental status and handling medium machines at mid range |
| Spike Thrower | Launches heavy explosive spikes that deal large impact damage, benefiting from the Powershots Valor Surge alongside bows, boltcasters and ropecasters. | Punishing stationary or slow machines and finishing a frozen target |
| Shredder Gauntlet | Throws a returning disc that gains damage each time you catch and rethrow it in rhythm. | Burst damage on an isolated machine when you have room to time the catches |
| Boltblaster | Sustained rapid-fire weapon that spins up and then pours bolts into a target, trading precision for volume. | Melting an exposed weak point after a component has already been torn off |
Sharpshot Bow: Slow, heavy single-shot bow built for precision damage into weak points and canisters. It is the most efficient tool for removing components once Concentration is unlocked in the Hunter tree.
Hunter Bow: The general-purpose bow that carries several ammo types, including the elemental arrows you use to build frost, fire or shock. Faster to draw than the Sharpshot, so it handles machines that close distance.
Spike Thrower: Launches heavy explosive spikes that deal large impact damage, benefiting from the Powershots Valor Surge alongside bows, boltcasters and ropecasters. Slow to aim and unforgiving against fast targets.
Shredder Gauntlet: Throws a returning disc that gains damage each time you catch and rethrow it in rhythm. Mastering the catch timing turns it into one of the highest single-target damage options in the game.
Boltblaster: Sustained rapid-fire weapon that spins up and then pours bolts into a target, trading precision for volume. It drains stamina and ammunition quickly, so it works best in a window you created with something else.
Full breakdowns in our Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Chainscrape | Roughly levels 5 to 10 | First real merchant access, early weapon upgrades, side quests that hand out skill points |
| Barren Light | Roughly levels 8 to 14 | Tenakth gear introduction, gateway to the wider Forbidden West map |
| Plainsong | Roughly levels 15 to 22 | Herbalist supplies, cooking recipes for permanent health and stamina bonuses, mid-game weapon tiers |
| The Memorial Grove | Roughly levels 20 to 30 | Arena medals traded for exclusive weapons and outfits, plus repeatable machine practice |
| Legacy's Landfall | Post-campaign, around level 40 and up; the level cap rises from 50 to 60 with the expansion | Burning Shores weapons and outfits, new machines including the Bilegut and Waterwing, and the expansion's apex encounters |
Chainscrape: An Oseram mining settlement and the first major town Aloy reaches, built and maintained by Oseram hands. It sets the template for later settlements with a hunting goods merchant, a workbench and stash access.
Barren Light: The border fort controlling entry into Tenakth territory, filling the same structural role that Daytower did in Horizon Zero Dawn. Reaching it marks the point where machine difficulty steps up sharply.
Plainsong: A Utaru settlement built around cultivated land, offering a hunting goods merchant, an herbalist, a workbench, a cook and stash access. Scalding Spear sits directly west of it, so the pair make a convenient supply loop.
The Memorial Grove: The Tenakth site holding the Maw of the Arena, where you fight machine encounters under fixed rules for arena medals. It is optional content but the reward track is one of the better gear sources in the mid game.
Legacy's Landfall: The main settlement of the Burning Shores expansion, set on the drowned remains of the Los Angeles coast. The expansion is included in the Complete Edition but only unlocks after you finish the base game's main story.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Scan before you shoot, every single time. The Focus lists a machine's components, elemental weakness and canister positions, and a Slaughterspine encounter you enter blind will cost you far more resources than the 10 seconds a scan takes.
- Freeze first, then hit hard. Frost buildup raises the damage a machine takes for a window, so the standard high-level pattern is elemental arrows from the Hunter Bow to trigger frost, followed by Sharpshot Bow or Spike Thrower shots into a weak point.
- Upgrade one weapon per damage type rather than spreading resources. Workbench upgrades add coil slots and raise base stats, and a fully upgraded rare bow routinely outperforms a legendary you have not touched. Machine components you tear off are the main upgrade currency, which is another reason to aim for parts.
- Purgewater is the answer to elemental machines. Applying it strips a machine's ability to use its own elemental attacks, which turns a Fireclaw or a Frostclaw encounter into an ordinary melee fight.
- Clear Cauldrons earlier than the main quest suggests. MU, GEMINI, IOTA and CHI each unlock override codes for more machine types, and a mount plus an overridden heavy machine changes how the open world plays long before the story catches up.
- Pick a Valor Surge that matches your tree rather than the highest number. Ranged Master heals you on ranged hits, which suits a build with no Survivor investment; Toughened restores health and resists status, which suits a melee brave who is going to eat attacks regardless.
- Cook and craft before a hunt. Recipes give permanent health and stamina increases and the ingredients come from ordinary foraging, so a session spent cooking pays out across the rest of the campaign.
- Play Machine Strike if you want gear without combat. The in-world board game hands out rewards from opponents scattered across settlements, and it is the least dangerous progression track in the game.
- Do not start Burning Shores early looking for power. It unlocks only after the base story completes, raises the cap from 50 to 60, and its machines are tuned for a finished build rather than a mid-game one.
- Tune the PC settings rather than defaulting. The port supports DLSS 3, FSR, XeSS and DLAA, and on mid-range hardware upscaling at a higher internal resolution usually looks better than dropping the preset from high to medium.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Body-shooting machines instead of tearing off components, which wastes ammunition and forfeits the upgrade materials.
- Spreading upgrade resources across six weapons so none of them reach their final coil slots.
- Ignoring elemental status and trying to out-damage an apex machine with raw arrow output.
- Skipping Cauldrons, then wondering why override options and mounts stay limited well into the second act.
- Assuming this is Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered; the Complete Edition is the 2022 sequel plus Burning Shores, not a remaster of the first game.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in the Complete Edition?
The base Horizon Forbidden West game plus the Burning Shores expansion, released together on PC on 21 March 2024. There is no separate Burning Shores purchase needed on PC.
Should I play Horizon Zero Dawn first?
Yes if you care about the story. Forbidden West picks up after the first game and assumes you know its cast and setup. The systems carry over too, so the first game doubles as a tutorial for scanning, tearing and elemental play.
How does the PC port run?
Nixxes handled the conversion and the feature list is thorough: DLSS 3, FSR, XeSS, DLAA, unlocked framerate, DirectStorage, ultrawide up to 48:9, full mouse and keyboard rebinding and Steam Input controller support. Presets run from very low to very high to cover older hardware.
What is new compared to the first game's combat?
Underwater traversal and combat, the Shieldwing glider, Valor Surges as chargeable ultimates, six skill trees instead of three, and a wider weapon list including the Shredder Gauntlet, Spike Thrower and Boltblaster. Machines are larger and more varied, headed by the Tremortusk, Slitherfang and Slaughterspine.
Is Burning Shores worth playing right away?
You cannot. It unlocks only after the main campaign, and it raises the level cap from 50 to 60 while introducing apex machines tuned for a finished build. Treat it as the endgame rather than a side trip.
More Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Guides
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Best Builds
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Tier List
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Walkthrough
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Beginner's Guide
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Tips & Tricks
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Weapons Guide
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Combat Guide
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Boss Guide
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Maps & Locations
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Crafting Guide
- Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Classes & Characters
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