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.
Starting Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is a action game built around Focus scanning and weak points and elemental status buildup. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Role
| Role | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Sharpshooter | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Warrior Melee Brave | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Trapper | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Infiltrator | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Machine Master | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Warrior Melee Brave. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Machine Master as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn 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.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Focus scanning and weak points works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to 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.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Hunter Bow: it's the most accessible early upgrade. 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.
Step 4: Understand 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.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to 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.
Essential Mechanics Explained
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.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Body-shooting machines instead of tearing off components, which wastes ammunition and forfeits the upgrade materials
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
2. Spreading upgrade resources across six weapons so none of them reach their final coil slots
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
3. Ignoring elemental status and trying to out-damage an apex machine with raw arrow output
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
4. Skipping Cauldrons, then wondering why override options and mounts stay limited well into the second act
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
5. Assuming this is Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered; the Complete Edition is the 2022 sequel plus Burning Shores, not a remaster of the first game
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Focus scanning and weak points and elemental status buildup
- Choose Warrior Melee Brave as starting role
- Clear Chainscrape main content
- Acquire Hunter Bow or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Barren Light
- 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.
Tips for New Players
- 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.
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 Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Overview
- 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 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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