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 walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Chainscrape | Focus scanning and weak points basics | Warrior Melee Brave | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Barren Light | elemental status buildup mastery | Warrior Melee Brave | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Plainsong | Valor Surges + gear | Hunter Sharpshooter or Warrior Melee Brave | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | The Memorial Grove | Build optimization | Hunter Sharpshooter | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Legacy's Landfall | Min-max | Hunter Sharpshooter or Machine Master | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (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.
Level/Difficulty: Roughly levels 5 to 10 Key Rewards: First real merchant access, early weapon upgrades, side quests that hand out skill points
What to Do in Chainscrape
- 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. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Warrior Melee Brave as your starting role. See our builds guide for why.
- 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.
- Acquire your first weapons upgrade: Hunter Bow or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Focus scanning and weak points fundamentals
- Warrior Melee Brave selected and functional
- Chainscrape main content cleared
- Ready for Barren Light
Phase 2: Early Game (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.
Level/Difficulty: Roughly levels 8 to 14 Key Rewards: Tenakth gear introduction, gateway to the wider Forbidden West map
What to Do in Barren Light
- Work on elemental status buildup. Frost, fire, shock, acid, plasma and purgewater each build a meter on a target before triggering. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Hunter Bow if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- 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.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Plainsong.
- Consider whether Hunter Sharpshooter might suit your playstyle better than Warrior Melee Brave.
Phase 2 Checklist
- elemental status buildup integrated into gameplay
- Hunter Bow acquired
- Barren Light fully cleared
- Ready for Plainsong
Phase 3: Mid Game (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.
Level/Difficulty: Roughly levels 15 to 22 Key Rewards: Herbalist supplies, cooking recipes for permanent health and stamina bonuses, mid-game weapon tiers
What to Do in Plainsong
- Master Valor Surges. Each of the six skill trees hosts Valor Surges, one-off ultimate abilities charged by fighting well. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Sharpshot Bow. It's the best weapon and becomes accessible around now.
- 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.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in weapon coils and armor weaves for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Valor Surges mastered
- Sharpshot Bow acquired or in progress
- Plainsong fully cleared
- Ready for The Memorial Grove
Phase 4: Late Game (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.
Level/Difficulty: Roughly levels 20 to 30 Key Rewards: Arena medals traded for exclusive weapons and outfits, plus repeatable machine practice
What to Do in The Memorial Grove
- Finalize your build. You should be running Hunter Sharpshooter or Warrior Melee Brave with optimized gear.
- Sharpshot Bow should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- 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.
- Cauldron overrides optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Legacy's Landfall.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Sharpshot Bow upgraded to max
- The Memorial Grove fully cleared
- Ready for Legacy's Landfall
Phase 5: Endgame (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.
Level/Difficulty: Post-campaign, around level 40 and up; the level cap rises from 50 to 60 with the expansion Key Rewards: Burning Shores weapons and outfits, new machines including the Bilegut and Waterwing, and the expansion's apex encounters
What to Do in Legacy's Landfall
- Legacy's Landfall tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- 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.
- The endgame loop: run Legacy's Landfall, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Machine Master for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Cauldron overrides mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Legacy's Landfall fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- 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
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- 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.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
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 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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