Horizon Forbidden West has decided to expand its fanbase with the PC port released a few weeks back. Released as an exclusive PlayStation game, Horizon Forbidden West has built a large fanbase and the PC port is again expanding it to the next level. However, like other role-playing games, this game features numerous activities which are enough to make players confused about gameplay as beginners. Therefore, looking for some help is something obvious, especially if you are a PC player and haven’t ever played Horizon Forbidden West before. 

The story of the game takes Aloy deep into the mysteries of the Forbidden West. The more you progress, the more you feel the need to learn the combat mechanics and exploration process of the game. These are the basic things to survive. However, there are several things that the game won’t ever tell you, but knowing these little secrets will change your gameplay experience.  

Horizon Forbidden West’s Inner Most Secrets 

Role-playing games are complicated as they take players to an alien world where danger awaits at every step, but players initially don’t have enough resources to fight it. In that case, they have to start the journey from zero and build everything through exploration and understanding the game mechanisms. Horizon Forbidden West fits well in this category. Therefore, as a beginner, if you are looking for some help to start the journey, go through the below tips:

5. You can Fly, But You’ll Need a Mount First

Mounts are kind of a well-known concept in open-world RPGs. These creatures work as fast travel mechanisms in several open-world games and reduce travel time. Horizon Forbidden West also has mounts to travel the vast open world of the game faster. They can even fly to cover distances more quickly than you probably have imagined. 

Of course, the game won’t tell you that mounts can’t be accessed initially. They need to be unlocked through certain story missions. The game has four different mounts available and as players keep progressing through the story missions, they will eventually unlock them one by one. 

4. Explore the Map Thoroughly to Avoid Missing Out on Key Items

This is probably one of the most effective ways to progress smoothly in the game. Let me once again remind you that the game won’t provide you with the necessary resources and items from the beginning. So, you must look for them. The vast open world of the game is the perfect place where you can search for everything you need. Precisely, exploration is the key to progress.

Keep exploring the world and make sure you are not leaving anything behind. The world is full of rich resources like machine parts, medicinal plants, etc. If you stop exploring or avoid going to specific locations, you will probably miss out on several necessary items. 

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One related thing that the game won’t really tell you ever is that you can stock everything you find as Aloy has infinite storage. While her inventory can’t keep everything, resources will automatically go to Stash. Basically, the stash storage is a never-ending one. So, keep exploring without any doubt. 

3. Don’t Avoid Side Quests

Generally, action RPGs are long games that consume several hours to complete. This often makes players ignore the side missions. Expectedly, Horizon Forbidden West also requires more than 60 hours to complete the entire game including all the main and side quests. Not a matter of joke right? That’s why players probably want to skip the side quests. However, we recommend not to do that.

Understandably, main story quests give players all the necessary thrills, fights, and twists. Still, missing on side quests is sometimes a great loss as completing a character-specific questline often provides players with weapons and outfits. Even sometimes Aloy can go through the entire backstory of that specific character or explore some mysteries about herself. 

The game won’t suggest you complete the side quests as you can easily skip them and enjoy the main story, but you should not miss out on them. 

2. Don’t Forget to Use Your Focus to Scan Machines

The Focus is one of the primary abilities Aloy has from the beginning of the series. This ability is powerful enough to give Aloy hints of the dangerous elements around her. However, one thing that’s hidden here is that it can reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the machines. From the smallest one to the largest one, every machine has strengths and weaknesses that players need to know before encountering them. 

This information is specifically required when Aloy requires some machine parts to upgrade her weapons and tools. She can’t randomly hit a machine to get a part. In these cases, scanning a machine using the Focus will reveal where to hit that particular machine and where not. This makes the destroying process a lot easier.

1. Upgrade The Essential Tools – Sell the Unwanted Ones

Aloy can collect everything for sure, but there’s no point in keeping all these items if they are not anymore required. Throughout the journey, players will get multiple weapons and equipment from the merchants and by completing quests and side quests. It’s puzzling to select which to upgrade and which should not. In that case, we recommend avoiding upgrading common and uncommon weapons and equipment when you have high-level weapons in your stock. Upgrading them is only a waste of time and resources as in the later parts of the game they won’t help you anyway.

Now, it is a valid query what should Aloy do with the unwanted items? Well, whenever players visit a merchant, they can always get a selling option to give away their extra items to the merchants in exchange for some in-game money.

These are the things that Horizon Forbidden West won’t tell you ever during the gameplay. Apart from that, players can use the environmental traps to their advantage, medicine pouches should never be left empty, etc., several things players need to figure out as they progress through the game. This may seem annoying, but if the game tells you everything, the excitement of exploring something unknown will be completely ruined.