Electric Arrows Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Cypher Dawn has an extensive armory of weapons to apply in gainsay (confronting both machines and humans). Equally the weapons get better and stronger, they too go more and more specialized.

In this Horizon Zero Dawn guide, we'll teach you about weapon modifications, and then move on to the 11 classes of weapons — 12 if you lot include the spear — available to Aloy (including the weapons available in The Frozen Wilds DLC). Instead of just list weapons and describing the effects of the various ammos in the game, we'll draw each type of weapon broadly, and so give you our favorite means to use them.

Weapon variants and rarity
Spear (and lance)
Hunter Bow
Sharpshot Bow
State of war Bow
Rattler
Ropecaster
Sling
Boom Sling
Tripcaster
Tearblaster
Forgefire, Icerail, and Stormslinger

Weapon variants and rarity

Every class of weapon (except for Aloy's spear) has iii versions to discover. You lot'll start with the basic version of each — usually given to you during the story or purchased from merchants. As you progress further into the game and farther into Horizon Cipher Dawn'south world, yous'll find better and rarer versions.

The basic version will be green, indicating that information technology'south uncommon, the rare version volition be the Carja variant of the weapon, and the very rare version will exist the Shadow variant. Other variants of some weapons tin be found in merchant boxes. There are also variations of weapons bachelor in The Cut in the northeast of the map. These are Banuk versions of weapons added by The Frozen Wilds DLC.

The Carja and Shadow versions of weapons add a modification slot and a new blazon of ammo.

Weapon modifications

Weapon modifications are like upgrade slots for your weapons. Better, rarer versions of the weapons (run into above) add together boosted slots for modifications.

You'll observe modifications everywhere while playing Horizon Aught Dawn — you'll buy them from merchants or find them by killing machines.

Modifications adjust the stats for the weapons they're equipped on. They exercise things similar increase impairment types, or improve handling (fire charge per unit and speed). The benefits from modifications exercise stack, then y'all can go multiple increases by calculation multiples off the aforementioned modification to a weapon.

Spear (and lance)

Aloy'south spear is your basic weapon and tool. The spear isn't a specialized weapon, but that means it'due south neither strong nor weak. It's just an all-effectually weapon. Information technology'due south also your only melee weapon, so you'll rely on it a lot when things go sideways during stealth or ranged gainsay.

You'll receive upgrades to your spear as role of the main story and when unlocking Skills. Toward the end of the main story, you'll receive a new version of the spear, a lance — that we won't talk about for story spoiler reasons.

In The Frozen Wilds DLC, the "A Secret Shared" side quest unlocks one weapon modification slot for the spear (or 2 for the lance).

Hunter Bow

Horizon Zero Dawn weapons and modifications guide — The Shadow Hunter Bow with Burn down Arrow.

The Hunter Bow is your basic ranged weapon, as well as the first ranged weapon you'll get. You lot'll start with Hunter Arrows, which are your basic ranged ammo. The Carja Hunter Bow adds Burn Arrows that deal Flame damage and inflict the Burn status. The Shadow version adds Hardpoint Arrows that deal Tear damage.

The first three versions of the Hunter Bow add a Weapon Modification slot and a new type of ammo equally you lot find or buy the better versions. The Banuk Striker bow adds the ability to overdraw (depict back your shot longer to add damage).

All-time ways to use Hunter Bows

Being your near basic ranged weapon, the Hunter Bow is a adept generalized weapon. Since bones Hunter Arrows are inexpensive to arts and crafts, they're useful for hunting animals (for crafting supplies) or simply picking a fight from a altitude.

Fire Arrows will inflict the Fire status and detonate the Blaze Canisters found on most machines. Yous'll likewise find Blaze Canisters in almost Eclipse (human) camps. Detonating Blaze Cannisters creates explosions that deal massive damage.

Hardpoint Arrows are slap-up for removing components and armor from machines. You won't get other options for dealing Tear damage until late in the game, and then these are a valuable addition to your armory. Removing armor makes machines more vulnerable to attacks, while removing components gives you more valuable resources to pick upward and removes capabilities from machines.

Sharpshot Bow

Sharpshot Bows are like the sniper rifles of Horizon Nothing Dawn because they greatly increase the distance Aloy can fire. More than importantly, though, Sharpshot Bows add useful new ammo options.

You lot'll start with Precision Arrows that deal the most damage of whatsoever arrow in the game. The Carja version adds Tearblast Arrows that bargain a (slightly delayed) nail of Tear damage. The final version introduces Harvest Arrows that don't deal much damage, but they're specialized for removing components and resources from machines.

Best ways to use Sharpshot Bows

Basically, Sharpshot Bows increase your range for attacks. This makes them great for sniping human and car enemies from a distance.

The Carja and Shadow versions are where the Sharpshot Bows go even more than useful. Tearblast Arrows, while expensive to craft, are amazing for removing armor and components from machines. Start with Shock Wires from a Tripcaster or tie down a machine with a Ropecaster, and Tearblast Arrows will allow you surgically remove a car's near unsafe attacks.

War Bow

War Bows have a range similar to a Hunter Bow, but every type of ammo for the War Bow deals elemental impairment. That makes the War Bow dandy for specialized attacks from range.

You'll showtime with Shock Arrows. These tin detonate Power Cells on machines and (slowly) inflict the Stun status. The Freeze Arrows from the Carja version work in a similar way with Freeze Canisters and the Frozen status. The Shadow State of war Bow gives you Corruption Arrows that drive targets to attack anything they see.

Best means to use War Bows

The regular and Carja versions of the State of war Bow have pretty specialized uses against enemies with exposed Ability Cells and Freeze Canisters. Beingness able to detonate those components is a great manner to deal huge amounts of damage when you can hit them.

The Corruption Arrows of the Shadow version are a great tool to have. With those, you tin can starting time your assault from a distance and in embrace. Once you inflict the Corrupted condition on a machine, information technology'll plough on anything effectually it, including other machines. Corrupting a strong enemy in a group of weaker ones will often practise your task for you past making them fight among themselves and weaken one some other before you fifty-fifty go involved.

Rattler

Rattlers are a late-game weapon that you can think of as somewhere between a shotgun and a automobile gun. Individual shots from a Rattler don't do much impairment, merely Rattlers burn down rapidly (hence the name) and that damage adds upwards fast.

The basic Metal Bolts are really only effective confronting immobilized targets or when you're looking for crowd control. The Carja and Shadow versions of Rattlers, though, add Freeze and Shock damage respectively. This means you've got much faster way to deliver these types of elemental damage than War Bows or Slings.

Best means to use the Rattler

When y'all've got options for bows and Slings that deal greater amounts similar types of impairment, Rattlers don't seem immediately useful, merely at that place are a few situations where they're a neat selection. If you have an immobilized enemy, you don't take to worry about accuracy as much, and the Rattler is a smashing way to deal some general damage. More useful though, is the fast fire charge per unit for elemental damage. This makes Rattlers smashing against airborne enemies similar Glinthawks and Stormbirds. Being able to sweep the weapon while dealing damage also makes it useful against cloaked Stalkers.

Ropecaster

Recollect of Ropecasters as harpoon guns. They don't deal any damage directly, but they can limit the movement of your target. The variants of Ropecasters add new ammo types, just they don't deal any elemental damage. Instead, you lot get more powerful ropes that will tie downward machines with fewer shots.

When a machine is tied down, they're immobilized and effectively stunned. At that point, you can run away and wait for them to costless themselves, use the opportunity to override them, or programme your side by side step.

All-time ways to use the Ropecaster

Ropecasters are great for placing precise shots without the hassle of your target moving around. More than chiefly, they're a reliable way to immobilize machines to become y'all in close for an override or a critical hit.

The all-time use of Ropecasters by far, though, is against flying machines like Stormbirds and Glinthawks. Tying down these flying enemies removes their biggest reward and makes them much, much easier to defeat.

Sling

Aloy's Slings are really only slingshots that burn down bombs. Recollect of it like a low-tech grenade launcher. It'due south the bomb office that makes them a great weapon, since they bargain elemental damage over a large surface area.

You'll start with Freeze Bombs that deal Freeze damage. Fifty-fifty against enemies with no weakness to ice, these bombs are still capable of inflicting the Frozen status, which immobilizes targets and opens them to overrides or disquisitional hits.

All-time ways to use the Sling

Slings are your best mid-range weapon, and they deal huge amounts of elemental damage. While the ammo is expensive to craft, being able to bargain area damage and inflict elemental status effects quickly make them useful in almost whatever state of affairs.

Nail Sling

Boom Slings are a specialized version of Aloy's Sling. They're slower to fire and reload than regular Slings, but they add heady new types of ammo.

You'll offset with Blast Bombs that deal Tear impairment over a larger area than Hardpoint or fifty-fifty Tearblast Arrows. The Carja version adds Sticky Bombs. These bombs deal huge harm and Tear damage. Additionally, they're adhesive and then they move with an enemy, delayed to give yous fourth dimension to get away, and undetectable until they explode. The Shadow version of the Blast Sling brings Proximity Bombs that act like Blast Traps that y'all can place from a altitude.

All-time ways to apply the Blast Sling

Blast Slings work a lot like regular Slings, merely the specialized ammo ways they've got slightly different uses. The Tear damage over a large area is cracking for removing armor and components from several small machines or i large one. The Proximity Bombs are a safer alternative to traps and are easier to place than Blast Wires from a Tripcaster.

The all-time ammo for this weapon, though, is the Sticky Bomb. The delayed explosion means y'all can reposition and hide over again fifty-fifty subsequently y'all start your attack. Even amend, it ways y'all can place multiple, high damage bombs on a single enemy without them noticing. This is peculiarly great for herds of machines like Grazers where you lot'll damage multiple enemies at one time.

Tripcaster

The Tripcaster is an unconventional ranged weapon. It fires out a tripwire for machines to detonate, much like placing a trap does. The benefit of the Tripcaster is that Aloy can fire information technology from cover and at a distance.

Your bones ammo is a Stupor Wire that volition stun whatever sets them off. Yous'll become Blast Wires to deal Tear damage with the 2nd version. The final version volition add Fire Wires to bargain Flame damage.

Best ways to use the Tripcaster

Tripcasters give you lot the benefits of traps without having to go as close to fix them. Both traps and tripwires human activity like mines, but tripwires cover a piffling more area, which makes triggering them more likely.

When y'all have time to set up up an attack on a machine, the Tripcaster is a great way to offset. Lay down a Shock Wire if you desire to shut the distance early on to attack in melee range or override the machines. Just note that Daze Wires deal no harm — they just stun. Striking a tough enemy with a Blast Wire before a fight even begins knocks loose armor and components, exposing weak points and disabling attacks.

Tearblaster

Tearblasters are like a handheld version of the Sharpshot Bow'south Tearblast Arrows. Think of them as a sonic shotgun.

There's only one version of the Tearblaster and only one blazon of ammo.

Best ways to use the Tearblaster

Tearblasters don't deal whatever physical or elemental harm, so they're a highly specialized weapon. Only use them to remove armor and components at mid to shut range. A swell apply for them is confronting machines like Shell-Walkers with their multiple components and many annoying weapons. They're also a great mode to deal rapid Tear damage against immobilized enemies.

Forgefire, Icerail, and Stormslinger

We're lumping the weapons introduced in The Frozen Wilds DLC together. They're all specialized close-range weapons that bargain elemental damage — Flame, Ice, and Shock damage, as you might have guessed from their names.

All-time way to apply the Forgefire, Icerail, and Stormslinger

The uses for these 3 weapons are directly related to the elemental damage they deal. In situations where you desire to inflict elemental harm and statuses, you tin't become wrong with these.