Guide to the best skills in Horizon Forbidden West - how different types of skills differ, what skills to pump at the beginning of the game

 

Horizon Forbidden West is such a big game that instead of one leveling tree, there are as many as six. At the first meeting, the variety of skills can dazzle your eyes. In this guide, we will tell you all the important information about the branches of development, as well as the ten most useful skills that you should upgrade first.

How is pumping

In total, Aloy has six branches of development:

• Warrior - melee skills;
• Hunter - skills for traps;
• Archer - skills for a bow at a medium distance;
• Witch Doctor - skills for healing and damage resistance;
• Scout - skills for stealth;
• Machine Master - skills to strengthen hacked machines.

You can download one branch at the same time, or all at once.

Even though there are 20 to 31 skills in each specialization, most of them are passive. Outwardly, they are easy to distinguish by a round icon.

Triangular badges - weapon handling technique. There are several of them in each branch and they are tied to a certain type of equipment. Such skills spend weapon stamina - a yellow bar at the bottom of the screen. It replenishes automatically.

Diamond-shaped icons are active skills that act under certain conditions. For example, you will spend fewer resources crafting consumables at the workbench, and not during the journey.

The third category is "tides of courage" - special buffs that provide temporary improvements. To open such skills, you will have to pump several related ones that are nearby. Courage is the purple bar under weapon stamina. Each "tide" has its own, and you can get it for any active actions.

How to quickly get skill points

The game rewards points quite generously with each new level, but there is a way to make pumping even faster. Focus on passing the ruins with relics. You will have to solve small spatial puzzles, but as a reward, you will receive 2 skill points and 5000 experience points.

Unfortunately, not all ruins can be completed at the very beginning of the game. Sometimes you will need special properties of the spear, such as the ability to explode fire glare. You can only get them through the story.

Best Passive Skills

Melee Damage (Warrior) is a passive skill that increases damage from light and heavy attacks. As you progress, you will meet more and more powerful opponents. Although the spear is often not as effective as a ranged weapon, it can help in times of need. Without pumped damage, even combo attacks will become practically useless. The skill can be upgraded up to two times.

Critical Hit+ (Warrior) is another passive ability for the spear. Critical attacks can be inflicted on fallen enemies, but strong vehicles with good armor will not cause much damage. To improve the situation and defeat the robots faster, it is worth spending points to buy this skill.

All Concentration Skills (Archer) - passive abilities that affect the effectiveness and duration of concentration - slow downtime for more accurate aiming. These include "increasing the limit", "accelerating recovery" and "slowing consumption". Even without other skills, using well-developed concentration, Aloy will be able to defeat strong machines. Hitting weak points is a complex process, so without these skills, you simply cannot survive.

All skills to increase and accelerate the recovery of weapon stamina and courage (Archer) - as well as concentration, weapon stamina, and courage - are very important indicators that increase Aloy's effectiveness in battle. All of the strongest actives and bursts of courage will not be as useful on rare casts. Spend points to develop passive skills for weapon stamina and courage, and become invincible.

Potent Medicine (Healer) is a passive ability that increases the effectiveness of healing berries. Believe me, you definitely need this skill at the beginning of the game. Pumped up to two times.

Medicine Pouch Capacity (Healer) - the ability, as you might guess, increases the number of healing berries. Together with the Herbalist active skill, this will allow you to spend much less time on the regular collection of first-aid kits. Pumped up to two times.

Silent Attack+ (Scout) is a good passive ability that will make hunting much easier. Silent attacks can be made from safe thickets, but as with a critical one, it may not kill strong machines. The downside of a silent attack is that after it is completed, the unfinished enemy immediately determines your location and notifies everyone else about it. To prevent such situations, download this passive skill.

Sneak Attack Armor Damage+ (Scout) - The ability increases the penetration effect of arrows when aiming from the undergrowth. A very useful skill, since 90% of the game you will aim at the weak points of the robots from the grass.

Best Active Skills

Warrior Burrow (Warrior) - an active skill that will allow you to do the simplest melee combo - three light attacks and one heavy one. Compared to the first game, melee combat in Horizon Forbidden West has become much more diverse and useful. Now Aloy can combine different types of attacks, but in battle, there will not always be enough time to alternate them correctly. Warrior Nora is easy to remember and just as easy to use, so whatever combo attacks you buy, you should start with it.

Penetrating Rope (Hunter) - This rope thrower technique will allow you to attach the rope to any part of the armor and not waste time pulling the bowstring. A very useful skill that is especially effective against flying opponents.

Triple Volley (Archer) - this weapon technique will allow you to shoot three arrows at once from a bow for medium distances. So you can seriously increase the penetration power of weapons, and hence its lethality.

Herbalist (Healer) - an active skill that will increase the number of medicinal herbs collected. During the game, you can replenish health with potions, but they are quite expensive to make and take time to use.

It is much easier to heal with herbs and berries, which Aloy easily picks up along the way. You can use them with one button, and there will be no special animations, which will have a positive effect on the dynamics of the battle - you can continue to fight while replenishing your health. To simplify the gathering process and spend less time on it, buy the Herbalist skill. Thanks to him, instead of one herb or berry, you will automatically receive two.

Stabilized Shot (Scout) - A powerful kneeling shot that causes the arrow to explode on impact with an obstacle. Consumes up to three arrows of the chosen type and a large amount of weapon stamina. Even if you don't want to play stealth, this skill is worth acquiring. Thanks to him, Aloy, using a high-precision bow, will become a real death machine. Invest in a weapon stamina bar to use the ability more often, and you can defeat even very strong vehicles with a few shots.

Accelerated Spike (Machine Master) - A stud shooter technique that increases its range and damage. This weapon is especially effective against fast vehicles that are difficult to hit with a bow.

Best Surge of Courage Skills

Super shield (Medicine) - A burst of courage that grants you a temporary force shield. At the first level, it will only increase durability to 125 units, increasing maximum health. However, already at the second level, the durability will increase to 250, and 10% of the damage will be returned to the enemy. The third level will increase durability to 400 units, increase damage by 20%, and also deal explosive damage with electricity at the last moment in an area. The skill is especially useful in the early stages of the game when Aloy has a small amount of health.

Invisible Stalker (Infiltrator) - This "rush of courage" makes Aloy invisible for a short time. The ability does not work when aiming and in melee, but at the first level increases the damage from surprise attacks by 50%. The second level increases this figure to 100%. On the third, the damage from surprise attacks is increased to 200%, and stealth kills restore courage.

It is only thanks to this “tide” that Aloy can become a deadly killer, exterminating everyone around. The skill is especially useful in the third phase, as courage will be constantly replenished, which will make invisibility almost infinite. In addition, you will be able to safely place traps in open areas, which will further increase your effectiveness in combat.