Horizon Zero Dawn Catch-All

PaladinTom wrote:

One complaint is that you can't have more than 4 weapons slotted. That's a bummer.

The way I dealt with it is to limit myself further. It seems to work. Basically, I forbid myself from changing weapons in the middle of combat. I only change weapons when no machine is actively attacking me (red icon). Because of this rule, I got into this habit of assessing my loadout before heading into combat or before heading into a machine site or even into an area. If I'm heading into Snapmaw country, I'm loading my Fire Hunter Bow. You can't always ensure that you won't be ambushed en route somewhere so having that in there is a good policy. I swap it out when I'm near Thunderjaws and Tramplers and Behemoths. No sense in equipping that there.

This way also makes you more aware of the interactions between the weapons and how they're modded. A loadout with Freeze Arrows or Freeze Bombs goes well with a damage-modded Sharpshot Bow. If you're going to be taking out the enemy with fire arrows, then maybe don't equip the freeze weapons, too.

I feel like this rule works because it makes you aware that you can swap weapons. If you could swap weapons anytime, then there's no urgency to doing it and you end up never doing it much, even when you have a much better weapon you could be using for the purpose.

Having said that, I just like how the combat in this game works and I'll cop to playing that sweet combat just for the heck of it. I've sunk over 200 hours into this game and much of that is weapons testing and hunting. That's how I know that both the Slings ignore the Shell-Walker shield.

EDIT: Additional tip. Unlike the Banuk bows and other weapons, the Icerail, Forgefire, and Stormslinger have ammo that is cheaper to purchase that it is to make. For instance, if you have your crafting skill upgraded, 3 shots of the Ice Cannon from the Improved Icerail costs 100 Shards and 15 Chillwater. At the merchant, 2 shots are sold per pack, and each pack only costs 56 Shards. Selling the 15 Chillwater alone will get you enough Shards to get 2 shots, and you don't have to sell Chillwater. Selling Blaze is just as profitable, and it's a lot easier to farm Blaze.

I'm also ashamed to admit that after 77 hours playing this, it took watching and Ultra-Hard NG+ speedrun to realize what Handling does (faster draw time on weapons). I'd swapped out my mods in TFW for heavier damage/elemental/tear ones, and disassembled the rest for scraps, then just figured that they'd made a change with the DLC release to make drawing your bow take 3 times as long.

Then I realized why I'm getting slapped around by Building Bears, while this person is firing off 20 arrows in a matter of seconds like he's goddamn Legolas. *facepalm*

Hm. About that.

The Banuk bows are er, bow bows, I guess? If you don't take the time to draw them to their full weight, then they will only do about 70% of the damage of a comparable Shadow bow of similar modification. Handling makes them draw faster, of course, but you still need to do the full draw most of the time. If you're getting harassed by a Scorcher at close range, a Shadow Hunter or Shadow Sharpshot Bow with high handling might be preferable since they do full damage even with minimal draw. That full damage will still only be about half as powerful as a Banuk bow at full draw per shot, but you can spam it like a pistol and get off a lot more shots.

So much better than I am

IMAGE(https://i.redd.it/ukeey07uyb101.gif)

Such a cool sequence, watched that over dozen times.

I didn’t know you can pin tripcaster points to the ground! Sheesh!!!

That gif is representative of how I played most of the game. Over half my kills were with the tripcaster.

PaladinTom wrote:

I didn’t know you can pin tripcaster points to the ground! Sheesh!!!

You mean you can attach them to other things?!

I've definitely seen YouTube videos where it was clear the player thought they could only be attached to the ground, or only to trees, or only to cave walls... Drives me crazy. Basically, if it's inanimate, you can shoot it with a tripcaster anchor.

Ultra-Hard has been not too bad so far, though I say that right before the Ring of Metal, which was a pain in the ass on Very Easy.

Easy, if boring, place to grind XP via Batmanning, though. You won't need it.

I'm finding normal perfectly challenging. I usually suck at games like this, but the open aspect makes trial and error fun. Plus, the controls are so well done, that I'm never fighting the design. I usually die the first time or so I take on a new machine or if I'm just exploring and not paying attention to where I'm going. Plus there's no shame in running away!

I'm level 20 and already have all of my gear upgraded and I just bought the third level stealth armor. I just need one more fox skin for the unlimited fast travel bedroll.

I dearly love this game. I don't regret delaying this game for Zelda back in March though because I don't think I could go back to Zelda after playing this. I played them in the "correct" order for me.

Finished Frozen Wilds.

As I threatened, this was from a fresh start. I was supposed to go to the Gravehoard when I was close enough to level 30 to peel off and hit the new area.

Spoiler:

Some of the infodump after the final fight is interesting because at this point, Aloy doesn't know some things, such as what Hephaestus is. She has an open invitation to come back and ask more questions as she learns more in the main quest line. Wonder how it would all play out if I had just jumped in with my end-of-game save.

Guess I'll have to finish it and see. You know, I actually pity those Shadow Cultist bastards now. Level 48 Aloy, armed to the teeth with Banuk weapons and those unique mods, is going to go through them like crap through a goose.

Might have to wait until I chip away at the backlog, though.

I just finished Frozen Wilds as well. I did it from my end game save and it sounds like my dialogue was similar to what Agatha’s described above.

Spoiler:

I liked how the upcoming conflict with Sylens is setting up for the next game; especially the exchange at the end of the Frozen Wilds main quest line.

For new players, I'll repeat my recommendation of hunting Scrappers and Glinthawks for Processed Metal Blocks that you can trade for animal parts in Meridian. That's if you don't particularly like hunting for animals.

So I'm in a weird point where Horizon doesn't really come to me as a craving to play, but if I'm in the mood to game I know I'll have a good time of it. Unfortunately, it's also a game where I'm fighting with my mental state of "how close am I to the end?" This is an awful place to be in because every mission quest that isn't clearly closer to the conclusion ends up leaving me irritated. I imagine this is largely because I don't find this narrative all that fascinating, and keep wondering when it becomes good. I'm at Meridian, which in my head feels like it should be the halfway point, but I don't want to fall down that hole because then if it turns out I'm only 1/3rd through I'll end up hating the game.

Sometimes the game tricks me, like Doom 3 and DOOM, where it keeps feeling like the game hits a good stopping point only to say "Wait, no, gamers want games to be long so let's drag this sh*t out". Which has me feeling like there's going to be a whole other overworld map a la Shadow of Mordor or something, because I've nearly explored the current one fully and nothing has really happened of note in the narrative so far.

I'm doing side quests right now because Meridian was full of them and they largely involve killing stuff to look tough. The combat is getting more exciting as I level up, get better with my gear, learn to strategize and set traps, etc. Sometimes combat also blows because there's no real good way to plan an attack in the environment. Even so, there's a lot of fun to be had here, I just wish there was a more concise approach to building the game with hunting in mind. Most of the quests do involve hunting, yes, but... I dunno. It doesn't feel... right, somehow. Or rather, it feels limited.

I dunno how else to describe it, honestly.

Meridian technically is a halfway point in the main story, but it also opens up the world completely to you, easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. I suggest do what seems fun to do for you right now.

Glancing at the FAQ, it seems I am right before the point of no return in the main story, been really enjoying the game last few days. Bit off topic, but where is the most convenient place to upload the shots from ps4 to post here?

Meridian for me was maybe 1/3 of the way through. The Cauldrons are typically considered optional, but you find out something pretty important in them. The DLC is a lot more explicit about it, though.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to huff it to Meridian right away as it is quite a ways off. I explored most of the eastern area of the map (except for the far north), and then stuck mostly to corridor leading to Meridian. I also love it when open world games have a variety of changing scenery in them.

Now I’m getting quests in Meridian that I’m over-leveled for, which doesn’t bother me much as I feel I’ve earned Aloy's bad-assness.

Question: Are the lodge weapons worth collecting if I’ve already got all blue and a couple of purple weapons?

They're a bit of a step up from Shadow weaponry, but the main determinant of your weapon's efficacy will still be from your modifications. They're nice for bragging rights and because the lodge trials are a nice bit of puzzle solving.

Sometimes combat also blows because there's no real good way to plan an attack in the environment.

So long as you have the time and space to actually plan your attack, there's usually a way to combine your equipment and the terrain features to finish a hunt without taking much damage.

It bears mentioning that each of Aloy's weapons are really multiple weapons in one. So a Sharpshot Bow is simultaneously a tear blasting weapon and a long range damage weapon. It's also a harvest tool, but you don't usually use that for taking on machines.

There's usually at least one way of outfitting and modding your 4 weapon loadout so that you can tackle an area relatively easily, minus the frantic dodging and snap second precision shots.

TrashiDawa wrote:

Ok, I am really loving this game but the writing/voice acting is really clashing with the lore.

All the characters speak/think/act like they are at a backyard barbecue in Redmond, Washington accompanied by their standard issue orange dog and 2.5 kids. They exhibit cultural values and speech patterns indistinguishable from 2017 coastal, upper-middle class US values - despite some paper-thin world building to distinguish the tribes.

I notice the same thing, and I have to say they doubled down on it with these guys in the DLC.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DP183MjWkAAvRo-.jpg)

So I tried to pose them like they're about to drop the hottest album of... whatever year this is.

PaladinTom wrote:

Now I’m getting quests in Meridian that I’m over-leveled for, which doesn’t bother me much as I feel I’ve earned Aloy's bad-assness.

I don't think you have to worry over much about being over levelled in HZD. Most of your efficacy will be in your equipment. Your level only contributes to skills, which influences what discrete moves you can do but not your numbers. It also contributes a bit to HP, but it doesn't add much.

Basically, if you put on basic equipment, you're going to get your ass handed to you, even at max level.

Tear-blast arrows took me a while to understand the use of, and when to use something else. I love my sharpshot bow. The problem is I keep running out of wire because I'm using it as my primary bow. It does so much more damage than the regular bow even when I had worse mods on it (and now that I've put better mods on it doesn't matter). However, money is bountiful enough I just buy a ton of wire when I see a Merchant.

ccesarano wrote:

Tear-blast arrows took me a while to understand the use of, and when to use something else. I love my sharpshot bow. The problem is I keep running out of wire because I'm using it as my primary bow. It does so much more damage than the regular bow even when I had worse mods on it (and now that I've put better mods on it doesn't matter). However, money is bountiful enough I just buy a ton of wire when I see a Merchant.

You can farm wire by buying a Carja Ropecaster and just going to town on a bunch of Chargers and Broadheads whenever you're near a site. There won't be any fighting, as such. You tie them down in one shot and massacre them all while they're tied down. There's a sizable herd of Broadheads outside of Cut Cliffs.

If you're short on Shards, use Harvest Arrows on Grazers and then sell the Blaze at 4 shards apiece. Each Grazer yields at least 54 Shards on Blaze alone.

LarryC wrote:

It bears mentioning that each of Aloy's weapons are really multiple weapons in one. So a Sharpshot Bow is simultaneously a tear blasting weapon and a long range damage weapon. It's also a harvest tool, but you don't usually use that for taking on machines.

Out of curiosity, do you (or others) tend to focus on a single type of mod for a weapon, or mix them up? For example, I have three purple damage mods that are all on a Lodge Blast Sling. It does a ton of pure damage. I have a Shadow Sharpshot Bow that is modded with three purple Tearblast mods, so it rips components off with ease. But the Sharpshot Bow as a damage weapon is pretty much the same as a basic bow.

Same thing with weapons that do multiple types of elemental damage - I can mod them with a fire/frost/shock mod and they're an all-purpose weapon, or focus on a single element that makes them extremely specialized but much more situational. I don't have enough mods to have a focus-modded weapon for each type.

I guess my question comes from the fact that I find myself in a situation where I don't have the weapon I want more often than I'd like, or I have to spend time moving mods from one weapon to another.

I tend to mod weapons for a specific role in a specific loadout. Bear in mind that I do not switch weapons or mods mid-combat so whatever I have, I'm stuck with until I'm dead or manage to run away. Or beat the machine.

For my damage-modded Sharpshot Bow, I use two damage mods and 1 handling mod with a damage side bonus. I added the handling mod because it loaded and drew too slow without it and that lowered its overall usefulness and damage output.

For my Tear-modded Sharpshot Bow, 3 Tear mods. I usually use that from very long range when I'm much less pressed for time to draw and reload. A powerful tearblast or two is just what you want.

For my War Bow, I use a Freeze modded one, a Shock modded one, and a Corruption modded one. I have one with multiple mods on it, but it doesn't prove useful, because it simply can't do what the other bows can. When I'm using my Freeze bow, I usually reconfigure the rest of my loadout with respect to that. So I'll usually also have a Blast Sling for damage, Tear Bow against armor, and a Ropecaster for buying time. Depends on the location.

What I look for are specific capabilities - one double shot to freeze a Trampler or enough Shock to one-shot stun a Longlegs. If my Warbow can neither freeze nor stun a Longlegs quickly, then it's not a very useful tool.

My Freeze Bow only has two Purple +Freeze mods because that's enough for one shot freezes. The remaining slot goes to handling. A one-mod shock or Corruption isn't enough to pass muster, so I do Handling instead. I used to put a Corruption mod in there, but I liked putting on a Corruption-specific bow whenever I needed that functionality.

This doesn't mean I don't use Corruption arrows on my Freeze Bow. When I'm suddenly swamped in machines, I'll use what I've got, even if it's not very efficient.

ccesarano wrote:

So I'm in a weird point where Horizon doesn't really come to me as a craving to play, but if I'm in the mood to game I know I'll have a good time of it. Unfortunately, it's also a game where I'm fighting with my mental state of "how close am I to the end?" This is an awful place to be in because every mission quest that isn't clearly closer to the conclusion ends up leaving me irritated. I imagine this is largely because I don't find this narrative all that fascinating, and keep wondering when it becomes good. I'm at Meridian, which in my head feels like it should be the halfway point, but I don't want to fall down that hole because then if it turns out I'm only 1/3rd through I'll end up hating the game.

Sometimes the game tricks me, like Doom 3 and DOOM, where it keeps feeling like the game hits a good stopping point only to say "Wait, no, gamers want games to be long so let's drag this sh*t out". Which has me feeling like there's going to be a whole other overworld map a la Shadow of Mordor or something, because I've nearly explored the current one fully and nothing has really happened of note in the narrative so far.

I think I'm the opposite to you in terms of ideal game length. When playing a game like H:ZD I'm just enjoying running around doing the odd fight and questing. I don't care about game length other than hoping there is a hell of a lot more of it (In H:ZD I occasionally look at the map and worry that the over all map doesn't look THAT big.) If I get into a game I want to play it for at least a month on and off and possible two or three. I love coming back to the same gaming experience I'm continuing to explore and learn about it's mechanics, etc.

Often with Assassin's Creed games I'd be very disappointed when I realised I'd done everything I could and I was going to have to move on to a different game. With Titanfall 2's campaign I enjoyed it but it felt incredibly slight.

This isn't to say I'm right and you are wrong, I actually understand the 'this game could do with a lot of trimming' perspective a lot more, it's just different tastes in length of game.

Jeez, Larry.

Sometimes I use fire arrows. And I used the tripcaster in the proving. That's about as deep as I've been, several hours in, at level 12 or so.

Apparently there's a lot more here than I realized.

Wrapped up Ultra-Hard NG+ around 1:30 this morning, thinking I would've beaten it around 11PM. That last boss, oof. Only actual difficult part of Ultra-Hard. Really shouldn't have spent all my shards on a very small amount of Blaze, and instead should have used it to craft arrows.

Beat it so fast on Very Easy the first time around that I didn't realize the longer the fight goes on, the more enemies spawn in (Corrupters/Ravagers/Longlegs), which makes no sense, since if the fight's taking a long time, you're clearly having a hard time with it. Even the Ravager's cannon was barely chipping away at it. Finally found one weak point I could hit with precision arrows, since I was out of everything else it was weak against, then it was just circle-strafing it until my Shield-Weaver armor regenerated and I could get off another shot.

Spoiler:

The Corrupted Thunderjaw when you're defending the Nora from the Eclipse was horrible, too, one-shotting me 4 times until I found a spot behind a lot of rocks and trees over on the right to hide behind, where it couldn't hit me, Eclipse couldn't see me, and I had a clean shot at its heart with triple hardpoint arrows while it was looking off to the left at the Nora acting as my bullet sponges. Then it disappeared,
leaving no loot.

Well I was completely surprised last night by a turn of events as I headed for a Cauldron.

Spoiler:

I was expecting another dungeon crawl filled with small claustrophobic hunts and hanging onto moving machinery. Instead, the place has been excavated by cultists. Definitely switched the cauldrons up, but at the same time as I'm about to head off to a bandit camp nearby I'm a bit disappointed since now it's going to be similar stealthing back-to-back.

Still, was a lot of fun watching the A.I. fight itself. Curious if there will be yet another switch-up or if this is more or less "Cauldron Type B".

I've got the majority of the world map uncovered and my progress is about 40%, so I'm guessing it's going to end up being a leaping linear progression once I'm done some of the current side questing. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some time gap thing and suddenly I gotta go across the same map all over again in an effort to pad game length. We'll see!

Oh, there is one thing that pisses me off. Sometimes I set up a bunch of traps and then it's pointless. In yesterday's case, I set up some traps before taking on the last of a corrupted stalker, and suddenly a random Sawtooth and Watcher decide to engage in battle with it. They ended up all killing each other and there are my traps just sitting there pointlessly.

Now, there's an ability you can purchase to pick your traps back up, but 1) why can't I just do that by default why does it have to be an ability I must purchase, and 2) why is it one of the more expensive ones? Every time I level up I find myself wanting to grab that but so many tier 3 and 4 abilities are so useful.

It feels like they needed to pad out the skill tree and so removed basic functionality from the player so it could be a "reward".

All of the Cauldrons have unique characteristics. The two early ones are the most similar, but still not exactly.

Not sure about the traps thing. There's already a lot of skills and and functionality in the game that most people are apparently ignoring wholesale. Maybe it doesn't seem basic to other people? Dunno.