The Horizon franchise has a strong track record when it comes to post-release content, with Horizon Zero Dawn's The Frozen Wilds being one of the best single-player DLC expansions in recent memory. With this in mind, fans of the series were incredibly excited for The Burning Shores, which offers players a chance to continue Aloy's journey in Horizon Forbidden West.
Those who opted to purchase the expansion ahead of time will be treated to a few pre-order bonuses once they start playing, which can potentially make the early stages of The Burning Shores a little easier. Unlike some other games though, Horizon Forbidden West doesn't just add these items straight to Aloy's inventory, with players instead having to go to a certain in-game location in order to claim their pre-order bonuses.
How to Get Pre-Order Bonuses in The Burning Shores
By pre-ordering The Burning Shores, players will gain access to three special items; these being the Blacktide Sharpshot Bow, the Blacktide Quen Commander Outfit, and the Blacktide Dye. The dye will become available the first time players boot up the game after The Burning Shores goes live at midnight on April 19 and can be used right away by visiting any Dyer. However, the weapon and armor can only be acquired from within the expansion itself.
The good news is that it won't take players long to get their hands on the pre-order bonuses, with both becoming available within thirty minutes of them starting the Burning Shores DLC expansion. Once they reach Fleet's End for the first time, they'll be able to get the Blacktide Quen Commander Legendary outfit from the Stitcher and the Very Rare Blacktide Sharpshot Bow from the local Hunter. Both items will cost the player 1 Metal Shard.
Are the Burning Shores Pre-Order Bonuses Any Good?
Depending on which weapons and outfits players have already acquired, they may not find much use for the Burning Shores pre-order bonuses. The Blacktide Quen Commander outfit is easily the better of the two on account of it being Legendary rather than Very Rare, but players will need to find Brimshine in order to fully upgrade it and really get the best out of it.
The thing is though, once they do start to come across this rare upgrade material, they'll have the option of purchasing three more Legendary outfits for Aloy, one of which is the non-Blacktide variant of the resonator strike-boosting Quen Commander outfit. As such, rather than from its stats and skills, its value is derived more from its unique appearance, which, admittedly, is quite striking.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PS4 and PS5