Table of contents

One of the biggest complaints about Horizon Zero Dawn centered around the game's combat, which could at times feel a little repetitive, especially as players approach the end of the game. Horizon Forbidden West seeks to rectify this in a number of ways though, with more weapon types and multiple skill trees which allow players to customize Aloy's abilities to better match their own skills.

RELATED: Horizon Forbidden West: Every Room Aloy Can Unlock in The Base

Perhaps the most notable overhaul, however, concerns the game's various armor and outfit types, with every set now having its own distinct strengths and weaknesses. This is especially true of the Legendary armor sets in Horizon Forbidden West, each of which offers both active and passive skills to suit a wide variety of play styles.

Updated April 21, 2023, by Tom Bowen: Horizon Forbidden West features plenty of great weapons, but players are somewhat limited when it comes to the armor that Aloy wears. This was true of the base version of the game already, but the New Game+ mode update further compounded the problem, introducing eight new Legendary weapons but no extra Legendary outfits. Thankfully, The Burning Shores puts this right to a certain degree, with several of the expansion's additions ranking among the very best outfits in Horizon Forbidden West. Including the DLC armor, there are now ten Legendary outfits for players to try and track down, with an eleventh being made available to those who pre-ordered a copy of The Burning Shores.

Blacktide Quen Commander (Burning Shores)

horizon-forbidden-west-burning-shores-every-new-legendary-outfit-blacktide-quen-commander

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

30

55

Impact

35

55

Fire

-40

-5

Frost

30

55

Shock

30

55

Purgewater

30

50

Acid

40

75

Plasma

-25

-10

The Blacktide Quen Commander outfit is built around Resonator Strikes, with increased damage, faster buildup, and longer durations just three of its many useful skills. Its weakness to Fire damage is a little disappointing given that it's one of the more commonly used elements in The Burning Shores, but it's a solid outfit nonetheless, especially considering the price (or lack thereof).

How to Get the Blacktide Quen Commander Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

The Blacktide Quen Commander outfit was a pre-order bonus for the Burning Shores. Assuming they bought the DLC in advance, players will be able to purchase the armor from the Stitcher in Fleet's End for one Metal Shard.

Carja Stalker Elite

horizon-forbidden-west-legendary-armor-guide-01-carja-stalker-elite

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

32

55

Impact

35

55

Fire

-38

-5

Frost

50

65

Shock

35

55

Purgewater

33

55

Acid

-38

-5

Plasma

35

55

The Carja Stalker Elite armor set is designed to compliment Aloy's Trapper skill tree, with several useful active and passive perks included. The highlights are probably Nimble Crafter and Quick Trapper, the latter of which can help players place traps much faster while out in the field. Low Profile and Quiet Movement are useful too though, and make this a viable stealth-based alternative to the Utaru Winterweave set.

How to Get the Carja Stalker Elite Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players can exchange the Carja Stalker Elite armor set for 54 Arena Medals by speaking to the Prize Master at the arena in Memorial Grove. To unlock the arena, however, players will first need to complete the "The Kulrut" main story mission and then the "Opening the Arena" side quest.

Nora Lookout (Burning Shores)

horizon-forbidden-west-burning-shores-every-new-legendary-outfit-nora-lookout

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

30

51

Impact

40

65

Fire

35

52

Frost

-40

-5

Shock

30

52

Purgewater

35

55

Acid

35

55

Plasma

-40

-7

That there was only one Legendary Nora outfit in the base version of Horizon Forbidden West was a little disappointing to some series fans, but The Burning Shores puts this right to some degree. The Nora Lookout armor is built around using items and general survivability, with its skills really helping Aloy to make the most of her provisions. Its stats are solid too, making this a solid choice for those who tend to take a lot of damage.

How to Get the Nora Lookout Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

The Nora Lookout armor can be purchased from the Stitcher in Fleet's End for 2,000 Metal Shards and eight pieces of Brimshine.

Nora Thunder Warrior

horizon-forbidden-west-legendary-armor-guide-02-nora-thunder-warrior

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

34

65

Impact

50

65

Fire

38

55

Frost

-40

-5

Shock

33

55

Purgewater

35

55

Acid

35

39

Plasma

-38

-5

The Nora Thunder Warrior set is built around ranged combat, with big bonuses to Concentration and Stamina included. The unlockable skills provide damage buffs to stealth attacks from range and damage dealt while using a heavy weapon, both of which can be useful for taking down rebel outposts and camps. At first glance, its weakness to Frost damage may seem like a major Achilles' heel, but it's not actually that big of a deal as Frost enemies seem to be a lot less common than Acid or Plasma-type. Besides, if players get things right, the enemies should be down long before they're even aware that Aloy is somewhere nearby.

How to Get the Nora Thunder Warrior Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players can exchange the Nora Thunder Warrior armor set for 54 Arena Medals by speaking to the Prize Master at the arena in Memorial Grove. To unlock the arena, however, players will first need to complete the "The Kulrut" main story mission and then the "Opening the Arena" side quest.

Oseram Artificer

horizon-forbidden-west-legendary-armor-guide-03-oseram-artificer

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

51

65

Impact

35

55

Fire

33

55

Frost

-40

-5

Shock

33

53

Purgewater

35

55

Acid

36

56

Plasma

-40

-5

The Oseram Artificer set is easily the most difficult of Horizon Forbidden West's Legendary armor sets to obtain, but it's arguably the pick of the bunch. With huge boosts to Resonator damage and attack power, it can turn Aloy into the ultimate melee machine. Its high resistances also help out a lot in this regard, as too do the set's two unlockable bonus weaves: Melee Damage and Critical Strike+.

How to Get the Oseram Artificer Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

To unlock the Oseram Artificer armor set, players will need to complete all 17 of the salvage contracts in Horizon Forbidden West. The first will need to be initiated by speaking with Keruf in Barren Light, with the others handed out by Oseram tinkerers found in the Greenswell, Stillsands, and Raintrace areas. Once all 17 have been completed, the Keruf's Salvage Unlimited questline will be marked as complete and players will receive the armor set as their reward.

Quen Commander (Burning Shores)

horizon-forbidden-west-burning-shores-every-new-legendary-outfit-quen-commander

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

30

55

Impact

35

55

Fire

-40

-5

Frost

30

55

Shock

30

55

Purgewater

30

50

Acid

40

75

Plasma

-25

-10

Like its Blacktide variant, the Quen Commander outfit specializes in Resonator Strikes. In fact, it's exactly the same as the pre-order bonus outfit in all but appearance. The fact that players will need to spend some of their precious Brimshine to get this armor makes it objectively worse when it comes to performance, but some players may prefer its more muted appearance.

How to Get the Quen Commander Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players can purchase the Quen Commander outfit from the Stitcher in Fleet's End for 2,000 Metal Shards and eight pieces of Brimshine.

Quen Deadeye (Burning Shores)

horizon-forbidden-west-burning-shores-every-new-legendary-outfit-quen-deadeye

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

30

54

Impact

35

60

Fire

40

65

Frost

30

55

Shock

-40

-20

Purgewater

-40

-5

Acid

40

75

Plasma

30

55

The Quen Deadeye is a stealth-oriented Legendary outfit that improves players' ranged attacks while they're attacking from cover and makes it much easier to avoid detection. The boosts to concentration are useful too, as they allow players to attack enemies quickly and precisely before being detected so as to really make the most of the outfit's stealth-centric skills.

How to Get the Quen Deadeye Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players will get the Quen Deadeye outfit as a reward for completing The Splinter Within, one of the three side quests in the Burning Shores expansion.

Quen Marine (Burning Shores)

horizon-forbidden-west-burning-shores-every-new-legendary-outfit-quen-marine

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

34

55

Impact

50

65

Fire

38

55

Frost

-40

-5

Shock

33

55

Purgewater

35

55

Acid

35

55

Plasma

-38

-5

The Quen Marine outfit is built around movement and concentration, with its versatile skills making it a solid choice for boss battles where players may only have a brief window in which to attack. Its solid stats help quite a bit in this regard, particularly as many of the toughest enemies in the Burning Shores expansion attack with Fire and Shock elemental attacks.

How to Get the Quen Marine Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players can purchase the Quen Marine outfit from the Stitcher in Fleet's End for 2,000 Metal Shards and eight pieces of Brimshine.

Tenakth Tactician

horizon-forbidden-west-legendary-armor-guide-04-tenakth-tactician

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

36

55

Impact

35

55

Fire

50

65

Frost

33

53

Shock

35

55

Purgewater

-38

-3

Acid

-40

-5

Plasma

35

55

The Tenakth Tactician set is perfect for players who enjoy overriding machines. It grants a huge increase to the amount of time that a hostile machine will remain overridden, while also providing big buffs to its attacking and defensive capabilities. Its Quiet Movement skill and unlockable Low Profile weave will also help players to sneak up on unsuspecting machines to override them in the first place, which can be incredibly useful when there's not much natural cover around.

How to Get the Tenakth Tactician Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players can purchase the Tenakth Tactician armor set from the Stitcher in Thornmarsh. To do so, they'll need 2,000 Metal Shards, one Thunderjaw Circulator, and one Apex Slitherfang Heart. Players can find Slitherfang sites in the northwestern part of the Stillsands and to the north of Scalding Spear. As with other machine types, Apex variants are more likely to spawn at night.

Tenakth Vanquisher

horizon-forbidden-west-legendary-armor-guide-05-tenakth-vanquisher

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

33

53

Impact

34

54

Fire

-40

-5

Frost

36

56

Shock

37

57

Purgewater

35

55

Acid

50

65

Plasma

-40

-5

The Tenakth Vanquisher armor set will be best suited to those who like to live life dangerously. Pretty much all of its skills are geared around dealing damage with low health, while its unlockable Second Chance weave serves as a safety net of sorts. For more cautious players though, there are much better options in the Legendary armor department, both in terms of Skills and resistances.

How to Get the Tenakth Vanquisher Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players can exchange the Tenakth Vanquisher armor set for 54 Arena Medals by speaking to the Prize Master at the arena in Memorial Grove. To unlock the arena, however, players will first need to complete the "The Kulrut" main story mission and then the "Opening the Arena" side quest.

Utaru Winterweave

horizon-forbidden-west-legendary-armor-guide-06-utaru-winterweave

Resistance Type

Base Resistance

Upgraded Resistance

Melee

35

55

Impact

35

55

Fire

-39

-4

Frost

35

55

Shock

36

56

Purgewater

34

54

Acid

-42

-7

Plasma

50

65

The Utaru Winterweave armor set is built with stealth in mind and is perfect for those who enjoy getting up close and personal with their foes. Skills like Quiet Movement and Low Profile will ensure that nobody hears or sees Aloy coming, while the bonus Silent Strike damage that the set offers will allow her to take down bigger and more powerful machines and hostile humans from stealth positions. As a nice bonus, doing so will restore some of Aloy's health as well, rewarding players for their sneakiness.

How to Get the Utaru Winterweave Legendary Outfit in Horizon Forbidden West

Players can purchase the Utaru Winterweave armor set from the Stitcher in Thornmarsh. To do so, they'll need 2,000 Metal Shards, one Tremortusk Circulator, and one Apex Dreadwing Heart. The only Dreadwing site marked on the map is just north of Latopolis, which players will visit as part of the "Death's Door" main story mission. As with other machine types, Apex variants are more likely to spawn at night.

Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.