Horizon Forbidden West has improved on the tools and weapons of its predecessor, Horizon Zero Dawn, and has been able to create a slew of new mechanics and abilities for the player to enjoy. The game also gives Aloy two extra skill trees to expand her abilities and improve areas of gameplay, making for a deeper experience overall.
In total, there are six skill trees in Horizon Forbidden West, each giving Aloy abilities and improvements in various elements of the overall gameplay. The six trees are the warrior tree, trapper tree, hunter tree, survivor tree, infiltrator tree, and machine master tree, each self-explanatory and diverse enough to aid every aspect of combat, exploration, and crafting.
At the start of Horizon Forbidden West, it is easy to overlook many of the trees and simply spend skill points on the hunter, warrior, or infiltrator tree since they will improve combat and stealth. However, there are plenty of other skills that will help during fights and outside of fights, particularly in the later stages of the game.
Potent Medicine
The first skill in the trapper tree is a necessity for players who are having a hard time defeating certain machines. The skill will provide a passive boost that will improve the effectiveness of medicinal berries and make them heal faster.
While it is easy to overlook this skill, it grows with importance as Aloy’s overall health increases with each level up. Without this boost to healing, players will find themselves in tricky situations, especially against machines that have successive attacks.
Valor on Impact
Another skill from the trapper tree, this skill lets Aloy gain Valor every time she takes damage. This skill increases the frequency at which players can use the Valor Surge abilities. It is an important skill because it is inevitable that Aloy will take damage as she fights against progressively tougher machines.
Valor Surges are high-level abilities that will greatly improve players' chances in tough battles and will be the go-to-ability for most when they are in trouble. As such, anything that helps players acquire them faster can make a huge difference.
Nora Warrior
This skill unlocks a melee combo attack that deals knockdown damage and can be effective at staggering smaller machines. It is an early-game combo that players will need when taking on multiple machines as the smaller machines will be easier to defeat after they have been knocked down.
Knocking down machines leaves them open for critical strikes, which can instantly take down smaller machines. The melee combo can also knock off components from larger machines, reducing the number of attacks in their arsenal.
Melee Damage
To improve the knockdown and overall damage dished out by Aloy’s spear, players will need to unlock the Melee Damage skill that will increase the power of both light and heavy attacks.
This skill is useful for fighting the many human enemies Aloy will discover throughout her journey. These enemies can be taken out with a bow or other weapons, but melee is the most effective way to bring them down.
Trap Limit
At the start of the game, Aloy is allowed to set out a very limited number of traps in the world. Once a new trap is placed after the limit has been reached, the oldest trap is automatically dismantled and Aloy will lose the materials required for making that trap.
Trap Limit increases this number and lets Aloy set out more traps, making it perfect when there are many types of machines in a fight. Flying machines require vertical traps while other machines may be weaker to different trap types, so increasing this number of traps available makes these fights a bit easier.
Ammo Expert
This skill lets Aloy craft more ammo using the same number of materials. This is especially useful at the start of the game where it can be hard to find elemental materials to create different types of ammo. This skill also shines early on in the game since many pouches have limited capacity.
Low Profile
With the reduced visibility passive, Aloy will be able to sneak past machines easier, even when there is no stealth cover. This is particularly important after traveling to the desert during a mid-game development.
There are many regions in the world where finding cover may be tricky; a good example is the water missions in Las Vegas. Having this skill will make certain that Aloy remains hidden for longer and improve her chances to successfully take machines down silently.
Part Breaker
This is the most effective surge ability early in the game, as it makes it easy to gain better components from machines that would otherwise break after they are taken down. Part Breaker is an essential skill for improving Aloy’s weapons and armor, which will ultimately make it easier to take down machines and unlock various ammo types.
While there are many skills available in the leveling system of Horizon Forbidden West, diversifying these skills will make Aloy much more powerful. Though it seems more important to spend skill points in the warrior, hunter, or infiltrator skill, having skills that reduce crafting requirements, make medicine more potent, and allow for more traps to be set have equal value and should not be overlooked.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PS4 and PS5
