Horizon Forbidden West is such a vast game that instead of one skill tree, there are six. At first glance, the variety of skills might be overwhelming. In this guide, we will provide all the essential information about the skill trees, as well as the ten most useful skills to upgrade first.
Aloy has six development paths in total:
You can focus on upgrading one tree or all of them simultaneously.
Despite each specialization having between 20 to 31 skills, most of them are passive. They can easily be distinguished by their circular icon.
Triangular icons represent weapon mastery techniques. Each tree has several, and they are tied to a specific type of equipment. Such skills consume weapon stamina — the yellow bar at the bottom of the screen. It replenishes automatically.
Diamond icons are active skills that operate under certain conditions. For example, you'll spend fewer resources crafting consumables at a workbench rather than on the go.
The third category is Valor Surges — special buffs that provide temporary enhancements. To unlock such skills, you need to upgrade several related ones nearby. Valor is the purple bar under the weapon stamina. Each Surge has its own, and you can gain it through any active actions.
The game generously rewards points with each new level, but there's a way to make leveling up even faster. Focus on completing relic ruins. You'll need to solve minor spatial puzzles, but as a reward, you'll receive 2 skill points and 5000 experience points.
Unfortunately, not all ruins can be tackled at the beginning of the game. Sometimes you'll need special spear abilities, like the ability to detonate Blaze. These can only be obtained through the storyline.
Melee Damage (Warrior) — a passive skill that increases damage from light and heavy attacks. As you progress, you will encounter increasingly powerful enemies. Although the spear is often not as effective as ranged weapons, it can help in a pinch. Without upgraded damage, even combo attacks will become practically useless. This skill can be upgraded twice.
Critical Hit+ (Warrior) — another passive ability for the spear. Critical hits can be dealt to fallen enemies, but they won't do much damage to strong machines with good armor. To improve the situation and defeat robots faster, it's worth spending points on this skill.
All Concentration Skills (Archer) — passive abilities that affect the efficiency and duration of concentration — slowing down time for more precise aiming. These include limit increase, recovery acceleration, and consumption slowdown. Even without other skills, using well-developed concentration, Aloy can defeat strong machines. Hitting weak spots is a complex process, so without these skills, you simply won't survive.
All Skills for Increasing and Fast Recovery of Weapon Stamina and Valor (Archer) — like concentration, weapon stamina and valor are very important indicators, increasing Aloy's effectiveness in combat. All the most powerful active abilities and Valor Surges will not be as useful with rare applications. Spend points to develop passive skills for weapon stamina and valor, and become invincible.
Strong Medicine (Medic) — a passive ability that increases the effectiveness of healing berries. Believe me, you definitely need this skill early in the game. It can be upgraded twice.
Medicine Pouch Capacity (Medic) — as you might guess, this ability increases the amount of healing berries you can carry. Together with the active skill Herbalist, it will allow you to spend much less time regularly collecting first aid kits. It can be upgraded twice.
Silent Strike+ (Infiltrator) — a good passive ability that will greatly facilitate hunting. Silent strikes can be made from safe bushes, but like with critical hits, it may not kill strong machines. The downside of silent strike is that after performing it, the undestroyed enemy immediately locates your position and alerts all others. To avoid such situations — upgrade this passive skill.
Armor-Piercing Stealth Attack+ (Scout) — this ability enhances the piercing effect of arrows when aiming from the bushes. An extremely useful skill, as 90% of the game you will be targeting the weak spots of robots precisely from the grass.
Nora Warrior (Warrior) — an active skill that allows performing the simplest melee combo — three light attacks and one heavy attack. Compared to the first part, melee combat in Horizon Forbidden West has become much more varied and useful. Now, Aloy can combine different types of attacks, but there might not always be enough time in combat to properly alternate them. Nora Warrior is easy to remember and just as easy to apply, so no matter what combo attacks you buy, you should start with this one.
Piercing Rope (Hunter) — this ropcaster technique allows attaching the rope to any part of the armor without spending time on drawing the bowstring. A very useful skill, especially effective against flying enemies.
Triple Shot (Archer) — this weapon technique allows firing three arrows at once from a medium-range bow. This can significantly increase the weapon's piercing power, and thus its lethality.
Herbalist (Shaman) — an active skill that increases the amount of healing herbs collected. During the game, you can replenish health with potions, but making them is quite expensive, and consumption takes time.
It's much easier to heal with herbs and berries, which Aloy easily collects along the way. They can be applied with one button, and there will be no special animations, which positively affects the dynamics of combat — you can continue fighting while replenishing health. To simplify the gathering process and spend less time on it, purchase the Herbalist skill. Thanks to it, instead of one herb or berry, you will automatically get two.
Stabilized Shot (Scout) — a powerful knee shot after which the arrow explodes upon hitting an obstacle. Consumes up to three arrows of the selected type and a large amount of weapon stamina. Even if you don't want to play stealthily, this skill is worth acquiring. With it, Aloy, using a high-precision bow, will become a true death machine. Invest in upgrading the weapon stamina bar to use the ability more often, and you will be able to defeat even very strong machines with a few shots.
Accelerated Spike (Machine Master) — a spike thrower technique that enhances its range and increases damage. This weapon is particularly effective against fast machines, which are hard to hit with a bow.
Super Shield (Shaman) — a Surge of Courage that grants you a temporary power shield. At the first level, it only increases durability to 125 units, boosting maximum health. However, at the second level, durability increases to 250, and 10% of damage is reflected back to the enemy. The third level allows increasing durability to 400 units, boosting damage by 20%, and also dealing explosive electrical damage in an area at the last moment. This skill is especially useful in the early stages of the game when Aloy has a small health pool.
Invisible Hunter (Scout) — this Surge of Courage makes Aloy invisible for a while. The ability does not work when aiming or in melee combat, but at the first level, it increases damage from surprise attacks by 50%. The second level raises this figure to 100%. At the third level, damage from surprise attacks is increased to 200%, and stealth kills replenish courage.
Thanks to this single Surge, Aloy can become a deadly assassin, exterminating everyone around her. The skill is especially useful in the third phase, as courage will constantly replenish, making invisibility almost endless. Moreover, you will be able to safely set traps in open areas, further enhancing combat efficiency.