Highlights

• Legendary weapons in Horizon Forbidden West can drastically change your gameplay experience, offering a variety of powerful options to suit your style.
• While some weapons may be harder to obtain than others, each legendary weapon brings its own unique strengths and benefits to combat.
• From the powerful Hunter Bows to the devastating Spike Thrower, there's a legendary weapon for every playstyle and preference in this game.

Legendary weapons can change the tide of a game, especially one like Horizon Forbidden West. After all, no matter what kind of weapon you use, you want to wield something that's just as cool as a higher-level Aloy. Thankfully there are a plethora of powerful weapons at your disposal. It's just a matter of some being more powerful than others.

It's worth mentioning that, while a few available Legendary Weapons are a little better than others, there's one legendary for each weapon type, aside from the Ropecaster, which doesn't have one. However, the Hunter Bow has two to choose from. So it's an entirely personal decision and primarily based on how you prefer to play.

Updated on March 27, 2024, by Marco Vito Oddo: Horizon Forbidden West remains one of the best sequels on the PlayStation 5, building over everything the first game did while streamlining the gameplay loop to enhance combat and exploration. When it comes to Legendary Weapons, Horizon Forbidden West has a great selection of tools that can fit any playstyle. So, regardless of what type of weapon you use to hunt down machines, there's always a Legendary Weapon you could grab to become more effective in combat.

9 Carja's Bane

It's easy to look at one of the best legendary weapons in Forbidden West and assume that it's powerful, useful, and relatively difficult to get. Carja's Bane is definitely powerful and can be useful! But 'relatively difficult to get' is an understatement. Unless you have some sort of talent in these dreaded Gauntlet races then this one is guaranteed to be more hassle than it's worth.

To get hold of this warrior bow you need to complete all four Gauntlet Races. For many, these races are clunky, challenging, and just outright frustrating! It may be the best warrior bow with some decent power to it, but maybe it's just not worth it.

8 Tinker's Pride

Tinker's Pride is the legendary tripcaster weapon that is pretty entertaining to use but does take a lot of practice. It allows you to do some impressive damage with elements like explosive wires, which are awesome to use but can be pretty expensive to make.

You can also put down a shield to protect yourself, making Tinker's Pride one of the few weapons that protects you as well as doing massive damage. The only issue is you can't shoot through the shield. That and it's not great for the larger machines.

If you want to grab this legendary weapon then you'll need to complete all the 12 Hunting Ground Trails with full stripes, then you'll get this weapon as a reward.

7 Ancestor's Return

As the legendary Shredder Gauntlet Weapon, you already know it's going to take a lot of skill and practice to use effectively. However, if you are willing to put in the effort, the Ancestor's Return can be really effective against a range of machines, especially with the acid and shock damage it can do.

If you want to try it out, you'll need to complete all nine of the Relic Ruin challenges, make sure you collect all nine Ornaments, and give them over to Stemmur in the Hidden Ember. Once you've done that, there will be a chest nearby for you to unlock. Inside will lie the Ancestor's Return.

6 Wings Of The Ten

This awesome-looking Blastsling is capable of easily disposing of smaller and medium-sized machines. This is especially true if you use the advanced bombs, which are rather expensive to make but will knock an enemy's health bar down considerably. Try freezing the machine before you use a bomb to really do some damage — or use the sticky bombs, which can be tough to use but should never be underestimated.

To get hold of Wings of The Ten you'll need to collect all the Black Box collectibles. There are 12 in total so grab them, bring them all back to The Memorial Grove (right by the Arena), and speak to the merchant near the Broken Sky mission. You'll then need to spend all the boxes at her shop, and you'll get the wonderful weapon.

5 The Sun Scourge

The Sun Scourge is a legendary Hunter Bow that can really pack a punch, with the right arrows and the right hits. It's a powerful bow capable of impressive damage on smaller and medium machines, but will need some more severe arrows if you really want it to live up to its legendary status.

The best arrows for the Sun Scourge will be the Advanced Acid Hunter Arrows, which require volatile sludge — something that is pretty challenging to get hold of.

It's not the quickest weapon in the world, but if this is the weapon for you, you'll need to complete the First Forge quest, which involves defeating all the rebel outposts. Once you've completed the final quest, you should unlock this legendary weapon.

4 Death Seeker's Shadow

The second available legendary Hunter Bow is the Death Seeker's Shadow. It's arguably better than its counterpart and is incredibly powerful, even with standard arrows. However, it's also capable of using targeting arrows, something that allows you to guide an overridden machine toward a target you want it to attack. Don't worry, it doesn't work on your mount.

Head to combat arenas or hunting grounds if you want to get this bow. You'll need to buy it with 80 medals at The Maw of the Arena. It might take a little bit of time and grinding before you get hold of the Death Seeker's Shadow, but it's definitely worth it.

3 Forgefall

Typically, the Sharpshot Bow is primarily used as a sort of sniper. The Forgefall is relatively slow to shoot but does some incredible damage, even when using the cheaper regular arrows. That being said, if you can shoot with advanced plasma arrows, it will change the battle for you — they're just pretty expensive.

Ultimately, Forgefall may not be for everyone, but if you prefer to deal damage from a range, it is absolutely worth it. Similar to Death Seeker's Shadow, you can buy Forgefall at the Maw of the Arena. Head just southwest of Scalding Spear and spend 54 medals.

2 The Blast Forge

This legendary Boltblaster is just incredible; it's like bringing a machine gun to, well, a machine fight. It can do an astonishing amount of damage with the ability to use bolts that can break through armor.

For it to reach its full potential, you need to be smart with Blast Forge. Try freezing the machine and then switching to Blast Forge to unleash hell on its health bar. Once it's fully upgraded, you'll be able to watch that health drop quicker than you ever thought possible.

This is another weapon available to purchase using medals won at the Maw of the Arena. Again, head just southwest of Scalding Spear and speak to the merchant, and trade in 80 medals and Blast Forge will be yours.

1 The Skykiller

If you like using the Spike Thrower weapon type, then you will love Skykiller. However, you will need to get through most of the main story before it can be yours to use. Nevertheless, Skykiller cuts through large machines like they're nothing, especially if you combine it with the Splitting Spike Weapon Technique and the Powershots Valor Surge. That way you'll do more damage and have a chance to not consume any ammo.

You need to complete The Way Home mission if you want to get Skykiller. Head to Legacy's Landfall and talk to the woman on the boat. You'll need to go through some challenging events before it's yours, but this is totally worth it.