Highlights

• Dive into The Burning Shores DLC for more adventures and new challenges in Horizon Forbidden West.
• Explore new skills, unlock all outfits and weapons, and aim for level 50 to enhance gameplay experience
• Don't forget to tackle side activities, complete challenges, and find all collectibles for a well-rounded gaming experience.

So you've just reached the end of Forbidden West, and you're itching for more gameplay. But where to begin? There's no shortage of side quests or hidden areas, mini-games, or collectibles. And any of these will keep you busy for hours.

If you're stuck on where to take Aloy next, we've got you covered; there's a little for everyone. From completionists to those hunting for the next big challenge and even the casual players. The journey doesn't have to end once the credits roll.

Updated on March 24, 2024, by Mohamed El Ouardighi: With Horizon Forbidden West now accessible on PC, numerous PC gamers are excited to delve into the game. In light of this, we have taken the opportunity to revisit and improve our guides, ensuring they offer even greater assistance on your journey through the game.

15 Play The Burning Shores DLC

After finishing the main story of Horizon Forbidden West, you might be left clamoring for more. Or perhaps you aren’t fully satisfied with the conclusion. That’s why you should head straight into The Burning Shores DLC.

The Burning Shores DLC continues Aloy’s story after the events of the main game. In it, Aloy ventures to once upon a time Los Angeles, now the Burning Shores. There’s a new, small quest line to take on, bigger bosses, some side quests, new weapons, amours, and more. It also sets the stage for a sequel, adding to the intrigue left behind in the main campaign.

14 Unlock And Upgrade All Outfits And Weapons

Every weapon and outfit has specific buffs that help with ranged defense, stealth, healing, and elemental defenses. As you progress through the story, you'll be able to buy and craft higher-quality items. While not necessary to unlock all outfits and weapons, it's helpful to have any and every type of defense you could ever need.

Things like Ropecasters, Blastslings, Spike Throwers, as well as the many styles of Bows that specialize in different ranges and arrow strength, all come into play depending on which machine you're fighting. Changing outfits is also a fantastic way to get the best shots out of photo mode since some styles look particularly great in specific locations. The Burning Shores DLC adds even more outfits and weapons for you to unlock and try out, some of which are completely new to the series.

13 Become The Champion Of Machine Strike

Becoming truly great at Machine Strike is quite the learning curve since it requires you to learn the advanced tactics and how board terrain comes into play. The only way to improve is through practice and playing lots of it, so don't fret if you fail your first batch of games. But before attempting to win at all available games of Strike, be sure to buy some new pieces from a Strike Carver, as this will help immensely.

After that, all you have to do is choose an ideal set of pieces to place on the board and put to use any favored tactics. It might take longer than expected to complete all matches, but the end result is incredibly satisfying.

12 Replay The Frozen Wilds DLC

Launched mere months after the launch of the first game, the Frozen Wilds DLC delivers on the same quality of Zero Dawn while also improving puzzles and combat. The DLC introduces new machines to face and a snowy terrain to traverse, coming in at about seven hours in length to complete. Whether you've already played The Frozen Wilds or have been considering the idea, now is a great time to download and boot up the game.

The DLC works as a great stepping stone between the first and second games and is worth the playthrough if you're after another adventure after wrapping up Forbidden West.

11 Do The Burning Shores Side Activities

Alongside the main quest line in The Burning Shores DLC, there are new side quests and activities to partake in too. Some of these may be familiar if you’ve played through the main game, but there are some new additions.

There are collectible dinosaur toys with their own in-world lore, as well as a nice easter egg that rewards you for not only getting them but paying attention to the lore. There are new missions where you can test your flying skills, following a flight path to uncover further backstory on the world, and there are a couple of small, narrative side quests that have you exploring the world and meeting new characters.

10 Reach Level 50

By the time the main story is all wrapped up, you'll be pretty high level already but to put a nice cap on it, why not aim higher and make it to level 50? Any side missions, unexplored areas, Errands, and Hunting Grounds are great ways to earn some XP and grind through the levels.

In fact, since most things in the game reward you with experience, it shouldn't take too long to reach level 50. There's enough to do within the game that you won't need to complete everything to make it to that level. Explore the world and enjoy your time within it; eventually, you'll reach the 50 mark.

9 Unlock The Burning Shores Skills And Abilities

If you’ve finished the main game, you’ve probably beefed out Aloy’s skill tree and abilities and have little left to unlock. Luckily, the Burning Shores DLC adds a bunch of new skills and abilities for you to try out and have fun with.

You can erect shields for cover, drop smoke bombs that regenerate your health, add elemental cannisters to your spear, and more. Skills like grapple strike allow you to send Aloy flying around, latching onto foes, and you can do the same to mount flying machines now too. These are just some of the many new perks you can unlock.

8 Get The Best Times In The Hunting Grounds

The Hunting Grounds are filled with quests that seem pretty simple to complete until you actually attempt the challenges and restart ten times over just to fail at the last moment. Those Hunting Grounds where you're more than likely to get stuck on at least one of the challenges. But pushing past the difficulty is worth it because of the rewards.

Completing Tenakth Hunting Grounds earns you medals that can be used later to trade for better weapons. These weapons will help the central part of the game, but if you missed completing them, you can always still do so after.

7 Override Every Type Of Machine

The first step to overriding all the machines is to unlock all the overrides through completing Cauldrons and using the Fabrication Terminal. Once completing this step, head out into the wilds and find any remaining machines you have yet to override.

One tip for achieving this is to have the Stealth Stalker Valor Surge active, along with some smoke bombs, in case things don't go to plan. The easiest way to override machines is to sneak up rather than stunning them since you'll draw less attention this way.

6 Find All Collectibles

Finding all collectibles available in the game shouldn't prove to be too challenging since once you override Tallnecks and get a better view of the land, the locations will be marked on your map. And anything else you may be struggling to find will be accessible through general exploration. Some collectibles are needed for side quests that provide you with rewards like metal shards or valuable machine parts and resources.

Others bring additional backstory to the world of Horizon introducing new characters and letting in on past events that would otherwise be undiscovered.

5 Set Yourself Challenges

Maybe you're close to completing all the game has to offer or want to change things up a bit. One way of doing this is to set yourself challenges, using restrictions that make the game more challenging. For example, why not set a stealth challenge that has to be completed within a certain amount of time, and the objective is that enemies can't spot you.

Or play a mission using only one weapon, like the Spear. With the gameplay abilities and the sprawling world, there's a lot of variation for what you can do here. So think up some ideas and attempt self-made challenges to see what you can overcome.

4 Explore All Undiscovered Locations

Forbidden West brings so much content that you'll be searching for every piece of it long after finishing the final main-line quest. There are the Side Quests, Errands, Salvage Contracts, Relic Ruins, Black Boxes, and more. To keep on top of anything you've yet to complete, head over to the Game Progression tab and check the percentage showing how much of the game you've currently completed.

Finding the last few things may be tricky, but all the different objectives are entertaining, adding more to the story's scope through audio logs, data files, and new characters.

3 Fight In The Arena

Towards the back end of the main game, you unlock the fighting arena. In the arena, you can take on waves of opponents in an ever-changing layout and degree of difficulty. This not only allows extra hours of combat and fun but also more unlockable items.

Win in the arena, and you can not only boast about it but earn new weapons and amours. Many of these weapons and amours are legendary items that can only be unlocked at the arena, and their stats are quite impressive too. If you want the very best bow or armor, fighting in the arena is a must-do.

2 Aim For The Platinum

And after completing everything else listed, try your hand at earning the platinum trophy and maybe even earning 100 percent completion in-game. Leave no stone unturned and finish absolutely everything the game has to offer. There is a lot of content, so you'll be occupied for a while, but there's enough variation there to make it feel like time well spent.

The platinum isn't too difficult to achieve but take a quick look through the trophies to see which ones you have left to unlock.

1 Replay Both Games

If you've finished everything the Horizon series has to offer, why not go for one last adventure? How about diving back into both games and embarking on a marathon to complete them together? Forget about collecting stuff or getting caught up in the details – just immerse yourself in the stories as if you're watching a really long movie.

Thanks to the New Game Plus feature in both games, you'll have all your gear and skills ready to roll. No need to stress about tough bosses or having to grind to build up Aloy's abilities again. Simply fire up Zero Dawn, move onto Forbidden West, and enjoy the journey like a beautiful, epic movie. It's a chance to relive the magic of these games in one seamless experience.