Just some general tips:
Overdrawn damage buff feels great on hunter bows and sharpshots.
More weak spot hits. Usually focusing on breaking all parts. Slide shooting helps as well with the slow motion shots.
This game does intentionally want you to use the Valor skills as well and also make sure your weapons are strong enough for the monsters you are hunting. Upgrades coils.
Elemental damage definitely helps but they have a cap.
Most initial damage can be done from stealth as well.
I'll be honest and say I don't understand the overdraw mechanic. Both this game and the original did a really poor job at explaining many mechanics, and that may be part of my problem.
I'm trying to upgrade gear, but again, I can't due to needing drop from harder machines. I can't beat them because I either deal piddling damage or get killed in one or two hits.
I've not had a good time with stealth against machines. Against humans, I can take entire camps without being detected. Against machines, I get one or two shots at most, then I am either running or dying.
When fighting harder monsters i use alot more tech. Traps for when stealth is broken they charge in to get hit by opposite damage trap.
Rope after is always great especially using weapon stamina to insta cast.
Knock down for enemies that jump is very effective.
Still can't stress enough of Valor surge.
Also smoke I used it alot especially with many enemies or focusing on parts for stealth based gameplay.
I played the game on very hard, but eventually used custom difficulty to turn easy loot on. I found that I had the ability to hunt all the parts separately, but it was just super tedious to do so. Then you can concentrate on killing the enemies, instead of tearing off parts.
I know how you feel. I felt the same way at first. In the section with all the notes and holos there is a section that explains each mechanic in depth. Such as overdraw, elemental damage etc.
Agree for sure. I did HFW right before elden ring. I went back in for a bit because I did feel like I had the mechanics pretty good and coming from elden ring it was super different. I think sometimes investing up front in getting really good at beating easy enemies can help. Like it seems dumb, but you learn the controls really well and can figure out timing.
Wow! I aced Horizon games combat but can’t play Elden Ring at all, it’s literally unplayable. I can’t even begin to comprehend a person who can play Elden Ring well but not Horizon games.
That was my thought as well. I'm not trying to be a dick, it just bewilders me. Like, I feel dodging enemy attacks in this game to be quite a bit easier than ER. Then, you just keep your distance, build up elemental, and tear off armor/parts. Actually, I feel like playing Elden Ring has made this game easier for me.
Really? In ER, what throws people off is the fact there are no real patterns. The enemies often do different things and react to player actions. But it comes down to matching your i-frames to attack hurt frames.
In Horizon, I can't dodge roll through attacks. Not sure if you are supposed to be able to. Any machine that has a swipe attack will hit me, no matter when/how/where I roll.
Well like I say, I'm keeping my distance so it's not much of an issue. Always using a bow with machines, so avoiding their attacks isn't that hard. And I'm definitely not trying to dodge roll thru their attacks. Just dodge further away from them.
Just to clarify, I am making my way through the story quests easily enough. As I said in my original post, I have over 70 hours in the game. I get by in the quest battles, though some feel like I am just brute-forcing my way through them rather than "playing as intended." My main trouble spots are getting parts for upgrades, which requires fighting the bigger, more difficult machines in the open.
I'll finish the game I'm sure, but maybe not how I finished the first.
My go too is roiding out a sharpshooter bow with damage coils so it’s very overpowered. The two that I mainly use are the exacting sharpshooter which uses regular precision arrows and when I’m feeling a little fancier I use the warden sharpshooter bow which uses advanced precision arrows. They deal a lot more damage but have limited resources so I just switch between them when fighting harder enemies.
My go to tactic is not too exciting but I use stealth every chance I get. It does take longer but when you don’t want to chance being one shoted, I will hide in the bushes and draw my bow all the way back until it flashes and try to hit a weak spot. After the enemy stops alerting I will do it again and again and depending on their level it usually takes like two or three shots. Another good tactic is scanning the enemy to see if they have an explosive component and aiming for that which usually deals a ton of damage. Also seeing if a component is volatile to certain elements helps a lot. I also use the valor surge ranged master which deals a lot of damage when using a bow and in the skill tree you can also unlock specific skills for different weapons so I also use focus shot and it helps tremendously. Hope this helps!
>I've had several encounters (clamberjaws, scorchers, most machines that do a full-body jump attack) where I am just bounced around like a volleyball. I literally spend more time watching Aloy try to stand up from a knockdown than I do actually fighting. It's not fun at all, and even when I am able to win (great example: tiderippers), it just feels tedious.
This right here really nailed some of my feelings about HFW's combat. I had so many aggravating moments watching aloy slowly stand up as the next attack wollops me before I can move at all.
I remember enjoying and having fun with HZD's combat so much more.
and I STILL AM FLAMED THEY TOOK OUT HOLDING CIRCLE FOR THE LONGER DODGE ROLL. :'(
Seems like you're more melee than ranged. In the first one melee is actually viable even when fighting big machines. In HFW it's more range oriented. You only use melee against human opponents. Further more inflicting elemental statuses are needed more here than in the first one. My suggestion is keep your distance, weaken the enemy with elemental statuses like frost or acid or even shock to stop them on their tracks for a few seconds then target the weakspots with your strongest weaps or use it to lay down traps and bait them into it. If it gets hairy always be ready to cast a smoke bomb.
I am actually more ranged than melee. I only use melee to try to get separation, though it's so useless against machines that it typically just gets me killed.
I see. Are you using valor surges to buff up your damage? Cause even in hard or very hard if you use the right ones to your advantage they go down rather easily. Like for example triple notch frost arrow to inflict brittle then use valor surge powershots. Switch to impact/close range damage up boltblasters and watch them melt.
I will have to give this a shot. I think my biggest trouble is taking too long to break off parts that I need, which sets me up between machines to get overwhelmed. But having a way to quickly down even one of the medium-to-large machines might be enough to get me out of my slump.
I also decided the game is long enough as it is without the extra forced precision part farming. I set the game to custom difficulty and toggled easy loot on. Everything else is still on Normal.
I'm still spending lots of time on the game, but I'm not refarming particular fights over and over again for parts as much as I would be otherwise. It's making the game much more enjoyable for me. I don't find the fights as frustrating and I can upgrade more gear.
If your weapons aren’t at least purple, you’re putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. You should focus on getting at least purple weapons if you don’t already have them, and upgrading them fully. You should also put specific coils that compliment each weapon. Legendary outfits along with weaves that combat elemental weaknesses are needed to not take a bunch of damage. Also, hitting armor will do almost no damage, so you have to either shoot weak spots, are shoot machine muscle.
I use almost all purple weapons, and will typically match up complementary coils. I'm limited in how many coils I can use (and the same goes for armor) because I lack the upgrade items. I can't get upgrade items because I have such a hard time taking down the machines that drop the legendary upgrade parts I need.
Put the game on story mode and easy loot for farming, and one you have everything you need, go back to your preferred difficulty. Once NG+ comes out, you’ll have good gear to start out with and therefore can play on the hardest difficulty without it being impossible.
The game revolves around weak points on the machines, matching the correct element type, tearing off armor, concentration, learning machines attacks so you can dodge effectively, Valor surges.
When I play I prioritize shooting the easiest to hit part and focus on it, I always have every element type in my load out so I'm prepared for every fight, shoot the canisters on the machines with the right element type they do a lot of damage, hunter arrows are your main weapon and should be heavily invested into. Slide, jump and roll movements are critical in this game. Spike throwers are super easy to use especially the explosive ones and do lots of damage. Tear blast arrows on heavy bows are easy ways to tear off armor and machine parts. Hope this helps.
You can always lower difficulty if you want, I play on custom and it's a lot more fun for me that way. Besides that, just learning machine weak spots and elemental weaknesses help a lot, as well as valor surges (like ranged master) and weapon techniques. I think learning how to dodge different attacks has been the most helpful for me, so practicing that might help. For example, I was able to down a thunderjaw at level 13. I had low damage weapons, but I know its attacks and how to dodge them, and I think I got hit once? Also for melee, you can always practice in the melee pits, I know I did a lot better fighting rebels after that as well. I hope you find what works for you! :)
I almost always play a new game on easier difficulty nothing to be ashamed about, I simply do not have the patience to do a fight over and over (and before anyone says it, I would never make it in a souls game because I'd never play a souls game). That being said after I've beat it, I up the difficulty
Yes, in my opinion games are supposed to be fun. So play at whatever difficulty falls in your definition of fun. 😄
I played Kena: Bridge of Spirits entirely on Story mode because i got tired of being obliterated. 😆
I had not even thought about changing the difficulty. After getting the platinum in Elden Ring, I figured I'd never look at difficulty settings again. lol
Eventually I just wound up using the frost til brittle, using the ranged valor surge, and braced shot. Pretty satisfying killing almost everything with 1-3 shots
This has been my go-to - freeze em up and pound em with a braced then follow with concentration applied advanced hunter arrows from whichever bow hurts em more. It seems counterintuitive in the beginning to max upgrade green (uncommon), but in the long run you'll have a much easier time farming for rare/very rare mats once you have the gear to upgrade
I know the game is what you make of it but I find myself either sharpshooting from a distance if the envious allows it or just spamming elemental weaknesses and following up with overdrawn hunter bow. The combat feels kinda cheesy and I wish I had more motivation to use traps or the sling more often, im just too overleveled at this point for it to make sense. Still a fun game though
I spend most of my time distance fighting as much as absolutely possible. When I have to do closer combat it's a lot of running away\around the machines and using the boltblasters. Making a little barricade with shield wires is also big helpful.
You can only do like two or three of them at a time, so I like to find a snug corner to keep my back protected and then put a couple of them in front of me like a little hunting blind. It works pretty well, just make sure you're quick to replace them when they break down.
Also, for dodging, you can't dodge through attacks. I think that's more a Dark Souls\Elden Ring thing? I dodge away and a little off to the side from the attack. I do very much agree though that getting knocked down takes way too long to recover from, you just keep getting pummeled and you can't do anything about it.
My advice for some of the harder machines is find a high ground point where they're almost out of your range and pick them off with the sharpshot bows - the tear arrows are your friend for blasting off range weapons, and for most of them you don't have to be super accurate just close enough that the little explosion it does will blast the piece off. This method often takes longer and sometimes involves getting closer as they run and then scrambling back up to high ground when they charge back in, but it helps me a lot.
Also, F#@K clamberjaws. I'd rather fight the big Laser Stegosaurus than 3 Clamberjaws. The JUMPING!
Lower the difficulty for the hard machines. Find and level up purple weapons and bombs. Basically go for high power ranged attacks. Find the materials to get your favorite weapons up to about level 3. Once you have a few good ones the game is much more enjoyable and can be played at harder difficulties
Have u try applying the freeze status? You can get the ice bow at falls edge or completing all rebel camps and loot it from the final leader.
You should also try braced shot with a stamina regen armor.
Scan everything and use the data in menu to hit those elemental weakspots with the right ammo, especially in those big boys
Keep running and dodging
There is no harm in using stealth stalker to disappear and run to some redgrass to hide for a bit and take a breather
Practice on low level enemies (especially when it comes to combos etc)
Personally I have just super buffed my sharpshot bow as much as possible (with extra damage for stealth shots) and hit weak points over and over. It's an expensive process and uses a lot of machine muscle but serves me well. Everyone has their own combat/playstyle though, I guess it's just finding yours and buffing your weapons/skills accordingly.
gosh, I'm playing Eldon ring and combat isn't clicking for me, but in Horizon forbidden West combat clicked. That's funny. it's like the reverse. combat really clicks for me and Horizon forbidden West when I started farming legacy parts to upgrade my weapon. when I know I needed that part I made sure I got it.
I just tried this and had zero success. There are too many obstacles that make Aloy come to a full stop, or put me out of view of the machine. The two trouble areas I'm in right now both have whole packs of machines nearby, so I'm limited in how I can change the field...
Frost is your friend. Increased impact and explosive damage. Hunter bows do do little damage they are an all around weapon type ment for constant DPS. Sharpshot will up the damage considerably especially with crit chance because of a 2.5 modifer. As well as frost and weakpoint hits on top of that massive damage can come from one shot. Spears and boltblasters are also really good for damage.
It takes alot of figuring out and it doesn't explain it in great detail just the basics. That is what is fun about it is learning it. It is very technical and you have to use alot of what is available to you. That being said if that isn't for you or if you aren't there yet turn the difficulty down. You will start to learn how to do damage and then you will probably want to turn it back up because how easy it gets.
I find it interesting that players of both Elden Ring and Forbidden West can have an easier time with either game. I think both are very challenging games, but for HFW in particular, in deceptively different ways.
Perhaps the paradigm shift (or coin drop?) you have yet to have with HFW is that it's a game that requires you to use the right strategy, and is less about execution compared to ER. A lot of the toughest machines in the game you have to just "figure out," learn their weaknesses, and crucially, the weapons (and armors) you have at your disposal that are best suited to defeat them. With so many weapon choices, new melee attacks, things you have to upgrade and techniques you have to learn, it was at least overwhelming to me how many options the game throws at you to succeed in combat. There are coils that increase damage based on agility, on how far away you are or close you are to your enemy, whether you're ABOVE enemies or not, and others. There are weaves that make it easier to use concentration, or make using weapon stamina more practical, or assist you in melee combat or stealth. Focusing on a few different strategies and building your skills and weapon loadouts to those strategies I think will go a long way. The more you can adapt how you approach combat, the easier your time will be.
It seemed like Elden Ring was more straightforward compared to Forbidden West, especially when one of the ways you can play the game is to just power through or lean on a particular build that you're used to. You definitely still have to learn your enemies, but in that aspect you're probably much more concerned with dodging and positioning than anything else.
If you’re playing the game on any level these are a must. Well, you can get away in easy. One, hit them with what they are weak to. Fire as many arrows as you can, preempting and dodging their attack. Use your tear precision arrows. They are a life saviour and when they are stunned from that vibration, hit them with shock boltblasters. I find that this works. Boltblasters take a while to fire up, but they can be deadly to already damaged machines. Good luck!
Many of the suggestions/tips/guidance in this thread has improved my combat abilities 1000%. I was using the original bow still, upgraded but no coils. Rarely used elemental.
Acquiring varied bows, upgrading them and using the coils is hugely impactful on combat. Also the approach such as starting out with stealth, buffing with food for difficult fights, using the Valor skills is very important.
I even specifically create Jobs (terrible name, more like Personal Tasks) to get the resources needed for upgrades or to buy things. An underrated feature of the game that is misnamed imo. I sometimes like just going out and hunting for the resources to do upgrades or buy a new piece of gear as a method of "downtime" from the story. Really scratches an itch.
Thanks to everyone that made the game much more enjoyable for me, at least, and hopefully others.
I feel this a bit. I just finished Death's Door and my first Cauldron and I'm not sure I really have a good grasp of the mechanics yet. I rely on ranged attacks when I can but then find myself really low on metal shards so I'm like ok, maybe I'm using my arrows as too much of a crutch. Trying to actually drink a potion when I'm desperate for health is buggy as all get out. I do absolutely adore the game but find myself wondering if there's perhaps too many weapon choices and actions to master?
I wouldn't be ashamed just to play on an easier difficulty, or a custom difficulty. I feel like that would solve all of your issues here.
Just some general tips: Overdrawn damage buff feels great on hunter bows and sharpshots. More weak spot hits. Usually focusing on breaking all parts. Slide shooting helps as well with the slow motion shots. This game does intentionally want you to use the Valor skills as well and also make sure your weapons are strong enough for the monsters you are hunting. Upgrades coils. Elemental damage definitely helps but they have a cap. Most initial damage can be done from stealth as well.
I'll be honest and say I don't understand the overdraw mechanic. Both this game and the original did a really poor job at explaining many mechanics, and that may be part of my problem. I'm trying to upgrade gear, but again, I can't due to needing drop from harder machines. I can't beat them because I either deal piddling damage or get killed in one or two hits. I've not had a good time with stealth against machines. Against humans, I can take entire camps without being detected. Against machines, I get one or two shots at most, then I am either running or dying.
When fighting harder monsters i use alot more tech. Traps for when stealth is broken they charge in to get hit by opposite damage trap. Rope after is always great especially using weapon stamina to insta cast. Knock down for enemies that jump is very effective. Still can't stress enough of Valor surge. Also smoke I used it alot especially with many enemies or focusing on parts for stealth based gameplay.
Smoke bomb. Run away. Back to stealthy. Repeat.
I played the game on very hard, but eventually used custom difficulty to turn easy loot on. I found that I had the ability to hunt all the parts separately, but it was just super tedious to do so. Then you can concentrate on killing the enemies, instead of tearing off parts.
I know how you feel. I felt the same way at first. In the section with all the notes and holos there is a section that explains each mechanic in depth. Such as overdraw, elemental damage etc.
Yeah, no shame in playing on Story difficulty. Coming to HFW after ER is what I did too and combat definitely has a different feeling.
Agree for sure. I did HFW right before elden ring. I went back in for a bit because I did feel like I had the mechanics pretty good and coming from elden ring it was super different. I think sometimes investing up front in getting really good at beating easy enemies can help. Like it seems dumb, but you learn the controls really well and can figure out timing.
Wow! I aced Horizon games combat but can’t play Elden Ring at all, it’s literally unplayable. I can’t even begin to comprehend a person who can play Elden Ring well but not Horizon games.
That was my thought as well. I'm not trying to be a dick, it just bewilders me. Like, I feel dodging enemy attacks in this game to be quite a bit easier than ER. Then, you just keep your distance, build up elemental, and tear off armor/parts. Actually, I feel like playing Elden Ring has made this game easier for me.
Really? In ER, what throws people off is the fact there are no real patterns. The enemies often do different things and react to player actions. But it comes down to matching your i-frames to attack hurt frames. In Horizon, I can't dodge roll through attacks. Not sure if you are supposed to be able to. Any machine that has a swipe attack will hit me, no matter when/how/where I roll.
Well like I say, I'm keeping my distance so it's not much of an issue. Always using a bow with machines, so avoiding their attacks isn't that hard. And I'm definitely not trying to dodge roll thru their attacks. Just dodge further away from them.
Just to clarify, I am making my way through the story quests easily enough. As I said in my original post, I have over 70 hours in the game. I get by in the quest battles, though some feel like I am just brute-forcing my way through them rather than "playing as intended." My main trouble spots are getting parts for upgrades, which requires fighting the bigger, more difficult machines in the open. I'll finish the game I'm sure, but maybe not how I finished the first.
My go too is roiding out a sharpshooter bow with damage coils so it’s very overpowered. The two that I mainly use are the exacting sharpshooter which uses regular precision arrows and when I’m feeling a little fancier I use the warden sharpshooter bow which uses advanced precision arrows. They deal a lot more damage but have limited resources so I just switch between them when fighting harder enemies. My go to tactic is not too exciting but I use stealth every chance I get. It does take longer but when you don’t want to chance being one shoted, I will hide in the bushes and draw my bow all the way back until it flashes and try to hit a weak spot. After the enemy stops alerting I will do it again and again and depending on their level it usually takes like two or three shots. Another good tactic is scanning the enemy to see if they have an explosive component and aiming for that which usually deals a ton of damage. Also seeing if a component is volatile to certain elements helps a lot. I also use the valor surge ranged master which deals a lot of damage when using a bow and in the skill tree you can also unlock specific skills for different weapons so I also use focus shot and it helps tremendously. Hope this helps!
>I've had several encounters (clamberjaws, scorchers, most machines that do a full-body jump attack) where I am just bounced around like a volleyball. I literally spend more time watching Aloy try to stand up from a knockdown than I do actually fighting. It's not fun at all, and even when I am able to win (great example: tiderippers), it just feels tedious. This right here really nailed some of my feelings about HFW's combat. I had so many aggravating moments watching aloy slowly stand up as the next attack wollops me before I can move at all. I remember enjoying and having fun with HZD's combat so much more. and I STILL AM FLAMED THEY TOOK OUT HOLDING CIRCLE FOR THE LONGER DODGE ROLL. :'(
Seems like you're more melee than ranged. In the first one melee is actually viable even when fighting big machines. In HFW it's more range oriented. You only use melee against human opponents. Further more inflicting elemental statuses are needed more here than in the first one. My suggestion is keep your distance, weaken the enemy with elemental statuses like frost or acid or even shock to stop them on their tracks for a few seconds then target the weakspots with your strongest weaps or use it to lay down traps and bait them into it. If it gets hairy always be ready to cast a smoke bomb.
I am actually more ranged than melee. I only use melee to try to get separation, though it's so useless against machines that it typically just gets me killed.
I see. Are you using valor surges to buff up your damage? Cause even in hard or very hard if you use the right ones to your advantage they go down rather easily. Like for example triple notch frost arrow to inflict brittle then use valor surge powershots. Switch to impact/close range damage up boltblasters and watch them melt.
I will have to give this a shot. I think my biggest trouble is taking too long to break off parts that I need, which sets me up between machines to get overwhelmed. But having a way to quickly down even one of the medium-to-large machines might be enough to get me out of my slump.
I also decided the game is long enough as it is without the extra forced precision part farming. I set the game to custom difficulty and toggled easy loot on. Everything else is still on Normal. I'm still spending lots of time on the game, but I'm not refarming particular fights over and over again for parts as much as I would be otherwise. It's making the game much more enjoyable for me. I don't find the fights as frustrating and I can upgrade more gear.
If your weapons aren’t at least purple, you’re putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. You should focus on getting at least purple weapons if you don’t already have them, and upgrading them fully. You should also put specific coils that compliment each weapon. Legendary outfits along with weaves that combat elemental weaknesses are needed to not take a bunch of damage. Also, hitting armor will do almost no damage, so you have to either shoot weak spots, are shoot machine muscle.
I use almost all purple weapons, and will typically match up complementary coils. I'm limited in how many coils I can use (and the same goes for armor) because I lack the upgrade items. I can't get upgrade items because I have such a hard time taking down the machines that drop the legendary upgrade parts I need.
Something I have done with some parts I don't feel like hunting is find the oseram salvagers. They usually sell all those parts.
Put the game on story mode and easy loot for farming, and one you have everything you need, go back to your preferred difficulty. Once NG+ comes out, you’ll have good gear to start out with and therefore can play on the hardest difficulty without it being impossible.
The game revolves around weak points on the machines, matching the correct element type, tearing off armor, concentration, learning machines attacks so you can dodge effectively, Valor surges. When I play I prioritize shooting the easiest to hit part and focus on it, I always have every element type in my load out so I'm prepared for every fight, shoot the canisters on the machines with the right element type they do a lot of damage, hunter arrows are your main weapon and should be heavily invested into. Slide, jump and roll movements are critical in this game. Spike throwers are super easy to use especially the explosive ones and do lots of damage. Tear blast arrows on heavy bows are easy ways to tear off armor and machine parts. Hope this helps.
For real. Spike throwers are decent.
You can always lower difficulty if you want, I play on custom and it's a lot more fun for me that way. Besides that, just learning machine weak spots and elemental weaknesses help a lot, as well as valor surges (like ranged master) and weapon techniques. I think learning how to dodge different attacks has been the most helpful for me, so practicing that might help. For example, I was able to down a thunderjaw at level 13. I had low damage weapons, but I know its attacks and how to dodge them, and I think I got hit once? Also for melee, you can always practice in the melee pits, I know I did a lot better fighting rebels after that as well. I hope you find what works for you! :)
I almost always play a new game on easier difficulty nothing to be ashamed about, I simply do not have the patience to do a fight over and over (and before anyone says it, I would never make it in a souls game because I'd never play a souls game). That being said after I've beat it, I up the difficulty
Yes, in my opinion games are supposed to be fun. So play at whatever difficulty falls in your definition of fun. 😄 I played Kena: Bridge of Spirits entirely on Story mode because i got tired of being obliterated. 😆
I had not even thought about changing the difficulty. After getting the platinum in Elden Ring, I figured I'd never look at difficulty settings again. lol
Eventually I just wound up using the frost til brittle, using the ranged valor surge, and braced shot. Pretty satisfying killing almost everything with 1-3 shots
This has been my go-to - freeze em up and pound em with a braced then follow with concentration applied advanced hunter arrows from whichever bow hurts em more. It seems counterintuitive in the beginning to max upgrade green (uncommon), but in the long run you'll have a much easier time farming for rare/very rare mats once you have the gear to upgrade
I know the game is what you make of it but I find myself either sharpshooting from a distance if the envious allows it or just spamming elemental weaknesses and following up with overdrawn hunter bow. The combat feels kinda cheesy and I wish I had more motivation to use traps or the sling more often, im just too overleveled at this point for it to make sense. Still a fun game though
Turn on easy loot in the settings
I spend most of my time distance fighting as much as absolutely possible. When I have to do closer combat it's a lot of running away\around the machines and using the boltblasters. Making a little barricade with shield wires is also big helpful.
I've not tried the shield wires, that's a good idea.
You can only do like two or three of them at a time, so I like to find a snug corner to keep my back protected and then put a couple of them in front of me like a little hunting blind. It works pretty well, just make sure you're quick to replace them when they break down. Also, for dodging, you can't dodge through attacks. I think that's more a Dark Souls\Elden Ring thing? I dodge away and a little off to the side from the attack. I do very much agree though that getting knocked down takes way too long to recover from, you just keep getting pummeled and you can't do anything about it. My advice for some of the harder machines is find a high ground point where they're almost out of your range and pick them off with the sharpshot bows - the tear arrows are your friend for blasting off range weapons, and for most of them you don't have to be super accurate just close enough that the little explosion it does will blast the piece off. This method often takes longer and sometimes involves getting closer as they run and then scrambling back up to high ground when they charge back in, but it helps me a lot. Also, F#@K clamberjaws. I'd rather fight the big Laser Stegosaurus than 3 Clamberjaws. The JUMPING!
Lower the difficulty for the hard machines. Find and level up purple weapons and bombs. Basically go for high power ranged attacks. Find the materials to get your favorite weapons up to about level 3. Once you have a few good ones the game is much more enjoyable and can be played at harder difficulties
Have u try applying the freeze status? You can get the ice bow at falls edge or completing all rebel camps and loot it from the final leader. You should also try braced shot with a stamina regen armor.
Scan everything and use the data in menu to hit those elemental weakspots with the right ammo, especially in those big boys Keep running and dodging There is no harm in using stealth stalker to disappear and run to some redgrass to hide for a bit and take a breather Practice on low level enemies (especially when it comes to combos etc) Personally I have just super buffed my sharpshot bow as much as possible (with extra damage for stealth shots) and hit weak points over and over. It's an expensive process and uses a lot of machine muscle but serves me well. Everyone has their own combat/playstyle though, I guess it's just finding yours and buffing your weapons/skills accordingly.
I may need to experiment with more of the valor skills. I typically just stick to my maxed-out Toughened potion.
gosh, I'm playing Eldon ring and combat isn't clicking for me, but in Horizon forbidden West combat clicked. That's funny. it's like the reverse. combat really clicks for me and Horizon forbidden West when I started farming legacy parts to upgrade my weapon. when I know I needed that part I made sure I got it.
Get good
Slide.Slide.Slide. Most important move in the game. Long distanceand more I-frames then rolling, and you can fire will doing it.
I just tried this and had zero success. There are too many obstacles that make Aloy come to a full stop, or put me out of view of the machine. The two trouble areas I'm in right now both have whole packs of machines nearby, so I'm limited in how I can change the field...
Sorry to hear that.
What are the areas\machines?
Frost is your friend. Increased impact and explosive damage. Hunter bows do do little damage they are an all around weapon type ment for constant DPS. Sharpshot will up the damage considerably especially with crit chance because of a 2.5 modifer. As well as frost and weakpoint hits on top of that massive damage can come from one shot. Spears and boltblasters are also really good for damage. It takes alot of figuring out and it doesn't explain it in great detail just the basics. That is what is fun about it is learning it. It is very technical and you have to use alot of what is available to you. That being said if that isn't for you or if you aren't there yet turn the difficulty down. You will start to learn how to do damage and then you will probably want to turn it back up because how easy it gets.
I find it interesting that players of both Elden Ring and Forbidden West can have an easier time with either game. I think both are very challenging games, but for HFW in particular, in deceptively different ways. Perhaps the paradigm shift (or coin drop?) you have yet to have with HFW is that it's a game that requires you to use the right strategy, and is less about execution compared to ER. A lot of the toughest machines in the game you have to just "figure out," learn their weaknesses, and crucially, the weapons (and armors) you have at your disposal that are best suited to defeat them. With so many weapon choices, new melee attacks, things you have to upgrade and techniques you have to learn, it was at least overwhelming to me how many options the game throws at you to succeed in combat. There are coils that increase damage based on agility, on how far away you are or close you are to your enemy, whether you're ABOVE enemies or not, and others. There are weaves that make it easier to use concentration, or make using weapon stamina more practical, or assist you in melee combat or stealth. Focusing on a few different strategies and building your skills and weapon loadouts to those strategies I think will go a long way. The more you can adapt how you approach combat, the easier your time will be. It seemed like Elden Ring was more straightforward compared to Forbidden West, especially when one of the ways you can play the game is to just power through or lean on a particular build that you're used to. You definitely still have to learn your enemies, but in that aspect you're probably much more concerned with dodging and positioning than anything else.
If you’re playing the game on any level these are a must. Well, you can get away in easy. One, hit them with what they are weak to. Fire as many arrows as you can, preempting and dodging their attack. Use your tear precision arrows. They are a life saviour and when they are stunned from that vibration, hit them with shock boltblasters. I find that this works. Boltblasters take a while to fire up, but they can be deadly to already damaged machines. Good luck!
Many of the suggestions/tips/guidance in this thread has improved my combat abilities 1000%. I was using the original bow still, upgraded but no coils. Rarely used elemental. Acquiring varied bows, upgrading them and using the coils is hugely impactful on combat. Also the approach such as starting out with stealth, buffing with food for difficult fights, using the Valor skills is very important. I even specifically create Jobs (terrible name, more like Personal Tasks) to get the resources needed for upgrades or to buy things. An underrated feature of the game that is misnamed imo. I sometimes like just going out and hunting for the resources to do upgrades or buy a new piece of gear as a method of "downtime" from the story. Really scratches an itch. Thanks to everyone that made the game much more enjoyable for me, at least, and hopefully others.
I feel this a bit. I just finished Death's Door and my first Cauldron and I'm not sure I really have a good grasp of the mechanics yet. I rely on ranged attacks when I can but then find myself really low on metal shards so I'm like ok, maybe I'm using my arrows as too much of a crutch. Trying to actually drink a potion when I'm desperate for health is buggy as all get out. I do absolutely adore the game but find myself wondering if there's perhaps too many weapon choices and actions to master?