Weapon Compendium#

Horizon Forbidden West offers a diverse weapon system. Every weapon has unique ammo types and tactical uses.

Weapon Category Overview#

Weapon type	Unlock	Ammo types	Best range	Ease of use
Hunter Bow	Start	3	Mid range	Easy
Sharpshot Bow	Chapter 2	3	Long range	Medium
Warrior Bow	Chapter 2	3	Close range	Medium
Blastsling	Chapter 3	3	Mid range	Easy
Tripcaster	Chapter 2	3	Placement	Medium
Shredder Gauntlet	Chapter 3	3	Mid range	Hard
Boltblaster	Chapter 4	3	Mid-long range	Easy
Spike Thrower	Chapter 4	3	Mid range	Medium

Hunter Bow#

Hunter bow	Rarity	Base attack	How to get
Nora Hunter Bow	Green	20	Starting gear
Carja Hunter Bow	Blue	30	Merchant purchase
Oseram Hunter Bow	Purple	40	Side quest reward
Explorer’s Hunter Bow	Purple	42	Memorial Grove merchant
Death-Seeker’s Bow	Orange	55	NG+ reward
Death-Seeker’s Shadow	Orange	58	Arena exchange

Hunter Bow Ammo#

Ammo	Effect	Crafting materials
Hunter Arrow	Base damage	Metal Shards + Wood
Fire Arrow	Fire attach	Metal Shards + Wood + Blaze
Corrosive Arrow	Corrosion attach	Metal Shards + Wood + Corrosive sludge

Sharpshot Bow#

The Sharpshot Bow is a sniper weapon for long-range weak-point strikes.

Sharpshot bow	Rarity	Base attack	How to get
Carja Sharpshot Bow	Blue	50	Purchase after The Embassy
Tenakth Sharpshot Bow	Purple	65	Stillsands merchant
Oath Sharpshot Bow	Purple	68	Rebel camp reward
Storm Sharpshot Bow	Orange	85	Melee pit exchange
Forgefall	Orange	90	Arena exchange

Ammo	Effect	Best use
Precision Arrow	High piercing damage	Sniping weak points
Plasma Arrow	Chargeable explosion	Large machines
Tearblast Arrow	Efficient part removal	Stripping components and weapons
Purgewater Arrow	Blocks elemental attacks	Against elemental machines

Warrior Bow#

The Warrior Bow suits fast close-range shooting with an extremely high fire rate.

Warrior bow	Rarity	Fire rate	How to get
Carja Warrior Bow	Blue	Very fast	Purchase after The Embassy
Utaru Warrior Bow	Purple	Very fast	Scalding Spear tavern merchant
Champion’s Warrior Bow	Orange	Very fast	Arena exchange

Boltblaster#

The Boltblaster is one of the most powerful burst weapons in the game.

Boltblaster	Rarity	Base attack	Special effect
Smasher	Blue	80	None
Celestial Boltblaster	Purple	110	High tear
Sky Piercer	Purple	120	Valor surges bonus
Spear of Fate	Purple	130	High crit
Skybreaker	Orange	180	High attack + Valor surges

Spike Thrower#

The Spike Thrower works like a machine gun with sustained output.

Spike type	Effect	Reload time
Standard Spike	Base damage	Medium
Shock Spike	Shock attach	Medium
Explosive Spike	Area explosion damage	Long

Weapon Rarity Tiers#

Rarity	Color	Coil slots	Upgrade tiers
Common	Green	1	2
Rare	Blue	2	3
Very Rare	Purple	3	4
Legendary	Orange	4	5

Best Weapon Recommendations#

Purpose	Weapon	Acquisition difficulty	Verdict
All-round main	Death-Seeker’s Shadow	Medium (Arena)	Full elemental ammo — a universal bow
Long-range sniping	Forgefall	Medium (Arena)	Among the highest single-shot damage
Burst damage	Skybreaker	Hard (Arena)	Strongest burst weapon
Battlefield control	Dionysian Blastsling	Side quest	Excellent freeze effect
Close-range damage	Champion’s Warrior Bow	Hard (Arena)	Extremely high fire rate
Parts farming	Carja Sharpshot Bow (Tearblast Arrows)	Easy (merchant)	Extremely high tear

Weapon Upgrade Materials#

Tier	Materials needed	Metal Shards needed
1→2	Basic machine parts	200+
2→3	Medium machine parts	500+
3→4	Rare machine parts + coils	1000+
4→5	Top-tier machine parts + large coils	2000+

Upgrading a weapon to tier 4 unlocks all its coil slots; whether to push to tier 5 depends on whether you have enough top-tier materials.

Weapon Valor Surges#

Weapon type	Surge	Effect	Unlock condition
Hunter Bow	Double Shot	Fires two arrows at once	Skill tree
Hunter Bow	Triple Shot	Fires three arrows at once	Late skill tree
Sharpshot Bow	Heavy Draw	Longer charge but higher damage	Skill tree
Sharpshot Bow	Tear down	Massively raises tear	Skill tree
Warrior Bow	Rapid Fire	Massively raises fire rate	Skill tree
Blastsling	Bomb Barrage	Throws multiple bombs in succession	Skill tree
Tripcaster	Trip Hammertine	Places shield tripwires	Skill tree
Shredder Gauntlet	Return Send	The shredder disc returns for a second hit	Skill tree
Boltblaster	Bolt Burst	Piercing bolts deal extra damage	Skill tree
Spike Thrower	Sustained Fire	Continuous shooting raises fire rate	Skill tree

Full Ammo Damage Comparison#

Ammo	Base damage	Tear	Elemental buildup	Best use
Hunter Arrow	25	10	0	General small machines
Fire Arrow	15	5	35 (Fire)	Fire attach + damage over time
Frost Arrow	15	5	35 (Frost)	Frozen vulnerability state
Shock Arrow	15	5	35 (Shock)	Paralysis control
Corrosive Arrow	20	10	30 (Corrosive)	Armor break + damage over time
Precision Arrow	85	30	0	Long-range weak-point sniping
Tearblast Arrow	5	150	0	Dedicated part removal
Plasma Arrow	45	15	25 (Plasma)	Chargeable explosion
Standard Bomb	100	20	0	AoE area damage
Bolt	120	30	0	Single-target burst
Explosive Bolt	180	40	0	Highest single-shot damage
Spike	35	15	0	Fast continuous output

Weapon DPS Ranking#

Rank	Weapon	DPS (est.)	Burst	Sustained
1	Skybreaker	450+	★★★★★	★★★★
2	Death-Seeker’s Shadow	350+	★★★★	★★★★★
3	Champion’s Warrior Bow	380+	★★★	★★★★★
4	Forgefall	320+	★★★★★	★★★
5	Deepwater Harvester	400+	★★★	★★★★
6	Guardian of Londra	340+	★★★★	★★★★

Full Weapon Collection List#

Weapon	Type	Rarity	How to get	Unique
Nora Hunter Bow	Hunter Bow	Green	Starting gear	Yes
Carja Hunter Bow	Hunter Bow	Blue	Chainscrap merchant	No — purchasable repeatedly
Explorer’s Hunter Bow	Hunter Bow	Purple	Side quest “The Seeker’s Oath”	Yes
Death-Seeker’s Shadow	Hunter Bow	Orange	Arena, 10 medals	Yes
Death-Seeker’s Bow	Hunter Bow	Orange	NG+ Arena	Yes
Carja Sharpshot Bow	Sharpshot Bow	Blue	Post-Embassy merchant	No
Oath Sharpshot Bow	Sharpshot Bow	Purple	Rebel camp reward	Yes
Storm Sharpshot Bow	Sharpshot Bow	Orange	Arena exchange	Yes
Forgefall	Sharpshot Bow	Orange	Arena, 10 medals	Yes
Carja Warrior Bow	Warrior Bow	Blue	Merchant purchase	No
Utaru Warrior Bow	Warrior Bow	Purple	Scalding Spear merchant	No
Champion’s Warrior Bow	Warrior Bow	Orange	Arena, 12 medals	Yes
Blazing Blastsling	Blastsling	Purple	Scalding Spear merchant	No
Dionysian Blastsling	Blastsling	Purple	Side quest	Yes
Demolisher Boltblaster	Boltblaster	Blue	Merchant purchase	No
Sky Piercer	Boltblaster	Purple	Side quest “Valley of Glory”	Yes
Skybreaker	Boltblaster	Orange	Arena, 12 medals	Yes

Weapon Acquisition Map#

Acquisition method	Weapons obtainable	Priority
Starting gear	Nora Hunter Bow, Nora Spear	—
Chainscrap merchant	Carja Hunter Bow, basic Blastsling, Tripcaster	★★★
Post-Embassy merchant	Carja Sharpshot Bow, Carja Warrior Bow	★★★★★
Stillsands merchant	Tenakth weapon line	★★★★
Plainsong merchant	Utaru weapon line	★★★
Side quest rewards	Explorer’s Hunter Bow, Celestial Boltblaster, Dionysian Blastsling	★★★★★
Rebel camps	Oath Sharpshot Bow	★★★★
Arena exchange	Death-Seeker’s Shadow, Forgefall, Champion’s Warrior Bow, Skybreaker	★★★★★
NG+ Arena	Death-Seeker’s Bow	★★★★
DLC region	Guardian of Londra, Deepwater Harvester	★★★★★