The key to winning in Horizon: Zero Dawn is to find the right bow for a player’s battle. With so many options, it can be overwhelming to find the right bow for the right situation. However, it doesn’t have to be a painstaking task to figure out which bow will work best with each battle.
To ensure victory, Aloy has to find and upgrade various bow types to effectively defeat enemies while sustaining little to no damage. Although the game breaks the bows down to three basic categories (Hunter Bows, War Bows, and Sharpshot Bows), each category has a breakdown of at least six boy types.
Hunter Bows in Horizon: Zero Dawn
Hunter bows specialize in short to medium range combat. These bows have faster reload speeds and firing time, making them ideal for closer combat. They are capable of inflicting three types of damage: impact damage, elemental, and tear. This also allows for three types of arrows to be used for battle.
The (Basic) Hunter Bow is the bow that Aloy starts within the game. The boy Aloy has in her hands (both as a child and as an adult at the beginning of the game) only fire normal Hunter arrows. Although these arrows do little damage, they do a fair amount of tear damage against enemies.
As the story progresses, Aloy will have the chance to get her hands on other styles of bows. For the Hunter Bow category, those are mainly the Carja Hunter Bow and the Shadow Hunter Bow. Between these Hunter bow styles, the Shadow Hunter Bow is the best standard bow in the entire game. The Shadow Hunter Bow costs 650 metal sharts and one watcher heart, which isn’t too terribly priced. Additionally, players can find these bows anywhere, making it twice as easy to find and use.
However, it is worth noting that with the Horizon: Zero Dawn DLC, players will also have access to the Banuk Striker Bow, Adept Striker Bow, and Variant Hunter Bow. These stronger versions of the Hunter Bow were introduced to make up for the difficulty of The Frozen Wilds DLC expansion. If players plan on exploring The Frozen Wilds, it may be worth it to find these bows and upgrade them before going out exploring.
War Bows in Horizon: Zero Dawn
Although War Bows would seem like the ideal choice, they can often be difficult to maneuver. These bows inflict low damage, but their primary focus is to deliver elemental damage to enemies. This forces enemies into vulnerable states and helps Aloy create an opening for attack. These bows tend to be best used with other weapons because of their low tear and impact damage.
The (Basic) War Bow can be purchased after the first few hours of the game at the cost of 100 metal shards. The bow also fires electric arrows. These arrows deal low base damage but, after shooting, detonate and unleash a wave of electricity. This can absolutely help Aloy create a moment for enemies to be dumbfounded before running into battle.
Similar to the Hunter Bows, the War Bows also come in various different styles. The main ones that Aloy will have access to through the main game are the Carja War Bow, Shadow War Bow, Adept War Bow, and Lodge War Bow.
Each war bow is able to handle different elements. The Carja War Boy is able to fire freeze arrows as well as electric ones. Although these bows still don’t deal a lot of damage, they do create a large area of effect (AoE) for whatever element players decide to use. Shadow War Bows can handle both Freeze and Electric arrows but are also given the option to use one more type: Corruption. These corruption arrows will corrupt everything around the target, causing any robot infected to fight for Aloy for a short time. Lodge War Bow can be purchased after completing 15 Hunting Lodges. Although this bow does slightly more damage per shot, it’s essentially the same as the Shadow War Bow.
Additionally, the Horizon: Zero Dawn DLC provides players with a few more War Bows. Namely, there is the Adept Lodge War Bow, Banuk Champion Bow, and Adept Champion Bow. The Banuk Champion Bow, in particular, was created for The Frozen Wilds DLC expansion. This bow makes up for the difficult Daemonic machines, which are stronger than the corrupted machines at the beginning of the game.
Sharpshot Bows in Horizon: Zero Dawn
The Sharpshot bow is a slow-firing yet extremely accurate bow. Comparatively to the War Bows and Hunter Bows, Sharpshot bows specialize in long-range combat. The arrows for the Sharpshot bow focus on dealing high impact and tear damage. These arrows tend to be Precision, Tearblast, and Harvest arrows.
The Sharpshot Bow comes in the (Basic) Sharpshot, Carja Sharpshot, Shadow Sharpshot, and Adept Sharpshot styles. Although the Basic Sharpshot fires only one arrow type, these arrows deal high base damage and moderate Tear damage. The Basic Sharpshot bow is available for purchase early on in the game. Basic Sharpshot Bows are available for 105 metal shards and are ideal for sniping enemy machinery.
By contrast, the Carja Sharpshot first the normal arrow plus a Tearblast arrow. The Tearblast will stick to a target and detonate, dealing massive tear damage and ripping off armor with ease. The Shadow Sharpshot fires both previous arrow types plus the harvest arrows. These arrows deal a decent amount of tear damage and each piece of armor that breaks off will yield more rewards. However, the Shadow Sharpshot delivers damage at the cost of a player’s speed. The bow itself is slow, so players have to be sure to make every shot count! This will pay off once players have access to hardpoint arrows, which are best on the battlefield.
The DLC for Horizon: Zero Dawn also has additional Sharpshot Bows available to players. These are the Banuk Powershot Bow and Adept Powershot Bow. The Banuk Powershot Bows have powerful modifications available, ensuring that each shot a player takes absolutely counts against enemies. These bows will deal a great amount of damage per hit, ensuring Aloy’s victory over enemies.
Each bow style will give players a different advantage for different fights. Sometimes, it’s best to experiment and see which scenarios work best for which bows. So get out onto the battlefield and show those robots what Aloy’s made out of!
Horizon: Zero Dawn is available now on PS4.
