[WinterPhoenix]

I think if Strength/Spear damage increased via level up then I would have used it more for sure, but like Trav says it's entirely unnecessary. To the point where if you're actually relying on your spear for anything that isn't hijacking bots then the game will become much, much harder. One day I might try and play through the game spear-only as a challenge, considering that I only got killed by actual enemies twice in the whole game. Died a bunch of times by jumping off places as well though lol.

As Trav points out you learn the attack patterns of enemies and what techniques/strategies are best suited to taking them out, the spear only really features if you rely on hijacking other bots to do your fighting for you. Like with Thunderjaws, remove all there dangerous weapons, freeze them, tie them down, hardpoint arrows to the heart, they die very quickly. Tearblast and Hardpoint arrows are brilliant, Tearblast especially really levels the playing field by removing all the more dangerous elements of different robots, i.e. make Stalkers visible, remove Thunderjaw and Ravager guns, prevent bellowbacks from frying/freezing you etc.

There's also the point worth thinking about, if the spear was OP in damage levels, it would look ridiculous to see Aloy beating a Thunderjaw or a Rockbreaker to death with it.

[ArchieVist]

The DLC trailer I saw below has no spoilers.

http://www.ign.com/a...wilds-announced

This post has been edited by ArchieVist: 13 June 2017 - 04:20 PM

[Traveller]

I ran to that building at the back and sniped; I think you have to make use of those exploding barrels but I kept miss-timing it, so I got out of his way and kept shooting.

[Traveller]

Briar King, on 14 June 2017 - 07:14 PM, said:

I beat it.

Holy hell Meridian is vast. Pretty to.

Amazing views. The trader just outside the gate will sell you a gold travel pack for infinite fast travel.

I still prefer being able to walk through a city like this without feeling like I should be searching every house, room and cupboard for ingredients and weapon components.

[Traveller]

He's at the far end of the bridge on the way into Meridian.

Cool area south and west - really tall waterfall I couldn't help but dive from.. survived it too by landing in the river.

[WinterPhoenix]

Traveller, on 14 June 2017 - 10:05 PM, said:

Briar King, on 14 June 2017 - 07:14 PM, said:

I beat it.

Holy hell Meridian is vast. Pretty to.

Amazing views. The trader just outside the gate will sell you a gold travel pack for infinite fast travel.

I still prefer being able to walk through a city like this without feeling like I should be searching every house, room and cupboard for ingredients and weapon components.

I'm like the complete opposite on this one issue tbh, beautiful as an area may look I can't help but feel disappointed if all the buildings are merely there for show, it's feels like 'what's the point?' to me anyhow. But I do get how frustrating it can feel to feel as though you're missing something every single building you go past, not sure I've ever played a game where I feel that way but if you do it would definitely be annoying as hell for sure.

EDIT: SO HYPED FOR THE DLC!!

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 15 June 2017 - 07:48 PM

[WinterPhoenix]

Briar King, on 15 June 2017 - 08:19 PM, said:

I still haven't watched it just in case I see something.

The trailer I saw wouldn't ruin anything I'm pretty certain. Feels like this will be designed to fit into the game sometime before the final mission, I made sure to keep some saves just for any eventual dlc release, simply because I don't want to have to play through from the beginning again really.

[Malankazooie]

I finally beat the game and discovered that there is a New Game + available. Any of you Aloy fanatics play this? I guess you get so called "extras" and can play on "Ultra Hard" setting as well. I beat the game on "Hard" setting (which was the second hardest setting at the time before the new game + update, "Very Hard" being the hardest before the update)

[WinterPhoenix]

I saw just the other day they've added an NG+ and new difficulty option, mostly because my Trophy page no longer says 100% next to Horizon any more lol

[Malankazooie]

WinterPhoenix, on 20 July 2017 - 01:53 AM, said:

I saw just the other day they've added an NG+ and new difficulty option, mostly because my Trophy page no longer says 100% next to Horizon any more lol

Yeah, when I fired up my PS4 (last week I believe), HZD update started to download, when it finished I looked at the update option and it had those descriptions (Ultra Hard difficulty and New Game +). I guess weapons on NG+ can have additional slots for boosting their effectiveness and also there are face paints for Aloy or something.

When the update finished downloading I was nervous that it might mess up my most recent save. That happened earlier (my fault) and is why I dropped the game for a time, because I lost so much progress.

[Malankazooie]

Heh, I got a "Congrats on completing Horizon Zero Dawn" email from the PlayStation email addy. Nice touch.

[acesn8s]

I just completed the Metal Ring section. Had to do it about 10 times because I kept trying to stealth all the way through. Finally got frustrated enough to say Fuck it after being spotted in the trenches

Spoiler

and sprinted to the Blaze cache. Didn't realize blowing it up triggered a cut scene. Way over thought things.

Need to figure out how to deal with Bellowbacks at level 12 or 13. I think I need to save my metal shards and upgrade my weapons. I have a Shadow sling and Carja snapbow, everything else is entry level. Even my armor is the gear Teb gave me. I did spend my latest skill point getting Tinker. So the next merchant I see will get a bunch of lower level upgrades.

[Malankazooie]

I splurged and got the best stealth armor early on, so I was able to stealth through the metal ring section with not much trouble.

I would avoid Bellowbacks until you level up. Do the hunting challenge with them to understand their weakness. With any of the bigger machines, the Tearblast arrows are your friend. Also, be sure to complete the cauldrons when you find them because then you can override machines, which is one of the most important/powerful skills to attain. You can then override a Bellowbeck and slide away into the grasses and watch it fight other Bellowbecks or machines.

One of my most satisfying experiences in the game was travelling along a river and coming upon a line of Snapmaws. I overid one of them and then scurried up a cliff and squatted down and watched him fight his brethren. It was a beautiful site to behold.

[acesn8s]

Yeah, I think I shot myself in the foot trying to max out carrying containers so early. It costs a lot of shards that should have been spent on gear. I have fire arrows for my hunting bow, a shock tripcaster line, and shock and freeze sling ammo...that's it. I should probably backtrack to Nora lands and gear up before continuing.

[Malankazooie]

I maxed out the "Prowler" skill tree before the others. Which worked out pretty good, because you face bandit camps early on. So doing the silent take downs was super essential. And then I focused on getting the skill under "Brave" that allows you to notch three arrows. Does much damage.

When you can, invest in the best Ropecaster. You won't need it early on, but later in the game, it's essential.

Another jaw dropping experience I had with this game is when I took down my first Longleg. The enemy physics when I slammed it in the left side of the head to take it down was awe inspiring. I'm talking next level stuff.

[Traveller]

I may have to check out the update. Seriously fun game.

[acesn8s]

Malankazooie, on 21 July 2017 - 06:13 PM, said:

I maxed out the "Prowler" skill tree before the others. Which worked out pretty good, because you face bandit camps early on. So doing the silent take downs was super essential. And then I focused on getting the skill under "Brave" that allows you to notch three arrows. Does much damage.

When you can, invest in the best Ropecaster. You won't need it early on, but later in the game, it's essential.

Another jaw dropping experience I had with this game is when I took down my first Longleg. The enemy physics when I slammed it in the left side of the head to take it down was awe inspiring. I'm talking next level stuff.

I have the following:

• Silent Strike
  
• Concentration
  
• Critical Hit
  
• Precision
  
• Lure Call
  
• Healer
  
• Herbalist
  
• Disarm Traps
  
• Tinker
  
• Gatherer
  
• Scavenger

I'll have to start working my way down to Double and Triple Strike. Time to start grinding!

[Malankazooie]

BTW, if you're bored with the jungly lands around the Nora tribe location and want some different scenery, things open up and change for the drier as you move west past that metal ring point.

[acesn8s]

Nice!

I'll be heading that way soon (I hope). I want to finish the side missions from the Nora Warchief. I'm trying to get the part from the Longlegs, but the Sawtooth and LongLegs keep killing me. It's frustrating, but I appreciate that I just can't slaughter my way through this game.

I finally bought a Warbow and look, shock arrows! This really looks like a game where I need to use a lot of different tools to get the job done.

[Traveller]

Just make good use of the tripwires.

I'd see a Longlegs or Sawtooth or whatever, lay a passage of trips heading into a planned area, then go and shoot a couple of precision tear arrows at them. They charge, hit first trip wire and go down. Run in for a spear power attack. Retreat behind next trip, and repeat.

There are a lot of tools but I rarely used more than different versions of this technique. Laying bombs and traps in a set path works wonders, even in the cave challenges. You can easily take down two Sawtooths, leaving a path of trips and individual bombs; running in when they're down for max damage and retreating beyond next trip. The scavenger perk lets you pick up any unused traps which is a big bonus.