Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition

172 ratings
How to : ULTRA HARD
By Hardcore
How to finish the game on Ultra Hard and get that sweet achievement.
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Introduction to the game
Sup, my name is Hardcore and I decided to write this guide because other guides are "too slow and srs" (WildPie101 Tribute). If you are reading this guide, I assume you are familiar with game and its mechanics. Game itself is fairly easy (I guess it's like that because it was designed for console peasants), even on hardest difficulties you have your world map, HUD, unlimited saves on campfires + all autosaves and you can use all of your preferred weapons. Only difference is that stuff is more expensive and enemies are "bullet sponges". Even though, UH mode is easy compared to Hardcore modes on other games, you'll still need to be properly prepared before you start this mode.
Preparations
To make your playthrough comfortable, you'll need to complete few things on your playthrough before creating NG+ loadout for UH.

  • 1. Reach level cap (60) to get max HP and all of the skills
  • 2. Complete Frozen Wilds DLC, to get best equipment in game for Bluegleam so you won't need to buy all that expensive Adept stuff (althought 1 extra mod slot is sometimes worth the money).
  • 3. Get Shield-Weaver outfit
  • 4. Get stealth (2 stealth mods + 1 ranged resist mod) and healing outfit (Melee and Ranged resist). I used stealth outfit for most of the playthrough and I also had one Adept Heavy Nora Survivor for open combat.
  • 5. Start playthrough with 40k+ shards (I started with 25k and it was awful), so you have enough money for resources and healing potions + some equipment. Also keep your Machine Hearts, to get Epic stuff early in game.
  • 6. Upgrade your carry capacity, weapon slots, etc. etc.

Outfits explained
STEALTH OUTFIT
You should use this outfit for stealth approach + roaming in the open world. When you crouch and roll in this outfit, you are basically invisible and able to flank enemies easier. I used it for most of the game.





HEALING OUTFIT
This outfit is a MUST HAVE. People don't use this outfit frequently because "HeAlTh RegEn is slOw, So iT's UseLesS Reeeee". Which is kind of true, but it is best for healing damage you suffer after the fight, so instead of consuming your medkit and/or expensive potions, you just put this on and it will heal you to fullest in less than 1 minute.



SHIELD-WEAVER OUTFIT
Most of the normies will say something like "ShiEld WeAver iS usElSs on UH, BeCauSe it will only last 2-3 HiTs ReeeEeeee". WRONG. Shield Weaver is the best armor for final missions when you have to fight some big machines. So, you can hit final boss like 2-3 times before it kills your shield, then hide somewhere to get reffil and hit it few times again. This tactic will help you to save some of your healing stuff.



+YOUR OPEN FIGHT OUTFIT OF CHOICE
I've been using universal "Nora Survivor Heavy Adept" resist outfit damage. But you should choose outfit with resist you prefer.
Weapons explained
Even on UH you can equip 4 weapons. So, you should use two bows and two weapons of your choice.



Banuk Strider Bow

Your regular bow, for fire damage against machines like Glinthawks and Deathbringers, you can shoot 3 fire arrows at once really fast. Also good for obliterating enemies like Striders, Watchers, Humans etc. I used two Damage and 1 fire mod.




Banuk Powershot Bow

I've used this one mostly. Three loaded arrows at once can do lots of damage, even to biggest machines. Tearblast arrows are good for destroying armor and Harvest ones for tearing of weapons from creatures like Ravagers and Thunderjaws
Few tips for playing
  • 1. Always have all medkits (up to four) + full supply of Health and Full health potions. This can be kinda expensive.
  • 2. Avoid fights with anything bigger than Corruptor, unless it is one of the story bosses.
  • 3. You should already have your golden fast traver pack, but in case you don't, get one.
  • 4. If you struggle, you should try to GIT GUD .
REWARDS
For completing game on Ultra Hard NG+ first run you'll get these two achievements.

Ultra Hard Completed




New Game+ Completed





FOCUS EFFECTS and FACE PAINTS
You'll get all of the accessible face paints and focus effects. If you were playing on lower difficulties like Hard/Very Hard, you'd recieve only few of them. I won't show them to you, you have to complete the game and see them for yourself.
47 Comments
piqu911 19 Apr @ 7:28am 
Tearblast arrows dont seem to work on UH
Arshi.Vx 15 Jul, 2023 @ 12:29am 
i absolutely recommend shield weaver (ancient armor quest) outfit because if you're only hunting for achievements like me you can speed run huge amount of the game right through enemies without fighting and countering the first hit with this outfit is game changer.it helped me complete on ultra hard in one 5 hours sitting.
BoomersBro21 5 May, 2023 @ 6:26am 
it's for ng+ only
Leventor 28 Sep, 2022 @ 6:03pm 
I just finised on ultrahard whitout entering into frozen wild so it took 52 to grind and i didn't get the achievement anybody know what i did wrong?
Leyllara 20 Aug, 2022 @ 3:39pm 
Lodge Ropecaster with full handling allows for basically locking Thunderjaws, Stormbirds, Behemoths, Frostclaws, Fireclaws, and even Rockbreakers if they don't immediately dive, pretty much for as long as you need to fully load 3 arrows on a sharpshoot bow and aim anywhere you need, and can be done as many times as you need. Machines you should be avoiding are the quick ones like Glinthawks, Scorchers, Longlegs, Stalkers, that require a little more than a single shot and can easily overwhelm you if swarming. Sell basically anything you have more than 200 of, except Wire and Ridgewood, that you'll be using a lot for Precision and Hardpoint Arrows.

Another huge tip is to get 1 Scorcher, 1 Fireclaw and 1 Frostclaw Heart before jumping into NG+, and running into The Frozen Wilds as soon as you can. Once there, run around collecting all the Bluegleam on the map and complete some of the easier quests until you can buy the 3 Adept Banuk bows, the extra modification slot is HUGE on weapons.
Sumatris 26 May, 2022 @ 1:24am 
Extra tip for those who just can't manage to avoid taking damage: outfits can be swapped on the fly even in the middle of combat. Outfits that provide protection from specific damage types (cold, fire, ranged, etc.) can be upgraded with weaves to make Aloy nearly immune to that specific damage type (elemental damage can be nullified completely, physical damage resistance is capped at 80 or 85%). Most enemies rely almost exclusively on one single damage type, so if you're really struggling on UH, try switching outfits to counter whatever you're currently fighting. It requires some preparation, sure, and it can be pretty tedious, but most incoming attacks can be reduced to scratch damage this way.
-shhfiftyfive 9 Mar, 2022 @ 12:55pm 
also unable to do the hunter challenge to remove 10 canisters in 2 minutes. takes 2+ bow shots to remove 1 canister.
-shhfiftyfive 9 Mar, 2022 @ 12:45pm 
i'm level 15, still using default spear and bow.
i can no longer 1 shot (spear) silent kill machines in the area past mother's crown (northwest).
solution?
NefariousPBO 13 Jan, 2022 @ 7:52am 
ive finished ultra-hard more than a few times now, and i use only master adept nora silent hunter and shield weaver armors as for weapons i use these 3, bunuk adept powershot bow, improved flamethrower (forgot its name) and the improved icerail. and i keep adept rattler on standby. give everything unique damage mods. best advice learn to roll, i beat ultra hard without ever using a health potion, just roll out of the way and let your armor heal you.