10. Carja’s Bane (Best for applying Fire and an up-close & personal combat style)

Carja’s Bane is a warrior bow which is a kind of bow that has fast draw speed but lower accuracy. This kind of weapon allows you to be very mobile which is why the perks have agility damage (damage increases during falling or sliding) and melee follow-up. It’s good for slapping Fire DoT on the enemy and for facing off multiple enemies when you need to keep moving around. Once you unlock Gauntlet Runs at around lv 15 you can start working on getting this weapon.

Carja’s Bane Excels at:

• Fast Draw and Mobile combat
• Applying Fire Procs
• Facing multiple foes

How to get the weapon: To get this weapon you will need to clear all 4 of the Gauntlet Runs by placing 1st place in all of them. The Gauntlet Run’s are: Dry Yearn, Cliffs of the Cry, Bonewhite Tear, and The Stillsands. Once you finish the last one at Stillsands there will be a container for you to claim your prize.

9. The Tinker’s Pride (Best for Setting up Traps)

Tinker’s Pride is a Tripcaster which is a weapon specialized in setting up traps. The Tinker’s pride offers an Explosive tripwire, a Shieldwire, and a Staggerbeam. The Shieldwire can keep you safe behind it’s energy shield so you can snipe from a distance. The explosive tripwire & staggerbeam can be used against charger enemies and keep yourself safe from flanks. Essentially this is the ultimate turtle weapon for those that like to plan things out, stay extra safe and dish out damage from a distance!

Tinker’s Pride Excels at:

• Trapping
• Building a complete safety net
• Those who enjoy a defensive playstyle

How to get the weapon: To get this weapon you will need to clear all stripes at all 4 Hunting grounds found throughout the game. Once you have all 12 trials cleared, you will receive this weapon.

8. Sun Scourge (Best for applying Elemental Build-up)

The Sun Scourge is a Hunter Bow a fast, mid-range weapon. The bow offers Fire, Frost, and Acid weapons which makes this bow an elemental monster. The bow covers multiple elements and offers a very high build-up proc so you can apply elements extremely easily. This bow is the best bow for those that like to play elemental procs and weaknesses. Frost is an especially useful element as the brittle state causes enemies to take more damage as well as slows their movement!

The Sun Scourge Excels at:

• Elemental mastery
• Those who like overloading elements for big explosions (e.g. Acid arrow on an Acid tank)
•  Taking down fast enemies with cold arrows

How to get the weapon: In order to get this weapon you need to complete all of the Rebel Camps and Outposts. Once you complete them a new quest called “Rebel Camp: First Forge” will appear and once you complete that mission you will be able to loot The Sun Scourge from the rebel’s corpse

7. Ancestor’s Return (Best for Sustained Damage)

Ancestor’s Return is a Shredder Gauntlet, one of the new type of weapons in Horizon Forbidden West. The Shredder Gauntlet itself is like a mini-game where you chase after the disc, and you are rewarded for catching and re-launching the disc with damage boosts for each consecutive catch and release. Those who use this weapon proficiently will find that it has a huge potential for damage but there is a high skill ceiling as any hit from enemy machineswill make it difficult to catch up to the disc.

Ancestor’s Return Excels at:

• Offering unique agile gameplay mechanics
• Rewards skilled gameplay
• Shock, Acid procs and Tear

How to get the weapon: To get this weapon you will need to head to Hidden Ember and talk to Stemmur to start the errand: “Nights of Light”. Once you complete that quest, you will need explore Horizon Forbidden West to collect all 8 relics. Once you have all 8 relics you will need to head back to Hidden Ember and find Stemmur and he will let you access a nearby chest with the Shredder Gauntlet. 

6. Wings of the Ten (Best for blowing things up)

Wings of the Ten is a blastsling – a slingshot of doom. The Blastsling features explosive bombs and adhesive bombs – one for dealing pure damage and stun, and one for a slow debuff. The perk features a close-range damage bonus and critical chance/damage fully intending for blastsling users to get up close and personal. 

Wings of the Ten Excels at:

• Dealing pure damage
• Slow Debuff
• Satisfying Explosions

How to get the weapon: You will need to collect all 12 Blackboxes in Horizon Forbidden West. In order to be able to collect all of the Black Boxes you will need to unlock both the Diving Mask and Vine Cutter as some of the Black boxes are hidden by Vines and cannot be accessed without it. The Vine Cutter is unlocked close to the end of the game so this is a late-game weapon. Once you have all 12 Black boxes, you will need to bring them to Untalla at the Memorial Grove.

5. Forgefall (Best for applying Plasma & Targetting Weakpoints)

Forgefall is a sharpshot bow specialized for applying plasma and dealing huge damage. It is arguably the best long-range bow in the game with perfect arrow synergy. Plasma debuffs are triggered by dealing normal damage, once the Plasma debuff expires the machine will explode. It is an extremely satisfying bow to use – capable of unleashing death from miles away.

Forgefall Excels at:

• Plasma Application
• Sharpshooting – long-distance destruction
• Concentration builds

How to get the weapon: You need to collect a total of 80 Arena medals to unlock this weapon. You can get Arena medals from Hunting grounds, and the Arena. The arena is unlocked once you complete the quests: “The Broken Sky”, “The Kulrut” as well as “Cradle of Echos” after that the Arena will be opened and you can exchange for the weapon.

4. Death-Seeker’s Shadow (Best for Tearing parts off & Applying Shock)

The Death-seeker’s Shadow is a Hunter bow that offers a quick draw and a very strong shock arrow. It offers an advanced hunter arrow with high tear damage which allows you to quickly pick off machine weaponry and armor which is especially important when facing larger machines. Shock is a highly useful debuff as it causes machines to become disabled for a short time – the two arrows combo well together, disable then disarm!

Death-Seeker’s Shadow Excels at:

• Shock application
• Tearing off machine parts
• Applying Targeting arrows so your companions know which target to aim for

How to get the weapon: You need to collect a total of 80 Arena medals to unlock this weapon. You can get Arena medals from Hunting grounds, and the Arena. The arena is unlocked once you complete the quests: “The Broken Sky”, “The Kulrut” as well as “Cradle of Echos” after that the Arena will be opened and you can exchange for the weapon.

3. Iriv’s Downfall (Best for Tear and High Impact damage)

Iriv’s Downfall is a sharpshot bow specialized into destroying components and dealing high damage. The bow features Precision arrows that are high in both Impact and Tear damage, as well as the Tear Precision arrow which is designed to tear components. This weapon is perfect for disarming the larger machines in a few shots, especially effective from the shadows and getting the first strike!

Iriv’s Downfall Excels at:

• Tearing off large weaponry from the larger machines
• Offers the Tear Precision arrow (which is amazing!)
• High damage precision arrows for taking out smaller machines very quickly

How to get the weapon: This weapon is only available in New game+ but is available from all merchants even Chainscape. This weapon requires 10 champion tokens which is a new special currency in NG+ that you get from completing quests. Once you have 10 tokens, you can visit any merchant to buy the new NG+ weapon.

2. Skykiller (Best for Fire-Debuff & Damage)

The Skykiller is a Spike Thrower, one of the new weapons in Forbidden West. The Skykiller is as it sounds – a weapon great for taking out fliers, or anything that moves as a matter of fact. It offers 2 kinds of explosive spears that explode after impact, and a fire spike which set machines on fire. The perks synergize well, offering faster reload, draw speeds as well as bonus damage against enemies on fire. If you enjoy feeling like an Olympic javelinist – this is your weapon!

The Skykiller Excels at:

• Taking down flying enemies
• Setting enemies on fire
• Blowing things up

How to get the weapon: To get this weapon you need to complete the quest “No Way Home”. This is one of the side quests in the last area of the game which you can only complete after the main story quest: “Faro’s Tomb”

1. The Blast Forge (Best for Raw Burst Damage)

The Blast Forge is a Boltblaster and arguably the best weapon in the game. It’s essentially a burst gatting gun (but if you use your weapon skill it can turn into a Gatling gun). This Boltcaster offers Piercing bolts, advanced bolts and explosive bolts – they are mostly just damaging bolts but once fully upgraded and properly coiled up, this boltblaster just does so much pure damage it destroys everything. The Blast Forge is a damage monster and probably the best weapon in the game in terms of DPS!

The Blast Forge Excels at:

• Dealing pure damage
• Destroying everything
• Blowing everything up

How to get the weapon: Surprisingly easy, it's just from the arena. Yes, the arena gives you access to some of the best weapons in the game! You need to collect a total of 80 Arena medals to unlock this weapon. You can get Arena medals from Hunting grounds, and the Arena. The arena is unlocked once you complete the quests: “The Broken Sky”, “The Kulrut” as well as “Cradle of Echos” after that the Arena will be opened and you can exchange for the weapon.

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