Top 10 Coolest Things About Aloy (Forbidden West)

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In ‘Horizon Forbidden West,’ Aloy is back with improved skills and equipment that make getting around, fighting, and sneaking much more versatile and enjoyable. She can now tackle steep cliffs, vast landscapes, and sunken ruins thanks to new tools and abilities that give her greater control in every situation. Using elemental damage is key, and players can customize Aloy’s weapons and armor to effectively fight different machines. This game introduces several impressive new abilities and systems that shape how Aloy battles, explores, and stays alive in the Forbidden West.

Shieldwing Glider

As a huge Aloy fan, I’m loving the Shieldwing! It’s a total lifesaver – you can jump from any height, whether it’s a cliff, a Tallneck, or an arena, and it automatically deploys to prevent fall damage. You can even steer it a little to glide to safety, like landing behind cover or reaching a ledge. It works brilliantly with climbing and the Pullcaster, letting you move up and down so smoothly. Plus, it’s amazing for stealth – I’ve been using it to silently take down enemies and find secret entrances to camps. Seriously, it’s a game changer!

Pullcaster Grapple

The Pullcaster is a versatile tool that helps Aloy quickly climb and move forward. It lets her pull herself up to high places, open vents, and move objects to find new paths and solve puzzles. You can seamlessly transition from using the Pullcaster into a Shieldwing glide to cross large distances. During fights, it allows Aloy to quickly gain height, break enemy vision, and create opportunities for ranged attacks.

Diving Mask And Underwater Exploration

With the Diving Mask, Aloy can breathe underwater without limit, opening up lakes and coastal areas for full exploration. Strong currents and underwater plants offer stealthy paths to avoid machines patrolling the surface. You can also find hidden supplies and valuable crafting materials underwater, adding to what you discover on land. Plus, many ancient ruins and quests require you to use underwater switches and tunnels, making the mask essential for progress.

Sunwing Flight

Once Aloy unlocks the Sunwing, she can fly across the map, quickly reaching mountaintops and distant quest locations. Flying provides access to viewpoints and survey drones that are hard to reach on foot. She can also jump from the Sunwing and use her Shieldwing to glide safely to the ground near her goals. The Sunwing’s speed saves time when revisiting areas and makes gathering resources much faster.

Resonator Blast Melee

Aloy can charge up enemies with her spear attacks, then unleash a powerful blast of damage with a charged arrow. This encourages players to switch between fighting up close and from a distance to take down enemies quickly. The game clearly shows where energy is building on enemies, letting you aim for maximum impact. This technique is especially effective against both people and fast-moving machines that are difficult to trap.

Valor Surges

Valor Surges are strong, special abilities unlocked as you progress in Aloy’s skill trees and powered by fighting. They provide temporary benefits like increased ranged damage, extra defense, or improved melee attacks. You can upgrade each Surge to make it last longer and hit harder. The system is designed to let you customize Aloy’s abilities to better handle specific enemies or challenges.

Expanded Skill Trees And Builds

In Forbidden West, you can develop Aloy’s skills in several different areas – fighting with melee weapons, stealth, setting traps, and using ranged weapons. As you progress, you’ll unlock abilities that improve her skills with bows, the blastsling, and spike throwers, as well as making her more resilient. You earn enough points to really focus on a specific style, but also pick up useful skills from other areas. This lets you create a build that suits your playstyle, whether you prefer sneaking around, dealing massive damage from a distance, or dominating in close combat.

Workbench Crafting And Upgrades

As a gamer, I love how workbenches let me seriously upgrade Aloy’s gear. I can boost damage, make weapons draw faster, and improve resistances, which is awesome. Unlocking new upgrade levels isn’t just about stats though – it also unlocks cool new ammo types like sticky bombs or super-charged elemental arrows. Plus, I can customize everything further by slotting in coils and weaves to boost things like critical hit chance, elemental buildup, or even how fast my stamina recovers. The best part? To get the really good stuff, I have to explore the world and hunt down machine parts and rare minerals, so it really rewards you for being curious!

Weapon Variety And Elemental Ammo

Aloy has a diverse range of weapons, including different types of bows, a blastsling, ropecaster, shredder gauntlet, and spike throwers. Each weapon uses specialized ammo to exploit the weaknesses of machines, like shocking them, applying purgewater, or using acid. She can also shoot off parts of machines to stop their attacks or collect valuable resources. Quickly switching between weapons in combat allows Aloy to create elemental effects and then follow up with powerful attacks.

Machine Overrides And Mount Options

As Aloy completes Cauldrons and optional tasks, she learns to override more machines she encounters. Overriding machines temporarily turns them into allies, helping in fights by distracting enemies and creating opportunities to attack. She can also ride certain machines, like Chargers and Clawstriders, to travel faster and perform attacks from horseback. Finally, overriding machines can help Aloy explore by removing dangerous patrols blocking her way.

Share the one ability that changed how you play Aloy in the comments.

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2025-10-24 20:19