Modifications are items in Horizon Zero Dawn that can be added to Aloy's equipment to increase stats and perks. Coils are modifications applied to weapons and weaves are applied to outfits. They can first be used upon completion of the main quest, Lessons of the Wild, with the exception of Spear Damage Coil, added by The Frozen Wilds, which first requires the side quest, A Secret Shared, to be. Weapon Satchel Upgrade 1: Weapons Satchel: Weapon Satchel Upgrade 2 +5 Capacity. Increased Weapon Inventory capacity to 15. Weapons Satchel: Fatty Meat (5), Metal Shards (35), Ridge-Wood (30) Weapon Satchel Upgrade 3 +5 Capacity. Increased Weapon Inventory capacity to 20. Weapons Satchel: Metal Shards (75), Rabbit Bone (2), Ridge-Wood (40.
Assuming you're not lamenting the lack of a PC or PS3 port of Horizon Zero Dawn, it's safe to assume you've managed to dig your heels into Guerrilla Games' giant open-world extravaganza.
If you're planning on taking down the biggest and baddest robo-dinos in the new open-world RPG, however, you're going to need the best neo-Neolithic arms and armament available. Luckily, we've got you covered with the best bows available in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Horizon Zero Dawn best bows: How to find the best weapons in the game
If you're not interested in comparing stats on a million different weapons Diablo-style, you're in luck. According to Polygon, the best version of every weapon (indicated as ones having the 'shadow' descriptor) are available from mid- to late-game merchants in and around Meridian and can be purchased for a number of metal shards and a rare drop from one of the machines you'll be hunting.
You can also pick up a lodge version of the war bow for beating all 15 hunting ground trials with a perfect score, according to Polygon, but it'll only be marginally better than the shadow war bow, which can be purchased.
Regardless, the increased power and modification slots on the shadow weapons make them very important upgrades, and Polygon recommends picking up several versions of the same weapon and slotting in different modifications to get the damage or effects you'll need to take out some of the more powerful late-game enemies.
Which are the best bows in Horizon Zero Dawn?
Horizon Zero Dawn Special Mods
According toUSgamer, the best standard bow you can acquire is the shadow hunter bow, which will cost you 650 metal shards and an item called a watcher heart. It fires hunter, hardpoint and fire arrows, so it's useful in a variety of situations.
If you're looking to do more damage, you'll want to pick up the shadow sharpshot instead. USgamer said it costs 800 metal shards and a sawtooth heart to buy, and it forces you to take a pretty heavy dip in rate of fire for increased damage output. It fires hardpoint, tearblast and harvest arrows, and even allows Aloy to fire three arrows at once.
Horizon Zero Dawn Wiki
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Finally, there's the shadow war bow. Much like the shadow sharpshot, it costs 800 shards, in addition to a trampler heart, per USgamer. It has low damage, but it's useful against enemies in a vulnerable state because of its ability to fire shock, freeze and corruption arrows.
Chances are you'll need all three bows to get to the end of Horizon Zero Dawn. You'd better get started collecting those hearts and shards as soon as possible!
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This section provides basic information on how to Modify weapons and summarizes the recommended Weapon Modifications (Mod).
Weapon Modifications
Horizon Zero Dawn Modification Guide
Related article: List of Bow Weapons
Aloy relies on sharpshooting with all sorts of hunting Weapons to survive against encounters with various mechanical beasts. As such, weapons need to be fastened with resources called Coils, these provide varying effects to enhance a weapon.
Modifications, or mods for short are customizing features that allow Aloy to enhance standard or elemental damage for her Ranged Bows. Keep in mind that Rarity plays a vital role in affecting Mod Slots. This means that the higher the Weapon’s Rarity the higher the amount of slots available for modification. Although the initial stage offers only basic weapons that are bereft of available slots, the Weapon Selection becomes more diverse as you progress, this provides Aloy with Weapons of higher Rarity.
This table summarizes the Modification color, Weapon Rarity and their corresponding available slots. It ranges from the basic to most complex, with Purple as the most difficult to obtain.
| Color | Weapon Rarity | Mod Slots |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Uncommon | 1 |
| Blue | Rare | 2 |
| Purple | Very Rare | 3 |
Coils
Exploring the vast terrain, Aloy may obtain items called Coils which may bestow additional damage or grant added elemental damage. These can be secured and fastened into weapons, enabling Aloy to harness their enhancing effects.
Note that inserting a modification on a chosen weapon during the initial stages is permanent and cannot be recalled. The higher level Tinker Skill from the Forager list must be obtained when the need to recall them arises, this might seem like a chore to obtain when starting out, thus it is recommended to decide carefully when Coiling.
Steps to Adding Weapon Modifications
- Go to the Crafting Menu
- Select Modify Weapons
- Highlight the desired Weapon to modify
- Highlight one of the “greyed out” circles, then press X
- Choose which Modification to equip as desired
Modifications grant damage boost not only to Standard but also other elements such as Fire, Freeze, Shock and Tear.
Recommended Boosts
In an environment that thrives in a huge amount of attributes, it would be best to note the specific ones that could potentially threaten several machines. Fire and Tear Mods offer great coverage against most machines since machines are naturally weak to Fire, whereas Tearblast Mods deliver massive damage against most of the weak components of several machines.
It might seem quite bland but Standard damage boosts still reigns as a precious mod as it grants great chip damage to most encounters.
Mix and match boosts to desired Weapons to fit your play style. For instance, modifying one bow with Fire Mods makes it specialized against several machines; on the other hand, adjusting another bow to excel against piercing the enemy’s defenses with well-placed Tearblast arrows is equally helpful.