Horizon Forbidden West skills

In Horizon Forbidden West, skills are attainable traits that improve and augment Aloy's abilities. Skills can be purchased and upgraded using Skill Points.

There are six themed Skill Trees: Hunter, Infiltrator, Machine Master, Survivor, Trapper, and Warrior. Each tree separates its skills into one of four types: Active Skills, Passive Boosts, Weapon Techniques, and Valor Surges.

Additionally, there are four skills that are exclusively available through outfits and weaves and cannot be acquired or upgraded by spending skill points.

Earning Skill Points

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Similar to Horizon Zero Dawn, skill points are earned by leveling up through experience points and by completing certain quests and activities. 340 skill points are available from the game, with 106 available through levels, 118 from quests, 11 from Melee Pits and The Enduring, and 105 from world activities.

With the release of Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, the level cap has been raised by 10 levels along with additional quests and activities that give additional skill points.

Skills

Hunter

Hunter skills impact ranged weapon use, including damage, Concentration, and Weapon Stamina.

Active Skills

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Workbench Expert	Craft ammunition at the Workbench using less resources than in the wild.	Concentration Regen or Stamina Regen or Valor Surge Master or Weapon Stamina+	2
	Glide TargetingBS	Slow down time and quick draw your weapon when aiming during a glide. Gains the ability to fire the Specter Gauntlet while gliding.	Heavy Weapon+	2
	Machine Grapple StrikeBS	Gain the ability to Grapple Strike machines.	Ammo Expert	2

Passive Boosts

Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
Ammo Expert	Craft more ammunition from the same amount of resources.	Concentration+ or Deep Concentration or Heavy Weapon+ or Stamina Regen or Ultra Shot	2 3 (Level 2)
Concentration+	Increase your Concentration limit, prolonging use.	Level 1: None Level 2: Ammo Expert or Heavy Weapon+ or Valor Surge Master or Weapon Stamina+	1 3 (Level 2)
Concentration Regen	Recover Concentration faster.	Concentration+ or Heavy Weapon+ or Spread Blast or Sustained Burst or Weapon Stamina+ or Workbench Expert	1 2 (Level 2)
Deep Concentration	Concentration depletes more slowly, prolonging use.	Ammo Expert or Concentration+ or High Volley or Stamina Regen or Sustained Burst or Valor Surge Master	1 2 (Level 2)
Heavy Weapon+	Deal more damage while using a heavy weapon.	Ammo Expert or Concentration Regen or Knockdown Shot or Sustained Burst or Weapon Stamina+ or Valor Surge Master	2 3 (Level 2)
Stamina Regen	Recover Weapon Stamina faster.	Ammo Expert or Deep Concentration or Triple Notch or Valor Surge Master or Weapon Stamina+ or Workbench Expert	2 (each level)
Weapon Stamina+	Increase your Weapon Stamina limit.	Concentration Regen or Heavy Weapon+ or Spread Blast or Stamina Regen or Workbench Expert or Ultra Shot	1 3 (Level 2)
Valor Surge Master	Build up valor faster.	Deep Concentration or Heavy Weapon+ or High Volley or Knockdown Shot or Stamina Regen or Workbench Expert	1 2 (Level 2)

Weapon Techniques

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost	Weapon
	High Volley	Fire a high-arching volley of arrows to rain down on your enemies.	Deep Concentration or Triple Notch or Valor Surge Master	2	Hunter Bow
	Knockdown Shot	Fire a special arrow that does no damage but can knock down machines.	Heavy Weapon+ or Triple Notch or Valor Surge Master	5	Hunter Bow
	Spread Blast	Fire 8 bolts of your currently selected type in a wide, short-range burst.	Concentration Regen or Sustained Burst or Weapon Stamina+	2	Boltblaster
	Sustained Burst	Unleash an entire clip of bolts while immobile.	Concentration Regen or Heavy Weapon+ or Spread Blast or Ultra Shot	3	Boltblaster
	Triple Notch	Loud up to 3 arrows of your currently selected type.	Deep Concentration or High Volley or Knockdown Shot or Stamina Regen	3	Hunter Bow
	Ultra Shot	Fire a burst of special explosive bolts that can hit targets at long range.	Ammo Expert or Sustained Burst or Weapon Stamina+	5	Boltblaster

Valor Surges

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Powershots	Bolster your resolve and deal more damage for a certain number of shots with Bows, Boltblasters, Ropecasters, and Spike Throwers.	Ammo Expert Concentration Regen Stamina Regen	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Ranged Master	Bolster your resolve and deal more damage with ranged weapons for a limited time.	Concentration+ Valor Surge Master Weapon Stamina+	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Hunter's MarkBS	Powered by a special mode on your Focus, your next several shots with any Hunter Bow will mark your targets. Marked targets have increased chance of receiving Critical Hit damage. Destroy a target's components to cause an explosion that deals extra damage.	Concentration+ Glide Targeting Machine Grapple Strike	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)

Infiltrator

Infiltrator skills increase stealth effectiveness, including improved stealth damage and reduced visibility.

Active Skills

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Sharpshot ExpertBS	Sharpshot Bows are less inaccurate while you are walking or crouching.	Smoke Bomb Capacity	2
	Stealth ResonatorBS	Silent Strikes build up Resonator energy faster and and deal more damage when your spear is fully charged.	Quiet Movement	2

Passive Boosts

Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
Low Profile	Reduce your visibility to enemies.	Quiet Movement or Quiet Spear or Smoke Bomb Capacity or Stealth Ranged+ or Stealth Tear+	1 2 (Level 2)
Quiet Movement	Move more quietly, reducing the chance of detection by enemies.	Focused Shot or Low Profile or Quiet Spear or Silent Strike Heal or Stealth Ranged+ or Stealth Tear+	1 2 (Level 2)
Quiet Spear	Melee attacks are quieter. reducing the change of being detected by nearby enemies.	Low Profile or Quiet Movement or Silent Strike+ or Silent Strike Heal or Stealth Ranged+ or Stealth Tear+	1 2 (Level 2)
Silent Strike+	Silent Strike deals more damage.	Level 1: None Level 2: Double Notch or Quiet Spear or Smoke Bomb Capacity or Stealth Tear+	1 2 (Level 2)
Silent Strike Gain	Recover Weapon Stamina and earn additional valor when using Silent Strike.	Double Notch or Focused Shot or Silent Strike Heal or Smoke Bomb Capacity or Stealth Ranged+ or Stealth Tear+	2 (each level)
Silent Strike Heal	Recover health when using Silent Strike.	Focused Shot or Quiet Movement or Quiet Spear or Silent Strike Gain or Stealth Ranged+ or Stealth Tear+	1 2 (Level 2)
Smoke Bomb Capacity	Cary more Smoke Bombs.	Double Notch or Low Profile or Silent Strike+ or Silent Strike Gain or Stealth Tear+	1 2 (Level 2)
Stealth Ranged+	Deal more ranged impact damage while in stealth.	Low Profile or Quiet Movement or Quiet Spear or Silent Strike+ or Silent Strike Gain or Silent Strike Heal	1 2 (Level 2)
Stealth Tear+	Deal more Tear damage while in stealth.	Low Profile or Quiet Movement or Quiet Spear or Smoke Bomb Capacity or Silent Strike+ or Silent Strike Gain	1 2 (Level 2)

Weapon Techniques

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost	Weapon
	Braced Shot	Fire a powerful shot from a kneeling position that explodes on impact.	Quiet Spear	3	Sharpshot Bow
	Double Notch	Load a second arrow of your currently selected type.	Smoke Bomb Capacity or Silent Strike+ or Silent Strike Gain	3
	Focused Shot	Increase your weapon's zoom while aiming and fire a powerful shot that deals extra damage.	Quiet Movement or Silent Strike Gain or Silent Strike Heal	3

Valor Surges

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Radial Blast	Attach an overcharged module to your spear and immediately trigger a powerful shockwave, damaging all enemies in the vicinity.	Quiet Movement Quiet Spear Smoke Bomb Capacity	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Stealth Stalker	Activate a cloaking device based on Stalker technology to decrease visibility to enemies.	Low Profile Quiet Movement Silent Strike+	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Berserk BlastBS	Attach a special module to your spear and immediately trigger a powerful blast that causes all nearby enemies to enter the Berserk state.	Low Profile Sharpshot Expert Stealth Resonator	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)

Machine Master

Machine Master skills focus on overriding machines and using them in combat.

Active Skills

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Override Subroutines	Set a machine to either aggressive or defensive behavior while overriding.	Efficient Repair or Heavy Lifter or Machine Damage or Machine Elemental+ or Machine Health	2
	Flying Grapple LaunchBS	Gain the ability to Grapple Launch from flying mounts.	Mounted Archer	2
	Resonator RefillBS	Overriding a machine instantly energizes your spear for a Resonator Blast.	Efficient Repair	2

Passive Boosts

Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
Efficient Repair	Repair damaged overridden machines for less Metal Shards.	Heavy Lifter or Lasting Override or Machine Health or Mounted Archer or Override Subroutines or Splitting Spike	1 2 (Level 2)
Heavy Lifter	Move faster while using a heavy weapon.	Efficient Repair or Machine Damage or Mounted Archer or Mounted Defense or Override Subroutines or Propelled Spike or Splitting Spike	1 2 (Level 2)
Lasting Override	Increase the amount of time a machine remains overridden.	Efficient Repair or Machine Health or Mounted Archer or Mounted Defense or Spike Trap	1 2 (Level 2)
Machine Damage	Overridden machines deal more damage.	Heavy Lifter or Machine Elemental+ or Mounted Archer or Mounted Defense or Propelled Spike	1 2 (Level 2)
Machine Elemental+	Overridden machines deal more damage with elemental attacks.	Machine Damage or Mounted Archer or Override Subroutines or Propelled Spike or Spike Trap or Splitting Spike	2 (each level)
Machine Health	Overridden machines have more health.	Efficient Repair or Lasting Override or Mounted Archer or Mounted Defense or Override Subroutines or Spike Trap or Splitting Spike	1 2 (Level 2)
Mounted Archer	Deal more damage while on a mount.	Efficient Repair or Heavy Lifter or Lasting Override or Machine Health or Machine Damage or Machine Elemental+	2 (each level)
Mounted Defense	Take less damage while mounted.	Level 1: None Level 2: Heavy Lifter or Override Subroutines or Machine Health or Splitting Spike	1 2 (Level 2)

Weapon Techniques

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost	Weapon
	Propelled Spike	Launch a powerful long-range spike that explodes on impact or proximity to a target.	Heavy Lifter or Machine Damage or Machine Elemental+	2	Spike Thrower
	Spike Trap	Launch a spike that becomes a trap on impact with the environment.	Lasting Override or Machine Elemental+ or Machine Health	2
	Splitting Spike	Launch a spike that splits into multiple projectiles to impact a large area.	Efficient Repair or Heavy Lifter or Machine Elemental+ or Machine Health or Mounted Defense	3

Valor Surges

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Chain Burst	Bolster your resolve against multiple enemies. Damage chains from one enemy to another within 15m and boosts knockdown power.	Efficient Repair Mounted Archer Mounted Defense	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Part Breaker	Powered by a special mode in your Focus, deal more damage to machine components and weak spots.	Heavy Lifter Machine Health Mounted Defense	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Override OverdriveBS	Powered by a special mode in your Focus, all overridden machines emit arcs of electricity to nearby machines, deal more damage, take damage over time, and explode upon death.	Flying Grapple Launch Lasting Override Resonator Refill	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)

Survivor

Survivor skills increase healing and potion abilities and provide buffs for low-health combat.

Active Skills

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Plant Forager	Gather more resources from plants.	Medicine Capacity or Valor on Impact	2
	Low Health StaminaBS	Regain Weapon Stamina faster when you are in the critical health state.	Low Health Ranged	2
	Shield DropBS	Gain the ability to craft and deploy Drop Shields.	Low Health Melee	2

Passive Boosts

Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
Low Health Defense	Resist more damage when in the critical health state.	Low Health Melee or Low Health Ranged or Medicine Capacity or Potent Medicine or Triple Shredder	1 3 (Level 2)
Low Health Melee	Melee attacks deal more damage when you are dangerously wounded.	Low Health Defense or Medicine Capacity or Potion Proficiency or Power Shredder or Shredder Mine or Valor on Impact	2 3 (Level 2)
Low Health Ranged	Ranged attacks deal more damage when you are dangerously wounded.	Burst Dodge or Low Health Defense or Medicine Capacity or Potent Medicine or Sticky Bomb or Valor on Impact	2 3 (Level 2)
Low Health Regen	Automatically recover health sooner when in the critical health state.	Bouncing Bomb or Potent Medicine or Potion Proficiency or Valor on Impact	1 2 (Level 2)
Medicine Capacity	Carry more Medicinal Berries in your Medicine Pouch.	Low Health Defense or Low Health Melee or Low Health Ranged or Plant Forager or Potion Proficiency or Triple Shredder or Valor on Impact	1 3 (Level 2)
Potent Medicine	Medicinal Berries provide more healing and heal you faster.	Level 1: None Level 2: Burst Dodge or Low Health Ranged or Low Health Regen or Potion Proficiency	1 2 (Level 2)
Potion Proficiency	Health Potions provide more healing and all potions are faster to consume.	Bouncing Bomb or Low Health Regen or Low Health Melee or Medicine Capacity or Potent Medicine or Shredder Mine or Valor on Impact	1 2 (Level 2)
Valor on Impact	Gain valor when hit by enemies.	Low Health Melee or Low Health Ranged or Low Health Regen or Medicine Capacity or Plant Forager or Potion Proficiency	1 2 (Level 2)

Weapon Techniques

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost	Weapon
	Bouncing Bomb	Fire an explosive bomb that becomes more powerful with each bounce.	Burst Dodge or Low Health Regen or Potion Proficiency	2	Blastsling
	Burst Dodge	Lob a burst of bombs in front of you while automatically dodging backwards.	Bouncing Bomb or Low Health Ranged or Potent Medicine or Sticky Bomb	3	Blastsling
	Power Shredder	Launch a special shredder that deals extra damage to a target.	Low Health Melee or Shredder Mine	5	Shredder Gauntlet
	Shredder Mine	Launch a shredder that ricochets off its point of contact before hovering in place, dealing Shock damage to targets within range for a limited time.	Low Health Melee or Potion Proficiency or Power Shredder or Triple Shredder	3	Shredder Gauntlet
	Sticky Bomb	Fire a bomb of your currently selected type that sticks to its target and explodes after a delay.	Burst Dodge or Low Health Ranged	5	Blastsling
	Triple Shredder	Launch 3 shredders of your currently selected type.	Low Health Defense or Medicine Capacity or Shredder Mine	2	Shredder Gauntlet

Valor Surges

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Overshield	Activate a special armguard based on ancient technology to gain a rechargeable, damage-absorbing energy shield.	Low Health Melee Low Health Ranged Low Health Regen	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Toughened	Consume a special potion to restore health and gain resistance to status effects.	Medicine Capacity Potent Medicine Potion Proficiency	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Defy DeathBS	Consume a special potion to deal more damage and gain a Second Chance while reducing your maximum Health to critical health levels. When the Valor Surge ends, regain health up to the critical health threshold.	Low Health Defense Low Health Stamina Shield Drop	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)

Trapper

Trapper skills increase the usefulness of traps and food.

Active Skills

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Ropecaster ExpertBS	When a machine recovers from the Tied Down state, shoot another rope to instantly tie it down again for a short duration. Can be performed once per target.	Skilled Salvager	2
	Smoke Bomb HealBS	Gradually regain health while in a Healing Smoke Bomb's cloud.	Food Duration	2

Passive Boosts

Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
Food Duration	Skill boosts and other effects from food last longer.	Trap Limit or Resilient Trapper or Nimble Crafter	1 2 (Level 2)
Nimble Crafter	Craft tools, traps, and potions faster.	Nimble Crafter or Quick Trapper or Resilient Trapper	1 2 (Level 2)
Quick Trapper	Place traps faster on the field.	Level 1: None Level 2: Nimble Crafter or Penetrating Rope or Skilled Salvager	1 2 (Level 2)
Resilient Trapper	Take less damage when triggering your own trap or tripwire.	Food Duration or Nimble Crafter or Quick Wire or Penetrating Rope	1 2 (Level 2)
Skilled Salvager	Recover more and higher quality resources when deconstructing traps and tripwires.	Quick Trapper or Trap Limit	1 2 (Level 2)
Trap Limit	Place more traps and tripwires on the field at the same time.	Food Duration or Quick Wire or Skilled Salvager	1 2 (Level 2)

Weapon Techniques

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost	Weapon
	Penetrating Rope	Fire a rope that can attach to any part of an enemy, including armor, without needing to fully draw the weapon.	Quick Trapper or Resilient Trapper	3	Ropecaster
	Quick Wire	Quickly launch a Tripwire of your currently selected type with a preset length.	Resilient Trapper or Trap Limit	3	Tripcaster

Valor Surges

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Elemental Fury	Bolster your resolve and increase the buildup of elemental attacks while gaining greater resistance to elemental damage.	Quick Trapper Resilient Trapper Trap Limit	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Trap Specialist	Powered by a special mode in your Focus, increases the effects of traps and tripwires while active.	Food Duration Nimble Crafter Skilled Salvager	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Trap MinesBS	Powered by a special mode on your Focus, equip a throwable mine that splits into multiple explosive traps on impact with the environment.	Ropecaster Expert Smoke Bomb Heal Trap Limit	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)

Warrior

Warrior skills buff Aloy's spear damage and provide unique melee combinations.

Active Skills

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Aerial Slash/Jump-Off	Jump-Off: Jump off an enemy to quickly reposition yourself and create distance. Aerial Slash: Quickly damage an enemy and leap into the air.	Critical Strike+ or Energized Duration or Melee Detonator or Power Attack+ or Resonator Buildup	1
	Block Breaker	Immediately break an enemy's weapon guard and leave them vulnerable to follow-up attack.	Energized Duration or Melee Damage or Resonator Blast	1
	Energy Surge	Energize your spear quickly with a powerful final strike.	Energized Duration or Resonator Damage or Spinning Scythe or The Destroyer	2
	Halfmoon Slash	Close in on an enemy with a quick strike.	Melee Detonator or Power Attack+ or Resonator Blast+ or Resonator Buildup	2
	Nora Warrior	A powerful melee combo common among Nora warriors.	Critical Strike+ or Resonator Blast or Resonator Blast+	1
	Resonator Blast	First, STRIKE an enemy with melee attacks to charge your spear. Then, when fully charged, TAP R2 to energize your target. Finally, switch to a bow and SHOOT the energy on the target.	None	1
	Spinning Scythe	Build up a powerful spin that strikes all surrounding enemies and clears the area around you.	Energy Surge or Melee Damage or Resonator Buildup	2
	The Destroyer	A risky flurry of melee attacks that deal a massive amount of damage.	Critical Strike+ or Energy Surge or Resonator Blast+	2
	Elemental SpearBS	Deal elemental damage with your spear by attaching elemental capsules from your Hunter's Kit.	Energized Duration	2
	Warrior's InstinctBS	Increase your awareness of weakened enemies and the duration they are knocked down.	Resonator Damage	2

Passive Boosts

Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
Critical Strike+	Critical Strike deals more damage.	Aerial Slash/Jump-Off or Nora Warrior or Resonator Blast+ or Resonator Buildup or Resonator Damage or Spread Shot or The Destroyer	1 2 (Level 2)
Energized Duration	Targets remain energized longer.	Aerial Slash/Jump-Off or Block Breaker or Energy Surge or Melee Damage or Power Attack+	1 2 (Level 2)
Melee Damage	Deal more Damage with Light and Heavy Attacks.	Block Breaker or Burst Fire or Energized Duration or Power Attack+ or Resonator Buildup or Spinning Scythe	1 2 (Level 2)
Power Attack+	Power Attacks deal more damage.	Aerial Slash/Jump-Off or Burst Fire or Energized Duration or Halfmoon Slash or Melee Damage or Resonator Buildup	1 2 (Level 2)
Resonator Blast+	Deal more damage with Resonator Blasts.	Critical Strike+ or Halfmoon Slash or Nora Warrior or Resonator Buildup or Resonator Damage or The Destroyer	1 2 (Level 2)
Resonator Buildup	Energize your spear faster.	Aerial Slash/Jump-Off or Critical Strike+ or Halfmoon Slash or Melee Damage or Power Attack+ or Resonator Blast+ or Spinning Scythe or Spread Shot	2 (each level)
Resonator Damage	Deal more damage when energizing a target.	Critical Strike+ or Energy Surge or Resonator Blast+ or Spread Shot	1 2 (Level 2)

Weapon Techniques

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost	Weapon
	Burst Fire	Fire 3 arrows of your currently selected type in a quick burst.	Melee Damage or Power Attack+	3	Warrior Bow
	Melee Detonator	Fire a special arrow that attaches to an enemy for a limited time.	Aerial Slash/Jump-Off or Halfmoon Slash	3
	Spread Shot	Fire 5 arrows in a horizontal spread.	Critical Strike+ or Resonator Buildup or Resonator Damage	3

Valor Surges

Icon	Name	Description	Requirement	Cost
	Critical Boost	Powered by a special mode in your Focus, gain a greater chance to land Critical Hits and increase Critical damage.	Critical Strike+ Energized Duration Resonator Blast	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Melee Might	Attach a power module to your spear to deal more damage with melee attacks for a limited time.	The Destroyer Halfmoon Slash Spinning Scythe	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)
	Warrior's VigorBS	Bolster your resolve and deal more damage with your spear and Warrior Bows. Gain health from damage dealt with either type.	Elemental Spear Energy Surge Warrior's Instinct	3 (Level 2) 5 (Level 3)

Outfit

Name	Description
Evader	Increase the number of times Aloy can dodge before stumbling.
Low Health Valor	Increases the Valor gained when in the critical health state.
Second Chance	Gives Aloy a chance to survive a killing blow when in the critical health state.
Shard Salvager	Disassemble resources in the inventory to receive a percentage of their shard value.

Trivia

• The "Shredder Mine" weapon technique shredder and the level 3 "Trap Specialist" traps look exactly like the Scorcher mine.