Horizon Zero Dawn: The Best Mods to Use On Your Weapons
Mods can turn your weapons and equipment into specialized machine-destroying tools. Here's the best mods to create the most powerful weapons in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Modifications found within the world of Horizon Zero Dawn can give Aloy a keen edge over both mechanized and human enemies, providing a number of useful benefits like a boost to the handling and firepower statistics of weapons, as well as providing a boost to the protection of armor. This Horizon Zero Dawn weapon mod guide will explain what the best mods are to create the most powerful weapons.
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Best Weapon Mods in Horizon Zero Dawn
Each weapon has slots for mods. As you unlock better and more powerful weapons, they will have more slots. Make each weapon a master of one type of damage. Mods have different benefits and rarities while having a specific bonus to the weapon they are equipped to. Green mods are considered uncommon, blue mods are rare, and purple mods are very rare. Eventually, you’ll only want to use purple mods. If you have the Tinker skill unlocked, you’ll build a collection of more mods than you’ll know what to do with. For more information on good skills to get early like Tinker, check out our guide to the best skills you should unlock first.
Mods can have various bonuses. Most have environmental bonuses like shock, fire, or tear damage bonus, while others have standard damage bonuses. The mods with standard damage bonuses are the rarest, so plug those into a weapon whenever you have the opportunity.
Stick with flat damage boosts for the standard Hunter Bow. The Hunter Bow will be used in most combat scenarios, so it’s a smart move to boost its damage if you have the mods for it. Once you acquire a bow with more mod slots, continue to boost that damage with additional damage mods.
Fire mods are also good to stick to. Fire arrows are unlocked early, and most of the machines have a weak spot that is vulnerable to fire. Once you face larger machines like the Snapmaw, a strong fire weapon will bail you out. Many of the machine’s weak points are vulnerable to tear damage, so equip one weapon with one or many tear mods. It’s a good call to throw a fire mod into the hunter bow if you have room for it. This will increase the damage of the weapon’s fire arrows. For more tips and strategies for how to handle monstrous machines like the Snapmaw, check out our guide to defeating the biggest machines in Horizon Zero Dawn.
For more tips, strategies, and guides for navigating the mechanized world of Horizon Zero Dawn, check out our Horizon Zero Dawn Walkthrough.
Make one weapon your go-to for a specific type of damage. For instance, make the Sharpshot the best weapon for tear damage, while giving the War Bow strong fire mods. Meanwhile, the trusty Hunter Bow should be beefed up with normal damage mods. Each weapon can be a master of its own class.
Best Outfit Mods in Horizon Zero Dawn
Aloy’s outfits can also be equipped with specific mods. Outfit mods give Aloy better damage resistance or a stealth boost. Since her outfits can be changed on the fly, it’s good to have an outfit for specific scenarios. For instance, if you have to infiltrate a bandit base, use an outfit that favors stealth. Then keep fire elemental-resistant outfits in your inventory for when you’re face a machine that has those types of elemental weapons. Much like Aloy’s weapon inventory, her outfits should be masters of one specific thing rather than being a jack of all trades. They can then be changed whenever she finds herself in a scenario that calls for one of them.
If you're looking for more on Horizon Zero Dawn check out our review. For even more on the game, check out this news article on the upcoming PC release of the game.