Horizon Zero Dawn – 100% Achievement Guide

Overview

Check the semi-missable “All allies joined” & “All Machines Catalogued” achievements! Full NG+ playthrough on Ultra Hard required.

The stuff you want to know about

Attention:
Several people in the comment section reported, that meeting achievement requirements while playing offline effectively locks you out of obtaining those achievements, even if done again after coming online!

Okay, so, there are no actual missable achievements in the game – technically.
After you’ve completed the last main mission, you’ll be put back right before it.
But if you – like me – dislike doing the same thing more often than necessary, make sure to check out the following 2 achievements.

Play the game however you want until the second-to-last main mission “The Looming Shadow”.
Even after starting that quest, you can play until you’re warned, that there is no way back.

When you’re at this point, check in the list of allies chapter below, if you’ve done all the necessary side quests in order to unlock all of them. You can do those side quests whenever you want.

And upon selecting to rest, you will be warned again:

The full list of all machines isn’t necessary at this point; just remember to scan every machine upon seeing it for the first time. There are 2 certain Non-Dinosaur machines, which you only encounter a few times and only during main story mission. Make sure to scan them.

——————————————————————————–

And then there are the Open World collectibles. While not missable, it’s a pain to backtrack them at the end. Most merchants in the game sell maps for all the collectibles under their “special items” tab.
You’ll want to buy those maps rather early and collect all the stuff highlighted by the maps while you’re close to them.

You will also need to complete basically all side missions and errands you come across, since several of them reward you with skill points, which you actually need to unlock all skills.

I wouldn’t recommend to enter the DLC before having met a certain character named Sylens in person.

And finally – Here are some other guides you might find useful:

• [link]
• [link]
• [link]

Story

You need to explicitly finish a NG+ run on Ultra Hard, so play whichever difficulty you fancy for the first run.

Up until this point, nothing is missable. So just play whichever way you want.

In order to recruit allies, you need to finish several side quests scattered all over the map.
Some quests will only unlock later in the story, but they will stay available until the end of the game.
The first chapter of this guide will show you the point of no return.

Note, that the bandit hunter named Nil is actually NOT needed for the achievement, even though he can show up for the defense, if you let him live.

For the complete list of allies, check the chapter right below this one.

Remember to scan the non-dinosaur machines during the final boss fight with your focus for the “All machines catalogued” achievement, if you haven’t already done so on earlier occasions in the story.

The list of all Allies

Okay, so, here’s the full list of all allies, promised in the chapter above.

Note, that the bandit hunter Nil is actually not required for this achievement, even though he is a possible ally.
Thanks to Akylios for pointing this out.

• Aluki
  • Side Quest: A Moment’s Peace | Level 12
    • Near the Temple of the Sun in Meridian, a man with an eyepatch, named Vilgund, can be heard calling out to “able-bodied adventurers.”
    • Note: This quest will take you to a Banuk camp in the northeastern snowy part, just outside the DLC region. If you visit the camp without having accepted the quest, it will automatically start from there and the man in Meridian will disappear.

    

• Nakoa
  • Side Quest: A Daughter’s Vengeance | Level 15
    • While at Mother’s Rise, Aloy encounters a young Nora man named Yan making supplication to All-Mother. Yan tells Aloy that his prayers are for All-Mother to watch over his sister Nakoa, who had left to find and exact vengeance upon Zaid, a brutal Carja captain.

    

• Namman
  • Side Quest: Honor the Fallen | Level 16
    • In Meridian, Sun-Priest Namman wishes to support Sun-King Avad’s push for peace by helping three pilgrims from different Tribes in the region mourn loved ones lost during the Red Raids. Aloy decides to help him.

    

• Elida
  • Side Quest: Sun and Shadow | Level 20
    • In Brightmarket (located in the Sundom, northwest of Meridian), Aloy encounters a nobleman leaning over a bridge and searching the river. The man, Lahavis, explains that his young daughter, Elida, has gone missing after last being seen in the family’s garden.

    

• Janeva
  • Side Quest: Sunstone Rock | Level 20
    • While traveling through the Jewel (the jungle south of Meridian), Aloy hears a commotion at Sunstone Rock, a small settlement far to the south of the Sundom. Upon approach, Aloy sees that Carja guards are attempting to take down two Behemoths who have descended on the settlement. After helping dispatch the Behemoths, Aloy is greeted by the guards and told to visit Janeva inside.

    

• Uthid
  • Side Quest: Traitor’s Bounty | Level 21
    (automatically picked up during the main story)
    • When Aloy arrives in Sunfall during the main quest Deep Secrets of the Earth, she gains access to the Citadel’s throne room by blending in with a group of outlanders who are gathering to listen to High Priest Bahavas list the day’s bounties. Among them is a high bounty for a Shadow Carja traitor named Uthid.
    • While Aloy listens to Bahavas list Uthid’s crimes, a woman in the crowd remarks quietly to Aloy that Uthid has been falsely accused and cryptically requests that Aloy seek her out in Shadowside for more information.

    

• Vanasha
  • Side Quest: Queen’s Gambit | Level 28
    (automatically picked up straight after completing the quest for the ally just above)
    • At the end of Traitor’s Bounty, Vanasha reveals that the death of High Priest Bahavas has created a window of opportunity for the captive Dowager Queen Nasadi and her son, Prince Itamen, to defect from Sunfall and escape the Shadow Carja. She asks for Aloy’s help in securing the arrangement.
  • This will also unlock you:
    Picture

    Achievement

    Description

    

    Aided the defectors

    Aided the escapes of Uthid and the child king Itamen
    from the Shadow Carja.

• Talanah
  • Side Quests (each of them automatically starts the next):
    Hunting for the Lodge | Level 16
    Hunter’s Blind | Level 12
    Deadliest Game | Level 18
    Redmaw | Level 19
    • As Aloy visits any of the Hunting grounds, she’s challenged to participate in the trials. Upon earning medals in all 3 available trials, the Hunting grounds Keeper offers her to join the Hunters Lodge in Meridian.
  • This will also unlock you:
    Picture

    Achievement

    Description

    

    Hunted Redmaw with Talanah

    Rose through the ranks of the Hunters Lodge and
    helped Talanah defeat Redmaw.

*Most of the 3rd person descriptions are directly taken from the HZD fandom.*

And if you should still prefer a video guide, check out this one by PowerPyx:

Level Ups and Skills

This is rather straight-forward. Kill everything you come across, complete all quests and invest all your skill points.

Amoung those skills, you will find what you need to unlock:

Once you unlocked the skills, you shouldn’t have any problems unlocking the achievements as well.

Machines & Combat

Self-explanatory. There are by far enough human enemies in the game to unlock this without any problems.

It’s completely impossible not to tore off 10 components while playing the game.
Heavy weapons on the other hand are somewhat rare.
There are but 3 machines in the game, which are equipped with such weapons:

• Ravager – 1 “Ravager Cannon”
• Thunderjaw – 2 “Disc Launcher”
• Deathbringer – 2 “Gun Turret”

Should come naturally. Fire and Freeze are actually really strong in Horizon, so you’d do yourself a favor by using them.

You’ll automatically unlock the ability to override machines early on in the story. You won’t be able to override all machines from the get go, though. In order to unlock more overrides, you need to complete the Cauldrons (the sci-fi dungeons), which are revealed on your map by overriding a tallneck.
Here’s the full table of overrides:

Well, scan and kill every type of machine in the game.
Already killed machines can still be scanned with your focus.

You can use your notebook to check, which machines you’ve already scanned.

Make sure to scan the Non-Dinosaur machines, when you have the chance to do so, during certain main story missions!

You should cross paths with all of them naturally, while going for all the other achievements.
But if you should need help with a specific machine anyway, refer to this guide by PowerPyx:

Open World

Note, that all the achievements in this chapter exclude the DLC region in the northeast of the map.

These achievements are pretty self-explanatory.
Override all the Tallnecks and the locations for the other activities will be revealed on the map.

You can actually buy some maps at most merchants under the “Special Items” tab, which roughly display all their locations.

That being said, here are a few further hints on how to locate them exactly:

But if you prefer video guides for the exact locations, check out these amazing guides by PowerPyx:

Miscellanious

Modifications are uncommon drops from killed machines.
To use them, open your menu, go to crafting, choose weapons or outfits, pick a weapon/outfit with an empty slot and choose a mod to equip.
You’ll be given your first outfit with a slot just before the Proving.

Here’s a screenshot with all locations (click to expand):

• 

If you need any further help to find them, refer to this guide by PowerPyx:

For this one, either refer to this text & screenshot based guide by hiyski:

• [link]

Or this video guide by PowerPyx:

DLC – Frozen Wilds

Yes, the DLC is already included and does not need to be purchased separately.

All of the achievements below refer to the snowy area in the north-east corner of the map:

These 4 are the story achievements of the DLC and therefor impossible to miss.

Clear the open world activities. Basically identical to the base game versions.
You need to have finished the second DLC story mission – the one which unlocks “Won the Werak Challenge” – in order to be able to attempt all Hunting Ground trials.

Just buy the 3 maps for the collectibles, just as for the base game collectibles.
You don’t even to need to collect the Bluegleam. You might just ignore it and the map alltogether; you get by far enough for one trade as quest rewards. You might just get enough for three, actually.
And if you’re looking for that last Animal Figurine – it’s in the hut at the end of “The Shaman’s Path”:

Complete the errand “A Secret Shared”, which you can start just north of the entrance village to the DLC, and you’ll unlock a mod slot for your spear. Put a mod inside it via the crafting menu.

This is part of the side quest “Waterlogged”, which you can start at the entrance village to the DLC. Pretty late into the quest, there’s an optional bunker door with a pipe puzzle behind it. You need to complete both the puzzle and the quest, in order to unlock the achievement. You can come back after completing the quest; I’d advice to do it right away, though.

• 

The puzzle then looks like this:

• 

Visit the camp just southwest of the Hunting Grounds to start the side quest “Survivor”. During that quest, you’ll meet Ikrie. Finish the quest and find her at the Snowchants Hunting Grounds afterwards to take the errand “Ikrie’s Challenge”.

Find Varga, next to the Bluegleam trader in the south-east of the new region.
Once you’ve aquired the Forgefire, the Stormslinger and the Ice Rail, which are awarded for completing the first 2 main missions of the DLC and killing the leader of the only bandit camp, Varga will give you 3 errands to gear up the 3 beforementioned weapons. Upon completing all 3 errands, the achievement will unlock.

After you’ve unlocked the 4 achievements just above this one, you’re still 2 side quests and 2 errands short of this achievement.

• Errand | Out of the Forge – Automatically started upon completing the DLC’s main story
• Errand | The Claws Beneath – Given by a Banuk close to the Bluegleam trader in the southeast corner of the region; right next to where you took Varga’s errands.
• Side Quest | The Hunter’s Three – After completing the “The Shaman’s Path” DLC main mission, return to Burgrend at the entrance village to the region to accept this quest.
• Side Quest | Frontier Justice – After completing the DLC’s story, you’ll be able to accept this quest at the entrance village as well.

Well, have fun with the DLC exclusive machines. Fireclaws unlock late into the DLC’s story.

New Game +

You only need to do 1 NG+ playthrough. Both achievements unlock at once, if you’ve played it on Ultra Hard.
The DLC section is NOT required for this, neither are the base game side missions.

Well, prepare yourself in the first run. All your equipment and invested skill points carry over.
Since you need to earn all Blazing Suns at all Hunting Grounds, you might as well grab the Hunters Lodge’s special weapons in Meridian.
Make sure to also finish the DLC region in your first run, since you’ll be getting really useful equipment there.
Apart from that: Just go for it. If you’ve already finished the game once, you’ll know what to do. The NG+ run shouldn’t be longer than 10 hours at max, if you focus on the main story.

Straight forward and self-explanatory.
Have fun with Horizon Zero Dawn! =)