Horizon Forbidden West armor upgrades are based on tribes and machine parts

Between the new skill tree and armor upgrades, Aloy will have plenty of new toys to play with in Horizon Forbidden West. We just learned more about how the armor upgrade process works, and how it’ll reflect the friends and foes Aloy makes along the journey.

The latest PlayStation Blog post details how Forbidden West’s narrative and culture inspire our protagonist’s outfits. Tribes and NPC behavior are distinct, and those qualities are reflected in your armor as well. As the post explains, the Nora are stealthy range fighters, the Carja use traps, and the Oseram like to run right up on their prey with hammers. These three, along with the game’s other distinct tribes, can give Aloy outfits that “reflect and support these unique approaches to combat.” These can then be upgraded with new perks via the workbenches that you find in settlements.

It’ll take robotic components from machines like the Stormbird and Shellsnapper to implement these upgrades. Developer Guerrilla Games says players should “take note of machines that have visible horns, claws, tusks, or tails.” If you’re looking to get some top-level gear, then know that “more advanced upgrades will require resources from specific machines.” Luckily, Aloy can scan the machines and pinpoint the parts she needs.

You can engage with all of those systems next year. Horizon Forbidden West releases on February 18, 2022, as a cross-gen game for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. More Horizon games from other studios may be on the way in the future too.