Horizon 3 Wiki: Machines, Weapons, Skills & Exploration Guide

Machine Catalog: Every Machine and Its Role Horizon 3’s machine roster expands on the previous games with a focus on combat specialization. Here’s the breakdown by class: ### Combat Machines (Aggressive)

**Ravager**: Standard four-legged hunter. Weak point: the blaze canister on its back. Drops Ravager Cannon (usable as heavy weapon).

**Thunderjaw**: The classic heavy hitter. Now has a disc launcher that fires homing projectiles—dodge sideways, not backward. Two disc launchers on its back are removable.

**Slaughterspine**: Plasma-based attacks. Avoid its charged beam by staying behind its hind legs. Weak to frost. ### Transport Machines (Passive)

**Grazer**: Herd animal. Scrapes for metal. Kill for braiding wire.

**Lancehorn**: Fast, aggressive when provoked. Good source of luminous brainstems for skill upgrades. ### Apex Variants Apex machines now have 30% more health and a new attack. Example: Apex Thunderjaw gains a ground slam that stuns you. Always carry purgewater arrows to disable their elemental attacks. **Pro tip**: Use your Focus to highlight machine patrol routes. Apex machines often spawn near ruins—plan ambushes there. ---

Weapon Upgrades: The Real Grind Gone are the days of just collecting shards. Every weapon upgrade now demands specific machine parts. Here’s the upgrade tree for the **Boltblaster** (my personal favorite): | Upgrade Level | Required Parts | Effect | |---|---|---| | 1 | 8x Metal Shards, 3x Wire | +10 damage | | 2 | 2x Thunderjaw Tail, 1x Braiding Wire | +15 damage, +5% tear | | 3 | 1x Slaughterspine Plasma Core, 3x Crystal Braiding | +20 damage, +10% handling | | 4 | 3x Apex Ravager Heart, 5x Machine Muscle | +25 damage, +15% crit chance | **Why this matters**: You can’t just grind any machine. Need an Apex Ravager Heart? Hunt near the northeastern canyons at night—they spawn more frequently. The grind forces you to learn machine behavior, which makes you a better player. **Upgrade vs. New Weapon**: I usually upgrade existing weapons to level 2 before buying new ones. Level 3+ is worth it only for your primary loadout. ---

Skill Tree: Six Branches, Focused Builds The skill tree has grown to 6 branches (from 4 in Horizon 2). Each branch has 25-30 nodes arranged in a diamond pattern. ### The Branches

**Hunter**: Bow and spear damage. Must-have for ranged builds. Unlocks triple notch at node 10.

**Trapper**: Tripcasters and traps. Node 8 gives “Quick Trap” (deploy in 1 second instead of 3).

**Survival**: Health and stealth. Node 12: “Silent Strike Heal” (restores 25% HP on melee kill).

**Warrior**: Heavy weapons and melee. Node 15: “Impact Crater” (ground pound that knocks back small machines).

**Infiltrator**: Stealth and override. Node 20: “Machine Master” (override duration +50%).

**Machinist**: Mounts and machine riding. Unlocks flying mounts at node 18 (requires 10 skill points in branch). **My build**: I put 10 points into Hunter (for triple notch), then 8 into Survival (for stealth). After that, I invest in Machinist to get flying mounts early—they make exploration 10x faster. **Skill point farming**: Complete side quests. Each gives 2-3 skill points. The “Rusty Springs” side quest chain gives 7 total. ---

Exploration Guide: Scan Everything Horizon 3’s map is 40% larger than Horizon 2, but it’s dense. Here’s how to not waste time: ### Scanning Priority 1. **Machine sites**: Every machine has a scan icon. Scan all variants (including apex) to unlock weapon blueprints. Miss one, and you can’t craft that weapon tier. 2. **Tallnecks**: There are 6 Tallnecks. Each reveals a region. The first is near the starting area, the hardest is in the frozen north (requires grappling hook upgrade). 3. **Relic Ruins**: 12 total. Each gives a unique weapon mod. The “Overdraw” mod from Ruin 4 is essential for bow builds. ### Fast Travel Fast travel packs are craftable (10 metal shards + 1 fatty meat). But I rarely use them. The world is designed for traversal—riding a Charger or flying a Sunwing reveals hidden machine sites. Plus, you find machine carcasses that respawn resources. ### Secret Areas

**The Chasm**: Under a waterfall in the jungle. Contains a legendary boltblaster. Requires the “Diver” skill (node 5 in Survival).

**Sky Island**: Only accessible by flying mount. Has a Thunderjaw with a unique disc launcher that fires explosive discs. ---

FAQ **Q: What’s the best weapon for taking down Apex Thunderjaws?** A: Use a Frost Blastsling to freeze it (takes about 4 shots), then switch to a Precision Arrow with the “Overdraw” mod. Aim for the disc launchers first—removing them neuters its ranged attacks. **Q: How do I get more skill points quickly?** A: Focus on side quests and machine kills. Each machine kill gives 1 point after your first 10 kills of that type. Also, hunt Apex machines—they give 2 points per kill. **Q: Can I respec my skill tree?** A: Yes. Visit any merchant and buy a “Skill Reset Tonic” for 500 shards. It refunds all points. Use it early if your build isn’t working—I respeced twice in my first playthrough.