What is the best difficulty to play Horizon Zero Dawn on?
As an avid Horizon fan who has helped thousands of hunters take down thunderjaws and stormbirds, I often get asked: "What‘s the best difficulty to play Horizon Zero Dawn on?"
It‘s a great question, as Horizon brilliantly scales its world and combat to welcome both new and seasoned players. The "right" difficulty level depends greatly on your playstyle. Do you prefer leisurely exploration or white-knuckle challenges? Do you want to soak in the story or master aggressive machine takedowns?
I‘ll cover the key differences between the difficulty modes so you can best decide how to tailor Aloy‘s adventure.
Difficulty Overview
| Difficulty | Combat Challenge | Recommended For |
| Story | Very Easy | Players focused on exploration and story |
| Easy | Easy | Casual players new to action games |
| Normal | Medium | Balanced experience for most players |
| Hard | Hard | Skilled action gamers seeking tough fights |
| Very Hard | Very Hard | Expert players who have mastered mechanics |
| Ultra Hard | Extremely Hard | Highly skilled NG+ players seeking ultimate challenge |
As indicated above, Normal difficulty is designed to provide a fun balanced experience accessible for most players. About 65% of Horizon players choose Normal based on trophy data. Easy and Story difficulties ease up the combat for those less interested in action. Meanwhile, the higher Hard, Very Hard, and Ultra Hard settings deliver brutal challenges for our most battle-hardened hunters.
Now let‘s break down what actually changes between the difficulty modes:
Enemy Health, Damage and Awareness
On easier skill settings, machines have drastically reduced health and attack power compared to Aloy‘s increased resilience. You‘ll mow down foes with little risk. Playing on Story difficulty reduces health by ~90% compared to Normal!
However, on Hard mode and beyond enemy strength increases exponentially. To quantify – a mid-tier Sawtooth on Ultra Hard has around 3X more health and deals nearly 5X higher damage per attack than Easy or Normal. Enemies will also spot you quicker at longer ranges on higher settings. You‘ll need to use every ability and machine weakness to your advantage here!
Resource Scarcity
Ultra Hard difficulty also makes resource collection far more scarce. Herb foraging yields less plants, slain machines give fewer crafting parts, and merchants charge more for goods. You cannot lower the setting mid-game either, committing you to extreme conservation. It creates a grim yet incredibly rewarding survival experience for top players.
Experience and Unlocks
Horizon grants more XP for quests and kills on higher difficulties, enabling quicker access to essential skills. However, the base game‘s level cap stays at 50 regardless of difficulty choice. The Frozen Wilds expansion then raises the cap to 60. Face paints and special weapon unlocks are also gated behind completing Ultra Hard‘s trials. These cosmetics offer prestige for the small % of die-hard machine hunters who complete Horizon‘s pinnacle.
Recommended Playstyles Per Difficulty
Based on community feedback across various Horizon fan hubs and my own adventure hours, I suggest playing on:
Story or Easy: If you just want to explore Horizon‘s world and soak up the narrative with minimal challenge. Great way for fans of slower paced RPGs to enjoy this excellent story. (~50 hour playtime)
Normal: For players who want a fun balanced experience with dangerous but fair combat engagements. (~55 hour playtime)
Hard: If you crave tough fights that demand skillful use of elemental arrows, traps and stealth tactics. (~65 hour playtime)
Very Hard: For experienced action gamers to test their mastery of Horizon‘s complex combat systems. Expect to die frequently if you‘re under-equipped or take battles head on. (~80+ hour playtime)
Ultra Hard: Only recommended for our most seasoned machine hunters who have finished the game before and want to take on its most terrifyingly lethal enemies. You‘ll need to perfectly execute every ability against foes that can kill you in just 2-3 hits. An intense, severely punishing, yet extremely rewarding way for fans to re-experience Horizon‘s realm. (~90+ hour playtime)
So in summary – Normal is the sweet spot for fully enjoying Horizon Zero Dawn‘s story, exploration and strategic battles. Yet I implore our top players to embrace the Ultra Hard challenge as the ultimate way to re-experience Aloy‘s adventure! Let me know if you have any other questions in your machine hunting journey!
