At a glance
Horizon Forbidden West Trophy Guide Quick Info
Browse the complete PlayStation trophy guide hub for more checklists and Platinum roadmaps.
Plan the cleanup
Trophies at a Glance
The complete trophy list, grouped into scan-friendly routes before the full walkthrough.
Efficient route
Horizon Forbidden West Trophy Guide and Platinum Roadmap
Follow these phases in order to protect the missable work and keep the Horizon Forbidden West Platinum cleanup efficient.
Phase 0: Check the patch position
Confirm the current status of Specter and Specter Prime. Patch 1.08 and Patch 1.16 have both softened the only missable considerably.
Note that the final mission is not repeatable, unlike in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Level 50 is required, so plan to do side content rather than assuming you can skip it to save time.
If you intend to stack PS4 and PS5, be aware autopop only works PS4 to PS5, and one player lost Completed Ultra Hard in transfer.
Phase 1: The story with side content
Play through the 17 main quests, which alone run around 25 hours, doing side quests as you go for the skill points and gear.
Scan every machine type you encounter, since that is the only missable trophy on the list.
Work toward level 50, which the platinum requires and which side content is the fastest route to.
Play on Story difficulty if you like. Nothing except the Ultra Hard trophy is difficulty gated.
Make a manual save before the Singularity endboss so a death does not cost you the scan.
Phase 2: Post-story cleanup
Free roam is available, so finish any remaining collectibles, side quests and activities.
Confirm your machine scan database is complete, remembering that Specter Prime should now populate automatically if missed.
If Specter is still outstanding, it can be scanned in New Game Plus or in the Burning Shores main quests as of Patch 1.16.
Take the remaining miscellaneous and combat trophies, none of which are difficulty gated.
Phase 3: Ultra Hard via New Game Plus
Start New Game Plus so you carry all your endgame gear and skills into the Ultra Hard run.
The New Game Plus update added three trophies, including obtaining all 17 additional weapons, dyes and face paints.
Expect around 15 hours if you skip every cutscene and dialogue, at roughly 6.5 out of 10.
This is the section buyers most often want handled. One soft mention of DamnModz fits here, then back to strategy.
Phase 4: Burning Shores, if you have PS5
The DLC is PS5 only and requires the base story finished. If you started a New Game Plus you must finish the story again first.
18 trophies, none required for the base platinum, around 8 to 10 hours with nothing missable.
Reach level 60, which is only 10 levels above where the base game leaves you.
For the skills trophy, remember the counter reads 30 because each Valor Surge must also reach level 3, costing 72 skill points if all else is unlocked.
Collect all 7 Delver Trinkets to auto-start The Delver's Trove errand.
Guide notes
Patches Have Defused the Only Missable
First section after the Quick Info box, and a correction to most guides you will find. All Machine Types Scanned is the sole missable, because Specter and Specter Prime only spawn during quests and have no open world spawns, with both appearing in the final main story quest Singularity. The endboss in particular shows up once, and dying mid-fight means rescanning it. But two patches changed the picture. As of Patch 1.08 Specter Prime is added to the database automatically if you miss it, and as of Patch 1.16 Specter can be scanned in New Game Plus if missed, as well as appearing in the Burning Shores DLC main quests. Verify both positions before publishing.
Guide notes
The Final Mission Is Not Repeatable
A significant change from Horizon Zero Dawn, where the final mission could be replayed. Here it cannot, which is exactly why the Singularity scans were such a problem before the patches.
Guide notes
Skipping Side Content Does Not Save Time
Guides note that overall time to platinum therefore stays broadly the same whether you rush or explore. Since the side quests also supply substantial skill points and gear, and tell much of the world's story, the honest recommendation is to play them rather than optimise them away.
Guide notes
Autopop Only Works One Direction
Save transfer and autopop function from PS4 to PS5 and never the reverse. Worse, one player who completed everything on PS4 including New Game Plus and Ultra Hard, then transferred to PS5, received every trophy except Completed Ultra Hard. Flag this before anyone builds a plan around it.
Guide notes
Ultra Hard in New Game Plus
Completing the game on Ultra Hard is required, and the practical advice is to do it in New Game Plus where you carry all your endgame gear and skills. The New Game Plus update added three trophies of its own, rated around 6.5 out of 10 and roughly 15 hours if you skip every cutscene and dialogue, with nothing missable. One of those trophies needs all 17 additional New Game Plus weapons, dyes and face paints.
Efficient route
Burning Shores Is PS5 Only
The DLC adds 18 trophies, has no platinum of its own and is not required for the base platinum. It runs 8 to 10 hours at 2 to 3 out of 10 with nothing missable and full free roam. Critically it is unavailable on PS4 entirely, and it requires finishing the base game story first. If you have already started a New Game Plus you must finish the story again before it becomes playable. One trophy, Recovered All Aerial Captures, can bug out for some players but remains obtainable.
The Burning Shores Skill Counter Explained
The trophy counter reads 30 while the DLC only adds 18 new skills, which looks like a bug and is not. You must also upgrade each Valor Surge to level 3, and those upgrades count toward the total. If everything else is already unlocked it costs 72 skill points.
The Delver Trinkets
Seven trinkets hidden around the Burning Shores map, mostly off the beaten path, which unlock hints toward the Delver's Trove chest. Once all seven are collected an errand called The Delver's Trove starts automatically, and the directions from the trinkets are very specific and visible in the quest description.
Save Slots
Five manual saves, one quick save and ten autosave slots covering recent checkpoints that automatically overwrite.
Broken Locks
This errand quest is flagged as missable and can lock you out of 100 percent game completion. Confirm whether any trophy actually depends on it before publishing, since 100 percent completion and the platinum are not necessarily the same thing here.
Champions Tokens
If you are working on New Game Plus Champions Tokens, note that the Burning Shores DLC adds nine more. Useful for anyone tracking that count across both.
Every requirement
Full Horizon Forbidden West Trophy List
Track all 59 trophies below. Each checkbox updates the live counter and can be exported for another browser or device.
Track your trophy progress
Your checks save automatically in this browser. Export a backup before changing devices.
Platinum Trophy
Obtained all Horizon Forbidden West trophies.
Collectibles and Completion
Resolved all of the problems troubling the Daunt.
Reached the top of every Tallneck and accessed their information.
Investigated all Rebel Camps and helped Erend defeat Asera.
Reached the Core of every Cauldron and accessed their information.
Earned at least a Quarter Stripe mark in all three trials at one Hunting Ground.
Earned at least a Quarter Stripe mark in all three trials at all Hunting Grounds.
Killed at least one of every type of Acquisition machine.
Killed at least one of every type of Reconnaissance machine.
Killed at least one of every type of Combat machine.
Killed at least one of every type of Transport machine.
Rode a Charger, Bristleback, and Clawstrider.
Encountered and Focus scanned every type of machine.
Completed all contracts at a Salvage Contractor.
Obtained 1 weapon from every weapon class.
Inflicted every elemental state on an enemy at least once.
Upgraded a Valor Surge to its maximum level.
Fully upgraded 3 weapons.
Fully upgraded 3 different outfits.
Upgraded the Food Pouch, Potion Pouch, Resource Pouch, Trap Pouch, and any ammo pouch at least once.
Learned all available skills on one tree.
Completed 1 Survey Drone, 1 Black Box, 1 Relic Ruin, 1 Vista Point, and 1 Signal Tower.
Challenges and Difficulty
Completed 1 Arena challenge set.
Won a match against 2 different Machine Strike challengers.
Miscellaneous Trophies
Reached player level 20.
Reached player level 30.
Reached player level 50.
Arrived at the Daunt seeking passage into the Forbidden West.
Cleared the way to the Embassy and reopened the Daunt.
Survived the ambush at the Embassy and gained passage into the Forbidden West.
Secured a base of operations and rebooted GAIA.
Defended the Kulrut and recovered AETHER.
Drained Las Vegas and recovered POSEIDON.
Encountered the Quen and recovered DEMETER.
Followed Beta's distress signal and brought her back to base.
Survived Thebes and befriended the Quen.
Flew into battle and vanquished Regalla.
Put an end to the Zenith threat and discovered Nemesis.
Aided both Drakka and Yarra and chose the better candidate.
Helped Kotallo build and test a mechanized arm.
Helped Zo reboot the land-gods to save Plainsong.
Helped Alva retrieve data to help the Quen.
Reached the top of a Tallneck and accessed its information.
Completed key objectives in 1 Rebel Camp.
Reached the Core of a Cauldron and accessed its information.
Glided uninterrupted for 60 seconds.
Completed 2 quests that required a flying mount.
Won first place in two different Gauntlet Runs.
Defeated the outpost leader and recovered the tags from 4 Rebel Outposts.
Discovered and completed 3 Relic Ruins.
Successfully performed 3 different unlockable melee combos.
Performed a stealth kill on 10 machines.
Detached 100 components from machines.
Picked up 5 different heavy weapons.
Unlocked and used the overrides for 10 different types of machine.
Defeated the Tenakth melee master known as the Enduring.
Equipped a weapon of any tier with 2 coils.
Unlocked a Weapon Technique for 3 different weapon classes.
Used dye flowers to unlock and apply a new dye.
Guide notes
Horizon Forbidden West Missable, Glitched, and Difficulty Notes
- One missable trophy, All Machine Types Scanned, and two patches have largely defused it.
- Specter and Specter Prime only spawn during quests with no open world spawns, and both appear in the final main story quest Singularity.
- The endboss scan appears once, and dying mid-fight means rescanning it, so make a manual save first.
- As of Patch 1.08 Specter Prime is added to the database automatically if missed.
- As of Patch 1.16 Specter can be scanned in New Game Plus if missed, and it also appears in the Burning Shores main quests.
- Unlike Horizon Zero Dawn, the final mission is NOT repeatable.
- Level 50 is required for the platinum, so skipping side content does not meaningfully reduce total time.
- Autopop and save transfer work from PS4 to PS5 only, never in reverse, and one player lost Completed Ultra Hard during transfer.
- Ultra Hard is required and is best done in New Game Plus with endgame gear and skills.
- Burning Shores is PS5 only, adds 18 trophies, is not required for the base platinum, and needs the base story finished. Starting New Game Plus means finishing the story again first.
Quick answers
Frequently Asked Questions
Is All Machine Types Scanned still missable?
Largely not. As of Patch 1.08 Specter Prime is added automatically if missed, and as of Patch 1.16 Specter can be scanned in New Game Plus or in the Burning Shores main quests. Most guides still describe the original lockout.
Can you replay the final mission in Horizon Forbidden West?
No, unlike in Horizon Zero Dawn. That is why the machine scans inside Singularity were such a problem before the patches softened the requirement.
Can you skip side quests in Horizon Forbidden West?
Not really, because the platinum requires level 50. A reader who ignores side content still has to do much of it eventually, so total time stays broadly the same either way.
Do Horizon Forbidden West trophies autopop on PS5?
From PS4 to PS5 only, never in reverse. One player who completed everything on PS4 and transferred received every trophy except Completed Ultra Hard, so do not plan around it.
How long does the Horizon Forbidden West platinum take?
Around 30 hours doing only trophy-relevant tasks on Story difficulty, or roughly 40 on Normal with more side content. The Ultra Hard run adds around 15 hours on top.
Do you need Burning Shores for the platinum?
No. It adds 18 trophies of its own but none are required for the base platinum, and it is PS5 only so PS4 players cannot access it at all.
Why does the Burning Shores skills trophy show 30?
Because you must also upgrade each Valor Surge to level 3, and those count toward the total alongside the 18 new skills. It costs 72 skill points if everything else is already unlocked.
How do you play Burning Shores after starting New Game Plus?
You have to finish the base story again. The DLC only becomes available on a completed story save, so a New Game Plus in progress will block it until you reach the ending.
DamnModz supports PlayStation games with Platinum trophies. Choose the game and tell us what remains on your list.