With the sequel to Horizon: Zero Dawn, “Horizon Forbidden West” soon approaching, here’s a list of the types of players from the first installment that you should expect to see in the new game after 4 years (as you know, some people never change).
1. Mr. Pull out the camera
Mr. or Mrs. Pull Out The Camera can be found playing many other visually appealing games such as Spider-Man, Red Dead and others, with the sole purpose (they refuse to admit it) of taking photos and living out their dream of being a professional photographer. Mr. & Mrs. Pull Out The Camera will ignore the in-game trophies/achievements and 100% their own, with achievements spanning from; "take a photo of moving grass," "take a photo with a forest out of focus," "take a photo right before taking damage," "take a photo including 3 or more enemies," etc. These players have developed their playstyle specifically for their style of photography, whether it’s laying back and observing from a distance, or creating a ruckus for the greatest amount of action possible for a chaotic shock. Regardless, Mr. & Mrs. Pull Out The Camera are some of the best photographers that the game has and have helped to popularize photo mode usage and raised awareness of the efforts put into making the game as beautiful as it is.
2. The Farmer/The RPG Specialist
The Farmer/RPG Specialist is either an RPG veteran or is just a very “play-it-safe” kind of person. These players will probably have the longest completion time, not because they struggled, not because they spent their time marvelling at the scenery, but because they wanted to farm materials until the game stopped them. These players neglect the storyline to farm, so much that the game blocks out areas for them to explore because they have yet to progress enough in the story (the only way to stop them). By the time they meet the first boss or the first challenging boss, they wouldn’t even realize it unless a giant health bar appeared on the screen. “What was all that music for, that guy got taken down in 5 seconds,” well of course he did, you farmed enough materials to max out all of your stats in the first 5 hours and crafted all the weapon buffs and perks, this boss was not meant for a player like you. Farmers and RPG Specialists make sure that the final boss is a breeze, that they won’t run out of supplies and that they are prepared for any combination of enemies, events and droughts that the game throws at them.
3. The Takedown Specialist
The Takedown Specialist is my favourite type of player, my inspiration and my most entertaining player. The takedown specialist whether through research or trial and error knows every weakness of every enemy type in the game, all patterns of attack and movement for hunting as well as the most effective and efficient strategies for a smooth fight. These players, like hunters, will find enemy locations on the map and prepare their direction of attack and loadout beforehand, equipping specific bows and weapon buffs as well. Takedown Specialists are the most entertaining because for one, they don’t miss their shots, especially considering that every arrow equates to some damage, and even when you think they’ve missed, they still have hit the target, whether it's to set-up/trigger a trap or splash damage from the blast radius. They are specialists for a reason, the finesse that they play with is too much to handle as they switch from bow to bow without displaying the weapon wheel long enough for you to see what they selected, they just know, they know how many arrows per type that they have left, and they know how much material they have to craft whatever else they need.
4. Oh, this isn’t Red Dead?
“Oh, this isn’t Red Dead” is the question that these players will ask you in response to you questioning how they run this game. As soon as a mount is discovered and able to be overridden in this game, you can be sure that they not only have taken charge of it but that they also are mounting it and have given it its own name. These players will journey around the map on this mount and will make sure that it is with them as support or on standby in any encounter. No, they will not enter a battle without a mount, and even if a cutscene or game event spawns them without one, GUARANTEED, they will search for one immediately. It’s almost as if they don’t know how to play the game without their mount and are probably looking for a specific mount type to use to maintain consistency in the game. Mind you, these players are also very scary as much as you may find them weird. Not only do they hold mini farewell ceremonies for any of their mounts that collapse but they also enter a complete rage mode where every living and non-living thing involved in the death of their fallen soldier or within a 1-mile radius of the event, will be brutally mutilated without hesitation.
5. The Human Ultron/The Lazy One
The Human Ultron/The Lazy One loves the game, they truly do, despite not wanting to swing their weapon or use their bow. Of course, they know that enemies need to be taken down in order to progress, but why use your precious resources when you can override every machine in the game? These players will do their absolute best to let all conflicts be handled by any other enemy type or ally in the game while sitting back to watch, whether it be two tribes battling it out or machines vs a tribe, they only want the loot that remains, or the last man standing to take down with minimal effort. Don’t be fooled and take their laxity for weakness, these players are definitely methodical, the most skilled at running away, stealthy and skilled at overriding all machine types because without these skills, things would rarely ever go as planned. Let me also mention that these players also have the worst aim under pressure considering they never have to shoot anything.
6. I am War
“I….AM War” is the last thing any enemy hears from these players as they rip through the map, eliminating anything in their path. These players likely started their first playthrough on the hardest difficulty and took some time for them to live up to their name. With the use of exploited game mechanics and the pure will to not die, these players are ready to fight any enemy at all times, and yes, this includes the moments when your resources are limited. These players have learned to take everyone down with minimal resources, even if they need to look for resources during the fight, but that doesn’t mean they are ever running away from the battle. I Am War players don’t necessarily need to be takedown specialists because they only care about who the last one standing is, regardless if one fight alone takes 30 minutes. These players are the only player types who will voluntarily lure enemies together to fight multiple at once, whether it be multiple Thunderjaws, Stormbirds, or a Stormbird and a ThunderJaw. Regardless, they are here for the challenge, they just put their war paint on and ask “who’s next” until there is no one else left standing.
7. The Journeyman
The Journeyman and the RPG specialist have definitely crossed paths before, except the Journeyman achieves what the RPG specialist does, unintentionally. The Journeyman cares about the story but finds what they don’t yet know even more intriguing. These players have explored every corner of the game, have done every available side mission and have met every enemy type and ally in the game before they were even officially introduced via cutscene or dialogue. By the end of the game or by the time they are approaching the story finale, these players would have already found all the collectibles and have the strongest suits, mods and gear equipped to fight the final boss. Things that were meant to be found and explored after the story as a reward were already found by these players in the first 5 hours, whether it be a secret mini-boss that has a recommended level for that of a player who has completed the main story, or a secret weapon that obliterates certain enemy types. These players are likely the ones having the most fun simply because they choose to take advantage of the freedom given to the gamer.
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