Horizon Forbidden West Guide | Best Mid-Game Skills

Here's a list of the best Mid-Game Skills you can get in Horizon Forbidden West.

Game Guide by Joyramen on Feb 08, 2025

There are a lot of Skill Points in Horizon Forbidden West, a lot of which can be earned through side quests, errands, and main missions. Each skill caters to different players depending on their playstyle, but here are the eight skills we recommend you get if you’re looking for a more balanced playthrough.

Silent Strike+

In the Infiltrator Branch, this skill will boost your stealth attack damage by 25%, making it effective against tougher human enemies and machines. It’s a good skill to unlock, considering melee attacks don’t really play into Aloy’s strengths.

Stealth Tear+

Another skill in the Infiltrator Branch, I prefer this over Stealth Range+ initially. Stealth Tear+ boosts tear damage by 15% against unaware enemies, making it easier for you to collect resources and weaken machines. It’s an important skill that helps you knock off machine parts so that you can use them later for upgrades.

Medicine Capacity

In the Survivor Branch, this skill increases your medicinal berry storage from 10 to 12. Since healing items in the game are split between your pouch, inventory, and stashes, having the ability to carry extra berries in combat is always a plus.

Deep Concentration

In the Hunter Branch, this skill increases the concentration duration even more. And when you consider the fact that Hunter Reflexes ability has been nerfed in this game, it’s important that you have this ability so that you can take your time to take down parts or to deal extra damage.

Concentration Regen

After you unlock Deep Concentration, I would suggest getting this skill. Concentration Regen increases your concentration recharge speed by 50%, allowing you to use the ability often for frequent precise shots.

Stealth Ranged+

In the Infiltrator Branch, Stealth Ranged+ boosts your damage by 10% against unaware enemies. This skill works hand in hand with Stealth Tear+ to take out human enemies for efficient takedowns.

Low Profile

In the Infiltrator Branch, this skill reduces your visibility, improving your health against enemies of all kinds; helping you to reposition to so that you can target weaker spots more effectively.

Quiet Movement

In the Infiltrator Branch, this skill reduces the noise made when sneaking. This, in turn, helps you reposition without detection and unlocks the special Stealth Stalker valor surge, which is useful for getting into camps and confusing machines.

By focusing on these skills, the journey through the Forbidden West becomes more manageable and enjoyable, providing a solid foundation for the challenges ahead.

Also, check out our Horizon Forbidden West Review, and other guides below: