Horizon Forbidden West is filled with all manner of different weapons for Aloy to use in her quest to save the world, but none are quite as powerful as the heavy weapons employed by her machine foes. These heavy-duty artillery guns hit harder than any of Aloy’s standard weapons, though the cost of this power is an extremely limited amount of ammo.
Detaching a weapon from a powerful machine and turning its firepower against its former owner is one of the most exhilarating experiences in Horizon Forbidden West, but some of these guns are more useful than others. Picking up a heavy weapon isn’t without risk, so knowing which ones are worth the effort can make a huge difference in a challenging fight.
12 Clawstrider Elemental Bomb Launcher
The Clawstrider is a new machine in Horizon Forbidden West that looks like a beefy raptor with sharp talons to match. Players will encounter Clawstriders early on in the game, but as they progress they’ll come across elemental variants that have special, elemental Bomb Launchers attached to the end of their tails.
Clawstrider Elemental Bomb Launchers shoot lobbed explosives in an arc that can deal both direct damage to enemies and help trigger elemental status effects like Shock or Acid. Keep in mind, though, that the Clawstrider that the gun previously belonged to will have elemental resistance to its own weapon.
11 Tremortusk Shock Cannon
The Tremortusk is a walking artillery unit covered in enough firepower to hold an entire army at bay. The Shock Cannons mounted on its back are two of its most punishing weapons, and they’re also a powerful heavy weapon for Aloy to turn against the towering, mechanical elephant.
The Tremortusk Shock Cannon is a slow-firing blaster that shoots blue, glowing energy balls that gradually move toward their target, before splashing into them and inflicting Shock damage. Unfortunately, this slow fire rate makes the Shock Cannon a difficult tool to properly utilize during machine encounters.
10 Slitherfang Shock Cannon
The Slitherfang is a devastating machine with a host of different attacks at its disposal. The most punishing and difficult to avoid are the Shock attacks it delivers from the rattler at the end of its tail. To get the Slitherfang Shock Cannon, players will have to shoot out the orbs inside the Slitherfang’s rattler and reach the spot where the detached weapon fell.
The Slitherfang Shock Cannon works similarly to the Tremortusk Shock Cannon, in that it fires single shot of Shock energy balls that slowly move toward the target. While the Slitherfang Shock Cannon is a powerful weapon, it often proves too cumbersome to use effectively against the fast-moving machines of the Forbidden West.
9 Shellsnapper Frost Cannon
The Shellsnapper is one of Horizon Forbidden West’s most difficult machines to take down, largely because of the Frost Cannons mounted on its shell. Their small size makes them difficult to detach, but removing them from the Shellsnapper’s arsenal means Aloy can add them to her own.
The Shellsnapper Frost Cannon is unique in that it fires a continuous stream of Frost spray that damages and inflicts the Frost status effect on enemies. The novelty of this weapon is neat, but its short range requires players to place themselves in dangerous proximity to hostile machines.
8 Scorcher Mine Launcher
The Scorcher is a fire-based machine that can cover large distances with a single attack. To aid in its assault on any creature who crosses its path, the Scorcher also has a powerful Mine Launcher that can shoot out rows of explosive traps for Aloy to stumble into.
The Mine Launcher can be removed and used as a weapon, and it’s pretty useful for taking on fast-moving machines or dealing with multiple machines attacking from different directions. The mines it fires can be shot directly at enemies for immediate damage, or at the ground to set up a trap for any machine that strays too close.
7 Deathbringer Gun
The Deathbringer Gun returns in Horizon Forbidden West, and it remains one of the rarest heavy weapons Aloy can wield. The Deathbringer isn’t an enemy Aloy faces in the new game, so the only places to find the Deathbringer gun are in rebel camps or during specific quests.
The Deathbringer Gun is a reliable, rapid-fire machine gun that can take down machine and human enemies with ease. The bullets it fires have a long range and maintain precision over the distance. Because of its scarcity, though, it’s not a weapon players will find themselves using very often.
6 Dreadwing Bomb Launcher
The Dreadwing Bomb Launcher is one of the harder heavy weapons to remove from its machine, as the Dreadwing carries the weapon in a hard-to-reach spot on its chest. Players intending on tearing off the Dreadwing Bomb Launcher will want to use either a Ropecaster or adhesive ammo to pin this machine down.
The Bomb Launcher itself is one of the better heavy weapons in Horizon Forbidden West, as it delivers powerful, explosive payloads directly at enemy machines. After a brief charge up, the weapon delivers bombs with impressive speed and range that will shred armor and often knock a target to the ground.
5 Stalker Dart Gun
The Stalker Dart Gun can be a tricky weapon to master, but its damage-dealing potential and stopping power make it a worthwhile weapon to pick up . Stalkers are among the most elusive of machines in Horizon Forbidden West, but stripping them of their Dart Gun is one of the best ways to level the playing field.
The heavy weapon itself is a powerful, single-shot sniper that will take large chunks of health out of a hostile machine with every blast. Because of the charge time the gun requires, players should make sure they have plenty of space between themselves and their target before getting ready to fire.
4 Ravager Cannon
The Ravager Cannon gets its name from the Ravager machine to which it belongs, and, in the hands of this vicious machine, the cannon can shred Aloy to within an inch of her life. Detaching it, though, turns that firepower over to the Savior of Meridian.
The Ravager Cannon is a hold-over from Horizon Zero Dawn, and there’s no question about why this heavy weapon stuck around: it’s awesome. The rapid barrage of energy blasts it fires tear into enemies with impunity, machine and human alike.
3 Specter Pulse Cannon
The Specter Pulse Cannon is an intensely rare heavy weapon that can only be found by detaching it from its host machine, a Specter. Specters are rare enemies in Horizon Forbidden West, only popping up during story missions and a few side quests.
Possibly because of this rarity, the Specter Pulse Cannon is one of the best heavy weapons in the game. It has virtually no charge time, and it spits out an intense salvo of powerful energy bolts that can render just about any hostile machine dead in a matter of seconds.
2 Tremortusk Plasma Cannon
The Tremortusk is bristling with different weapons to detach, but the Plasma Cannons on its face are by far the hardest to hit. They’re well protected by the armor plating on the machine’s head, and their profile is so small that making an accurate shot can be an intense challenge.
But the payoff is worth the effort, as the Tremortusk Plasma Cannon is one of the best heavy weapons in Horizon Forbidden West. The plasma bolts it spits out deal consistent damage while also applying the Plasma status effect on enemies, and the high rate of fire makes it a viable option to turn on its former owner.
1 Thunderjaw Disc Launcher
The Thunderjaw is one of the most iconic and challenging machines in both Horizon games, and its weapons are even more devastating in Forbidden West. The Disc Launcher on its back affords it much of its firepower, but, when the large component is detached, all that firepower suddenly switches sides.
The Thunderjaw Disc Launcher is the most reliable heavy weapon in Horizon Forbidden West simply because it is both powerful and easy to use. A simple press of a button sends its explosive discs singing through the air before they crash into a machine’s chassis with a satisfying boom.
Horizon Forbidden West is now available for PS4 and PS5.
