Horizon Forbidden West offers an absolutely massive open-world filled with threats to overcome and secrets to discover, so you’re probably going to want to acquire the game’s various mounts at some point if you’re going to give yourself a fair chance to see it all.
Much as it was in Zero Dawn, Forbidden West‘s mounts are primarily used to help you get around the world a little faster. This time around, though, mounts come equipped with a greater variety of unique abilities (including one that has the ability to fly) that may help determine which ones you choose to use in specific situations.
While you should be able to acquire most of Forbidden West‘s mounts simply by working your way through the game’s campaign, here’s a brief look at exactly how to unlock all of them and what they do:
Horizon Forbidden West: Where to Find the Charger Mount
This basic ground mount doesn’t offer much more than a slightly faster form of transportation, but it’s the first mount in the game you’ll be able to capture, so you’ll end up getting a lot of use out of it one way or another.
You can technically capture a Charger at pretty much any point in the game, but most players will probably snag one during the early Main Quest mission “The Embassy.” One of that mission’s optional objectives asks you to capture a Charger and conveniently leads you to a heard of them.
To capture a Charger (or any other mount once you’ve found the proper override), just sneak up behind one and hit “Triangle.” From there, you should be able to summon the mount using the D-Pad command you acquire after commandeering your first Charger. While on a Charger, you can hit “X” to accelerate, “Circle” to brake, and use “R1” and “R2” for light and heavy attacks, respectively.
Horizon Forbidden West: Where to Find the Bristleback Mount
This boar-like mount is a notable upgrade from Chargers in several ways.
Not only do their mechanical tusks make them far more useful in combat, but they’re naturally resistant to deadly acid attacks (though they are still susceptible to electricity). Furthermore, they are capable of digging for valuable resources in certain spots, and you can even supplement their combat skills with elemental augmentations. So far as Forbidden West‘s mounts go, they’re basically tanks.
You’ll have the chance to capture your first Bristleback shortly after completing the early main quest, “The Dying Lands.” That quest will lead you to the TAU Cauldron (it’s basically a dungeon) where you’ll find the override needed to turn wild Bristlebacks into mounts.
Horizon Forbidden West: Where to Find the Clawstrider Mount
Commonly compared to raptors, the deadly Clawstriders are fast, agile, and downright intimidating. They’re some of the deadliest machine enemies in the game, which makes it all the more exciting when you realize that you’re actually able to mount them.
Having said that, it will take quite some time before you’re actually able to capture one of these feared creations. You’ll first need to reach level 22 and then proceed into the IOTA Cauldron (which is located north of Scalding Spear). This fairly tough Cauldron contains quite a bit of valuable loot (as well as access to one of Forbidden West‘s Tallnecks), but the real prize is an override that will allow you to capture and mount wild Clawstriders.
Once you have the override, you should be able to find Clawstriders along the west coast of the map. Just be warned that trying to capture one of these machines and actually doing so are two very different things (especially if you’re facing off against one of the deadly “fire” Clawstrider variants).
It’s also worth mentioning that learning to properly control a Clawstrider can be a painful process that will often lead to you getting stuck between more than a few trees and other obstacles. Once you get used to their unique movements, though, you should find that Clawstriders’ combat abilities make them more than worth the effort.
Horizon Forbidden West: Where to Find the Sunwing Mount
As the only flying mount in Horizon Forbidden West, the Sunwing should obviously be considered the most prized mount in the game. While you may assume that the game will make you go out of your way to acquire the ability to fly through the air, it turns out that you actually earn your first Sunwing mount simply by completing one of Forbidden West‘s story quests.
One of the last Main Quests in the game, “Wings of the Ten,” will end with you gaining access to the Sunwing overdrive and a brand-new Sunwing mount to call your own. So while it’s a little sad that you aren’t able to acquire a Sunwing before then (and there’s a chance you’ll have to snag another one if your first one is somehow killed in combat), it’s nice to know that you don’t have to wander too far off the beaten path to snag one. Furthermore, there are some objectives and quests in the game that you can only reach and complete with help from a Sunwing mount, so finally unlocking one really does open up entirely new ways to play the game.
While Sunwing’s allow you to navigate the map as quickly as possible and circumvent certain obstacles simply by flying above or around them, it will take you a little time to get the hang of properly flying one. Furthermore, Sunwings aren’t exactly known as fighters, so you don’t want to take one into a hostile situation unless you’re confident you can get in and out of it quickly.