As interesting and engaging as the main story is in Horizon Zero Dawn, the side quests are the lifeblood of this open-world action title, giving the player more insight into the lives of Earth’s people following a cataclysmic event that no-one remembers even happening.
While many of these side quests give some background information on the world or the people in it, several of them are far more useful, granting Aloy some kind of equipment or even just being a good test of the player’s skills up until that point.
In Her Mother’s Footsteps
One of the first side quests you can complete in the game, In Her Mother’s Footsteps can be started by talking to Thok, just south of Mother’s Heart and near the area where Aloy is tasked with taking down Striders for Fire Arrows. The man asks Aloy to find his daughter, who has gone missing, as he has injured himself and can’t look for her alone. Completing this relatively simple side quest will grant a permanent buff to the spear’s damage, so it is worth doing this side quest before continuing with the main story.
Cause For Concern
This overly long side quest is fairly simple, though is more interesting than useful. After being confronted by Nil outside a bandit camp, Aloy will be asked to rid the region of all bandit camps and allow the people to retake their homes. Once the final bandit camp has been cleared, Nil will request a meeting, where it is revealed that he has killed all others who attended with the sole purpose of preparing himself to battle with Aloy. You can either fight him to the death, where he will be removed from the game forever, or you can talk him down and refuse to engage. Thankfully, this side quest isn’t required to complete the trophy for obtaining all allies for the final battle, so killing him won’t lock you out of a trophy by accident.
Waterlogged
One of the more interesting side quests in The Frozen Wilds DLC, this side quest tasks Aloy with lowering the water level inside Laulai’s favorite drumming spot, which has been mysteriously flooded with water. After talking to her in Song’s Edge, you will be sent to the dam where she plays her music and begin the quest.
The quest itself is a simple water puzzle reminiscent of many similar water dungeons, though this one is crawling with Snapmaws ready to sneak up on Aloy when given the chance. The secondary NPC in this quest, Gildun, is also one of the more entertaining in the game.
Weapons of the Lodge
This side quest for the Hunters Lodge is simple on paper but much harder in execution. After completing each of the Hunting Trials dotted across the map, Aloy will be given various tokens that she can turn in for rewards at the Hunters Lodge, granting her a Lodge War Bow, Lodge Blast Sling, and Lodge Ropecaster. These weapons are all unique in design, though functionally identical to the Adept versions of those weapons. If completed on New Game+, Aloy will be given upgraded versions of these weapons that have an additional modification slot.
Hunters Blind
One of the many hunting side quests for the Hunters Lodge, this one tasks Aloy with saving a village from attacking Glinthawks, followed by obtaining a Snapmaw Heart. Although this is one of the easier side quests for the Hunters Lodge, it is one that leads towards Aloy becoming a full-fledged member of the lodge and gaining the respect of the other hunters, something that comes in handy further down the line in the final battle against the Eclipse and HADES.
Deadliest Game
The quest that activates immediately after completing Hunters Blind, this one tasks Aloy with bringing Talanah two trophies: one from a Thunderjaw and one from a Stormbird. Needless to say, this side quest shouldn’t be attempted unless you are comfortable in your ability to deal with both machines. For the Stormbird, the best approach is to tie it down with a Ropecaster and hit it while it is restrained. The Thunderjaw can either be much easier or much harder depending on whether or not you tear off its weapons for your own use. After bringing Talanah the two trophies, it will unlock the final quest in this sequence.
Redmaw
The Thunderjaw known as Redmaw has been teased and mentioned many times through this quest line, but this is the chance for Aloy and Talanah to prove themselves to the Lodge and take it down once and for all. On top of being riddled with spears, Redmaw is a little harder than most Thunderjaws to defeat due to the enclosed space of the battlefield.
While not as hard as the Cauldron ZETA’s Thunderjaw, it is still a tough battle that can easily go wrong if you aren’t careful. For this fight, tying down the Thunderjaw can help a lot while tearing off its weapons and tail, forcing it to charge you down to deal damage.
For The Werak
Although there are several unique outfits in Horizon Zero Dawn, few are as unique as the reward granted for completing the side quest For The Werak. In order to trigger this quest, you need to complete two of the following: defeat the bandits in Stone Yield Camp, complete a trial at the Snowchants Hunting Ground, restore the Tallneck near Song’s Edge, or find pigments for Sekuli. Once two of these four activities have been done, you can begin For The Werak, where she must challenge Ruatuk to a hunting competition.
Cauldrons
Of all the side activities that are the most useful, none compare to the Cauldrons scattered across the map that allow Aloy to upgrade her Override capabilities. While some of the Cauldrons are particularly difficult, such as Cauldron ZETA, they are well worth the trouble of completing to allow Aloy to Override more powerful machines, such as Thunderjaws. Each Cauldron can be started simply by walking into them, though Cauldron XI requires a key from one of the patrolling cultists and Cauldron ZETA has a hidden entrance that isn’t readily apparent.
Ancient Armory
Side quests like Cause For Concern and Weapons of the Lodge may be longwinded, but they have nothing on Ancient Armory. While starting this quest is as simple as finding the Bunker in the Embrace, which isn’t particularly difficult. What makes this side quest so hard, however, is that, aside from the Power Cells being hidden fairly well, they are also mostly locked behind main quest locations, preventing you from obtaining the armor until after completing The Mountain That Fell. Thankfully, all locations will remain open to Aloy should you miss a Power Cell the first time around.
