The Best Mounts In Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

Key Takeaways

• Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
  is a worthwhile upgrade with enhanced graphics and updated textures.
• Aloy can ride different machines, with Striders being weaker, Broadheads more dangerous, and Chargers being tough to acquire.
• Chargers are the most assertive mounts in the game, with a powerful Charge attack and high durability.

Many fans of the original Horizon Zero Dawn would be forgiven if they wondered why, exactly, it was necessary to release a remastered version of the game a mere eight years after its initial release. That game still looks gorgeous, and while it can’t compare to the sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, there’s a console generation leap to blame for that. It’s reminiscent of other PlayStation IPs—like The Last of Us—that seem to always have a remastered or remade version of their games looming on the horizon.

However, the results have shown that Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered was a more-than-worthwhile endeavor. The graphical upscale is a sight to behold, but more importantly, the game now features updated textures, environmental details, and character animations, all of which bring it into lockstep with the quality seen in Forbidden West. It’s honestly startling what a difference it makes in the moment-to-moment gameplay, and for players who already own Horizon Zero Dawn, upgrading to the remastered version only costs $10.

Players who are just jumping into Aloy’s journey for the first time may be unfamiliar with some of the game’s mechanics, such as overriding machines and finding mounts. There are three different machines Aloy can use as a mount in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, but only after she acquires the PSI Overrides. Thankfully, these override codes are unmissable, as players will find them automatically while playing the main story. At the climax of the main quest “The Womb of the Mountain,” Aloy will encounter her first Corruptor. These machines do not resemble animals or dinosaurs, unlike the more common machines in the world, and they are some of the deadliest enemies players will have to face. Once Aloy defeats this Corruptor, players will be prompted to search its carcass, where they will find the PSI Overrides. After this point, they can override any of the mountable machines in the game. These mounts are not all equal though. Some mounts are more durable than others, although overriding them is also a more difficult task.

3 Strider

One Of The Weaker Machines In The Game, But They Can Still Be Dangerous When Cornered

The Strider is the weakest of the three mounts available in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, although the differences between the three are mostly minor. The Strider often travels alongside Watchers for protection, and a herd is more likely to flee from hunters than fight back. However, when provoked, Striders can execute a few dangerous attacks that will knock Aloy down. Many of these attacks can also be performed when Aoly has overridden and mounted a Strider.

Striders can be found all over the map, from The Gatelands all the way West to The Rustwash. There are a few Strider sites located in the Sun Stepps, as well as in the northern parts of The Jewel. For whatever reason, Striders avoid Valleymeet, but they will reappear to the east of Mother’s Heart. There are Strider sites littering the regions from the Red Drifts through The Sacred Lands and down South to The Embrace. However, they do not frequent Plainsong or The Longroam, nor do they appear in The Frozen Wilds DLC areas The Cut and Ban-Ur.

When attempting to override a Strider, it’s best to approach from stealth to avoid alerting the herd. Aloy can’t keep up with a fleeing Strider without a mount of her own, and at that point, there’s little reason for players to pursue overriding a Strider anyway, since their mount will be at least as good as a Strider, if not better.

2 Broadhead

Just As Skittish As Striders, But More Aggressive When Defending Themselves

Broadheads are more durable than Striders, and although they share the same chassis, Broadheads sport a pair of large horns on the sides of their heads, making them more reminiscent of cows than the horse-like appearance of Striders. Broadheads also upgrade their protective cohort, trading out Watchers for more deadly Ravagers. While some herds will travel without protection, they are just as likely as Striders to cut and run when they sense danger.

Broadheads are far more dangerous than Striders when they fight back, but despite that, they aren’t much different in terms of their available mounted attacks. The Broadhead’s Charge attack is more damaging than the Strider’s—with that damage increasing based on how fast the Broadhead is moving at the time of impact—but otherwise, their movesets are virtually identical. It’s worth noting that the Broadhead’s Hind Leg Strike, while doing the same damage as the Strider’s version of the attack, is capable of knocking a small enemy over.

Broadheads can be found all across the middle of the map in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, from the East to the West. They are all over The Rustwatch, The Gatelands, and The Sun Stepps, but they don’t venture south to The Jewel or north to The Claim. They can also be found in Plainsong, but they again don’t go south to The Sacred Lands, or north to The Longroam. Unlike Striders, Broadheads can also be found in Valleymeet.

When overriding a Broadhead, stealth is also the ideal approach. They can lose interest if Aloy disappears quickly after being spotted, but the Ravagers traveling with them are not so forgetful and are much more difficult to escape from in the first place. This is also a good reason to approach by stealth, as if Aloy has alerted a Ravager while overriding a Broadhead, her mount is liable to be quickly destroyed shortly after it is acquired, leaving players at the mercy of their armor quality as they try to survive the incoming attack.

1 Charger

The Most Assertive Mounts In The Game, And The Hardest To Find

Unlike Broadheads and Striders, Chargers will make players work to acquire them as a mount. They are far more aggressive than the other two mounts in the game, and if Aloy is spotted by a herd, they are likely to attack her outright. Their appearance takes after Big Horn Sheep or Mountain Goats, given their large, curved horns and choice of environment. On top of this, Chargers surround themselves with an array of protective machines depending on which region they inhabit. Watchers, Longlegs, and Sawtooths can all be found grazing alongside a herd of Chargers, and they can make getting spotted a dangerous situation for even the most prepared players.

Despite Aloy unlocking the ability to override Chargers with the same PSI Overrides as the game’s other mounts, Chargers are only found in later-game areas and The Frozen Wilds DLC regions of The Cut and Ban-Ur, so it will be especially challenging for players to acquire one as a mount during the early stages of the campaign. Chargers have the most damaging Charge attack out of the game’s mounts (no surprise there given their name), but they also have the most powerful Pivot Kick; not so much in raw damage, but because the attack’s entire damage output is condensed into a single kick, rather than spread across multiple kicks like the Strider and Broadhead equivalents. They also have almost twice as much health as Broadheads, making them by far the most durable mounts in the game.

Charger sites are far more remote than those of Striders and Broadheads. They can be found in the mountainous regions of The Claim, but become scarce as soon as players move far enough south to reach The Sun Stepps or The Rustwatch. Similarly, Chargers can be found in the snowy passes of The Longroam, and north into The Cut and Ban-Ur, but will vanish if players wander south into Plainsong. The only exception here is that Chargers are also plentiful in the jungle-covered region of The Jewel, seemingly bucking their trend of frequenting colder, more rugged environments. However, if players venture north to The Gatelands, the Chargers will not follow (unless Aloy has overridden one, of course).

Just like the game’s other mounts, overriding a Charger is most easily done by approaching from stealth. In this case, a Charger herd’s companion machines aren’t always the main threat when Aloy gets spotted; often, it’s the Chargers themselves. These machines are very aggressive, and their large health pool and devastating Charge attack can make fighting just one of them a challenge for Aloy, let alone an entire herd accompanied by a few Sawtooths. However, the nice thing is, if Aloy can override a Charger before she is spotted, these machines are tough enough (and fast enough) that players can reliably escape, even if other nearby machines have spotted them.