How To Get The Best Hunter Bows

There are some extremely powerful weapons in Horizon Forbidden West, including three Legendary Hunter Bows: the Sun Scourge, the Death-Seeker’s Shadow, and the Tears Of The Land God. Indeed, these three bows are among Horizon Forbidden West’s best weapons, and players should absolutely consider obtaining both of them.

This guide will detail exactly how fans can go about getting their hands on all three bows to unlock Aloy’s full offensive potential. Even for gamers who prefer melee combat, these bows make for an excellent burst of damage at critical moments.

Updated December 3, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Hunter Bows serve as reliable, stable weapons for Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West, making up for their relatively lackluster damage with rapid-fire rate, large quiver size, and strong elemental build-up. The power of Hunter Bows doesn’t lie in the damage they do but in the effects that they can achieve. While getting a headshot with a powerful Sharpshot Bow will deal more damage, Hunter Bows’ faster fire rate ensures Aloy can whip them out and let an arrow loose mid-flight with startling accuracy. A Hunter Bow will always have a spot in Aloy’s weapon wheel, even if only as a backup option when all other weapon types run out of ammo.

Sun-Touched Hunter Bow

Traders In Hunting Grounds

• Critical Hit Damage +15%
• Critical Hit Chance +15%
• Overdraw Damage +25%

For players in the early game, the very first order of business should be to look for a suitable Hunter Bow that can last them until the mid to late game, when Legendary weapons start becoming available. The Sun-Touched Hunter Bow is the best all-around weapon that fulfills this requirement. It offers Hunter Arrows suitable for dealing with weak machines like Burrowers, Advanced Hunter Arrows for everything else, and Fire Hunter Arrows for inflicting the Fire status effect on the target.

When combined with something like the Icestorm Boltblaster (which deals Frost, Plasma, and Shock damage), all major status effects will be covered with just two slots in the weapons wheel, leaving the rest for utility and damage. Additionally, the Sun-Touched Hunter Bow has an inherently higher critical hit chance and critical hit rate than other variants, making it suitable for crit builds.

Players will be able to buy the Sun-Touched Hunter Bow from the weapons traders in Hunting Grounds: Plainsong, Scalding Spear, and Thornmarsh. The Plainsong Hunting Grounds trader will likely be the very first one players encounter.

The Sun-Touched Hunter Bow is an early to mid-game weapon that gets outclassed when entering the late game (after Level 25-30).

Sun Scourge

Clear Five Rebel Camps

• Overdraw Damage +15% / Reload Speed +10%
• Agility Damage +25%
• Instant Brittle Chance +4%
• Reload Speed +25% / Aerial Enemy Damage +15%
• Aerial Enemy Damage +40%

The first step toward obtaining the Sun Scourge Legendary Hunter Bow is clearing all five Rebel Camps on Horizon Forbidden West‘s map. Players will receive a quest called “First Forge” as soon as they complete the last one. This quest will lead fans to Erend and a sixth Rebel Camp, and it ultimately concludes with a fight against Asera.

Upon dispatching this foe, players should simply loot her body to obtain the Sun Scourge, which they can put into action immediately. While there are numerous reasons to equip this weapon, its range of damage types makes it extremely useful in many situations. For players who think the game has too much combat, this bow will shorten up fights as few enemies can put up a fight against the Sun Scourage Legendary Hunter Bow.

Death-Seeker’s Shadow

80 Medals In The Arena

• Overdraw Damage +15%
• Critical Hit Chance +15% / Shocked Enemy Damage +25%
• Knockdown Damage +15%
• Knockdown Damage +40% / Critical Hit Damage +15%
• Critical Hit Damage +40%

Players that want to earn the Death-Seeker’s Shadow Legendary Hunter Bow should set their sights on the Arena, an important location that can be accessed after completing the Kulrut main story mission in Horizon Forbidden West.

Complete challenges in the Arena until obtaining 80 Arena Medals.

With those Medals in hand, players should speak with Dukkah, the Prize Master at the Arena, and purchase the Death-Seeker’s Shadow Legendary Hunting Bow directly from her. Even after unlocking New Game Plus, the Death-Seeker’s Shadow remains a top-tier weapon.

The Emperor’s Reign (Burning Shores DLC)

Trader In Fleet’s End

• Overdraw Damage +15%
• Stealth Damage +25%
• Close Range Damage +25% / Knockdown Damage +15%
• Knockdown Damage +40% / Melee Follow Up +15%
• Melee Follow Up +40%

The Emperor’s Reign is a powerful Legendary Hunter Bow players can get their hands on in the Burning Shores DLC. Alongside other Legendary weapons, it’s sold by the weapons trader in Fleet’s End, the main Quen settlement found on the Burning Shores. The Emperor’s Reign can be purchased straightaway in exchange for 3000 Metal Shards and 8 Brimstone. Brimstone are golden glowing minerals, similar to Bluegeam in the base game, and can only be found by exploring the open-world map of the DLC.

The Emperor’s Reign offers three ammo types:

1. Advanced Hunter Arrows, the highest DPS arrows available in the game, deal an incredibly high amount of tear damage that’s useful for breaking off parts of machines.
2. Berserk Hunter Arrows, which deal no damage but can inflict the target with the Berserk status effect. An enemy affected by Berserk will attack everyone in their immediate proximity, dealing damage to friendlies and enemies alike.
3. Targeting Hunter Arrow, which tags a target upon impact, directing all overridden machines nearby to aim their attacks at it. Useful in certain scenarios.

The Emperor’s Reign’s special effects and perks encourage a close-range, melee/stealth playstyle. It’s best paired with other close-range options like Blastslings for maximum damage.

Tears Of The Land God (New Game Plus)

10 Champion Tokens

• Overdraw Damage +15%
• Long-Range Damage +25%
• Concentration Damage +20% / Draw Speed +25%
• Draw Speed +65% / Component Tear +10%
• Component Tear +25%

As with most of the New Game Plus items of note, players will need 10 Champion Tokens. These are collected by completing quests and side quests automatically during a New Game Plus run.

After acquiring the tokens, head to any standard weapons vendor and find the Tears of the Land God available for purchase. Players who are trying to find and acquire every weapon in the game will want to repeat this process for all of the legendary weapons added in New Game Plus.