To start New Game Plus in Horizon Forbidden West, you must first complete the main story campaign. After the credits roll, you’ll find the option to begin a New Game Plus playthrough from the main menu.
So, you’ve conquered the West and want to experience it all again? Perhaps with all your hard-earned gear and skills? Many players are curious about how to start new game plus horizon forbidden west, and it’s a great way to revisit Aloy’s journey. This replay feature lets you keep your progression while tackling the game with a fresh perspective.
This time around, you can utilize previously inaccessible weapons and armor right from the beginning. It allows for more freedom in your approach to combat and exploration. So, get ready for another adventure through the Forbidden West!
How to Start New Game Plus Horizon Forbidden West
So, you’ve conquered the Forbidden West, faced down Regalla, and maybe even saved the world (again!). Congratulations! But what if you’re itching to dive back in with all your hard-earned skills and gear? That’s where New Game Plus (NG+) comes in. It lets you play through the story again, but this time with a significant boost. This guide will walk you through exactly how to start New Game Plus in Horizon Forbidden West and what you can expect.
What is New Game Plus?
Think of New Game Plus as a victory lap, but with added challenges and rewards. When you start a new game plus in Horizon Forbidden West, you get to keep your character level, skills, weapons, outfits, and resources that you collected in your first playthrough. This gives you a major edge at the beginning, making early battles much easier. However, it doesn’t mean the game becomes a cakewalk. The enemies also get a boost, so you’ll still need to be smart and strategic.
Prerequisites for Starting NG+
Before you can jump into NG+, you need to complete the main story of Horizon Forbidden West. This means finishing all the main quests, including the final mission, “Singularity.” Once the credits roll, and you’ve seen the ending, you’re ready to start your NG+ adventure. Make sure you’ve done everything you wanted to do in the regular game, because once you start NG+, you will lose access to the game as it was played before.
Saving Before Starting New Game Plus
It is very, very important to create a manual save file after finishing the game and before starting NG+. This lets you return to your first playthrough later if you want to explore the world further or want to get the trophies that are missed in first playthrough. Your progress from your first playthrough will not be lost if you create a manual save before starting New Game Plus.
Starting Your New Game Plus Journey
Okay, you’ve finished the main story and made a manual save. Now, let’s get to the fun part. Here are the steps to actually start New Game Plus:
- Load Your Completed Save: From the main menu of Horizon Forbidden West, select “Load Game.” Choose the save file where you completed the main story. This is the save from which your NG+ will begin.
- Select New Game Plus: After loading the game, you’ll be in the game world as if you had just finished the main quest. However, open the main menu by pressing the options button, and you’ll see a new option that was not there previously, this option is called “New Game Plus”. Select this option.
- Choose Your Difficulty: Before starting, you’ll be prompted to choose your difficulty setting. You can select the same difficulty as your first playthrough or change it. If you want more of a challenge in your second playthrough, you can increase the difficulty. Remember, the enemies also got tougher in New Game Plus.
- Start Your Adventure: After confirming your difficulty, the game will load a new game, restarting the story from the beginning. However, this time you’ll have Aloy and her progression from your save. This means you will start with all the gear, skills and character level from your save.
What Carries Over to New Game Plus?
One of the best parts about New Game Plus is that you get to keep most of your hard-earned stuff. Here’s a detailed list of what carries over and what does not:
What Carries Over
- Character Level: All your experience points and levels are carried over. You’ll keep all the attribute points.
- Skills: All the skills you have unlocked from the skill tree are carried over. This means you will start the game with all the perks and abilities you earned.
- Weapons: Every weapon you collected in your first game, including legendaries and upgraded items, will come to NG+.
- Outfits: Every outfit you own, including the special ones, will be available in the New Game Plus.
- Resources: The resources, shards, and machine parts you collected will come with you in NG+ . You’ll have a healthy stock of materials from the very start.
- Valor Surges: All the valor surges you have unlocked in your first playthrough are carried over to NG+.
- Face Paints: All the face paints you collected are carried over to NG+.
- Machine Overrides: The machine overrides you learned in the first playthrough are carried over.
- Collectible items: Some of the collectible items like survey drones, black boxes, and relic ruins you have collected in first playthrough are carried over.
What Doesn’t Carry Over
- Story Progress: You’ll start the story from the very beginning. All your main story quests and side quests are reset.
- Map Data: The map will start as unexplored again, even if you have completely revealed the map previously.
- Data Points: Although some collectible items are carried over, data points will not be.
- Key Items: Key items for the story and main quest are not carried over.
New Things in New Game Plus
While carrying over your character progress and weapons is great, New Game Plus also offers some new things that makes it more exciting:
New Weapons and Armor
One of the most exciting new features in New Game Plus is the ability to earn new weapons and armor. These items are more powerful than the ones available in your first playthrough. These include special weapons and outfits, with special modifications. They are available at the vendors that you usually find around the world. This means you will have even stronger gear this time for taking down the machine.
New Trophies
Horizon Forbidden West also added new trophies that can only be achieved in the New Game Plus mode. Some of these trophies involve completing specific tasks while in NG+. This provides a new objective for players who love hunting trophies.
Face Paint and Weapon Modification
There are also new face paints, and modification for weapons that can only be obtained by playing the NG+. So this give you more customization options, and you can further improve the power of your weapons with new modification, making you even more powerful.
Increased Difficulty Option
If you thought the highest difficulty in your first playthrough was not enough, in NG+ you have a higher difficulty option for more challenges. This way, the enemies are even more challenging to beat. This option is for those who seek hardcore action, where the enemies are really hard to kill.
Tips and Strategies for Your New Game Plus Playthrough
Now that you know what to expect, here are some tips to make your New Game Plus adventure even better:
Experiment with Weapons and Skills
Since you have access to all your weapons and skills from the start, try experimenting with different combinations. You might discover new playstyles and strategies that you didn’t use before. Try using a different approach to combat encounters. Try different combination of weapons that you have. Try different skills you might have ignored before, there may be a specific skill that suits your playstyle better.
Focus on Upgrading New Gear
As you play through the story in New Game Plus, keep your eyes on the new weapons and armor. Gather the required materials and upgrade them to their maximum potential. Since these gears are more powerful than the gears you had previously, using and upgrading them is very useful in defeating the tough enemies you are going to face.
Tackle Side Quests and Activities
Even though you’re playing the story again, you should do the side quests again. You’ll earn skill points, resources, and unique rewards that can help you along the way. The side quests in NG+ also provide you with a good amount of experience points for leveling up and make sure to upgrade your new gear. You might also find some new hidden area and easter egg in the game.
Increase the Difficulty
If you’re looking for a more intense experience, play on a higher difficulty. This will give the game a new level of challenge, and you will need to be more careful in battles. Enemies will hit harder, and you will need to use all your strategic skills. The harder difficulty will also make the game feel fresh and will enhance your skills.
Explore the World Thoroughly
Don’t just rush through the story. Take your time to explore the world, finding new areas and hidden secrets you might have missed in your first playthrough. This helps you to collect more of resources, and also gives a chance to get stronger. Since you have already completed the story, you can explore different areas and discover different things that were not your focus in first playthrough.
Use Fast Travel
You have already explored the world, so this time around, you should be using fast travel more often. This will allow you to move around the map more quickly and save you time. Since you are already very powerful, focusing on main story would make your journey more quick and fun.
Making the Most of Your New Game Plus Experience
New Game Plus is not just about replaying the story. It’s about experiencing the world in a new way, with different challenges and rewards. It lets you use the power you have earned to the best potential. With all the new gears and modifications, you’ll be able to explore different combat approaches and make use of weapons and skills you might have overlooked before. This allows you to become a true master of the game and lets you fully enjoy what Horizon Forbidden West offers.
Playing in New Game Plus lets you extend your journey and makes the most of the world. It is an option where you can try out different approaches, different playstyle, and challenges to make your game journey more exciting. So, get ready and dive into the Forbidden West once more, this time stronger and more ready than ever.
Horizon Forbidden West💠How To Start New Game Plus
Final Thoughts
To initiate New Game Plus, you must complete the main story. Then, load your finished game save. Select the option for New Game Plus on the main menu. Your progress carries over, granting you access to upgraded gear.
You retain experience and skills. Enemies are stronger in this mode. This adds a greater challenge. This guide details precisely how to start new game plus horizon forbidden west.
