Difficulty is a game setting in Horizon Zero Dawn that allows the player to tailor their gameplay experience to their skill level and desire for challenge.
Levels
From lowest to highest, the difficulty settings are:
| Story | The Story difficulty setting eases combat, allowing the player to focus on exploration and learn the mechanics and narrative of the game |
| Easy | An accessible difficulty level for those who simply want to explore the world and story |
| Normal | A difficulty level that balances the journey with a challenging combat experience |
| Hard | A more demanding combat experience throughout the journey |
| Very Hard | A tough combat experience for those who really want a challenge |
| Ultra Hard | The toughest combat experience, this mode increases enemy aggression and damage as well as rebalances Aloy's weapons and equipment. Merchant's wares are more expensive |
Detailed Comparison
| Story | Easy | Normal | Hard | Very Hard | Ultra Hard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damage taken | 10% | 50% | 100% | 125% | 150% | 200% |
| Damage dealt | 400% | 150% | 100% | 90% | 80% | 70% |
| Elemental & tear damage | 200% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% |
| Healing herb value | 100% | 100% | 100% | 80% | 60% | 60% |
| Aim assist | optional | off | ||||
The Ultra Hard difficulty also introduces the following changes:
- Enemy health bars are disabled.
- Multiple enemies can attack simultaneously.
- Enemy perception range (both visual and auditory) is greatly increased.
- Machines are harder to knock down using the heavy spear attack.
- Vendor prices are up to five times higher.
- Vendors no longer offer free sample boxes.
- The Machine resources merchant no longer sells hearts. In addition, they only sell 4 types of lenses.