Horizon Forbidden West collectibles guide

By Jesse Lennox February 28, 2022

We didn’t know what to expect when Guerrilla Games, previously known for its work on the FPS Killzone franchise, announced that its next game would be an open-world, third-person action RPG. The fact that it was set in a post-apocalyptic world where robotic dinosaurs faced off against primitive humans wielding bows and spears was enough to get people interested, though, and the resulting game, Horizon Zero Dawn, was a smash hit. There were a few rough edges, but it had just about everything players wanted in a new open-world experience.

The success of that first game almost made it a certainty that a sequel would come around to improve on all those new ideas. Horizon Forbidden West does just that, expanding on basically every aspect and mechanic of the first game to a massive degree. That includes the amount and types of collectibles hidden in this new, forbidden land. Aloy has plenty of new tools to help scour the Forbidden West, but you will still need our guide to know what types of collectibles you’re after, as well as what they do, in Horizon Forbidden West.

All collectible types

Nature reclaims a satellite in Horizon Forbidden West. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Horizon Forbidden West features six different types of collectibles. Among these six, there’s a grand total of 49 individual places and objects you will need to visit in order to check every box on your list, not including things like Points of Interest or scanning all the machine types. Here are the different collectible types:

Relic Ruin Ornaments
Vista Points
Black Boxes
Survey Drones
War Totems
Signal Lenses

Relic Ruin Ornaments

There are a total of nine Relic Ruin Ornaments left by what the game calls the Old Ones. These are obtained by solving ancient environmental puzzles across the map, and completing each puzzle will reward you with some XP and skill points, as well as a unique Ornament that you can use for a special purpose later on in the game.

Vista Points

These will be familiar to players of the original Horizon game, only now there are six of these locations to match up. After getting a signal from a radio tower, you will need to line up a fragmented image of the past with where it lines up in the current time. These don’t give XP, but instead give you some cool details to read in the Collectibles tab of the menu.

Black Boxes

Even in the future, they couldn’t make an entire plane out of the Black Box material. Jokes aside, these little intel boxes somehow survived through the end of the world until you find all 12 of them. Just like in real life, they hold flight data from airplanes, and can be traded in to an NPC named Untalla for special resources, parts, and a unique item we won’t spoil if you find them all.

Survey Drones

These are basically a smaller, airborne version of Tallnecks. These little bots — 10 in total — soar around on a set path you need to track and plot in order to leap onto them. Once brought down to ground level, you can retrieve their data modules that you can use to alter the appearance of GAIA’s room in The Base to represent the area that drone was surveying.

War Totems

War Totems have a very fitting name since you will need to fight in order to collect them. There are only three, and mostly act as Easter eggs, but are well worth fighting for. Unlike every other collectible type, these will not be marked on your map or anywhere else. The only way to find them is by chance, or by following some environmental clues. Again, there are no rewards for finding any or all of the War Totems aside from completion and seeing some cool Easter eggs.

Signal Lenses

The last type of collectible is located in one area of the game: The Daunt. These special lenses are located at the top of old Carja watchtowers, and are also tied to their own quest, though you are still able to collect them even if you haven’t begun the quest itself. There are six lenses in total, and once you turn them all in, you will get some nice crafting materials, plus a trophy.