Lessons of the Wild

Learn the essential survival skills in Horizon Zero Dawn's 'Lessons of the Wild' prologue. Master stealth, harvesting, and your first hunt with Rost's guidance.

Alright, so you've got your bow – a bit small for a six-year-old, right? Don't let its size fool you; this is where you start learning how to actually survive out here. Rost's gonna walk you through the basics, and trust me, you'll need 'em.

First up, healing. You'll find this stuff called Medicinal Salvebrush. It's like a magic herb that fixes you right up. Just follow Rost, and when he tells you, press [Triangle] to grab some. This fills up your Medicine Pouch, which is that green bar you see next to your health. To use it, just tap [Up] on the D-pad. Hold it down to use more berries for bigger heals. Don't sweat running out; Salvebrush is everywhere, so just keep your eyes peeled when you're out and about.

Next, stealth. This is HUGE. The game will throw situations at you constantly where being sneaky is your best bet. So, pay attention!

Rost will lead you to some machines, and this is where you learn to crouch. Press [Square] when prompted. Crouching makes you quieter and harder to spot, but for real invisibility, you need to get into that tall red grass. Keep an eye on that Stealth Symbol – the little eye icon – on your compass. It tells you how visible you are. A full eye means you're practically a spotlight, while a closed eye means you're hidden. The more noise you make, the more brackets appear around that eye.

Rost will tell you to stay still while a machine called a Watcher walks by. These guys are basically security cameras for other machines. If they spot you, they'll sound an alarm and call for backup. You'll see a circle fill up yellow when an enemy starts noticing you. If it fills completely, they get suspicious and start looking around. If they spot you again while suspicious, that circle turns red, and they become hostile. There's also a white circle that shows how long they'll keep searching. If you manage to break line of sight after they're red-alerted, they'll go back to yellow suspicion, and eventually, they'll calm down. The Watcher's eye itself is a good indicator: blue means they're clueless, yellow means suspicious, and red means they're onto you.

After a couple of these stealthy grass-hiding drills, Rost will have you follow him across some bridges. He'll introduce you to the Strider, a bigger machine, by scaring it off. This is a good chance to see that detection circle in action again.

Now, Rost wants you to grab some Rocks. You'll find them right after the second bridge. Grab a few – at least three. Then, Rost heads over to a tree and explains the plan: you need to lure a Watcher over to him using those Rocks. He'll hide in some grass, and you'll get a prompt to do your part. Throw a Rock by holding [Down] to aim, then releasing it. Aim for the spot to the west marked by the icon. If you do it right, the Watcher will get suspicious, move towards Rost, and he'll take it down stealthily. Pretty neat, huh?

Once that Watcher is dealt with, follow Rost down some ledges. When prompted, hold [Triangle] on the Watcher's remains to search it. You'll get Metal Shards, which are basically currency and crafting materials for arrows. Yep, you're literally shooting away money! Luckily, they're super common.

After grabbing those Shards, you'll need to find some Ridge-Wood. There are two stalks nearby, to the northwest and north. Harvest them, then hold [L1] to bring up your Weapon Wheel. From there, hold [X] to craft a Hunter Arrow Pack. You'll need Metal Shards and Ridge-Wood for this.