The best Horizon Forbidden West armor will take some assembly to produce, as the parts for it are distributed over a significant distance, but it's definitely worth the effort required to put it together. By completing the extensive scavenger hunt to round up the necessary elements you'll be able to create the best armor in the game, and why wouldn't you want that?! Bear in mind this doesn't have quite the same glowing impressiveness as the ultimate shield armor from the original, but it is a legendary set with the greatest stats. If you are searching for the previous shield or power armor instead, then we can point you in the right direction with our guide to the new Horizon Forbidden West power armor ability.
The Oseram Artificer serves as the best armor in Horizon Forbidden West, and comes with a range of perks to buff your Power Attack, Resonator-related abilities, and Valor Surge. And, while the quest to get it is long, it doesn't involve taking on the arena to earn credits and buy the other sets you can find.
Oseram Artificer
1. Speak to Keruf to the west of Barren Light
First up, you'll want to find Keruf. He's the leader of the Salvage hunters and has challenged his crew to enter a competition to see who can make the best armor. Armor you say? Sounds like a quest that Aloy needs to help with.
With him is Larend, who's the first of the Salvage Hunters and the lowest challenge level, so a particularly good place to start. The duo are found at the map marker above, really near Barren Light where you first enter the Forbidden West after the appearance of Regalla's crew.
After Larend, you'll have to find and help each one with their requests if you want to nab the final creation for yourself. But each one requires a very specific machine part to complete each Salvage contract, so make sure you read each one from the Salvage Contract section of the Datapoints area of your Notebook.
2. Find and complete all the Salvage contracts
Next, you'll need to find the other three Salvage hunters, who are dotted around the Forbidden West. You'll find them at the locations above.
Like Larend, everyone will give you a selection of Salvage contracts to complete, with each requiring a very specific selection of machine parts to complete. Do make sure to check the contract before you start taking down machines as you may need to remove certain parts first. Make sure to scan each target with your focus, and use the 'Tag part' feature to highlight the bit you need to knock off in pink. That should make it easier to dial in on your mechanical target.
3. Return to Keruf for the armor judging
Once you've completed all the Salvage Contracts, head back to where Larund is based, which will be highlighted by the quest itself - Keruf's Salvage Legend.
Here you'll be told that, despite all your help, all of the armor sets the Salvage crew has put together are utter rubbish. But, don't despair yet, because you suggest that maybe combining them all will create quite the armor set.
4. Receive the Oseram armor
And thus, the Oseram Artificer armor is born! This is the best armor in Horizon Zero Dawn. It's a warrior-type armor, which gives buffs to your Power Attack, Resonator-related abilities, and your Valor Surge.
5. Combine with the Overshield Valor Surge
Now, if you want to make it as close to the power armor as you can, you'll want to combine the Oseram Artificer armor with the Overshield Valor Surge found at the bottom of the Survivor section of the skill tree. This will equip you with an, albeit temporary, shield that wraps around Aloy's entire body like a holographic web - not dissimilar to the Zenith's tech.
Fully upgraded, this is such a boon of a Valor Surge to have in a battle against the biggest robo-foes, so well worth the investment.
Other Legendary armor
Although the Oseram Artificer is the best armor in Horizon Forbidden West, there are also three other legendary armor sets that you can acquire. All three are for sale at the Arena vendor, and can be traded for 54 Arena Medals each. Arena Medals can be earned by completing each of the challenges within the required time limit.
Here are the other Legendary armor sets:
Tenakth Vanquisher
The Tenakth Vanquisher is a armor that gives you a lot of buffs and boosts when you're low on health, but otherwise it's pretty poor compared to the others when it comes to baseline protection.
Carja Stalker Elite
Quite like the fact this armor lets Aloy channel her inner bellboy, but regardless of its aesthetics, if you love traps, then this is the armor for you. Ups your trap limit, and the speed at which you can craft and place traps.
Nora Thunder Warrior
Finally, this one takes Aloy back to her roots. It's focused on improving your concentration and stamina regen, so if you're someone who loves to be on the attack, then snap this up faster than a Snapmaw attack.
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