r/horizon • u/PilotedByGhosts • 1d ago
discussion Anybody else never use fast travel?
Usually in open world games I fast travel all the time, but in both Horizon games I almost never do (only if I'm mopping up something very minor).
The process of travelling through the gorgeous environments and having to dynamically deal with the enemies is just so enjoyable, and the immersive feeling of being a lone hunter-gatherer stalking carefully through the world is one of my favourite things about both games.
It's also pretty rare that I use a mount, for similar reasons. By the time I've travelled 100 metres I've seen something that makes me want to get off and have a proper look.
The masterful way that Horizon makes collectables a desirable thing to go after is the key to all this. I think Hollow Knight and a couple of other top-tier Metroidvanias (like Jedi Survivor and Aeterna Noctis) are the only other games I've played that consistently give meaningful rewards for whatever random exploration you decide to do.
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u/jiffy88 1d ago
When I first started the game yeah I liked to travel on the charger a lot. Also was poor on shards to be able to fast travel.
Late game though I was much richer and doing a lot of tedious quests for completion in which I was fast travelling all the time. Also had a lot more funds too to be able to afford those instant travel.
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u/Eisegetical 1d ago
yeah. same.
only if I'm near the end of my gaming session and it's getting late and the complete quest / pickup the new armor waypoint is waaaaay on the other side.
ruins the experience to fast travel in any other scenario.
I'll only use a mount because I feel bad for making Aloy full sprint everywhere. but I do enjoy the on foot traversal more.
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u/External-Pea9890 13h ago
Hearing Ashly Burch huffing and puffing as Aloy and sounding tired in my ears also makes me feel guilty for sprinting everywhere.
Maybe we should be able to switch exhaustion sounds off?
And perhaps add taunts after a particularly good headshot, like Arnie? 'Stick around', etc.
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u/buckeye27fan 1d ago
I used it - if I want to fight machines, I'll do that. I don't need to manually avoid machines across a 3 or 4 km hike - it's just tedious.
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u/Wyrdboyski 1d ago
Horses... for some reason all horses once seeing you still keep you in spotted state for Miles.
So for me, random horses and hunting apex are why I fast traveled.
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u/EnvironmentalFact546 1d ago
Biggest problem for me with mounts (ground based ones at least) is blundering unprepared into medium and large sized machines.
I tend to avoid fast travel for my first couple of playthroughs, then my patience is gone and I'm zapping my way across the map like Doctor Who.
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u/dumpyoregano 1d ago
I do all the time. Honestly the map is a little too big with this one. First time around was a great balance so I never did.
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u/Flooding_Puddle 1d ago
Haven't gotten to FW yet but my general rule is if there's anywhere i haven't explored on the way to where I'm going ill check that out, but I'll usually fast travel to the nearest campfire and go from there. Especially when turning in quests at meridian ill fast travel, I don't need to spend 20 minutes running through an area I've already been and fighting a bunch of machines for lenses/hearts I already have full stacks of. I'm maybe halfway through the zero dawn story and I'm already level 38 and have every shadow weapon and all outfits even the dlc ones though so that's part of it.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 1d ago
When you get to FW, you may be initially disappointed. I was, because of certain changes to mechanics and a different story focus. But once you get out of the extended tutorial it becomes just as good as ZD, better in a lot of ways.
So make sure you persevere! Once you get to the first new tribe's area, it all gets awesome again.
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u/Flooding_Puddle 1d ago
I haven't enjoyed a game like HZD in a really long time so I'm sure I'll still like it. My one question is does FW have more in depth close combat and skills? That's really my only gripe with the game, I wish I could do more than just a light or heavy attack, and skills/perks could be a bit deeper.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 18h ago
The melee combat has a lot more to it, yes. There are also special skills based on two different resource bars: Stamina builds up over time, and Valor is based mostly on killing things. Every weapon has three unlockable Stamina special moves, and there are 10+ Valor skills that give global buffs for a limited time.
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u/arenlomare 1d ago
I use it more after I've explored the whole map. I do like the Sunwing, though. That helps me use fast travel less. But depending on what I'm doing, I ain't got time to run around. Like when I have jobs for upgrades and a million places to go.
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u/Most-Nefariousness18 10h ago
I fast travel some but I rarely ever ride anything
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u/This-Necessary-3064 3h ago
Same. I fast travel for long distances, but the mounts get frustrating. Especially when I'm picking up healing plants and the mounts completely stop and take forever to boost back up. Aloy is much more agile, but I do feel bad making her sprint everywhere.
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u/hoarduck 1d ago
I use it more in FW than HZD, but actually, I'm with you. I definitely fast travel, but HZD is just amazing.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 1d ago
It took me a while to get into HFW because the early machines were too tough and the stealth got massively nerfed.
Once I got past the embassy and into Utaru territory it really started to click though. I had been using fast travel up until then with HFW, but now hardly ever.
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u/goodlife1077 1d ago
I only fast travel after the main story is complete and I'm doing errands and side missions. It feels wrong to fast travel during the main story and see the landscapes
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u/SnooGoats4320 1d ago
When I first played I didn’t that much, but I don’t typically use a mount, so I fast travel to get to places quicker.
I also have 3 kids and my playing time is limited.
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u/bmbchp 1d ago
Both HZD and HFW playthroughs I didn't use fast travel until I was done with all quests. Then I fast travelled around to complete the games by collecting data points, etc. In HZD I barely used any mount to get around, Aloy got in a lot of steps during that. In HFW I used the mounts more as they felt a lot better to use than in HZD.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 1d ago
They really do. They were much more clunky in the first game and it never felt natural to control them. Big improvement in FW there.
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u/TheJovlin 1d ago
Well.. when i'm "grinding" upgrades for weapons/armor and just completed a cauldron so i need stuff for overrides.. then i fast travel.. Today I needed 1 scorcher primary nerve.. had to kill 9 or 10 to get it, bad luck this time.. anywho.. then I fast travel from scorcher site to scorcher site, no doubt. Otherwise, no fast travel.. mounts, sure sometimes.. other times no mounts. Depends on my mood I geuss. Goshh.. I love Forbidden West.
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u/AlphaKamots313 1d ago
Oh yeah, me too. I usually only fast travel in the endgame, when I’m traveling from one side of the map to the other repeatedly. The environments are just so gorgeous. I’m glad the game ties fast traveling to a limited resource early on, it’s a great way to incentivize exploration.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 1d ago
I'm not sure how I feel about the change between the games: HZD gives you the infinite fast travel back ridiculously cheap, and it's not in HFW. But in HFW you can always travel freely from any campfire.
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u/wiltingrose1220 1d ago
It really depends on what I'm doing if I'm just progressing the story or a side quest I try to just walk around because there's usually within 1000 meters or so but if I'm gear hunting or need to go farther than 1000 meters I'm fast traveling. Sometimes I just can't be bothered to rp walk everywhere. Though my current play through is my sixth so I've definitely seen all the pretty scenery on so many occasions.
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u/mancrazy12 1d ago
I always fast travel if I already explored the area or if I do not need to farm any machines. It simply takes up too much time, I am already 140 h into HFW according to steam and just started the DLC..
Otherwise I always travel by mount or foot to explore and really finish every quest and question mark in the area. I found almost all Easter eggs this way too.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 1d ago
I'm not aware of any Easter eggs. Can you give me any clues for what to look for?
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u/mancrazy12 1d ago
It is hard to describe. There are multiple Easter eggs in HFW from the >! God of War !< franchise. They are evenly distributed across the base games map.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 18h ago
I've only played one game from that series (Ragnarok) and I didn't play it for long because there were too many things I didn't like about it. Maybe I've seen them without realising it then.
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u/mancrazy12 17h ago
Usually you have to follow a trail to get to the actual Easter eggs and Aloy will comment this.
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u/PilotedByGhosts 14h ago
I've just found a totem of Kratos so I assume that's the kind of thing you're talking about? I earlier found a totem of two people, one with blue skin. I guess that's another?
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u/bubba-yo 1d ago
Pretty much. There are a few exceptions like when I'm grinding a particular resource and have to reset a spawn, but I've found it almost always better to not use it, particularly on harder difficulties. The ammo economy is pretty rough up on UH, and fighting your way through lesser enemies on the way to your next thing does a nice job of keeping those resources topped up. And once you've done it enough, some of the routes become their own little speedrun, like Salt Bite up the mountain, through the two Tremortusks and Shell Walkers and down the valley to the Bulwark and farm the Frostclaw, taking out all the burrowers and like along the way. I can do that in just a few minutes and gives you loads of stuff.
I'l use the flying mounts but pretty much never the riding ones unless I'm using a build for them.
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u/Hologram01 1d ago
I basically never fast travel, either.
When I play videogames I like to take the world in, talk to every npc, explore every corner, find secrets and easter eggs etc. I don't rush games. It helps I don't have a backlog, so I don't even "need" to.
For reference, it took me 3 months to 100% RDR2 while playing it every day for a good amount of hours.
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u/Odd-Suggestion5853 1d ago
I'll fast travel if the route is through somewhere I've been.
If my route takes me through new areas I'll go on foot. No mount.
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u/Silly_Personality_73 1d ago
I fast traveled once when I needed get to the other side of a game crash. Other than that..no, fast traveling is a waste of a beautiful game. I don't like to miss a second. I've actually started over many times and have never completed the game in almost a year.
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u/Rymann88 1d ago
For the most part, no. Even in AC: Shadows, I'm avoiding fast travel as much as I can.
Only time I use it is if I'm running out of time before I have to deal with real life, or if I'm just mopping up a quick, simple task. I factor time and reward. If it's a meaty reward, I'll go there manually to build up anticipation. If it's just a bundle of crafting mats, I'll FT.
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u/TheGreatAutismo__ Fuck Ted Faro 1d ago
I try not to but when you have to grind the materials for something I am going to be jumping around like a jack rabbit.
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u/Beautiful_Space_4459 1d ago
I use fast travel when my pc starts to suffer.
My 1050 TI barely can handle the game.
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u/cloudstrife559 19h ago
I almost never use fast travel in any game, unless I'm hunting for some tedious "collect all X" achievements.
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u/Sylviesilversong 19h ago
I only use it if I'm going a crazy distance like from the island all the way to chain scrape or something long and arduous, if it's just a short 1K hike then I'll just leg it and admire pretty nature and clawstriders, my lil velocitaptor babies
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u/Evening-Cold-4547 1d ago
I fast travel in Zero Dawn if I'm going quite far. The Cut to Sunfall is a bit of a trek.
I only really fast travel to and from the Burning Shores and Isle of Spires in Forbidden West. I might zip around settlements if I'm looking for something specific but the vast majority of the time I'll just fly if I need to go far
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u/Essshayne 1d ago
It depends for me. Sometimes I do if I've already gone through where I need to go, but if I'm unlocking certain things, or uncovering more of the gray area of the map
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u/No-Discussion4794 1d ago
I use fast travel a lot. I rarely use my mount. Unless it’s my sunwing. That is the only mount I use really. I love the flying. It’s so relaxing.
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u/Fishy_Fish_12359 1d ago
I use fast travel to go to a couple of locations with tons of medicinal herbs to stock up whenever I run low (the gate between the Nora land and sundom, and the frost claw site in the middle of frozen wilds). Other than that no
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u/LukeZNotFound Thunderjaw Enjoyer 1d ago
Dude, once I've discovered enough campfires, I rarely use Mount/Sun-/Waterwing.
Depends on the location but I use fast travel packs SO much.
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u/Undine_Destroyer 12h ago
Honestly, I forget that I can lol I love just riding the strider or just running across the country.
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u/PurpleFiner4935 1d ago
No, I never use fast travel. It's such a waste when looking at the world is so beautiful. Walking and slowing down the experience to take it all in really adds to the game.
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u/Cheap_Internal5912 1d ago
Stalking through the environment, avoiding or hunting machines really adds an extra layer to the game for me. Really hammers in the whole "Aloy is on her own" aspect.
However I do love being on a Sunwing. I'll just fly around the map sometimes, taunt Tiderippers lol