The room these elements weave together ultimately makes the exploration expression of the game stand out. “ One of the first things we said when we started development was that we wanted to focus more on variety show and density, ” Mathijs de Jonge, director of Horizon Forbidden West, told Polygon .
swim is a key function of this : It ’ randomness beautiful, and best of all, it ’ s absolutely seamless. Outside of games specifically dedicated to liquid, I ’ ve typically experience bodies of water as gating mechanisms. When I can swim, it ’ s much with a limited survival cake — or it might be on the back of a animal, like in Pokémon Legends : Arceus. In Forbidden West, there ’ s no running about lakes to avoid falling in, or tiptoeing about waterfalls. I leap the fuck in. There are brimming ecosystems in there, crumbling american landmarks, and tons of collectibles .
Though Aloy is initially limited by holding her breath, there ’ s fortunately a Diving Mask tool that allows her to breathe infinitely. true, swimming can feel gauche before finding this instrument, as quests make Aloy navigate labyrinthine submerged passages. Stick it out and get that Diving Mask, and swimming becomes truly liberating and exciting. It turns the game into one of my all-time favorites for exploration.
once you have unlocked your base, and have spoken with GAIA, I would highly recommend getting that Diving Mask arsenic soon as possible. here ’ s how you can .
[ Ed. note: spoilers follow for sealed Horizon Forbidden West fib quests. ]
How to craft the Diving Mask for infinite underwater breathing
In order to craft the Diving Mask, you will need to have exited The Daunt, unlocked your base, and uploaded the GAIA kernel. Crafting the Diving Mask is an early part of The Poseidon subordinate officiate quest argumentation called “ Sea of Sands. ” When GAIA tells you to choose which of the three subordinate functions you ’ d like to pursue — Aether, Poseidon, or Demeter — choice Poseidon, and head to Las Vegas .
When you arrive, the function will show a big, chicken, circular area. You are looking for a build that appears to be a pagoda, but has body of water spilling out of it. You will know it ’ randomness correct as Aloy will call it a “ Tower of Tears ” when she sees it. The easiest way to locate it is to head to a senior high school point, and search for the build up .
To get at heart, there is a grapnel compass point on the edge of the first floor, close to where the water is pouring out. You ’ ll meet three NPCs who have been attempting to dive into the recently flooded build. Speak to Morlund, and he will give you the quest to craft the Diving Mask .
In club to craft the Diving Mask, you will need three items :
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- Compressed Air Capsule
- Machine Knee Cap
- Synthetic Membrane
The compressed Air Capsule is inside the deluge elevator shot that the three NPCs had been diving in. Dive in, swim down, and harvest the compressed Air Capsule from a stick out gore on the wall .
To obtain the other items, activate the hound objective assign of the quest lineage, and follow the cues to activate Aloy ’ south concenter. The focus will reveal tracks that lead Aloy to a Bellowback and Leaplasher web site. Bellowbacks will have Synthetic Membranes ; Leaplashers will have Machine Knee Caps. You may need to kill several to obtain the items .
Afterwards, question back to the pagoda, talk with Morlund, and craft the Diving Mask at the workbench inside the build. You ’ ll now have it permanently, and it will activate immediately when you jump into the water — no motivation to equip it .
What makes swimming underwater so special
As in real life sentence, exploring subaqueous in Forbidden West feels expansive and spare — in larger bodies of water, like the lake ( likely based on Lake Mead ) which players can first run into in The Daunt. At that point, you won ’ metric ton have infinite submerged breathing. But once you unlock the Diving Mask, the options expand beautifully — allowing players to free swim the entirety of the large lake, swimming by schools of fish, and exploring the many secrets that lie in its depths. This is just one of many many hidden nooks that will become available once you have the Diving Mask .
This feel of subaqueous exemption is largely by design. The developers chose not to make fight submerged an choice, rather giving players stealth options in the imprint of improbable kelp. “ I guess it ’ second quite alike as on-ground movement ; the mechanic itself needs to be responsive and you need to feel that you ’ re in control, ” de Jonge said. “ future to that, the surroundings matter, and the musician needs options to avoid subaqueous combat with machines. We didn ’ thymine even attempt to develop that as actor movement is barely excessively limited under water and machines are large, flying, and deadly. ”
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[ Warning : the following contains spoilers for late-game locations and machine types in Horizon Forbidden West. ]
Some of the game ’ s most cinematic moments happen when Aloy is submerged. You see some of Las Vegas ’ s most celebrated hotels, imagined in a post-post-apocalyptic future that involves light shows and holographics. This is where Aloy first encounters one of the game ’ s most deadly, intimidating enemies, the Tideripper, a Loch Ness Monster-inspired machine. It ’ south besides where players get to see how charm Burrowers are when they swim. The frustratingly bouncy entry-level enemies become otter-like submerged, chittering and winding around .
Exploring subaqueous San Francisco, in the final examination stretches of the main bay, besides feel like a endowment. It ’ second haunting, seeing parts of the familiar city submerged — particularly as it ’ s a city I ’ ve lived in. The post-apocalypse collision home as I swam around the Ferry Building in its oceanic grave. These are just a few of my favorite memories from my time in Forbidden West ’ s incredible submerged environments. My Diving Mask and I will be making many more .

I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.