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Over the course ofHorizon’s eight-year-long history, numerous tribes and significant individuals within them have been encountered as rogue artificial intelligences and warmongering groups threaten the post-apocalyptic world. Throughout Aloy’s journey, seven tribes have been interacted with so far, including the isolationist Nora, the monarchal Carja, the forging Oseram, the shamanistic Banuk, the battle-hardened Tenakth, the choral Utaru, and the seafaring Quen. All of these tribes end up helping Aloy in her quest to save the world in some way, despite some initial hesitation or distrust towards the confidant Nora huntress. However, a select few members from each tribe have aided Aloy in significant, varied ways over the course of theHorizonseries.
Horizonmay be an action role-playing game, but it doesn’t feature an intricate, omnipresent companion system similar to other contemporary RPGs such asBaldur’s Gate,Fallout,Persona, orThe Elder Scrolls. Instead, allies will join Aloy in select quests, helping theElisabet Sobeckclone solving puzzles, mysteries, and aiding in combat at their own discretion. Aloy cannot direct the actions of any ally, but she can influence some of their reactions to certain events and determine whether they’ll appear in certain large events, such as the Battle of the Alight. What many allies lack in combat abilities, they make up for with their complex stories, with each being able to be tiered by their character arcs, influence, and impact on Aloy and the overallHorizonnarrative.
This list does not include allies to the protagonist Ryas of thevirtual reality spin-off gameHorizon Call of the Mountain.
S-Tier Horizon Allies
Some of Aloy’s best allies are those closest to her. At first, this was just her fatherly guardian and fellow Nora outcast Rost, as he raised her from birth, trained her, and defended her from the Eclipse cult leader Helis during the Proving tournament. Rost’s teachings and strength would go on to inspire Aloy to continue to fight even when it seemed like the odds were against her and help others, such as fellow Elisabet Sobeck clone Beta. After Rost, Aloy’s closest allies are fellow Nora Varl and the OseramErend. Both are Aloy’s oldest and most loyal friends, with the two helping her multiple times in the battles against HADES and the Eclipse as well as Regalla’s Rebels and the Far Zenith.
Not all of Aloy’s best allies are overwhelmingly selfless or friendly towards her, such as the case with Sylens. At first often dismissive of Aloy’s drive to help people, Sylens would use Aloy’s genetics and combat skills to thwart HADES, the Eclipse, and the Far Zenith. While Aloy was often angry about being used and tricked by Sylens, she likely wouldn’t have been able to defeat HADES, the Eclipse, and the Far Zenith without his technological prowess and knowledge of the old world. Similarly, the Tenakth Marshal Kotallo was initially apprehensive towards Aloy since she was a Forbidden West outsider and his status among the Tenakth was diminished following the loss of his arm. However,Kotalloeventually began to respect Aloy’s craftiness and skill, going on to become one of her closest allies in the battles against Regalla’s Rebels and the Far Zenith.
A-Tier Horizon Allies
There are several allies Aloy makes throughout her journey inZero DawnandForbidden Westthat help her a great deal but aren’t as close to her or vital to events as others. This includes characters such as the Carja Vanasha and Uthid, who both play vital roles in taking down the hostile Shadow Carja and Eclipse factions as well as defeating HADES but played little to no role in the events ofForbidden West. Without Vanasha and Uthid’s help, however, the Shadow Carja and the Eclipse may have been successful in usurpingSun-King Avadand taking control of Meridian, subsequently causing more trouble for other tribes.
Similarly, Gildun and Seyka both become close friends to Aloy in the Frozen Wilds and Burning Shores DLCs, but have yet to make impactful contributions toHorizon’s main story. These two may become major characters akin to Erend orZo inHorizon 3, but that remains to be seen. Other characters Aloy encounters do become vital allies in helping overthrow villainous factions or unveiling shocking revelations, but remain hostile to her and other tribes. Such was the case for the Tenakth Rebel leader Regalla and the Far Zenith Tilda, who both greatly helped Aloy at times, but only for the benefit of their own selfish goals, including gaining a good death after her army’s defeat and kidnapping Aloy to abandon Earth.
B-Tier Horizon Allies
Several allies Aloy encounters are strong or highly influential characters in their own right but only help Aloy in smaller events or have little impact on Aloy’s overall journey. One example of this type of character is the former Carja soldier Nil, who often helps Aloy wipe out bandit camps but is unmotivated by her selfless goal of saving all tribes from rogue machines. Instead, Nil simply wants to kill Eclipse soldiers and joins Aloy at the Battle of Alight only to do so. While Nil returns inForbidden Westas a Tenakth Gauntlet Run racer, he doesn’t help Aloy too much and adds little totheHorizonstory.
Multiple allies Aloy makes during her journey are leaders of several tribes, such as theCarjaSun-King Avad and the Banuk Chieftain Aratak. While these leaders’ help is vital in several battles against machines and navigating complex politics within their respective tribes, they rarely aid Aloy directly in battle. However, Aloy likely wouldn’t have been able to defeat HADES and the Eclipse without Avad and the Carja’s help, and she wouldn’t have been able to save the AI CYAN and stabilize the Yellowstone Caldera without Aratak and his sister Ourea’s help. Similarly, Blameless Marad is a significant political ally to Aloy as the Carja Spymaster and advisor to Avad, but he doesn’t help in battle physically.
C-Tier Horizon Allies
A few of Aloy’s allies rarely appear in the games or only help in select, specific, non-wide reaching ways. This is best exemplified by the Nora stitcher Teb. While he did help inspire Aloy’s method of climbing as a child and can help craft outfits for her, Teb isn’t much of a warrior and doesn’t help much in battle, though he does help a bit in the Battle of the Alight. Despite not appearing inForbidden West, Teb does play a more significantrole inLEGO Horizon Adventuresby running a tailor shop in Mother’s Heart, allowing players to customize Aloy, Varl, Teersa, and Erend in outfits from various LEGO toy lines.
Prince Itamen and Dowager Queen Nasadi play significant roles inHorizon’s lore as the youngest son and widow to the Mad Sun-King as well as the half-brother and step-mother to Avad, but they don’t help Aloy too much directly. Aloy’s rescue of the two does help put her in a more favorable light to Avad and the Carja, but they don’t contribute much to battles or Aloy’s character growth. In contrast, Vala, the daughter of Nora War-Chief Sona and younger sister to Varl, is significant to Aloy as one of the fewNorato initially welcome her during the Proving. However, Vala’s story inZero Dawnwas cut short as she was immediately killed after the Proving tournament was attacked by the Eclipse.
Horizon Forbidden West
WHERE TO PLAY
Join Aloy as she braves a majestic but dangerous new frontier that holds mysterious new threats. This Complete Edition allows you to enjoy the critically acclaimed Horizon Forbidden West on PC in its entirety with bonus content, including the Burning Shores story expansion that picks up after the main game.Explore distant lands, fight bigger and more awe-inspiring machines, and encounter astonishing new tribes as you return to the far-future, post-apocalyptic world of Horizon.The land is dying. Vicious storms and an unstoppable blight ravage the scattered remnants of humanity while fearsome new machines prowl their borders, and life on Earth is hurtling toward another extinction.It’s up to Aloy to uncover the secrets behind these threats and restore order and balance to the world. Along the way, she must reunite with old friends, forge alliances with warring new factions and unravel the legacy of the ancient past.
