Each of the weapons found in Horizon Forbidden West are unique, and form a part of a fun system where players can assemble many different combinations, but there is still room for improvement. Ultimately, there is a limit on how much freedom players have with the weapon system and these restrictions could be loosened up just enough with one simple change. Adding another layer of customization would add a new wrinkle of gameplay to combat, and improve the weapon system overall.
The combat in Horizon Forbidden West is like an advanced version of the rock-paper-scissors system seen in many games. Each machine has certain weaknesses that can be exploited if the player attacks the right locations with the proper elements. Because of just how many different kinds of new machines there are in Horizon Forbidden West, it's advantageous to the player to put together a weapon set that covers as many types of elemental damage as possible, if for no reason other than to avoid having to constantly go through the menus to change weapons. It's a fine system and it mostly works.
In Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy can actively hold up to six weapons at a time, with each having up to three different types of ammo. That makes for a lot of combinations of weapons throughout the game as many of them are designed around a specific mechanic or type of use. For example, a sharpshot bow may carry bonuses to stealth attacks and a hunter bow may have the ability to fire a quick succession of arrows in order to rapidly inflict various elemental conditions. For green, blue, and even some of the earlier purple weapons, there isn't really a need for change as the weapons are lower level and have very specific uses. But for the later purple and legendary weapons in Horizon Forbidden West that players will be using in the endgame, one change would go a long way in improving the weapon system.
Horizon Forbidden West's Weapons Could Be Customized
As players complete various side quests and progress into the later stages of Horizon Forbidden West, they begin to find weapons that now feature three different types of ammo. This third ammunition type helps players round out their arsenal and isn't necessarily tied to the core function of the weapon. For example, the wildfire bow has both basic and advanced fire arrows, but also gains access to acid arrows through upgrading. Unlike the inherent bonuses of the weapon, though, the acid arrows don't really have any reason to be tied to that bow specifically.
This aspect of the late-game weapons in Horizon Forbidden West could easily be improved by simply leaving the third ammo slot up to player choice. If a player already has a weapon that does acid damage but doesn't have a weapon that deals shock damage, they should be able to swap those acid arrows on the wildfire bow with shock arrows instead. The wildfire bow would still remain true to its design and purpose, but the player would also be granted a bit more freedom with the weapon itself. This change would allow players to more easily cover all types of damage without having to constantly swap weapons or even readjust the entire set just to be able to gain access to one specific type of elemental damage.
While this system doesn't take away from how great Horizon Forbidden West is, it is an area that Guerrilla Games could improve on moving forward. Horizon Forbidden West DLC would present a great opportunity to introduce this kind of mechanic, much like how The Frozen Wilds introduced Spear modifications to Horizon Zero Dawn, and it's something that should be in the series' next game. There are a ton of interesting and fun weapons to mess around with in Horizon Forbidden West, but it would make the system much better if it granted players the ability to tweak some of their weapons.