Valor Surges are temporary abilities that you can unlock in the game. This page will detail how to unlock and use Valor Surges in Horizon: Forbidden West.
Valor Surges can be powerful abilities that might turn the tide of a battle
Valor Surges are a new mechanic in Horizon: Forbidden West, with them being temporary buffs to Aloy that you can unlock in the various skill trees. In order to unlock them, you will need to have purchased the connecting skills, which you can see by the lines going to the center. Each skill tree will have two Valor Surges available, with the first one requiring at least five Skill Points to unlock it. Upon unlocking the first Valor Surge, it will automatically be equipped to Aloy, but you won’t be able to use it right away (more on this in a little bit).
You will only be able to have one Valor Surge equipped at a time. Once you start unlocking more Valor Surges, go to the one you want to use in the skill tree, then hold down the Square button to equip it. Each Valor Surge also has three levels to it, with the first being unlocked upon first getting the ability. In order to get the second and third levels of them, you will have to spend additional skill points, with level 2 costing three skill points and level 3 requiring five more skill points. This makes the Valor Surges quite expensive to unlock, although they can be very useful.
(1 of 2) Valor Surges are the big nodes on the skill trees
Valor Surges are the big nodes on the skill trees (left), Each one has three levels to it, granting bigger bonuses (right)
How to Use Valor Surges¶
When you unlock one and have it equipped, you will see a purple bar in the lower right corner of your screen, next to your weapon and ammunition count. The bar will start empty, but as you perform certain actions during combat, you will earn Valor. The actions are pretty much most things you will be doing in combat, like removing a component or striking a weak spot. You’ll know you’ve gained Valor, as purple text will be shown on your screen, indicating it. Once you’ve earned enough Valor and the bar fills up, you will be able to activate your Valor Surge.
To do this, hold down L1 
to open up the weapon wheel, then look in the top right corner of the screen. You should see a prompt to hit R1 
to activate your Valor Surge. Upon activating your Valor Surge, the gauge will slowly deplete and once it’s empty, you will lose access to the Valor Surge. Depending on the level, you will have more gauge available to you. For example, you have one Valor Surge at level 3, giving you three gauges while it’s equipped. You only need the first bar full to activate it, but it will last longer with all three bars filled. If you switch to another Valor Surge that is only level 1, then you will only have a single bar. Should you have had three bars full when switching, then you lose those other two bars.
(1 of 2) You’ll earn Valor as you fight Machines, which will be highlighted in purple text
You’ll earn Valor as you fight Machines, which will be highlighted in purple text (left), Open the weapon wheel and press R1 when your gauge is full to activate it (right)
List of Valor Surges¶
Below is a list of all 12 Valor Surges in the game, along with which skill tree you can find them, as well as a short description mentioning what they do.
| Valor Surge | Skill Tree | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Boost | Warrior | Critical hit chance and critical hit damage increases |
| Melee Might | Warrior | Increases melee damage |
| Elemental Fury | Trapper | Increases buildup and effects of elemental attacks; Increases elemental resistance |
| Trap Specialist | Trapper | Increases effects of traps and tripwires |
| Ranged Master | Hunter | Increases ranged weapon damage and allows you to recover some health for each hit |
| Powershots | Hunter | Gives you special shots that deals more damage with Bows, Boltblasters, Ropecasters, and Spike Throwers |
| Toughened | Survivor | Consume special potion to restore health and gain resistance to status effects |
| Overshield | Survivor | Gives you a shield that absorbs damage instead of losing health |
| Stealth Stalker | Infiltrator | Activate cloaking device that decreases visibility to enemies |
| Radial Blast | Infiltrator | Triggers a powerful shockwave that damages all enemies in vicinity |
| Part Breaker | Machine Master | Deal more damage to machine components and weak spots |
| Chain Burst | Machine Master | Damage chains from one enemy to another within range and boosts knockdown power |
Sign up
No Comments