Ah, the Spear. It’s your trusty melee companion from start to finish in Horizon Zero Dawn. Without it, you’d be mincemeat the moment a Sawtooth got close to you.
But as wonderful as your Spear is, at a certain point in the game, it becomes much less effective because of its low base stats. Unlike your other weapons, you cannot upgrade your Spear by buying a new one from a merchant. The spear that you start with is the spear you’re stuck with for the entire game.
Luckily for you, it is possible to upgrade your Spear so that it can at least keep up with the more powerful enemies you’ll be facing in Horizon Zero Dawn‘s late game. And combining that with a few key skills can make you a deadly melee fighter in no time.
Here’s how to do it.
Upgrading Your Spear in Horizon Zero Dawn
To increase the amount of damage your Spear can do, you’ll need to complete a side quest and grab some extra skills when your level allows it.
Step 1: Complete the “In Her Mother’s Footsteps” Side Quest
This side quest can be picked up pretty early in the game. You’ll come across a wounded hunter named Thok, who asks you to go out and find his missing daughter.
Head to the mission area and use your focus to find/follow the young girl’s tracks. After you’ve found her, you’ll need to get your hands on a Spear that’s been stolen by a nearby Scrapper. Take out the Scrapper by whatever means necessary and loot its body to update the quest.
After you’ve got the Spear, return it to Thok. He’ll give you a Spear Damage Boost as a reward.
Step 2: Unlock Precision and Melee Skills
Now that you’ve got your Damage Boost, you’ll need to pick up a few extra skills to really maximize how much havoc you can wreak in close quarters.
There are lots of melee skills available in your Skills menu. None of them will actually increase the damage of your Spear any further, but they will make you much more effective in melee combat so you get a few more high-damage licks in.
Here are the skills you’ll want to pick up:
- Precision: Light Spear attacks have an increased chance of knocking of armor and components
- Precision +: Light Spear attacks have a greatly increased chance of knocking off armor and components
- Knock Down: Heavy Spear attacks knock machines down faster
- Fighting Back: Heavy Spear attacks deal more damage when your health is low
Pick up some of these skills when your level allows it, and you’ll be well on your way to being a lean, mean, melee machine. Just not the kind that wants to eat you.
That wraps up my instructions for getting a better Spear in Horizon Zero Dawn. Stay tuned for more guides, or check out some of our others below:
- Horizon Zero Dawn Beginner’s Guide
- Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Guide to Resources, Components, & Crafting
- Horizon Zero Dawn: Handling and Other Weapon Stats Explained
- Horizon Zero Dawn: Armor Stats and What They Mean
- Horizon Zero Dawn: How to Farm 10,000 Shards Per Hour
- Horizon Zero Dawn: How to Farm Purple (Very Rare) Mods
