Horizon: Zero Dawn Mission List

Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of PlayStation’s biggest exclusives. The game, developed by Guerrilla Studios, follows hunter and outcast Aloy as she attempts to discover the truth about her parentage and the reason the world is overrun by machines. To unfold the story, you’ll need to play over a dozen missions, and you can keep track of where you are in the story by following our Horizon: Zero Dawn mission list. Please note, there may be spoilers here.

Also check out:
Horizon: Zero Dawn Side Quest Mission List
Horizon: Zero Dawn Errands List
Horizon: Zero Dawn Vantage Points Locations
Horizon Forbidden West: Everything We Know So Far
The Best Horizon: Zero Dawn Merchandise

How Many Missions Are There In Horizon: Zero Dawn?

There are a total of 23 missions or main quests in Horizon: Zero Dawn. The main storyline missions will take you all over the game’s open world and can only be triggered by heading to a specific location on the game’s map or by speaking to an NPC.

Completing missions reward you with XP, which is used to level up, and in some cases additional goodies, like reward boxes, weapons or outfits.

If you’re looking to keep track of which Horizon: Zero Dawn missions you’ve completed and how far you are in the game, make sure to check out our Horizon: Zero Dawn mission list below.

A Gift From The Past

A Gift From The Past is the first mission in Horizon: Zero Dawn and follows a young Aloy as she stumbles onto a ruin cave, encounters a corpse with a focus, and must find a way out back to Rost.

Level	Location	Reward
0	Ruins	Nothing

Lessons Of The Wild

Lessons Of The Wild takes place after discovering the focus in the ruin cave, when Rost decides to teach Aloy how to hunt, gather resources, and craft ammo. While being taught, a Brave named Teb falls from a cliff into a group of Striders, and Aloy decides to stealthily rescue him.

Level	Location	Reward
0	The Embrace	Nothing

The Point Of The Spear

The Point Of The Spear takes place after Aloy has grown into an adult. The mission takes place just before the Proving, with Rost giving Aloy a hunting challenge; to destroy the Sawtooth that’s been ravaging Nora Braves. Completing this mission will reward you with a Generous Reward Box filled with various potions, traps, and resources.

Level	Location	Reward
3	The Sacred Land	1,500 XP

Mother’s Heart

The Mother’s Heart quest takes place during the annual festival ahead of the Proving. During this main quest, you’ll unlock the Nora Brave outfit.

Level	Location	Reward
4	Mother’s Heart	2,000 XP

The Proving

The Proving main quest sees Aloy take part in the Proving, allowing Aloy to become a member of the Nora tribe. When the event is crashed by Cultists, Aloy and the remaining surviving Braves must survive the attack.

Level	Location	Reward
5	Mother’s Heart	2,500 XP

The Womb Of The Mountain

The Womb Of The Mountain mission takes place after the Proving attack in the All-Mother Mountain at Mother’s Watch where the High Matriarchs reveal information about Aloy’s past, grant her the rank of Seeker that allows her to venture outside of her lands, and send her on a mission to heal the corruption infecting machines. Completing this mission unlocks the ability to override machines.

Level	Location	Reward
7	Mother’s Watch	3,500 XP

A Seeker At The Gates

A Seeker At The Gates follows Aloy as she leaves the Nora Lands and embarks on her mission to Meridian to heal the machines’ corruption.

Level	Location	Reward
12	Daytower	6,000 XP

The City Of The Sun

The City Of The Sun is Horizon: Zero Dawn’s tenth mission as Aloy travels from Daytower to Meridian in search of Olin, the Oseram she met before the Proving who also had a Focus and has gone missing from the city.

Level	Location	Reward
12	Meridian	6,000 XP

Maker’s End

Aloy heads to Maker’s End to learn more about the woman she resembles and the Eclipse cultists that attacked the Proving, and must take on a terrifying machine known as the Deathbringer.

Level	Location	Reward
14	Maker’s End	7,000 XP

The Grave-Hoard

The Grave-Hoard is the fifteenth main mission in Horizon: Zero Dawn and sees Aloy travels to the Grave-Hoard, a derelict US Robot Command, which has been taken over by Eclipse cultists. There, Aloy must face the cultists, battle a Deathbringer, and uncover more information about Project: Zero Dawn.

Level	Location	Reward
18	The Grave-Hoard	9,000 XP

To Curse The Darkness

In To Curse The Darkness, Aloy embarks on a mission to crush the Eclipse cultists’ Focus network at their main base.

Level	Location	Reward
20	Eclipse Base	10,000 XP

Deep Secrets Of The Earth

The Deep Secrets Of The Earth sees Aloy travel to Sunfall, the capital of the Shadow Carja, to explore the Project: Zero Dawn facility, where she discovers the true purpose of Operation: Enduring Victory and Project: Zero Dawn.

Level	Location	Reward
21	Zero Dawn Project Facility	10,500 XP

The Terror Of The Sun

The Terror Of Sun takes place immediately after The Deep Secrets Of The Earth, where Aloy is dropped into the Sun-Ring at Sunfall and forced to fight for survival.

Level	Location	Reward
22	The Citadel	11,000 XP

The Heart Of The Nora

In The Heart Of The Nora, Aloy travels back to the Embrace to defend it against an Eclipse invasion and to enter the Sacred Mountain to discover her origins.

Level	Location	Reward
25	Mother’s Watch	12,500 XP

The Mountain That Fell

Aloy travels to the GAIA Prime facility in The Mountain That Fell. During the mission, Aloy must search for the Master Override and combine it with Sylens’ Lance to defeat Hades.

Level	Location	Reward
28	GAIA Prime	14,000 XP

The Looming Shadow

The Looming Shadow is the penultimate mission in Horizon: Zero Dawn and it sees Aloy prepare herself and her allies for the final confrontation against Hades and his legion of war machines.

Completing select side missions will see additional allies help Aloy in the final mission, and doing so will also help you unlock the All Allies Joined trophy, which is required to unlock the game’s platinum trophy. Details on which side quests are required for the trophy can be found in our side quest guide here.

Level	Location	Reward
34	Meridian	17,000 XP

The Face Of Extinction

The Face Of Extinction is the final mission in Horizon: Zero Dawn and sees Aloy and her allies take on Hades and his machines at the Spire. Once completed, the game will revert back to the Looming Shadow quest, allowing you to complete any outstanding side missions and take on the DLC.