One of the sequels best improvements over Horizon Zero Dawn, is that you can apply face paint at any point during Horizon Forbidden West. Customising Aloy’s face with the markings of the Nora, Carja, Utaru and Tenakth tribes isn’t locked away behind a New Game+ playthrough anymore. But to apply face paint, you need to find a painter, and before that, you need to unlock a face paint style. Here’s everything you need to know about how to unlock and apply face paint in Horizon Forbidden West.
How to Apply Face Paint in Horizon Forbidden West
The first painter you find will be in the Bulwark, the hunkering base of the Tenakth Sky Clan. You’ll visit the Bulwark during “The Broken Sky” main quest, where you’ll find the painter up and to the left of the main entrance. The Bulwark spirals towards the sky, so you’ll have to head in the other direction and wind your way back to reach him. Look for the icon that’s shaped like a stick and needle and start “Trade with Painter” to browse all of the available face paints. Each face paint costs 10 metal shards to apply.
How to Unlock Face Paint in Horizon Forbidden West
All the face paints are unlocked by completing certain main quests and even some side quests. A preview of the face paint will show up under the “rewards” section of the quest log, too. You’ll unlock quite a few face paints before you meet your first painter, though, and you won’t be able to see what they look like on Aloy’s face until you do.
Face paints don’t have stats so you won’t receive any buffs by applying them. That means you can use whichever face paint you prefer the look of, no matter what kind of gameplay you prefer. Certain sets of armour are better suited to stealth or long-ranged combat, but you can pair these with any face paint you like. The only affect face paints have is making Aloy look even cooler than she already is.
