Horizon Zero Dawn Best Mods [2021] May 2026

Very low. VRAM usage increases by ~500MB. On a 6GB card, you are fine. Part 4: The "Just for Fun" Mods These don't fix bugs or balance, but they are delightful. 10. Machine Mounts Anywhere In vanilla, you can only mount Broadheads (deer-like machines) and Chargers. With this mod, you can override and mount Striders, Lancehorns, and even Grazers.

Forces you to prepare loadouts before combat. Highly recommended alongside the Stamina Overhaul. Part 3: Visual Polish (Textures & Lighting) While the game is beautiful, some specific character models and environmental textures did not age well. 7. Aloy's Face (Subtle Refine) Avoid the "Makeup" or "Model Swap" mods—they break cutscene lighting. horizon zero dawn best mods

Moderate. If you have a GPU with 8GB of VRAM or more (GTX 1080 / RTX 2060+), you won't notice a frame drop. For lower-end systems, use the "Mild" preset. 3. UltraWide & Multi-Monitor Fix (by Rose) Why you need it: The vanilla game supports 21:9, but the cutscenes are pillarboxed (black bars on the sides) and the UI is stretched. Very low

This mod replaces the shader for the highlight effect, making it invisible. You can still interact with objects (the prompt appears), but the world looks naturally gorgeous. There are optional files to keep the highlight on only for specific items (like medicinal herbs) while removing it from ledges. Part 4: The "Just for Fun" Mods These

Essential. You haven't seen the Forbidden West’s beauty until you remove the sticky highlighter goo. 2. Better LOD (Level of Detail) Why you need it: Even on "Ultimate" settings, rocks and grass have a habit of morphing into existence ten feet in front of Aloy. Distant terrain looks like a low-poly PS2 game.

"Aloy - Natural Tones" removes the orange sunburn tint added by the PC port's lighting engine and softens the harsh shadows on her cheeks. She looks like her E3 2017 self: fierce but not wax-like. 8. Clean HUD (Dynamic) Why you need it: The vanilla HUD has a "Dynamic" option, but it only hides the compass. The health bar, ammo counter, and experience bar still float around.