Rookie Mistakes (HZD)

General

Rookie Mistakes are actions which can lead to softlocks and similar. It can be difficult to pick up on how to avoid these when learning the run, and most players learned how to avoid these only after losing a run to them.

List of Rookie Mistakes

• Dropping too early at the beginning of the FAS tower. When initially entering, the game will, after a few seconds, play the line "Dr. Sobeck, you are X amount of time late for your meeting with mister Faro. Please proceed...". If you drop down the first shaft before this line plays, the game will softlock unless you return to the top of the shaft.
• Doing Gate Skip in Eclipse Base too far to the left. If you perform the Gate Skip, and drop too far to the left on the other side of the gate, the game will not allow you to progress when reaching the Tallneck. To avoid this, simply drop on the right-hand side of the gate.
• Fast travelling away from Eclipse Base too quickly. After completing the Eclipse Base, you will need to wait for the "Quest Completed" text to show up on screen before fast travelling to begin Zero Dawn. The game will softlock if this is not done.
• Not killing the 2nd set of Kestrels in Zero Dawn. This applies ONLY to the console version of Horizon Zero Dawn. When doing Zero Dawn, it is mandatory to kill the 2nd set of 3 Kestrels, or the game will softlock upon making further progression.
• Fast travelling away too quickly from Gaia Prime. After completing Gaia Prime, it is possible to fast travel away too quickly, which will make the quest not complete unless you return and do the bitter climb over again. To prevent this, simply wait a second after attaching the Master Override to Sylens' Lance.