Horizon Forbidden West: Trader Location Guide

Here’s how to unlock and find traders in Horizon Forbidden West.

Kanishka Thakur

Share this article...

• Follow us

Traders and merchants are an important part of Horizon Forbidden West and allow you to buy and sell goods. They can be found in multiple locations around the map, but won’t always be available to trade with Aloy. 

Here’s how to unlock traders so that you can begin to exchange valuable items for weapons and armor. 

Where to Find Traders in Horizon Forbidden West and How to Unlock them? 

Players will come across the first traders in the game right from the get-go, after the Prologue. They’re most often spotted in Chainscrape. However, there’s a catch – the traders won’t trade with Alloy right away because she’s a stranger. 

Traders are unlocked for trading as you complete main story quests in the game. To the Brink is the most important quest for trading, and will unlock the traders in Chainscrape once Aloy solves Ulvan’s problems. 

You can also find traders in Hunting Camps and Cleared Bandit Grounds. Most merchants will buy items from Aloy, but only a few will have the specialized armor or weaponry she needs. 

Here are the different kinds of merchants in Horizon Forbidden West: 

• Cook: Accepts Metal Shards in exchange for food. Different cooks will offer unique items for trade. 
• Dyer: Trades dyes and Blooms for Metal Shards. Dyers are only found in settlements.
• Herbalist: Will accept organic ingredients in exchange for potions. 
• Hunters: Hunters are found in settlements and in the wild. They will trade Weapons and resources with Aloy. 
• Stitcher: Stitchers specifically trade outfits.
• Strike Carvers: Strike Carvers trade Strike Pieces. You can find one in The Daunt hunting grounds. 

How to Trade Black Boxes in Horizon Forbidden West? 

There are 12 hidden black boxes in Horizon Forbidden West, each containing an old recording that sheds clarity on the story of the ‘Old Ones’. They’re very valuable since you can trade them for rare machine parts. Aloy can use these machine parts to upgrade her weapons and armor. 

You can trade black boxes at Memorial Grove. Find the only female merchant seated, and she will trade with you. 

Through trading, you can upgrade your armor and weapons in Horizon Forbidden West, which gives Aloy an edge during combat.