Mods in Horizon Zero Dawn are found when looting machines, in reward boxes, or in supply crates throughout the wild.

They are loaded randomly each time, but hard to defeat machines / quests / locations will spawn the most powerful mods.

This guide will detail the top 5 mod + weapon combinations, starting with :

5. Ropecaster + Handling Mods

On my first playthrough I don’t think I even purchased the ropecaster. Easily overlooked due to its lack of damage, and little use during the early stages of the game, this weapon comes into its own when you’re facing winged machines like Glinthawks.

A few shots tie them to the ground, where you can take them out with Aloy’s sling or just pummel them with critical hits.

Pour all your handling mods into this one to launch ropes faster, tying those birds down before they even take off.

Good for:

• Glinthawks
• Stormbirds

4. Tripcaster + Damage Mods

The Tripcaster is the second weapon you pick up in the game, but it takes a while for its use to shine through.

Even if you can get through the opening hours with an offensive ranged playstyle, eventually the difficulty curve forces you to adopt a strategic approach, studying machines’ paths and laying traps and tripwires, and the bigger a punch they pack, the better.

Good for:

• Watchers / Red-eye watchers
• Scrappers
• Sawtooths
• Ravagers

3. Sling + Elemental Mods

A fairly obvious combination. Try not to double up and instead focus on one elemental type here.or me it’s always Freeze, as it’s a common machine weakness, and it’s extremely satisfying to attack a frozen Longleg.

Chuck a few of those purple Freeze mods in your empty slots and you’ll be stopping machines in their tracks in no time.

Good for:

• Longlegs
• Stalkers

2. Sharpshot Bow + Damage Mods

Think of your Sharpshot Bow as Aloy’s sniper rifle, to be used when perched on a distant ridge picking off your prey one by one. Imagine if that didn’t inflict enough damage to take out enemies in a single hit?

It doesn’t bear thinking about does it - so up the damage on this one as soon as possible.

Good for:

• Snapmaws
• Thunderjaws
• Deathbringers

1. Hunter Bow + Tear Mods

Your most frequently used bow without a doubt, the Hunter bow already packs decent damage, offers elemental  damage, and has decent reload speed. Now, before you say anything, yes - the Sharpshot Bow’s Tearblast Arrows inflict massive Tear damage - but crafting them is a huge pain.

Each lot requires 4x Echo Shells, only available from annoying machines link Stalkers or Longlegs. Plus, you’ll only be able to fire a few arrows before the machine is up close and personal when you’ll need a faster reload weapon anyway.

Dumping all your Tear coils onto your Hunter Bow gives it an additional offensive dimension, and will have you stripping down machines in seconds. 

Good for:

• Everything. 
• Especially Bellowbacks.

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 5] Horizon Zero Dawn Best Armor And How To Get Them
• [Top 3] Horizon Zero Dawn Best Bows and How To Get Them
• Horizon Zero Dawn Best Skills To Get Early
• Horizon Zero Dawn Best Mount [Guide]