HFW Arena | Ultra Hard - All Challenges -

UPDATE: I have completed a new run with a faster time. The current world record can be viewed here: • HFW Arena | Ultra Hard... .
This is a complete, unedited run from the beginning to the end of the Arena on the highest difficulty in Horizon Forbidden West. The run was completed on patch 1.18.
Items of Note
- I'm playing on a regular old PS4 with crappy 10-year-old hardware. This could be completed much more quickly on a PS5 with basically no load times.
- This time is extremely beatable-in particular, the Tideripper fight was very messy, one of my traps glitched through the floor during the Tremortusk fight (15:04), and I got greedy and killed myself against the Dreadwing.
- Due to the above mistakes, I went for a very risky strategy against the Thunderjaw-and it paid off. This will be hard to reproduce consistently because it relies on the machines being in the right spot, and I can't afford to wait for them to get in position while the clock is running.
Overall I am very happy with this run and achieving my goal of sub-30.
During the run, I use the following equipment:
- Carja Stalker Elite with Potion Proficiency and Weapon Stamina weaves
- Legacy's Reach with 5 Concentration Damage coils
- Iriv's Downfall with 4 Critical Hit Chance and 1 Concentration Damage coil (Focused Shot)
- Skykiller with 5 Multiple Enemy Damage coils (Spike Trap)
- Defiance with 5 Concentration Damage coils (Spike Trap)
- Elite Ropecaster with 1 Draw Speed and 2 Reload Speed coils
- Sun Scourge with 5 Frost Damage coils
- Smoke Bombs, Large Stamina Potions, and Elite Acid Traps

[@pattymmdelc]

Awesome Fancy! Congrats 👏🏻👏🏻🥳

[@Dethikah]

Ohmygod you are insane lol, this is crazy. You even kept in the crafting and the failed attempt. My hands are hurting vicariously hahah. Thanks for posting, Hekarro and the entirety of the Tenakth tribe would be proud o7

[@kk-sx1fj]

To run through the highest difficulty arena to the end without editing... That's an amazing skill.

[@kresimircosic9035]

but there is editing, at 7:45 - nonetheless it's mostly overpowering everything as far as I can see

[@tbgelectr0]

Lots of editing...

[@tophers402]

Can’t believe this doesn’t have more views, uncanny skill

[@MrFancyPants]

Hey, thanks! I actually just completed a run that's about 5 minutes faster to finally achieve my goal of under 25 minutes. You can check that out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXXWlYSpq9qlpas

[@rodrigomelendez3647]

Outstanding!!!

[@kuriringdjdhc8352]

AMAZING!!

[@georgiospagonis2806]

thank you so much

[@victorreynaldo5523]

Es new plus no? Ya q hay armas q som moradas pero tu las tienes color de arma legemdaria 0.o

[@RadicalSurgeMusic]

The damage output broke Vegeta's scouter.

[@enaarenav3174]

How do you show the line of travel that the javelin makes before throwing it?

[@MrFancyPants]

I am using the Spike Trap weapon technique. You can find it in the Machine Master branch of the skill tree.

[@pratikshetty1992]

What is the spike thrower details and to get it ??

[@MrFancyPants]

See the video description for all weapons. Mostly it's the Defiance, which is the NG+ spike thrower.

[@user-sn6oj2wp2n]

How u switch the weapons smoothly? How can we know ur techniques

[@MrFancyPants]

Do you mean the weapon quick swap? You can turn that feature on in the settings menu on the tab labeled "controls."

[@user-sn6oj2wp2n]

@@MrFancyPants thank you very much,

[@YouStinkMike]

Just got to the last one with the thunderjaw and scorcher, looks like I’m gonna abuse acid traps haha

[@briwood6328]

At 13:50 I have no sunwing to swap out

[@lilohanrota66]

Where can I send images?

[@MrFancyPants]

You can upload to imgur and link (for free) or you can email me if you want: [e-mail]

[@chrisw7188]

what armor are u wearing?

[@MrFancyPants]

I list all my gear in the video description.

[@JimPedrazzoli]

I want to start a new game + (ultra hard difficulty). Before doing that I'm planning to farm resources in order to fully upgrade the new legendary weapons added in the las patch. Here comes the Q : does the game still challenging with all this upg weapons? Cz I imagine that u can get too OP. Donno, imagine irivs bow with critical chance coils, and so on. 🤔

[@JimPedrazzoli]

I don't mind about the health or other things that comes with the ultra hard diff, I'm just wondering if the weapon damage gets so op that the game in overall becomes easier.

[@MrFancyPants]

Fully upgraded weapons definitely make a big difference. However, I still think UH with all the NG+ weapons is harder than VH with all the regular legendaries. It's nice to have access to the best gear, but you can also choose not to play with it if you think it's making things too easy. For example, in this video I was challenged to defeat an Apex Slaughterspine using only green equipment on UH in less than 10 minutes. Not an easy feat! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZDVn5Swmc13mdU&ab_channel=MrPantsFancy

[@JimPedrazzoli]

@@MrFancyPants thanks for the answer 👍

[@carlosadeleon]

Ah. So this is what it means to be overpowered in HZD. I’ve put hundreds of hours in these two games and have never seen these damage numbers. 4K hits with a bow? Wow.

[@carlosadeleon]

Also, the skill across so many weapon types. I need to work on my warrior bows and spike skills.

[@Nonlifting_breezy]

Bro are you on new game plus? I’m on new game ultra hard without any special equipment. Can you post a detailed video on how you maximize weapons and such for this godly damage.

[@MrFancyPants]

Yes, this is NG+. The key is to get all the special equipment... ;-) This is a fully optimized speedrun that uses all of the best gear in the game. You won't be able to reproduce it on NG. The short answer is to take advantage of weak spots and especially to abuse the brittle state. The 5,000 damage Focused Shots are using the NG+ sharpshot bow, which has Elite Precision Arrows (not available before NG+), and Critical Hit Chance coils to get critical hits on weak points on brittle enemies. You can see my best time (and most up-to-date loadout) here and in the video description: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXXWlYSpq9qlpas

[@Nonlifting_breezy]

@@MrFancyPants sounds like I’d be saving myself a headache if I just load up my hard game mode where I have all the legendaries and then using that to play ultra hard new game plus instead

[@MrFancyPants]

That will definitely be easier. NG UH is a definite challenge. It's worth it if you're into the grind, but not recommended for most people.

[@Nonlifting_breezy]

@@MrFancyPants I’m level 31 and get one shotted most of the time. Mobs are stupid hard

[@tim.noonan]

What happened at 16:28? Why the cut?

[@MrFancyPants]

Capture error. Happens sometimes when saving recent gameplay on PS4. It's only a few dropped frames, but it's annoying. This one should be clean: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2e2i62Mrb9pgdk

[@tim.noonan]

@@MrFancyPantsAhh okay. I’ve only ever used the ‘save video’ feature on the PS4 and never had to capture more than a few minutes at once. Didn’t realize that was even a possibility. Also just want to say thanks for sharing all your efforts in the arena! You and Arktix have been a huge help to me. I’ve almost cracked the top 10 on a few challenges thanks to you guys.

[@sarthaksabharwal841]

Which armour is this?

[@MrFancyPants]

Carja Blazon with the Stormbird Skies dye.

[@sarthaksabharwal841]

@@MrFancyPants thanks!

[@nils0577]

Could you post your whole load out which armor and equipment you got on

[@MrFancyPants]

Read the video description

[@lilohanrota66]

When you did the challenge, it was a lot easier compared to how it is now. Because the damage was more than 5k! After the update patch, they fixed this feature! Today it's almost impossible to do it on Ultrahard, within the required time.

[@MrFancyPants]

I'm not sure which challenge you're referring to. The patches have largely had no impact on the Arena. Let me know which you're struggling with.

[@lilohanrota66]

I didn't refer to the Arena specifically. I referin about the "damage that the machines suffer". Before, it was possible to damage them like you did with a single shot, for 5000 damage. After the updates that came in February, they fixed the damage caused. Now with a lot of effort it reaches 700 impact damage. In Anrena, it is more common for each arrow to only deal 300 damage. The time for each Arena challenge has also been greatly reduced!@@MrFancyPants

[@MrFancyPants]

@@lilohanrota66 Machines take the same damage. Can you provide a specific example where you are not getting the numbers I was getting? The times have not been changed in the Arena.

[@lilohanrota66]

@@MrFancyPants The actual times have been changed compared to your video. You have a challenge, whose video is 5 min, and currently the time is 1m20s (for example). And the damage has changed! As I've been saying, the damage on the machines doesn't reach 5000 anymore. Now at the maximum (in the Arena) they only reach 890 damage. It dropped a lot. As I've been saying, this amount of damage that previously occurred has been fixed. Now it's harder than before due to low damage.

[@MrFancyPants]

​@@lilohanrota66I think I understand your confusion about the time. The actual time limits have not changed for any of the challenges. However, if you complete a challenge below the time limit, the timer within the level will show your own personal best-not the time limit. If you're thinking of a level with a five minute timer, that's either Rematch or Tremortusk Tussle (or Plasma and Fire, but that wasn't part of this video). If you highlight them in the challenges menu (before starting the challenge), it will show you both the maximum time and your own personal best. You can see that the time limit is still five minutes for both of those challenges. If you are not convinced, please share an image or video of this screen that shows a different max time: imgur.com/a/h0T6kVn Regarding the damage values: You aren't providing enough context for me to understand the issue. What weapons are you using? What enemies are you fighting? What coils and status effects and valor surges? Etc. It is currently trivial to deal 5-10k damage with a single arrow in the Arena using the new Burning Shores Elite coils. The amount of damage you deal has not been changed or capped in any way. Without specific information about the strategy you're using, I can't help you understand why you're dealing the amount of damage you're dealing. If possible, please share a video.

[@Nonlifting_breezy]

5k for is that a focused shot? My god

[@MHicham21]

M playing ultra hard and it s not new game + …. I was stuck in the final boss so i went to get legendary weapons but how on earth m i supposed to compete against 99 machines without the gear they give with arena points 😭

[@MrFancyPants]

That's what this playlist is for: kzbin.info/aero/PLukzoLVZ0S80u0KNRKPgZ_oa7Fsf_Y6iE

[@warrr_machine]

I like champion

[@notaadamsunifar4899]

12:38 what even in the world, that shellsnapper had half of the elemental states from 3 spike traps how?

[@MrFancyPants]

Looks like I hit the 6% instant corroding chance (innate to the Defiance spike thrower) with the first spike. The second throw exploded the plasma core. The third ignited the incendiary barrel traps that fell down from the elevated platform. That level is all about chaos.

[@notaadamsunifar4899]

@@MrFancyPants one of the craziest damage that happened to a shellsnapper😅😅😅

[@lilohanrota66]

No my friend! In Ultrahard the time is naturally reduced! I'm not referring to the time limited by my record. But what already comes by default. There were changes following updates that came after the period in which you recorded the video! I use the maximum level of the armor considered to be the strongest, until then, which is the legendary Thunder Huntress Nora, with the Legendary Scourge Bow as well (all already at maximum level). In other videos from other KZbinrs Gamers, they also criticized the fact that Sony nerfed the high level of damage that before (until the beginning of this year, 2023), it was still possible to cause machines! In the Arena, it hardly reaches 1000 damage, naturally only between 300 and 900 damage caused to machines. In your video, with just 1 arrow shot, you can do 5000 damage, for example.

[@MrFancyPants]

Again, I have no idea what you're talking about. I have spent *a lot* of time playing the Arena. The times have never been changed. They are the same no matter the difficulty. If someone else is claiming they are changed, please show me the evidence. What were the old times? What are the new times? Etc. There has only ever been one update that substantively affected damage values. That was in June 2022. It made Braced Shot and Stealth Stalker slightly worse. None of that is relevant to this video, or to any of the top Arena strategies. Again, please point me to your sources so I can better understand. Just saying "the damage is between 300 and 900" is not useful. There are lots of weapons. Some of them deal 500 damage. Some of them can deal 5,000 damage if you have the right setup. For example, here's a video I just recorded five seconds ago on Ultra Hard using the Sun Scourge and Iriv's Downfall with no coils and no low-health bonuses: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHLXfWyFr8qnaaM If you add coils and low-health and valor surges, it can get much, much higher.

[@MetalGod-id8st]

Do the dlc arena now. Lok

[@MrFancyPants]

Sure: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2e2i62Mrb9pgdk

[@alexisprincipe726]

Bro i need to see all your bobines ... tutorial how put best bobines on weapons bro pls

[@MrFancyPants]

I list all the weapons and coils used in this video in the description. There are lots of combinations that are very strong. But at this point, it looks like Elite Critical Hits is the best possible coil for any weapon that it is compatible with. So I would start there. I will be doing this challenge again now that there are new Arena levels, and I will share the weapons and coils I use in that video when it is done.

[@alexisprincipe726]

Thx 4 ur answer and gretting from Perú U the best

[@alexisprincipe726]

And if you can show all yours bobines on weapos, in a video i will so happy

[@dankowalski2146]

How do you have all this weapons? In every last battle of the certain level in Arena the game takes from me my stuff and gives me some useless bs to fight against these machines. That is nonsense.

[@MrFancyPants]

I have the same locked loadouts that you have.

[@dankowalski2146]

No, you don’t. You have way to much. I swear, I’m looking at mine right now. No ropecaster at all. Not even sharpshoot bow. And I already finished the game with everything done on Ultra Hard. Doing arena just to get Platinum, since I forgot to scan Corruptor during the mission

[@MrFancyPants]

@@dankowalski2146 What level are you looking at? You have a ropecaster for Tremortusk Tussle and a canister ropecaster for Apex Predators. You have a sharpshot bow for Dreaded Encounter and Apex Predators. The loadouts are not the same for all the challenges.

[@dankowalski2146]

@@MrFancyPantsellow Brawl Challenge. My choices in this one are very limited

[@MrFancyPants]

@@dankowalski2146 Bellow Brawl is an open loadout level... You can bring whatever weapons you want. Even the silly ones: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6bOm4Whfpmsnck

[@briwood6328]

You can't get the smoke bomb away dropping in on ultra difficult this is cap

[@MrFancyPants]

I'm not sure what level you're referring to... But clearly you can?

[@briwood6328]

@MrFancyPants ultra hard, did you change the button for the smoke because the down on d pad doesn't drop it quickly enough

[@MrFancyPants]

@@briwood6328 not what difficulty, what level? Which set of enemies are hitting you that quickly? I didn't change any input settings. Make sure that you are entering without doing the super hero landing animation. You can cancel it by aiming while you fall, doing a light melee attack, or quickly opening and closing the shieldwing. Let me know what level you are talking about and I will send you more videos.

[@briwood6328]

@MrFancyPants from the deep before my feet touch the ground, it as eyes on me and hits me before I can drop the smoke I have been using this technique but I have to be ar away for me to drop anything

[@MrFancyPants]

@@briwood6328 it's a good idea to wait until they are in a safe spot before you enter. Here's a good example of dropping in: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaHWh4eqhLWIm5Isi=MOEtnL4TlwidPI38 If you are playing on an updated PS5 version, you can skip the smoke bomb and start immediately with your valor surge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJObXn6arZ1sfJY You definitely have enough time for either.

[@vgames1543]

Cringe facepaint

[@MrFancyPants]

Cringe comment

[@MacrowaveYT]

Cringe comment that facepaint is gass

[@lozanbeat8410]

Noob. Easy mod

[@MrFancyPants]

???

[@tim.noonan]

Let’s see you do better then 😂