How to Use the Focus in Horizon Zero Dawn: Scanning and Tracking

How to Unlock and Activate the Focus in Horizon Zero Dawn

Your adventure in Horizon Zero Dawn begins not with a grand weapon, but with a tiny piece of ancient technology that will become your most trusted tool: the Focus. This device is the key to surviving a world of robotic predators and unlocking its deepest secrets.

Using the Focus to analyze the surrounding terrain.

You first acquire the Focus Device as a child, during the opening sequence in The Nora lands. While exploring the Ruins from Aloy's childhood, you'll discover the device on a corpse. It's a pivotal moment that marks the start of Aloy’s unique path. Your mentor, Rost, the stoic guardian who raised you as an outcast of the Nora tribe, will have already taught you the basics of survival. But the Focus grants a heightened perception that sets you apart.

Activating the device is simple but transformative. Just press [R3] to toggle the holographic interface on and off. When active, the world shifts—the lush visuals of the wilds are overlaid with a cool, blue-tinted scan. This is your detective mode, letting you see tracks, highlight resources, and, most crucially, analyze the machines that roam the land.

With the Focus in your ear and Rost’s lessons in your mind, you have the foundational tools to step out of the Sacred Lands and into the larger, dangerous world of Horizon Zero Dawn. This small piece of the "Old Ones" is your greatest advantage—let’s learn how to use it.

Best HUD Settings for Focus Immersion in Horizon Zero Dawn

Your Focus is the key to survival in Horizon Zero Dawn, but the default HUD can be a noisy distraction. Here’s how to configure your interface to make your detective mode truly immersive, letting you hunt with clarity and confidence.

Immersion is heightened by reducing on-screen clutter.

Head into the game's Settings menu and find the HUD options. Here, you’ll see the Dynamic HUD Option. Enable this—it’s the single biggest change you can make. This brilliant setting automatically hides elements like your health bar, weapon display, and objective markers when you’re not in combat or actively tracking a quest. The screen clears up, letting you appreciate the stunning world without clutter. The information fades back in the moment you need it, striking a perfect balance between immersion and utility.

This clean screen is the perfect canvas for the Focus UI, the game's Detective Mode. When you tap [R3], the holographic interface overlays scan information directly onto the environment, keeping the main screen clean. This design means you’re not constantly parsing a busy HUD; you engage with information intentionally, pulling up the Focus to read machine paths or weaknesses, then letting it fade to focus on the hunt.

The game’s visual design supports this approach. Notice how Aloy is consistently positioned off-center to the left of the screen. This isn’t an accident—it ensures a clear, unobstructed view of the right side, which is your primary aiming and combat space. When you combine this with a Minimalist HUD, you remove the last persistent distraction. Without a mini-map constantly pulling your eye, you’re forced to rely on your Focus scans for patrol paths and the subtle environmental objective markers for direction. This transforms navigation from glancing at a corner to actively observing the world, making every discovery feel earned.

Configure these settings early. With a Dynamic HUD, a reliance on your Focus for intel, and a screen layout built for clear aiming, you’re not just playing the game—you’re living in Aloy’s world, hunter and hunted.

How to Scan Machine Weaknesses and Components

In Horizon Zero Dawn, you're not just fighting machines—you're hunting them. And like any good hunter, your success hinges on knowing exactly where to strike. Your Focus is your ultimate hunting tool, revealing the elemental vulnerabilities and specific components that can cripple even the mightiest machine. Here's how to use it.

Activate your Focus with [R3] to enter its holographic scanning mode. To get the detailed intel you need, hover the reticle over a machine and press [R2] to tag components. This crucial step doesn't just add data to your log; it paints a target on the machine's most valuable parts. When you deactivate the Focus, these critical spots will glow yellow for 5-7 seconds after deactivation, giving you a perfect window to line up your shots. This is your moment—trust me, you'll want to exploit that brief highlight.

The Focus UI does more than just point out parts; it's your key to understanding elemental warfare. It clearly identifies weaknesses like Fire, Shock, Freeze, and Tear damage. This color-coded Elemental Affordance system is your combat language: blue for shock, yellow for fire, teal for freeze, and purple for tear. If you see a Freeze Canister glowing with a teal weakness indicator on a machine's belly, you know a well-placed Freeze Arrow will trigger a devastating explosion.

While the Focus is essential for real-time scanning, your most reliable reference is the Machine Codex. Access it from the Menu under Notebook. Here, you'll find detailed silhouettes and exhaustive component lists for every machine you've scanned, all available to study outside of combat. This is where you can plan your entire strategy. For example, the codex entry for a Thunderjaw will show you that removing its Disc Launcher with Tear damage lets you turn its own weapon against it.

Mastering component scanning transforms chaotic fights into calculated takedowns. With your Focus tagged and your codex consulted, you're not just surviving encounters—you're controlling them. Let's hunt.

Tracking Machine Patrol Paths and Alert States

This is where your Focus transforms from a simple scanner into a tactical command center. In Horizon Zero Dawn, knowing where a machine is going is just as important as knowing what it’s weak to. The holographic interface isn’t just for identifying parts—it’s your key to predicting movement, controlling engagements, and pulling off flawless stealth takedowns before an alarm is ever raised.

When you activate your Focus (press [R3]) and highlight a machine, you can press [R1] to see its walking path. A glowing, holographic line will appear on the ground, tracing the machine’s patrol route. This is your ultimate planning tool. You can now see exactly where it will pause, turn, and what its blind spots are. Use this to set up ambushes, place traps along its route, or simply time your sprint past it when its back is turned.

Your Focus UI also gives you critical, real-time intel on a machine’s Alertness Indicators. These icons appear above a machine when it’s reacting to your presence:

• A Yellow circle means it’s scanning or suspicious—it’s heard or seen something and is investigating. You’re not spotted yet, but it’s time to get low.
• A solid Red circle means it’s aware of your presence and has identified you as a threat. Combat is imminent unless you break line of sight.
• A Flashing red diamond means it’s locked on and about to attack. This is your cue to dodge.

For your Stealth Setup, combine this knowledge. Use the Focus to track a machine’s path, then hide in tall grass along its route. When it walks by, use the Lure Call skill to bring it closer or execute a Silent Strike for a clean, quiet kill. This methodical approach lets you dismantle entire herds without ever triggering a full-scale battle.

The Focus also tracks active effects with a Status Countdown. When a machine is shocked, on fire, or frozen, you’ll see a corresponding icon (like the shock or freeze symbol) with a white line that unfills like a timer, showing exactly how long the effect has left. This tells you when to capitalize on a frozen enemy’s vulnerability or when to retreat because the shock effect is about to wear off.

Mastering these layers of information turns overwhelming encounters into puzzles you’ve already solved. Watch the paths, read the alerts, and strike with precision. You’re not just reacting to the machines anymore—you’re controlling the entire battlefield.

Advanced Focus Combat: Targeting the Thunderjaw

Alright, hunter—this is it. The Thunderjaw is Horizon Zero Dawn’s ultimate combat test, a walking fortress of metal and fury. Taking it down isn't about brute force; it's a surgical strike where every scan, every arrow, and every dismantled component is a step towards victory. Let’s break down how to turn this apex predator into a pile of salvage.

Thunderjaw scale and design.

Your first move is always the Focus. Activate it and scan the beast. You’ll see a web of glowing components, each a potential key to its defeat. The goal isn't to just chip away at its health bar; it's to systematically dismantle its offensive capabilities and expose its core.

Dismantling Its Arsenal

Start by crippling its senses and firepower. On its top, you’ll find the Radar. A few well-placed Tearblast Arrows will destroy this component, preventing the Thunderjaw from scanning for targets and making you harder to track. Next, target the massive Disc Launchers on its back. These are its most dangerous weapons, but they’re also your greatest asset. Hit them with Tear damage to blast them off. Once detached, you can pick one up and use its immense firepower against the machine itself—a supremely satisfying tactic.

Exposing the Core

With its main weapons gone, it’s time to go for the kill. The Thunderjaw’s Heart is located on its side, shielded by a thick armor plate. Use Tearblast Arrows or the disc launcher you just stole to blast this plate away. Once the heart is exposed, it becomes incredibly vulnerable. Switch to Precision or Hardpoint Arrows and pour fire into this glowing weak spot for massive damage.

Simultaneously, don’t ignore the Data Nexus on its head. This highly-sensitive processor is also protected by armor, but once you tear that away, damaging it inflicts massive critical hits. Combining focused fire on the exposed Heart and Data Nexus is how you bring this giant down efficiently.

Managing the Fight

Remember, this isn’t a static puzzle. The Thunderjaw will charge, fire its head-mounted cannons, and try to swat you with its tail. Keep moving, use the environment for cover, and listen for audio cues. If you’ve destroyed the Tail with Tear damage, you’ve neutered one of its close-range attacks, giving you more breathing room.

Trust me, if you’ve been overwhelmed by a Thunderjaw before, you’re not alone—its sheer presence is intimidating. But by methodically scanning, planning your component takedown order, and using its own weapons against it, you shift the fight from chaotic survival to a controlled hunt. With this strategy, you’re ready to claim victory over Horizon Zero Dawn’s most iconic machine. Let’s go.

How to Override Machines Using Focus Data

Here’s the secret to turning the machines of Horizon Zero Dawn from your deadliest enemies into your most powerful allies. Overriding isn’t just a cool trick—it’s a game-changing strategy that lets you ride beasts into battle and command the battlefield.

Think of the Focus as your key to this power. When you scan a machine, the Focus doesn't just reveal weaknesses; it also tells you if that machine can be overridden. To do it, you must get close without being spotted. Crouch in tall grass, use Silent Strike on nearby watchers, and inch forward. Once you're in range and undetected, hold [Triangle] to use your spear and initiate the override. If the machine detects you and enters a combat state, you'll lose your chance, so stealth is non-negotiable.

Your initial override ability is limited, but to unlock the codes for bigger, badder machines, you must explore Cauldrons. These ancient, puzzle-filled ruins are scattered across the map. Inside, you'll fight through hostile machines and solve environmental challenges to reach the core. Overriding a Cauldron's Core is your ultimate goal—it permanently downloads new override codes into your Focus, expanding your roster of potential allies.

So, what’s the payoff? For starters, some overrides give you a mount. Your Focus will identify Strider, Charger, and Broadhead machines as mountable. Override one, and you can call it to your side for faster travel across the vast open world. Other machines become temporary combat allies, attacking other hostiles on sight. There's nothing quite like overriding a Ravager and watching it tear into a herd of Grazers for you.

One special machine deserves its own mention: the Tallneck. These peaceful, giraffe-like giants are scattered across the regions. You can’t fight them, but you can scale them. Climb to the top and override its antenna to reveal all points of interest—like machine sites, settlements, and collectibles—in that entire section of your map. It’s an essential step for uncovering Horizon Zero Dawn’s secrets.

With the right codes unlocked and a stealthy approach, you’ll go from hunting machines to commanding them. Let’s ride.

Managing Elemental Resources and Crafting with the Focus

Your Focus is more than a scanner—it's your direct line to Horizon Zero Dawn's crafting economy. Every machine you tag, every component you highlight, and every weakness you identify translates directly into the resources you need to survive. Let's connect the dots between scanning and crafting, so you're never caught without the right ammo.

From Scan to Stockpile: Managing Elemental Resources

The elemental weaknesses you identify with your Focus aren't just combat advice; they're a shopping list. When you scan a machine and see a Freeze Canister highlighted in teal, that tells you two things: first, that the machine is weak to freeze damage, and second, that defeating it will likely yield Chillwater, the resource used for crafting Freeze ammo. This resource is commonly found on machines like Glinthawks and Snapmaws.

The same logic applies across all elements. A highlighted Power Cell weak to shock? That machine is a prime source for Sparkers, used for Shock ammo. See a Blaze Canister weak to fire? That’s your ticket to Blaze, the essential component for Fire/Explosive ammo found on Grazers and Snapmaws. Your Focus scan is essentially a loot preview. Prioritize hunting machines that are weak to the elements you use most, and you'll naturally maintain a healthy stockpile.

Seamless Crafting in the Heat of Battle

Constantly opening menus to craft ammo breaks Horizon Zero Dawn's immersive flow. Here's the seamless solution: Weapon Wheel Crafting. In the middle of a fight, hold [L1] to open the weapon wheel. While it's open, you're in a helpful slow-motion state. Hover over the weapon whose ammo you need to replenish, then hold [X] to craft that ammo type directly. No menu diving, no frantic searching—just instant resupply.

This system is perfectly married to your resource management. Since you’ve been strategically hunting machines for their elemental components, you’ll almost always have the Chillwater, Sparkers, or Blaze needed to craft ammo on the fly. It turns preparation into power.

Organizing Your Inventory for Efficiency

Your inventory screen is where your scanning and hunting efforts pay off. Use the sorting options here to quickly see your stocks of key elemental resources. If you're planning to take on a Thunderjaw and know you'll need dozens of Tearblast Arrows and Precision Arrows, check your Metal Shards and Ridge-Wood counts beforehand. The game also marks items with "Selling For Metal Shards" in their description—these are generally safe to sell for currency if you need to buy a new weapon or outfit.

One common pitfall: be careful not to accidentally sell critical Machine Hearts or Lenses needed for quests or special purchases. They hide in the general inventory tab. When in doubt, stash them in your treasure box at any settlement.

Mastering this loop—scanning for weaknesses, hunting for specific resources, and crafting seamlessly in combat—transforms you from a scavenger into a self-sufficient hunter. You'll stop worrying about running out of ammo and start planning which machine component to target next. With your Focus as your guide and your weapon wheel as your workshop, you're ready for anything the wilds throw at you. Now go stock up.