- Quest Progression Restoration: Fixes a critical blocker in the “To the Burning Shores” main quest where Seyka would obstruct climbing paths near the tower.
- End-Game Ecosystem Balance: Resolves a bug preventing machine spawns at unmarked sites for players reaching Ghost Level 101.
- Economy & Completionist Fixes: Introduces an additional Brimshine Sliver near Cauldron THETA to ensure players can fully upgrade all DLC gear.
For players still navigating the lush, post-apocalyptic ruins of Los Angeles in 2026, the Horizon Forbidden West Update 1.024 (alternatively labeled as 1.24) remains a cornerstone of the game’s technical legacy. Originally deployed to address the friction points introduced by the Burning Shores expansion, this update transitioned the experience from a “launch state” to a polished high-fidelity standard. Whether you are revisiting the Forbidden West on a legacy PS4 or pushing the limits of the PS5’s expanded hardware capabilities, understanding this version’s specific fixes is essential for maintaining save file integrity.
Main Quest & Narrative Flow Corrections
The primary focus of Update 1.024 was the elimination of hard-locks within the Burning Shores storyline. Guerrilla Games prioritized pathing logic for companion AI, specifically Seyka, whose behavior frequently interrupted the critical “Climb Up the Tower” objective. By refining the script triggers during these sequences, the developer ensured that reloading a campfire save no longer results in a static, unplayable world state.
Version Parity Note: For owners of the Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition, these fixes are baked into the 2026 unified build. However, standalone DLC players must ensure their client version reflects 1.024 or higher to avoid the “Horus combat clipping” bug in the final act.
Critical Side Quest Adjustments
- A Friend in the Dark: This complex puzzle quest received extensive logic updates. Fixes prevent Gildun from entering an idle state during elevator sequences and resolve physics-based soft-locks involving the luggable wagon cart.
- In His Wake: A specific exploit where players could be locked out of a cell door after fast traveling post-looting has been fully mitigated.
- The Splinter Within: Collision geometry for skiff navigation was optimized to prevent players from becoming wedged inside plane wreckage assets.
World Activities and Exploration Integrity
Exploration in the Burning Shores relies heavily on Aerial Captures and Mount-based puzzles. Update 1.024 serves as a “completionist’s patch,” specifically targeting those pursuing a 100% completion rate. The inclusion of an additional Brimshine Sliver near Cauldron THETA was a direct response to players being mathematically unable to purchase every upgrade in previous versions.
| Activity Type | Primary Fix |
|---|---|
| Aerial Captures | Restored start-points for North and East paths; prevented Aloy’s dialogue from clipping recordings. |
| Pangea Figurines | Resolved localization errors in the “Green Raptor” and “Dimorphodon” descriptions that prevented code entry. |
| Relic Ruins | Fixed a progression blocker in “Murmuring Hollow” where energy cells could be lost permanently. |
Performance Benchmarking for 2026 Hardware
While the 1.024 patch notes focus on bug resolution, the internal optimization of art assets provided a noticeable uplift for modern systems. On PC, the stuttering issues previously seen on high-end NVIDIA and AMD cards during volumetric cloud rendering in the Burning Shores have been stabilized. This mirrors the technical precision seen in recent titles like Marathon’s 2026 meta updates.
For console enthusiasts, this update solidified the “Resolution” and “Performance” modes. The stabilization of frame rate drops during the Horus boss fight—one of the most demanding sequences in the Horizon franchise—is particularly evident when running the game on a PS5 Pro, where the dynamic resolution scaling now maintains a more aggressive pixel count without sacrificing 60 FPS fluidity.
Machine AI and Gear Refinements
A notable technical hurdle for veteran players was the cessation of machine spawns upon reaching Ghost Level 101. Patch 1.024 re-initializes the world’s spawning logic, ensuring that unmarked machine sites remain populated regardless of the player’s endgame level. Additionally, the Specter Gauntlet received much-needed resource management fixes, preventing it from excessively draining resources from the player’s Stash during ammo crafting.
According to the official Guerrilla Games development logs, these cumulative fixes aim to provide a “frictionless experience” as the franchise prepares for future expansions. If you are experiencing technical difficulties with any current-gen title, checking for similar version-specific updates, such as the WWE 2K26 AI buffs, can often resolve complex software conflicts.
“This update represents our commitment to ensuring Aloy’s journey remains as technically proficient as the world she inhabits. We have analyzed player telemetry to target the most elusive progression blockers across all supported hardware configurations.”
With the release of Update 1.024, Horizon Forbidden West reached its definitive stable state, allowing players to focus entirely on the narrative depth and environmental storytelling of the Burning Shores without the shadow of technical instability.
