Horizon Forbidden West 1.17 patch notes — Balanced graphics mode, VRR, and more

Months after Horizon Forbidden West’s launch, developer Guerrilla Games is still making important changes. The long-running “shimmering” issue has been taken care of by now, but there are still other bugs to squash. Patch 1.17 is the latest host of changes to come to the game.

Related: Horizon Forbidden West update 1.13 addresses “dark shadows” on outfits, quest bugs — full patch notes

As detailed on Reddit, new features lead the charge this time. Variable and high refresh rates have been added to the game’s PlayStation 5 version, which will improve the game’s visuals on 60Hz displays. Additionally, the PS5 version has a new Balanced Graphics Mode option, aimed specifically at 40Hz displays. Beyond those additions, the update includes a number of bug fixes for main and side quests, plus at least one trophy associated with New Game Plus, a feature that was recently added in a major update. See the complete patch notes below.

Horizon Forbidden West 1.17 Patch Notes

New Features (PlayStation 5)

• Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and High Refresh Rate (HFR) support
  • VRR improves dynamic resolution scaling on 60Hz
  • VRR & HFR targets a refresh rate between 60Hz and 120Hz
• New “Balanced” Graphics Mode introducing 40Hz for supported displays

Known Issues

We are currently looking into several issues reported by the community. Please note that these issues are not yet fixed in this patch, but our teams are aware of them, and they’re being investigated.

Fixes and Improvements

Performance and Stability

• Multiple crash fixes.

Main Quests

• Fixed an issue in Main Quest “The Wings of the Ten” where the objective “Defeat Regalla” was not updating.
• Fixed an issue in Main Quest “The Wings of the Ten” where the “Sunwings” might be missing during the objective “Override a Sunwing”.
• Fixed an issue in Main Quest “All That Remains” where the cinematic with Tilda after the gallery might not start.
• Fixed an issue in Main Quest “The Broken Sky” where sometimes Dekka would be behind Hekarro’s throne during the objective “Talk to Dekka”.

Side Quests

• Fixed an issue in Side Quest “Shadow in the West” where the objective “Kill Vezreh and His Machine” was not updating.
• Fixed an issue in Side Quest “The Gate Of The Vanquished” where the objective “Defeat Yarra/Drakka” was not updating.

World Activities

• Fixed an issue in Errand “Nights of Lights” where collecting the “Gizmo” earlier would block progress.
• Fixed issues in Relic Ruin “The Stillsands” where the activity would be blocked.

Machines

• Fixed an issue where the “Dreadwing” would remain cloaked when knocked down.
• Fixed an issue where “Apex Clawstrider Hearts” would be placed in “Valuables to Sell” in the inventory

Weapons

• Fixed an issue where “Elemental Arrows” from fully upgraded bows would destroy canisters instead of detonating them.
• Fixed an issue where using “Elite Precision Arrows” with “Iriv’s Downfall” would not deal additional damage for enemies in “Brittle” state.

UI/UX

• Updated text for selecting “Ultra Hard” difficulty to clarify that the setting cannot be changed.
• Removed exclamation point icon when all skills have been unlocked and skill points are available.

Other

• Fixed an issue where “Desert Bird Wing” could not be looted from birds.
• Fixed an issue where trophy “All Machine Types Scanned” would not unlock, if scanning remaining machines on NG+
• Fixed an issue where changing the “Crouch/Slide” button to R1 would make it unusable.
• Multiple localization and subtitles fixes and improvements.