Horizon Forbidden West War Totem Guide: How To Find The God Of War Collectibles

In Horizon, there are some very hard-to-find PlayStation collectibles, in this case referencing Sony Santa Monica’s God of War and God of War: Ragnarok.

Though the 3 God of War Easter eggs is called War Totems, and while they’re tracked on your Collectibles tab in the Notebook menu, they’re not pointed out by any quests in the game. The only way to discover them is to walk around certain areas of the map, where you might start to see clues hinting at their existence. They can be hard to get, too, as they’re usually covered by machines that will put up a fight before letting you get their nearby War Totems. Check out where you’ll need to go to discover all three War Totems, what you can do to find them, and what you might fight against when you get there.

Horizon Forbidden West War Totem Collectible Locations

Totems of Brotherhood

You can discover the first of the 3 sets of God of War totems down at the border of the map south of Plainsong, near the coordinates you use to track Sylens in the central story. When you reach this area, you’ll discover a big lake here loaded with hard to beat machines, so this might be a place you want to return to once you’ve leveled up extensively.

Out in the lake, as you get there, you’ll see a little island that’s also a Glinthawk roost, which is a fair indication you’re in the right area. Look on the beach for a dead Widemaw with a hammer piercing out of its face. Aloy will talk about the hammer and you can inspect it for more details, and that’ll lead you out to the little island.

Totem of War

The second totem needs you to climb a mountain, so you might want to go later in the game when your traversal opportunities will be enhanced. You’re looking for a spot southwest of The Bulwark, where a snowy mountain river makes its way down the slope to create a waterfall. The spot is really a Sunwing site, though, and they aren’t going to take warmly to your arrival.

You’ll need to go halfway up the waterfall to reach the spot you’re looking for–a recreation of Kratos’s cabin from God of War 2018. It’s a bit hard to spot at first, as it’s hidden in snow and nestled up against a cliff face. Look for it on the north side of the river and get ready to battle some Sunwings when you get there.

Once you empty out the Sunwings, head over to the cabin, which you’ll identify as being very similar to the one where Kratos and Atreus live at the start of God of War. You can’t go inside, but you don’t need to if you want to seize the totem. Head to the left side of the cabin and check under the overhanging canopy there; the Kratos totem is buried in the snow.

Totem of Youth

The last totem is the hardest to find because it’s hiding in plain sight but with apparently nothing to guide you to it. You’ll need to go far to the west, near Legacy’s Landfall and the wreckages of San Francisco. You want the park just south of the ruins of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is also a Stormbird site so beware.

When you get to the spot near the Golden Gate Bridge, look for a looping path and some rusted school buses not far away. If you stay away from the northern edge of the area if you are able to do that the Stormbird that lives here won’t attack you. The bus you want is one that’s stuck under a destroyed bridge, which has a grapple point on it that will pull you up on top of it. When you’re there, go north toward the bridge and look for the totem on the railing; look carefully it can be easily missed.

Finding all three Totems of War unlocks your overall reward: a new face paint pattern called the Mark of War. As you might expect, it mimics Kratos’s look. You can buy it from a Face Painter in one of the settlements, such as Scalding Spear.