Ancient Vessels in Horizon Zero Dawn are valuable collectibles that can be traded for powerful treasure boxes in Meridian. There are 3 sets of 4 ancient vessels (12 in total) and, although you can get maps alluding to their general area, finding the exact location will require some exploring and focus use. Whether the reward is worth the effort is for you to decide, but at the very least it leads to the unlock of a trophy.
For those who don’t have the desire or time to do that, we’ve condensed the info into a quick and easy guide with pictures. Here are all 12 HZD Ancient Vessel Locations.
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12. Set 1 – Faro
The Faro ancient vessel is inscribed with the Faro Automated Solutions logo. FARO were the corporation responsible for the demise of Earth’s living creatures owing to their mission of mass producing manufactured robots.
This vessel is located in The Jewel towards the south of the Carja Sundom.
11. Set 1 – Arches
The Arches ancient vessel depicts an area of land in the Gatelands region in Eastern Sundom. It is not found there, though. This ancient vessel is close to the starting point of the game in the Sacred Land inhabited by the Nora Tribe (see Map).
Once you have located an ancient structure next to a stream, scan the area using Aloy’s focus to locate the ancient debris that contains the vessel.
10. Set 1 – DroneHop
The DroneHop ancient vessel has a picture of a 21st century drone on the face of it. It is located in the Sacred Lands to the East of the Devil’s Thirst Bandit Camp. This one can be slightly tricky to locate, so listen out for Aloy’s prompts and use the focus to find it.
As you are approaching the bandit camp front the West, the vessel will be located before the bridge, in a partially obscured pile of rubble to the right of the bridge.
9. Set 1 – Wayfarers
The Wayfarers ancient vessel bore the inscription “HARTZ WAYFARERS” on the front of the cup. This is likely a reference to an entity borne out the Hartz-Timor Energy Combine, a corporation in the time of the Old Ones that was partially responsible for the Faro Plague.
The Wayfarers vessel is located not too far away from the Arches vessel, and can be found in the Sacred Lands close to where you encounter the first tallneck robot.
Once you have all 4 of Set 1, you can go and collect Palas’ Reward Box I from Meridian.
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8. Set 2 – Miriam
The first vessel in Set 2 is the Miriam ancient vessel. This refers to the Miriam Technologies corporation of old Earth, a company founded by Dr. Sobeck in an attempt to produce environmentally-friendly robots.
This vessel is located in the Sacred Lands to the east of the Devil’s Grief ancient ruins, and very close to the text datapoint “Luna Here I Come”.
7. Set 2 – USRC
The USRC vessel is a reference to the U.S. Robot Command division of the U.S. government. This division, headed by General Herres, was a military unit that came into the limelight after the military was fully automated in 2055.
The USRC ancient vessel is situated very close to the Miriam vessel, and can be located by heading eastwards from the “All the Same” text datapoint.
6. Set 2 – KZ
The KZ ancient vessel is a reference to Guerilla Games’ other big game franchise, Killzone. The picture on the front of the mug is the red eyes of the Helghast Troopers that are found in the game.
Conveniently, the KZ vessel is also located near the USRC and Miriam vessels and can be found to the south of the Devil’s Grief ancient ruins.
The closest text datapoint to this vessel is “She’s the One”.
5. Set 2 – Sterling-Malkeet
The Sterling-Malkeet ancient vessel bears the logo of the large corporation of the same name. The company was similar to Faro Automated Solutions and was a big proponent of robot manufacturing in Old Earth. From numerous data points found throughout the game, we come to learn that Sterling-Malkeet was a controversial corporation, who had a lot of power in the political world.
This vessel is found to the immediate west of the Shattered Kiln settlement in Maker’s End. Use your focus as you approach the area from the west, it is hard to miss.
Once you have collected this Horizon Zero Dawn ancient vessel, you can now trade Set 2 for Palas’ Reward Box II in Meridian.
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4. Set 3 – Odyssey
The Odyssey vessel is located in the Sun Furrows. It refers to the colony ship that was proposed by a multinational coalition to prepare for the worsening climate crisis. Without giving too much away, you get to learn more about the Odyssey storyline throughout the main quest line in Horizon Zero Dawn.
The best way to find this vessel is to go to the location of the Olin assigned quest “Collateral”. The vessel is located directly south of here in the heart of the Maker’s End region.
3. Set 3 – Metallurgic
The Metallurgic ancient vessel is a mug with the logo of the megacorporation Metallurgic International, a company that was heavily linked to the Faro Plague due to having a monopoly on the mining industry prior to the collapse of human civilization.
This vessel is located in the mountains in the northeastern region of the map. It is slightly to the east of the level 27 corrupted zone (containing 2 Ravagers and 1 Fire Bellowback), and very close to the campfire in the area.
2. Set 3 – Jomei
Probably one of the last Horizon Zero Dawn ancient vessels that you’ll encounter is the Jomei mug. Not much is known about this vessel, other than the fact that “Jomei World Tour 2053” is written on the face of it.
It is located in the Sun Furrows, not too far away from the Dimmed Bones ancient ruins. The best opportunity to encounter this vessel is during the level 15 main quest “Into the Borderlands”.
1. Set 3 – Thunderheads
On the face of the last vessel in Set 3 is written “Rocky Mountain Thunderheads”. Once you have collected this vessel, you will be able to return to Palas in Meridian to collect Palas’ Reward Box III.
The Thunderheads vessel is situated near the metallurgic vessel in the northeastern region of the map. It is a stone’s throw east of the Maker’s End ancient ruins and south of the Faro Automated Solutions ruins.
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We hope you enjoyed reading about the 12 Horizon Zero Dawn ancient vessel locations. With a combination of the maps and the picture clues, you should find them in no time. If not, let us know in the comment section below.
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