When to play Frozen Wilds?

[GrimpaJ]

I nearly finished the main game (just started "The Mountain That Fell") and I've not started the Frozen Wilds yet.

Is it better to finish the complete main game first and start Frozen Wilds afterwards or better to play through Frozen Wilds and finish the main storyline after that?

[lazzick]

IMO it's better to start the DLC after you've met Sylence in person. You also get new and powerful equip in the DLC. (plus some lore for the main game)
But in the end it does not really matter.
And since you can fast travel between DLC and main areas: try it out whenever you want.

[countgrey]

If it's a New Game, I'll play up to Meridian and then head into the Frozen Lands and get the Banuk Weapons as well as some Outfits. If I'm unable to complete a quest, I'll go back to Meridian and do some quests there for a bit.

If it's New Game+, I'll make my way into the Frozen Lands before I even enter Carja territory so I can get the Banuk Weapons as well as some Outfits. On Ultra Hard that extra modification slot can be really helpful.

[Eye of Newt]

Do it after a mission in the far northeast of Nora lands called the Grave-Hoard.

[🉑 rezno[R].technology]

You can always try for yourself. On the very beginning you will meet a certain enemy. If you will manage to defeat that enemy without too much trouble, then you can do the DLC whenever you like.

Though like others said, doing it after a certain mission in the story will have some additional (optional) benefit. Of course you can always return later.

For me the DLC was much harder than the base game. While playing it I felt that it was designed as a post-story content.

[countgrey]

Here's another way of looking at it: do you have a Ropeaster? If so, then you should be able to do the DLC. Throw a few handling mods on it and you'll have an even easier time.

[Flybye]

I wouldn’t do it unless you are skilled up a good amount with double/tripple shot. Things out there are pretty tough.

[Demon of Razgriz]

I started it at level 28, before I even went to Daytower. It took me a few tries to beat a few machines/missions, but once I finished everything there, I left around level 50 and now I can easily kill anything in the main game with the Banuk weapons and I have almost all the upgrades before I even went to Daytower. I still haven't been to meridian and I have ~78 hours in the game, lol. Just going around collecting everything and going every where I can before I go there.

[Eye of Newt]

Let's just say you closed off a few interesting backstory reveals by doing the Frozen Wilds that early. HOWEVER I absolutely 100% do recommend that just as you should visit Rost's grave periodically you should go back and visit CYAN periodically as well.

[Alcator]

Curiously, there is no "one correct answer" to this - the game will react to what you know and what you don't know, so if you've done the main quest of the Frozen Wilds (technically, it's a side quest, but it's the "MAIN" side quest of this DLC), there will be references to what you've learned in Zero Dawn base and elsewhere; on the other hand, if you've done Zero Dawn base before doing Frozen Wilds, then in Frozen Wilds, there will be references to what you know about Zero Dawn.

Given that you're probably going to play through the game at least 3 times - "New Game", "New Game Plus #1" and "new Game Plus #2" - it might be particularly interesting to change the order of quests just to see the differences.

Hell, it's quite interesting to finish Grave Hoard before finishing "Revenge of the Nora", just to see how the developers force you to finish that quest, and how they provide you with instructions afterwards. Similarly, it's interesting to finish everything "Zero Dawn" related before dealing with the entire Meridian plot (Erend and his sister, Dervahl).

That said, the "recommended level" (I think 30?) for Frozen Wilds is not an exaggeration. The new machines there are significantly more dangerous than what you would meet in Nora Lands and Meridian zone. Comparably, Looming Shadow is what - level 25?
The base game will warn you when you are about to go beyond the point of no return towards the final battle, and it's perfectly OK to do Frozen Wilds AT THAT POINT.

[Eye of Newt]

Originally posted by Alcator:

Hell, it's quite interesting to finish Grave Hoard before finishing "Revenge of the Nora", just to see how the developers force you to finish that quest, and how they provide you with instructions afterwards.

I never actually did that, but I would love to find out what happens when you do that :P

Similarly, it's interesting to finish everything "Zero Dawn" related before dealing with the entire Meridian plot (Erend and his sister, Dervahl).

I actually ended up doing the opposite of this by serendipity and I found out I got kind of a weird dialog order, because apparently you're supposed to kind of organically do both in parallel so Avad gets info about the Eclipse as well as about Dervahl.

That said, the "recommended level" (I think 30?) for Frozen Wilds is not an exaggeration. The new machines there are significantly more dangerous than what you would meet in Nora Lands and Meridian zone. Comparably, Looming Shadow is what - level 25?

The base game will warn you when you are about to go beyond the point of no return towards the final battle, and it's perfectly OK to do Frozen Wilds AT THAT POINT.

I did this my first time, and for my PC replay I plan to go after the Grave-Hoard.