Key Takeaway
You’ll get different kinds of Face Paints by completing quests. However, you’ll need to visit a Painter merchant to equip them. The earliest Painter merchant you can find is in Scalding Spear—a large settlement in the desert area of Tenakth territory.
There are a lot of cosmetic options in Horizon Forbidden West, with Face Paints being one of the coolest. However, you’ll need to seek them out all over the world. Also, you’ll need to visit specific merchants to equip them.
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How to Get Face Paints
To get Face Paints, you’ll need to complete quests. The type of quests that will most likely give you a Face Paint are Side Quests. So, if you want to alter Aloy’s face with vibrant colors, you should do as many Side Quests as possible!
Side Quests can be found all over the world. New ones will appear on your map as green exclamation marks if you get relatively close to the quest giver. The best place to find Side Quests is inside settlements. The larger settlements will often have more Side Quests, as they have a higher population than smaller settlements.
How to Equip Face Paints
To equip the Face Paints that you get from quests, you’ll need to visit a Painter merchant. The map icon for Painters is an old-fashioned tattoo needle—which looks like a small pickaxe that is dripping.
Unfortunately, Painters are pretty hard to find early in the game. The first Painter you’ll likely encounter is the one in Scalding Spear, which is a Tenakth settlement in the middle of the desert. This desert is found pretty much in the center of Tenakh territory, which is west of Utaru territory.
Where is the Painter in Scalding Spear?
The Painter in Scalding Spear is named Zokkah. You can find them in the upper area at the south end of Scalding Spear. You’ll have to scale a ramp to reach this area.
Zokkah will also have a quest for you, so there will be a green exclamation mark above his head. This visible marker should help you find him among similarly garbed Tenakth villagers.
What You Need to Equip Face Paints at a Painter
Unlike when dying armor, you don’t need any blooms for Face Paints. All you need to purchase Face Paints are Metal Shards. Furthermore, all Face Paints will only cost 10 Metal Shards each to equip. What a great deal!
In addition to being able to equip Face Paints that you’ve already unlocked through completing Side Quests, you can also buy many more when speaking to Painters.
Does Face Paint Affect Stealth?
Despite making Aloy way more visible, neither machines nor human enemies will notice you more than usual. Face Paint is purely a cosmetic change and does not affect any game mechanics.
With this in mind, feel free to go nuts with customization. Match your armor for seamless style, dress up like your favorite Forbidden West tribe, and more! There is no reason not to ‘fashionize’ and accessorize as you see fit.
