The hordes are how you take down Days Gone, and they will flatten you if you charge in like the rifle is the plan, because you are looking at hundreds of freakers, a swarming wall of bodies, all of them wanting you dead at once. The first time a proper one got me I was not being brave, I was being greedy, which is the same mistake I make in every survival game I love, with the fuel, the ammo, and a nest I thought I had scouted, until the tree line moved. It was not one freaker, it was a tide, and they poured through a fence like it was a suggestion, while the bike, which had felt fiddly and stupid for the first two hours, suddenly felt like the only adult in the room. I ran, then I came back with traps and a plan and still ran, and that is the game, which is also why taking one down properly is still one of the most satisfying things I have pointed a camera at.
So this is how I actually do it, after years of defending this one at parties while the room was still calling it a 2019 shrug, and the method has not got more glamorous, only more stubborn.
Scout it like you want to live
Never take on a horde on a whim, and scout it first from a safe distance, ideally during the day when many of them are dozing in their nest. Note where they are, where the choke points pinch, and where your escape routes actually lead once you are on the bike and the map has become a suggestion. Then stock up, with full ammo, healing, and crafting materials for traps and throwables, because going in light is how you end up as a snack, and I say that as someone who has donated more than one run to that exact arrogance. Daytime is when you shape the fight, and night is when Oregon wants you tired, though I still ride at night because the forest closing while you listen for the wrong sound is half the reason this game exists. I would not start there, so get the daylight version in your bones first, then go and be frightened on purpose.
Make the world do the shooting
You will never out-shoot a horde head on, which is a sentence I wish someone had tattooed on my loadout screen, so lure them towards explosive barrels, gas tanks and whatever environmental nastiness the nest is sitting next to, then detonate. Funnel them through narrow choke points so they bunch up and only a few can reach you at a time, and attractor bombs and similar lures are gold here, because they pull the swarm into a kill zone of your choosing rather than letting it surround you. That is the difference between a tactical puzzle and a panic attack wearing a progress bar, and it is the difference I keep relearning on camera.
Throwables are the main event, which means Molotovs, proximity mines, napalm and pipe bombs, and a well-placed cluster of fire and explosives can wipe out a huge chunk of a horde in seconds. Craft as many as you can carry before the fight, and do not be shy about using them, because this is the wrong moment to conserve, while your guns are for cleanup once the fire has done its job. I have watched people try to rifle a swarm into submission, and I have also been those people, and it does not work, since the horde does not care about your preferred fantasy of being a good shot.
Stamina is the real health bar
When the horde is chasing you, your stamina is your lifeline, so do not sprint until you are out of breath and then get caught flat-footed, which is the exact death I keep filming because I am an idiot who likes to see if this time is different. Kite them, keep moving, throw over your shoulder, and reload only when you have bought yourself space, because panic is the real killer, and the players who clear hordes are the ones who keep their head, keep backpedalling, and keep whittling the numbers down a chunk at a time. The bike is how you live and the horde is why you are afraid, and everything else is furniture until those two things click, which I proved the hard way by throwing myself at the absurd version in 48 Hours vs 5,000 Zombies (Heavily Modded Days Gone). That film is the hordes at their least polite, and every tactic above still applied, only faster, and with less room for the little speech I like to give myself about being prepared.
Know when to leave, then come back with more fire
Not every horde has to die today, and if you are low on supplies or in over your head, there is no shame in disengaging, getting on the bike, and coming back better prepared. A retreat is survival rather than a failure, which is the whole point of the game, and the part a 2019 review cycle was not willing to wait for. I have a habit of loving the game in front of me while the consensus is still calling it a mess, then watching that consensus turn up six years later with a recast and a slightly embarrassed grin, and people follow people, while I try to follow the session. The session keeps telling me to run, then come back with more fire, which is less romantic than a last stand and much more likely to leave me on the bike.
PlayStation spelled out what the Remaster added before launch, and Horde Assault is the headline act distilled into a survival arcade, with escalating waves and no open-world travel to hide in. If the hordes are your favourite part, and they should be, that mode is the purest, most stressful version of them, while Permadeath is one life for the whole story, which is either the best idea they had or a way to make me a coward on purpose. A horde is terrifying enough when a death means reloading, and if you make every death final you start treating fuel like it matters, which is the shift I broke down in the horde and permadeath piece, because the modes do change the feel.
Clear your first big horde and you will understand why I have been defending this game since 2019, because it is solo survival at its most heart-pounding, and it is still the reason Oregon is worth the slow open. If you bounced at hour two because Deacon was still finding his feet, I wrote the longer buying case in is Days Gone worth it in 2026. The full run lives on the Days Gone hub, and for more in this vein, see the best PvE games for solo players in 2026. I keep coming back to the hordes because they are funny when they are trying to be grim, a wall of infected, a bike that finally makes sense, and me throwing a molotov over my shoulder like a man who has learned nothing and also everything, and that is the product.
FAQ
How do you take down a horde in Days Gone?
Scout it from a safe distance first, ideally in daylight when a lot of them are dozing in the nest, then stock ammo, healing and crafting materials and make the world do the work by luring freakers into barrels, gas tanks and choke points. Your rifle is cleanup and the throwables are the main event, which I learned the expensive way, and that is the only way this game teaches anything.
What is the best way to deal with a horde chasing you?
Manage your stamina and keep your nerve, which is a polite way of saying do not sprint until you are empty and then stand there like a snack, so kite them, keep moving, throw over your shoulder, and only reload once you have bought yourself space. Panic is the real killer, and the players who clear hordes are the ones who keep backpedalling and keep whittling.
Should you always fight a horde in Days Gone?
No, and if you are low on supplies or in over your head, get on the bike and leave, because coming back better prepared is survival rather than failure, which is the whole point of Oregon. I have run from hordes I later cleared, and I have also charged ones I had no business touching, and only one of those habits kept me on the bike.
What are the best weapons for clearing a horde in Days Gone?
Throwables do the heavy lifting rather than your rifle, so Molotovs, proximity mines, napalm and pipe bombs wipe out big chunks of a swarm in seconds, and you should craft as many as you can carry and use them like you mean it. Guns are for the leftovers once the fire has done its job, and conserving pipe bombs for later is how later never arrives.
When is the best time to attack a horde?
Daytime, when many of the freakers are dozing in their nest, so you can scout from a safe distance, note the choke points and the escape routes, and shape the fight before it ever starts. Night is when Oregon wants you tired and the torch feels like a dare, and I still do nights, though I do not recommend starting there.
What is Horde Assault mode in Days Gone Remastered?
It is a survival arcade the remaster added, built entirely around escalating waves of freakers with the open world stripped out, and if the hordes are the reason you like this game, which they should be, it is the purest and most stressful version of them. I covered how those modes change the feel in the [Days Gone Remastered report](/intel/days-gone-remastered-horde-permadeath/), where the permadeath stakes and the arcade waves get the longer argument.
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