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"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.
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- "The Daemon's energy pulses from them. Rallies the machines, even repairs them."
- ―Naltuk
The Control Tower is a machine in Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds.
History[]
Control Towers release regular pulses, which can frenzy and heal machines, as well as disable overridden machines and the Shield-Weaver. Despite their name, Control Towers don't appear to exert any control over machines.
The Control Towers were first released shortly before Aloy learned how to override machines, and are only known to be found in the Cut.
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds[]
Upon gaining access to the PSI overrides by looting a Corruptor for its override module, Aloy became able to override Control Towers.[1]
Aloy first encountered a Control Tower when she met Naltuk while looking for his mentor Ourea. Naltuk asked Aloy to neutralize it in exchange for information on Ourea’s whereabouts. Aloy agreed and did so. While she was navigating the Shaman's Path, she found another Control Tower with a Frostclaw. She prevailed, either neutralizing the Control Tower and killing the Frostclaw or slipping past.[2]
After overriding or destroying another Control Tower in Cauldron EPSILON, HEPHAESTUS released a Fireclaw to kill Aloy, Aratak and Ourea, constructing two more Control Towers during the fight to aid the Fireclaw. However, the Control Towers weren't enough to stop the three hunters from destroying all the machines.[3]
Appearance[]
The Control Tower resembles a short palm tree. Its constant swaying movement resembles that of certain small stationary marine fauna such as sea anemones. The chassis consists of a stout, tree trunk-like armored structure with six leaf-like structures at the apex, surrounding a central emitter. At the base of the machine are three data nodes. Near the top of the chassis is a triangular extendable cooling element, which the machine briefly extends following the release of its energy pulse.
Behavior[]
A Control Tower has no behavior other than to sway back and forth, repairing and maintaining machines within its radius of influence via its energy pulse. They are completely defenseless, and are therefore guarded by Daemonic combat-ready machines.
The mechanism by which Control Towers appear is unknown. Their absolute inability to ambulate suggests that whatever technology that produces them is transported to their deployment site by machines under HEPHAESTUS’ direction. The fact that they appeared very rapidly without construction during the battle against the Fireclaw in Cauldron EPSILON suggests that the technology is more advanced than any Zero Dawn machine-manufacturing technology.
Abilities[]
As per its function, a Control Tower is able to repair any damage sustained by a machine, save the destruction of armor or components. It accomplishes this by emitting a purple energy pulse every 10 seconds that repairs damaged machines within its radius of influence. The repair is cumulative; a critically damaged machine will eventually be fully repaired once it stays within the radius of the Control Tower’s pulses. This means that all of a hunter’s progress in damaging a machine can and will eventually be undone if the Control Tower is not neutralized. Additionally, the pulse electrically stuns overridden machines, which remain incapacitated until the Tower is neutralized, and disables the protective energy shield in Aloy’s Shield-Weaver outfit.[4]
Weaknesses[]
A Control Tower’s cooling rod is its only tactical liability apart from its immobility and lack of direct armament. Presumably used as a form of thermal regulation, the rod is extended immediately after a pulse is emitted and remains extended for several seconds. While extended, it can be targeted with ranged ammunition such as Precision Arrows. Destroying it causes a massive elemental Fire explosion and destroys the Control Tower. Additionally, the data nodes at the base may be used to override the Control Tower. An overridden Control Tower emits one final pulse that electrically stuns any machine in its radius of influence before permanently going offline.
Pulse Healing[]
| Small machines | Medium machines | Large machines | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heal Amount | 20% | 15% | 10% |
Known locations[]
| Location | Enemies | Level | Map |
|---|---|---|---|
| West of the Frostfigures Tallneck | 1 Daemonic Longleg
3 Daemonic Scrappers |
30 |  |
| West of Animal Figurine 6 | 4 Daemonic Shell-Walkers | 35 |  |
| East of Animal Figurine 6 | 1 Daemonic Scorcher
2 Daemonic Longlegs |
35 |   |
| West of Longnotch | 2 Daemonic Stalkers
3 Daemonic Redeye Watchers |
35 |   |
| South of the Stone Yield Bandit Camp | 3 Daemonic Fire Bellowbacks | 35 |   |
| The Claws Beneath's valley | 1 Daemonic Rockbreaker OR 5 Tramplers
if For the Werak has not been completed OR 1 Daemonic Fireclaw if The Claws Beneath and Out of the Forge have been completed. |
45 |   |
| Old world lodge north of Hollow Hall | 2 Daemonic Scrappers
2 Daemonic Stalkers 1 Daemonic Redeye Watcher |
40 |   |
| Greycatch Lake | 2 Daemonic Longlegs
3 Daemonic Scrappers 3 Daemonic Snapmaws |
48 | |
| Shaman's Path | 1 Daemonic Frostclaw | 30 |   |
