"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 Sawtooth is a machine in Horizon Zero Dawn.
History[]
At the advent of the Derangement, almost all machines started becoming increasingly aggressive towards humans. In addition, HEPHAESTUS began manufacturing Combat Class machines designed for the sole purpose of combating humans in an effort to cull their population.[2]
Sawtooths can be found in the Sacred Lands, the Valleymeet the Sundom, and the Cut. Sawtooths used to also be found in Desert Tenakth territory, but have since been replaced by Ravagers and Thunderjaws.[3]
The first documented encounter with a Sawtooth by the Carja was during the third year of Sun-King Jiran's reign, where Khuvam, Hawk of the Hunters Lodge, was called by the Prefect at Daytower to slay whatever ripped his best cohort limb from limb. For four days, he tracked the machine through the Sacred Lands before finding it. Fighting from twilight to midnight, Khuvam managed to destroy it, surviving with his left arm chewed ragged at the joint. Thus he named the machine Sawtooth as he took his trophy from its shattered remains.[4]
Horizon Zero Dawn[]
Many years later, the Sawtooth became known to the Nora as they attacked villages and hunting lodges, killing and maiming many Braves, who worked diligently to eliminate them.[5] Rost gave Aloy the task of killing a Sawtooth as her final test before the Proving.[1]
When Aloy infiltrated Cauldron SIGMA and overrode its core, she gained access to the information needed to override Sawtooths.[6]
Ferl and Muns climbed to an upper floor of a ruin to escape two Sawtooths. When Aloy came searching for them, she destroyed the Sawtooths to let them escape safely.[7]
In order to get Hawk Talanah of the Hunters Lodge to sponsor her as her Thrush, Aloy was tasked to collect three Sawtooth Trophies.[8]
Brin, while trying to hunt a Sawtooth for its blood, was injured and had to flee for his own safety.[9] Under his request, Aloy hunted down another Sawtooth to collect the blood for him.[10]
Corrupted Sawtooths were among the machines used by the Eclipse army, which they used for their invasion of the Sacred Lands.[11]
Appearance[]
HEPHAESTUS appears to have modeled the Sawtooth after Smilodon fatalis, an extinct feline apex predator of the Pleistocene epoch, commonly called the saber-toothed cat. Like the saber-toothed cat, it is heavyset at the front, with a large, broad chest, neck, and shoulders, powerful legs, and no tail. Its mouth is equipped with a pair of curved, scimitar-like serrated spikes, like a saber-toothed cat's fangs. Two optical sensor arrays are located on its face, in the same position as a saber-toothed cat’s eyes. Each is composed of two sensors in a vertical configuration. A long, metal crest-like structure runs along the forward area of its back, and an array of three long antenna-like structures protrude from its back in a fan-like pattern, just behind the shoulders. Its paws are equipped with non-retractable claws. The shoulders, head, and neck are heavily armored. A power cell sits atop its hindquarters, and a canister of Blaze is ensconced in its chest.
Behavior[]
Sawtooths are usually deployed singly or in groups of up to three to protect herds of terraforming machines such as Grazers and Lancehorns. While the terraformers are busy working, the Sawtooth patrols around the herd, on a constant lookout against perceived threats. The distinctive, heavy sound of its servomotors and its deep, fearsome growls are easily heard. Frequently they are deployed in tandem with Watchers as a primary threat response, immediately converging on the position of any Watcher that sounds an alarm. They may also be found patrolling circuitous paths near areas that humans use as travel routes, especially if herding terraformers are in these areas.
Abilities[]
- "An entire lodge, wrecked?"
- ―Aloy, surveying the carnage wrought by Sawtooths
Despite its size and heavyset chassis, a Sawtooth is highly agile and is capable of great speed. It is designed for rapid sprinting and pouncing, and will very quickly close the distance to an identified threat. Sawtooths carry no ranged weapons, but their speed and ferocious melee attacks effectively compensate for this. However, they are highly vulnerable to weapons that utilize fire. Their attacks center on lunging with violent claw slashes and bites, giving enemies little time to retaliate.
Attacks[]
Name | Damage Type | Primary Damage | Trigger Range | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Berserker Fury | Melee | 300 | 3m - 10m | Multiple lunging claw slashes |
Claw Swipe | Melee | 140 | 7m - 11m | Single lunging claw swipe |
Jaw Smash | Melee | 140 | 1m - 8m | Single swipe with jaw |
Jumping Jaw Smash | Melee | 180 | 16m - 23m | Single swipe with jaw after pouncing |
Components[]
Loot[]
Trivia[]
- Sawtooth is known for being the very first boss in the Horizon series.
- Despite Rost telling Aloy that machines can communicate non-vocally, Sawtooths roar and growl like a lion.
- If significantly damaged, Sawtooths will begin limping, holding up one of their front paws in a manner similar to cats. Their 'panting' will also become less regular, further indicating their injury.
- During the game's development, Sawtooths were referred to as "Greywolves."[12]
- In Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, there is an Easter Egg that the RYNO 8 has a chance of summoning the Sawtooth.
- Sawtooths are one of the few machines from Horizon Zero Dawn that did not reappear in Horizon Forbidden West. Despite this, they were mentioned.[3]
- According to Special Item descriptions in Acquired Taste, Sawtooth blood is "clear" and "acidic".
Gallery[]
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Point of the Spear
- ↑ M/ALL-US-W CM LOG 329G
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 As mentioned by Drakka during Thirst for the Hunt.
- ↑ Legendary Hunts
- ↑ As mentioned by Rost during The Point of the Spear.
- ↑ Cauldron SIGMA
- ↑ Sanctuary
- ↑ Hunting for the Lodge
- ↑ As mentioned by Brin during Acquired Taste.
- ↑ Acquired Taste
- ↑ The Heart of the Nora
- ↑ Jing Zhang, ArtStation