Snapmaw

"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.

"There's so much to learn, and less time than I'd hoped." This article or section does not reflect changes introduced by new releases in the series. You can help by updating the contents.

Snapmaw
Able to engage on land and water, its bulk belies the speed of its distance-closing lunge attacks.
Size	Medium
Weight	Midweight
Origin	GAIA
Class	Acquisition
Override	Cauldron RHO (HZD) Cauldron IOTA (HFW)
Machine Sites	11 (HZD) 4 (HFW)
Combat
Challenge Level	20 (regular) 27 (Corrupted) 31 (Daemonic) 32 (Apex)
HP	1450 (regular) 2175 (Corrupted and Apex) 2538 (Daemonic)
Weakness	Fire Shock (HFW)
Strength	Freeze Purgewater (HFW)
Explosive Components	Freeze Sac Metalbite Sac (Apex)
Weak Points	Eyes Blaze Canister x2 Purgewater Canister (x2, HFW) Glowblast Canister (x2, Apex) Resource Container (HFW) Dispersal Tank (HFW)

"Look at the jaws on that thing. It could snap a Sawtooth right in half."

―Aloy, upon sighting a Snapmaw

The Snapmaw is a machine in Horizon Zero Dawn and a returning machine in Horizon Forbidden West and Horizon Call of the Mountain.

History

Development

Elisabet Sobeck presenting a conceptual image of a Snapmaw.

The Snapmaws were one of the first designs created by the artificial intelligence GAIA as one of the Zero Dawn terraforming machines, designed to work under POSEIDON to help with water purification.

A hologram of an early Snapmaw was used during Elisabet's presentation of Project Zero Dawn, showing how the HEPHAESTUS and POSEIDON sub-functions worked.

Pre-Derangement

A Snapmaw being constructed in Cauldron RHO.

Being such an early design, Snapmaws were likely among the first machines to be deployed to help restore the biosphere for DEMETER and ARTEMIS to later release plant and animal life. The only known Cauldron that produces Snapmaws is Cauldron RHO.

At this stage, like all Zero Dawn machines, Snapmaws were docile and skittish, tending to run away from humans as they would often hunt machines for parts and resources. Snapmaws became commonplace across the Valleymeet, the Sundom, the Cut, the northern Clan Lands, the Isle of Spires, and the Burning Shores, often found in bodies of water.

The Derangement

At the advent of the Derangement, almost all machines started becoming increasingly aggressive towards humans, including the Snapmaws. By the time of Aloy reaching adulthood, Snapmaws are aggressive to all humans they see.

Horizon Zero Dawn

A Snapmaw as depicted in the notebook in Horizon Zero Dawn.

When Aloy infiltrated Cauldron RHO, she found a Snapmaw in the middle of being constructed. Once she destroyed it and overrode RHO's core, she gained access to the information needed to override Snapmaws.

Residents of Lone Light noticed an increase of Glinthawks near their settlement and frequently attacking them, to which Ilsadi requested the Hunters Lodge for help when the guards of Morning Watch refused to help anymore. When Talanah and Aloy came to investigate, Aloy found Vashad and Omas nearby leaving several Snapmaw carcasses out, which were attracting the Glinthawks. After Aloy either got the hunters to leave or killed them, the danger the Glinthawks were posing to Lone Light was lessened.

Aloy encountered Snapmaws at a lake in the region known as Valleymeet. They had trapped a Carja soldier named Lakhir, commander of a unit from the Daytower garrison, on an island in the middle of the lake. She killed the Snapmaws, allowing Lakhir to leave the island and return to Daytower.

Aloy was tasked with destroying the Snapmaws around the Lake Shrine for Rea to safely mourn her friend she lost to the Red Raids.

While searching for Elida, Aloy found her trapped on a high rock by a Snapmaw that has invaded her makeshift camp. Aloy then destroyed the Snapmaw.

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds

Aloy and Gildun found that a lock mechanism they needed had been eaten by a daemonic Snapmaw. Since Gildun was unable to fight the Snapmaw due to fear, Aloy destroyed it herself.

Burgrend, needing a Snapmaw Fang, hired Tatai, Tulemak, and Urkai to retrieve one for him to help pay back their debt to him. They, along with Aloy, destroyed a Snapmaw to get one.

Sometime between Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West

While the circumstances of how are unknown, Aloy somehow lost the ability to override Snapmaws, as well as most other machines.

Horizon Forbidden West

A Snapmaw passing an Oseram it had killed.

The Arena at the Memorial Grove use Snapmaws in their battles, one of which known as the 'From the Deep' requires hunters to kill two Snapmaws and a Tideripper in a single fight.

Aloy encountered Snapmaws in the Forbidden West and Burning Shores many times, usually posing a danger to her while in or around water.

An Apex Snapmaw.

A new model of Snapmaw, the Apex Snapmaws, were released into the wilds alongside their regular counterpart sometime after Apex machines were first released from Repair-Bay TAU.

Some residents of Bleeding Mark were trapped on a ledge by some Snapmaws and Burrowers after a landslide and flood occured. Aloy destroyed the machines to let the Tenakth escape safely.

When Aloy infiltrated Cauldron IOTA and overrode its core, she regained access to the information needed to override Snapmaws.

Appearance

Snapmaws are classed as medium-sized machines, but compared to a human they are quite large. A Snapmaw's chassis resembles the body of an enormous crocodile such as the extinct Deinosuchus, with a long, crocodilian snout, a heavyset reptilian body, four crocodilian legs and feet, and a long, stout, powerful tail. Its gait exactly mirrors that of a crocodile. The snout’s upper mandible is long, tapered and toothy, while the lower mandible is actually a chainsaw-like blade with a system of small grinders at its base. There are two optical sensor arrays in the same position as a crocodile's eyes. In Horizon Zero Dawn, Snapmaws have an armored Blaze canister sitting atop each shoulder. In Horizon Forbidden West, the Blaze canisters are replaced with Purgewater canisters. The gullet is composed of a sac-like reservoir of Chillwater, called a Freeze Sac. Presumably this is used as a coolant. An array of resource containers that resemble armor plating line its back. Solar panels line its back beside the containers, acting as armor.

Apex Snapmaws resemble normal Snapmaws apart from their black armor and purple muscles. Their gullet contains a reservoir of Metalbite, called a Metalbite Sac. Also, Apex Snapmaws have Glowblast canisters on their shoulders instead of Purgewater canisters.

Behavior

Snapmaw sites are scattered throughout the Carja Sundom, from the jungles of The Jewel in the south to the snowy regions in the far north. Daemonic Snapmaws are found in The Cut. Whether Daemonic or not, undisturbed Snapmaws invariably bask lazily in the sun on the bank of lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. They purify the water and the soil at the bottom by destroying toxins and removing minerals, periodically ejecting them from the pods in the resource containers their backs. Presumably the Snapmaw can use some of its collected resources to manufacture replacement pods in situ, as no Snapmaw has ever been seen to run out of pods.

Abilities

Like crocodiles, a Snapmaw’s apparent sloth belies the great speed it displays when confronting a perceived threat. Snapmaws employ a ranged attack in which they belch projectiles of Chillwater at an enemy. These are similar to the projectiles hurled by Glinthawks from their beaks and, like them, cause damage, pain and markedly reduced ability to move in human enemies, and will freeze machine enemies such as corrupted or overridden machines provided enough of them hit home. Additionally, they employ melee attacks such as lunging jumps at an enemy, snapping with their jaws, and using their tails as bludgeons. They are also capable of attacking perceived enemies in water, such as swimming humans.

Weaknesses

A Snapmaw’s major structural and tactical weakness is its Freeze Sac. Strikes on it from high-powered impact ammunition such as Precision Arrows trigger a corresponding elemental explosion that freezes the machine and disables its ranged Freeze-based attacks. The Freeze effect of the explosion is powerful enough to overcome a Daemonic Snapmaw’s high resistance to elemental attacks. Additionally, Snapmaws are particularly susceptible to weapons that utilize fire, though the inflicted damage is less with a Daemonic Snapmaw, as is the number of strikes needed to induce a Burn state.

Attacks

Horizon Zero Dawn

Name	Damage Type	Primary Damage	Secondary Damage	Trigger Range	Description
Freeze Burst	Freeze	50	30 per second	20m - 45m	Belches Freeze projectiles at enemy like mortar fire
Lunge Bite	Melee	180	-	8m - 12m (land) 11m - 19m (water)	Lunges at enemy from long range with snapping jaws
Jumping Jaw Bite	Melee	180	-	0m - 17m	Arcing jump at enemy with snapping jaws
Snap Bite	Melee	160	-	3m - 11m (land) 3m - 8m (water)	Short range lunge with snapping jaws
Tail Strike	Melee	180	-	10m - 15m	Long range bludgeon attack with tail
Spinning Tail Strike	Melee	180	-	0m - 6m	Short range spinning bludgeon attack with tail

Horizon Forbidden West

Name	Windup Time	Stance	Damage	Damage Area	Trigger Range	Description
Spin Attack	Medium	Grounded	200 Melee	-	10m - 25m	Lunges forward while spinning 180o in a sweeping motion with its tail.
Spin on Spot	Very Short	Grounded	200 Melee	-	0m - 6m	Quickly spins in place while swinging with its tail.
Frost Mortar	Medium	Grounded/Overwater	75 25 buildup	15/s 15/s buildup	0m - 45m	Spits a series of 5 Frost projectiles in arcing trajectory. Projectiles create an explosion and leaves a residual Frost damage area. Attack disabled when Drenched.
Jump Attack	Long	Grounded/Overwater	250 Melee 17	-	14m - 36m	Winds up at a distance before leaping at target.
Jump Bite	Short	Grounded	200 Melee	-	0m - 17m	Performs a short-range jump and bites once.
Snap Bite	Very Short	All	200 Melee	-	3m - 14m	Quickly snaps at target with its jaws.
Lunging Jaw Snap	Short	All	200 Melee	-	8m - 20m	While swimming on surface, dives underwater and emerges while biting twice moving forward. Underwater, surges forward while snapping jaw twice.

Apex Variant

Name	Windup Time	Stance	Damage	Damage Area	Trigger Range	Description
Acid Mortar	Medium	Grounded/Overwater	75 25 buildup	15/s 15/s buildup	0m - 45m	Spits a series of 5 Acid projectiles in arcing trajectory. Projectiles create an explosion and leaves a residual Acid damage area. Attack disabled when Drenched.

Variants

Variant	Weak Vs.	Strong Vs.
Snapnaw	Fire Shock	Frost Purgewater
Apex Snapnaw	Fire	Acid Purgewater

Components

Horizon Zero Dawn

Component:	Image:	Information:	Weakness:	Strength:
Body		Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems.	Fire	Freeze
Blaze Canister		Blaze storage canister. Shoot with Fire arrows to trigger an explosion. Shoot off this component to collect the resource inside.	Fire Tear	None
Freeze Sac		Destroying this component disables the ranged Freeze attack, and triggers a large explosion.	All	None

Horizon Forbidden West

Name	Variant	Image	Description	Attributes
Body	All		Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems.	None
Chillwater Sac	Standard		Chillwater storage. Destroy to cause a Frost explosion and disable Frost attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass.	Explosive Persists When Killed Contains Resources If Intact Key Upgrade Resource
Purgewater Canister	Standard		Purgewater storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with a Purgewater Arrow to detonate.	Chain Reaction Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Metalbite Sac	Apex		Metalbite storage. Destroy to cause an Acid explosion and disable Acid attacks or leave intact to add loot to the carcass.	Explosive Persists When Killed Contains Resources If Intact Key Upgrade Resource
Glowblast Canister	Apex		Glowblast storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with a Plasma Arrow to detonate.	Chain Reaction Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Dispersal Tank	All		Resource processing and storage system. Once filled, each tank is expelled into the surrounding area for collection.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed
Resource Container	All		Storage container for valuable resources. Tear off to collect its contents.	Detachable Contains Valuable Resources Destroyed When Killed

Loot

Horizon Zero Dawn

Blaze

4

Chillwater

4

Metal Shards

1

Sparker

1

Wire

1

Machine Core - Medium

50

Luminous Braiding

30

Snapmaw Lens

33

Snapmaw Heart

66

Horizon Forbidden West

• Snapmaw
• Apex Snapmaw

Body

• Metal Shards (100%)
• Purgewater (100%)
• Piercing Spike (100%)
• Machine Muscle (32%)
• Snapmaw Circulator (29%)
• Medium Machine Core (26%)
• Braided Wire (20%)
• Snapmaw Primary Nerve (19%)
• Sturdy Hardplate (11%)
• Metal Bone (10%)

Chillwater Sac

• Snapmaw Sac Webbing (100%)
• Chillwater (100%)

Purgewater Canister

• Purgewater (100%)

Dispersal Tank

• Braided Wire (75%)
• Sturdy Hardplate (45%)
• Blastpaste (16%)
• Snapmaw Primary Nerve (13%)

Resource Container

• Chillwater (21%)
• Braided Wire (21%)
• Sturdy Hardplate (20%)
• Purgewater (20%)
• Medium Machine Core (20%)

Body

• Metal Shards (100%)
• Purgewater (100%)
• Piercing Spike (100%)
• Apex Snapmaw Heart (59%)
• Volatile Sludge (49%)
• Machine Muscle (31%)
• Snapmaw Circulator (28%)
• Medium Machine Core (27%)
• Braided Wire (20%)
• Snapmaw Primary Nerve (20%)
• Sturdy Hardplate (11%)
• Metal Bone (10%)

Metalbite Sac

• Snapmaw Sac Webbing (100%)
• Metalbite (100%)

Glowblast Canister

• Glowblast (100%)

Dispersal Tank

• Braided Wire (76%)
• Sturdy Hardplate (44%)
• Blastpaste (15%)
• Snapmaw Primary Nerve (14%)

Resource Container

• Sturdy Hardplate (21%)
• Purgewater (21%)
• Chillwater (21%)
• Medium Machine Core (20%)
• Braided Wire (20%)

Trivia

• Before the announcement trailer for Horizon Forbidden West, the Snapmaw was the only machine that was able to fully submerge itself, as well as the only one with aquatic capacities.
• When successfully tied with Ropecaster wires whilst on water, Snapmaws will execute a "death roll," a maneuver by real life crocodiles in which they roll their body sideways, usually to help them bite off parts of prey to be eaten. This will instantly break the binding.
• The solar panels serve as armor in combat, and can be broken off.
• There is only one area in Horizon Zero Dawn that will spawn Corrupted Snapmaws. The waters just off the shore of Devil's Grief can spawn Snapmaws, and because every machine that spawns in the ruins is Corrupted, so too are the Snapmaws.
• During development, the Snapmaw was referred to as the Beach-Lizard.

Gallery