Stormbird

"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers, and may reveal plot or quest information.

The Stormbird is a machine in Horizon Zero Dawn. It is a large aerial combat-class machine. Its ability to fly distinguishes it from other machines of this class. Its huge size, intimidating appearance, superior field of vision (due to being aerial), and an array of powerful attacks make it a lethal threat to any human who enters an area over which a Stormbird patrols.

History

Stormbirds were not created as combat machines. Instead, they were originally Zero Dawn terraformers, designed by Zero Dawn’s governing AI GAIA to work under its subordinate function AETHER, to detoxify Earth’s atmosphere, which was ravaged by the Faro Plague (though there is some evidence that the basic design concept may actually date back to the Old World origins of Project Zero Dawn).

However, when GAIA self-destructed, HEPHAESTUS, GAIA’s erstwhile subordinate function responsible for manufacturing Zero Dawn’s terraforming machines, gained control over machine manufacture and management of at least five Zero Dawn cauldrons. Deeming humans a threat to Zero Dawn for their hunting of machines, HEPHAESTUS made the machines produced at these cauldrons hostile toward humans. The tribe’s refer to this phenomenon as the Derangement. It then began producing combat machines of various sizes and abilities as further protection and deterrence against machine hunting. It weaponized Stormbirds, remodeling them from aerial detoxifiers to powerful aerial combat machines.

The Nora huntress Aloy hunted Stormbirds three times. One instance was to elevate her status in the Carja Hunters Lodge, after becoming the Thrush of then Hawk and subsequent Sunhawk Talanah Khane Padish. Another was to collect its mech fluid to give to the eccentric Banuk shaman Brin. The third time was to collect a talon to be used to improve a weapon she had been given called a Stormslinger. Additionally, she encountered a Stormbird at the abandoned workshop of the rogue Oseram warlord Dervahl, high on the Eastern Ridge, north of the Oseram freehold Pitchcliff. A Stormbird was the final machine she encountered and killed at the end of the route known as the Bitter Climb. Finally, she fought and killed a Corrupted Stormbird during the defense of the Carja capital Meridian against an assault by the cult known as the Eclipse.

Appearance

Stormbirds are raptorial in appearance. Indeed, while machines generally resemble some form of pre-Zero Day animal life, the Stormbird's appearance does so more than any other known machine. Its resemblance to a bird of prey is unmistakable, with raptorial wings, tail, head and beak, armor plating that resembles feathers, and taloned feet. It has two optical sensor arrays positioned in the same place as the eyes of an eagle or falcon. Above each shoulder is an armored Chillwater canister. Each wing is equipped with three feather-shaped jet engines. The wings are equipped with winglets, enhancing their aerodynamic efficiency. An armored Blaze canister is positioned above each hip. Each of the four toes on each foot is equipped with a talon. In the center of the chest is an armored electrical energy projectile weapon known as a lighting gun, with which it can fire powerful blasts of electrical energy, similar to a Shell-Walker.

Behavior

Stormbirds are solitary; at no time have they ever been seen to congregate. They circle high overhead at their respective sites, never landing except to attack a perceived enemy; because of this, the only known way to successfully Override one is to first tie it down with a Ropecaster. Stormbird sites are scattered throughout the Carja Sundom, from The Jewel to the mountains far north of Meridian. They are mainly found in the arid regions north and northeast of Meridian. Though they have never been seen active in The Cut, the chassis of one, long destroyed and heavily encrusted with Bluegleam, is at the end of the pilgrimage route known as the Shaman’s Path.

Abilities

Stormbirds employ powerful electric attacks from the air, such as carpet bombing with electrical energy projectiles, and equally powerful melee attacks on the ground using their beaks, talons, and tails. Additionally, they employ their wings as weapons by using them to generate damaging wind gusts, and to execute air-to-ground melee attacks. They can also use their weight to crush an enemy that moves directly beneath them while airborne. They possess no elemental weaknesses, and are resistant to Shock damage.

Weaknesses

Removal of all six jet engines on a Stormbird’s wings disables their air-to-ground and carpet bombing attacks. Destroying the lightning gun disables a Stormbird’s electrical energy attacks and enhancements, dealing Shock damage to the machine. Strikes on its Blaze and Chillwater canisters with the corresponding elemental ammunition cause corresponding elemental explosions and respectively induce Burn and Freeze states. 

Attacks

Ground Attacks

Attack Name	Damage Type	Primary Damage	Secondary Damage	Trigger Range	Description
Jumping Claw Smash	Melee	180	-	15m - 31m	Jumps at enemy and slashes with talons
Beak Smash	Melee/Shock	180	50	8m - 24m	Pecks at enemy repeatedly
Take Off	Melee	150	-	N/A	Ground-to-air transition; accompanying wind gust causes damage
Tail Lash	Melee/Shock	300		14m - 22m	Electrically charged swipe with tail
Thunder Rush	Shock	360	-	15m - 40m	Charges at enemy, surrounded by damaging electrical field
Screech Blast	Sonic	-	-	0m - 20m	Screech generates sonic blast that temporarily incapacitates enemy; ineffective against enemy machines
Hurricane Blast	Melee	150	-	10m - 25m	Flap of wings generates damaging wind gust

Aerial Attacks

Attack Name	Damage Type	Primary Damage	Secondary Damage	Trigger Range	Description
Thunder Clash	Melee/Shock	450 (250 if Lightning Gun destroyed)	-	0m - 150m	Soars then plummets with high speed at enemy; radiates an electric charge when it hits
Quick Land	Shock	220	-	0m - 8m	Crushes enemy directly beneath it with sudden vertical landing
Shock Blast	Shock	250	20 per second	15m - 100m	Charges lightning gun then fires Shock blast at enemy’s anticipated position
Shock Burst	Shock	175	-	15m - 60m	Charges lightning gun then fires a 3 small Shock blasts at enemy’s anticipated position; blasts leave residual Shock effect on ground
Thunder Bomb Run	Shock	250	20 per second	0m - 100m	Carpet bombs enemy with Shock blasts

Components

Image:	Component:	Information:	Weakness:	Strength:
	Body	Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems.	None	Shock
	Blaze Canister	Blaze storage canister. Shooting elemental canisters with elemental ammo triggers an explosion that will damage everything nearby. Shoot off this component to collect the resource inside.	Fire Tear	None
	Engine	Destroying this component disables the dive melee attack.	Tear	None
	Freeze Canister	Chillwater can be looted from this canister. Shooting this canister with a Freeze arrow will trigger an explosion Freezing anything in the area.	Freeze Tear	None
	Lightning Gun	Destroying this component disables the ranged Shock attacks. It also stuns the machine for a very brief period of time.	Tear	None

Loot

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Blaze

4

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Chillwater

4

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Metal Shards

1

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Echo Shell

15

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Crystal Braiding

50

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Stormbird Heart

164

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Stormbird Lens

82

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Machine Core - Large

100

Trivia

• Stormbirds bear a resemblance to thunderbirds, a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. They are considered supernatural beings of great power and strength. However, Stormbirds could more likely designed after the Haast's Eagle, an extinct species of gigantic aquiline bird that once served as the apex predator of prehistoric New Zealand.
• A Stormbird can be fought before gaining entrance to the GAIA Prime facility. If, however, the player heads to this area before the intended time in the story, the cutscene showing the Stormbird's arrival will play, and the machine can be engaged then and there. The Stormbird will stay destroyed and will not need to be fought again later.
• A Stormbird's flight altitude is at least three times higher than that of a Glinthawk.
• A Stormbird's optical sensor arrays are the same as the Trampler's.
• Studies have shown that lightning creates nitrogen oxidants, which can aid in purifying of the atmosphere. With the amount of artificial lightning a Stormbird can produce, it is likely that they were pivotal in bringing Earth’s ravaged atmosphere back into balance.

Gallery

Early concept art by Miguel Angel Martinez

Concept art of a Stormbird atop a defeated Thunderjaw, by Miguel Angel Martinez

Ilya Golitsyn art, used as the cover of the Limited Edition of The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn

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Videos

Horizon Zero Dawn - The Machines Stormbird PS4