Scorcher

"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 Scorcher is a machine exclusive to The Frozen Wilds. It is a midsize Combat Class machine known to exist only in the Banuk region called The Cut. It bears some similarities the Ravager, but it is far more powerful, agile and aggressive.^[1] This is even more so in its augmented or Daemonic state. Indeed, Daemonic Scorchers are one of the most ferocious and formidable machines known to exist.

History

Scorchers were created by the artificial intelligence HEPHAESTUS at its R&D cauldron, Cauldron EPSILON, in The Cut. As EPSILON’s creator, HEPHAESTUS had absolute command and control authority over it and the machines it produced, and thus was able to design, field test, and deploy whatever machines it devised at this cauldron without limit. It augmented their armor and resilience to a degree that exceeds that of any known machine outside The Cut. These machines are referred to as Daemonic Machines.

The Nora huntress Aloy encountered a Daemonic Scorcher almost immediately upon entering The Cut, engaging and killing it at the start of the mountain pass leading into the region. The experience starkly demonstrated the superior strength and damage resistance of these machines over any machine she was familiar with up to that time. She saw Scorchers at several sites while in The Cut, culminating in encountering two of them acting as guards in the ancient Firebreak facility, along the path leading to Cauldron EPSILON’s door. Additionally, she engaged and killed two Scorchers in as short a time as possible as part of’ Chieftain’s Trial in The Cut’s Snowchants Hunting Grounds.

Appearance

The Scorcher’s chassis somewhat resembles that of a Ravager, but does not have the Ravager’s tactical vulnerability to fire. Indeed, whereas Ravagers are weak against fire, this element is the Scorcher’s forté. Its head is vulpine, with a long, toothy snout and large ear-like structures. A pair of optical sensor arrays is positioned in the same location as a fox’s eyes. These flash bright red when the machine is about to employ a fire-based attack. Mounted on its back, between its heavyset shoulders, is a mine launcher. Positioned atop each shoulder is a heavily-armored Blaze canister, and between its haunches is an equally heavily armored power generator.

Behavior

Scorchers are found singly or in packs of up to three, either guarding a herd of Zero Dawn terraforming machines or in the herd’s immediate vicinity, near enough to hear and immediately respond to their alarm cries on detecting a threat. Their servomotors produce a characteristic heavy, clanking sound, and embers periodically fall like spittle from their mouths, increasing their intimidating appearance. If a perceived threat such as an a human is identified, either by them or a nearby machine, they immediately converge on the position and engage it.

Abilities

Scorchers attack relentlessly and ferociously with close-range fire attacks or fire-augmented melee attacks. Their speed and agility allows them to close the distance between themselves and perceived threats with overwhelming aggression. Indeed, one of their attacks involves using a hidden pair of thrusters to zoom toward the enemy like a rocket. Additionally they deploy mines from their mine launchers, fired in anticipation of the enemy’s projected position. Unlike the mines of a Stalker, these mines are not proximity mines, and are not scattered as a means of distraction. Instead they are fired directly at the enemy and its anticipated change of position, and they detonate about a second after they hit the ground. If The Scorcher loses track of the enemy, its large ears are equipped with an auditory detection system that is more advanced than those of other machines, allowing it to scan tall grass.^[1]

In addition to these abilities, Daemonic Scorchers have considerably tougher armor than normal, and thus are much more damage resistant. Furthermore, they are immune to Corruption, and thus cannot be turned against other machines with Corruption Arrows, they cannot be overridden, and have considerably higher elemental resistance than normal, especially to Shock. They therefore are extremely difficult to inflict a Shock state upon. Indeed, a Shock state can only be inflicted on a Daemonic Scorcher by destroying its power pack, which takes multiple strikes from very high-powered ranged weapons due to its tough armor plating.

Weaknesses

A Scorcher’s mine launcher can be removed and used against it. However its relentlessness, agility and the speed at which it closes range make this difficult. Scorchers are susceptible to weapons that utilize Freeze. However, in the case of Daemonic Scorchers, their elemental resistance makes inducing a Freeze state difficult; even high-powered Freeze weapons such as the Icerail take several seconds to inflict a Freeze state on a Daemonic Scorcher, and even in a Frozen state, a Daemonic Scorcher’s damage resistance is still formidable.

Attacks

Components

Image:	Component:	Information:	Weakness:	Strength:
	Body	Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems.	None	None
	Mine Launcher	This heavy weapon can be picked up and used after it has been detached from the machine.	Tear	None
	Blaze Canister	Shooting this canister with Fire will trigger an elemental explosion. Shoot off this component to collect Blaze.	Fire Tear	None
	Power Generator	Destroying this component will deal greater damage to the machine.	Tear	None

Loot

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Blaze

4

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Metal Shards

1

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Sparker

1

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Wire

1

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Machine Core - Medium

50

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Luminous Braiding

30

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Scorcher Lens

30

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Scorcher Heart

60

Trivia

• The Scorcher's appearance is inspired by wolves and coyotes, but its movements are inspired by cheetahs.
• While the Scorcher's design was inspired by wolves, its appearance and fire-based attacks make it resemble a qilin, a creature in Chinese mythology.
• During development, Scorchers were referred to as HellHounds^[2].

Videos

Horizon Zero Dawn The Frozen Wilds - Meet the Scorcher

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References