For more information about other enemies, see Enemies
The Swordsmachine is a Greater Machine first encountered as a boss throughout the mission [ 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN ], before becoming a common enemy in the mission [ 6-1: CRY FOR THE WEEPER ]. It can also be spotted slaughtering Husks in [ 0-2: THE MEATGRINDER ], where it can be fought as a secret encounter. It serves as a sword-centered enemy that rushes the player down constantly, using its motorized sword to attack in various ways.
Appearance[]
The Swordsmachine is a large, humanoid machine with a tall rectangular head. Its armor is painted yellow with black joints, with a damaged, burnt appearance that is likely caused by battling with the residents of Hell. Its eyes are on the top of its head, mismatched in positioning, which glow blue. Its lower right arm is a Shotgun, despite it having a handle and trigger. Held in its left hand is a large sword that constantly revs with the sound of a motor. As the Swordsmachine swings this sword, it glows orange and leaves behind a lingering yellow trail of light.
The Swordsmachine makes vocalizations as it gets hurt. When hit, it produces a robotic "grunt" noise. When its first health bar is depleted, it falls to one knee and makes a pained keening noise. When one of its melee attacks is parried, it Enrages and produces an extended, high-pitched whirring noise. Upon death, it lets out a beep identical to a Streetcleaner.
Swordsmachine's voice:
Combat[]
The Swordsmachine is incredibly fast, relentlessly chasing the player on foot. It has two phases; in the first phase, the Swordsmachine will attack the player at range with a Shotgun and try to close the distance to use its sword. After the Swordsmachine takes sufficient damage, it will lose its Shotgun and transition into phase two, gaining a new variety of attacks with its sword. While transitioning into phase two, the Swordsmachine will be stunned for a moment, leaving it vulnerable.
In [ 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN ], the first encounter with the Swordsmachine will not transition into phase two. The Swordsmachine will instead drop its Shotgun and run away, and is fought later in the mission in its second phase.
In its first phase, the Swordsmachine has three attacks: a three-hit sword swing combo performed within melee range, a running jump-slash, and a Shotgun blast when the player is outside of the sword's melee range. All of these attacks can be parried, with each swing of the Swordsmachine's sword and the Shotgun's pellets able to be punched.
In its second phase, the Swordsmachine loses its Shotgun, making it unable to shoot it at the player from long range. However, it gains two new attacks with its sword: a long-range spinning sword throw that leads ahead of the player's movement, and a spiraling sword throw performed within melee range. The sword throw will cause the sword to travel straight ahead before returning back to the Swordsmachine, leaving Swordsmachine without a weapon until the sword comes back. The sword can only hit the player once, and the sword projectile can be parried, dealing massive damage if it lands. The spiraling sword attack causes the sword to loop around the Swordsmachine itself, increasing it radius as it loops. The sword can be punched to parry it into the Swordsmachine, and the windup itself can be parried to prevent the attack altogether,
Parrying either sword throw cannot kill the Swordsmachine; a parried throw that would be lethal will instead leave it with 0.1 health, allowing the player to finish it off however they please.
A Swordsmachine will prioritize Stalkers over the player if one is present, and if unsanded. This cannot be observed in normal levels naturally, confining this behavior to the Cyber Grind for most intents and purposes.
Enraged[]
When parried, the Swordsmachine will be stunned and Enrage, letting out an angry screeching noise and turning red. When enraged, its attacks are faster and performed more frequently, though a Swordsmachine will only use its melee attacks while enraged. Enraged Swordsmachines can also fall off ledges. Its Rage eventually runs out, ending early if it transitions to its second phase. However, parrying an already Enraged Swordsmachine will extend the duration of the Rage, rather than stunning it again.
A better look at Swordsmachine's sword
Difficulty Changes[]
- HARMLESS
- Swordsmachines move and attack much slower than usual.
- They recover from stuns much slower than usual.
- LENIENT
- Swordsmachines move and attack slower than usual.
- They recover from stuns slower than usual.
- VIOLENT
- Swordsmachines move and attack faster than usual.
- They recover from stuns faster than usual.
- BRUTAL
- Swordsmachines move and attack much faster than usual.
- They recover from stuns much faster than usual.
- They can continue to perform melee attacks during their sword throws before the sword returns.
- They can use their Shotgun and sword throw attacks while Enraged.
- Their first phase boss health is increased from 50 to 75.
- Their second phase boss health is increased from 75 to 113.
Terminal Data[]
For more information, see Terminal
TYPE: Greater Machine
DATA:
Its original form is unrecognisable after years of scavenging scrap and rebuilding itself, but among scrapheads, the Swordsmachine is quite famous due to its combat prowess and selfmade[sic] form, ugly to most but beautiful to enthusiasts, spawning many copycats.It wields a selfmade sword with a motor on it that, when revved, will heat the blade, cutting through most organic matter with ease.
Due to its possessive hoarding behavior, it's one of the few machines still capable of vocalization -- an ability most have discarded for more efficient resource management.
STRATEGY:
- Despite its excellent performance against Hell's denizens, its design does not take into account extremely mobile opponents, so the best way to avoid its blade is to jump out of its vertical range.- Its motorized sword makes for predictable attacks, making the Swordsmachine an excellent target for parrying.
- Although its use of ranged weapons is primitive at best, its sword throws can be unexpectedly accurate thanks to its mastery of the weapon.
Rending Apart[]
The Swordsmachine is a terror in close combat due to its high damage and far-reaching melee attacks, making avoiding its slashes a priority. Most of its melee attacks can be easily dodged by jumping in the air, as the Swordsmachine is restricted to the ground. Both of the Swordsmachine's ranged attacks (Shotgun pellets and sword throw) aren't particularly accurate, making them trivial to avoid. If forced to engage a Swordsmachine on the ground, it is possible to consistently dodge its attacks by timing dashes. Sliding can also be utilized to quickly put some distance between Swordsmachine. Parrying a Swordsmachine is relatively easy; and should be done so if possible, as it leaves itself vulnerable.
As the player will want to stay at a distance from the Swordsmachine, longer distance weapons such as Revolvers, Nailguns, and Railcannons are all effective against the Swordsmachine. Though Shotgun shots can be difficult to hit, the Swordsmachine takes 50% more damage from Shotgun pellets, making it a useful weapon against them should they find themselves close to a Swordsmachine. A good way to utilize the Shotgun is to move backward away from the Swordsmachine, forcing it to run toward the player in a predictable pattern as the player unloads shotgun pellets into them. Shotgun swapping can make this tactic even more effective, and can take out both of a Swordsmachine's phases with only seven swaps in the Cyber Grind, assuming every pellet hits and the player is attacking while the Swordsmachine is stunned. Outside of its boss battle, a Pump Charge Shotgun's overpump will instantly stun it at point blank range.
While parrying a Swordsmachine's attacks causes it to Enrage, doing so can actually be beneficial, as a Swordsmachine typically loses all ranged attacks while in its Enraged state. It is also briefly stunned when parried, allowing for free damage. When the Swordsmachine is enraged, it is possible to parry all three swipes when the Swordsmachine is performing its three-hit combo for extreme damage and style points.
Swordsmachine lacks any vertical movement options. If the player's location is inaccessible by walking, Swordsmachine will instead fire its Shotgun directly forward, completely missing the player and likely killing other enemies instead. Swordsmachine will resolve to standing there menacingly and throwing its sword if it doesn't have its Shotgun. If the player is at a high/low enough angle or Enrages the machine, it'll do absolutely nothing.
During Swordsmachine's first encounter in [ 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN ], there is a trick that allows the phase to be beaten with ease, along with granting a lot of free style points. The player simply needs to quickly jump onto one of the Cerberus statues in the corners of the room and repeatedly shoot Swordsmachine. While Swordsmachine can destroy these statues with a melee attack, it will only use one if the player is on the ground. This means that Swordsmachine can only use the Shotgun, but this cannot hurt the player as the pellets will be stopped by the statue. If the shots fired to kill Swordsmachine are headshots, then it will give extreme amounts of style points due to the ridiculously high headshot combo gained.
When the Swordsmachine is used as a basic enemy, it can sometimes be beneficial to use the Screwdriver Railcannon against it and ignore its existence while focusing on more urgent matters like Virtues or Sentries. The Swordsmachine will chase the player down and accidentally provide free health via the screw lodged inside it, unless it gets stunned by the damage and put into its second phase, or just dies outright.
Variations[]
The Swordsmachine has two variations that are fought at the same time. These variations can be found in [ 1-3: HALLS OF SACRED REMAINS ], accessed through a stained glass window at the beginning of the level after placing both skulls at the boss room entrance, and in the final area of [ 1-E: ...THEN FELL THE ASHES ]. The variations in question are Swordsmachines Agony & Tundra.
These two Swordsmachines differ from regular Swordsmachines in that they lack a second phase. Instead, they become incapacitated for a short time before recovering an amount of health equal to the other Swordsmachine. The only way to permanently kill them is to get both Agony & Tundra down to zero health at the same time.
Agony acts the same as an Enraged Swordsmachine, moving and attacking faster and not being staggered from parries, but unable to use ranged attacks. Tundra will use second-phase Swordsmachine attacks, throwing its sword at the player and using spin attacks, while also having access to the Shotgun, which it will often fire simultaneously with sword throws. Additionally, Agony takes extra damage from electricity, such as the JumpStart Nailgun's cable and the Electric Railcannon's beam, with Tundra taking increased damage from explosions, such as the Malicious Railcannon and the Firestarter Rocket Launcher's ignited gasoline.
On Brutal difficulty, both Agony & Tundra have both enraged properties and access to second-phase ranged attacks.
Patch History[]
| Patch 16b (2025/03/01) |
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|---|---|
| Patch 15c (2024/05/11) |
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| Patch 15b (2024/04/19) |
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| Full Arsenal Update (2024/04/15) |
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| Patch 14c (2024/01/17) |
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| VIOLENT NIGHT Update (2023/12/20) |
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| Patch 13b (2023/04/28) |
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| Back to the Cyber Grind Update (2023/04/27) |
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| Wait of the World Update (2023/03/16) |
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| Patch 11b (2022/08/29) |
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| ACT II Update (2022/08/16) |
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| Patch 8c Lukewarmhotfix (2021/08/24) |
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| Patch 8b Lukewarmfix (2021/08/23) |
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| Early Access Patch (2020/10/13) |
|
Trivia[]
- Swordsmachine and KITR are the only entities in the game that will actively seek out and kill other enemies without use of the Enemies Attack Each Other Cheat.
- Uniquely among enemies the player cannot launch, Swordsmachines are susceptible to fall damage, and will instantly die and award the [+SPLATTERED] Style Bonus if made to fall from a sufficient height. Most often, this will occur in the Cyber Grind, where a handful of default patterns have falls high enough to kill Swordsmachines and most have slopes for them to inadvertently trip off of. In most cases, Swordsmachines cannot be made to fall off high ledges unless Enraged. This makes it one of the two Machines and non-Husk enemies that can die from fall damage, the other being the Streetcleaner.
- Swordsmachines can occasionally get stuck on Bounce Pads in the Cyber Grind, and will "hop" up and down continuously while on top of one, putting them in an ambiguously airborne state. Their immobility makes them trivial targets for direct Rocket Launcher hits, though they may not always count as airborne.
- If the player returns to [ 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN ] with any explosive weapon and enters Swordsmachine's first arena, it is possible to break the rubble blocking the door in the middle of the fight. The player is able to leave the room freely, but Swordsmachine will be stuck in the doorway. However, with some fidgeting, the player can get Swordsmachine past the door and into the rest of the level.
- When Swordmachine is in a parry state before it can let off an attack, killing it in that frame window will keep its sword in that parry state, allowing the sword to be parried on the ground, as shown here.
- For some reason, Swordsmachine's sword attack can trigger the door opening animation, but they won't be able to go through as they will close nigh instantly.
- The Swordsmachine is the first enemy to be Radiant in a level, appearing in [ 0-E: THIS HEAT, AN EVIL HEAT ] as both Radiant and non-Radiant. Its Radiant form is a boss fight in the level as well.
- Agony & Tundra are references to the dual boss Agni & Rudra from Devil May Cry 3.
- Swordsmachine's sword works in the same way as the Red Queen, a sword used by Nero from the Devil May Cry series, with both weapons having a motor that can be revved up to heat up the blade.
- Swordsmachine's name may be based on the phrase "swordsman". If a man who wields a sword is a swordsman, then logically a machine who wields a sword is a swordsmachine.
- The Swordsmachine encountered in [ 0-2: THE MEATGRINDER ] and [ 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN ] is the original, while all other Swordsmachines that are seen afterwards are the copycats noted in its Terminal entry.
- It is implied that Swordsmachine's legs, and by extension the legs of its imitators, were salvaged from a Sentry, whose legs are noted in their terminal entry to be prized by scrapheads for their exceptional strength and lightweight construction.
- Infamously, Swordsmachine's feet appear to resemble paws, suggested to have been the doing of artist and known catgirl enthusiast BigRockBMP. This particular element was also carried over to BigRock's later Sentry design.
- As seen on Hakita's Youtube channel, early versions of the mission [ 0-2: THE MEATGRINDER ] did not include Swordsmachine. It was added in after a revision to the level in later dev logs.
- Swordsmachines are either aware or intelligent enough to know that Stalkers can be used to sand itself and prevent other machines to heal, as unsanded Swordsmachines actively target Stalkers before facing the player.
- The voice of a Swordsmachine is SAM: Software Automatic Mouth, the same voice synthesizer used for the in-game death screen that is also used for Swordsmachine's grunts, alongside the voice for V1 in fan works.
- In [ 7-S: HELL BATH NO FURY ] the player is able to throw Swordsmachine's body into the recycle bin. This confirms that the Swordsmachine is made out of recyclable materials and is one of the only confirmed machines so far that are eco-friendly.
- Because of the Swordsmachine's bodies being recycled parts of various other Machines, this means that the Sentry is also recyclable, as well as any other machines the Swordsmachine is made of.
- The exact color of a Swordsmachine's yellow segments (#E29E1C) is called "Swordsmachine Yellow" (at least on colornames.org).
- The exact color of Swordsmachine "Tundra"'s segments (#25B3C7) is called "Swordsmachine Tundra Blue" (at least on colornames.org).
- The exact color of Swordsmachine "Agony" 's segments (#C53C22) is called "Swordsmachine Agony Red" (at least on colornames.org).
- The original concept art for Swordsmachine was made by BigRockBMP, its early model was made by Toni Stigell and textured by FlyingDog, and its remastered model was made by ActionDawg. Its design was inspired by the character designs of the sci-fi manga Blame!.[1]
- Prior to the Back to the Cyber Grind Update, Swordsmachines were not affected by gravity during their animations, and would fly forward if staggered on the same frame an attack starts moving them forward. While parrying is no longer capable of directly launching Swordsmachines, obeying gravity means Swordsmachines are now vulnerable to slope physics propelling themselves airborne at very high speeds.
Gallery[]
References[]
