Swordsmachine

Swordsmachine is a Greater Machine introduced as a boss in 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN, and is the first Machine-class enemy that the player encounters in ULTRAKILL. They also make their first visual appearance in 0-2: THE MEATGRINDER, killing Husks in their own series of arenas parallel to the player’s own path through the level. Copycat scrapheads imitating the Swordsmachine begin appearing as common enemies in 6-1: CRY FOR THE WEEPER. Two special variants Swordsmachine "Agony" Swordsmachine "Agony" and Swordsmachine "Tundra" Swordsmachine "Tundra" appear as a secret boss encounter in 1-3: HALLS OF SACRED REMAINS. The Swordsmachine and their copycats are lanky machines with irregular, asymmetrical features. They primarily have yellow armor plating split into several segments with black wiring and machinery underneath, and four-fingered "toes", accented with square-shaped blue lights, one on the right of their chestplates, and two misaligned on their long, rectangular heads. The Swordsmachine's appearance is due to having repeatedly rebuilt themselves with scavenged scrap in the wake of mankind's demise; their copycats rebuild themselves accordingly, imitating both their appearance and their attacks, though they are generally less durable. Per their name, their main weapon is a motorized sword they wield in their left hand, though they also have a black, elongated Core Eject Shotgun attached to their right arm for longer-range pressure. The Swordsmachine chases after the player and use attacks with their sword or shotgun, depending on the distance between them and the player. When their first health bar is depleted, or when their copycats drop to 50% health, they fall to one knee for a short period of time, losing their right arm and shotgun but gaining the Sword Throw and Sword Spiral attacks. If any of their sword attacks are parried, they fall to one knee for a moment and vocalize, becoming enraged for a short while. Parrying either sword throw stuns them for longer, and parrying their shotgun does not stun or enrage them at all. While enraged, the Swordsmachine gains increased movement and attack speed, but loses every attack except for their Combo and Running Swing. An enraged Swordsmachine on Brutal difficulty only loses access to the Sword Spiral attack. If they are parried again while already enraged, they stay enraged for a longer period of time. Melee parries no longer stun the Swordsmachine, but parrying their sword throw still causes a knockdown. Enraged Swordsmachines do not stop themselves from jumping off ledges while performing attacks. If any unblessed Stalker Stalkers are present, Swordsmachines prioritize killing them first to become sanded, unless they are already such. The Swordsmachines that spawn in the first half of 6-1: CRY FOR THE WEEPER have self-illumination on their models disabled, leaving only the emissive blue glow on their heads and torsos and any lights cast from the environment. Shotgun Blast This attack only happens when the Swordsmachine has more than 50% health. If the player is too far away from the Swordsmachine, they fire a shotgun spread of 12 projectiles in the direction they are looking at. Each shotgun pellet does 25 damage, and can be parried back to the Swordsmachine. If the player enters melee range while they are readying this attack, the Swordsmachine is able to cancel into their Running Swing or Sword Combo attacks. Running Swing The Swordsmachine jumps at the player and swings their sword in a wide horizontal arc, dealing 40 damage. This attack can be parried. Sword Combo The Swordsmachine brandishes their sword to the side, then swings at the player three times, dealing 25 damage per hit. Each swing can be parried. Sword Throw The Swordsmachine rears back their sword under their shoulder, then throws it at the player's predicted location, spinning vertically and dealing 30 damage on contact. When it contacts a wall, it spins in place until it returns to the Swordsmachine, keeping its damaging hitbox for the entire duration of its flight. The sword can be parried at any point during its travel, returning it to the Swordsmachine and dealing 20 damage, as well as stunning them for longer than their melee parries. A parried sword throw that is normally lethal to the Swordsmachine instead leaves them with 0.1 health, allowing the player to finish them off however they please. This attack's startup can also be parried with a melee punch, but due to the speed of the animation and the minimum distance at which it triggers, the parry must be prepared for well in advance at higher difficulties. Sword Spiral The Swordsmachine brings their sword vertically in front of them, then throws it in a horizontal spiral around themselves. The sword deals 30 damage on contact. This attack can be melee parried during its startup. The thrown sword can also be parried, returning it to the Swordsmachine and dealing 20 damage, and has enough space under it for a sliding player to pass through unharmed. Like with the Sword Throw, parrying the sword projectile cannot kill the Swordsmachine, though they are left at 0.1 health and stunned for a prolonged period, rendering them easily dispatched. Swordsmachines are easy to dance around in isolation, though in greater numbers and in concert with other enemies they are highly dangerous, harassing airborne and far away players with ranged attacks and slicing careless players to ribbons within moments. Parrying their attacks with the Feedbacker Feedbacker and especially with a point-blank Shotgun Shotgun blast is extremely effective, as it not only provides a full heal and stamina recharge, but it also allows for a combo opportunity on a Swordsmachine that can kill or heavily damage them. The Shotgun's blast can also be projectile boosted to deal damage to a Swordsmachine from a distance, and combining projectile boosts with Rockets Rockets is the most reliable long-range damage combo. The Electric Railcannon Electric Railcannon, the Alternate Piercer Alternate Piercer, and the Sharpshooter Sharpshooter can all be used in combination with the Marksman Revolver Marksman Revolver's Coins to deal heavy damage to one, or multiple Swordsmachines if lined up properly. Experienced players can attempt to set up a Railcoin for heavy damage. Both the Sawblade Launcher Sawblade Launcher and the Nailgun Nailgun can be used to make traps that can cull groups of Swordsmachines very quickly and efficiently. The Pump Charge Shotgun Pump Charge Shotgun's Overpump explosion and the Malicious Railcannon Malicious Railcannon can be used for exploding groups of Swordsmachines due to their high damage, decent range and speed at which they can be performed. Dodging a Swordsmachine that still has their shotgun is relatively trivial, as despite their fast running speed, they can be circle strafed and dodged very easily. However, a Swordsmachine that has lost their shotgun and has gained more attacks is much more lethal, and should be taken out with as fast as possible due to their high damaging and fast Sword Throw. Staggered for significantly less time when changing phases or after Enraging. Can rotate towards the player while shooting their Shotgun Shotgun to accurately aim. Can punch the player using the same attack patterns as they do with their sword after throwing it. Each punch does 10 damage to the player. No longer loses access to the shotgun blast in phase 1 or the straight sword throw in phase 2 while enraged. Swordsmachine "AGONY" gains back the straight sword throw but still does not use their shotgun.

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 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.

The fight with Swordsmachine in Preludes 0-3 "Double Down" for its Core Eject Shotgun