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"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.
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The Charger is a machine in Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West.
History
The Chargers' main job seems to be the manufacture of Blaze through the conversion of grass, similar to Striders, Grazers, and Broadheads. They are often seen in herds.
While it's unknown when Chargers were first released, they became one of the widest spread of all the machines, being commonplace in the Valleymeet, the southern half of the Sundom and the Daunt, along the northern border of the Sundom, the Cut, and across the entire Forbidden West, especially the northern half. The only known place with no Chargers is the Burning Shores.
Post-Derangement
At the advent of the Derangement, almost all machines started becoming increasingly aggressive towards humans, including the Charger. By the time of Aloy reaching adulthood, Chargers attacked humans on sight.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Upon gaining access to the PSI overrides by looting a Corruptor for its override module, Aloy became able to override Chargers and use them as mounts.[1]
With the spreading of corruption in the Valleymeet, some Chargers, as well as Fire Bellowbacks, at Red Echoes became corrupted. They were subsequently destroyed by Aloy.
Horizon Forbidden West
As they left the Far Zenith Launch Facility, Aloy had herself and Varl ride two nearby Chargers back to Meridian, which Varl struggled to balance on at first. Aloy later used her Charger to leave for the Daunt ahead of Varl,[2] leaving it behind to get into the cable car.[3]
Chargers are used at the Hunting Grounds in the Daunt to train hunters to use shock ammo.
Larend had Aloy kill some Chargers in order to attract some Scrappers so she can loot them for Scrapper Jaw Salvage.[4]
Varl arrived at Barren Light riding another Charger just in time to join Aloy for the Embassy. More Chargers, along with Acid Bristlebacks, were used during the Embassy by Regalla's rebels to attack the Carja, Tenakth Marshals, Aloy and Varl, but they successfully destroyed them all.[5]
Aloy encountered several more Chargers under Regalla's rebels' control in their camps and outposts, including those at Eastern Lie,[6][7] Jagged Deep,[8] Plainsong,[9] Runner's Wild,[10] the High Turning,[11] the northern Raintrace,[12] and the southern Stillsands.[13]
Having left Regalla's rebels with the technology to override machines, Haxx, Josekk and Pekka used overridden Chargers to race in Gauntlet Runs, with Red Teeth and Aloy later joining in.
On the journey to their respective Cauldrons, Aloy, Varl, Beta, Erend, Zo, Alva, Kotallo and GAIA rode a herd of seven Chargers, each riding their own, except for Varl and Beta sharing one.[14]
Appearance
A Charger’s chassis very closely resembles that of a Strider or Broadhead. However, its head resembles that of a bighorn sheep. Two large, forward-curving horns, similar to the horns of a bighorn ram, are located on its head. Both horns are equipped with a tool that resembles a chainsaw. An optical sensor array consisting of a sensor partially surrounded by four smaller sensors is located at the end of the snout. A single Blaze canister is located between the haunches. The chassis is composed mainly of synthetic muscle, with white armor plating partially covering the head, neck, shoulders, hips, forelegs and hind legs.
Behavior
Chargers are always found in herds busily grazing on grass, which they convert into Blaze. Charger herds are usually accompanied by patrolling Watchers or Longlegs and/or Sawtooths, in order to protect them from hunters and maximize efficiency. Chargers are skittish, but less so than Striders or Broadheads; should a perceived threat be identified, such as a nearby human, Chargers are more likely to attack rather than run. They can deal devastating damage if the player is at a low level.
Chargers are the only small mountable machines to be found in the Cut or the Forbidden West.
Abilities
On encountering a perceived threat, Chargers are capable of charging at high speed with their heads lowered to ram the enemy. Additionally, they employ a variety of kicks like the rams they resemble. However, if a Charger is overridden and used as a mount, these same kick attacks become weapons that can be employed by the rider against hostile machines or humans.
Attacks
Horizon Zero Dawn
| Name | Damage Type | Primary Damage | Trigger Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charge | Melee | 100 | 15m - 50m | Charges and rams enemy at high speed |
| Double Strike | Melee | 200 | 0m - 7m | Forward twin front leg kick |
| Hind Leg Strike | Melee | 175 | 1.5m - 3.5m | Twin hind leg kick straight behind |
| Rodeo Kick | Melee | 200 | 0m - 2.5m | Multiple twin hind leg kicks in a circle |
| Spin Kick | Melee | 225 | 1.5m - 3.5m | Single 180-degree spinning twin hind leg kick |
Mounted Combat
| Attack Name | Trigger | Direct Damage | Impact Severity | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charge | Contact while Sprinting | 60 | 120 | Charges and rams enemy at high speed |
| Double Strike | R1 | 35 | 100 | Forward twin front leg kick |
| Hind Leg Strike | R1 + left stick backwards | 70 | 100 | Twin hind leg kick straight behind |
| Pivot Kick | R2 | 70 | 100 | Single 180-degree spinning twin hind leg kick |
Horizon Forbidden West
| Name | Windup Time | Damage Type | Damage | Trigger Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front Kick | Short | Melee | 137 | 0m - 7m | Rears up on hind legs and lunges forward a short distance while kicking twice with front hooves. |
| Back Kick | Very Short | Melee | 137 | 1.5m - 5m | Fast and powerful backward kick with hind legs. |
| Spin Kick | Short | Melee | 137 | 1.5m - 5m front
0m - 7m the side |
Spins its body 180o and performs a swift roundhouse kick with hind legs. |
| Rodeo Kick | Medium | Melee | 137 | 0m - 2.5m | Rotates 360o while kicking with hind legs. |
| Charge | Medium | Melee | 180 | 15m - 65m | Assumes aggressive posture and charges in target's direction.
Attack disabled when Slowed. |
Components
Horizon Zero Dawn
| Component | Image | Information | Weakness | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body | 
|
Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems. | None | None |
| Blaze Canister | 
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Blaze storage canister. Shoot with Fire arrows to trigger an explosion. Shoot off this component to collect the resource inside. |  Fire Tear
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None |
| Horns | 
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Destroying this component disables the charge attack. | Tear
|
None |
Horizon Forbidden West
| Name | Image | Description | Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Hard outer casing to protect synthetic muscle and operational systems. | None | |
| Horns | Large metal horns used to dig up natural resources. Detach or destroy to disable charge attack. |
| |
| Blaze Canister | Blaze storage. Tear off to collect this resource or shoot with a Fire Arrow to detonate. |
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Loot
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Forbidden West
Body
- Blaze (100%)
- Metal Shards (100%)
- Charger Circulator (32%)
- Machine Muscle (31%)
- Charger Primary Nerve (22%)
- Small Machine Core (17%)
- Metal Bone (10%)
- Braided Wire (10%)
- Sturdy Hardplate (5%)
Horns
- Charger Horn (100%)
Blaze Canister
- Blaze (100%)
Trivia
- It is possible that the Charger's name is a reference to the American muscle car of the same name, built by Dodge. Dodge uses a ram as its logo.
- Chargers possess a marginally larger capacity to sustain damage than Striders, allowing them to just barely survive non-upgraded Silent Strikes, which instantly kill Striders.
- Chargers can be utilized as flying mounts in Horizon Zero Dawn by performing a trick in Brightmarket.[15]
- Chargers are one of only three machines (the others being Bristlebacks and Glinthawks) to resemble a creature which is definitively not extinct during the in-universe present, namely the bighorn sheep.
References
- ↑ The Womb of the Mountain
- ↑ The Point of the Lance
- ↑ To The Brink
- ↑ Scavengers
- ↑ The Embassy
- ↑ The Bristlebacks
- ↑ Rebel Camp: Eastern Lie
- ↑ Rebel Outpost: Jagged Deep
- ↑ Rebel Outpost: Plainsong
- ↑ Rebel Outpost: Runner's Wild
- ↑ Rebel Outpost: The High Turning
- ↑ Rebel Outpost: Raintrace North
- ↑ Rebel Outpost: Stillsands South
- ↑ GEMINI
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljgQb3RFZ-I&t=153s