Clockwork Soldiers



"Before you stands an invention that will endure beyond my time. The Jindosh Clockwork Soldier. [...] My greatest creation."

- Jindosh introducing his creation

Jindosh Clockwork Soldiers, commonly known as Clockwork Soldiers or Clockworks, are an expensive type of robotic enemy in Dishonored 2, created by Kirin Jindosh. They can be seen guarding Jindosh's Clockwork Mansion, as well as the Grand Palace and Dunwall Tower.

Clockwork Sentinels are a more affordable variant featured in Death of the Outsider. They can be seen guarding the Inner Atrium at the Dolores Michaels Deposit & Loan Bank.

Appearance
"Beware a strange sound, like the clanking of a factory machine. You might be seconds from an encounter with the latest work of our Grand Inventor, Kirin Jindosh."

- Hieronimus Blas Clockwork Soldiers are towering, humanoid automatons with avian-skull shaped heads. The frame of their bodies consists of multiple moving metal parts. They are equipped with bladed appendages for arms. Most of their bodies and members are encased in amber-wooden panels that act as armor, protecting the mechanisms as well as Whale Oil canisters on each arm and the back. Underneath the wooden head are two expensive optics, allowing frontal and hind vision to the automatons. Numbered plates are mounted on the chassis, and small rewirable electric panels are located on their right legs. A rewired Clockwork Soldier targets anything but whoever rewired it, but will eventually malfunction and explode after a short time.

While the head and body of a Clockwork Soldier are mechanically attached to each other, the arms and legs are magnetically attracted to the frame. This allows for varying numbers of arm pieces to be equipped to each Clockwork Soldier, although they only have two or four bladed arms. When a Clockwork Soldier is inactive, the magnets simply hold the various pieces in place. When activated, an electric current flows through the magnets and it becomes capable of moving its appendages.

Earlier versions of the Clockwork Soldiers were covered in ceramic plates. They possessed a single camera eye mounted on the forehead and a smiling mouth, and a large rear-view head mounted to the back of the torso. The torso and appendages were redesigned, removing the rear-mounted camera, and replaced with the current body, though lacking the identification plaques. Parts of these prototypes can be seen on display around Jindosh's mansion.

Clockwork Sentinels are very similar to Clockwork Soldiers, reusing the ceramic design of the earlier prototypes instead of wood. They possess the human-like head design with a smiling face, which Jindosh discontinued for the Soldiers, being judged not intimidating enough during tests. Clockwork Sentinels cannot see behind them, as they posses only a head-mounted camera, and come all with four arms. Each unit also has a fitted docking station, as opposed to the military models.

Both Clockwork Soldiers and Sentinels automatically express their state of activity through audio feedback. Soldiers are voiced by Jindosh, who recorded his own voice for testing purpose. Sentinels were reprogrammed with different quotes in Dolores Michaels's voice to help promote her bank, as well as reassure her clients.

History
"Just as Roseburrow, Sokolov, Joplin, and Hypatia have set the wheels of history spinning with their contributions, so will Kirin Jindosh. [...] Power now rests in the hands of the brilliant, and the world will never be the same."

- Kirin Jindosh Clockwork Soldiers were designed and created sometime between 1847 and 1852 by Kirin Jindosh, Grand Inventor of the Duke of Serkonos, to replace human behavior in both military and guard duty. They were to be mass-produced by Jindosh Clockworks for the Duke's army and were, in Jindosh's words, his "greatest creation". Thanks to his patron, Jindosh was able to test Clockwork Soldiers against prisoners. These tests showed that the original ceramic design, and more particularly the smiling face, were too warm and welcoming for the Soldiers' military purpose. Jindosh redesigned them, moving the rear-view camera into the head in the process, and ended up with a much more avian appearance encased in wood. This change proved successful, with Jindosh's unfortunate test subjects falling to their knees in fear.

The remaining issue with Clockwork Soldiers was their expensive manufacturing cost, only affordable by the wealthy. Jindosh began working on a method to reduce the price of Clockwork Soldiers by eighty to ninety percent and simplify the construction process, but still hit a wall. Pressured by the Duke for his need of a mechanized army, and despite his own pride, Jindosh resorted in abducting his old mentor Anton Sokolov weeks before the Dunwall Coup and force him to work on solving this issue.

Due to this expensive and lengthy assembly process, Jindosh only produced a limited series of Clockwork Soldiers. They were sold individually to aristocrats and friends of the Duke who could afford them to protect their holdings. He would also give personal demonstration of the Clockwork Soldiers at his own mansion, believing that their extremely high price would not stop potential buyers.

Clockwork Soldiers did not however gain popularity with the rest of the Karnacans, who openly judged the machines too dangerous to be around. This was also an issue for the Grand Guard working with the automatons. After one malfunctioned and slaughtered a number of people, Jindosh wrote a report on the basics of Clockwork Soldiers and had this circulated to all guards in and around the Clockwork Mansion. Some units also had a problem correctly identifying friends and foes: after defending its owner's estate against a family of robbers, a Clockwork Soldier then killed a gardener. Jindosh and the Duke used this pretext to remove all active Soldiers from their owner, in reality to back their military power before and after the coup.

In addition of his work on the Soldiers, Jindosh designed the less offensive Clockwork Sentinels. These units, which take on the early prototype designs, were to be sold as "exceptional protection" at "equitable cost" to the common public, complete with an user manual. Their production and sales were cut short with Jindosh's fate, although Dolores Michaels was still able to buy at least five units and six docking stations installed in her bank's Inner Atrium. Unknown to her, Jindosh had a secret allegiance switch measure installed on all Clockwork Soldiers and Sentinels, with a key phrase written on a note in his safety deposit box in the bank's vault.

Dishonored 2
On the commemoration day of Empress Jessamine's death, Duke Abele brought two Clockwork Soldiers into the Throne Room in Dunwall Tower. This gesture, at first a political demonstration of his nation's strength, turned out to be used in the coup orchestrated by Delilah Copperspoon. They easily killed the resisting City Watch Guards These units as well as four others would be later used to help the witches defend Dunwall Tower from the Warfare Overseers coming to seize Delilah on account of witchcraft.

More Soldiers are encountered in Karnaca. A total of eleven Soldiers were deployed to protect Kirin Jindosh as he solved the cost and length issue of their production. Four others patrolled the Grand Palace, including one in the Duke's vault to guard Delilah's effigy.

By the time the protagonist returned to Dunwall, the Warfare Overseers were able to destroy one Clockwork Soldier, but were annihilated by both the automatons and the witches. The broken machine was collected by the Hatters Gang, who attempted to put it back together for their own use or to be sold.

The exact number of active Clockwork Soldiers is not known, although talk among the aristocratic circles of Karnaca puts it somewhere near 40. Of this number, 19 units can be seen throughout Dishonored 2, each with a numbered plate ranging from 1 to 19. The broken machine found recovered by the Hatters is missing its plaque. Additionally, 2 Clockwork Soldiers appear in the novel Dishonored: The Return of Daud, one of them being destroyed by the infamous assassin.

The Return of Daud
While dealing with the Sixways Gang on the day of the coup, Daud encounters a Clockwork Soldier sent to clear the gang territory. Though the machine kills all of the gangsters present but one, Daud manages to destroy it before another one arrives, supported by the Grand Guard.

Death of the Outsider
On the night Billie Lurk infiltrates Michaels Bank to steal the Twin-bladed Knife, the bank director has dispatched a Clockwork Sentinel to patrol the Inner Atrium's hall while the remaining four stayed dormant on the second and third floor. One of those four will patrol the basement if the bank's staff was knocked unconscious with laudanum spread through the ventilation system.

Skills and Abilities
"Woe to any trespasser or villain who crosses their path! I dare say Kirin Jindosh has discovered a way to end crime altogether!"

- Karnaca Gazette Being mechanical allows the Clockwork Soldiers to act more efficiently than a normal human guard. They can remain active without food or rest so long as their power source, whale oil, remains. In conjunction to powerful strikes with their bladed appendages, the Clockwork Soldiers are capable of performing amazing feats of agility, dexterity, and speed, intercepting bullets and leaping great distances. They also have the ability to discharge a burst of electricity, damaging and temporarily stunning their enemies.

By having a camera for visual detection, a Clockwork Soldier can see both in front and behind itself. They can remain functional even if the head is damaged by using sound detection to pursue targets, and are equipped with audio playback devices allowing limited speech.

Due to the complex nature of their internal machinery, Clockwork Soldiers sometimes overheat and have to shut down for a few seconds. This is accompanied by the glow of near-melting systems coming from their center.

Combat Tips

 * Without any prior equipment upgrades, it takes two consecutive drop assassinations to destroy a Clockwork Soldier; the first merely removes the head and ocular systems, while the second fully destroys them.
 * In direct combat, the best way to destroy a Clockwork Soldier with only a sword is to repeatedly target their upper arms; the first hit will dislodge the paneling protecting the limb components, while a second hit destroys the limb itself (a single sword strike can target both limbs on each side). Once all limbs are destroyed, the Clockwork Soldier will explode.
 * Removing a Clockwork Soldier's head removes its ability to distinguish friend from foe and it will attack any audible entity that approaches.
 * A rewired Clockwork Soldier will never attack the protagonist, even when their head has been removed.
 * NPCs will not make an effort to be quiet, often leading to their own deaths.
 * If guards are attacked by a Clockwork Soldier they will defend themselves, and their swords are capable of destroying it.
 * With the Monkey Wrench Masterwork upgrade for the sword, it is possible not only to deal direct sword damage to Clockwork Soldier in combat, but also to one-hit assassinate them in a similar manner to biological enemies.
 * Two consecutive shocks from stun mines are enough to fully destroy them, accomplished either through two stun mines or a single stun mine with at least one extra charge upgrade.
 * As it takes some time for the Clockwork Soldier to explode after taking sufficient damage, a fully upgraded stun mine will often discharge its third shot as well.
 * The Magnetized Bullet upgrade or a charged electrical burst will disable Clockwork Soldiers for a few seconds upon impact, buying the protagonist some time to escape or destroy the Clockwork Soldier.
 * Two shots from Corvo's pistol with the Crimson Painter Masterwork upgrade is enough to fully destroy a Clockwork Soldier, as the first shot simultaneously removes all limb panels while the second simultaneously destroys them all.
 * Using it in conjunction with the Magnetized Bullet upgrade ensures Clockwork Soldiers are stunned and immobile for the second shot.
 * A single grenade, even a sticky grenade attached directly to their torso, is only enough to remove their head and somewhat damage their chassis.
 * A well-aimed explosive bullet with the Explosive Cluster Bullet upgrade is enough to kill a Clockwork Soldier in one hit.
 * While Clockwork Soldiers completely ignore rat swarms, the rats will still attempt to attack it and consume the debris left by its destruction. This can prevent the rats from attacking other nearby enemies, meaning caution is advised when using Devouring Swarm near a Clockwork Soldier.
 * This occurs even if the Clockwork Soldier has been rewired.
 * Clockwork Soldiers are unaffected by the Doppelgänger upgrade Baffling Shade and the Far Reach upgrade Pull Enemies.
 * In reaction to Windblast, Clockwork Soldiers will dig their arms into the ground, preventing themselves from being pushed away. However, this does buy Corvo some time to attack them before they recover.
 * If a Clockwork Soldier is aware of the protagonist but is not actively assaulting them, it is possible for it to intercept bullets and explosive bullets with their blades, preventing either from inflicting any damage.
 * NPCs will generally try to stand clear of a Clockwork Soldier that is charging an electric burst, reducing the effectiveness of area-of-effect weapons at those times.
 * The explosion created by a defeated Clockwork Soldier can knock out NPCs, removing them from the fight. It also damages the protagonist should they be standing too close.
 * Clockwork Soldiers can be killed by a single blow from any weapon to the whale oil tank in the back. However, this does first require removal of the back panel.
 * Due to the positioning of the cameras on a Clockwork Soldier's head, each has a blind spot directly to both sides of it. While this does afford slightly easier access to the rewire panel if they are unaware of the protagonist, in combat they are constantly on the lookout for their enemy, reducing this weakness.
 * A rewired arc pylon will vaporize a Clockwork Soldier in a single hit, leaving only its identification plaque behind.
 * Displacing to where a Clockwork Soldier stands will immediately and silently destroy it, although Billie Lurk will take significant damage doing so.

Idle

 * "When this plays, check central rotor."
 * "Make a note. Remove this playback after the final field test."
 * "The machine has completed another full instruction set."
 * "Idling. Commence lens refocus."
 * "Still idling. Take this opportunity to backcharge second coil."
 * "Extra diagnostic playback loop."
 * "One thousand rotations. [Hmm.] Re-introducing graphite."
 * "Increasing oil tank temperature."
 * "Hmm, if this plays, the machine is recharging the magnetic coil."
 * "The machine is switching to alternative override." (when rewired)
 * "The machine is running at low speed."

Awakening

 * "End of sleep phase."
 * "This playback indicates that the machine is waking up."
 * "Activation."
 * "Well, err, the machine should enter active state now."

Alerted

 * "Playback for detection: registered."
 * "Okay, the machine has detected - something..."
 * "This playback indicates some detection without certainty."
 * "Something tripped the detection rig unduly."
 * "The machine is experiencing uncertainty."
 * "The machine concludes here, that nothing is further amiss." (when returning to idle state)
 * "General detection state."

Searching

 * "The machine should begin searching the vicinity."
 * "When this plays, search is underway."
 * "Playback for dead body detection." (when finding a dead body)
 * "The machine has identified a lifeless body." (when finding a dead body)
 * "This is quite amusing to record. This playback should trigger in case the machine detects my own lifeless body." (when finding the corpse of Kirin Jindosh)
 * "Okay, trigger exploration grid."
 * "Running search protocol."
 * "Amplifying audio." (when head has been removed)
 * "This indicates the search protocol is underway."
 * "Running search protocol."
 * "Search playback."
 * "The machine is still searching."
 * "Increasing audio collection." (when head has been removed)
 * "Increasing power to audio perception." (when head has been removed)
 * "At this point, the clockwork is scouting."
 * "Extending exploration of the area."
 * "Continue search."
 * "Let's see. Transition state... here. End search." (when returning to idle)
 * "Playback for termination of search." (when returning to idle)

Attacking

 * "Playback indicates a young woman, armed." (when playing as Emily)
 * "Playback for combat protocols."
 * "Playback for unambiguous enemy."
 * "Combat protocol six!"
 * "Combat protocol eight!"
 * "Hmm. Military profile but hostile."
 * "Hmm. Aristocratic profile, but hostile..."
 * "Okay, enemy encountered."
 * "Switching to alternative tactical mode." (when charging electric burst)
 * "Clear the room if this playback is called." (when charging electric burst)
 * "Triggering electrostatic discharge, stand clear." (when charging electric burst)
 * "Playback indicates criminal profile."
 * "The machine is overheating. Needs a moment to cool down." (when overheating)
 * "Cooling down." (when overheating)
 * "The machine is now relying on audio stimulus." (when head has been removed)
 * "The machine has entered combat."
 * "Entering combat state."
 * "Playback indicates an older male, armed." (when playing as Corvo)
 * "Okay, shut it down." (when overheating)
 * "Overheating. Stop all actions." (when overheating)
 * "The machine is overheating. Needs to shut down a moment." (when overheating)
 * "Unauthorized presence."
 * "Rear enemy if this plays." (when enemy is behind)

Killed Enemy

 * "Combatant executed."
 * "Playback for execution of foe."
 * "This plays if the machine is successful at putting down a combatant."
 * "Well, if this plays, someone's been beaten by one of my machines."
 * "Machine performing well. Enemy executed."

Ceasing Attack

 * "Enemy evasion successful."
 * "Quarry lost."
 * "Playback indicates lost enemy."
 * "This plays if someone eludes the machine."
 * "The machine has lost its quarry."

Damaged

 * "Limb magnetism detached. Magnetic or mechanical."
 * "Damage playback. Limb detached."
 * "Catastrophic damage to limb."
 * "Wooden housing breached and limb detached."

Head Removed

 * "Increasing power to audio detection."
 * "Head mechanism detached. Rare playback, no doubt."
 * "If the head is detached, identifying the enemy is impossible... Whatever, it'll kill them all."
 * "Hmm, wooden housing breached. Head detached."
 * "Damage playback. Head detached."
 * "Catastrophic damage to head."
 * "Carbon button microphone, on."
 * "Head detached. Amplifying audio."

Trivia

 * The reveal trailer for Dishonored 2 was made using the prototype Clockwork Soldiers.
 * As seen on the trailer, this model also had a numbered identification plaque, this time on the back near the left shoulder.
 * The render for the Clockwork Soldiers in the reveal trailer was done by Akin Bilgic.
 * In the trailer, the prototypes are more fragile. A stun mine and a detonating grenade destroy a Clockwork Soldier in just single blast each.
 * The Clockwork Soldier in the Assessment Chamber of the Clockwork Mansion was the prototype for depth perception. Should it be destroyed, Jindosh says he will add it to his collection.
 * If the protagonist manages to complete their objective without damaging or alerting this particular Clockwork Soldier, they will earn the special action Flawless Extraction.
 * Destroying a Clockwork Soldier in the mission The Clockwork Mansion will unlock a souvenir of a Clockwork Soldier head.
 * This souvenir is one of the two to appear on the image for the achievement Souvenirs.
 * Collecting three of the numbered plates from destroyed Clockwork Soldiers will give the achievement Clockwork Collector. Collecting all plaques does not change anything in the game.
 * Jindosh believes Arc Pylons have been superseded by the electric discharge ability built into the Clockwork Soldiers. However, this discharge is less powerful than the Arc Pylons, merely inflicting considerable damage instead of instantly vaporizing its target.
 * Jindosh wasn't the first scientist to imagine mechanical soldiers:
 * During the beginning of the The Flooded District mission in Dishonored Piero Joplin contemplated the creation of a similar invention a decade before Jindosh, naming it "Piero's wondrous mechanical watchman".
 * Anton Sokolov can be heard muttering in the Clockwork Mansion that he had a similar idea to the Clockwork Soldier, called the Automatic Man.
 * Advertisement for the Clockwork Sentinels can only be seen through Hollows in Death of the Outsider. These Hollows show an alternate timeline where the Sentinels were publicly made available for purchasing.
 * Harvey Smith has stated that it is possible that all the Clockwork Soldiers were destroyed in Dishonored 2. It is unknown what happened to the Clockwork Sentinels in the Dolores Michaels Deposit & Loan Bank, or whether any other Clockwork Soldiers exist.
 * With the key phrase found inside the suspended vault, Billie Lurk can turn any clockwork soldier to her side by interacting with them or broadcasting the programmed instruction over the loudspeaker system in Dolores Michaels Deposit & Loan Bank.