Saturn is a massive loader mini-boss that protects the Hyperion Information Stockade in Borderlands 2.
It lands on a bridge that leads to the stockade above what remains of the town of Fyrestone upon getting close enough to the landing site. Saturn does not need to be defeated in order to complete any objective in that area; however, it can be very difficult to accomplish any mission with it in the way.
Saturn can also spawn in The Raid on Digistruct Peak, on Overpower Level 7 or higher. In this case, this enemy is renamed as Saturn 2.0.
Quick Answers
What is the role of Saturn in protecting the Hyperion Information Stockade in Borderlands 2?
Can you complete any objective in the area without defeating Saturn?
What happens when Saturn lands on the bridge in Borderlands 2?
In which mission can Saturn spawn on Overpower Level 7 or higher?
What is the connection between Saturn and the town of Fyrestone in Borderlands 2?
Appearances
Strategy
Saturn is very robust and has several devastating attacks. It has four mounted turrets, one on each shoulder and one on each leg, which can be shot off. The turrets can be used for second winds. Saturn has no critical points, is immune to all elemental status effects, and is highly resistant to splash damage. The turrets, however, can be slagged and damaged like a normal enemy, or be shot off for second winds.
Saturn itself has the following attacks, all of which inflict significant damage. The first three are additionally accompanied by obvious visual and audio cues, giving Vault Hunters a brief window to avoid them.
- An electric cannon barrage out of its arms.
- A rocket barrage from its shoulder-mounted pods, which fly upwards briefly before pursuing any targets.
- A swarm of slow explosive Surveyor drones from its torso.
- A stomp to defend itself in close quarters.
With Saturn's attacks being as powerful as they are, all aggression against this robot should be conducted from places where cover is readily available. The four plasma cannons and rocket pods can also be destroyed to further reduce Saturn's effectiveness, although the cannons themselves are relatively trivial threats compared to Saturn itself. When under the bridge, Saturn's rocket barrage can even be exploited, as they will simply collide with the overpass and explode harmlessly while leaving it open to fire.
For Gaige, Deathtrap won't contribute much, as he will either remain idle or fire his electric bolt. Axton's Sabre Turret works wonders at distracting Saturn if placed behind obstacles (typically through the use of Longbow Turret and Mag-Lock) to bait its attacks.
Saturn's attacks are primarily effective at range, limiting its ability to counter melee builds, which often involve characters repeatedly attacking Saturn up close to overwhelm it and/or outheal its devastating stomps. The Law and Order weapon and shield combo is a prominent example, especially when paired with Zer0's numerous melee damage bonuses.
Saturn is also vulnerable to Zer0's B0re skill due to its bonuses multiplying exponentially when they enter and exit a hitbox. Shooting the hitboxes where the turrets are connected to Saturn itself often results in it taking massively increased damage.
Quotes
- Saturn utters the same quotes of its smaller, ordinary loader cousins, except in a much lower pitch and slower pace.
Notes
- A lone very low-leveled Pup Skag will spawn behind the bus station, and can be used for an easy Second Wind.
- Saturn may drop these items at the following chances:
- Saturn dropped the Morningstar Sniper Rifle on Day 20 of the Borderlands 2 $100,000 Loot Hunt.
- At level 32, Saturn and his turrets have 330,929 and 9,482 hit points, respectively. At level 52, they are 9,486,816 and 204,859. At level 74, they become 441,205,632 and 14,709,622.
- If the player rushes behind the hut nearby its spawn point, it may freeze in place and not attack, even if shot from behind the fence, although it will if approached close enough.
Trivia
- Saturn was originally to be a boss battle at the end of the mission Statuesque, where it would vary between it spawning and another enemy called Talos [1]. This feature was shown but removed from the final version.
- In the game's coding, Saturn is identified as "Talos".
- According to the Borderlands 2 manual, Saturn's extremely high upkeep only allows one to be deployed at any given moment, specifically in areas of utmost importance.
- Hyperion built Saturn to defend its interests abroad to win hearts and minds by shooting them in the face - this is reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winning_hearts_and_minds