Saint

''Frail and armed with a long tongue. Your journey will be one of perfect enlightenment, but walking this path requires patience, caution and complete attunement with the world.''

The Saint is one of five playable Slugcats in the Downpour DLC. They begin the game in Windswept Spires, and have a variety of unique mechanics, including the ability to grapple and swing from walls and ceilings with their long tongue, which can be extended and retracted by pressing up and down. Saint is unable to throw spears. To compensate, they have an enormous hidden power, which can only be awakened at the end of their pilgrimage.

Food
4 food pips are required to hibernate, while only 1 may be stored for the next cycle.

General Changes

 * Eating meat gives no Food Pips, and slightly stuns Saint.
 * Saint immediately dies to any danger, including ones that are normally randomized like bites.
 * They also have a more intense reaction to being stunned, especially to creatures like Snails, which make the Saint seize helplessly for around 4 seconds.
 * s cannot be properly thrown. Instead, they spin in the air and fall after a short distance. Other throwables like, s and s still work, however.
 * This means that, while unconventional, passages such as The Outlaw and The Dragon Slayer are technically attainable.
 * [[File:Echo_icon.png]]Echoes can be met with any Karma level, and they will raise Saint's Karma by one. Meeting one while having 5 maximum Karma raises Saint's maximum Karma by 2 instead.
 * Saint starts with a maximum Karma level of two, and must meet seven Echoes to fully maximize their Karma.
 * Rain is not present. Instead, snowfall gradually increases into a blizzard, decreasing your temperature until you hibernate or freeze.
 * Objects like will reduce freezing while indoors. This includes background lanterns, which can increase Saint's temperature meter to max. This effect occurs when a Lantern is swallowed as well as when held.
 * Travelling through a gate will increase Saint's temperature by 4-5 pips
 * Riding a Rain Deer will reduce temperature fall
 * Saint changes color depending on temperature; they begin green, fade slowly to white, and then a dull brown.
 * Nearly all Colored Pearls have been "blanked" by the passage of time. Only two remain readable: The Pink Pearl at Farm Arrays and a pearl that's special to.

Tongue
Saint possesses a long tongue they can use to grapple onto walls or ceilings, much like a Grapple Worm. This tongue can be extended or retracted by holding Up or Down. Jumping while grappled de-attachs the tongue from the surface, and gives Saint upward momentum.

World Changes

 * Snow falls all over the surface.
 * Almost every area is renamed to reflect the passage of time.
 * 's name has uniquely not been changed.
 * Water becomes dangerous when the snow grows intense enough, freezing the Saint faster.
 * s have spread all over the world and can be found in several regions, in greater numbers than before.
 * packs are now widespread across most regions.
 * All Lizards except for s can have horns in their snouts and hair, most commonly seen in Yellow and lizards.
 * has collapsed, and has fallen on top of the, crushing it. As such, and  no longer exist and cannot be accessed. What remains of the regions that comprised the Shaded Citadel and ' superstructure is now known as the
 * has transformed into, a humid jungle environment unaffected by the cold. An Echo can be found there.
 * The Rot in (Glacial Wasteland) is completely gone.
 * (Frigid Coast)'s waters are now fully clean. Fauna and flora from the like es and s have expanded into the region. Due to this, the lack of  and the presence of s, the region is much more dangerous than before.
 * The Leg and the part of the Underhang that contained the lower entrance to Five Pebbles has crushed the Shaded Citadel-Shoreline Karma gate, replacing it with a connection to the Silent Construct.
 * has gravity fluctuations due to Moon's partial reactivation. The original upper entrance to her superstructure can be reached while there's low gravity. There's an Echo at the western dead end, beyond the Five Natural Urges' representations.


 * has a few changes to make it easier to reach The Heart, and the Saint can find an additional, optional Echo inside of Bitter Aerie. Even with the changes, reaching The Heart is incredibly difficult without 10 maximum Karma.
 * (Ancient Labyrinth) now has a visual distortion effect similar to the one in the Depths, which are now gone entirely and replaced with a massive pit that leads to . Rubicon cannot be accessed without 10 maximum Karma, and any attempts to jump down just teleport you back up.

Attunement
Once Saint meets 7 of the 8 echoes available, and reaches a maximum Karma level of ten, they unlock the ability to fly and ascend creatures, instantly killing them. Saint can take flight by pressing Grab and Jump while airborne. Pressing Throw gives you an aiming reticle controlled by the movement keys. After some time, an explosion appears at the aiming reticle, killing anything in a slight area of effect. These kills do not count for the score tally after finishing the campaign.

The ascension attack works on any creature in the game, including s, s, s,, and. Unlike everyone else, Guardians can survive up to three attacks before dying.

Should the player die in the same cycle as ascending Looks to The Moon or Five Pebbles, they will remain ascended on the following cycle.

If one or both of the above characters are ascended, they will offer special dialog at the end of Rubicon.

Echo Monologues
All of the echoes have different dialogue during the saints campaign.

Droplets upon Five Large Droplets
Another presence attempts to commune with mine.

Have I perceived your voice before? I have existed long enough to overhear them all.

Those who have been, and those who have yet to be.

Each serving as a wave propagating throughout the annals of history.

Listened as I have for many eons, 'tis true, some of those swells cannot help but mirror back.

Nineteen Spades, Endless Reflections
From my perch, I've overlooked this land for an eternity.

Watched as this vast expanse was blanketed into an endless tundra.

We remain trapped in place, and yet can never stop moving.

Funneled endlessly into an unknown future...

To what destination do these memories reach?

Undergrowth Echo
Do you see the same as me?

Beauty continuing to bloom even in a place long forgotten.

I did not have the will to depart, nor the desire.

Why did they always search for an escape, as if we were imprisoned?

What offering from the void could usurp the gift of life already given?

This moment, right here! It is where we are meant to be.

Shoreline Echo
You stand upon our creation.

I toiled away until my final breath. As did many of us, through countless generations.

Research, shipments, architecture, computation, politics, worship, revolutions!

All for a heap of rusted metal steeped in a puddle of frozen water.

I placed my faith into the hands of random gods.

Now I must endure it to the end.

Six Grains of Gravel, Mountains Abound
Our presence has been revealed to you now, young one.

The attunement has become... much nearer.

Like a ripple distorted upon a moonlit reflection.

Repetitious, seemingly endless strife.

An unimaginable curse.

Swim with the tide or against it.

Two Sprouts, Twelve Brackets
A little beast!

Come to join me in this great undoing.

The old world will soon vanish, wiped from history, to pave a path for the dawning of a new era.

How many have been consumed so far? Were we the tenth civilization, or the thousandth?

Amusingly, they thought their small struggles bore such great significance.

All was not but to serve the void.

A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads
Why is it?

This long forgotten place beckons me, drawn by a certain presence...

The fields here are not as I remember. Too much has changed.

But, by forfeiting familiarities, perhaps something new is gained?

Despite all, this site still has not revealed the entirety of its secrets.

Perhaps that is the reason for my continued imprisonment.

Bitter Aerie Echo
Such drive! Such tenacity! All to come to such a lonely forsaken place!

Was it all to find me, young one, or did the idea of such a journey itself spark the fire within you?

Such enthusiasm should be rewarded! What an amazing little beast you are!

Trivia

 * Although Saint is unable to throw most s, Saint is still able to use and throw fire spears just like any other slugcat.


 * When the blizzard is at full force, one or two will only keep Saint at 3 pips of warmth indoors, even if they gain more from other sources. Being in the proximity of at least 3 Lanterns will increase Saint's temperature proportionate to their number. Although it is cumbersome to carry 3, having one swallowed allows for indoor travel almost indefinitely, with short bursts outdoors.
 * Saint will shiver if the external temperature would normally lower theirs.
 * in Saint's campaign have hair growing from their heads, this is presumably an evolved adaptation to survive the winter environment.
 * Saint is the only slugcat whose body is covered in fur, although it is unknown why this is so, their fur must have been helpful in surviving the harsh cold environment that is in their campaign.
 * One can assume that similar to the Lizards, the fur is an evolved adaptation.
 * This would make sense as Saint is the furthest slugcat in the timeline.
 * The game actively takes screenshots of Saint at each karma cap increase, displaying them again at the end, which makes each playthrough unique.