CHAIN Combat Practice How to Complete the X-Saw QTE
Gas check, lunge, two clash steps, and the FPS rule that makes the saw honest.
The X-Saw special is the clash people install CHAIN Combat Practice to learn. In Survival it costs 55w of gas, locks you in place, then asks you to win two QTEs. Fail either one and you take a brutal punish. Win both and you dump a huge chunk of damage. This page is the gym version of that sequence.
Read the weapon sheet on X-Saw for prices, slots, and the execution save. Stay here for the buttons.
Before you right-click
- Gas. Special needs more than 55w. Holding the saw drains 1w every 6 seconds. M1 does not spend gas; the special does.
- Draw time. The equip animation is long. If CHAIN is already on you, swing Machete or run. Do not pull the saw during a chase.
- FPS. Cap near 60. The bar is significantly kinder below 60 than on an uncapped 144/240 client. This is the #1 “the QTE is rigged” complaint. Fix it with FPS settings.
- Health trick. Some players start the special around mid health so the clash runs slightly slower than at full HP. Do not tank on purpose in Survival just to test this; in the trainer you can reset.
Step 1 — the lunge
Right-click (special) when the dummy/CHAIN is in range. You freeze and charge. During the charge you are invulnerable to normal swings, not to AoE and not during Bloodmoon. If you miss the lunge, you wasted 55w and got a cooldown. If you connect, the first clash starts.
On the first clash, players originally mashed F. The better habit is timed presses on the clash sounds, not a panic mash. Community notes — and a short X-Saw tips clip — say spamming step one makes step two harder. Count the hits. Two or three well-timed inputs at 60 FPS beat twenty panics.
Step 2 — random keys
The second clash rolls letters from the E/R/T/F/G family (H appears for some accounts). Look at the HUD, do not guess. Your left hand should already sit on that row from controls. Missing this step fails the entire special, even if step one was perfect.
Console players: watch the glyph, not a PC letter overlay from a YouTube video. Mobile players: this is the hardest prompt in the gym. Consider Tomahawk as your burst until you have a claw grip.
After a win or a loss
A win applies No Clash for a long window (Tomahawk specials sit near 49 seconds in community notes; treat X-Saw as “you are done throwing specials for a while”). Swap to Machete+ or Tomahawk M1s. A loss is a health tax; in Survival that can be lethal if you started the lunge greedy. Reset in the trainer. In Survival, be ready to dodge (Q) when the punish animation ends.
Enraged, Bloodmoon, saves
Do not throw the special at Enraged. CHAIN overpowers the lunge, deals ~70, and ragdolls you. Bloodmoon also ignores some invuln. The saw still has a save: if you would be executed and you are holding X-Saw with at least 50w, a long animation plays, gas dumps to zero, CHAIN stuns. You keep the weapon. You cannot also hold Combat Knife for a second save.
Practice plan in the simulator
- Ten M1 parries on Machete so your stamina brain is warm (combat stamina).
- One X-Saw special at 60 FPS, stop on a win.
- One special where you intentionally refuse to spam step one.
- One special at your native FPS so you feel the difference, then cap again.
- Stop. Do not grind losses; the punish animation will teach you the wrong flinch.
Then export to a CHAIN private server so randoms cannot body-block the lunge. For ranks, see QTE difficulty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
Do I spam the first X-Saw clash?
No. Time presses to clash sounds. Spam makes the second step harder.
How much gas does the special need?
Over 55w to throw, 50w to still have the execution save after.
Why is the QTE easier on my friend’s PC?
They are probably capped near 60 FPS. Match them with FPS settings.
Can I special during Enraged?
You can throw it. You should not. CHAIN stuffs the lunge and ragdolls you.
Does M1 spend gas?
No. Holding the saw and the special spend gas. M1 spends combat stamina.