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ZEPHON Item Reveal

Join our Discord to follow each segment of a reveal as it happens every Monday.


Items
Heroes are upgradeable and customizable in more ways than just through leveling up their skills.

Items can be bought from The Concordat and equipped on hero units—up to 6 items at a time. Each item comes from a path and rare items of a path can only be purchased after unlocking the appropriate research.

Unlike in Gladius, items can be bought from anywhere and transferred to a hero on the next turn. One-use items have categorically been replaced with cooldown-based items.


The Concordat



Everyone knew The Concordat. But no-one knew who they were. Maybe survivors on the surface, maybe a ZEPHON-fork, maybe an old Corp reaching outta the 20th century’s grave. They fed the rumor mill, hiding their truth under the chatter. All we did know was that they traded everything to everyone—and that they never made a loss.


Trauma Kit



Our medics… well, they were amateurs. But they’d survived and they patched you up just enough to get back into the field. The Concordat’s kits, though, they were… something else. The best of the old world mixed with whatever the AIs and aliens knew. They called it a “trauma kit”, but the real trauma was seeing that *thing* open you up and put you back together. If you could forget it, worth every cent.

Common item. Restore 33% hitpoints. Free action. Cooldown 10.

Rare Human items are unlocked for purchase from The Concordat by researching The Golden Pass.


Acrin Bone Whistle



“At kirk, or at market, whene'er ye meet me,
Gang by me as tho' that ye car'd na a flie;
But steal me a blink o' your bonie black e'e,
Yet look as ye were na lookin' to me,
Yet look as ye were na lookin' to me.
O whistle an' I'll come, &c.”
— Robert Burns


Uncommon item. Summon a Dark Vassael for 3 turns. Free action. Cooldown 10.

Rare Voice items are unlocked for purchase from The Concordat by researching Amoetia's Embrace.


Pathcutter



A wide-beam AI array, mounted on a prototype drone. Useless for combat, as it takes an hour to warm up. You set it up, point it where you want to go, and flip the safety off. Then cover your ears to its howl and follow. It finds impossibly perfect way through the most tangled jungle, plant or urban, paths you can never find again.

Rare item. Gain +3 movement and ignore movement penalties of forests and ruins for 1 turn. Free action. Cooldown 5.

Rare Cyber items are unlocked for purchase from The Concordat by researching Ha'sharet Exchange.



What do you think of the new item mechanics?


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1481170/ZEPHON/
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ZEPHON Hero Reveal

Join our Discord to follow each segment of a reveal as it happens every Monday.


Heroes



Heroes in ZEPHON are rare, powerful units that can manifest extraordinary abilities to vanquish their foes or protect their allies. They can equip items and increase the strength of their special abilities as they level up.

There are a total of six heroes, with two available from following each path—an early hero and a large mid-game hero. Unlike our previous game Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, these units are produced in the headquarters available to each city from the start instead of a special building.

One of our six heroes follows.

Erelim Assassin

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


This creation looks to have been inspired by Dick's Second Variety—just a normal looking human, until it gets near enough then everything just unfolds into blades upon blades upon blades.

The initial hero of the Cybernetica path. A synthetic machine designed for deceit and murder. Its combination of advanced technology, superior agility and precision enables it to infiltrate enemy lines and assassinate targets at will. Although innocent-looking, peering behind the mask reveals a mechanical monstrosity with blades sheathed inside synthetic skin. Being at the other end of these blades is fatal for anyone who is unlucky enough to be poorly armored. If the first strike does not end you, a critical thrust at your weak points will.

Attributes:
Group size: 1
Hitpoints: 32
Armor: 4
Movement: 3
Accuracy: 10
Morale: 12

Traits:
Agile: Not slowed by forests or ruins.
Hero: Category.
Mechanical: Category.
Stealth: Does not provoke overwatch attacks. Performs overwatch attacks with melee weapons.

Weapons:
Erelim Blades: 2 damage, 3 armor penetration, 3 attacks, Melee.

Levelable Abilities:
Assassinate: Inflict a critical strike on an injured unit. On kill, enemy units lose additional morale.
Ghost Walk: Ignore zone of control restrictions and walk through enemies.
Evasion Processor: Temporarily reduces incoming damage.
Dance of the Erelim (Elite): Damage all adjacent enemies.

Cost:
24 Minerals, 24 Chips, 48 Influence

Upkeep:
2 Minerals, 2 Influence



What do you think of the Erelim Assassin?



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1481170/ZEPHON/
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular reveals and exclusive closed betas to your inbox: https://newsletter.proxy-studios.com/

ZEPHON Quests Reveal

Join our Discord to follow each segment of a reveal as it happens every Monday.


Quests
High replayability and an immersive world are two key aspects for us in ZEPHON. Quests directly enhance both.

All but one final quest will semi-randomly occur during a playthrough. At predetermined time intervals, your chosen leader and your actions in the world—anything from your discoveries, communications, combat or economy—will determine which quest triggers.

At the core of each quest is a large illustration with custom ambient audio and meaningful player choices. Some choices may have an immediate consequence, but many will chain into further tasks.


Choices
Choices will reflect on the world, units and features on the map, your leader traits or what you can subsequently do and how you can interact with others. A number of choices will be locked behind special conditions, come with a cost, or be based on reputation as in other classic role-playing games.

To enforce the survival aspect, replayability and atmosphere, results won’t be shown until a choice is made. Choices also come with a risk of failure. Surviving in the world of ZEPHON is hard—no victory is guaranteed…


The Dream




Design Commentary
You have a weird dream. Grotesque beings are feasting on your soul. What does it mean? Is it a warning? Or are the demons of your past coming for revenge? You can't explain it yourself and no one around you has a meaningful answer.

The ask options only appear if you've met the corresponding leader. And the “Ask your sisters” option is exclusive to when you’re playing as the Furtive Tribunal.

A prime example of interacting with other NPC leaders of the world and getting answers based on who they are. The Fluid Anchorite might teach you how to handle your mind with more prowess. Otherwise ZEPHON might be able to decrypt the enigma. But if these polemicizing NPCs aren’t to your taste, asking the manic Hesitant Reaver is bound to help… somehow… surely?



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1481170/ZEPHON/
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular reveals and exclusive closed betas to your inbox: https://newsletter.proxy-studios.com/

ZEPHON Cinematic Intro Trailer

Get a peek at the story for ZEPHON in this cinematic intro trailer for the upcoming 4X strategy game from the creators of Warhammer 40,000: Gladius.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Smash the like button! For mankind.

Proxy AMA #3 Recording

4X Game Development, ZEPHON, Warhammer 40,000: Gladius | Proxy AMA #3

Wishlist ZEPHON:
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Wishlist and follow it to be notified of betas and release dates!
Thanks for everyone that tuned in and asked questions. For everyone else, enjoy the recording.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Stay great!