The list of characters in Daemon X Machina.
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Protagonists
The Rookie
The Player Character. They begin the story as a relatively new mercenary who joins the ranks of the Reclaimers, quickly becoming involved with many different groups and learning about their motivations while combating the Immortals and rogue AI.
- The Ace: Though a greenhorn when compared to the older Reclaimers, it becomes apparent that the Rookie is a natural when piloting their Arsenal. Early on, when combating two members of Western VII, they quickly master the abilities of the Mirage function, despite having never used it prior to that point. At one point, it becomes clear that the Rookie is one of the best Reclaimers at Oval's disposal. This may or may not be because of Grief designing them this way.
- Almighty Janitor: The Rookie's skills and their meteoritic rise in the ranks of the Reclaimers make a lot more sense when Grief explains that they're pretty much an artificial member of the Terrors, the mightiest of the Outer teams, who Grief made to act as a spare scion for the Dominator.
- Artificial Human: They were created by Grief, as part of his plans to further evolve humanity.
- Attack Drones: Outside of the Arsenal, they have a laser-firing drone following them that can be used to fight and destroy enemies if you get shot down.
- Badass Normal: If the Rookie doesn't receive any sort of modifications from the Lab.
- Black Eyes of Crazy: Subverted. They're not crazy, but their sclera turns black either via Character Customization or getting an upgrade at The Lab that alters their appearance.
- Body Horror: Some of the modifications done to their body as part of the upgrade system can be rather unsettling. Minor examples, such as getting an upgrade that helps you lock-on to your targets better, makes you develop glowing eyes with black sclera. More extreme examples, such as getting a blade for when you're outside of your Arsenal or getting a double jump, has you replace your arm and legs with prosthetic limbs. They also pretty much turn into a goddamn robot when you complete the upgrade trees.
- The Big Guy: Usually the heaviest hitter in each mission by virtue of being the player, but not the shot caller, that title goes to the Reclaimer faction leaders, consortiums, and Orbital. Once the Oval Link, consortiums, and Reclaimers are shattered, you become this directly in Brigadier General's new Five-Man Band.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Downplayed. With each upgrade the Rookie receives, their body gradually starts becoming more robotic to the point where they could be mistaken for looking like an android. However, no matter how many cybernetics are implanted into their body, it doesn't have any impact on the story or on the character themselves.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Their default Outer suit is dark gray, along with a red and black one in promotional materials. This may have to do with them being an Artificial Human and unofficial member of Terrors.
- Defeating the Undefeatable: They take down some of the toughest opponents in the world, from the Colossal Immortals to the best Outers in Oval like Crimson Lord and Grief, and even take on Solomon.
- Destructive Savior: One of the game's endings has the Rookie help bring humanity to its next stage of societal development...by lowering the Oval Link shields without warning, flooding the world with Femto, and thus encouraging the evolution and colonisation initiatives Grief wanted to occur.
- Full-Conversion Cyborg: Through the upgrades menu, the Rookie can replace more and more of their organic body with cybernetics until barely anything organic remains.
- The Heart: Becomes this to the Reclaimers as the story goes on. They don't just earn their respect and admiration, but also their loyalty.
- Laser Blade: Can gain one from a certain arm modification.
- Meaningful Name: The word "Daemon" has two meanings.
- In ancient Greek, a "daemon" is a being of supernatural origins or a divine entity between gods and humans, with the significance behind this meaning becoming prominent concerning Grief's overall plans for them. It's also the archaic spelling of the word demon.
- In modern terms, a "daemon" is a type of program that runs in the background unhindered and outside the control of a user and is activated when certain conditions have been met or a certain event has occurred. While Grief designed the Rookie to be a major instrument in his plans to have humanity evolve, they don't necessarily have to follow his plans.
- Named by the Adaptation: In the Star Reclaimer novel, the Rookie is named Zack.
- New Meat: They are the newest member of the Reclaimers, so they naturally fit the bit. Once they climb the ranks, however, this fades and eventually reaches to the point where almost every faction respects and admires the Rookie, including Western VII. Unofficially, they are also this to Terrors, as they replace their deceased comrade Rad's position.
- Pinball Protagonist: They don't have very much impact on the story, instead getting caught up in one conflict after another. That being said, it does help them understand the other mercenary groups.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Their default outfit is a drab dark grey and orange suit that is stylized as a red and black one in promotional materials, hinting at their connection to the Terrors.
- The Rival: They are this to many Outers after several encounters, having best them many times and earning their admiration in the process. The most obvious is Savior, as the Rookie was the first person to ever beat him.
- Rookie Red Ranger: Part of their nickname, since they just joined Oval. That being said, they quickly master their Arsenal and become one of humanity's best in the battle against the Immortals. This gets flipped on its head when it's revealed the Rookie is Daemon, the unofficial "fourth" member of Terrors, implying that Grief had already given them the ability and skills necessary to combat the Immortals and their fellow Reclaimers.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Their first mission for the C-Rank has them go in without any support from the other Outers for the first time, signifying their new status. They also start the mission on foot.
- Virtual Paper Doll: From appearance to their Outer suit, pretty much every part of them is customizable. You can even change genders at any time you wish, though you will need to spend credits to change how the Rookie looks, with the price varying on what part you want to change.
- Wild Card: The Rookie is not aligned with any mercenary group or consortium besides Orbital, letting them freely associate as they choose. Over the course of the story the Rookie will have likely fought with (and against) every other Reclaimer at least once.
Four
Voiced by: Yuko Kaida (Japanese), Allegra Clark (English)
An Artificial Intelligence designed to aid the Reclaimers, giving them their missions while providing them the necessary information they need to complete their mission.- Deus est Machina: She's the Dominator, the godlike artificial intelligence that the Immortals have been fighting and dying in droves to keep from fully manifesting.
- God Was My Copilot: Four, or rather the Dominator itself, has been around for as long as humanity has, possibly even longer. According to Grief, she was even referred to by different names throughout human history while helping them progress. The way he words it, it's heavily implied that Four may be what humans called "God."
- Grew Beyond Their Programming: As the story progresses, it quickly becomes clear that Four, who is designed to act with the purpose of preserving Oval Link and its continued existence, is becoming more "human" for unknown reasons. It's subtle at first, but it quickly becomes apparent during the battle between Guns Empress, Gargantua, the Rookie and Bullet Works, where the two groups are ordered to fight each other for one side supposedly intruding on the other's territory, only to immediately tell the Reclaimers to abandon their mission. Its eventually subverted following The Reveal, as she is already well beyond the mere parameters of any ordinary AI.
- The Man Behind the Man: She is the Dominator, responsible for manipulating Grief, the consortiums, and the player character to achieve her goal of advancing humanity.
- Mission Control: She more or less serves this role.
Reclaimers
Otherwise known as "Outers," they are the pilots of the Arsenals and are hired by various consortiums to complete missions. Each Outer belongs to a faction, and one more than one occasion, each faction comes into conflict with each other. Tropes that apply to Reclaimers in general
- Ambiguously Human: Due to the experiments performed on their bodies in order to better combat the Immortals, some Reclaimers are pushing the boundaries of being human and something else entirely.
- Five-Man Band: The endgame has the leaders of each Reclaimer faction form a collective one against Big Bad Grief.
- The Hero: Brigadier General
- The Lancer: Savior
- The Big Guy: The Rookie
- The Smart Guy: Guns Empress
- The Heart: Jack
- Sixth Ranger: Reaper
- God Was My Copilot: Four, the artificial intelligence that assists them all, is actually a godlike alien machine called the Dominator.
- Hired Guns: They are all mercenaries, first and foremost. Some like Savior have grand goals of fighting to defend humanity, but for the most part, almost all of them are in it for the money.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Reclaimers are only known by their callsigns.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Despite all ostensibly having the same goal (saving humanity), the various Reclaimer factions are constantly coming into conflict with one another, usually at the whims of the consortiums, who suffer the same problem. This system was intentionally designed by Grief, as the more the various groups fight each other, the easier it will be for him to complete his goals.
Bullet Works
A faction of Reclaimers that primarily consist of individuals hailing from a military background. It is led by the Brigadier General. In General
- Blood Knight: Crimson Lord and Diablo, though Diablo is less outwardly restrained. Ironically, it’s Crimson Lord Who defects to Grief’s side later on, since, unlike Diablo, he cares for nothing except victory.
- Character Death: The first real casualty of Grief’s plan is Drake, courtesy of Crimson Lord.
- Dark Is Not Evil: They're a militaristic faction whose logo is a crooked, bullet-toothed, blood-splattered skull. They wind up being the group the Reclaimers rally under to stop Grief during the last act of the game.
- Frontline General: Literally, in Brigadier General’s case.
- Mildly Military: Inverted. Despite technically being just another mercenary group, Bullet Works is the closest thing the Oval Link has to a formal military, with their own internal ranks and chain of command. It helps that most of their members have military experience and that they're the only group large enough to really need a chain of command.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Unlike the other factions, Bullet Works’ only uniting factor is their military backgrounds and structure. As a result, they’re pretty varied when it comes to membership.
- You Are in Command Now: After the consortiums pack up and flee the Oval Link, Bullet Works is given control of the Reclaimers in order to stop Grief.
Johnny G
Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi (Japanese), Zachary T. Rice (English)
Arsenal: Peacemaker
One of the first mercenaries the Rookie gets involved with. A good-natured mercenary among his peers, he helps the Rookie out anyway he can.- Butt-Monkey: He tends to fulfill this role in Bullet Works and when he's working with other people. That being said, he's still a competent Reclaimer.
- Boring, but Practical: As a partner in missions, he doesn’t have any of the crazy setups or weapons other Outers possess. However, his hiring price is incredibly low, what he does have is reliable and adaptable for most situations, and most importantly, another Arsenal never hurt anyone’s chances.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Implied. During the battle between Bullet Works and the Rookie, Gargantua and Guns Empress, he becomes incensed by the Rookie's abilities while stating that everyone, including himself, is aware of their growing prowess. While it could just be the stress of battle getting to him, Johnny G sounds genuinely angry and frustrated that a newcomer is quickly proving themselves and garnering more recognition than him.
- The Lancer: To the Rookie after they save him from Klondike and Red Dog, and especially once he gets over his Green-Eyed Monster issues mentioned above. He's one of the first Reclaimers you can recruit as a partner for Free Missions, and he's a required partner for several major Story Missions after that, including the final mission, where he and Diablo pin down Gloom so that the Rookie can get past him and get to Grief.
- Nominal Importance: He suspects that the reason he hasn't been given a callsign yet is because BG expects him to die before he becomes important enough to need one. Despite this, he survives all the way to the end of the game.
Crimson Lord
Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda (Japanese), Dave B. Mitchell (English)
Arsenal: Scarlet Sword
One of the top Outers of Bullet Works, and regarded as one of the best pilots within Oval. He is both feared and respected by many other mercenaries.- The Ace: He is, bar none, one of the strongest mercenaries within Bullet Works, if not the entirety of the Reclaimers. Which makes his betrayal and siding with Grief all the more shocking.
- Broken Ace: When he could feel his age, he realized he had peaked. The fact that younger aces like Diablo and the Rookie would eventually surpass him haunted him, which is why he falls to Grief's temptations of greater power.
- Death Seeker: Claims he has been seeking death in the battlefield ever since he caused the death of Diablo's sister, but his pride as a warrior would not allow him to simply lie down and die.
- Evil All Along: After his defection, he reveals that all he cares about is the pursuit of greater power, and that he only became the ace of Bullet Works for this reason.
- Face–Heel Turn: Sides with Grief, solidifying his traitor status by killing Drake.
- Feeling Their Age: One of his reasons for the above.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Sports a long scar along the left side of his face.
- Older Than They Look: While he looks and acts like a man in his prime, he's actually 44 years old.
- Red Is Heroic: It's in his name. He's one of the strongest, if not the most powerful Outer among the Reclaimers. It's dropped the second he sides with Grief and kills Drake.
Diablo
Voiced by: Tōru Furuya (Japanese), Bryce Papenbrook (English)
Arsenal: Shadow Fang
A Reclaimer who works alongside Crimson Lord. He seeks battle wherever he can find it, and fights with Crimson Lord on more than one occasion.- Blood Knight: Though not on the same level as Western VII, Diablo is known for getting into fights with other Reclaimers, even those on the same team as him. That being said, even he knows when to reign it in and not let his lust for victory rule over him.
- Broken Pedestal: Despite acting petulant and hostile toward Crimson Lord, it becomes quite clear that Diablo greatly respects him before he defects to Grief. He is shaken when Crimson Lord reveals his rather selfish motives for doing so.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His Outer Plug Suit is black and pilots a dark colored Arsenal. Despite being a Blood Knight, he still cares about his comrades.
- Heroic BSoD: He's left utterly heartbroken when Crimson Lord betrays Bullet Works and kills Drake right in front of him. Worse still was the fact that Drake took the hit that was meant for him. All Diablo can do is pitifully beg Drake not to die before he starts screaming in anguish while holding her dead body in her arms.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Toward Crimson Lord. It turns out that the Crimson Lord is responsible for the death of his sister, and he initially wanted to become strong so he could kill Crimson Lord and avenge her.
Bone Box
Voiced by: Yasuhiro Mamiya (Japanese), Imari Williams (English)
Arsenal: Raging Bull
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Or the Mecha equivelant anyway. His Arsenal is armed with only a sword but his profile notes that he prefers just using the Raging Bulls Fists instead.
Painkiller
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese), T.J. Storm (English)
Arsenal: Wiseman's Dagger
- Cold Sniper: He's an expert marksman of Bullet Works.
Bishop
- Cool Helmet: He's wearing a pilot helmet all the time. It's also available as a DLC.
- Demolitions Expert: In one mission he plants bombs along the weak points of an Immortal-built wall, destroying it at the press of a button after Rose Queen and the Rookie find out it's impervious to conventional weapons.
- Non-Action Guy: Downplayed. While Bishop can fight, it's not his specialty, and his Arsenal is geared more for support than combat. In fact his Arsenal is nearly unarmed, equipped only with a Stun weapon and a shield.
Drake
Voiced by: Yuu Kobayashi (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English)
Arsenal: Anaconda
The sole female member of Bullet Works.—-- Heroic Sacrifice: Pushes Diablo out of the way when Crimson Lord throws his sword at him, only to get impaled herself.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: While on a mission with the Rookie, she and the others are attacked by Western VII's Klondike and Red Dog. Realizing quickly that the situation is starting to turn dim, she authorizes the Rookie to use the Mirage function, despite the fact that they're still relatively new at that point and are still in the process of learning how to use their Arsenal.
- Vasquez Always Dies: One of the more badass females, yet she bites it during Crimson Lord's defection.
Falcon
Voiced by: Ken'ichirou Matsuda (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English)
Arsenal: Grand Totem
- The Nose Knows: Regularly "Smells" enemies coming, even through a raging blizzard. Stealth systems are noted to be ineffective against him.
Artist
Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (Japanese), Imari Williams (English)
Arsenal: Burn Beat
A Bullet Works Reclaimer with a creative streak. His antics can sometimes get on the nerves of other Outers, friend and foe alike.- Left the Background Music On: He rigged his Arsenal to play his personal theme for the fight with him and Falcon, loud enough to blow their cover and confuse Four into mistaking him for an Immortal.Savior: This music offends my senses! Concentrate all firepower on Artist!
Brigadier General
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Richard Epcar (English)
Arsenal: Bullet Walker
Click here to see his Arsenal
The leader of Bullet Works.
- A Father to His Men: He views each and every member of Bullet Works as his brothers-in-arms and comrades, and it will be a cold day in hell before he allows any of them to die under his watch. Case in point, he stops Johnny G from trying to engage in an all-or-nothing attack against the Rookie.
- You don't even have to be in Bullet Works for this to extend to you. If you're on the same side as Brigadier General, he will look out for you. Just ask every Reclaimer in the fight against Grief and the Dominator.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Is tied with Savior and Grief for the highest hiring price at 50,000 G, much more than any of the rewards in free missions.
- The Hero: He's the one that takes command when the Oval Link goes to hell and puts together the successful plans to take down Grief.
- Old Soldier: He's the oldest Outer (if not Reclaimer, as Knight has that distinction) in the entire cast.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: He was not made the leader of Bullet Works without reason, and his position more than demonstrates just how powerful the man is.
- Supporting Leader: When Grief puts his plan into action and the Oval Link threatens to fall, Brigadier General and Bullet Works are the ones putting out contracts in lieu of Horizon, Sky Union, Zen, or Orbital. No one, not even Savior or the Western VII, disputes that he is the right person to lead all the Reclaimers against the Dominator.
Five Hells
A group of Outers with a rather aristocratic flair. As their name suggests, it is comprised of only five members and is led by Savior. In General
- Aerith and Bob: Savior's name, odd choice aside, is relatively the most normal compared to his sisters, both of whom are named Heaven and Abyss respectively.
- Creepy Child: There is something seriously wrong with Heaven and Abyss. Heaven is a Blood Knight who's excited about destroying anything she can get her hands on, while Abyss just wants everything to drop dead.
- Gothic Horror: Their black Arsenals, fancy accessories, and logo are imbued with the spirit of this genre. Fittingly, the team's dark secrets cause the group to implode in a rather macabre fashion.
- Meaningful Name: Savior, Heaven and Abyss' names are all derived from religious terms, with Savior and Heaven, the phrase used to describe Jesus Christ and the name of the realm of eternal paradise respectively, being the most obvious examples.
- Undying Loyalty: The faction is absolutely devoted to Savior, who they are trying to install as humanity’s leader. Literally undying, in Heaven and Abyss’ case, as both of them are nothing more than corpses kept alive by cybernetics, replacement parts, and Femto. They still serve Savior, to the bitter end.
Savior
Voiced by: Daiki Hamano (Japanese), Mark Whitten (English)
Arsenal: Judgment Blaze
Click here to see his Arsenal
The patriarch of the Valentine family, his goal is to lead the Valentines to their "destiny" as the leaders of humanity.
- The Ace: Rich, handsome, powerful, and a genius Arsenal developer. Zoa can't help but snark on how perfect he is.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Is tied with Brigadier General and Grief for the highest hiring price at 50,000 G, much more than any of the rewards in free missions.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He doesn't take kindly to Johnny G's attempts to console him after he loses to the Rookie, believing that he is patronizing him.
- For Great Justice: Savior spends most of his introductory cutscene waxing poetic about the Outers' duty to protect mankind from the Immortals. He even says "as mercenaries, we answer to a higher calling," which in most other settings would be a patently absurd statement.
- Given Name Reveal: He gives his full name, Laurent Louis Valentine, just before Mercy Killing Nemesis.
- I Got You Covered: If the player chooses to stop the battle with Savior when his Arsenal begins malfunctioning, he comes to the Rookie's assistance when Regret and Gloom of Terrors later ambush them.
- The Lancer: After the fall of the Consortiums and the shattering of most Reclaimer groups, he becomes this to Brigadier General.
- Mercy Kill: Inflicts one on Nemesis to free her from the Dominator's influence.
- Pride Before a Fall: His defeat by the Rookie is his first real defeat in life, and he is briefly at a loss as to how to deal with it.
- The Rival: He comes to regard the Rookie as this after suffering his first defeat to them. In fact, he's so eager to fight them again that even after having already completed a mission for the day, he rushes to prepare his Arsenal for another take off when the chance for a rematch comes up. Not the smartest choice, it turns out, as his Arsenal's generator begins malfunctioning halfway into the bout.
- Sheltered Aristocrat
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome
- This Cannot Be!: His reaction to losing for the first time. He is so shocked that he almost cannot believe that it happened.
- Warrior Poet: He believes that a poem can sometimes provide more nourishment than bread ever could.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Savior thinks that the Oval Link conflicts make for the perfect opportunity for him to act as a Knight in Shining Armor against an unambiguously wicked foe in the form of the Immortals. Then it turns out that the machines were, in their own warped way, trying to protect the human race.
Heaven
Voiced by: Rumi Ōkubo (Japanese), Kayli Mills (English)
Arsenal: Albus
An upbeat, if....bloodthirsty member of the Valentines. She often enjoys talking about how she is going to "break" anything and anyone in her way.- Blood Knight: She loves breaking things. Even (or especially) if those things are people.
- Genki Girl: She's upbeat for an undead sociopath that wants to break you.
- The Undead: Both she and Abyss died before the game even started, and the Valentines are keeping them alive through a combination of organ replacement and cybernetic life support systems.
Abyss
Voiced by: Rumi Ōkubo (Japanese), Kayli Mills (English)
Arsenal: Ater
Heaven's sister, but with a much more...somber personality. Apparently she just wants to die...and take anything and anyone nearby down with her.- Blood Knight: Don't let her pessimism fool you...she wants you dead as well.
- Death Seeker: A good majority of her dialogue is saying how she wants to die...or how she wants her opponent to die.
- Goth: Her general aesthetic. It fits her personality well.
- The Undead: Like her sister, she is being kept alive with cybernetics and organ replacements.
Nemesis
Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Allegra Clark (English)
Arsenal: Glory Edge
A masked woman who is among the most fervent to serve Savior. She also looks down on anyone who does not appreciate her leader.- Alpha Bitch: She's beautiful, and she's a skilled Arsenal Pilot. That said, if your name isn't Savior, then you don't deserve her respect or admiration. And after her defection, even Savior is treated like dirt until he severs her connection to Dominator.
- Face–Heel Turn: After growing tired of how much has been sacrificed for Savior's cause, she proudly and happily signs up with Grief is unrepentant of her choice all the way to her final confrontation with Savior. Her dialogue during the final fight reveals she had seen how Savior had "changed" due to the influence of his fellow Reclaimers, and her betrayal came in the face of Savior expressing how he no longer wanted to claim the Valentines' "destiny" of leading humanity.
- Kick the Dog: When Heaven and Abyss confront the Rookie, she forces them to activate a system in their Arsenals that increases their performance but causes them great pain. When even that fails and one of the sisters is shot down, she goads the remaining sibling into a Suicide Attack on Notes. When Jack and Notes call her out on needlessly sacrificing the lives of her siblings, she responds that she doesn't care about them in the slightest.
- Mercy Kill: Savior subjects this to her to free her of the Dominator's influence. When he does, she thanks him and professes her love for him before dying.
- Yandere: To say that she is obsessed with Savior would be a massive Understatement. After her Face–Heel Turn, her synchronization with Dominator pushes her even farther off the deep end, forgoing the desire or admiration she had for Savior and instead resolving to kill him because his time with the other mercenaries has "changed" him. It is even implied that she intended to put Savior through the same process that they did to Heaven and Abyss in order to keep him.
Knight
Voiced by: Yosuke Akimoto (Japanese), Paul St. Peter (English)
Arsenal: Guardian
The Valentine Family's butler, he is the only known Arsenal pilot who is actually not an Outer. Polite, gentlemanly, and loyal to a fault, he serves the Valentines well with his Arsenal's long range firepower.- Badass Normal: He is not actually an Outer. Only body mods and peak physical conditioning allows him to pilot his Arsenal despite not possessing their unique abilities. Despite this, his black Arsenal is feared among mercenaries.
- Battle Butler: The official butler of the Valentine family...and an ace Arsenal pilot to boot.
- Black Knight: His callsign and jetblack Arsenal evoke this effect.
- Combat Medic: One of two recruitable Outers with a healing shoulder weapon, although his Arsenal is not as durable as Gargantua.
- Cool Old Guy: At 72 years old, he's the oldest active Reclaimer seen in the game.
- Friendly Sniper: A affable old man whose Arsenal is focused on long-range combat.
- Graceful Loser: He expresses nothing but admiration for the Rookie when they defeat him in their first encounter, and politely asks Savior to forgive him for not being able to continue fighting.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He performs a nigh-suicidal charge against Nemesis in his Arsenal that is not designed for close-quarters combat to show Savior that their enemy is seriously intent on killing them both. Thankfully, he survives.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: And he respects those who also adhere to this, such as the Rookie should he choose not to fight Savior after his Arsenal starts acting up.
- Old Retainer: Is this to Savior, serving him as his butler.
Panzer Crown
An all-female group of Reclaimers. They are led by Guns Empress. In General
- Amazon Brigade: They are the only faction that is entirely comprised of female Outers, and each and every one of them can kick your ass.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Implied by their callsigns, which are derived from positions of royalty. And they're all experienced pilots.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: None of them fall into Grief's sway. Though Empress does take advantage of a win-win situation, it ultimately benefits the heroes much more than it does Grief, and Grief's true motives were unknown to her at the time.
- Meaningful Name: Their callsigns are all derived from positions of royalty. Some examples include Guns Empress and Crown Princess.
Guns Empress
Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu (Japanese), Carrie Keranen (English)
Arsenal: High Line
Click here to see her Arsenal
The leader of Panzer Crown. A levelheaded leader with an abnormal talent for hacking into things she shouldn't be able to. Due to her role in the later stages of the story, she is something of a Walking Spoiler so read with care.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted. She's more human-like and moral than Four, the other AI character in the story, which is fitting since she's an AI in a human body.
- Artificial Human: Like the Rookie, her body is organic but artificially made and implanted with a synthetic AI consciousness.
- The Kirk: Of Panzer Crown, she is the leader and the ego to Crown Princess's superego and Rose Queen's id.
- Knowledge Broker: Already pretty up-to-date on events in the Oval Link, downloading Orbital's entire secure database and reading it puts her in prime position to give intel to Brigadier General and the rest of the Reclaimers.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: At one point Empress appears to side with Grief to gain access to Orbital's main database, but at the same time she says she won't interfere if, say, the Rookie manages to drive Grief off before he can collect, to which Grief accuses her of trying to have it both ways, but accepts anyway.* Ultimately Empress settles on "Face," offering the data to Bullet Works, so overall it was a win-win situation that helped the heroes' group more than it did Grief.
- Playful Hacker: A pleasant individual and very talented at getting into secure systems, her being an AI gives her an edge in this department.
- The Smart Guy: To the Reclaimers as a whole being the most informed of all the leaders. After cracking the Orbital database, she become one directly to Brigadier General.
- Wild Card: Initially she and Panzer Crown operate only for themselves. When Grief is putting his plan into action, Guns Empress is the one that downloads the data from Orbital's systems that he needs. What Grief didn't plan on, though, is Guns Empress downloading literally everything else and becoming the Reclaimers Knowledge Broker.
Crown Princess
Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese), Cassandra Lee Morris (English)
Arsenal: Winning Road
A long-range specialist in Panzer Crown. She acts generally aloof and apathetic towards other Reclaimers, but she enjoys fighting on the battlefield, claiming that it is where she feels the most alive.- Cold Sniper: She is very cold and distant, even towards other members of her team.
- I Got You Covered: If you don't attack an unidentified Arsenal in one of earlier Offer Missions, she will join Crow in your rescue from Western VII.
- Kuudere: Typically speaking, she is rather apathetic and aloof from other Reclaimers, but will have the occasional moment of emotion when fighting.
Rose Queen
Voiced by: Keiko Nemoto (Japanese), Laura Post (English)
Arsenal: Buster Chariot
A highly competitive member of Panzer Crown.- Fiery Redhead: Not quite a red-head, but Rose Queen has bright pink-hair, and she can get quite heated during a mission.
- Money Multiplier: Having her as a companion increases mission's payout by about 20%. This is especially useful in boss fights.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the Red Oni to both Guns Empress and Crown Princess. Whereas Guns Empress is calm and cool, and one of the most level-headed Outers in the business and Crown Princess is a Cold Sniper Kuudere, she can be quite hotheaded and puts everything she's got into completing the mission.
- Sore Loser: During the C-rank missions, she and Panzer Crown are tasked with destroy a cargo train that the Rookie, Western VII and Immortal Innocent are tasked with protecting. They successfully manage to protect the cargo, which frustrates Rose Queen to the point where she screams and starts shooting the air blindly in anger. Downplayed in that her anger was implied to be compounded by frustration that someone had pit them against fellow Reclaimers, again.
Immortal Innocence
A group of Reclaimers who are all members of a single family. They are led by the young Outer named Jack. In General
- Brought Down to Badass: After destroying the Ouroboros Tower, leaving them without the ability to resurrect.
- Child Soldiers: The group is made up of teenagers, with Crow seemingly being the oldest of the siblings. The title attained for defeating a member of their group is Teen Mercenary.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The group is made up of immortal children.
- Immortal Life Is Cheap: They are some of the only characters in the game to actually be killed when shot down by the player during the story campaign.
- In one mission where the Rookie is investigating the Ouroboros Tower, he kills all five of them. It doesn't last.
- Mortality Ensues They lose their ability to resurrect when Notes and Chill destroy the Ouroboros Tower.
- Respawn Point: Whenever they are killed in battle, they are revived at the Ouroboros Tower. They later lose access to this when Notes and Chill destroy the facility in order to convince Rigid to stand down from her Face–Heel Turn.
- Secret Project Refugee Family: They are test subjects in Project Ouroboros, and consider each other siblings.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: The Ouroboros Tower has helped them survive a multitude of battles, but the psychological effect of being killed and revived over and over again has made them all a little screwy.
Jack
Voiced by: Yūma Uchida (Japanese), Kyle McCarley (English)
Arsenal: Ogre Gamma
Click here to see his Arsenal
The leader of Immortal Innocence. Despite his young age, he is a respected Outer and has survived countless missions that would have otherwise resulted in his death.
- Blue Is Heroic: Being the leader of Immortal Innocence, his Plugsuit is blue and his Arsenal has blue accents.
- Born Lucky: Seems to be the case, considering how often he manages to survive missions that are extremely difficult at best and suicidal at worst. However, after revealing the nature of the Innocents, it is heavily implied that he actually didn't survive many of those encounters, per se.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Everyone calls him a kid for a reason — he is by far the youngest Outer among the Reclaimers.
- The Heart: He's the moral center of Immortal Innocence, and he takes this role in Brigadier General's Five-Man Band. This trait is the primary reason that Rigid survives her final battle with the Rookie.
- No One Could Survive That!: He does this repeatedly. Every mission that he's participated in that has been regarded as being absurdly difficult usually lands him in trouble, but he almost always somehow manages to find a way to survive. According to Crimson Lord, his actually infuriates a few people who bet on the Reclaimers, more accurately those who bet he will die on said crazy missions. Turns out he might not have survived those missions by sheer luck.
Notes
Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi (Japanese), Joe Zieja (English)
Arsenal: Ogre Beta
A member of Innocence who prefers stepping back and taking stock of a situation before jumping in.- Meaningful Name: He prefers taking notes and gathering intel before making a decision, allowing him to serve as an intelligence officer of sorts on the battlefield.
Chill
Voiced by: Aya Suzaki (Japanese), Faye Mata (English)
Arsenal: Ogre Epsilon
A young and spunky pilot. She enjoys making friends with other Reclaimers, and retains her upbeat attitude even during battle.- Ambiguously Bi: She teasingly invites the Rookie on a date regardless of their gender, though Notes reprimands her.
- Friendly Sniper: Specializes in long-range combat.
- Meaningful Name: Guess what she keeps telling people to do?
- Vibrant Orange
Crow
Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Xander Mobus (English)
Arsenal: Ogre Alpha
The oldest member of Innocence. Despite having seniority, he defers command to Jack, but nonetheless remains a paternal figure in the family.- Berserk Button: Does not take well to being referred to as "P-1" by Grief.
- Big Brother Instinct: He is the oldest of his siblings, and tends to be protective of younger siblings, threatening to kill anyone who hurts them.
- Butt-Monkey: He gets shot down by a Colossal Immortal called Nightmare very early in the battle. To rub salt to the wound, his defeat got recorded and gained a lot of views.
- Older Sidekick: The eldest of the siblings, he nonetheless defers to Jack due to him being his superior as a pilot and leader.
- Purple Is Powerful: He's the brawn of the team and he's wearing a purple Plugsuit.
Rigid
Voiced by: Marina Inoue (Japanese), Erika Ishii (English)
Arsenal: Ogre Delta
A young member of Innocence who fights dutifully alongside her siblings, whom she holds close, especially Jack. However, the constant fighting risks straining her already fragile psyche to the breaking point.- Berserk Button: Her siblings being shot down by the Rookie causes her to attempt a Self-Destructive Charge in spite of Jack's protests, ending with Rigid killing Jack and herself when he deliberately throws himself in the way to stop her.
- Break the Cutie: Watching her siblings die over and over has not done wonders for her already unstable mind.
- Face–Heel Turn: She joins Grief and becomes his Psycho Supporter, believing that in the new world he intends to create, her siblings won't have to fight and die anymore.
- Sole Survivor: Of Grief's true supporters (Reaper was coerced with his son's survival) she's the only one that survives.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Her already unstable mind is further strained when she synchronizes with the Dominator.
Western VII
A faction of Outers comprised entirely of criminals. Their leader is Reaper. In General
- Blood Knight: They're willing to pick a fight with anyone, regardless if they are a fellow Outer, a rogue AI or an Immortal. Only a few members aren't actively looking for fights, and what purely drives them to such extremes, sans Red Dog, is to shave years off their sentences.
- Boxed Crook: With the exception of Reaper, all members of Western VII are convicted criminals. They joined the Reclaimers because, depending on their performances, they can lighten their sentences. And many have accumulated hundreds of years' worth of time behind bars.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Before the consortiums began knowingly pitting factions against one another, the Western VII were despised for how they were the only group of Reclaimers willing to undertake jobs that would sabotage the missions of other Outers.
- Karma Houdini: Klondike and Red Dog, a pair of psycho brothers, attack the Rookie, Johnny G and Drake while they deal with a horde of rogue AI. Despite the fact that such an action would otherwise get them into trouble and maybe add more years to their sentences, the record of Western VII and the Rookie's battle is removed from official records, making it look like it never happened.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Klondike pulls it again when Grief launches his attack and this time pays for it with his life at the hands of a redeemed Red Dog.
- Pragmatic Hero: Hero may be stretching it, but they fight for humanity and will resort to whatever tactics they must in order to win.
Reaper
Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)
Arsenal: First Strike
Click here to see his Arsenal
The founder and de facto leader of the Western VII. Despite serving closely alongside his fellow mercs, no one is quite sure why he is serving a sentence.
- A Father to His Men: Despite not seeing himself as their leader, it is obvious a lot of the Western VII look up to him. During a massive furball between the Western VII, the Steel Knights, and the Rookie, he gives out orders that the VII pilots follow without question, ensuring their safety by having them disengage to recover and not push themselves too far. When he finally returns to the Western VII after defecting from Grief and Dominator, he asks Nameless what he can do to make up for his betrayal. Nameles tells him to do what he's always done: give orders, and they will follow them.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's serving time in the Western VII because his son is dying of Outer Syndrome. He had a Face–Heel Turn when Grief promised him a cure, but flipped straight back when Grief was found to be lying and Guns Empress offered her own solution to the cure.
- Eyepatch of Power: It can be bought for Rookie as a DLC.
- Redemption Earns Life: Turning on Grief and Klondike saves his life, and he swaps sides, heavy damage and all, in the same mission where he's fought.
Klondike
Voiced by: Tomohiro Nishimura (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)
Arsenal: Elder Hand
A cool-headed, but no less sociopathic Outer who sees war itself as a big game, and thoroughly enjoys playing. He is Red Dog's brother, but this doesn't seem to matter much to him.- Axe-Crazy: Albeit much more cool-headed than his brother, he's still off his rocker. He sees war as a big game, and declares himself the "game master." When he synchs up with the Dominator, he dives head-first off the deep end.
- Faux Affably Evil: He remains cordial and polite towards other Outers... while making it clear that he has no intention of remaining nonviolent. He is also completely dismissive towards his brother.
- Sanity Slippage: His synching up with the Dominator erodes what little is left of his sanity to the point of Laughing Mad and declaring himself the master of the game, even over Grief himself.
Red Dog
Voiced by: Setsuji Sato (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)
Arsenal: Dead Hand
Klondike's much more hot-blooded brother. A borderline psychopathic Outer who sometimes willingly breaks the law to get more years added to his sentence, he nonetheless adores his brother and hopes to end his sentence at the same time as Klondike so they can be together after release.- Axe-Crazy: Like you wouldn't imagine. He's definitely a few rounds short of a magazine, and most if not all of his dialogue sounds almost half-feral.
- Boring, but Practical: He can increase the chance for better items with attachment slots dropped by enemy Arsenals. Not to mention his Arsenal is fairly balanced and hiring him won't break a bank.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's utterly devoted to Klondike and will do anything for him. Sadly, Klondike doesn't feel the same way and insults him to his face when hopped up on the Dominator's power. It takes Reaper and Nameless reassuring him that he's not alone for him to build up the courage to stand up to Klondike and help finish him off.
Sif/Ayer
Voiced by: Michiko Kaiden (Japanese), Mela Lee (English)
Arsenal: Ambivalence
A woman sporting a pink mohawk and Split Personalities: Sif, the violent one who loves fighting up close and personal, and Ayer, the shy one who prefers running support from outside of battle.- Big Fun: She's on the heavier side, and Sif is a Boisterous Bruiser who enjoys getting into fights.
- Jekyll & Hyde: She has two personalities: Viciously wild Sif and meekly morose Ayer. Unlike most examples of the trope, both personas are rather amicable with one another. Their Arsenal compliments both of their personalities with its mishmash of offensive weaponry and support equipment.
- Pet the Dog: Sif reveals in an aside that at least part of the reason why she's so eager about completing her missions is so that she can reduce Ayer's prison sentence.
Gargantua
Voiced by: Mitsuaki Kanuka (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)
Arsenal: Lion Heart
Big, loud, and always chomping at the bit for a fight. He absolutely hates it when there's nothing or no one to fight.- Boisterous Bruiser: With a capital "B". Even more so after you make friends with him.
- Carry a Big Stick: His arsenal is equipped with the Vargr Greed, a massive mace.
- Combat Medic: One of two recruitable Outers that is equipped with a healing shoulder weapon, which you will appreciate when facing the Co-Op exclusive bosses.
- Do Not Go Gentle: What does he do when he sees a potential second Moonfall take place? Charge right into it with his Arsenal, roaring as he brings out his mace.
- Hidden Depths: A subtle case. He's a massive Blood Knight, but one of his Arsenal's tools is a device that lets him heal his allies.
- No Indoor Voice: He's basically Strong Mad in a mech suit. None of his lines are spoken below a bellowing yell.
- Shoot the Medic First: If he's part of a hostile Arsenal team, make him your first target. Otherwise, he'll use his mech's shoulder-based healing weapon to undo all your hard work against his team-mates.
Nameless
Voiced by: Makoto Yasumura (Japanese), Kaiji Tang (English)
Arsenal: Deep Shadow
A soft-spoken Outer, and arguably the sanest among his peers alongside Rouge Cinderella.- All There in the Manual: According to his official biography released after the game launch, Nameless was a Salaryman working under a Corrupt Corporate Executive who threw him under the bus for his own embezzlement. Nameless accepted these false accusations without complaint, but then the CEO took things one step too far to shut him up and had his wife murdered to intimidate him into silence. What followed was a Roaring Rampage of Revenge in classic revenge kung fu flick style as Nameless killed his way to his old boss with nothing but his bare hands and finally tore him apart before turning himself into the authorities.
- Insult Backfire: Deva calls him "kung fu master of Western VII". He took that as a compliment.
- Only Sane Man: Shares this role with Rouge Cinderella, as he's nowhere near as unhinged as the others. That being said, he also doesn't condemn or become exasperated with their actions, as he considers them to be natural given that they desperately want to life free lives.
Rouge Cinderella
Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Megan Hollingshead (English)
Arsenal: Faceless
A cool-headed Outer who's considerably less...insane than her compatriots. Able to control her body completely, even down to altering her own heart rate, she specializes in fast stealth attacks that knocks her enemies down before they even know she is there.- Only Sane Man: Shares this with Nameless. She's much more collected than the rest of the Western VII.
- Sheathe Your Sword: Unlocking her as a Partner requires you to not attack her in the Offer Mission "Horizon".
Steel Knights
Two brothers, Zoa and Deva, whose parents were killed by a mysterious Reclaimer. Inheriting their Arsenals, they launched a crusade of justice, selflessness, and righteousness across the Oval Link. In General
- Arch-Enemy: At the end of the story, Grief is theirs.
- Bash Brothers: Their combined fighting style. Deva gets up-close-and-personal while Zoa provides fire support.
- Dual Boss: Both in the main story when the Rookie first meets them and during the Steel Knights Co-op mission.
- Nice Guy: Both of them are outrageously nice to everyone they meet, which is part of being The Paladin.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: Their arsenals, and their tattoos.
- The Paladin: What they aspire to be for the entire Oval Link. They fight for good, to protect those who can't protect themselves, and do it selflessly.
- Parental Abandonment: Well yes, they're dead. Because they stumbled upon something Grief did not want them to see.
- Power Tattoo: Each of them have half of a symbol from their parents' research tattooed to them that, unbeknownst to them, are two halves of an encryption key for the Orbital databases. Guns Empress notices these tattoos, recalls from the Orbital database how two researchers died by Grief's hands, and puts two and two together for the boys.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Deva leans towards red, Zoa leans towards blue.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Zoa is sensitive, Deva is manly, but both have their moments of being the other type.
- Those Two Guys: The number of times they're seen apart can be counted on one hand, and even then whichever brother is missing will get a mention.
Deva
Voiced by: Hiroki Tochi (Japanese), Greg Chun (English)
Arsenal: Paladin
The brawler. Deva's Arsenal is outfitted with a close-combat loadout, launching himself headfirst into the fray while Zoa keeps the pressure off him.- Boisterous Bruiser: Fights up-close-and-personal and is just as nice as his more sensitive brother.
Zoa
Voiced by: Yūya Uchida (Japanese), Max Mittelman (English)
Arsenal: Crusader
The more sensitive brother. Zoa is a ranged combat specialist who focuses on picking off enemies from afar whilst Deva tangles with them.- Friendly Sniper: Nice guy, ranged fighter, fits the bill.
Terrors
A powerful group of Outers, respected and feared by virtually all other groups. It is led by Grief. In General
- A Day in the Limelight: They are the focus of the "Mission Zero" trailer.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Their army of Immortals is coloured black to distinguish them from the typical rogue machine or consortium asset.
- Doomed by Canon: The "Mission Zero" trailer shows their fates, with all members, save for Grief, becoming KIA during their ill-fated expedition into Immortal territory to discover why they seek to eliminate humankind.
- The Dreaded: They're both respected and feared by the other Reclaimer factions, and for good reason. They're arguably one of the most dangerous and most powerful factions around.
- Dug Too Deep: They ventured into the very heart of the Immortal infestation to find clues as to why they were rebelling against humanity. Discovering the truth of the robotic insurrection, the Dominator, and mankind's history drove them all mad.
- Four Is Death: They originally had a fourth member named Rad who perished during the events of "Mission Zero." He is unofficially (and unwittingly) replaced by the Rookie.
- Glass Cannon: All of them have insanely fast and heavily armed Arsenals, but to make such a destructive combo of speed and power possible, their armour is surprisingly fragile.
- Meaningful Name: Barring Rad, each of the Terrors Outer names are derived from emotions, specifically those related to sadness or depression.
- Took a Level in Badass: One of the first Reclaimer teams, they originally possessed generic arsenals that could barely hold off a modestly sized group of Immortals. In the present, each of them owns an Ace Custom and is capable of slaughtering scores of hostiles in very short order.
Grief
Voiced by: Satoshi Mikami (Japanese), Robbie Daymond (English)
Arsenal: Kloster
Click here to see his Arsenal
The leader of Terrors and the EX-Rank Outer. He takes a particular interest in the Rookie and is interested to see their "awakening."
- The Ace: He even beats out Crimson Lord, who is regarded as the most powerful of the Outers, as he is the only EX-rank Reclaimer in the entirety of Oval.
- Big Bad: He's behind everything. The foundation of Orbital and the Oval Link, the chaotic missions with mutually exclusive objectives that put Reclaimers at each others throats, all to forcibly push humanity towards the future.
- The Chessmaster: He's planned out almost everything and once his plan goes into action he operates with incredible efficiency. Even the Immortals, who's entire goal is to stop him, are barely a roadblock. He only fails when Brigadier General and Guns Empress unite the rest of the Reclaimers into taking him down.
- Create Your Own Hero: His ambitions ultimately led him to making one, though whether or not this was intentional is up for debate. He created the Rookie, actually the unofficial member of Terrors known as Daemon, and they can potentially fight back against him when they learn about his plans.
- Cultured Badass: He's one of the best Outers within Oval, and during the "Mission Zero" trailer, he recites a passage from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.
- The Dreaded: If there's one thing all the Outers can agree on, it's that no one wants to fight Grief.
- Flash Step: One of two Outers who has this ability.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He created an Artificial Human given the callsign Daemon to help in his goal to have humanity evolve and, at the same time, have them act as a scion of the Dominator. Daemon, better known as the Rookie, however, can make their own decisions and openly fights back against him, even potentially bringing his plan all the way down.
- Irony: He's rather contemptuous of Four, but in spite of how knowledgable he is of the greater plot, he never catches on to the fact that she's actually the Dominator incognito.
- Noble Demon: Orbital arranges a mission for you solely, where you are to come unarmed and alone. It is not a trap. Grief wants to talk with you, and if you comply with the mission request he will explain the entirety of his plan and leave without a fight. He genuinely wants you on his side. Suspect it of being an ambush and come armed, and you'll get a different kind of speech and the 3v1 fight of your life.
- Not So Above It All: While he carries himself as a disaffected futurist for most of the story, the final act has him discover that he can't completely shake off his pride or his desire to be seen as an individual in the grand history that should render such a wish moot.
- Seers: It's rumored that his Outer ability allows him to see the results of multiple timelines and outcomes in advance, which would explain the extended Gambit Roulette of the game's events working out in his favor regardless of your actions.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wishes to guide humanity to its next step in progress, expanding out into the stars. Those that don't survive his plan are merely collateral damage.
- Wham Line: He delivers one to the Rookie in the very last mission, one that flips the character's entire background on its head."We created you because your existence was necessary once all had been spun. You have done well, Daemon. I cannot thank you enough."
- Xanatos Gambit: His purported plans to cause a second Moonfall and awake the Dominator are all smokescreens to his self-perceived "destined" endgame of simply disabling the Oval Link shields to flood the world with Femto.
- You Can't Fight Fate: He believes that his actions and the course of human history starting from the Moonfall are already set, and that it's foolish to fight against it as it will ultimately work out to humanity's benefit even if some collateral damage can't be avoided. He's not wrong. His ultimate goal of flooding the world with Femto was inevitable from the start, as he intentionally designed the Oval Link's shields to fail at some point. The only thing the final battle decides is when, rather than if, that happens, whether humanity will be forewarned about it, and whether it's Grief, the Rookie, or no one who carries it to completion.
Regret
Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka (Japanese), Erica Lindbeck (English)
Arsenal: Antanaklasi
A calm and level-headed Outer, who serves as the "brains" to Gloom's "brawn."- Cool Shades: Possesses a pair, which are emblematic of heavy cybernetic usage on one's head.
Gloom
Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma (Japanese), Brad Venable (English)
Arsenal: Eleos
An older Reclaimer and formerly one of Grief's students prior to Awakening Day. He is the "brawn" to Regret's "brain."- No-Sell: He's equipped with Chaff Flares, which he always uses without fail whenever missiles are used against him.
- Older Sidekick: Only by appearance as he used to be one of Grief's students before Awakening Day.
Rad
The fourth member of Terrors. He died during the events of "Mission Zero."
- Too Dumb to Live: During the events of "Mission Zero," Terrors was operating prototype suits that, while capable of fending off Immortals, were inferior to the models used by the Reclaimers in the present day. As a result, when Rad goes after what looks to be a Colossus Immortal, he's killed almost immediately when he attempts to rush it head on with nothing but a laser sword.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He is only featured for maybe a few seconds before being unceremoniously killed. Worst of all, he is never mentioned again in the main game.
Spoiler Character
The unofficial member of Terrors, codenamed "Daemon." They were created by Grief to act as a genetic failsafe in order to help progress his goals in helping humanity's evolution. Unknown to most, the identity of Daemon is none other than the Rookie.
For more information about this character, see "The Rookie."
For more information about this character, see "The Rookie."
The Consortiums
In General
Three massive conglomerates that are currently feuding over the Femto deposits contained in the Oval Link. They are overseen by Orbital, an oversight committee tasked with enforcing rules of engagement and mediating territory disputes so they don't escalate into full-blown wars.
- Arms Dealer: They are the primary suppliers of Arsenal parts and weaponry. However, there are strict guidelines against developing weaponry to be sold and used outside of the Oval Link. All three corporations break those rules at some point.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: The trio allowed Grief to establish the Oval Link Project under the belief that they could keep him under control and muscle him out after the Immortals were gone so they could mine the Dominator for more Femto. This confidence in their supposed ability to control him has dire consequences.
- War for Fun and Profit: The Reclaimers begin scratching their heads as to why the consortiums are accelerating weapon development when it's starting to look like the Immortals are starting to lose. More cynical Outers speculate that this trope is the primary motivation of their employers and wonder if they'll have to turn their guns against humans instead of machines once the Oval Link fully belongs to Sky Union, Horizon, and Zen.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The Immortals are their common foe, but they regard one another with far more hostility and suspicion than they do the murderous machines.
Sky Union
- Energy Weapon: In both arm and shoulder weapons, Sky Union focuses on various types of lasers, though they do have some bullet weapons too.
- Laser Blade: Prominence, Baldur's Edge line and Claiomh Solais.
- Wave-Motion Gun: Gaia Ray, Hera's Grudge and Agneyastra.
- Magnetic Weapons: Raging Gluttony and Albiero.
Horizon
- Break the Haughty: By the end of the game. Being the last surviving consortium has broken them to the point that they admit their arrogance in thinking they could control Grief and say that the Rookie and the Reclaimers are Earth's only hope.
- Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better: A good bulk of kinetic weapons were made by Horizon.
- Sole Survivor: After Zen and Sky Union are destroyed by Grief and the Immortals, they're the only ones left standing.
Zen
Aloof and clinical, Zen is a consortium devoted to scientific research and claims to follow a higher calling than its peers. Which would be laudable if said scientific research wasn't primarily devoted to weapons development.
- Face Death with Dignity: When it comes time for them to pull up stakes and evacuate, it it clear even they don't have much faith in their shuttles escaping, but go through with it anyways if only to buy time for the civilian shuttles to escape, and wish the Rookie the best in their final message. Horizon reveals later that none of the shuttles, civilian or consortium, managed to escape.
- Fragile Speedster: Their Arsenal parts are one of the lightest and offer good mobility at cost of poor armor. Possibly subverted with the original Muramasa armor, but it only exists as a DLC skin.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Habakiri, Murakumo and Ohabari.
Immortals
In General
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Not entirely their own fault, but once they were exposed to Femto, they decided that humanity wasn't worth saving and should be wiped out instead. Later on it turns out that they didn't so much go haywire as decide on their own that the Dominator was too dangerous to let even a single human make contact with it, leading them to enact a Zeroth Law Rebellion.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: When an immortal is finaly captured to be examined it's found that they have a very different thought process to humans, notably Guns Empress notes that her Zeroth Law Rebellion interpretation is a rather charitable interpretation of their motives.
- The Corruptor: The Immortals can infect any AI they come into contact with, causing them to go rogue.
- Irony: They're artificial intelligence which were created by humans who were in turn, created by the Dominator, a much more powerful artificial intelligence.
- Non-Malicious Monster: The Immortals neither resent nor look down upon mankind. They just don't think that humans can resist the lure of the Dominator on their own.
- Properly Paranoid: The core of the Oval Link was previously a heavily fortified Immortal fortress, chock full of weaponry and nigh-invincible robotic beings such as the Eclipse. This would have seemed like overkill against the much weaker initial batch of Arsenals it was built to repel, but all it took was Grief sneaking through a skirmish after his craft was scuttled for the man to reach the Dominator and take over the place.
- Xanatos Gambit: As revealed by Guns Empress, this is how the Immortals have been operating. Despite Grief being the one who is after the Dominator, they can't allow for even a single human to come into contact with it out of fear of what might happen. However, they also want to help humanity progress by way of them making use of their destroyed forms. In short; they kill humans to protect them, and humans kill them to get stronger.
Solomon
Arsenal: Muramasa
Click here to see his real face
A black Arsenal that begins to appear shortly after the Rookie becomes a C-Rank mercenary with Oval. Its existence is shrouded in mystery and is notorious among those who've heard or encountered it.
- Ambiguously Human: Unlocking him as a Partner reveals that someone is piloting the Arsenal. Or possibly, something human-shaped at least.
- Cannibalism Superpower: Years spent subsisting on defeated Arsenals and Immortals has made Solomon into a virtually unkillable Femto mutant who can be disabled, but never permanently.
- Close-Range Combatant: His only armaments are his swords, but he's ferociously competent at closing the gap between himself and his opponents.
- The Dreaded: During a C-Rank mission where the Rookie, plus Chill and Johnny G, are forced to fight Five Hells, Chill mistakes Knight for the mysterious black Arsenal, and becomes nervous.
- Flash Step: Is capable of using the Blink ability.
- Glass Cannon: His Arsenal specializes in agility and close quarters combat. In exchange, its defences and overall health are rather poor.
-
I Am Not Shazam: Solomon is the Arsenal's pilot. The Arsenal itself is called "Muramasa" after its type. - I Was Quite the Looker: He pilots a Muramasa-type Arsenal
that has obviously seen better days. - Laughing Mad: When fought as an invader in a free mission, he'll sometimes break out into a bout of this.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Whatever can be seen of his portrait whenever he communicates in the Free Missions is that of a masked "person".
- Religious Robot: Whatever he is, he's fond of making religious references in his dialogue, and apparently he "prays" whenever he's standing still and not attacking when encountered. When the Rookie and Johnny G attack him in this state, he calls them out for interrupting before retaliating.Solomon: Who... Who disturbs my prayers?
- Secret Character: Solomon can be recruited as a Partner if you manage to get all the other Reclaimers as selectable allies.
- Shed Armor, Gain Speed: His mech was originally a heavily armored Arsenal prototype, but it's lost most of its old protective vestments. However, it has since attained ludicrous swiftness now that it is no longer encumbered by them.
- The Unintelligible: The closest description for Solomon’s “speech” is that it’s somewhere between a ghost moaning and a strange, almost electronic sounding gurgle. The game does provide subtitles (and each set of subtitles is associated with a particular pattern of noises), but it’s clearly not a series of sounds associated with any human language.
Colossal Immortals
In General
Immortals that are much, MUCH larger than the others. These machines serve as boss battles in the story and free single-player missions. Improved versions of them can also be fought in the Multiplayer Missions. Defeating them awards blueprints and combat data that can be used to manufacture special equipment for the player to use.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Other than Eclipse, all Colossal Immortals have red, cylindrical generators on their bodies that can be attacked to inflict massive damage.
- Flunky Boss: All of them (except the Dominator) will periodically call in smaller Immortals to back them up. This can be a very good thing if you are running low on ammo.
- Humongous Mecha: They are HUGE, with even the smaller ones being quadruple a size of an Arsenal.
- Macross Missile Massacre: All of them have missile launching attacks.
- Shielded Core Boss: You often have to destroy armor plates on the Immortal's bodies to expose the weak points to your attacks.
- Took a Level in Badass: The update that brought Zeruchroar also introduced the Omega versions of Gunfort, Nightmare, Dreadnought, and Bolt. They are predominantly red in color, much more aggressive and powerful than the lesser versions, they turn red at 75% health rather than half, and their AI minions are strong enough to shred your Arsenal in seconds.
- Turns Red: All of them will gain new attacks after dropping below half health, with a beacon of red light to indicate when this happens. Four will also detect an "Immortal Fractal" at this time and warn you to be careful.
Gunfort
Standard version
- Beehive Barrier: It's signature move is to deploy one of these and blast away any arsenal that gets too close.
- BFG: The demo and multiplayer versions have a massive cannon on their backs.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: One seemingly simple Rank A Free Mission has you scanning shards of orbital debris. After scanning the third debris, Four warns you of an approaching enemy. That enemy is Gunfort, and once it shows up destroying it becomes the primary mission objective.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: It is possible to break off the cannon on its back and fire it by interacting with it.
- Punched Across the Room: Getting hit by its barrier deployment will send you flying back a considerable distance, enough that it could send you into the red area boundary, killing you and ending the mission immediately.
- Spider Tank: Its form consist of a four-legged mecha with an optional cannon.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: The first mandatory Colossal Immortal battle in the main story, and even without its BFG it will prove to be a real challenge, with its massive amounts of health and powerful attacks pressuring the player constantly.
Snatcher
- Cool Train: It's an automated supply train corrupted by the Immortals that you are tasked with destroying.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: All missions involving Snatcher have you chasing it and trying to bring it down before it escapes, causing instant mission failure. Thanks to the way the game is designed, though, it's possible for Arsenals to safely stand on the cargo cars and ride them, firing on the main locomotive unit all the while. Much easier than constantly boosting after the thing!
- Runaway Train: The reason you are ordered to chase it down.
Nightmare
Standard version
- Airborne Aircraft Carrier: Its an Immortal-corrupted transport plane, and it frequently drops containers that will spawn flying Immortal Mooks to back it up.
- Death from Above: For its signature attack, it flies into the sky and rains down a storm of laser beams upon you.
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: Nightmare's weakpoints are only exposed when it's performing a special attack. This is less of a problem for normal Nightmare or Nightmare Omega* but Alpha is durable and its weakpoints explode quickly and for minimal damage.
- Degraded Boss: It reappears once or twice as Suzaku. It lacks most of its attacks and only deploys more Immortals into battle.
- Fog of War: The primary source of difficulty in fighting Nightmare Omega is that the entire map is covered in dense fog. This makes it a lot harder to see the enemies and area boundaries, and much easier for the boss to surprise you with its charging attacks. This can be mitigated by paying attention to your radar, but it regularly drops radar-jamming Dazzler immortals to blind you.
- The map is the same one as Investigate Nightmare Alpha, so those unaware that outside one of the yellow boundaries is water are in for a surprise.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: It flies well above the area boundary for its Death from Above attack, and when it comes back down it lands far away from your position. This makes it annoyingly difficult to catch up and deal damage to it before it uses the special attack again.
- Nightmare Omega flies outside of the red area boundaries to line up for missile attacks and charges to bait players into instant mission failures when they can't see through the fog.
- Lightning Bruiser: It's huge, durable, and a very fast flier. The Alpha version soaks up a lot of fire and its weakpoints are destroyed very easily for low damage, meaning most damage will be done against its very sturdy hull.
- Mook Maker: It deploys Immortals with its tactical container launchers, rarely including a Strai. The Omega version drops Strais regularly, sometimes two at a time, and failing to pay attention to the spawns will result in clouds of helis, Strais, and Dazzlers very very fast.
- Ramming Always Works: Other than the Beam Spam, its other primary mode of offense is to charge directly at you and smash you. Due to it's size, this attack is surprisingly hard to dodge, and hurts a lot.
Bolt
Standard version
- Animal Motifs: In addition to Feathered Serpent, it can also be compared to an Electric Eel due to its Shock and Awe abilities.
- Cool Airship: Before it Turns Red and transforms.
- Collision Damage: Since Bolt is always in motion, touching any part of its body will inflict a good amount of damage and knockback to allied Arsenals.
- Feathered Serpent: Its transformed state gives off this image, being a long serpentine machine with wing-shaped stabilizers along its body.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In the second form its stabilizers can be blown off and picked up to throw at it like boomerangs.
- Meaningful Name: Its name is Bolt, and it has electric attacks in its arsenal. Additionally, its data and blueprints are used to develop Arc Guns.
- Mighty Glacier: Bolt exchanges mobility for being extremely durable, and its beam cannons and lighting bolts can definitely hurt.
- Shock and Awe: In its second form, its stabilizers periodically become charged with energy and will zap you with lightning if you get close enough while they are glowing.
- Transforming Mecha: It looks like an airship initially, but after taking enough damage it transforms, elongating its body and becoming a mechanical Feathered Serpent.
Dreadnought
Standard version
- Acid Attack: Can fire acid rounds after it Turns Red.
- Dig Attack: Can launch itself at players from underground.
- Fast Tunneling: Whenever it decides to tunnel across the ground, it does it very fast.
- Tunnel King: It's a large mining machine corrupted by Immortals, so digging and resurfacing constantly is one of its main features.
- Wave-Motion Gun: Has one inside its drill that it will use after it Turns Red.
Rebellion
Standard version
- BFS: Wields one, and it hurts.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Two Rebellions show up in the first mission, but they are only defeated in a cutscene. They're not even named here as they're just referred to as generic Colossal Immortals. You later get to pilot one in a test to see if you can control the immortals. It doesn't show up as a boss fight proper until much later in the game.
- Lightning Bruiser: Has power and durability befitting its size, and after it Turns Red it can use surprisingly fast charging attacks.
- Shielded Core Boss: In addition to armor plates, the permanent weak point in its chest is protected by an energy barrier that must be broken by sustained fire and regenerates quickly if left alone.
- Subsystem Damage: Destroying the weak points on its arms will blow off its shield and sword, the latter of which you can use against it.
- Sword Beam: Can fire one with its sword swings.
- Sword Plant: Rebellion Beta gains a new attack where it stabs the ground, causing a wide area shockwave that will heavily damage Arsenals within range.
Aviator
- Death from Above: Will drop bombs on players who are on the ground when it flies overhead.
- Doppelgänger Attack: Its primary gimmick is its ability to create clones of itself, which are fully capable of attacking you. To make it worse, once it creates a clone, both its own and the clone's Heath Bars are obscured to prevent you from telling which is real until the clone is destroyed.
- Fragile Speedster: While it's an even faster flier than Nightmare, Aviator is very brittle compared to other Colossal Immortals. Simply spraying it with machine guns and/or assault rifles whenever it slows down will take off big chunks of its health.
- Hit-and-Run Tactics: Relies on speed and misdirection via its clones to make up for its utterly pitiful health and defenses.
- Meaningful Name: Its name is Aviator. It's a manta ray-shaped bomber.
- Optional Boss: Aviator is unlocked as the final Free Mission in Class A, and only after you defeat the Dominator. It feels very much like a Giant Space Flea from Nowhere all things considered.
- Ramming Always Works: If it's not dropping bombs or launching missiles, it will do this.
The Dominator (Unmarked Spoilers)
- Attack Drones: Employs many of these. The blueprint it drops allows the construction of a Blitz-type Shoulder Weapon, also.
- Deus est Machina: A godlike AI that resides in the Oval Link.
- Duel Boss: You have to bring it down without any backup from your teammates. Averted for the multiplayer version.
- Final Boss: The final Colossal Immortal faced in the Story Missions.
- Fusion Dance: After Grief's initial defeat, the Dominator links itself with him. This confuses Four, as even she is unsure whether the Rookie is actually fighting Grief or something else entirely.
- Gravity Master: It can use a gravity wave that sucks you in and, if not evaded, will steal one of your equipped weapons. Getting hit enough times will leave you unarmed and helpless, unless you equip a pair of Gun Arms.
- Guide Dang It!: The Dominator's arena has a sloped circular surface at the bottom packed with dozens of unassuming looking panels... which you can pull out as giant cylinders that can be thrown. If you're struggling to beat the Dominator with conventional weapons, these canisters will make short work of the Dominator even if you haven't specialized your mech for throwing attacks.
- Wave-Motion Gun: When it's low on health, it can start firing off huge beams.
Eclipse
- All Your Powers Combined: It has access to signature attacks from every other Colossal Immortal. The Dominator's gravity wave, Rebellion's shield, Gunfort's Beehive Barrier, Aviator's clones and many other nasty tricks. Hope you're prepared.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: It shares the same arena as the Dominator, complete with explosive barrels. Averted with Eclipse Omega.
- Identical Twin Id Tag: If you damage it enough to make it turn red, the purple lines between its armor plates will change from purple to orange for the remainder of the battle. If you're fast enough to do this before it uses the clone attack, the boss will remain orange while the clones will be purple, allowing you to tell them apart and avoid wasting ammo on the fakes.
- Optional Boss: Is only available to fight in the multiplayer missions.
Zeruchroar
Armored form
- Barrier Change Boss: In its first form, it is heavily resistant to lasers but vulnerable to solid ordinance. Once it Turns Red this is reversed, with it becoming weaker to beams and near impervious to bullets.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: Notice how its opening cinematic has it smashing a Gunfort to pieces?. Well, it turns out there are a number of detached Gunfort cannons lying around the battlefield. Cannons that you can fire at Zeruchroar for huge damage. Assuming it holds still long enough for you to hit it.
- Dance Battler: It is incredibly acrobatic, with its melee attacks resembling the techniques of a martial artist instead of a mindless machine.
- Death from Above: The roar attack will also trigger a Moonfall, and those meteors will hurt.
- Energy Absorption: In its second form it regularly uses a wide ranging barrier-esque attack that almost instantly siphons all Femto from affected Arsenals. Which also disables the beam weapons that are vital to damaging it in the second phase.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In addition to the Boss-Arena Idiocy, when it shifts into its second form it casts off most of its armor. The large gauntlets it was wearing beforehand will remain on the ground, and can be picked up and thrown at it for high damage.
- Homing Lasers: Its missiles are actually laser-based, meaning you cannot shoot them down with your weapons and they can be tanked with Shield Shift. The missile launcher made from its blueprints is identical.
- Kamehame Hadoken: In its second phase it puts its hands together to fire a Wave-Motion Gun.
- Lightning Bruiser: Dear Lord, is it. It is incredibly quick and almost never stands still, hits very hard (in addition to inflicting ailments), and it is far more resilient than the similarly evasive Aviator. Even keeping it in your sights will be difficult once it gets going.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: One of its signature attacks is its roar, which inflicts large damage and stuns any Arsenal in range.
- Optional Boss: It can only be fought in the Co-op Missions.
- Shed Armor, Gain Speed: It's already fast to begin with, but when it Turns Red it casts off most of its armor and becomes even faster, gaining the ability to fly and launch aerial attacks to boot.
- Status Effects: Has access to all of them. Its giant lasers inflict Burn, its melee swings inflict Acid, its roar attack will stun, and its missiles will inflict a guaranteed knockdown in 2 hits.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Flash grenades. One is enough to cancel it's attacks.
