Hey, hey Scyrons,
It’s back to school today. Or almost.
At least for you and us for the length of this article.
With only a couple of weeks until the release of the game and even less for the demo, we thought it’s high time we talk a bit about who you’ll be going into the field with to defend Bastion – humanities final stance against the hordes of darkness.
So, let’s kick it off with a bit of lore on who the Scyrons are, where they come from and why they reemerged in this timeline of The Summoning.
The Origin of the Scyrons
In the mythic First Age, called the Foundation, the world was created by divine beings known as the First Ones. To guide their creations (nature, creatures, and emerging civilizations) they brought forth powerful magical entities called Scyrons.
These god-like beings, often seen as the children or heralds of the First Ones, were gifted with immense powers, especially the ability to travel through time. Throughout the ages they acted as mentors, protectors, and sometimes tyrants. The Scyrons were heavily influencing the shape and form of the early world.
Over time, however, humanity began to resist their influence, leading to a great revolt and the eventual fall of the Scyrons. Though they vanished from history, their legacy and mastery of time would echo through the ages.
The Scyrons were finally brought back by Verdandiel, a once-exiled Chronomancer who defied her order’s teachings to pursue forbidden knowledge of time magic. Believing that only the Scyrons could defeat the apocalyptic force known as the Grand Enemy, she uncovered the ancient portal called the Chronarch beneath the city of Aegis and used it to summon them from the Veil of Ages.
Verdandiel saw the Scyrons not just as warriors, but as instruments of cosmic balance. Her goal was to send them across time to strike the Grand Enemy at key moments in history, weakening its influence and ultimately erasing it from existence. Though her methods were controversial and her motives questioned, Verdandiel’s actions marked the beginning of the Fifth Age, The Summoning, and gave humanity a final, time-bending chance at salvation.
Well-fed with chunks of lore, let’s follow up with how those Scyrons translate into the time-bending and war-changing heroes you’ll be playing as.
Ferun (The Berserker)
Ferun, the bull-headed and rage driven Berserker archetype is easily recognized by his large battle axe. Much like his helmet would suggest, this Scyron is best played in a more aggressive style, charging enemies head-on to then split them in half with a whirlwind slash.
With their great axe, each strike draws a half-circle directly in front of the Scyron cleaving through anything their path.
Ferun’s starting abilities Beserk, Jumping Strike, and Whirlwind Slash are best paired with other AoE (Area of Effect) abilities and effects to make best use of the Scyron’s built-in wave clearing power. Beserk makes Ferun especially mobile to run from hot spot to hot spot and open tons of cans of whoop-ass.
Thallos (The Rogue)
Quick, devastating surprise attacks are Thallos speciality. With an ability to cloak themselves, Thallos needs no pack to kill their pray. Instead of long chases, they’ll be in and out of the action before anyone notices.
Thallos is all about precise, fast-paced attacks. While their Dual Daggers have some cleave, they only attack in a 60° angle in front of the character, so positioning is important.
With their Into the Shadow ability, it is recommended to create a build that makes use of the invisibility and set up their short-distance auto attacks. With its increasing attack speed, a crit-based direction is definitely a plus. If it’s getting too hot to handle and Into the Shadow is on cooldown, you can always escape with a quick Rush Attack or blast an array of knives in an AoE attack with Dagger Deluge to make quick work of the danger.
Zirenth (The Archer)
The archer of the bunch, Zirenth, is at their best when working their range. Bow and arrows as their main tool of trait, nothing is more dangerous than being too close to the enemy.
Predestined to fight at a distance, two of Zirenth’s abilities, Ranged Volley, a devastating AoE, and Power Shot,a linear piercing arrow, are a perfect fit for their repertoire.
Should they ever need to get out of harm’s way, ability number 3, Evasive Dash will be your best friend. To support this fighting style and kiting potential, any additional CC (crowd control) type ability or the use of ally minions should do the trick.
Vanadius (The Bulwark)
Vanadius, is an ally’s best friend.
With sword and shield as their weapon of choice, they thrive in close combat and in shielding off enemy attacks. Especially the latter makes them popular with Bastion’s soldiers who enjoy the additional, broad-shouldered support.
Even though Vanadius uses two tools, a sword and shield, the shield takes a more prominent place in their playstyle. With a stance-like defensive ability, Guard, Vanadius reduces incoming physical damage dealt to the Scyron and allied forces in its radius.
More than that, when in Guard stance, the Throwing Shield ability (hello Captain America) turns into You Shall Not Pass, releasing an explosive force in its AoE. In combination with Powerstrike, which deals heavy damage following three fracture lines in front of Vanadius, it’s recommended to best stay behind this Scyron.
No one will be surprised that we will recommend a mix of healing abilities and ability cooldown effects alongside the Charisma essence to boost survivability of your troops.
Rutheon (The Hunter)
Fighting with a trusty spear, Rutheon is probably the most lethal hunter of them all. At mid-distance they can fight just outside of most arm’s reach, dish out heaps of damage at close range when needed and always get away with it.
Chained Spear is the only starting skill of any Scyron that pulls enemies into the danger zone. Following it up with Thrusting Hurricane, it makes Rutheon the best choice for players who want to pick out their targets with surgical precision and make rapid work of them. Phase Javelin, Rutheons third ability, adds to whatever playbook you feel up to in your run. Being able to use it as an easy get-away, as additional, explosive damage or as some CC. The choice is yours!
To increase bursting potential following Chained Spear, ability modifiers, an increased cooldown on abilities and more AoE damage would be our recommended method of play.
Wow, okay! And that’s class dismissed.
This was quite a bunch of information in one go, but we hope you enjoyed the first look at your new, time-traveling heroes.
Could you make out a potential favorite playstyle yet?
Let us know in the comments.
And for now, see you again very soon™️