“Everyone with their missiles, their lasers, their turrets… give me a cloak and a shotty any day of the week and I’ll show you what damage I can do.” - James Reginald Pierce III, United Kingdom RAF Cyber Pilot Program
We’ve spent a lot of time these last few weeks highlighting the larger and “in charger” Champions coming when Upload hits the live servers. This week, we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at the Shade Z1 - a small, nimble, and stealthy craft that flies softly and carries a very big stick.
What the Shade lacks in options for combat, it more than makes up for with its superb agility, stealth mechanics, and extremely potent auto-shotgun known as “Mow Town”. When combined with the Shade’s main Stealth Cloak skill, sneaking up behind an unsuspecting sniper or a defending enemy becomes an act of pure beauty when their craft goes crashing down to the battlefield floor in pieces and flames.
But beware, though the Shade Z1 is one of the most potent and dangerous Champions in the game, this sort of quick burst damage doesn’t come without its drawbacks - the Shade isn’t exactly known for having a lot of armor or survivability. So when the going gets tough, or if you miss your chance at a shotgun blast when you come out of stealth, it’s probably best to use your “Ghost Protocol” skill and get the hell out of dodge before it’s your turn to explode. Or, you can use it to sneak the package out of the scoring zone, like so...
But fear now, if you thought the Shade had limited firepower, there’s one more tool in the little guy’s utility belt - the Smart Grenade. A limited use homing grenade that locks on targets and chases them - exploding and causing splash damage to surrounding crafts - the Smart Grenade is that one final boost to damage the Shade Z1 sometimes needs to make sure they get their kill.
That’s it for the Shade Z1, our Champion that’s pretty much custom made for players who like stealth and getting in close to do their dirty work. So stay tuned for more details on this and all our Champions leading up to Upload’s launch in the coming weeks.
We look forward to revealing even more of our new Champions in the weeks ahead, but for now, stay tuned to our social channels on Twitter, and join our Discord to take part in the latest playtests!