Zealot (Legacy of the Void)

"We are the blades of Aiur."

- Aiur zealot

The Aiur zealot is a new type of zealot introduced in the campaign of Legacy of the Void.

Overview
These zealots were placed into stasis on board the Spear of Adun. They were awakened in 2506 and took part in the End War. Their nerve chords were severed to negate the effects of Amon's corruption of the Khala. They are equipped with psi-enhancements and solarite reapers, ancient spear weapons that were stored with them.

Game Unit
The Aiur zealot is one of three melee warrior variants that the player can choose from in Legacy of the Void, along with the centurion and the sentinel. The Aiur zealot has a Whirlwind ability where they rapidly spin in place when attacking, dealing splash damage to enemies around them. This gives them the highest damage output of the three zealot variants. The damage dealt by Whirlwind is low, making the Aiur zealot a "burst" attacker, best for fighting clusters of small enemies, in exchange for the centurion's support skills and the sentinel's longevity.

The Aiur zealot also has a different attack from the centurion and sentinel, doing one attack of 16 damage rather than 2 attacks of 8 damage. This makes them more effective against armored targets, as they have less of a damage penalty.

Co-op Missions
Aiur zealots are playable in Co-op Missions if the player selects Artanis. Once Artanis reaches level 4, they can be upgraded at the twilight council.

Development
Prior to Patch 3.1, Aiur zealots both in Co-op Missions and the single-player campaign only dealt 8 damage with their normal attacks. They were buffed afterwards to 16 damage with normal attacks.

Trivia

 * The spin ability bears resemblance to similar techniques used by blademasters and barbarians in Warcraft and Diablo respectively.


 * It has been joked by James Waugh that the Aiur zealots do indeed get dizzy from all the spinning. He commented a few seconds later that "I'm retconning that."