The Hero Zenon is a bit different from all the others you’ve encountered so far in Code Vein 2. Less tragic, more self-aware. Very, very eccentric. And when you battle him as a boss he’s, well, a bit different than you might expect.
Not only is he one of the more challenging bosses, but reaching him in the first place is a bit harder than all the others. So let’s find out where he is, and how to put him down for good.
Where Is Hero Zenon Fought?
Hero Zenon is found on his very own prison island where he’s been locked away since the time of the Resurgence 100 years ago, Insula Carcere. Except unlike all of the other heroes, finding his cocoon is a challenge in-and-off itself.
Zenon’s cocoon is found at the very end of Insula Carcere, which is just a massive dungeon. To make matters worse, Lavinia insists on coming along with you, meaning you can’t change your partner. Lavinia can’t be summoned into battle either, so you’ll constantly be in the powered-up assimilated state without a partner to help you out.
Partners can still use their Restorative Offering to revive you even while Assimilated.
After getting to the end of Insula Carcere and beating the boss protecting Zenon’s cocoon, you can approach it. But you still don’t have the key. You now need to travel to Zenon’s Era and help him out first to get the key you need.
After all of that, finally, will you be able to take on the Hero Zenon boss fight.
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Hero Zenon’s Moveset
Hero Zenon is split into two different phases, with the second very much acting as an extension of the first one. The hammer swings make up the majority of the attacks, so once you’ve got a handle on their timing, the rest of the fight is much more manageable.
Here are all of Zenon’s attacks across both phases:
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Phase One
Move
Description
Hammer Turbo Rush
The boss will dart across the arena with their hammer three times while trying to crash into you. On the final rush, they do a spinning attack with the hammer.
Shield Bash
The boss dashes forward while slamming you with their shield.
Hammer Swings
The boss swings their hammer in wide swings two times.
Shield Slam
The boss reels back with their shield before slamming it down in front of them.
Retreating Swing + Follow-Up
The boss does a spinning attack while moving backwards. Can be followed-up with a wide swing or slam that pulls them slightly forward.
Slam, Swing, Turbo Swing
The boss slams down their hammer, then performs a wide swing, and suddenly follows up with a powered swing that comes out very quickly.
Leaping Slam
The boss leaps into the air before slamming down again on their target.
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Phase Two
Move
Description
Orbiting Sun
The boss begins the second phase by planting their hammer in the ground and summoning a miniature sun that orbits the edges of the arena.
This sun won’t chase you, but it will deal high damage if you touch it.
Turbo Swings
The boss swings their hammer like in the first phase, though the swings are all turbo-charged, executing much faster.
Foot Slam
In the middle of many hammer swings, the boss will slam their foot, causing an area-of-effect of damage.
Finger Lasers
The boss will fire lasers from their fingers that lock on to a specific target. Can be avoided by dodging at the last second.
Spreading Flame
The boss slams their hammer into the ground, causing a wave of fire to spread outwards. After a moment, they will slam the hammer once more for a fire burst that hits most of the arena.
Avoid the spreading waves by dodging into them and towards the boss. They may still deal small damage. For the final slam, dodge as the hammer hits the ground.
Big Bang
The boss teleports to the middle of the arena and changes it into a celestial scene, summoning multiple miniature suns to quickly orbit the arena.
The suns grow in size as the attack goes on, ending with the boss causing four lines to shoot out from the center. After this, the suns disappear and the boss remains stationary for few seconds, giving you time to attack them.
Fire Swing
During some combos, the boss will perform a wide swing with the hammer, causing a wave of fire to spread from it.
The brunt of the hammer’s damage is dealt by its head, and so staying close to the boss can let you avoid taking damage entirely. This isn’t always guaranteed, so don’t rely on it. Rather, it can be a helpful accident when the attack phases through you even without dodging.
In the second phase, Zenon’s hammer swings are almost all turbo-charged, meaning they pull out much faster, making the dodge window much tighter.
How To Beat Hero Zenon
Phase One
In Zenon’s first phase, he fights with a hammer and shield, and is oddly fashioned after the Bull of Minos despite his otherwise extremely Japanese appearance in his Past form. The hammer will be his main weapon of attack, while the shield is mainly used to punish you for getting too close to him.
His hammer swings tend to hit quite a wide area, sometimes avoiding you entirely if you’re close to him. As such, try to stick close to him as much as you can. His shield bash and charging moves can be pretty powerful to knock you away, but they’re overall worth the risk to deal damage to him quickly.
Phase Two
Once you reduce his HP to around 60-70%, Zenon will enter his second phase, dropping the shield entirely and trading his bull head for a golden headpiece featuring many icons of his wife. Touching. He’s also much more difficult in this phase.
Not only are all of his attacks much faster, he gains a multitude of ranged attacks in the fire lasers he can fire from his fingers and the orbiting sun of the arena. He does, at least, not have charge attacks anymore.
Because of the speed of his attacks, you’ll want to be dodging around a lot more. It’s still worth getting close to him whenever possible, just be ready to get away since his foot slams have the ability to knock you away, and the Flame Spread attack can cause devastating damage if you’re caught near him at the beginning of the attack.
His Big Bang is the hardest attack to prepare for. While it can be disorientating, it’s safest to remain still and dodge the suns as they come past you. They move so much that moving yourself will just make it harder to avoid them.
This is, in general, just a harder phase, so it may take a few tries. But once you finally beat him, you will get the Hero Zenon Blood Code as a reward.
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