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This article is about the pistol in Human Revolution. For the Mankind Divided pistol, see Zenith CA-40.

The Zenith is a weapon in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Background[]

The Zenith is a 10mm polymer framed semi-automatic compact pistol developed by Steiner-Bisley GmbH.

Characteristics[]

The Zenith is a modern, fully ambidextrous and ergonomic pistol. It's very modular, equipped with a Picatinny rail system and can also accept a sound suppressor. The magazine holds only 10 rounds but its capacity can be increased. The Zenith features orange tritium-illuminated iron sights.

It is in extremely common use, so ammo will never be an issue, and its penchant for taking upgrades means it can eventually be a formidable backup weapon. The silencer and laser sight, along with the aforesaid upgrade capacity, also make it a surprisingly good main weapon for a non-pacifist player who wishes to be stealthy, though it is not suitable for full-scale combat situations unless (almost) fully upgraded. A silenced Zenith is a useful tool even for pacifists, as it may be used to lure enemies into locations away from their patrol path so that they can be disposed of discretely; when a shot is fired, enemies will investigate by walking to where the shot hit.

The armor-piercing upgrade ignores all armor bonuses, meaning headshots from the pistol are exceptionally lethal and as such, should be considered even by Pacifists (for bosses). Most non-boss human opponents will be killed with a single headshot from a Zenith with the armor-piercing upgrade, even without any damage upgrades; heavy troopers will take two. Because of this, one might upgrade it with the armor-piercing, silencer, and laser sight mods, and reserve the other upgrades for alternative weapons. Ammunition stacks are 2x1, with each stack holding up to 50 rounds.

The pistol is one of the most common weapons in enemy hands, and is not particularly threatening when used by them; while no enemy should be underestimated, the player will only really find themselves in trouble if they are surrounded by several enemies with these weapons. Pistols are typically limited to lower-level enemies such as street thugs, security personnel and lightly armored soldiers.

Notes[]

  • The Zenith pistol has excellent handling characteristics, which facilitates headshots.
  • When fitted with the Armor Piercing Rounds mod, the Zenith actually deals less damage to unarmored targets, so it depends largely on the player's preference when it comes to attaching this mod or not.
  • As shown in the reveal trailer, the Zenith sports a shiny anodized black finish in Mankind Divided, as opposed to Human Revolution's matte grey.
    • In a beta screenshot, however, the slide of the pistol is colored in the standard grey-white, albeit somewhat modified from the original version with the most prominent change being the large model name "Zenith" taking the place of the Steiner-Bisley logo.
  • The 80-X Boxguard is surprisingly vulnerable towards the Zenith with the armor-piercing rounds mods attached. About 2 and a half magazines can destroy one such unit, even when unupgraded, however the shots must not land on the robot's armor plates as these will reduce the damage done.
  • When in cover, the reload animation shows the slide lock back regardless of whether or not there is still a round in the chamber.
  • Jensen will always perform a brass check upon equipping the Zenith. This is the only weapon to feature this animation. The brass check will always show a visible bullet in the chamber, even if the pistol is completely empty.

Trivia[]

  • According to the box texture for the corresponding ammunition, the Zenith uses "10mm Auto." While not reflected in-game, the real-world 10mm Auto is more powerful than the .357 Magnum ammunition used in the Revolver, when comparing standard loads. 
  • The design of the pistol grip and trigger guard resemble the fictional Seburo M-5 pistol, prominently seen in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

See also[]

Gallery[]

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