Gundam Zephyranthes

The RX78GP01 Gundam Zephyranthes is the second prototype mobile suit of five produced under Anaheim Electronics' "Gundam Development Project", which aimed at producing mobile suits that were superior to the suits that were produced by Zeon at the end of the One Year War. After the failure of the "all-in-one" RX78GP00 Gundam Blossom, all future prototypes in the project were specialized for specific purposes. The Zephyranthes, like the RX-78-2 Gundam it was based on, carried the Core Block System, but with a twist. It used at least two different Core Fighters, and unlike the Core Block System used in the Project V series of mobile suits, it was not used solely as an escape system for both the pilot and combat data, but as the mobile suit's backpack as well. This Gundam was designed to be adaptable to any environment in Earth's atmosphere or space by simply swapping out its Core Fighter for the appropriate environment. This is the "ground-use" specification, first used in September of UC 0083, when it was comandeered by rookie Federation pilot Kou Uraki in an attempt to counter the theft of the Zephyranthes' nuclear weapon-equipped sister machine, the RX78GP02A Gundam Physalis, by the Zeon ace pilot Anavel Gato, "The Nightmare of Solomon", along with other Zeon remnants. Though Uraki was still inexperienced, and the attempted retrieval of the Physalis ended in failure, the combat data from Uraki's sortie showed exceptional promise, for both the pilot's abilities and the Zephyranthes, and Uraki was made the full-time pilot of this formidable mobile suit as he and the crew of the assault carrier Albion continue their pursuit of the stolen Gundam, eventually coming to be known as "The Unknown Ace" (Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory).

The Gundam Zephyranthes is a Balanced type, and it is the first MS that was produced after the OYW to ever make it into the game. It is arguably the strongest mobile suit currently in the game for the Earth Federation Forces, as well as the very first suit included to carry a 500 point Bounty. At LV1, it carries stats that are equivalent to a Balanced LV3 to LV5 suit with a heavy empasis on maneuverability and thrust, it carries a beam rifle who's uncharged shots are eqivalent in power to a beam sniper rifle or beam cannon, and a beam saber that deals slightly more damage than the Gyan's beam sword (though it may not perform the Gyan's three-hit combo), as well as an exceptionally strong shield. The Zephyranthes' main drawbacks aside from its high bounty, are its extremely long respawn time, (which is about 10 seconds longer than the automatic pilot respawn, making it impossible for the player to respawn with it. The Zephyranthes must often be requested manually at captured points or at the base), and the fact that it also has no custom part slots to speak of, so its performance may not be enhanced, which could prove costly to inexperienced players, as its armor is roughly equivalent to an unmodified LV4-5 suit in the same class.