James Parnell is a playable Hunter character in the game Evolve. He is an Assault class with an emphasis on high personal damage and speed at the cost of survivability.

Parnell is unlocked after completing Tier 1 of Hyde's equipment.

Biography

Once a mercenary, soldier James Parnell was the first person recruited by William Cabot and Bucket in the conflict to save Shear. Parnell serves as Cabot’s tactical specialist and develops strategies to eliminate Monsters on Shear.

Part of an experimental division, Parnell’s Berserker Suit identifies him as a former member of the now defunct Rage Troopers. After Sol Guard declared the experiment a failure, Parnell kept the suit and placed it in storage as he joined Abe and Sunny. Parnell, with Abe's assistance, modified the suit to be at least 80% less likely to kill the operator inside.

After he left Sol Guard, Parnell shifted to mercenary work and served as commander of The Sword for three years. Parnell’s crew, which included Abe and Sunny, conducted operations and often encountered conflict with Sol Hub forces and Corps pirates. During a mission to defend Sapphire Station, The Solaris - a prototype stealth ship built by Hub - attempted an attack on The Sword, and resulted in Sapphire Station launching nuclear warheads. The threat of nuclear destruction caused The Solaris to haphazardly dive into the gravity well of Sirius A.

Parnell and his crew risked their lives to rescue the crew of The Solaris. However, the ship entered a critical state and exploded, which left Parnell in a coma for three weeks and Sunny presumed dead. Parnell resigned from his position as commander of The Sword and later joined William Cabot as chief tactical officer.

The fact that Parnell carries a Combat Shotgun and Rocket Launcher shows his commitment to obliterating threatening wildlife. His Super Soldier ability cranks up the violence by greatly amplifying his damage output. If you need to kill something, you call on Parnell.

Personality

The second-in-command of the group, Parnell exhibits strong leadership and team-building skills and has a cheery disposition. He is a well-read man, often quoting famous generals and philosophers, and only exhibits a lack of restraint when using his super suit. Parnell enjoys old comic books, circa 2000 C.E., and often shares them with the crew.

Weapons and Equipment

Combat Shotgun

The Meliter Co. M.O Titan shotgun is a short-ranged, automatic, double-barrelled Sol-Guard issue shotgun that deals heavy damage up close.

• Damage: 10 per pellet
• Pellets per shot: 8
• Fire Rate: 170 rounds per minute
• Reload Speed: 2.75 seconds
• Capacity: 10 shots

Multifire Rocket Launcher

Limited edition high-mag rocket launcher with a 5 rocket magazine, and deals 10x more damage output than standard rocket launchers used in the Sol Guard. It was manufactured by BLOCH, the same company that makes Maggie's machine pistol^[1].

• Damage: 90 damage per shot
• Fire Rate: 100 rounds per minute
• Reload Speed: 3 seconds
• Capacity: 5 rockets
• Minimum radius (100% damage): 4 meters
• Maximum radius (0% damage): 7 meters

Super Soldier

An experimental berserker armor ability that enhances strength and speed (30%) for a brief period of time including jump height (300%), rate of fire (80%), and weapon switch speed (40%), while damaging Parnell. Parnell's suit was decommissioned at the end of the experimental Rage Trooper program due to its tendency to kill the operator. He held on to it, and refurbished it with assistance from Abe. It still poses a considerable risk to his health nonetheless. The back of the suit is decorated with an Assault class symbol along with the number 535.

• 15 second duration
• 30 second cooldown
• Deals 135 damage to Parnell
• Increases Parnell’s movement speed by 30%, jump height by 300%, reload/weapon switch speed by 40%, and rate of fire by 80%.

Class Ability: Defense Matrix

Applies a strong damage resistance buff to the Assault to help reduce heavy damage while active.

• 55% damage reduction shield
• 10 second duration
• 30 second cooldown

Downed: Bloch Pistol

• Used only when downed
• 350 rounds per minute
• 1.6 second reload
• 12 damage per shot
• 12 shots per magazine

Progression

Lvl	Reward	Lvl	Reward	Lvl	Reward	Lvl	Reward
1	Start	11	50 Keys	21	50 Keys	31	50 Keys
2	Badge	12	Badge	22	Rocket King - Superior	32	Badge
3	Enhanced Celerity - Minor	13	Rocket Lord - Major	23	50 Keys	33	50 Keys
4	50 Keys	14	125 Keys	24	50 Keys	34	125 Keys
5	125 Keys	15	Badge	25	125 Keys	35	Skin
6	Bionic Legs - Minor	16	125 Keys	26	50 Keys	36	125 Keys
7	Badge	17	Poisonous Rounds - Major	27	Badge	37	125 Keys
8	125 Keys	18	Badge	28	Acidic Rounds - Superior	38	Badge
9	Gunslinger - Minor	19	50 Keys	29	50 Keys	39	125 Keys
10	125 Keys	20	125 Keys	30	125 Keys	40	Hunter Skin

Rewards for perks that are already at level 3 are replaced with a 200 keys reward.

Tactics

• Your shotgun is your main damage dealer. However your rocket launcher does pack a punch. Harass the enemy at a distance with explosives as you close the gap.
• As soon as you are in shotgun range of the monster, use Super Soldier and unleash hell. The combination of your Personal Shield and Super Soldier drug makes you a deadly close-combat beast. It's also fun if Cabot is in the vicinity and has a damage amplifier.
• Unlike Hyde and Markov, your main damage weapon can affect exposed armor points from sniper rounds. Target those points if able to REALLY put the hurt on the monster!
• Don't forget to switch from your shotgun to your rocket launcher! Use the best weapon for the situation.
• If you find the reload speed of your shotgun too long to deal damage to a fast moving monster, hold the dps high by utilizing your weapon's auto reload trait. Fire all of your shotgun shots, switch to your rocket launcher and empty the cannon, switch back and repeat the process until the monster targets you. When that happens punish them with the personal shield and super soldier.

Weaknesses

• The Super Soldier ability drains health when used. Your medic should be able to heal the damage dealt by the ability, but be wary when using it if you have low health.

Relationships with other Hunters

Screenshots

Videos

Trivia

• Parnell often refers to his Super Soldier ability as "Hero Mode".
• Best friends with Abe, though they somewhat resemble a good cop, bad cop duo.
  • The two have also admitted to viewing each other as brothers.
• He dislikes it when Abe modifies his stuff.
• He was the first to believe in Sunny.
• Parnell doesn’t trust Val, being from CIG9. He claims that CIG9 are always lying, just not necessarily about what you think.
• Parnell loves reading comic books. Wounded Wolves - about Leading Edge - is one of his favorites.
  • The fact that Parnell commonly shouts "bam!", "pow!", and "boom!" in matches may be a subtle nod to his love for comic books, as the aforementioned phrases commonly appear in them.
• A conversation between Abe and Parnell reveals that Parnell's comic books were given to him by his grandfather.
• Parnell is likely one of the tallest Hunters in the game with a height of eight feet. It's implied this is due to his years of training in high-gravity situations when he was enlisted with Sol Guard.
  • He may also have inherited these taller genes due to living on a planet with high gravity^[2], potentially Tau Ceti IX, which is a planet popular for these conditions.

References