Revision 1

The Keeper is the Grell tanky melee creature, a Tier 2 unit that hatches two at a time from the Incubator and turns the damage it absorbs into reinforcements. Every 60 health a Keeper loses spawns a 50 health Arkanid, which makes it the only unit in the faction that gets stronger in aggregate as it is being killed.

Figures below describe the September 2026 Early Access build, the one carrying the identifier ZS.c36778, and they move with the weekly patch cadence. Roughly half the versus roster had a stat touched in the fortnight before that build was captured, so treat every number here as dated rather than permanent.

Stat Block

Weapons

Abilities

Upgrades

Conversion Costs

Infuse is the Grell conversion mechanic, paid out of the same top bar power pool as the Legion Reanimate and the Xol Replicate. It permanently raises a friendly unit's health, damage and regeneration for the rest of that unit's life. Since the balance pass of August 11, 2026 the bonus is +45%, down from +50%, and the cost multiplier rose from 0.045 to 0.05 so that it matches the Protectorate shield and the Legion Reanimate.

The Keeper is eligible for all three conversions at an identical 5.3125 power each. Infuse compounds with Arkanid Spawn, because the +45% health is 45% more health to convert into free bodies, and the +45% regeneration refills that pool faster between engagements.

Role

A Keeper on its own is unremarkable: 225 health, 15 damage per second, melee range 1.4. Arkanid Spawn is the reason to build it. Every 60 health of incoming damage produces a free 50 health body, so an army shooting at Keepers is simultaneously manufacturing the swarm that surrounds it. Against sustained ranged fire this compounds badly for the attacker, and it is why Keepers are usually placed at the front rather than held back.

Cytokinin Surge and Exoskeleton Reinforcement both extend how long that engine runs. Three health regeneration per second means a Keeper that disengages recovers the health it converted into Arkanids, effectively turning downtime into more spawns later. Accelerated Mitosis is the aggressive option, cutting the health cost per Arkanid so the swarm arrives faster.

The pair ordering matters for planning. Two Keepers at once for 150 hexite and 50 flux is four supply and 80 seconds of production line time, which is a real commitment at Tier 2, and a player who wants one Keeper gets two.

Faction Context

Keepers come from the Incubator alongside Harbingers and Threshers, with first tier research at the Synapse Canopy and the Accelerated Mitosis upgrade at the Elderwomb. They are the middle of the Grell front line, more durable than a Stinger and considerably cheaper than a Reaver.

Arkanid Spawn is one of three sources of Arkanids in the faction, the other two being the Reaver death trigger and the Deep Nest top bar ultimate. Together they are the mechanical expression of the faction identity described on The Grell: bodies are cheap, biomass is the real resource, and damage absorbed is not wasted.

Tier and Armour Interactions

The Keeper carries Medium armour with an armour value of 1. Since August 11, 2026 Medium also carries every harvester and extractor in the game, which makes it the category the largest number of weapons are tuned against. The Grell's own Skrell deals +100% against Medium, and the Lasher adds +75% with Corrosive Secretion, so a Keeper is a good target for a mirror match.

Keeper Talons carries no bonus, so the unit does flat damage against every armour type. What it produces instead of a bonus is Arkanids, which carry Light armour and no bonus either. A Keeper line therefore does not solve an armour problem; it solves a numbers problem.

Counters

Strong Against

Weak To

Balance History

• The Keeper's own stats were unchanged across the fortnight of patching before this build.

• August 11, 2026: the Infuse bonus that applies to this unit was cut from +50% to +45%, and the cost multiplier rose from 0.045 to 0.05.

Notes

• The roster record for this unit is COMPLETE.

• The Accelerated Mitosis upgrade text describes reducing health loss per Arkanid from 20 to 15, while the Arkanid Spawn passive is published as one Arkanid per 60 health lost. The two figures are reproduced as published; no dated studio note reconciles them.

• Per unit numbers are drawn from a community maintained entity catalogue that the studio links from each of its own faction pages. It is the only place the full stat block is published, and it is not a studio document, so the figures are best read as careful community documentation of a build rather than as an official specification. Dated balance notes, by contrast, come straight from the studio patch posts.