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    Necromorph

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    Necromorphs are the enemies in the Dead Space franchise. The Necromorph infection uses deceased bodies as hosts and forms hideously mutated shapes to adapt to more effective killing styles. Originally encountered on deep-space mining colony Aegis VII, it is believed that the infection originated from the Red Marker.

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    Origins

    The Red Marker, discovered on the planet Aegis VII, was a Human-made replica of the Black Marker, a genuinely extraterrestrial artifact found on Earth that kick-started the Unitoligist religion, with the only difference between the two being that certain unknown elements in the Black Marker were replaced by ones more familiar to Humans, lending the second Marker its different coloration. When the alien text etched into the surface of the Red Marker was deciphered, it was revealed to be a genetic code. This code was quickly engineered by the curious scientists, who had brought about their own doom; the code on the Marker was the DNA of the Necromorph virus, which transforms dead flesh into animated, wildly aggressive forms who seemingly have no goals outside of murdering every living thing and transforming their corpses into more Necromorphs.

    Some Necromorph strains have "Super" variants, which are generally faster, stronger, and more durable. Super variants of any Necromorph are easily recognized by the distinct black or dark brown colour of their flesh, with more menacing, glowing eyes. Some Supers are also seen to "drool" a constant stream of maggots from the host's mouth. Charming.

    Strains (Necromorph varieties)

    The Corruption

    The Corruption
    The Corruption

    Technically not a Necromorph strain, the Corruption is nonetheless somehow intrinsically tied to the viral alien species. When a Necromorph outbreak has progressed to a certain point, this meat-like organic material begins to grow on the walls and floors of the most heavily infested areas. It is unclear exactly where the Corruption comes from, nor what its purpose is, but the more advanced an outbreak, the more Corruption will be found. There is significantly less of the Corruption seen in Dead Space 2 than in Dead Space; this is most likely because it would take significantly longer to build up in the vast, wide-open areas of the Sprawl than in the cramped corridors of the USG Ishimura. While Corruption was seen on the planet Tau Volantis, the setting of Dead Space 3, its presence was significantly reduced from previous games, potentially due to having even more space for the infection to work with, covering an entire planet, or it could be due to Tau Volantis being completely frozen, with the cold somehow slowing or halting the spread of Corruption.

    .

    Slashers

    Male Slasher.
    Male Slasher.

    Slashers are the most common strain that you will encounter aboard the USG Ishimura and the Sprawl, and are the most basic form of the Necromorph. Slashers are extremely aggressive and will attack and kill any living being they encounter. They mainly attack in large groups, and when combined with other types of Necromorphs, they are very deadly. They have a very distinct form and are easily recognized by the blades that grow out of their hands.

    The victim's body goes through a rapid deformation as the corpse transforms into a Necromorph. The arms deform and grow multiple joints, and become elongated. At the same time, the bones rapidly grow from the shoulder and burst through the palm and form a sharp and curved blade, the main weapon of the Slashers, which lends them their name. The body's torso rips apart, exposing the rib cage which also rips open to form two new arms under the torso, though these apparently serve no purpose. The spinal cord grows exceedingly large and protrudes out of the victim's back, and also forces the neck of the victim to hunch.

    Super Slasher.
    Super Slasher.

    While most Necromorph strains come in "regular" and "Super" varieties, there are three different Slasher variants:

    • The Male Slasher
    • The Female Slasher
    • The Super Slasher

    The type of Slasher depends on which sex the Slasher's body originated from. The male Slasher focuses entirely on melee combat and charges at Isaac Clarke, blades flailing, whereas the female Slasher (known as the Spitter in Dead Space 2) is a more conservative aggressor, and instead of charging in blindly, it is capable of (but not limited to) spitting toxic acid from a distance. The Super, or Enhanced, Slasher is the ultimate variant of the Slasher. More agile, more fearsome, more deadly. Possessing far more durability, the Super Slashers also deal increased damage and are faster than normal Slashers. In addition to these advantages, the Super Slasher can also regenerate dismembered limbs over time, and can have sudden bursts of speed and attack in short flurries, as well as having the ability to spit, similar to the female Slasher.

    Leapers

    A Leaper.
    A Leaper.

    Leapers are no-legged abominations named for their uncanny skill in jumping towards their victims. Leapers are fast and agile, and can also crawl on walls and ceilings, making them truly versatile killers as they can strike from any given direction, especially in zero-gravity environments.

    The legs of the victim's body start to grow rapidly and twist into a single tail-like appendage. The face starts to become extremely distorted in appalling contortions and starts to literally split open, forming a vast and gaping jaw that spans across the whole face. The teeth extend into short tusks, and the bones in the tail grow to a sharpened edge, much like the Slasher's arm blades.

    Leapers are more of an ambush type of Necromorph, as they cannot withstand the same punishment a Slasher can. For example, most Leapers will try to climb on walls or ceilings before attacking you, forcing you to look in every direction if you hear the growl of a Leaper. They are even more deadly in space, as there is no sound and you will never know if you are in the presence of a Leaper unless you see it. Combined with zero-g, this allows the Leapers to literally attack from anywhere. Leapers usually attack in one of two ways, a tail whip or a bite. If they leap at you successfully, a "death grab" or "Leaper attack" quick-time event gameplay sequence is initiated, where the player must repeatedly tap a button to throw the Leaper off of Isaac. In Dead Space: Extraction, shooting the tail off a Leaper will cause it to die instantly, while in Dead Space and Dead Space 2, it can survive such an attack, though it will be limited to biting attacks afterwards.

    Just like the Slasher, there is a Super variation of the Leaper, with increased speed and strength. Like the Super Slasher, more shots are required to take down the Super Leaper. Your best bet is to cut off the Leaper's arms with a Line Gun. Aim for the arms and players will be able to take out both arms plus the head, guaranteeing an instant kill, though it may take a few shots.

    Lurkers

    A Lurker bares its tentacles, ready to attack.
    A Lurker bares its tentacles, ready to attack.

    These Necromorphs are formed from the corpses of human infants, which are too small to be turned into more traditional strains like Slashers or Leapers. Despite their small size, Lurkers are a serious threat. The Lurker's main focus of attack is by ranged projectiles. They support the other Necromorphs by firing projectiles from their tentacles, which forces Isaac to shrug it off and recover, creating an opening for the other Necromorphs to close in for the kill. Lurkers often execute a surprise attack where the Lurker jumps onto Isaac, repeatedly stabbing its spiked tentacles into his back. The player must repeatedly tap a button to throw the Lurker off and drop-kick it. Unlike most QTEs in Dead Space, which merely damage the Necromorphs, successfully throwing off a Lurker instantly results in the Lurker's redeath.

    The back of the infant's body rips open and sprouts three spiked tentacles which fire needle-like projectiles. The stomach bursts open and forms many tentacle-like "suction cups" which grasp the area beneath them and can hold the Lurker in place in zero-g, as well as on ceilings and walls. This gives them an advantage as they can attack from any direction, much like Leapers. However, the Lurker is able to shoot projectiles from it's tentacles. This makes them somewhat more menacing than Leapers as they can attack Isaac from any range as well.

    Concept art of a canine-based Lurker.
    Concept art of a canine-based Lurker.

    While the Lurkers are a very distinctive Necromorph, and one of the most common due to their useful ranged attack, Dead Space 3 takes place on a barren planet whose only source of bodies was a military base, where there were no Human infants. For this reason, Dead Space 3 features Lurkers that, while identical in abilities and attacks, were actually made from the bodies of the expedition's dogs. The fact that identical Necromorphs can be constructed from the bodies of different species is disturbing, but not explored in depth.

    Brutes

    The Brute Necromorph is truly a beast to behold. This disturbing manifestation derived from multiple corpses merged together into a single monstrosity. Its unstoppable power and limitless strength gives the Brute a reason to be feared. The Brute can also ram straight through steel, as seen in almost all encounters with the Brute.

    A Brute.
    A Brute.

    Although all Necromorphs are hostile and aggressive, no other Necromorph matches the Brute's volatility. Whether it be ramming, punching or simply tearing their opponents apart (rendering them useless for Necromorph transformation), the Brute will stop at nothing to achieve the murder of every living thing. However, the Brute is not limited to these powerful melee attacks, as it can also launch organic explosives that explode on impact. One can catch these explosives and send them straight back to the Brute using the kinesis module.

    Brutes will almost always bum-rush Isaac, sending him flying. The Brute is incredibly vulnerable when in stasis, as the player is usually only fighting one at a time. All that one needs is a stasis module and any weapon, and the Brute can be taken down with ease. That being said, without the stasis module or any stasis energy left, the Brute is next to impossible to defeat. Its armoured carapace protects the Brute from harm, and is also used to ram the Brute's opponent to the ground. The Brute uses these armoured shells to protect itself if in danger, or

    A Brute charging Isaac.
    A Brute charging Isaac.

    when the player deals enough damage to the Brute. While in this mode, it is speculated that the Brute is recovering. This gives the player time to either heal, reload or keep unloading unto the creature. The forearms and head of the Brute are heavily armoured by the Brute's carapace and are difficult to dismember. Alternatively, the hind legs of the beast can be easily torn off with the Ripper, for example. The Brutes are by far the strongest form of Necromorphs aside from the unique bosses, and are classified as mini-bosses because of their toughness.

    A Super Brute.
    A Super Brute.

    Even Brutes have a 'Super' variant which is encountered late in the game in Chapter 12: Dead Space. This form of the Brute is extremely resistant to attacks and is much more powerful than any other Necromorph in the game. Using the stasis to slow down the Super Brute and continually pummelling it with everything players have still seems to remain as effective just as killing a normal Brute.

    Pregnants

    A Pregnant releasing its spawn.
    A Pregnant releasing its spawn.

    The unfortunately-named "Pregnants" are large, heaving creatures that resemble more than anything disgustingly obese Slashers. More than being stereotypical 'fat zombies', however, Pregnants carry smaller Necromorphs inside of their bodies. This large abdominal sac can easily be ruptured, which releases dozens of small Necromorphs called Swarmers into the world. The Pregnants also have blades similar to the Slashers, and can use them to surprisingly great effect, as Pregnants can hit just as hard as Slashers. Sometimes, Pregnants will even survive having the sac ruptured and will continue crawling towards Isaac by their claws.

    The Pregnants' weight and large sac serves to hinder their movement, slowing the Pregnant down to an awkward stumbling walk, even when it is "charging" at Isaac. During later stages of the game, the Pregnants carry deadlier spawn; ranging from Lurkers to Divider limbs. Once killed, the spawn inside of the Pregnant's sac also die off, and the sac can no longer be ruptured, eliminating the need to be cautious once they're down. However, when heavily damaged, Pregnants will often disembowel themselves with their arm blades, likely destroying themselves but releasing their spawn. The best strategy to take down a Pregnant would be using a Line Gun and aiming it at the neck/shoulders level of the Pregnant. Firing a Line Gun at this level would sever both arms of the Pregnant, as well as the head resulting in an instant kill.

    Swarmers

    A group of Swarmers .
    A group of Swarmers .

    Swarmers are minute, yet still dangerous (and still disgusting) creatures whose exact purpose in the Necromorph ranks are unclear. Only a few inches across, they appear to be made out of bits of Human skin and flesh, with each possessing a single sharp proboscis; as their name suggests, they roam around en masse and leap onto a target victim all at once, endlessly stabbing until either they are destroyed or the victim succumbs.

    Individual Swarmers are known to hide inside crates, supply packages, and lockers, leaping out to surprise unwary victims who open or damage the containers. Swarmers are also found carried in large groups inside the bellies of Pregnants, as noted above, and while it is possible that they are formed from the bodies of the Pregnants that carry them, Pregnants are also known to carry Lurkers and Divider limbs, which clearly are not formed from the bodies of the adult males that Pregnants are made out of, so the origin of the Swarmers remains unknown.

    Swarmers appear in Dead Space and Dead Space 2, but not Dead Space 3, where they are replaced with a similarly-named but distinctly different strain collectively referred to as "the Swarm" (see below).

    Exploders

    An Exploder.
    An Exploder.

    Exploders are essentially suicide bombers. Their left arms are horribly mutated into sacs of volatile chemicals that explode violently upon impact. Their sole method of attack is to move up to a victim and slam their arm into the ground, with the explosion blowing both the Exploder and its victim to bits. Their main weakness is that their mutation also twisted their legs into a single limb, forcing them to move at a slow, hobbling pace, using their arms as crutches.

    An Exploder can be taken out easily from a distance by shooting the chemical sac, blowing up the Exploder and any other nearby Necromorphs. In addition, the chemical sac arm can be severed, leaving the Exploder's only attack option being to flail ineffectively at their victims with their stumpy right arm. If the sac is severed without being destroyed, it can be picked up with the kinesis module and thrown into groups of Necromorphs, making a very effective improvised grenade.

    Dividers

    A Divider, before splitting apart.
    A Divider, before splitting apart.

    Tall and lanky, the Divider's body splits into multiple tiny spider-like segments when shot. These segments crawl around of their own volition and attack Isaac as a swarm. A single Divider will quickly become two hands, two feet, and a head, all bent on killing Isaac. The head segments have a quick-time event attack where they attempt to strangle Isaac with their tentacles.

    If the player does not successfully throw it off, it will tear off Isaac's own head and take its place, taking control of his body and transforming it into a new Divider. Divider heads, but not the other parts, appear in Dead Space 3, wherein they are referred to as "Creepers". For more information, see the "Shambler" section below.

    Infectors

    An Infector prepares to transform a corpse.
    An Infector prepares to transform a corpse.

    Infectors are the Necromorphs that create other Necromorphs. Infectors travel infested areas looking for corpses, and when one is found, the Infector will stab their proboscis into the corpse's brain, injecting the fast-acting Necromorph virus that transforms the corpse into a Necromorph within seconds. They are the only Necromorph type that will actively ignore Isaac in battle; they are more concerned with transforming all nearby corpses into more Necromorphs.

    However, if there are no nearby corpses, they will attempt to transform Isaac, leaping upon him with a quick-time event and attempting to pierce his skull with their proboscis. In the original Dead Space, all corpses reanimated by Infectors transform into Super Slashers, though in-universe, all Necromorphs that are derived from a single corpse are created from Infectors. In Dead Space 2, Infectors transform corpses into regular Slashers, and the new Super Infectors are now what create Super Slashers. In the opening of Dead Space 2, it is demonstrated that Infectors are capable of transforming living humans directly into Necromorphs without having to wait for them to die, and that the virus is just as fast, if not faster, when converting living humans: when Franco Delille is attacked by an Infector, he transforms into a Slasher without even falling down.

    Twitchers

    A Twitcher prepares to dismember a hapless Unitologist terrorist.
    A Twitcher prepares to dismember a hapless Unitologist terrorist.

    Twitchers are an oddity among the Necromorph strains, as their most effective abilities are the result of Human-made technology, not the mutations caused by the Necromorph virus. In other words, Twitchers are in fact identical to Slashers in terms of mutation, movement, and tactics... at least on the surface. The difference between Slashers and Twitchers is that the latter are formed from the bodies of military soldiers whose armor contains built-in Stasis units like the one used by Isaac Clarke.

    While the usual purpose of Stasis units is to project Stasis energy onto something in the world, slowing down the passage of time for that object or being, something about the Necromorph infection in this hapless victims reverses the effects of the Stasis unit, which is now set to constantly discharge onto the Necromorph itself, and instead of slowing it down, it speeds up the creature's personal time field. The effect of this is that Twitchers are capable of moving and attacking up to ten times faster than normal Slashers, with their name coming from the unsettling movement of the monster's head as it looks around the world so much faster than usual.

    Even when a Twitcher's leg has been shot off and it is forced to drag itself around by its blades, they are still the fastest enemy in the original Dead Space. Twitchers appear in Dead Space, but not Dead Space 2, where the role of a super-fast Necromorph that charges the player and makes rapid attacks is instead filled by the Stalker, which the developers felt was more interesting than just a faster-than-usual Slasher. However, due to negative fan response to the removal of the strain, Twitchers make a return in the "Severed" singleplayer DLC chapter for Dead Space 2, as well as appearing in Dead Space 3, where the flashlights attached to their armor helps give their position away before they close in.

    The Pack

    A Pack member.
    A Pack member.

    The Necromorphs collectively referred to as "the Pack" are the result of the virus mutating the corpses of prepubescent children. Too big to become Lurkers and too small to become Slashers, children become something unique. Equipped with razor-sharp talons and able to fit into ducts and crawlspaces due to their small size, the Pack act essentially like small Slashers, running up to a victim and attempting to tear them apart with their claws.

    However, being made of immature Humans, the Pack are much more fragile than Slashers, and individual Pack members can be dispatched with ease. They gain their name, and differentiate themselves from other strains, by their behaviour. As their name implies, the Pack always hunt in groups. If a single Pack member finds a potential target, it will flee back in the direction of the rest of its group, shrieking at the top of its lungs to get the attention of the others. The Pack will then descend on their victim en masse, hoping to make up for their individual weakness by overwhelming their unfortunate victim with sheer numbers.

    One of the least mutated Necromorphs, a child's corpse will lose all hair when infected, followed by the skin on the lower face peeling away to reveal a protruding jaw full of fangs. The eyes of Pack members appear to be sealed shut, though they do not behave like they are blind. Like other Necromorph strains, genitals and other gender characteristics are absorbed into the body, the mass being used for other purposes; it is impossible to visually tell whether a given pack was a boy or a girl in life. Most notably, the fingers on the hands twist together to form three razor-sharp talons which are almost as effective as Slasher blades at eviscerating foes. Curiously, the skin of Pack members is far paler than that of other Necromorph strains.

    Pukers

    A Puker.
    A Puker.

    The singularly vile Puker is unique among Necromorphs in that it has no extra extremities to speak of. Although the tips of its fingers are sharpened, it almost never uses these as a weapon, preferring instead to rely upon the mutation that gives it its name. Upon infection, all internal organs combine together to form an enormous chemical sac that produces an endless amount of a highly corrosive acid.

    The Puker is capable of regurgitating this acid upon its victims at distances of several metres, making it an extremely dangerous foe. Pukers have a limited lifespan due to their own construction; the acid within them burns through their bodies, eventually destroying them. The heads of active Pukers can be seen to have been ravaged by the acid already; Pukers have no eyes, and nothing else on the face except an enormous corroded maw. The heads aren't even necessary for their attack; decapitated Pukers can and will spew their acid directly through the exposed esophagus in the stump of their necks.

    Wheezers

    A Wheezer.
    A Wheezer.

    Wheezers are an oddity among Necromorphs. They are completely immobile, possess no natural weaponry whatsoever, and it isn't even clear whether or not they can even tell when they are in the presence of an uninfected Human or taking damage from an attack. The only mutations visible on Wheezers are that their upper and lower legs are fused together, preventing them from moving from the spot they are found, and their lungs have expanded to almost ten times the size of natural human lungs, bursting out the back of the host, where they visibly expand and contract like bellows.

    It seems Wheezers are used as a tool, rather than a weapon. Like all undead Necromorphs, the Wheezers do not need to breathe in; instead, they use their immense lungs to breathe out a mixture of atmospheric poisons, polluting the air in a given area. It is believed that what they are doing is essentially "terraforming" an area to suit Necromorph needs, as these poisons, while toxic to Humans, increase the speed at which the Corruption grows. They are only found in the Ishimura's Hydroponics level in the original Dead Space and in the "Archaeology" optional mission in Dead Space 3.

    Crawlers

    A Crawler.
    A Crawler.

    Crawlers, like Lurkers, are made from the carcasses of Human infants, but serve an entirely different purpose. The abdomens of Crawlers mutate in an identical way to the left arms of Exploders, turning them into grossly deformed suicide bombers.

    In order to allow the bulbous things to move, their limbs are twisted around backwards, so that their chemical sacs do not drag on the ground. They act very similarly to Exploders, with their one and only strategy being to crawl up to targets and explode, which they can seemingly trigger at will. It is unknown why Crawlers even exist in the first place, as they are far, far weaker and slower than Exploders and their explosions are smaller and less powerful. Not to mention that Lurkers have proven to be a perfectly viable use for the corpses of infants, filling a unique and useful position in the Necromorph "ecosystem", whereas even in great numbers Crawlers are almost no threat to a decently-armed Human.

    Stalkers

    A Stalker.
    A Stalker.

    A new strain encountered in Dead Space 2, Stalkers appear to have been created at least partially from non-human remains; although they possess humanoid bodies, their heads are bare skulls that were clearly never human.

    No animals aside from small birds are ever encountered in Dead Space 2, so it is unknown what they would be made of. Stalkers hunt in small groups, and prefer areas where they can ambush their prey, hiding behind obstacles and peeking around corners to locate their victims before dashing into sight and charging their prey at very high speeds, letting out their signature screams as they do so.

    The Hunter

    The Hunter advances.
    The Hunter advances.

    The Hunter is a singularly unique, all-powerful Necromorph that is encountered twice in Dead Space. Not actually a "natural" strain of the Necromorph virus, the Hunter was created by Dr. Challus Mercer, who believed that the Necromorphs were holy representations of his religion, Unitology.

    By inserting a sample of the Corruption, the meat that grows on the walls in heavily infested areas, into the brain of a living victim, Mercer caused a transformation that turned the man into a creature visually similar to Slashers, but with a significant advantage; the Hunter has a special ability that allows it to regenerate lost limbs, making it impossible to kill through dismemberment. The Hunter's attack is extremely powerful; on Impossible difficulty it kills the player in one hit. During the first encounter, the Hunter is defeated by freezing it inside a cryo-chamber. Later, it is de-thawed and encountered again. It's finally destroyed by incinerating it with the fire from the shuttle engines.

    The Leviathan

    The Leviathan.
    The Leviathan.

    This unique Necromorph is made up of dozens of bodies mashed together to form a single enormous monstrocity. It was encountered by Isaac Clarke inside the USG Ishimura's zero-gravity food storage facility, on the Hydroponics deck.

    The Leviathan extends meaty tendrils into many other segments of Hydroponics, and may have something to do with the Wheezers spread throughout that area. It has few recognizable bodily features, the primary ones being an enormous toothy mouth containing a weak spot, surrounded by three tentacles ending in weak spots of their own which can retract into the Leviathan's body to hide from damage, and even switch places should one or more be destroyed.

    The Slug

    Isaac takes aim at the Slug's tentacles.
    Isaac takes aim at the Slug's tentacles.

    The Slug is another of the super-sized boss creatures encountered in the original Dead Space, formed from the bodies of dozens of murdered Humans. As the name would imply, the resulting beast resembles not so much a collection of corpses as it does a gigantic mass of meat, clinging to the side of the USG Ishimura's hull like a remora.

    When first discovered, it isn't actually doing anything hostile, merely sitting there on the side of the ship, dormant. However, it happens to be sitting directly on top of the Communication Array's blast doors, which at the time needed to be opened in order to warn the approaching military vessel USM Valor not to pick up the escape pod the Ishimura had jettisoned, as it contained a Slasher. The boss fight against the Slug is a unique experience in the franchise, as rather than engaging it directly with his weapons, Isaac fights the monster using one of the Ishimura's Asteroid Defence System cannons, positioned perfectly on the hull to blast the creature away.

    In terms of attacks, it uses five tentacles to throw projectiles at Isaac's ADS station, reducing the hull integrity there; if integrity drops to 0%, the cannon explodes and Isaac dies. While most of the skin of the Slug is invulnerable, each of the five tentacles has a weak spot on it, and when all five are destroyed (severing the tentacles in the process), the Slug will die, releasing its grip on the Ishimura and will float off lifelessly into space, allowing the survivors to open the blast door and send a message to the Valor.

    The Hive Mind

    The Hive Mind introduces itself to Isaac.
    The Hive Mind introduces itself to Isaac.

    The final boss of the original Dead Space, the Hive Mind appears to be the controlling intelligence behind all of the malevolent Necromorphs, and is easily the biggest Necromorph form ever encountered prior to the discovery of the Brethren Moons (see below), composed of hundreds, possibly thousands of corpses all merged together into one titanic being several miles long.

    It was encountered in an immense crater on Aegis VII, and it was believed at the time that the Red Marker was benevolent, keeping the creature in a form of hibernation until being awakened at the end of the game by the Marker's second removal. While this later proved to be untrue, the exact nature of the relationship between the Marker and the Necromorphs remains a mystery. In terms of gameplay, the Hive Mind attempts to smash Isaac with its immense tentacles, occasionally pausing to roar at Isaac, exposing the five weak points inside its mouth.

    When three of these have been destroyed, it will grab Isaac with a tentacle and attempt to devour him. If he can destroy two more of the weak points (while hanging upside-down) before being eaten, the Hive Mind will drop him and move on to its final stage, adding the ability to fire explosive projectiles at Isaac and birth Pregnants to engage him on foot, while occasionally exposing five more weak spots inside its chest cavity. When all of these have been destroyed, the Hive Mind will collapse to the surface of the planet, dead, and Isaac can make his escape.

    The
    The "Nexus" Hive Mind encountered on Tau Volantis.

    While the Hive Mind strain plays no part in Dead Space 3, while Isaac Clarke and John Carver explore Tau Volantis, a planet which was flash-frozen during the most advanced stages of a Necromorph infestation, several Hive Minds can be seen in the far distance, frozen solid and immobile. While it is unknown if these Hive Minds are still active or could be rejuvenated, searching an SCAF research laboratory lads to the discovery of a much smaller than normal Hive Mind, referred to as a "Nexus" by the antiquated scientists who studied it 200 years earlier.

    This particular Hive Mind is partially thawed out in order to allow Isaac's team to finish an experiment performed on it, but while they are busy elsewhere, the creature thaws out completely and actually comes back to life; the next time they see it, it has somehow grown, perhaps by absorbing the bodies of the dead and incorporating them into its mass. At any rate, it suddenly ambushes them, now the size of the Hive Mind discovered at the end of the Aegis VII incident, and fights them using distinctly different tactics and body parts, perhaps owing to being mostly constructed of the bodies of the alien species that once inhabited Tau Volantis instead of Humans.

    This Hive Mind tries to crush Isaac and John using clawed tentacles, as well as eject pods which burst open to reveal Slashers and, oddly, Feeders, despite those being mutated Humans instead of true Necromorphs. Its most significant attack consists of swallowing Isaac or John whole and dropping them into its stomach, where three Nests attack the hapless victim as he struggles against digestive acids. When all five of the weak spots on the Hive Mind's chest cavity and the three Nests inside it are destroyed, it will spit out whichever unfortunate soul it swallowed, thrash about in pain, and then drop out of sight, dead.

    The Ubermorph

    The Ubermorph.
    The Ubermorph.

    This mysterious creature, referred to as the "Ubermorph" by developers, is drawn towards the Marker in the center of Government Sector of Titan Station. It exhibits many of the same traits as the Hunter from the Ishimura incident, such as being able to regenerate any dismembered body parts, including its head, rendering it essentially invincible. In point of fact, it uses the same skeleton as the Hunter (though the Ubermorph has a different model) and even shares all animations, sound effects, and its special death sequence.

    However, the creature is not entirely identical. While the Hunter was restricted to appearing during scripted events, the Ubermorph actively pursues Isaac Clarke through the halls of the Sprawl, leaving and entering rooms via wall vents to continue the chase. Nothing is known about the Ubermorph's origins; while the Hunter was created in an experiment by Challus Mercer, no mention is made of the Ubermorph in any log found on Titan Station. In addition, the Ubermorph, unlike every other Necromorph, does not outwardly appear to be a reshaped Human corpse; it has a very unique "alien" appearance. Also of note, the creature's five eyes are in exactly the same arrangement as the primary weak points on the outside of the Necromorph Hive Mind from the original Dead Space.

    Fodder

    An intact Fodder.
    An intact Fodder.

    First encountered in Dead Space 3, though a flashback sequence in that game indicates the strain has been in use for at least 200 years, Fodder (also inconsistently referred to by developers as "Wasters") are unique among Necromorphs in that apart from a glowing foam emitted from their mouths and eyes, they appear un-mutated. It is believed this is an attempt to trick Humans into letting the Necromorph get close, whereupon it attacks its prey using whatever tools are available, such as pickaxes, wrenches, or police batons. This makes them the first Necromorph encountered to use tools as weapons, and not just their own bodies.

    One potential Fodder mutation.
    One potential Fodder mutation.

    The real power of the Fodder is that they have the ability to mutate on the fly, reacting to their own dismemberment by abandoning damaged body parts and replacing them with deadly tentacles; if the legs are shot off, for example, the Fodder will detach the entire lower body and deploy tentacles not only for attack, but to drag itself around, able to move faster than just by crawling. It's also possible for it to abandon its entire upper body and rely on tentacles that are both faster and more damaging than its attacks using Human tools. Oddly, during this mutation, the Fodder's tentacles will face the wrong way, reduced to a slower pace as its legs are forced to walk backwards.

    Feeder

    A Feeder seeks its next meal.
    A Feeder seeks its next meal.

    First encountered in Dead Space 3, the Feeder is, technically, not a Necromorph strain at all; instead of being created by the Necromorph virus being injected into a dead body, Feeders are the end result of a process that begins when a living Human consumes the flesh of a Necromorph, as encountered on Tau Volantis due to starvation and a food shortage. The victim remains alive, and even conscious, for an unknown period of time, growing hungrier and more aggressive all the while, until they will willingly attack and feed on the bodies of their fellow Humans.

    At some point, the victim finally dies and is converted into a Necromorph, but the mutations exhibited by Feeders are minimal, mostly restricted to changing the hands into claws. Finally, unlike all other Necromorphs, Feeders are susceptible to headshots and driven primarily by hunger; a Feeder will ignore a living Human if it has already located a food source such as a dead body, and will not attack while eating unless provoked. It is also possible to sneak past Feeders, as their vision is atrociously poor, by distracting them with thrown objects. In terms of pure gameplay, aside from the ability to stealth around them, Feeders were created to replace the Pack, as there were no children on Tau Volantis.

    Shamblers

    A low-resolution image of a Creeper (left) and a Shambler.
    A low-resolution image of a Creeper (left) and a Shambler.

    In Dead Space 3, while the heads of Dividers (here given the specific name "Creepers" while in that form) make an appearance, the rest of their bodies do not. Instead, they have the new ability to locate a dead body, violently remove the head with their tentacles, and force themselves into its place, not so much turning the body into a Necromorph as using it as a weapon, called a Shambler; by 'puppeteering' the bodies of SCAF soldiers or fallen Unitologist terrorists, Shamblers can use the guns these men wielded in life against their prey, gunning them down so they can later be converted into Necromorphs. It should be noted that Shamblers, being undead, have exceptionally bad aim, but if a Shambler body is destroyed, the Creeper can simply re-animate a new one unless it is destroyed too. Alternately, when a Shambler is badly damaged, they're known to pull their own 'heads' off, throwing the Creeper at their enemy in an attempt to kill them directly. In gameplay terms, this means a life-or-death QTE struggle.

    The Swarm

    A single member of the Swarm.
    A single member of the Swarm.

    Not to be confused with the previously-mentioned Swarmers, which do not appear in Dead Space 3, the Swarm are a strange new strain of Necromorph that seem to be made entirely out of mutated severed heads. Unlike Creepers, which merely puppet a dead body and use them as weapons, the Swarm, which as their name suggest always appear in great numbers, burst upon an area without warning, each one burrowing into a dead body. At this point, the corpse convulses and rapidly mutates into either a Slasher or, more commonly, a Fodder, indicating that the Swarm are some kind of alternative method of army-building to the more commonly encountered Infectors, which also do not appear in Dead Space 3.

    Additionally, the Swarm can attack living victims, jumping them in groups without warning and attempting to force themselves inside the victim's mouth, whereupon they transform the unfortunate host into a Fodder in a matter of seconds (unless the player wins a QTE event). Where the Infectors generally cannot work with "broken" bodies, when one of the Swarm enters a dismembered corpse, it rapidly re-grows any severed limbs before transforming, perhaps indicating that the presence of the Swarm is due to the much later stage of planetary infestation on Tau Volantis than previously seen in the series, and that the infection methods become more sophisticated as the outbreak progresses.

    The Regenerators

    A Regenerator approaches.
    A Regenerator approaches.

    Dead Space 3 continues the tradition of having a Necromorph enemy that uses the same model skeleton as, but a different texture than, the Hunter boss from Dead Space 1. Just like the Hunter and the Ubermorph before it, the Regenerators are powerful, Slasher-like Necromorphs whose primary threat is their ability to endlessly regrow severed limbs. Upping the stakes considerably from the previous games, though, is the fact that there are multiple Regenerators, whereas their predecessors were unique entities.

    In-universe, there is no direct explanation for the Regenerators, but the symbols carved into their flesh and their proximity to a text log mentioning Humans doing the same to themselves suggests that the Regenerators were originally the members of a Deep Dig team on Tau Volantis who uncovered an unknown force that drove them insane; this is also the origin of the DLC-exclusive "Witness Suit", which is covered in similar symbols.

    "Alien Necromorphs"

    An unnamed alien Necromorph.
    An unnamed alien Necromorph.

    No proper name is given to these creatures, who are made from the bodies of the sapient alien race that inhabited the planet Tau Volantis before they deliberately destroyed themselves in an attempt to prevent the Necromorphs from spreading. Curiously, as seen when compared to the preserved skeletal remains seen in their "city", it appears that unlike all previously-seen strains of Necromorphs, these do not appear to have been mutated from the original at all; they are merely the re-animated bodies of dead aliens.

    In gameplay terms, the "alien Necromorphs" fill a role similar to that of the Brutes from previous games, although their behaviour is different, and they do not have a 'weak spot' that must be taken advantage of. However, they also have the ability to spawn alien equivalents of Crawlers from an open wound in their chests, and instantly drop three items upon dying, unlike most enemies which drop a single item, and must be further dismembered before dropping it.

    Brethren Moons

    Concept art of a Brethren Moon.
    Concept art of a Brethren Moon.

    Introduced in Dead Space 3, the Brethren Moons are the presumed final stage of the Necromorph infection. Once enough organic material has been assimilated, the Marker triggers a Convergence Event and all infected lifeforms are drawn toward it and then expelled into the atmosphere where they begin to coalesce into a large moon-sized super-organism.

    Isaac Clarke and the
    Isaac Clarke and the "face" of the Tau Volantis Necromorph Moon.

    In the final stages of the Brethren Moon's creation, it absorbs the original Marker along with its creator ("Make us whole"), and begins to telepathically broadcast to a vast network of Moons within the galaxy before being drawn to any other nearby Markers and continuing to feed. It is presumed that these Brethren Moons are responsible for the extinction of countless other species, explaining why humanity has yet to encounter an alien race during its expansion across the galaxy.

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