Swarm Infector

Swarm Infector
Description:	Small, spider-like creatures which attack in groups and create new Necromorphs.
Attack(s):	Enters dead bodies to reanimate them. Can jump from corpse to corpse if a newly reanimated one is dismembered, leaving the player to face a number of newly created Necromorphs if not dealt with promptly. Can latch onto the player and damage them much in a similar fashion to Swarmers, making aiming difficult or impossible if there are no bodies to reanimate while also draining the player's health.

Swarm Infectors, as their name suggests, are a swarm of small Necromorphs that replace the Infector and Swarmer in terms of role in Dead Space 3.

Overview

"The Swarm Infectors are small, highly mobile, spider-like creatures that seek out corpses to transform into Necromorphs. They typically enter the corpse through the mouth, burrow their plump bodies down the esophagus and self-detonate, releasing viscous, yellow goo. The fluid quickly enters the body's natural conduits and soon the corpse spasms uncontrollably as the Necromorph infection takes over. What once was a lifeless corpse rises as a deadly Necromorph now intent on creating more corpses to join its ranks. When Swarm Infectors cannot find a corpse, they make a beeline for the nearest living target and swarm them. Helmets can only deter these clever creatures for so long and if even a single one reaches your mouth, it will be too late to stop it."

—Official description

Concept art of the Swarm Infector.

This particular form of Necromorph strongly resembles a scuttling crustacean or arachnid. The main attack method of a Swarm Infector is to rush in droves to the nearest corpse and burrow into it, reanimating it and converting the corpse into either a Fodder or a Slasher. The Swarm Infectors allow for multiple bodies to be infected simultaneously to cause a quick wave of Necromorphs that can overpower the player quickly if not dealt with fast enough. If the reanimated body is destroyed, the Swarm Infectors will rush over to the next available corpse and re-animate a new body until killed. Quickly dismember the body before the Swarm Infectors get to it, or destroy them before they can reanimate a body for better breathing room.

Tactics

• As with the Infector, dismembering any corpses in the room will prevent the Swarm Infectors from reanimating them (resulting in them targeting the player), or will result in the production of weaker Necromorphs.
• Be careful about dismembering every corpse in a seemingly Swarm-free room, as when deprived of viable corpses, Swarm Infectors will target Isaac and Carver instead. On Impossible difficulty, being attacked by a large group of these enemies can quickly prove to be fatal.
  • The best course of action is to wait for Swarm Infectors to latch on to a nearby corpse, then obliterate it with heavy firepower, destroying the corpse as well as any Swarm members infesting it.
• The process of infecting a corpse can be carried out by a single Swarm Infector if given the time. This makes the use of weaponry that can make short work of a large area at once an advisable option.
• The player can predict Swarm Infectors' attacks as they may encounter a group of corpses on the ground that cannot be moved by Kinesis, similar to when other Necromorphs play dead.
• Similar to Creeper heads, if the Swarm Infectors infest a corpse that is under Stasis, they will repeat the burrowing animation endlessly until the Stasis effect wears off. Use this chance to pick off individual members or the whole group if possible.

Death Scene

Swarm Death Animation - Dead Space 3 (HD, 60 FPS)

• The Swarm Infectors can, much like the Swarmer, attach themselves to Isaac and eat away at his health. If Isaac's health runs out while they are attached to him, they will crawl all over him, one eventually finding its way underneath his helmet. Isaac tears his helmet off to fight off the creatures, until one enters his mouth and goes inside his body. Isaac coughs a bit, confused, before falling to his knees and vomiting a massive amount of blood. Then, with a sort of growl, Isaac stands up again, his eyes and mouth foaming, now having become a Necromorph similar to a Fodder, and lumbers off.

Trivia

• The death scene for this type of Necromorph is the second one in which Isaac turns into a Necromorph, the first being the Divider head component.
• If a Swarm Infector kills Isaac or Carver in an area with no air, they will pull their helmet off first before the death scene plays out as normal.
• The Swarm Infectors seem to have traits like those of octopi, being able to squeeze their bodies and make themselves smaller, slipping into cracks and holes.
• The only Necromorphs produced by the Swarm Infectors in-game are Fodders and Slashers, but the creation of Fodders is more common.
• Sometimes, even after completely dismembering a body, it will not stop the Swarm Infectors from reanimating it; it will simply cause the corpse to generate new limbs.

Gallery

Concept art of the Swarm Infectors from The Art of Dead Space.

Concept art of the Swarm Infector entering a corpse.

Render of the Swarm Infector.

Isaac being attacked by Swarm Infectors on the CMS Terra Nova.

Isaac turning into a Necromorph Fodder.

The transformation of corpses into Fodders and Slashers.

Appearances

• Dead Space 3