Leaper

Leapers are Necromorphs with the ability to leap long distances toward their prey. Sporting a long scythe-tipped tail made from the victim's intestines and legs, along with razor-sharp fangs, they are extremely deadly foes.

Overview

Leapers appear to be made from single human corpses, with the host body's modifications serving to give the Necromorph vastly increased mobility. The musculature of the upper arm becomes more developed, and the fingers grow bladed claws for climbing and slashing. There is a slight lengthening of the vertebral ridges, and the flexibility of the spinal column is increased to help in locomotion. The legs are completely re-shaped: the muscle and bone is flayed, fused together, and lengthened into a single limb tipped with a sharp blade of considerable weight and durability. This tail is highly flexible, able to contract and coil into about a third of its original length and launch the creature at victims. The cranial and sinus areas of the skull appear to have been disarticulated from the neck, and the jaws have become heavily mutated. The upper sets of teeth are completely gone, along with most of the palate reaching back into the throat. In their place is a pair of multi-jointed appendages that bear sharp, bony fangs. The lower jaw is split into two curved mandibles ending in knife-like fangs. In Dead Space 3, however, the fangs of the mummified Leapers appear to have once been fingers and several other arms and at least 2 rib cages can be seen in concept art, most likely meaning that the mummified Leapers were made with more than one corpse.

Leapers have frequently been encountered in both known major Necromorph outbreaks. They are able to handle Zero-G environments, using their leaping ability to great effect, and are often found in such environments. They are about as durable as a Slasher; however, they can at times require more ammo to take down due to their smaller size, "jinking" movements, and quick closing speed. If not quickly handled, they can rapidly become a serious threat due to their quick strikes and fast attacks.

In Zero-G areas, Leapers are typically found alone or are accompanied by Lurkers. On other very rare occasions, they will group together with Slashers.

Leapers also have an Enhanced form that is encountered later in the game. Enhanced Leapers are darker in color and possess glowing eyes. They are much tougher than normal Leapers, sometimes taking 2-3 shots from the Plasma Cutter (depending on which difficulty you chose) just to sever a limb. They are also capable of doing more damage than a normal Leaper.

Strategy

Cutting off just one arm will rob a Leaper of the ability to sprint, but it can still leap. If you cut off their tail they will slow down and will not be able to jump. Decapitation is ineffective, but getting both arms will kill the creature.
Stasis the Leaper, then move up to it and introduce it to the bottom of your boot. Depending on how close Isaac is to the creature, his attack may snap off an arm or even both if standing right on top of it. Rarely on difficulties lesser than Zealot/Impossible will a Leaper ever survive such a stomp.
- An alternative method is to simply stomp the Leaper into submission (Dead Space 2 and 3 only).
Another fast way to kill a leaper is to cut off one arm first and then shoot the head. Shooting of an arm and the tail also works.
In Zero-Gravity environments, the Leaper moves more slowly because it must use its arms to anchor itself firmly to the deck. However, it also has an extended jump attack and can engage you from any direction. Since Leapers often travel with Lurkers in Zero-G, keep moving to dodge the Lurker barbs while you defend yourself from Leapers.
Despite being sharp and lethal, a tail blade was useless as a Kinesis-propelled weapon in Dead Space. In Dead Space 2, it can be applied for TK impalement.
Enhanced Leapers are a particular threat in poorly lit areas due to their dark color, so never ignore shadowy regions.
If a Leaper is encountered in a Zero-G environment, and on the same surface that you are on, you can continuously run around it in circles, causing it to hold its position as it tries to face you. With the correct timing, it won't be able to move at all while you shoot it.
In Dead Space: Extraction, the Leaper dies upon the severing of its tail.
A direct hit from a Force Grenade to a leaping Leaper can kill the beast in one shot and divert its trajectory away from you.
A Leaper in Zero-G or attached to a wall that loses an arm tends to die outright.
Upon encountering a Leaper in Dead Space 2, one strategy is to use Stasis to slow it down, then to quickly dismember it. However, the Leaper can jump much further in Dead Space 2 than in Dead Space, often jumping right on Isaac from across a large distance. They also have combo attacks, as they will jump on Isaac, staggering him, then immediately swinging their tail.
A fully upgraded Force Gun can stop a Leaper in the middle of a pounce, knocking them to the ground and stunning them, however keep in mind that it takes several shots from primary fire to kill one.
Upon sighting a Leaper, you only have maybe a few seconds tops before it is assaulting you, even from a distance. Keep this in mind and make sure you are equipped with the proper weapon before engaging.

Trivia

A large amount of Leapers are killed in Dead Space: Extraction, but in Dead Space none of their corpses can be found. It is unknown if they got dragged by other Necromorphs to some other place or if they got reanimated again and then inserted in the body of a Brute or another multiple-corpse necromorph.
In Dead Space, there are rare instances where a Leaper may live if both its head and tail are dismembered, though it can still attack by clawing at Isaac.
The first observed creation of a Leaper is detailed in this log. The first ever Leaper was formed from a deceased researcher, Dr. Hogan, who promptly manages to smash a vent in the room and escape.
The Enhanced Leaper is the only Necromorph to retain its appearance throughout all 3 games, besides the Guardian.
Visceral Games held a "Get Dismembered in Dead Space 2" contest, in which users submitted ideas for ways Isaac could dispatch an enemy as it grappled him. The winning entry would have their kill used in the game for Isaac, and be featured as a NPC. The winning entry was a way to kill the Leaper, dubbed the "Meat Cello".
- The Meat Cello grapple break was intended to cause the Leaper's head to be crushed as Isaac rips it's tail off, resulting in its death, however in the game Isaac will simply boot its head to pieces then tosses the (otherwise unharmed) creature over his shoulder, dazing it. This was most likely for balancing issues, as a move capable of instantly killing an attacker would most likely be spammed on higher difficulties.
It should be noted, however, that the "Meat Cello" attack will not always kill the Leaper if it hasn't suffered any other damage; It will continue to fight if it has only lost its head.
There is a glitch at the end of Chapter 11 of Dead Space that causes one of the Enhanced Leapers' dismembered arms to become mysteriously elongated upon death. It usually happens when the player kills a Leaper right in front of the door that leads to the Hangar Bay, but it is unknown if there are any other factors that may cause it.
Leapers are one of the nine Necromorphs that have an enhanced form, the others being the Lurker, Brute, Puker, Slasher, Stalker, Feeder, Waster and the Infector .
Leapers in Dead Space 2 are stronger, faster, and more aggressive than they were in the original Dead Space. They also have a combo attack: the Leaper jumps towards Isaac, hitting him once, then backs up, then quickly attacks again. Rarely, it will attack a third time.
In Dead Space 3, Leapers get a major re-design, appearing as mummified reanimated corpses.
If you look carefully at the Leaper's face in Dead Space 3, it appears to have human fingers poking out of its face along with pointed digits, forming sharp teeth around the mouth.
On Impossible difficulty in Dead Space 3, both Leaper variants can sometime survive having both arms dismembered; they will drag their bodies towards their targets and slash with their tails.
In Dead Space 3, Leapers sometimes will glitch, causing them to run in place or in circles, making them easy to kill.
Leapers have some similarities to scorpions, specifically their similar tails.

Death Scenes

Dead_Space_-_Leaper_Death — Dead Space - Leaper Death

Isaac's death by the Leaper.

If Isaac fails to escape from the Leaper's mauling, it pins his arms to the floor, bites his head, and decapitates him. If Isaac succeeds, he will kick the leaper off of him.
If Isaac is in low health when it swings its tail, the tail will dismember whatever part of Isaac it hits killing him instantly.
In Dead Space 2, if Isaac is grabbed by a Leaper and succeeds in getting it off, he will throw the Leaper to the floor and pull on its tail while crushing it's head under his boot. This was intended to cause the Leapers head to be crushed and it's tail torn off, resulting in its death. This death was the winning entry of the "Get Dismembered in Dead Space 2" contest, however the Leaper's head just gets crushed, then Isaac throws the Leaper over his shoulder, where it will continue to attack without a head.
It is possible to get around this, however. If Isaac pulls off the move in a narrow area with unaccessable "Death pits" like on the catwalks in Chapter 9, he will often throw the Leaper right over the edge where it will plummet to its death.
If though Isaac is grabbed by an Enhanced Leaper and succeeds in getting it off, he will simply kick the Leaper off of him, similarly to Dead Space. This holds true for the Enhanced Leapers in Dead Space 3 as well

Leaper

Contents

Overview

Strategy

Trivia

Death Scenes

Gallery

Appearances

Sources

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