Necromorph

Overview
The Necromorphs are the reanimated bodies of the dead, revived and reshaped into horrific new forms by recombinant extraterrestrial genes. These creatures are extremely aggressive, and will attack any non-necromorph on sight. The sole purpose of almost all Necromorphs is to create more bodies to spread the infection, while the role of one particular creature, the infector, is to specifically infect non-necromorphs to make more of themselves.

Injuries that would kill an ordinary being, particularly the attack on necromorphs of where the vital organs of the host organism would be, have little effect on them, and conventional methods of attack require tremendous skill to kill or even damage them.

Countless people have died due to not knowing the Necromorphs' only vulnerability: cutting their limbs off. The only effective way to "kill" a Necromorph is to shoot or cut enough of its limbs off to disable it (arms and legs). Because of the fact that the vital organs that were once in the torso and chest area of most Necromorphs made from human corpses have been mostly replaced by muscle by the Necromorph contagion, attacking the chest and torso areas do very little to stop them. It is only wasting your ammo, time, and energy. For most Necromorph forms, decapitation (cutting off the head) also does little to stop them.

As discovered after a series of Necromorph outbreaks, the Necromorphs themselves are simply tools and components of gargantuan space-faring lifeforms known as Brethren Moons. These creatures produce large obelisks known as Markers and seed them where they would be discovered by sapient life. Through these Markers, the Brethren Moons telepathically influence the species who found them, compelling them to worship it or attempt to harness it as a source of infinite power. Over time, this influence would incite insanity within the infected, driving them to kill each other or themselves. With enough dead cells to work with, the telepathic signal from the Markers would reanimate the tissue and reconstitute it into a Necromorph, a monstrous puppet of the Brethren Moons. Necromorphs are made in a variety of forms, including the simple bacteria that would spread the infection, severed limbs capable of independent movement and attack, mutilated corpses twisted in Zombie-like creatures and even hulking beasts formed from multiple corpses. Once all, or at least the vast majority, of a population has been converted into Necromorphs, they will return to the Marker and trigger a convergence event. The Marker will propel every Necromorph into orbit and fly into space with them. It will then fuse the Necromorphs into a single mass around it, forming a new Brethren Moon from the assimilated species.

Adaptation
Once infected, the transformation into a Necromorph is extremely quick, typically happening in a matter of seconds. This transformation is extremely gruesome and disturbing for observers. The body of the Necromorph host is forced into new twisted shapes to fit the function of the newly spawned creature.

The actual type of Necromorph created depends on the location and circumstances, as well as the host body's current form (for example, Lurkers are created from any infant human, or dogs). It is worth noting that some Necromorphs are clearly comprised of more than one human (see Brute), which is an indication that some bodies may be allocated for more efficient use. This is a sign of greater intelligence in the form of planning and effectively utilizing resources. The bacterium responsible for the infection is also referred to as "The Corruption".

All Necromorphs are extremely hardy and capable of surviving in lethal environments due to the fact that they do not need to rely on organs for respiration. As experience shows, shooting them in the torso, or even the head is ineffective. While it does inflict damage on and will kill them eventually, it is extremely wasteful and potentially lethal; a person may waste a large amount of ammunition, or may be attacked by other Necromorphs while they are concentrated on one.

The Necromorph infection seems to be not only limited to humans, but to all other creatures except the creators of the Marker. This fact is not confirmed completely, but the novel Dead Space: Martyr describes a Necromorph fish which behaves like all other Necromorphs, as it attacks another fish in order to kill and infect it. This also proves that Necromorphs can survive under water. Although no direct evidence of other species being transformed by the infection, the capabilities it possesses for altering the bodies of the dead for any purpose means there is potential for them to use any species available.

Behavior/Ecology
Necromorphs are highly aggressive; they attack any non-Necromorph being on sight, regardless of species or age. The sole purpose of this behavior is to spread the infection quickly. Despite being viewed as mindless killing machines, the creatures sometimes display tactical planning and cooperative behavior. They commonly hunt in small packs (see Pack) of mixed individuals with semi-specific roles, and use stealth, ambush, or group tactics to outsmart their victims. This requires a degree of strategic thinking, and points to a certain amount of individual intelligence and communication. Examples of this include using ventilation shafts to sneak up on prey, playing dead, not attacking until the victim is well within striking range or their back is turned, or using a lure to draw known threats into an ambush.

It is strongly implied that the Necromorphs share some form of collective intelligence; on Aegis VII, a Necromorph known as the Hive Mind was encountered, and it was believed to be the central "brain" of the Necromorphs' group consciousness.

Creatures not currently engaging a non-Necromorph target have been observed as performing several different behaviors. Many will wander aimlessly, almost passively, with no real destination, until they are aware of a new victim to kill that they will immediately engage. Some will drag bodies to a different location, possibly to make it easier for an Infector to find. Some will hide themselves inside ventilation shafts, setting up new or resetting previous ambush sites. Some will simply stand in place, waiting for a new victim to come to them. When a target is present but out of range, they will often watch the victim and attempt to intimidate them with loud growls and threatening poses.

Beyond pack tactics the creatures have never really been observed to directly interact with one another (other than the Stalkers, and The Pack see below). They do not audibly talk to one another, they do not touch each other in a social sense (though one might get in the way of another during an attack), and they have not been recorded exchanging more subtle chemical signals between each other, i.e. pheromones are never mentioned.

The scope of their behaviors is expanded upon in Dead Space 2 with the introduction of Stalkers. Outside of the Hive Mind, Stalkers seem to have the strongest sense of pack cohesion and individual intelligence shown from Necromorphs, as they will often peek around corners to lure Isaac while another will charge from a different direction. They are also the only known Necromorphs to directly communicate with one another. The noises they make seem to hold some significance, e.g. the Stalkers will make a noise while or just after Isaac has moved his location, alerting the other Stalkers. It is also possible that they communicate with each other, such as the Pack.

In Dead Space 3, it can be seen that when Necromorphs are left idle for years at a time, they curl up in a hanging patch of the Corruption to conserve their energy and wait for unsuspecting prey. This results in the Necromorphs becoming mummified in the process if left in this state. An example of this is seen when Isaac enters the dilapidated CMS Roanoke, a 200-year old ship in orbit over Tau Volantis. A form of Necromorphs called Wasters are seen carrying melee weapons, something that is odd for Necromorph behavior as they never wielded man-made tools before.

History
Over two million years ago, the native species of the ocean planet Tau Volantis discovered a Marker on their planet, utilising it as a power source for their civilisation. In time, they even developed a religion centred around the Marker. However, the true nature of the Marker became apparent soon after, as it triggered the earliest known Necromorph outbreak. Once enough of Tau Volantis' population were killed and reanimated, a convergence event began and the Necromorphs began to combine into a Brethren Moon. However the survivors were able to create a machine which flash-froze the planet, interrupting the convergence and sacrificing the remainder of their species to halt the Necromorphs.

in the year 2311, Tau Volantis was discovered by Humans of the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces in search of other Markers similar to the Black Marker discovered on Earth. A scientist among them, Dr. Earl Serrano, discovered what happened to the natives and sought to destroy the incomplete Brethren Moon. However, the S.C.A.F. garrison became besieged by a Necromorph outbreak, this time made up of assimilated Humans. Realising the truth about the Markers, S.C.A.F. ordered the scuttling of the fleet and mass-purgation of all troops and personnel on Tau Volantis to avoid an extinction-level event.

Following the collapse of the Sovereign Colonies, the new Earth government continued research on the Markers, enlisting Michael Altman as their head of research in this area. Their experiments with the Black Marker resulted in the creation of a bacteria researchers dubbed the Corruption, made in accordance with the code written on the Marker, which was a DNA sequence to create the pathogenic bacteria.

The first cultures synthesized by said code did not grow, despite placement in ideal bacterial conditions. The scientists deemed it a failure, but when they opened an opportunity for the bacteria to react to dead skin and hair cells when one of the cultures was incompletely decontaminated, what resulted was fascinating: the culture grew after regenerating the dead cells and other material with which it had come into contact.

From then on the scientists discovered the potential of the corruption as it could reanimate any type of dead cell (hair, waste, nails,). As the corruption grew, many scientists started to experience violent hallucinations, and several scientists were killed as a result.

One scientist who placed a body in quarantine, found that the corruption had morphed the body into a 'Leaper' necromorph. During this time, hallucinations experienced by the scientists significantly increased.

Unknown organic growths were discovered around the lab indicating the bacteria had escaped its quarantine. Those killed by the bacteria changed into Necromorphs. The behaviour of the bacteria explains why Necromorphs kill: they are determined to procreate.

Scientists then discovered that the Marker was creating some sort of "dead space" which makes the Necromorphs and the Corruption lay dormant. They then created an artificial Red Marker to create this 'dead space' aura. This new Marker, and the Necromorphs born of the dead scientists, were then left to rot on Aegis VII.



In the 26th century, mankind had found a new way to survive Earth's collapsing environment: planetcracking. Through planetcracking, planets are literally dismantled to reveal their precious ore and metals beneath the crust. The planets are then mined into nothing but asteroids.

The Ishimura, the largest colonial mining ship, was prepared for a planetcrack on Aegis VII. Five years before, a colony was established to research its geological features in response to Ishimura's planetcrack.

As research continued, researchers found positive results and had also found an alien artifact. Strangely enough, 200 years before it was discovered, an alien artifact was found on Earth which, apart from its reddish color, looked exactly the same.

The second marker was quickly embraced by Unitologists: a religious cult which had now grown large after the discovery of the first marker, their purpose being to study the existence of life. A large portion of the Ishimura's crew were members of this cult, as were many of the colonists and even the ship's captain. The Unitologists claimed the marker was a sign from a higher power, and therefore it was divine.

Shortly after the discovery of the second marker, various Aegis VII colonists started experiencing massive hallucinations followed by assaults, exhibitions of schizophrenia and strange behaviors, but not all were affected. Non-unitologists started to blame the marker, but they were ignored.

Believing that the marker would lead them to a new life in a new form, the Unitologists saw it as their right to study the markers exclusively. A mass suicide then took place involving more than 40 members of the religion, under the assumption that they would rise to a new state of being. Shortly afterwards, the colony began to suffer a wave of mass psychosis, the colonists going insane and brutally murdering each other or committing suicide at the first opportunity.

With a sufficient mass of dead bodies to work with, the Necromorph outbreak properly began. The remains of the dead colonists were twisted, mutilated and reanimated by the infection and relentlessly hunted survivors throughout the colony, butchering them and converting them into more Necromorphs. The Ishimura attempted to shoot down shuttles fleeing the colony in an attempt to contain the outbreak. (Although, given the increasing fanaticism of the Unitologists over the course of the outbreak, the no-fly order from the captain may have been intended to protect the Marker rather than the ship and crew) However, at least two shuttles reached the Ishimura, one of which had a single Necromorph stowaway which proceeded to spread the outbreak to the ship. Within hours, the Ishimura fell to the Necromorphs. Terrence Kyne, chief scientist aboard the Ishimura and former Unitologist, proceeded to sabotage the ship in the hope of scuttling it and containing the Necromorphs.

Having lost contact with the ship, the CEC dispatches a small survey team to investigate the Ishimura's silence. Shortly after arrival, the team are ambushed by the Necromorphs and become stranded after their shuttle is destroyed. Isaac Clarke, the engineer attached to the team, proceeds to reverse Kyne's sabotages and kills numerous Necromorphs, having discovered their weakness of dismemberment. Over time, Isaac is hindered by hallucinations, particularly of his partner Nicole Brennan, who served as senior medical officer aboard the Ishimura, and a Unitologist survivor known as Dr. Challus Mercer, who had gone completely mad from the Marker's influence and was determined to spread the infection to Earth, even creating a Necromorph capable of rapid regeneration known as the Hunter. Over the course of his journey through the Ishimura, Isaac finds numerous pieces of evidence left by the crew and gradually pieces together what happened. Eventually, a military ship, the USM Valour, finds the Ishimura after receiving a distress call from the CEC team, but is rapidly overtaken by the Necromorphs and crashes into the larger ship. On board the Valour, Isaac salvages a shockpoint drive to restore a shuttle still onboard the Ishimura, but also discovers that the Valour was sent to destroy the Ishimura rather than rescue them, heavily implying the government's awareness of the Necromorphs. Shortly afterwards, Isaac meets Dr. Kyne, who reveals the source of the outbreak. A massive Necromorph known as the Hive Mind had been imprisoned within Aegis VII for at least 200 years, but was released when the Marker was removed from the planet. Kyne convinces Isaac to return the Marker planetside and recontain the Hive Mind, halting the infection. However, Isaac is betrayed by Kendra Daniels, the only other member of the CEC team who survived with him. Kendra kills Kyne and steals the shuttle and Marker, leaving Isaac to die on the Ishimura, all the while she reveals herself to have been a government agent sent to recover the Marker in order to continue the original experiments on harnessing its power. Isaac is successful in recalling the shuttle with the aid of Nicole, who had somehow survived the outbreak thus far. With the shuttle reclaimed and Kendra stranded on Aegis VII, Isaac and Nicole proceeded to return to the planet. Isaac returned the Marker to its original resting place, neutralising the Necromorphs and the Hive Mind. However, the energy pulse emitted by the Marker disabled the Ishimura's gravity tethers, dropping the tectonic load it had removed from the planet. Before Isaac could return to the shuttle and escape, Kendra removed the Marker again and revealed that Nicole was dead, having committed suicide before the CEC team even arrived at the Ishimura. What Isaac believed to have been Nicole guiding him was in fact a hallucination produced by the Marker's influence. Shortly afterwards, the Hive Mind brutally kills Kendra and traps Isaac, forcing him to fight it before he could escape. After incapacitating it, Isaac took the shuttle and escaped Aegis VII just before the tectonic load impacts the surface, destroying the colony and the Marker. Some time later, Isaac was recovered by Earthgov and bought to the Sprawl, a city built into Saturn's moon, Titan. The Ishimura was also recovered, but all the Necromorphs onboard had dissolved into biomass in the absence of the Marker. The incident was publicly declared a terrorist attack in order to hide the existence of the Marker and Necromorphs from Earthgov's citizens.

For the next three years, Isaac was subjected to Earthgov experimentation in their efforts to recover the mental imprints left on his mind by the Marker in order to recreate it. Necromorphs emerged from these experiments, but were contained to the mines within Titan. However, sabotage from Unitologist agents released these Necromorphs into the Sprawl, beginning another outbreak as they proceed to slaughter and infect countless citizens. Isaac was rescued by Unitologists, who offered to cure him of his dementia if he reached them. Fighting through hordes of Necromorphs, Isaac is further hindered by Earthgov soldiers intent on eliminating him, as well as disturbing hallucinations of Nicole haunting him. Isaac eventually reached the Unitologist church, only to discover they had lied about curing him and intended to use him to make more Markers and spread 'glorious convergence' to the entire galaxy. However, an Earthgov gunship wipes out the cultists and Isaac escapes after being chased by a massive Necromorph known as the Tormentor. After a momentary respite, Isaac was contacted by Nolan Stross, another subject from Earthgov's Marker experiments, who convinced him they could destroy the new Marker and stop the outbreak, although his deranged ramblings confused Isaac as to how. Shortly afterwards, Isaac met another survivor, a CEC cargo pilot called Ellie Langford. Despite her initial distrust, Isaac convinces Ellie to help him and Stross find the Marker in the Sprawl's government sector. Through a series of Necromorph-infested obstacles, including a brief return to the decommissioned Ishimura, the three reach the Titan mines beneath the government sector. However, Stross finally succumbed to the Marker's influence and went mad, removing one of Ellie's eyes and forcing Isaac to kill him. Later, Isaac and Ellie force their way into the government sector with a giant drilling vehicle, but Isaac sends Ellie away on an automated gunship, determined to save at least one person before his probable demise. In order to get past Earthgov's defences, Isaac powered down the lockdown mechanisms, enabling the Necromorphs to storm the government sector and massacre all personnel inside. Shortly afterwards, the Necromorphs reached the new Marker and triggered a 'convergence event.' The Necromorphs of the Sprawl began convergence into a new Brethren Moon, but the process was halted when Isaac destroyed the new Marker, destroying the Sprawl in the process but escaping when Ellie came back for him.

After the destruction of the Sprawl, Earthgov began to fall apart. The Unitologists had assembled into an armed militia determined to bring down Earth's government and force convergence on Humankind. To that end, they tracked down the other artificial Markers Earthgov created and used them to unleash more Necromorph outbreaks across the colonies. Recognising the threat, Ellie Langford agreed to aid the remnants of Earthgov in finding the source of the Marker signals and eliminate it. Isaac Clarke, on the other hand, declined, refusing to endure the Necromorphs again. Nevertheless, he finally when pressured at gunpoint by two Earthgov marines. Narrowly escaping the colony of Earth's moon after the Unitologists unleashed the Necromorphs there, Isaac and company arrived at Tau Volantis. Within the derelict remains of the S.C.A.F. fleet, the team discovered evidence that the machine which froze the planet was the source of the Necromorphs, and so descended to its icy surface. Fighting through more Necromorphs across the S.C.A.F. ruins, as well as Unitologist militants who followed them, Isaac discovered the truth about the Brethren Moons and the Markers. However, the Unitologists learned of this as well and came to the conclusion that the Brethren Moons represented the divine ascension the Markers 'promised.' Racing the Unitologists to the buried city containing the machine, Isaac failed to stop them from deactivating it, awakening the incomplete Brethren Moon and resuming the halted convergence. Isaac, alongside John Carver of the Earthgov military, fought the Moon as it began tearing at the planet, and reactivated the machine. The Brethren Moon was killed and the Marker signal it produced was halted, resulting in the presumed extinction of the Necromorphs.

Having somehow survived their confrontation with the Brethren Moon, Isaac and Carver discover that the Necromorphs remained active, and that the remaining Unitologists had gone catatonic, repeatedly stating "They are Coming. They are Hungry." Comandeering a Unitologist shuttle to escape the planet, Isaac and Carver discover that the Brethren Moons detected the death of the Tau Volantis Moon and had assumed control of the remaining Necromorphs, as well as turned the Unitologists into deranged cultists loyal to them. Isaac and Carver eventually returned to Earth at last, only to discover the Brethren Moons had already gotten there first. Their ultimate fate is unknown, but Humankind is assumed to have been utterly consumed after this point.

Behind the Scenes
The name 'Necromorph' comes from the Greek words Necros (corpse, in the sense of dead) and morph (form), literally "dead form".

Variations
The Necromorphs come in a variety of different types, including:

On the spot mutations can result in an enhanced version of regular necromorphs, their bodies are more durable to perforation (For example, enhanced slashers).
 * INFECTOR: A bat-like, eyeless Necromorph with a massive proboscis, which is driven through the forehead of a corpse, (or a mass of tentacles that seem to have previously been innards is slid down the victim's throat), causing it to mutate into a necromorph based on hormonal state, age, and even body weight. They will avoid living organisms unless they feel threatened by them, mostly just infecting dead bodies.


 * SLASHER: These are the most common form of necromorph, only because there are plenty of dead humans around to infect and to be infected. Their arms have been shifted to their shoulder blades and their hands grow sharp blade like spikes from their palms; an additional set of arms grow out of their abdomen. They can run at high speeds and will try to get new hosts for the alien scourge known as the INFECTOR. Their look may differ depending on their gender, class of officer and the length of time they have been mutated (some wear trousers, have breasts, have darker skin and scream in a different pitch of voice). Female slashers are not as aggressive as males but they are able to spit acidic projectiles. In Dead Space 2, a new form of female slashers called Spitters are the ones who spit acid instead of normal female slashers. Under certain circumstances, for example, an abscence of female corpses, male slashers develop a large, cannon-like structure growing out of their necks and forcing their heads out of the way. Enhanced slashers are much more resilient, can't spit acid like the female variant but strike harder and move faster.


 * LURKER: These necromorphs are dead babies and still retain their infant bodies. They have 3 large tentacles that emerge from beneath their back plates. These can be used to grapple on (and possibly decapitate Isaac if his health is critically low) or they can use the barbs on the end of them as a ranged weapon. They crawl on all fours and use suction cups to crawl on walls and ceilings both in normal and zero-G environments, meaning that they may attack from any direction. It has an enhanced variant. Killing them requires dismembering their tentacles, advanced ones require all tentacles. In Dead Space 1 and 2, they are formed from babies; in Dead Space 3, from dogs.


 * CRAWLER: Like the lurker, they are created from dead infants and can crawl on all surfaces, but rather than tentacles, their stomachs have been filled with chemicals similar to that of an Exploder, and like an exploder, are quite slow. However it is much less dangerous if you keep your distance and keep good aim. They often attack in groups, which you can use to your advantage, but can be troublesome if you get knocked over.


 * PREGNANT: These are female and male necromorphs, since these critters are big in size their speed is hindered but they are still quite fast and use blades (much like the slashers) to strike at Isaac. Their stomach is their deadliest weapon. When shot in the stomach to a certain degree, they release a swarm of tiny necromorphs (made out of dead skin cells). These will latch on to Isaac and slow him down while his health rapidly decreases. Isaac will have to come to a complete stop to shake them off. (Later on, Lurkers and un-living limbs called COMPONENTS will come out instead of a swarm.) If Pregnants are killed without releasing their spawn, their contents die as well.


 * TWITCHER: Military personnel (or anyone who has a built-in stasis module in their armor) who had the unfortunate luck to be turned into a necromorph have the joy of being a Twitcher. They have a body that is very hard to take down because of their twitches and are thus harder to dismember. The one thing that sets these apart from normal slashers are their stasis modules, which fused with their flesh during mutation and instead of slowing them down had a reverse affect, accelerating their movements to almost unbelievable speeds. These movements are often blurry and they can cross a large room or distance in seconds. Once they have spotted Isaac they instantly spring into eliminate mode. Don't let them corner you!


 * LEAPER: A necromorph which has mutated its lower half. Its legs are fused into a single, muscular tail armed with a large spear-like tip and, as its name suggests, allows it to make leaps across great distances. It can also crawl on walls and ceilings. It is not as resilient as other necromorphs and instead prefers to ambush its prey. It is particularly dangerous in zero-g due to its crawling abilities as it may attack from any direction, and in a vacuum there is no sound which makes it harder to detect. It has an enhanced variant.


 * BRUTE: A truly monstrous creature, the Brute is formed from multiple bodies fused together. It has heavy layers of flesh converted to chitin that serve as armor on its massive arms and head which it uses to protect itself and to ram opponents. It will stop at nothing to kill its prey and will rip and tear without a second thought. Fortunately it is rare and it lacks armor on its legs so attacking its back and legs gives the best chance of victory. If you have precise aim there is weak points in their shoulders. Shoot these points and you can take it down much easier than a head-on attack. If one arm is shot off, it will spit explosive globules.


 * WHEEZER: This species stays anchored to one spot in a crouched position. Its purpose is to transform the breathable air aboard the Ishimura, exhaling a deadly noxious substitute using a large, mutated lungs on its back. Isaac must kill all of these in the Hydrophonics sector to before the life-support systems can go back on-line.


 * DIVIDER: The divider is a tall-bodied necromorph. When killed it will fall to the ground and separate into 5 parts: the 2 arms, a head, and 2 legs. The body parts will grow tentacles and crawl after you. The head has a special grapple attack, attempting to decapitate you and then take over your body. This enemy type can be heard coming before its appearance, due to the eerie groans it emits.


 * COMPONENTS-Mutated limbs and heads from a divider.


 * SWARMER: These are somehow formed inside of the pregnant necromorphs. They are small and if you do not kill the pregnant necromorph the right way at least 10 of these will burst out of it. They are basically nothing but boneless bits of flesh with teeth. If they get close enough to you they will leap on to you and start to chew on you. Bad news all around.


 * EXPLODER: These necromorphs have their legs fused into one spindly limb. Their dominant arm is mutated into a huge sack of chemicals, which explode if struck hard enough. If the sack is dismembered it can still attack Isaac but it is very weak. Its head is split in two to create a mouth and can bite Isaac in half. Yes, in half! Before it can do so use your kinesis to grab its exploding sack and launch it right back at him.


 * HUNTER: Created by Dr. Challus Mercer on the USG Ishimura, the Hunter is a unique necromorph. Towering over Isaac, if its limbs are lost or it takes damage it can regrow its limbs and head as well. It can only be incapacitated with severe burning or by freezing it. If caught by this creature it will immediately stab you and slice off your limbs one by one with its massive bladed arms. He'll stare into your eyes as he does it, watching you slowly lifting your hand for mercy. The Hunter or regenerator can only be killed through the accessibility of the environment. Such as freezing it, or burning.


 * GUARDIAN: Guardians are human torsos that have been fused to doorposts and reanimated by a large section of Corruption that is present on a vertical surface. Their intestines have been mutated into tentacles; should Isaac come into close vicinity of a Mature Guardian a defensive spear tentacle will launch from the central puncture and is a guaranteed decapitation one-hit kill. They can also eject pods from their stomachs and these pods can launch quills from their single, Lurker-like tentacles. Beware, once you sever the pod tentacle the pod explodes in a final attempt to damage you. The distinctive, wailing cries of a mature guardian indicates abject torment.


 * NEST: A female form of the Guardian, consisting of two torsos fused together. It flings biological homing missiles at Issac. They can only remain erect in zero gravity, and retreat into an impenetrable shell otherwise.


 * STALKER: The stalkers are rather crafty, one comes out in front of Isaac and dodges the shots that isaac fires. After a while they will try to lure Isaac into a pack of their own. These creatures are very fast and attack where Isaac can't reach, like his back. because of their speed they are hard to attack, but one option that Isaac has is firing a mine in front of it and then try to trick it into stepping onto the mine. They are also killed instantly by being impaled with a javelin gun spear; the alternate fire (electrical arc and possibly explosion) create a handy landmine to eliminate it's partner with-stalkers are seldom encountered alone, they are encountered in groups of about 2-10. They also appear to have dog skulls for heads.


 * PUKER: This necromorph, as the name suggests, vomits strong acid at enemies. It's legs are twisted to one side, with a third leg made of necrotic tissue provides support, and most of its face has been dissolved by the acid. At a distance, it will launch a ball of acid at Isaac and while it doesn't actually do damage, it slows your movement dramatically, keep an eye out for them during timed events. At close range, it will attempt to rip Issac's helmet off and vomit down his throat. Shooting it's head off will stop this but it will continue to spurt acid from the base of its neck and swipe with its arms.


 * PACK: These necromorphs are a group of preschool-aged children infected by the necromorph virus. They attack in groups of approximately ten or so. Being small and agile, they will most likely swarm Issac before he's killed more than one or two. Waiting until they surround you, and spamming melee attacks is a good way to save on ammo-and survive since they are very weak. Alternatively, the Force Gun (once obtained) is extremely effective against them.


 * TRIPOD:A necromorph balanced on three spindly limbs. It has two weak points, one on each arm. Once these have been destroyed, it will extend it's long, sickle-tipped tongue. Shoot that weak point to kill it.


 * TORMENTOR: A giant form of the Tripod.


 * THE SWARM: An evolved form of Component that burrows it's tentacles into fresh corpses, turning them into zombies. Not to be confused with Swarmers.


 * WASTER: A necromorph resembling a human in a parka, who has an ice axe in each hand. Shooting his torso off reveals three melee tentacles, while clipping his legs off reveals a pair of projectile-shooting tentacles.


 * FEEDER: Skeletal necromorphs developed from people who ate necromorph tissue. Eventually succumbing to food poisoning, the necromorph virus reanimates them into brutally emaciated monsters constantly driven to eat. Constantly making clacking sounds with their jaws they represent malnutritioned and ape like, moving on all fours. They are sensitive to light and sound and will react aggressively if met with physical contact or shining your flashlight in their direction. Upon conflict with a seemingly small group of these Feeders, reinforcements will appear and will provide more harassment like the Pack.


 * GRABBER: Long-necked necromorphs residing in the Ishimura's sewage treatment plant. Their heads are split down the middle, and formed into a set of powerful jaws. In the second anime (Aftermath), they can spit acidic slime.


 * SLUG: A Giant, amorphous necromorph that has taken up residence on the Ishimura's communications array. Issac fights it using an anti-asteroid autocannon. It attacks by tearing up hull plating and hydrazine canisters and heaving them at Issac's turret.


 * LEVIATHAN: An immense, cylindrical necromorph that has taken over the Ishimura's food storage bay. it attacks by flailing at Issac with its tentacles and spitting explosive globules.


 * NEXUS: A 30-story tall necromorph Hive Mind that resembles a Praying Mantis. it can swallow a human whole. Issac and John fight it's internal organs to kill it.
 * SNOW BEAST: A huge, quadripedal necromorph with a pair of pods on its hind legs, and a centrally located maw. It can lasso Issac with its prehensile mouthparts and devour him. Dismembering the pods and maw is its only weakpoints.


 * URCHIN: A giant, immobile, betentacled necromorph living in the Ishimura's sewage treatment plant. It's core body is hidden below the waterline. It attacks by throwing odds and ends at Gabe.


 * SPIDER: A large, arachnoid necromorph made up of fused corpses, residing on the Ishimura's hull. It hs a pair of projectile launching tentacles on either side of its back, and it injects tiny organic bombs through its prehensile tongue. It can also birth Leapers to aid it in battle. In the novel Martyr, it has a bomb growing out of its stomach for a Kamikaze attack, and spits skulls. Theories abound that it was the larval form of the Slug.


 * CREEPER AND SHAMBLER: Creepers are made from the hosts.


 * HIVE MIND: An extremly large necromoph which is apparently the cause of the necromoph outbreak, The Hive Mind acts as a sort of leader, being able to control all other necromophs telepathically. The Hive Mind's main weapon is its enormous tendrils which it will slam to the ground trying to crush Isaac, It can also rip Isaac off his feet and pull him apart with its teeth resulting in an instant death and a game-over screen. The Hive Mind is the final boss of the game and once defeated Isaac will escape from the planet leaving the Hive Mind to be destroyed.


 * ALIEN NECROMORPH: A large, durable, quadrupedal necromorph, made from a Tau Volantis Aliens in the first outbreak maybe thousands or millions of years ago. It is susceptible to body-shots, unlike other necromorphs, and spawns Alien-based Crawlers that move faster than Crawlers seen in Dead Space 2. Unlike other necromorphs, it is relatively unmutated, save for it's size and spawning ability. With an active instant to charge its prey, the head is resistant to most gunfire but dismemberment of arms/legs will prevent or cripple this attack.


 * THE MEDUSA: A floating necromorph held aloft by vulnerable balloon sacs. When a sac is destroyed, it fires projectiles. If to close to the top the Floater will attempt to devour Isaac or grab at him with its 4 appendages on the lower end of the balloon sac.


 * THE BRETHREN MOONS: An astronomically huge necromorph the size of a small planet. Ultimately responsible for controlling the necromorphs, and the ultimate goal of Convergence. Issac must use TK Amplifier platforms to shoot Markers into the creature's eyes; whereupon it retaliates by firing pods containing Slashers and Twitchers. It will also attempt to eat Issac; shoot its tentacles to make it stop. The pods also resemble half destroyed markers.

Vulnerabilities
Necromorphs have very few weaknesses: they can easily withstand a barrage of bullets and Necromorphs can be killed only by dismembering their limbs until they are completely dead. Even then, Necromorphs don't really die, considering they're already dead in the first place, so much as become disabled. However, some Necromorphs require more than dismembering to be neutralized. They also have an origin connected to an ancient obelisk called the Marker, which was built by an unknown race. Humans found it on Earth, and cloned it. It was activated on Aegis 7, which killed everybody there and caused a Hive Mind to form. The Red Marker is able to suppress the Hive Mind.