Infested

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The following article/section contains spoilers.

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The Infested are a multitude of deformed, twisted creatures, originated from the mutation of normal living beings who have been taken over by the parasites of the Infestation,^[1] a microscopic parasitic techno-organic pathogen. The majority of Infested are former Corpus Crewmen or Grineer Lancers, or "Mutalist" versions of Corpus robotic proxies. The eldest individuals, the Infested Ancients, are creatures overtaken by the plague so long ago that their original form is unrecognizable, perhaps dating back to the Old War itself.

Infested take increased damage from  Slash and  Heat. The mutant Infested Deimos on Cambion Drift, Deimos, and in Shrine Defense on Cetus, are instead vulnerable to  Blast and  Gas, but resist  Viral.

Overview

Mentioned and referenced through in-game text or by the Lotus, the Infestation turns organisms such as the Grineer and Corpus, as well as machines and robotics, into what is known to the Tenno as the "Infested".

In the past, the Infestation was utilized by the Orokin to combat the Sentients. Much of the game's lore is presented in an ambiguous fashion; however it can be inferred that the virus seems to have no prejudices as to whom it affects, be it Grineer, Corpus, robotic or the normal fauna of a planet; only the Tenno possessing void abilities and their Warframes, as well as the Sentients themselves, appear to be truly immune to the technocyte virus. As such, Warframes were often used to quell Infested outbreaks in the past.^[2]. Not even the Orokin themselves are immune to it, as shown by the Entrati family, although they managed to keep their consciousness intact through special treatments.

The  Mire references an event called the "Great Plague" in its description. The Great Plague may be a reference to the Infestation itself or a period after its creation. The Mire's resemblance to the Infested suggests a connection between the Great Plague and the Infested themselves. However, it is the only mention of "Great Plague" throughout the game and could be speculated to also be the "Plague Year," as mentioned in Albrecht Entrati's codex entries and by Loid in the Lotus Eaters.

Despite the Infestation being highly dangerous and mutagenic, some beings have learned to live alongside the Infested, such as the Myconians, who harvest and trade Infested matter, and feral Kavats, who reside in infested Derelicts and are able to consume Infested matter without harm. There are also some creatures with a symbiotic relationship with the infested such as predasites, vulpaphylas, and Kubrows incubated with a helminth strain of infested using the cyst on a warframe.

Lore & History

During the Orokin era, before The Old War, the Infestation was created from the Orokin Empire's technological advances in biotechnology.

Old War Era

During The Old War, the Orokin Empire was desperate in defeating their Sentient adversaries, so they rebooted Infestation research to find ways to weaponize the parasite against their enemy.^[3] Once notable attempt was the use of bio-bombs filled with Infested matter. During the War, the Sentients would attempt to invade Deimos, a strategically important planetoid. A bio-bomb that contained Infested matter was set off, stopping the Sentient invasion, but releasing an full-on Infestion on Deimos in the process.

Pre-Collapse Era

Their research led to creating Warframes, which were created from of the Helminth strain of the Infestation. These Warframes, manned by their Tenno operators, would be deployed in battle proving effective in defeating their assailants and would lead them to their eventual victory. Not only were the Warframes used in military operations, but they also found a purpose in taming Infested outbreaks and reclaiming Orokin territory affected by the Infested.^[4]

However, the Tenno betrayed their Orokin masters, leading to the collapse of the Orokin Empire. During the age of The Collapse, the Infestation was left unmonitored on Orokin ships and research facilities. With time, Infestation outbreaks would be common throughout the centuries as the Infestation assimilates matter and evolves into more sophisticated forms. In worst case scenarios such as with Deimos, the Infestation can swallow entire celestial bodies, infecting every living creature on them.

Tenno Era

After the rise of the Tenno, the Infestion has been somewhat contained to the Dark Sectors, however there are still some outbreaks that happen from time to time.

There has been one event where the Infestion displayed a more sophisticated and advanced form of assimilation, known as Arlo, the "Emissary of Eris". After arising on Eris, the mute Arlo would gather a congregation of believers by spreading his healing word and healing any ailments he came across. However, many of his followers were assimilated into the Infested hivemind, and would willingly expose themselves to the Infestion. This would lead to the creation of an army of Zealots who attempt to invade the System.

Weaponry

Main article: Category:Infested Weapons

More so than any other weapon category, weapons involving the Infestation are a varied lot. They range dramatically in both design and function, from Corpus mining equipment that feature infestation altering their functions, to Grineer attempts to weaponize infested bio-toxins. Most, however, are weapons that are, in and of themselves, created from either living or inactive-but-preserved infested tissue; these range from swords created from infested bio-growth to pistols which smother opponents in broiling clouds of toxic infested liquids. The most unusual Infested weapons seem to be multi-part organisms, ranging from slugthrowers that hurl toxin shards with muscular impulse to launchers that hurl a living infested bio-growth at the target like a grenade. The most extreme cases are weapons that can project streams of viral bio-energy or crackling corrosive energy via neural impulse.

Infested weapons are often hideous to behold, visibly pulsing and squirming in their use. Even ones crafted from inactive infested growth are often visually grotesque, with edges made from chitin and bone and flecked with veins that thrum with organic fluids. Ranged weapons using infested material often very literally devour their ammunition. In many ways, Infested weaponry indicate how desperate many factions have become involving the Infested, with the Grineer attempting to fight poison with poison, the Corpus finding the infested altering their existing equipment as Alad V's enhanced Mutalist strains consume mechanical constructs, and the Tenno just trying to find new ways to do their job with the new tools as the Infestation spreads – meaning that the Infested are a great threat, but also promise opportunities to any who can find a way to exploit them against their enemies.

Biology

“Orokin secrets cannot remain secret forever! Start talking!”

The following article/section is conjecture. Content is subjected to change/removal as the game progresses. Please do not use this article for critical in-game information.

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According to Cephalon Cordylon, Infested tissue can be easily grown, thrives in any environment, and is as easy to manipulate for the creation tools and weapons as any non-organic material.^[5] Once a host has been infected, the first signs of infection are usually the appearance of small, benign skin growths, usually warts or tumors.

Infested Hivemind

Most of the Infested, usually the bosses, refer to themselves in a plural way, which implies the existence of an Infested Hivemind. While not fully encountered, the influence of this elusive aspect of the Infestation can still be felt.

This can be supported when encountering Infested with the near-impossibility of utilizing stealth in an Infested-controlled area; if even one unit in the area detects a Warframe, every single other Infested in the area will become alerted to their presence and begin hunting them down, even from across the entire tileset.

This is further explained by numerous resources found throughout the Origin System, often located in Infested Ships^[6] or within Infested entities themselves.^[7]

Reproduction and Spread

The Infestation primarily infests or corrupts its victims through swarms of airborne  Nano Spores, possibly the same kind of found floating around in the air on Infested tilesets as moving colonies of orange particles.^[8] However, no enemy or ally can ever become Infested during gameplay. The only exception is during Defection missions, where it is possible to witness the only current "infestation" of a target in real-time; allowing a Grineer Defector to die to the poisons in the air will eventually cause them to sprout a large Infested mass around them, which explodes in a horrifying display of light gore and rot to reveal a uniquely colored Carrion Charger. The transformation to these combat forms is seemingly quick, likely due to the Defectors weakened state due to the exposure to the spores for extended periods and possibly due to the Grineer's already weakened cloned bodies. Infested will eat mostly anything organic and inorganic with exception being that they are unable to digest crystals and have trouble digesting some ores.

It is uncertain whether the infested can be cured once it infects a host, but it can be treated with remedies as practiced by the Entrati family leaving them in an infected state but still as individuals.

A unique, blue-colored variant of these spores can be in Infested Orokin Derelicts.

Behavior & Psychology

The Infestation's combat strategy is simple: they throw themselves at any potential hosts or threats in large numbers, seeking to drown them in a tide of mutated flesh. One unique behavior of the Hivemind is the fear of Infested hybrids. As a whole, the Infestation displays confusion and fear when encountering the Tenno's Warframes, referring to them as "their flesh" and constantly asking why they would attack their own via transmissions, which implies that the greater Infested believes that the Warframes are just another kind of Infested life-form like them. The Sacrifice would go on to reveal that the original Warframes were actually Orokin men and women that were infected with a unique strain of the Infestation by the Helminth, with this unique strain not only reshaping their bodies to fit inside of the actual Warframes' chassis, but also keeping them safe from the 'Infested madness.' When the player brings their operator into the Helminth room in their orbiter the Helminth will refer to the operator as a demon likely due to their void body making it impossible to infect them. This likely could be considered a likely resentment from infested as they will attack anything that is not a part of the hivemind.

This fear is elaborated upon in The Glast Gambit quest, where The Lotus reveals that the Infested fears hybrids, specifically those that combine themselves with the Infestation without actually succumbing to it. For example, the space-bound colony of Mycona takes advantage of this to harvest Infested materials from the ship on which they live without individual colonists risking death or infection via passing down the Triuna. The Zealoid Prelate, however, doesn't seem to be afraid of the Warframes, but actually sees them as something "beautiful". It is possibly due to their particular and new strain that he behaves so uniquely.

Strains

Instead of corps or contingents, the Infestation is divided into unique strains, with their creation mainly caused by numerous factors, such as their environment or outside influence.

	Technocyte	The basic strain of Infested can be encountered virtually anywhere in the Origin System: from the toxic surface of Earth, to distant Derelicts in space.
	Helminth	The Helminth strain was specifically engineered by the Orokin during The Old War to infect human hosts that would eventually become the basis for Warframes. Developed by Ballas to combat the Sentient threat, it was injected into Dax soldiers[9] and other lower castes of the Orokin empire to transform into Warframes. The Infested growth formed a symbiotic relationship with its hosts, protecting them with an Infested armor as hard as steel while interlinking with its hosts' organs. Originally, these proto-Warframes retained their humanity, but over time, the Infestation took over their minds and made them go berserk.[10] Eventually, with the invention of Transference technology, the Tenno would use these Warframes as a surrogate body, wielding them to fight against the Sentients and to cull Infestation outbreaks. The Helminth still lives within the Orbiter, and according to Ordis it is responsible for all biological tasks inside of it. It is presented as a non-hostile, voracious creature, that can be fed with every form of resource (and even Warframes themselves) and has the ability to inject with unique or subsumed abilities as well as acquired abilities, proving its deep ties with their genesis.
	Mutalist	While the Infestation was always able to seep into electronic and nano-based technology, it was never able to control more than small masses, to the point where systems would simply corrupt and shut down (see non-Infested Ship tilesets) rather than be vulnerable to actual control or influence. With Alad V's Mutalist strain, however, the Infestation became capable of infecting inorganic circuitry to control basic robotics, and even modify their weapons systems to spray payloads of Corrosive Sludge or take advantage of flight technology to Disperse Toxins into the air. While this is an impressive feat even for the seemingly mindless Infestation, it is less impressive when Corpus robotic AI is taken into account, as it is fairly easy even for the Tenno to Hack or Reprogram them, so a complete takeover of their precepts may not be necessary for them to fight for the Infestation. More impressively however is the ability for the Mutalist strain to adapt and corrupt even cephalons. In the case of the Jordas Golem, it somehow gained control of one despite several times during the game and quests, it was explained that Cephalons exist on a very advanced electronic plane of existence called the "weave", something which Hunhow (who's origin is machine-based) could only barely control and eventually lose when he attempted to take over Cephalon Suda's portion of it.[11] Even in his transmission projections, Jordas is physically Infested with tissue on his portrayal, although this may just be a visual representation of his state and not necessarily prove he is actually Infested. It is possible that the equipment that stores Jordas' information is corrupted instead, essentially the same situation as other Mutalist robotic enemies. Either way, this shows that the Infestation is far more insidious than it was in the past thanks to the meddling of Alad V. So far, only Corpus robotics can become Infested, perhaps due to a lack of complexity in Grineer machinery that would not serve the Infested any real purpose. Although the Mutalist Osprey came about before Alad V's experiments, it can be assumed this timing is not to be considered lore-friendly and instead was part of Alad's work. It can also be said that the early release of this Mutalist enemy was caused by one of Alad's experiments escaping. Weapons that have become Infested with this modern strain of the Infestation are also Corpus-based, possibly due to the initial exposure of the Infested being almost entirely based around the Corpus thanks to the intentional infection of entire Corpus ships.
	Emissary	While the Infestation of other strains were mostly contained, the hive mind on Eris sought to remedy this by dispatching Arlo, believed to be an evolved strain disguised as a young survivor that seemingly had the power to heal an endless variety of sicknesses. Dubbed the "Emissary of Eris", Arlo's so-called healing was actually a bait to lure in human impulse, where he secretly assimilated the ill Kenga and many devoted followers to the Infested hive mind where they would continue to spread Arlo's healing word. The devoted would later become weaponized Zealots, serving as an army for the Infested that would go on to raid the entire Origin System. Though Arlo's forces were eventually defeated, this hive mind had proven itself to be incredibly cunning and intelligent with its scheme, having successfully created a solution to its own problems.
	Grey Strain	The Grey Strain is an Infested strain that has overrun the Cambion Drift on Deimos, infecting everything both on the surface and underground, generating both unique examplars and variations of common ones, generically referred to as Deimos Infested. This strain is capable of stimulating growth to monstrous dimensions, causing the more powerful Infested produced by the Grey strain to become quite gargantuan in size; this property was also sought for by Albrecht Entrati's creation of the Vessels. Highly unusual for Infested, the hivemind of the Grey strain appears to be divided, with the Wyrm siblings Fass and Vome constantly fighting each other and capable of influencing the area around themselves, modifying the layout of the underground Infested tunnels and the behaviour of the Infested themselves. The Infested fish biomes do not appear to be entangled in shared consciousness, and the wild Predasites and Vulpaphyla are sometimes assaulted by other Infested hostiles. Finally, the Entrati family are all partially Infested, their "names and ideas" stolen, but are actively resisting the hivemind despite their dysfunction and constant infighting.
	Derelict	The Derelict strain is a unique strain of Infested that only appears in Orokin Derelicts. This strain mainly consists of the numerous black-and-blue growths that can be seen growing throughout the Derelicts.
	1999 Technocyte	By the appearance of what's revealed in 1999 part of Whisper in the Walls quest and during Tennocon 2024, this strain seems to be an evolved or modified Grey Strain with various advanced features such as having electronic wirings, speakers, and CRT screens included as part of the biomasses and Techrots and use them to form up organs, and the ability to grow flowers, which is the structure only found in plant species at the apex of real-life plant evolution line. The hivemind also appears to possess the same level, if not higher intelligence than the Emissary strain in deceiving as a boyband and planning for a pandemic over Höllvania city in one go with contaminated pizza and a countdown concert.[12][13]

Missions

Enemies

Walkers

The standard Infested unit. Volatile runners and leapers appear to be bodies of Corpus humanoids and appear to have a fleshy "hand", perhaps made of Infested tissue, latched to their heads. Walker units rush the players and overwhelm them with sheer numbers and brute force.

• Charger
• Leaper
• Runner
• Volatile Runner
• Undying Flyer

Main article: Charger

Chargers are quadrupedal abominations resembling canines made from Grineer (possibly Lancers) that almost always hunt in packs. They will quickly and repeatedly claw at players once in range, and their attacks have a chance to stun their foes (but not players) on hit. If their target is out of range they will hold position and lob balls of mass at their target which do not ignore shields.

Crawlers

Infested crawlers are those former walkers whose legs seem to have been removed or Crewmen infested after surviving the removal of their lower bodies. They will 'run' on their hands at a speed similar to the other light Infested and their unusual body structure causes most melee attacks to pass over them unless a Tenno deliberately looks down while attacking.

• Crawler
• Nauseous Crawler
• Toxic Crawler
• Electric Crawler
• Lobber Crawler

Main article: Crawler

Crawlers resemble Infested Crewmen with no lower limbs, which forces them to move with their hands. They are fairly agile and are difficult to attack due to their habit of staying low, but besides that, they do not pose a large threat.

Machines

Mechanical units infested by a mutated strain of the Infestation.

• Mutalist Osprey
• Swarm-Mutalist MOA
• Tar-Mutalist MOA
• Venin Mutalist

Main article: Mutalist Osprey

Mutalist Osprey is an infested Corpus Osprey that transports Crawlers and charges into players to unleash a toxic cloud.

Ancients

These heavy units consist of large Infested that are much sturdier than standard Walkers, implied to be made from long dead Orokin hosts. They tend to be rarer than the other types of Infested, but they have a large amount of health and will charge at players when close enough. Heavies also come with special abilities, making them a nuisance on their lonesome, and a nightmare in groups.

• Ancient Healer
• Ancient Disruptor
• Toxic Ancient
• Boiler
• Brood Mother
• Leaping Thrasher
• Juggernaut

Main article: Ancient Healer

An Infested heavy melee unit, the Ancient Healer stands out for the ability to give Overguard to surrounding allies.

They are light blue in color, with bright yellow-green mandibles.

Deimos Infested

Unique to the Cambion Drift on Deimos, these unique Infested were originated by the spread of the Grey Strain, which infected and overly mutated everything on its surface.

• Deimos Carnis
• Deimos Saxum
• Deimos Jugulus
• Deimos Therid

Main article: Deimos Carnis

Deimos Carnis are  Infested multi-legged creatures that reside in the Cambion Drift, Deimos.

• Deimos Genetrix
• Deimos Tendril Drone

Main article: Deimos Genetrix

The Deimos Genetrix is a large slow-floating  Infested creature that functions like a dropship, holding smaller Infested enemies in its body and spewing them out of its mouth to deliver them to the surface of the Cambion Drift, Deimos.

Arlo's Zealots

Introduced in Nightwave/Series 2, these special units were originally devotees of Arlo, who got infected by the new strain of Infestation and started roaming around the system to spread their leader's "blessing".

• Zealot Proselytizer
• Zealot Baptizer
• Zealot Herald
• Zealoid Bastion

Main article: Zealot Proselytizer

Zealot Proselytizers are followers of Arlo, the so-called 'Emissary of Eris', who have exposed themselves to the infestation in order to prove their devotion to his cause. Introduced in the third episode of Nightwave: Series 2 – The Emissary. They are the infested form of Arlo's Devotees.

Bosses

Main article: Bosses

Bosses are over-mutated enemies within the Infested faction.

• Hemocyte
• Juggernaut Behemoth
• Jordas Golem
• Lephantis
• Mutalist Alad V
• Phorid
• Zealoid Prelate

Main article: Hemocyte

The Hemocyte is a gigantic Infested creature that can be encountered during Operation: Plague Star. They only appear on the Advanced and The Steel Path variants of the Plague Star Bounty, with a total of four spawning during the final stage. They drop the Hunter Set Mods.

Trivia

• The Technocyte Strain shares the same name as the Technocyte Virus from Digital Extremes' earlier title, Dark Sector.
• The Infested have shown the ability to even corrupt Cephalons, as shown in The Jordas Precept with Cephalon Jordas.
  • It's also implied at the end of The Jordas Precept, and throughout the now-removed Jordas Verdict, that the Infested are capable of making identical "copies" a Cephalon for various uses, such as sending fake distress signals or piloting an enormous mutalist spacecraft.
• Despite their description claiming that the Infestation has no cure, the aftermath of Operation: Tubemen of Regor showed that this is somewhat false, as Alad V has cured himself of being Infested after partially succumbing to the virus. Despite this however, a violet scar remains on his cheek, possibly suggesting he isn't completely cleansed.
• According to a story told by Konzu, despite the Infested otherwise being a ravenous hive mind, "it" is capable of speaking to others directly via using an Infested victim as a sort of speaker or "vessel".^[15]
  • In Nightwave/Series 2, Arlo becomes a vessel for the new strain of Infestation which he spreads around the system.
• Ancient Infested like the Ancient Healer are heavily implied to be Infested hosts of long-dead Orokin by the story told in the Corrupted Ancient Synthesis imprint, where an Orokin Healer was Infested and turned into a large corrupted monster that also had healing abilities. While very little of their structure appears Orokin they do have warped crowns on their back, as well as one arm being abnormally long, similar to the arm of Ballas.
  • Their "Ancient" namesake might hint at their creation during the Old War itself, and not new creations.

Gallery

References

Patch History

See Also

• Helminth
• Corrupted
• Factions
• Invasion
• Enemy Behavior, including tips and tricks on how to know your enemy.

Collapse Infested Edit

Starchart Cambion Drift Walker Charger • Leaper • Maggot • Runner • Undying Flyer • Volatile Runner Crawler Crawler • Electric Crawler • Lobber Crawler • Nauseous Crawler • Toxic Crawler Mutalist Proxies Mutalist Osprey • Swarm Mutalist MOA • Tar Mutalist MOA • Power Carrier • Venin Mutalist Ancient Ancient Disruptor • Ancient Healer • Boiler • Brood Mother • Leaping Thrasher • Toxic Ancient Archwing Attack Mutalist • Mutalist Lightning Carrier • Mutalist Toxic Carrier Event Hemocyte • Zealot Baptizer • Zealot Herald • Zealot Proselytizer Others Infested Tumor • Zealoid Bastion Bosses Jordas Golem • Juggernaut (Behemoth) • Lephantis • Mutalist Alad V • Phorid • Zealoid Prelate • Infested Oni