Infested

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,The Infestation is more than a disease - it is a horror of twisted flesh, monsters made into reality. The blight consumes its victims, transforming them into unrecognizable atrocities controlled by rabid impulse.
The Infested are a single-minded scourge that belongs in the realm of nightmares, but instead chooses to invade ships and colonies, leaving only death and destruction in its wake. - Official Warframe Website 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.
 take increased damage from and . The mutant on Cambion Drift, Deimos, and in Shrine Defense on Cetus, are instead vulnerable to and , but resist .
==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, known as the Technocyte Virus, 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."Warframe Technology" Cephalon Fragment. 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 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" of 1999, 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==
=== Pre/Early-Orokin ===
The earliest known instance of the infestation is the Techrot outbreak seen in 1999. Further outbreaks are known to have happened past this time period and before the Radiation Wars"The Infestation predates the Orokin era, with records of outbreaks dating back before the radiation wars." - Lotus all the way up until the Orokin era. Outbreaks would begin to cease due to Orokin intervention and culling of the Technocyte Plague until it was virtually eradicated from the Origin System. 
===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."We were forced to older means. Not circuits, nor light... but flesh and disease. Our horrors past, our ravaged outer colonies... became gardens!" - Ballas during The Sacrifice 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 Infestation on Deimos in the process.
=== Pre-Collapse Era===
Their research led to the creation of 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.Margulis, from your winter ashes, there has sprung a field of flowers. Conceived by me, germinated for deadly purpose. You used to dream of old Earth, didn't you? Bathed in gold and solemn blue. I intend to reclaim it now, from the spores and the ruin.It came to me like a proverb: Fight poison with... poison. Cure this sick horde with the greatest of plagues. I will call her... Saryn.- Ballas during trailer
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 Infestation 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 Infestation 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 Infestation. This would lead to the creation of an army of Zealots who attempt to invade the System.
==Weaponry==
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 ==
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."Infested tissue is the only known exception to this parameter as it can be easily grown and thrives in any environment." - Cephalon Cordylon in Entry 12 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 ShipsTrachons - An organ found on Infested Ships believed to facilitate communication within the Infested Hivemind. or within Infested entities themselves.Pustulent Cognitive Nodule - The Infestation provokes the growth of multiple, seemingly redundant brain-like clusters, whose function may be linked to hivemind activity.
=== Reproduction and Spread ===
The Infestation primarily infests or corrupts its victims through swarms of airborne , possibly the same kind of found floating around in the air on Infested tilesets as moving colonies of orange particles."While it may seem like venting a room of its atmosphere may be assisting in the overall cleanup of an Infested vessel, the reality is your actions have consequences you have not taken into consideration.The first and most important procedure in handling Infested material is isolation and containment. By venting Infested matter into open space you have already make the task of disinfection nearly impossible. Additionally, you have now threatened Infestation spreading to other remote locations." - Cephalon Cordylon in Entry 24 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 men and women that were infected by Orokin scientists (by the order of Ballas) with a unique strain of the Infestation by the Helminth, with this unique strain reshaping the bodies of those infected to a pre-determined design.' 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.
	Standard 	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, the Orokin would select the best of the best in their society, including Dax soldiers, as hosts. 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.Alluded to in 's Codex entry 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.
Albrecht Entrati would also employ a modified version of the Helminth strain in his tenure to the year 1999, administering it to volunteering subjects to create partial Warframes called Protoframes, possessing the same capabilities but greatly delaying the mind corruption.
	Mutalist 	While the Infestation was always able to assimilate electronics into the bodies it creates, it wasn't until the creation of Alad V's Mutalist strain that the Infestation could directly tap into the artificial intelligence of a machine. The Mutalist strain has been exhibited to control Corpus MOAs and Ospreys, and could even affect Cephalons, as displayed by Cephalon Jordas, and was also used to create hybrid weaponry such as the Mutalist Cernos and Mutalist Quanta.
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 exemplars 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.
	Techrot 	A precursor strain to the modern Origin System's Infestation, colloquially named the , has its roots in the ancient Earth city-state of Höllvania, and especially caused the year 1999 to be dubbed the "Plague Year". Initially, the Techrot was named the "Testudo Syndrome", as it was observed to harden parts of the human body, much like a turtle's shell. It seems to have a disposition for assimilating electronic devices such as CRT monitors, cellphones, speakers, electrical wiring, and hell-scrubbers to build bodies, and has been secretly used by Höllvanian organizations to attempt to innovate in media entertainment, such as game development and music.
== 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.
<tabber>
|-|Charger=
|-|Leaper=
|-|Runner=
|-|Volatile Runner=
|-|Undying Flyer=
</tabber>
=== 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.
<tabber>Crawler=
|-|Nauseous Crawler=
|-|Toxic Crawler=
|-|Electric Crawler=
|-|Lobber Crawler=
</tabber>
===Machines===
Mechanical units infested by a mutated strain of the Infestation.
<tabber>Mutalist Osprey=
Mutalist Osprey is an infested Corpus Osprey that transports Crawlers and charges into players to unleash a toxic cloud.
|-|Swarm-Mutalist MOA=
|-|Tar-Mutalist MOA=
|-|Venin Mutalist=
</tabber>
===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.
<tabber>Ancient Healer=
|-|Ancient Disruptor=
|-|Toxic Ancient=
|-|Boiler=
|-|Brood Mother=
|-|Leaping Thrasher=
|-|Juggernaut=
</tabber>
===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.
<tabber>
|-|Deimos Carnis=
|-|Deimos Saxum=
|-|Deimos Jugulus=
|-|Deimos Therid=
</tabber>
<tabber>
|-|Deimos Genetrix=
|-|Deimos Tendril Drone=
</tabber>
===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".
<tabber>Zealot Proselytizer=
|-|Zealot Baptizer=
|-|Zealot Herald=
|-|Zealoid Bastion=
</tabber>
==Bosses==
Bosses are over-mutated enemies within the Infested faction.
<tabber>Hemocyte=
|-|Juggernaut Behemoth=
|-|Jordas Golem=
|-|Lephantis=
|-|Mutalist Alad V=
|-|Phorid=
|-|Zealoid Prelate=
</tabber>
==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"."Infestation. My uncle, Hinmun, sold minerals aboard a market near Eris. Quite popular with deep-system traders. At least, it was. They were broadsided by one of these boils. It spread fast. They could have run; risked taking it with them. Instead, they turned off life support and blew out escape pods. Decades later, it still orbits Eris, writhing. One voice repeating the same message, over and over, 'We are death. Leave us, and do not look back.' My uncle's voice. Fail here, Tenno, and that will be the fate of Cetus. To be warning for the living. From a place where none may tread." - Konzu during Operation: Plague Star
**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.
*Despite their obvious connections, the are considered a separate Faction from the Infested. They are displayed in their own section within the Codex, and will fight Infested if spawned alongside each other in the Simulacrum. Faction Damage Mods against Infested also have no effect on Techrot.
== Gallery ==
File:FactionsInfested.png
File:FRAGMENT 35 INFESTED.png
File:FRAGMENT 39 ERIS.png
File:Branislav-perkovic-bp-wf-infestation7-revised.jpg
File:Branislav-perkovic-wf-infestationcore.jpg
File:Zeljko-duvnjak-warframe-infested-corpus-ship-02.jpg
File:Zeljko-duvnjak-warframe-infested-bridge.jpg
File:Zeljko-duvnjak-warframe-infested-corpus-ship.jpg
File:Zeljko-duvnjak-warframe-infested-nano-cell.jpg
File:Dejan-ostojic-dejan-warframe-infested-weak-point.jpg
File:Dejan-ostojic-dejan-warframe-securitypod.jpg
File:Dejan-ostojic-dejan-warframe-infested-planet3.jpg
File:Dejan-ostojic-dejan-warframe-infested-planet-sketches.jpg
File:Dejan-ostojic-dejan-warframe-infested-planet2c.jpg
File:Dejan-ostojic-dejan-warframe-infested-planet-2b.jpg
File:Dejan-ostojic-dejan-warframe-infested-planet5.jpg
File:Branislav-perkovic-bp-orokinship-exterior-derelict.jpg
== References==
==Patch History==
==See Also==
*Helminth
* Corrupted 
*Factions
* Invasion
*Enemy Behavior, including tips and tricks on how to know your enemy.
es:Infestación
Category:Factions
Category:Infested
Category:Dark Sector Reference
Category:Enemies
Category:Lore
fr:Infestés