Abilities

*Note: This article contains spoilers for Carrion's ending.*

**Abilities** are a major gameplay feature in *Carrion*. They allow the Monster the player plays as to attack enemies, defend itself, and navigate around Relith Science's massive facility, some passively affecting the Monster's movement, others granting it special abilities.

## Stage Independent Abilities

These abilities can be used at any time by the Monster, and will not change based off of the stage the creature is at. Two of these three abilities are immediately available to the player, and can be upgraded at three of the six Containment Units around the facility, while the third is obtained at around the middle point of the game, and can be upgraded at the very end, with it being required to end the game.

**Prehensile Tentacle**

   The Monster extends a somewhat long tentacle that can be used to pick up and rip apart Humans, pick up Soldiers, rip off vents from walls, and pick up background objects. When picking up Humans and Soldiers, the Monster reveals a gaping mouth of razor-sharp teeth, which is used to kill Soldiers and consume Humans for biomass. This ability is one of the two the Monster starts out with, the other being Roar.

#### **Polycheiria**

> *Grow a second/third prehensile tentacle.*
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   Obtained from Containment Units No. 2 and 9, gives the Monster a second and a third Prehensile tentacle (order they are obtained in does not matter), which allow the Monster to pick up a second and third object or enemy at the same time. The amount of mouths the Monster has does not change.

### **Parasitism**

> *Assume direct control of other organisms.*
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The Monster releases a small mass of flailing tentacles, which then find and burrow into a nearby Human. This will kill the enemy and grant the creature complete control over them, with different interactions depending on the type of enemy.

Humans don't need to be alive to be controlled. When the Human is killed, goes out of the tendril's range or the Monster relinquishes its parasite from them, they are consumed, and the Monster emerges from where the Human was. Soldiers, unable to be consumed, are instead left behind.

The tendril has a limited range, can go through grates, and will retract when either it or the Monster's main body is damaged once. When possessing enemies, the range is extended.

Found in Relith Science HQ.

#### **Parasitism (Anomalous Materials Vault)**

> *No data available.*
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The Monster is given the ability to change it's own appearance and the space it takes up, to the point of shapeshifting with the DNA of it's victims. With the stored DNA, it takes the shape of the scientist in the flashback sequences, and tricks the two bio-scanner doors in its way, taking an elevator up out of the facility, and escaping to the outer world.

Found in the Anomalous Materials Vault.

### **Roar**

The Monster lets out a roar. Any nearby hives will roar back to indicate their direction. If there are any Humans nearby, they will run away in fear, only backing up if they wield a gun. Soldiers, in contrast, will run towards the noise, allowing moments for the Monster to take Soldiers by surprise. Turrets, Sentry Drones, Scout Drones and Humans operating Mechs, however, cannot hear the noise, and will simply go about their duties.

This is one of the abilities the Monster starts with.

#### **Echolocation**

> *Locate edible corpses.*
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Obtained in Containment Unit No. 1, this upgrade to Roar gives it the ability to locate any dead bodies that haven't been consumed, indicated with a redder soundwave. It only highlights edible body parts, as every other enemy either can't be chewed or can't be consumed for biomass.

Found in Hazardous Waste Landfill (Military Junkyard).

## Stage Dependent Abilities

These abilities are dependant on the amount of biomass the creature has. With the exception of the first stage, each stage requires the offensive ability to be obtained before it can be reached, while every defensive ability requires energy to use, which can be obtained from Power Stations around the facility. The abilities that follow are ordered with offensive being first and defensive being second, as these are usually the order of how these abilities are obtained.

> *For more detailed information on the Monster's stages, see the Evolutions page.*
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### Stage 1

This is the first stage of Evolution the Monster has. At 1-5 biomass of health, the creature's eyes will turn green, and it will be very small compared to it's other stages. It's abilities are focused on evasion and puzzle-solving.

#### **Arachnoptysis**

> *Shoot a cobweb to trap your victims or interact with objects.*
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The Monster utilizes stored DNA of arachnids to shoot out a stored jet of cobwebs in any direction. This web dissipates after a little time, however, it can be also destroyed by using the ability again (e.g clicking the button to use the ability while the web is in use). In terms of puzzle-solving, this ability is primarily used to hit levers through grates, usually to them being momentarily unreachable. Offensively, however, this can be used to trap Humans and Soldiers to a surface, or to trap Drones in order to kill them with a Prehensile Tentacle. Obtained in the Military Junkyard.

#### **Photokinesis**

> *Bend light to create an invisibility cloak Requires energy to use.*
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The Monster utilizes stored DNA to bend light around itself, creating an invisibility cloak of sorts that circumnavigates the view of every other living or mechanical organism, including Humans, Soldiers, Turrets, and Dreadnoughts. The primary use of the Photokinesis, however, is it's puzzle-solving capability, as it's the only way to get through lasers without tripping them, and is therefore one of the more useful abilities in the game. It's one downside, however, is that while moving with this ability active, the Monster will rapidly consume energy. Obtained in the Botanical Gardens.

### Stage 2

This is the second stage of Evolution the Monster has. At 6-10 biomass of health, the creatures eyes will turn orange, and it will be at a relatively large size compared to the previous stage. It's abilities are primarily focused on aggressively and swiftly killing opponents.

#### **Xiphorrhea**

> *Damage vent covers and wooden walls. Slash enemies.*
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The Monster utilizes it's flesh and shapes them like blades, before swiftly charging forward with a roar. This abilities is primarily used to get through wood walls early in the game, while also allowing the creature to slash through enemies with massive damage. Later in the game, this ability is also used to push plugs out from behind, though it can not be used to pull plugs out from in front. This ability's puzzle-solving capability is limited at best, but it's offensive capability in contrast is very useful. Obtained in the Uranium Mines. Unlocking this ability also unlocks the stage 2 Evolution.

#### **Acanthosis**

> *Grow hundreds of deadly keratin spikes. Requires energy to use.*
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The Monster utilizes it's supply of keratin to grow out a very large amount of spikes, which can be used against various enemies as both an offensive and defensive tactic. Unlike all the other abilities, this one is never used for puzzle-solving, and is purely used for combat purposes. This ability primarily can be used against enemies such as Drones, as these will deliberately attempt to make contact with the Monster. The keratin consumes energy depending on how many spikes are produced by the creature. Obtained in the Leviathan Reef Base - Bridge.

### Stage 3

This is the third stage of Evolution the Monster has. At 11-15 biomass of health, the creatures eyes will turn red, and it will be at it's largest size, massive in comparison to at 1 biomass of health. It's abilities are primarily focused on both puzzle solving and slow but heavy aggression.

#### **Harpagorrhea**

> *Sends out a destructive vortex of sarcous harpoons. Pulls objects upon retracting the tentacles.*
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The Monster utilizes it's massive fleshy body to create large and sharp harpoons of meat, which, after a few seconds, violently pull back in destructively. This ability is both very aggressive and useful for puzzle solving, as it is the only way to pull plugs from the front, though it cannot push them through the same direction. As well as that, it can also destroy wooden walls, glass, and vent covers, and deals colossal damage to enemies that get in front of the harpoons. Obtained in the Nuclear Power Plant. Unlocking this ability also unlocks the stage 3 Evolution.

#### **Keratosis**

> *Grow a thick and strong layer of keratin. Requires energy to use.*
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The Monster utilizes it's supply of keratin to create a strong layer of the substance around it's body, thick enough to absorb impact. This ability does not allow the creature to use it's Prehensile Tentacles, however, it allows the Monster to absorb bullets and fire without losing biomass, instead burning energy with each blocked damage. The primary use of this ability, however, is to both use and get past explosive traps, as these will otherwise kill the creature instantly. The creature can use these explosions to destroy otherwise indestructible blockages. Obtained in Armored Warfare Facility.

## Passive Abilities

These are abilities that passively activate, independent of player input. They activate in situations when they are required, and have no negative effect on the players gameplay. All but one of these are optional, obtained from 6 of the 9 Containment Units.

### **Hydrophilia**

> *Morph into a swarm of worms. Pass through tight spots.*
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The Monster morphs into a swarm of worms in order to pass through grates underwater. This ability does not affect gameplay in any other terms, other than changing the appearance and movement of the Monster as well as allowing passage through underwater grates. These worms notably only work underwater, and if the Monster is above water, they otherwise cannot move through grates, which allows for some puzzles to work well. Obtained in Leviathan Reef Base.

### **Electrosis**

> *Maximum energy level increased.*
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The Monster's maximum energy that it can maintain at one time is increased. Note that when Keratosis blocks the instant death from explosive traps, the energy will still be fully used up. This upgrade to the energy level can be found 4 times, in Containment Units No. 3, 6, 7, and 8.

### **Pyrophilia**

> *Fire resistance increased.*
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The Monster's capability of absorbing fire before being damaged is increased. This fire resistance upgrade can be found 2 times, in Containment Units No. 4 and 5.

## Trivia

* The amount of worms in the Hydrophilia worm swarm is equal to the amount of biomass the Monster has.
* All of the names of the abilities are scientific in style, with the exception of Roar, which is a well-known commonly used word.
* Due to two of the three defensive abilities making use of keratin, and both the abilities using energy, it's likely that the Monster uses energy to produce keratin that is then used to protect itself.
* Every single area in the game has an ability, including the Frontier.
	+ This does not include sub-areas, such as the ones in the Bunker, the different regions of the Frontier, and the Control Room. This also includes the Anomalous Materials Vault as a sub-area of the BSL-4 Research Ward.

* The names of the abilities appear to be derivatives of words in Latin, as described below:
	+ Polycheiria = "many/multiple" (poly) + "hands/handedness" (cheiria)
	+ Photokinesis = "light" (photo) + "movement" (kinesis)
	+ Arachnoptysis = "spider/relating to spiders" (arachno) + "to spit/spitting/spitting up" (ptysis)
	+ Acanthosis = "spiny/thorned" (acantho) + "condition" (osis)
	+ Xiphorrhea = "sword/penetrator" (xipho) + "flow/running together/discharge" (rrhea)
	+ Keratosis = "keratin" (kerato) + "condition" (osis)
	+ Harpagorrhea = "grappling hook/iron hook/harpoon" (harpago) + "flow/running together/discharge" (rrhea).
	+ Hydrophilia = "water" (hydro) + "love/attaction to" (philia)
	+ Electrosis = "electrical/electricity" (electro) + "condition" (osis)
	+ Pyrophilia = "fire/heat" (pyro) + "love/attaction to" (philia)