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"Corpser!"
Dominic Santiago

Corpsers were huge spider-like creatures that lived in the Hollow. Like many of the Hollow's creatures, Corpsers were harnessed by the Locust as beasts of war; they were often used to dig tunnels so that Locust forces could emerge to the surface.

Background[]

"Ugh, I hate Corpsers. It's all the legs. Freaks me out!"
"Well, you see, that's 'cause humans are hardwired to react to things that scuttle, and... okay, I'll shut up now.
"
Dominic Santiago and Damon Baird discussing Corpsers

Corpsers were one of the many natural denizens of the Hollows and were eventually tamed by the Locust Horde and enhanced by their head scientist Ukkon. They were used to dig tunnels all across Sera, allowing Locust forces to move undetected, and even behind COG lines. The Jacinto Plateau, which was positioned atop a solid granite plateau, was the only place on Sera that the Locust could not use Corpsers to dig through.

Ironically, the eventual penetration of the plateau was partially credited to the Lightmass Bomb. When it was set off, it sent cracks through the granite, weakening it for the Corpsers. It also awakened the Riftworm, which Skorge used to undermine cities ever-closer to Jacinto itself. With these two forces at work, the Corpsers were eventually able to break through the granite and open the path for the Locust.

Even though Corpsers were more strategic than offensive, they were still considered dangerous. They were known to track and stage ambushes, hinting at a relatively high level of intelligence or instinct. Very rarely, under extreme circumstances, a Corpser could be armed with a Corpser Mine Layer, which were used to deter strategic areas from COG counteroffensives.

Corpsers were often seen moments before Locust attacks, and often symbolized the Locust's emergence on E-Day.

History[]

Lambent War[]

Assassination Attempt on RAAM and Skorge[]

A Corpser was sent to assassinate Vold RAAM and Kantus Skorge by Uzil Sraak, but the two managed to kill it with help from Boomers which blasted its leg armor, causing the Corpser to rear into the air and render itself vulnerable. The two realized that as Sraak didn't have the ability to give a Corpser armor, he had help from Ukkon.[1]

Locust War[]

Emergence Day[]

During Emergence Day, when the Locust Horde attacked all major Seran cities, Corpsers opened the path for huge hordes of Drones and other Locust inside cities like Jannermont, Porta Ogari and Mattino Junction. Although Corpsers were commonly seen when the Locust emerged, fortunately for humanity, Corpsers were initially unable to break through the Jacinto Plateau, thus providing humanity with a safe refuge from the Locust.

Destruction of Halvo Bay[]

"That's a Corpser! Take it down!"
Sofia Hendrick while battling a Corpser at Amador Park

Juvenile Corpsers were used by General Karn in his rampage throughout Halvo Bay. At the Halvo Bay Academy a number of Corpsers attacked Kilo Squad while they defended their positions at a courtyard, they damaged and/or destroyed a large part of the Gears defenses but they were eventually killed.

During their mission to Professor Elliot's mansion to get the Lightmass Missile launch codes, Kilo Squad encountered a juvenile Corpser and killed it with their shotguns. While making their way to the Museum of Military Glory to actually launch the missile, the squad encountered another juvenile Corpser and killed that one too. 

Battle of Kaia[]

Corpsers would later take part during the Battle of Kaia. The COG Army tried evacuating the population north while the Gears fought the Corpsers off, but they literally ran over the armored vehicles that the COG brought in to help fight the battle.[2]

Hammer of Dawn Strikes[]

At least one Corpser fell to the Hammer of Dawn Strikes at an unknown location.

Assassination of Ukkon[]

While assigning Sgt. Gabriel Diaz to kill the Locust scientist Ukkon, Chairman Richard Prescott listed Corpsers as one of the things that Ukkon was responsible for creating along with Brumaks.

"Huh... Just like we planned it."
—Sgt. Gabriel Diaz after Ukkon escapes and summons a Corpser.

Eventually, Diaz and his task force set a trap for Ukkon and managed to capture him, but Major Sid Redburn betrayed them in order to take Ukkon to Ephyra and reveal the truth behind the origins of the Locust Horde to the rest of the world. However, Ukkon was able to tear himself free of their trap and he summoned a Corpser to take care of the humans while Ukkon escaped.

In the battle that followed, the Corpser, backed up by other Locust forces, attacked the humans using its legs for a massive stomping attack and launching mines. Despite the Corpser's leg armor blocking their line of fire, Diaz and his squad were able to force the Corpser to raise its legs and focused their fire on its head, eventually damaging the Corpser's helmet on both sides. Each time the Corpser's helmet was damaged, it thrashed, knocking a crane loose from its anchor points on the building after the second time. Diaz's squad focused their fire on the crane, ultimately dropping it on the Corpser's back and head, crushing and killing the creature.[3]

Evacuation of Ilima[]

At least two Corpsers were part of the Locust assault on Ilima. One came tunneling through the surface of a city street and dragged down an Armadillo APC, and then released many Drones, Boomers, and Grinders upon Zeta-Six.

Shortly after Zeta-Six rescued Jace Stratton, another Corpser burst from the ground, opening a path for General RAAM and his Elite bodyguards, destroying part of the windows of Ilima Trust and Savings.

Fall of Ephyra[]

During the battle, Marcus got word that his father was in trouble and went to save him. After he arrived at the Fenix estate, a group of Locust attacked the house. Shortly before his father's supposed death, Marcus and the group were attacked by Corpser. After a while, they killed it, when the group tried to escape on a Raven, it was shot down by Boomers and rubble covered Adam Fenix.

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Battle on the Andius Highway[]

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Siege of the Slab[]

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Lightmass Offensive[]

Gow-Corpseratprison

A Corpser at JMSP.

One Corpser appeared outside of Jacinto Maximum Security Prison just as Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago made their way out of a courtyard and into their chopper. The Corpser burst from behind and attempted to attack the King Raven but it managed to escape its claws.

Delta Squad encountered another Corpser shortly after dealing with a pair of Boomers, this same Corpser would stalk them on their way to Franklin's Outpost, at one point opening a path for more Locust to attack Delta.

Later, inside the Outer Hollows and beneath the Lethia Imulsion Facility, Fenix and Santiago encountered yet another Corpser while they tried to find the pumping station to deploy their Resonator, it growled at the Gears and seemed to retreat but it shortly afterwards reappeared and attacked Marcus and Dom. They shot the Corpser in its belly, which caused the creature to rear up. The Gears then shot at its open mouth to make it fall back, they repeated this same method several times, while being attacked by Lambent Wretches. Once the Corpser reached an unstable part of the terrain, they shot down two clamps which caused the Corpser to fall into the Imulsion lake below. Before it dies, the Corpser thrusts its claws out in an attempt to smash Marcus before it perishes. However, the Corpser barely misses Marcus, who doesn't even flinch and just stares at the Corpser until it sinks into the Imulsion.

After the Lightmass Bomb is deployed, a number of Corpsers tried to escape the Outer Hollows before the bomb's blast could reach them. However, they were unable to outrun the blast and all of them were killed.

Mission to Montevado[]

A single Corpser tunneled inside the city of Montevado, after the city fell to the Locust (literally), Delta Squad thought more seismic activity was happening, unfortunately there was no seismic activity but a Corpser instead burst from the ground and opened a path for Locust and Bloodmounts to take care of any survivors that were left in the city, the Corpser again returned underground and fled from the battle.

Liberation of Jilane[]

After the Scarred Kantus death, a Corpser tunneled inside Jilane and opened a path for a huge horde of Locust reinforcements to deal with the gears and civilians inside the city; it roared at the Gears before returning underground.

Operation Hollow Storm[]

"Corpser!"
"Oh come on!
"
Marcus and Benjamin Carmine
Battle of Stromson Forest[]

During the Assault on Landown, at least two Corpsers partook in the Locust defense of the town. The first one tried to attack Rig 314 but was repelled with the vehicle's chain gun. The second one jumped from a cliff above another Assault Derrick and pulled it under the ground.

Battle of Ilima[]

Delta later encountered a Corpser after exploring the city of Ilima, which had been sunk by the Riftworm. A Corpser dug a large tunnel for Locust Drones, then it disappeared back into its tunnel.[4]

Assault on Mount Kadar[]
818052-eyetvsnapshot 11

One of the three Corpsers in Mount Kadar.

When Delta breached the defenses at the entrance to Mount Kadar searching for the Locust capital of Nexus in their Centaur they encountered a single Corpser bursting from the ground, but it disappeared as soon as they focused the light on it. As Delta progressed, they encountered three other Corpsers inside of the tunnels after they fell from a dark cliff, disabling the tank. Baird managed to turn the Centaur back on and once the floodlight illuminated the beasts, Marcus destroyed them with the tank's gun one by one before they were able to attack the tank.

Sinking of Jacinto City[]

Marcus and Dom later hijacked and rode a Brumak into the Hollow. After making some progress into the Hollow, they encountered a Corpser. The Corpser tried to take the Brumak down but the Brumak slammed the Corpser into a wall, killing it.[5]

Attacking Port Farral[]

A few hours after the sinking of Jacinto a single Corpser escaped the flood and headed towards the city of Port Farrall along with several Boomers, a Bloodmount, and a group of fifty to sixty grubs. Dominic Santiago and Marcus Fenix spotted the Locust party and requested reinforcements while they began to lay fire on the Locust. As reinforcements arrived, the Corpser tried to circle around their defensive line and head towards the refugees. However, KR Three-Five managed to spot it with its searchlight and Centaur Twenty-Eight killed it with a single shot from its cannon. The rest of the Locust party was killed by the COG forces. Two Corpsers later opened a path for Locust forces inside the city and began an attack that left many dead civilians. The Corpsers were presumably killed by COG forces.

Corpser

The Corpser mother.

Lambent Pandemic[]

"Shit, it's a Corpser! But ya'know, smaller."
—Baird when encountering the Juvenile Corpser

Although much of the Corpser population was wiped out after Operation: Hollow Storm, a sizeable number managed to escape and became wild. Some of them were found by the Savage Locust and kept in captivity to be bred and tamed for battle in the Deadlands. Delta Squad later confronted a number of these Corpsers as they made their way through Savage Locust territory. In the Deadlands, Delta encountered a juvenile Corpser at the entrance to the Savage Locust stronghold. It attacked the squad but was quickly slain. As Delta continued to move through the Stronghold, Delta was ambushed and locked up with another juvenile Corpser by the Locust, they were able to kill it with several Grenades and shotguns before they moved on. 

However, Delta Squad accidentally stumbled into a Corpser nest. A hatchling burst out of one of the eggs, and it was killed when it attempted to attack them. The death of its offspring enraged the mother, who let out a roar which caused the eggs to hatch. Delta fought off the hatchlings, and the Corpser mother appeared to face its offsprings' killers. They managed to defeat the Corpser by blinding it and fending off its juvenile brood. Upon being blinded, the mother went on a rampage, collapsing the ceiling and Delta barely managed to get out before the ceiling collapsed, killing the mother Corpser.

"Ah, damn! It's the crawlies!"
"They're just small ones. We can roll right over 'em."
"Yeah, but where's their mother?
"
Dizzy Wallin, Jace Stratton and Samantha Byrne after watching several Corpser hatchlings on their way towards Mercy

Later, on the road to Mercy, Delta encountered wild Corpsers, but most of them were torn apart by the Vulcan Cannon wielding Gears. Most were hatchlings though they had to face their mother too, they shot her in the eyes and left as the highway collapsed over her. Several armored Corpsers tried to stop the trucks from moving but were crushed by its wheels.

After the activation of the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon, all of the Locust and Lambent were killed; it is unknown if any Corpsers survived or whether or not they evolved into members of the Swarm.

Reproduction and Lifestyle[]

Corpser Hatchling

A Corpser hatchling.

"Ah, so that's where Corpsers come from."
"When a mommy Corpser and a daddy Corpser love each other very much..."
"Whoa, stay back, Baird. It will think the first thing it sees is his mother."
"Why don't you two guys shut the fuck up before we wake its mother?
"
Augustus Cole, Damon Baird and Marcus Fenix after seeing a Corpser hatch

Presumably, Corpsers sexually reproduce like most creatures on Sera. Corpsers are oviparous by nature, meaning they lay eggs rather than give live birth. They normally hatch on their own time but are capable of hatching on their mother's call, usually to defend the nest.

When Corpsers are born, they're actually quite small and frail by adult standards, roughly coming up to the size of a large Seran dog in comparison. They were also quite pale and most likely blind at this stage of development; however, they probably possessed acute hearing or smell out of the shell, given Delta Squad's battle with a Corpser nest in their journey across the Deadlands.

Savage Corpser

An adolescent Corpser.

"Hey, Dom. Do eggs... freak you out too?"
—Damon Baird while watching several Corpser eggs inside the Deadlands

Corpsers were born with four "fingers" and given the difference between a Corpser hatchling, the Deadlands Mother and a militarized adult, Corpsers most likely grow more "claws" the older they got, up to a total of eight at adulthood. They also grew in size, strength and durability as expected from most animals. Even at adolescence, Corpsers were remarkably sturdy, capable of taking a motorized chainsaw to the face and still living to fight another day.

Behind the scenes[]

  • By killing a Corpser on Hardcore in Gears of War, you get the achievement "Broken Fingers".
  • A single Corpser appears at the beginning of Gears of War 3 in Marcus' dream; it mysteriously vanishes in the horizon as the battle progress. However, this is due to the dream nature of the battle which features an ever shifting background with things forming and disappearing as it progresses.
  • In Horde 2.0, Savage Corpsers can appear in boss waves. If it receives enough damage, it screams in pain, exposes its head, then buries itself in the ground. Like in the campaign, it then charges at a random target attacking with a claw three times. Then it travels to another target and gets out of the ground. If it is blocked by something, it will appear immediately. Unfortunately, barriers do not block a Savage Corpser. It is possible to chainsaw a Corpser when is stunned. It will not kill them instantly or give you XP, however it does a lot of damage.
  • Corpsers are also playable in Beast mode. They are the only Locust that can heal themselves by burying themselves into the ground. Unlike the creatures appearing in the campaign and Horde 2.0, Corpsers in Beast mode cannot act in any way while underground - but they can choose the direction to face when they unearth themselves. They are highly resilient to any damage that hits their shielded fronts, such as rockets, Boomshots, and frag grenades. They are perfect for destroying fortifications and protecting teammates.
  • Corpsers got the nickname "crawlies" from Dizzy in Gears of War 3.
  • Corpsers are playable in the OverRun mode in Gears of War: Judgment. They have the same capabilities as the Corpser from Beast mode in the previous game, but they have a unique advantage. They can move underground, bypassing fortifications and turrets, creating an easier way to reach the E-hole and open it (the objective in OverRun on the Locust side is to open a closed E-hole to summon Kryll which also serves as a checkpoint for the Locust during the rest of the game).

Appearances[]

References[]

Hollow and Enemy Creatures
Locust Horde
Queen
Berserker (Matriarch) · Boomer (Butcher, Flame Boomer, Grinder, Mauler, Mauler Elite, Savage Boomer, Tremor) · Drone (Beast Rider, Bolter, Cyclops, Disciple, Flame Drone, Grappler, Gunner, Miner, Savage Drone, Savage Hunter, Savage Marauder, Sniper, Spotter) · Grenadier (Flame Grenadier, Grenadier Elite, Hunter, Hunter Elite, Savage Grenadier, Savage Grenadier Elite, Ravager) · Kantus (Armored Kantus, Savage Kantus, Zealot) · Rager · Sire · Theron (Cleaver Theron, Palace Guard, Savage Theron, Theron Elite, Theron Sentinel)
Hollow Creatures
Bloodmount · Brumak · Corpser (Shibboleth) · Digger · Gas Barge · Heart Leech · Kraken · Kryll · Leviathan · Mangler · Nemacyst (Ink Grenade) · Nemacyte · Reaver (Assault Barque, Hydra) · Riftworm · Rockworm · Rock Shrew · Seeder · Serapede · Siegebeast · Tempest (Shrieker) · Ticker · Torture Barge · Wretch
Lambent
Imulsion
Former · Lambent Berserker · Lambent Brumak · Lambent Bull · Lambent Dog · Lambent Drone (Lambent Drudge) · Lambent Grenadier · Lambent Gunker · Lambent Leviathan · Lambent Polyp · Lambent Stalk · Lambent Theron · Lambent Wretch
Swarm
Queen
Canker · Carrier · DeeBees (Bastion, Reject, Stump) · Drone (Elite Drone, Grenadier, Elite Grenadier, Hunter, Elite Hunter, Imago, Sniper, Elite Sniper) · Flock (Leech) · Hive Beast · Juvie (Screamer, Popper) · Kraken · Locust (Drone · Matriarch · Sire) · Scion (Armored Scion, Heavy Scion, Scion Elite, Warden) · Snatcher (Pouncer) · Swarmak
DeeBees
DR-1 · Shepherd (Deadeye) · Tracker (Shock Tracker) · Watcher (Guardian, Sentinel)
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