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- "Time for Seeder hunting! Like boar - only uglier."
- —Tai Kaliso during the evacuation of Ilima
Seeders were large, eight-legged beasts that fired Nemacyst spores out of a second mouth on their rear end.[1] When the Locust Horde deployed Seeders onto the battlefield, they used these creatures as artillery and anti-air weapon emplacements. They can also jam radio transmissions with their very presence.
History[]
Seeders are perhaps the most bizarre creatures of the Locust Horde. Each of these living cannons are literally fed its own ammunition. The mouth on its rear is the creature's anus.[1] A Locust Drone is in the same hole with the Seeder and has several Nemacyst with him. He shoves a Nemacyst in the Seeder's mouth where it goes through the body and is fired out of its anus.
The Locust use Seeders as a sort of living artillery cannon. They can launch Nemacyst as mortars at long range and also launch Nemacyst at close range to jam radio transmissions. When in battle, Seeders remain stationary with the vulnerable front end of their bodies under the ground and their armored rears exposed. Aiming is unnecessary as Nemacyst can seek out their targets once in the air. In some instances, a Seeder will pull its entire body out of the ground when injured or panicked.
Destruction of Halvo Bay[]
During the Destruction of Halvo Bay, at least two Seeders assisted in the attack on the city. Both blocked communications for quite awhile, allowing Kilo Squad to enact their plan without having to tell anyone about it. One Seeder was at the Halvo Bay airport where it was taken down by a Gear squad, but not before it apparently wrecked the airport and kept anyone from escaping. Another Seeder was at the Museum of Military Glory and was taken out by Omega-Two. However, Kilo Squad felt that General Karn may have allowed this Seeder to be killed to draw the COG into a trap as a massive force of Gears headed for the Museum afterwards to take out Karn. This plan was foiled when Kilo destroyed the Museum with the Lightmass Missile. They might also have taken part during the attack on the Endeavour Naval Shipyard as the sky above it was full of ink, possibly due to Nemacyst being launched into the air; a strategy that would also be used during the Evacuation of Ilima several years later.
The Fall of Ilima city[]
- "Hit them with a big rock."
- —Tai Kaliso suggesting bringing down a building on a Seeder
During the Evacuation of Ilima, General RAAM used several Seeders to ink the sky over Ilima with Nemacyst so a "Kryllstorm" could decimate the city's population. After RAAM, an Unidentified Theron Elite, two Mauler Elites and a Tremor, which could summon Seeders with its Thumper, came out of an E-Hole opened by a Corpser, they escorted the Tremor to the first key point signaled by Queen Myrrah. After getting past a number of Gears, the Tremor managed to summon the first Seeder. Another one was summoned at another key point near a courtyard, and a third one was summoned at a COG outpost. Later on, Zeta-Six watched some Nemacyst flying over the city and followed them to three Seeders. Zeta later dispatched them using Boomshots to destroy the columns of a building behind them, collapsing it and crushing them and their Nemacyst. By the time Zeta-Six exited Ilima High School, the Seeders had darkened most of the sky over the city.
When the Locust Elite re-emerged at Alpha Squad's Evacuation outpost, they escorted the Tremor through the outpost as it summoned another Seeder. The team advanced to Ilima City Hall and summoned another trio of Seeders that inked the sky even further, however Queen Myrrah stated that the sky wasn't dark enough and ordered them to head to the last emergence point so that the last of the Seeders could be summoned. Afterwards, Zeta had trouble with communications and advanced towards Ilima City Hall following a group of Nemacyst and disposed of the Seeders outside using a Mobile Command Center to fire the Hammer of Dawn, destroying three of them and clearing communications. The remaining Seeders managed to ink the skies above the city, but not before Zeta's members managed to evacuate the civilians at Dr. Gregory Wisen's School of Hope.[2]
Lightmass Offensive[]
- "Damn! What's that smell?"
"Seriously. Something smells wrong in here."
"It's those Seeders. They're nasty man. Nasty." - —Dom, Marcus and Cole complaining about the Seeder's smell
While Delta Squad was in Ephyra, the Locust had Seeders all over the city, jamming radios and keeping King Ravens out of the skies. Delta began to have problems with their communications and soon found out that the interference came from the Seeders. Delta was instructed to use the Hammer of Dawn to kill them so Ravens could extract them; the first Seeder was encountered near a bridge crossing (with Delta complaining about the nasty smell of the Seeders). It tried to defend itself with Nemacyst and was given support by some Locust Drones but ultimately fell at the hands of the Gears. However, communications were still jammed which meant more Seeders were in the area. Delta soon found another one at an open part of a building and quickly dispatched it.
- "And that's three for three."
- —Marcus after killing the last of the Seeders
Delta recovered communications but they were too weak and so they moved on to the last of the Seeders, bringing down the Hammer of Dawn on it and finally clearing communications, allowing a Raven to pick them up.
While Delta was en route to the Fenix Estate via Ravens, they were attacked by Nemacyst. KR Two-Five was hit and crashed, and KR Six-Four, carrying Delta, was forced to land. They eventually found one of the Seeders that fired on them and quickly killed it with the Hammer of Dawn. The corpse of a Seeder was later found in a courtyard near some Bolo Grenades.
At East Timgad, another Seeder jammed communications with Control. Marcus and Dom found it inside the Theatre where they could not use the Hammer of Dawn. They dropped a stage wall on it instead, forcing it to retreat back underground. They later found it outside of Timgad Central Energy, igniting a leaking gas pipe to set the creature ablaze. This re-established communications with Control, allowing Delta to continue their mission.
Journey to Montevado[]
When Delta Squad was on their way to the city of Montevado, several Seeders opened fire on their Raven above the Dorado Hills, killing the pilot and severely damaging the Raven. However, Jace Stratton managed to crash-land the Raven and escape the Seeders.
Operation Hollow Storm[]
- "Due to Seeder and Nemacyst infestation, we're unable to get a chopper down there to deliver the bomb."
- —Anya Stroud in Wrightman Base
During the initial assault on Landown, many Ravens and Derricks were destroyed by Nemacyst fired from Seeders; eventually the COG forces were able to locate and kill the Seeders, freeing the air space. During the assault on the Hollows, a Seeder jammed communications but Alpha-One killed it and restored communications. During Delta's attack on Mt. Kadar, they were crossing a frozen lake when they came under attack from Nemacyst. Eventually they found the pair of Seeders on a ridge and killed them with their Centaur. When Delta attempted to sink Jacinto with their hijacked Brumak, they encountered Seeders attempting to stop them but they were quickly dispatched.
Lambent Pandemic[]
When the Locust attacked Anvil Gate, they used Seeders for Nemacyst artillery but retreated when the attack was repelled. What was of the creatures after the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon was activated remains unknown.
Game Strategies[]
In Gears of War, these monsters can only be killed by using the Hammer of Dawn. There will always be one nearby, so don't worry about having the Hammer before the battle. The only aspect to watch out for are the Seeder's Nemacyst. They can kill you instantly on harder difficulties, so be sure the sky is clear before dropping the Hammer.
In Gears of War 2, Seeders can be killed by the cannon on a Centaur with multiple hits. In Act 5, the hijacked Brumak can also dispose of them with little effort.
In RAAM's Shadow, the first group of Seeders can only be killed by dropping a building on them. Nearby weapons caches contain Boomshots which can be used to take down the building's columns in multiple hits. The weapons caches contain reloads, so the player doesn't have to worry about ammunition. The major issue is dodging enemy fire and Locust attacking the position the player is fighting at. The second group of Seeders requires the player to fight through massive Locust forces to the Mobile Command Center in Ilima City Hall. The player can then use the command center to call down strikes from the Hammer of Dawn and kill the three nearby Seeders.
Behind the scenes[]
- "Anything that is fed an armored mutant slug thing then poops it into the air is cool in my book."
- —Pete Hayes on the Seeder[3]
- A dead Seeder is seen lying on the ground in a checkpoint of the Act 4 chapter, Hazing of Gears of War. There is also a set of Bolo Grenades near it. If you pick them up, the Seeder will growl and tremble, perhaps attempting to revive itself.
- On the Gears of War 2 map Day One, a Seeder will occasionally burst up through the large hole in the center of the map.
- In Gears of War 2, Act 3: Ascension, where the player rides a Centaur, the player will come across two Seeders on a ridge. They appear to have yellow glowing ends on them which most likely serve no other purpose other than making them easier targets for the player. These Seeders are presumably responsible for the Nemacyst attacks the player suffers earlier in the level.
- In Gears of War 2, Act 5: Escape, when the player gets control of a Reaver and gets attacked by enemy Reavers, the player can spot Seeders in the forest.
- While Seeders take multiple sustained hits to kill with the Hammer of Dawn in Gears of War, in RAAM's Shadow they are quickly obliterated by a single hit. The Seeders also don't appear to leave any remains behind when killed by the Hammer of Dawn in RAAM's Shadow unlike in Gears of War.
Appearances[]
- Gears of War: Judgment
- RAAM's Shadow
- Gears of War (First appearance)
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
- Hollow
- Gears of War 2
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Art of Gears of War
- ↑ RAAM's Shadow
- ↑ Art of Gears of War