- "Guys, that sounded like there were dozens of em'. Hundreds. Like a... like a swarm."
- —Delmont Walker, dubbing the term during the ambush in Fort Umson.
The Swarm is a biological organism created by the surviving members of the Locust. In 17 A.E., the Imulsion countermeasure weapon (ICW), a targeted radiation device aimed at killing cells colonized by Imulsion, was activated at the end of the Locust War. The Locust were threatened due to their ancestral history with Imulsion and constant exposure while living in the Hollow. Before the Locust could be killed, the Imulsion residing in their cells was expelled from their bodies and crystallized to form an impenetrable, chrysalis shell. The creator of the Locust, Doctor Niles Samson, genetically engineered the Locust to be able to withstand generational conflict by engineering the ability to evolve in order to adapt to new environmental conditions.
This genetic trait was triggered by the radiation wave and forced the Locust to hibernate and evolve. For twenty-five years inside the shells, the Locust evolved into Scions. With the Lambent extinct and their queen gone, the Scion's sought to continue their previous war with humanity and conquer the surface of Sera. To replenish their forces, the Scions created the Swarm as fungal-like organism capable of transforming any organic life into a new species of creatures connected to the Hivemind, allowing the Scions full control over their new army. The Scions also sought to restore Myrrah as their Queen by capturing her daughter, Reyna Diaz, and instilling her with Myrrah's consciousness. Following this, the Swarm outbreak initiated another globe-spanning conflict between the Locust and humanity, known as the Swarm Invasion.
Physiology[]
The Swarm itself is a fungal-like organism with tendrils, stalks, and puffballs. As spores spread throughout an area, tendrils grow in the environment and transform all life to members of the Hivemind. The Swarm is reddish orange and luminescent in nature. The tendrils are one of the dominant forms of life present in Swarm Hives.
While the appearances of transformed organisms vary, they typically maintain a crustaceous and reptilian form. Swarm creatures have grey, scaly skin with a red carapace formed by the Swarm's fluids to act as natural armor. Swarm creatures have two sets of nostrils, with their top pair used to expel and receive pheromone messages as an extension of the Hivemind. Swarm creatures have eyes that glow orange, likely for them to see in the dark.
History[]
Origins[]
- "You see, what you don’t realize – what none of you realize – is that my children will never die. They have been designed to withstand generational conflict. They may withdraw, they may hibernate, but they will always return. We have seen to that."
- —Dr. Niles Samson
After the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon was deployed, it was thought that the Locust Horde had been wiped out. With the war finally won, the COG Army initially intended to destroy the bodies of their fallen enemies via burning. This ultimately became impossible as all of the Locust bodies had somehow become encased in an incredibly dense crystalline structure composed of Imulsion that protected their remains. Unable to destroy the remains, the newly reformed Coalition of Ordered Governments decided to dispose of them and their weapons in several underground caverns and abandoned facilities that they had converted into burial sites. Despite general belief that the Locust Horde was gone forever, they had actually managed to survive the Imulsion Countermeasure by going into hibernation within their crystalline shells over the next twenty-five years.
In 42 A.E., the Hivemind was reactivated as members of the Locust emerged from their Imulsion chrysalis shells, evolved into Scions, growing in strength and size and outgrew their original scales. Other Hollow Creatures began to reemerge as well, such as the newly evolved Brumak. Despite Queen Myrrah's physical body being killed in 17 A.E., her consciousness survived within the Hivemind via the Matriarch and managed to guide the Scions into creating a new army. By physically materializing the Hivemind into a fungal-like organism, the Scions were capable of transforming all life and connecting it to the Hivemind, known as the Swarm - creating Hives within the Locust burial sites.
Despite having been buried with stockpiles of their own weapons, the Swarm realized they were still low in numbers and missing a Queen - as one is needed to nurture their growth and guidance. Snatchers were created to capture humans and put them in pods within a Hive, where they undergo the transformation process. Myrrah, with her consciousness still alive within the Hivemind, was able to somewhat lead the Swarm, but relied on the Speaker to lead the army and find her daughter, Reyna Diaz, in order to inhabit her body and become Queen for the Swarm. The Swarm began to kidnap Outsiders, patrolling Gears, and other survivors outside the Settlements. The COG accused the Outsiders, a group of humans formed from the Stranded who refused COG jurisdiction, of stealing their people, which fueled tensions during the Outsider Movement.
Swarm Invasion[]
Reemergence[]
- "Guys, that sounded like there were dozens of em'. Hundreds. Like a... like a swarm."
- —Delmont Walker to Kait Diaz and JD Fenix, after an attack on their village
The Outsider Village known as Fort Umson was one of the first Outsider Villages to be raided. The Swarm, led by Myrrah's consciousness in the Hivemind, located her daughter, Reyna Diaz, as the leader of the village. Desperate for the next in line to become Queen - the Swarm raided the village and captured Reyna alive. Reyna was placed within the Hive at the Tollen Dam as the rest of the village was podded and transformed into the Swarm. Only a few members survived the raid: Reyna's daughter, Kait Diaz, Reyna's brother-in-law, Oscar Diaz, and villagers James Dominic Fenix, Delmont Walker, Mackenzie, and Eli. During the raid, Reyna managed to cut the hand off the Speaker. James observed that the hand and the Imulsion crystals on it resembled a Locust within its shell. Delmont, believing it to also be Locust, convince the group to take it to JD's father and Locust War veteran, Sgt. Marcus Fenix. Traveling to the Stroud Estate, Marcus recognized the crystal and accompanies the group to the osmium mine below Fort Reval to confirm his suspicions.
In Fort Reval, the group encountered the Swarm biomass and pods, realizing they are harvesting humans to create an army. Sgt. Fenix is suddenly captured by a Snatcher as JD, Kait and Del find themselves in a frantic battle against the Swarm. Navigating Fort Reval and combating the Drones of the Swarm, the three arrive in the osmium mine and discover that the Swarm were created and led by the Locust, that the Locust survived, evolved, and emerged from their shells to become the Scions. They also manage to locate Sgt. Fenix's pod and rescue him before he was killed and transformed. Sgt. Fenix was able to provide intel that Reyna was being held at the Tollen Dam Hive when he was placed within the Hivemind. Needing reinforcements, Sgt. Fenix sent a message to his old friends for help, requesting that they meet at the abandoned town of Speyer. Kait then encounters the Speaker and kills him in battle. Damon Baird, Samantha Byrne, and Augustus Cole arrive to assist in storming the Hive and killing the Hive Beast. The group finds Reyna, but discover she is connected physically to the Hive and will die if disconnected. By her mother's request, Kait disconnects and supposedly euthanizes her.
Unknown to the group, Reyna had survived. However, her mind was too weak as it was disconnected from the Hivemind, preventing Myrrah to possess it. Myrrah then planned to either possess the next in line, her granddaughter Kait, or have Kait awaken Reyna in order to possess her daughter. Kait then began experiencing hallucinations and nightmares as her connection to the Hivemind grew. The Swarm then continued to grow in their army, taking more outsiders and transforming them. The surviving Outsiders then join the COG army to help assist in the fight against the Swarm. While Delta Squad and First Minister Mina Jinn debate the reactivation and use of the Hammer of Dawn against the Swarm - the Swarm begin their invasion of Settlement 2. Many are killed and captured, but the majority of Settlement 2 is evacuated. During the last round of evacuations, the Hammer of Dawn was used against an oncoming blight of Swarm. However, the Hammer of Dawn began to malfunction and fire wildly, killing and wounding many humans. The rest were able to evacuate while the Hammer and the Swarm destroyed what was left of Settlement 2.
Escalation[]
Needing to reunite humanity to fight against the Swarm, the COG began to recruit Outsider Villages to evacuate in COG Settlements, join the army, and fight the Swarm. Cpl. Kait Diaz was sent on the recruiting missions due to her former status as Outsider and her parents being the founders. Within the next four months, nearly all the Outsider Villages were rescued by the COG. However, Cpl. Kait Diaz's connection to the Hivemind grew even further, tormenting her with horrific visions and images. Among the last Outsider Villages to recruit was Riftworm Village, led by her uncle, Oscar Diaz. Upon arriving, the Swarm began to siege the village. Cpl. Diaz was captured by a Snatcher and finally connected to the Hivemind. Myrrah then guided Cpl. Diaz to control the Swarm army to kill all the humans, resulting in the death of Oscar Diaz. Reinforcements of the COG managed to arrive and defend the village, but Cpl. Diaz's grief finally caused her to admit her visions and possible connection to the Locust Horde. Sgt. Marcus Fenix then offered to help by helping her find the truth and guided her and Lt. Delmont Walker to the New Hope Research Facility.
Cpl. Diaz and Lt. Walker found the New Hope Research Facility and learned its secrets within, as well as intel locating a second facility inside Mount Kadar. Cpl. Diaz and Lt. Walker then navigated the Kadar Valley, activating radio towers to locate the facility. After triangulating a signal from the Mount Kadar facility, they managed to find the lab under the frozen lake. Entering the Mount Kadar Laboratory, they were greeted by Niles Samson in the form of an artificial intelligence robot. Dr. Niles Samson revealed to Kait Diaz that her grandmother was Queen Myrrah and her stem-cells were used to create the Locust Horde, which were genetically designed by Niles to survive by evolving and hibernating to endure generational conflict, explaining why the Locust evolved into the Swarm instead of dying. Realizing she was next in line to be Queen of the Swarm and could be used to strengthen the Swarm, Cpl. Diaz demanded that she be severed from the Hivemind. Niles Samson instead used her link to awaken Reyna, whose body was then possessed by Myrrah - finally giving the Swarm their Queen. Cpl. Diaz was then able to sever her link to the Hivemind by killing the Matriarch, the first Locust Drone that amplified her connection.
With the Swarm now with a Queen, they became more organized, intelligent, and methodical. They grew in greater numbers and in strength and become to industrialize their own weapons and armor. In order to now fight the stronger Swarm, Delta becomes more convinced to reactivate the Hammer of Dawn. Damon Baird then directs Delta Squad to the desert of Vasgar, where an old space facility, OZP-11, contained satellites for the Hammer of Dawn and targeting beacons created by the Union of Independent Republics. Led by former UIR soldier, Garron Paduk, Delta Squad was able to launch the new Hammer of Dawn satellites. With the COG now in possession of the Hammer of Dawn, Queen Reyna pushed to New Ephyra by invading the ruins of Old Ephyra. The COG planted the targeting beacons and began to use the Hammer of Dawn, but all three were destroyed by the Kraken, a massive Swarm beast. As the Swarm neared New Ephyra, JACK used its own targeting beacon to destroy the Kraken, which then destroyed Old Ephyra and the surrounding Swarm army - saving New Ephyra.
Hivebuster Offensive[]
Victor Hoffman, a veteran of the Locust War and Lambent Pandemic, suggested bringing in human soldiers to enter the Hives to defeat the Swarm, much like what the COG had done during Operation: Hollow Storm. However, Jinn insisted on using DeeBees for the job, forcing Hoffman into retirement.
Hoffman took matters into his own hands by finding a group of soldiers which would be called Team Scorpio, consisting of Hana Cole, Jeremiah Keegan, Leslie "Mac" Macallister and Lahni Kaliso. Mac had joined as his town of Bravelle had been near a Locust burial site which went active, resulting in everyone but him being kidnapped and podded by the Swarm.
Hana developed a bomb known as the Venom Bomb which was intended to kill the Hive from the inside out, which Team Scorpio used during their attempted infiltration of the Pahanu Hive, which had seen signs of Swarm activity. Due to a lack of knowledge and Mac's impatience, the operation ended as a failure, but it had also come with some useful information; the Swarm activity had angered some native creature with a powerful acid that they stood no chance against.
At some point after the Pahanu Hive went active, they discovered the lava tubes connecting the islands underground and invaded Weilehi, kidnapping and podding all the inhabitants. Team Scorpio arrived at the island to find the Swarm there, where they gave chase to a Snatcher that kidnapped Hana. This gave Mac the idea of letting the Snatchers take them to the heart of the hive rather than having to fight their way down. After learning of the Wakaatu, the team fought and defeated it, collecting its poison to allow Hana to revise the bomb and also made Adrenaline Injectors to help escape the pods.
With the new Venom Bomb, Team Scorpio destroyed the Pahanu Hive before being sent to Bravelle, where they also destroyed the Hive there too and learned that destroying a Hive did not kill all the members that were part of it.
Society and Culture[]
Swarm Hives[]
- Azura Research Facility (Azura, Serano Ocean)
- Bravelle Facility (Bravelle, Tyrus)
- Bronn Clocktower (Bronn, Tyrus)
- East Barricade Academy (Ephyra, Tyrus)
- Kadar Nethercutt Mine (Kadar Valley, Tyrus)
- New Ephyra Outpost (Ephyra, Tyrus)
- New Hope Research Facility (Kadar Valley, Tyrus)
- Orzabal Crater (Wilds, Tyrus)
- Osmium Mine Bravo (Fort Reval, Tyrus)
- Sanctum (Pahanu, South Islands)
- Tollen Dam (Tollen, Tyrus)
- Tomb of the Unknowns (Ephyra, Tyrus)
- Speyer Metalworks (Speyer, Tyrus)
- OZP-11 (Vasgar)
Military Tactics and Strategies[]
Swarm Forms[]
Races[]
Drone | Drones are the foot soldiers of the Swarm army. If their juvenile forms survive their early stages, they will eventually mature into a Drone. This process can be accelerated inside a Nest and develop into an Imago within seconds. Juvies are the juvenile form of Swarm Drones. They originate from humans placed in pods by Snatchers. While in the pods, the bodies of the humans dissolve and reorganize into Juvies. | |
Scion | Scions are Locust Drones that evolved when exposed to the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon. They are significantly larger than the average Locust Drone, and act as commanders for the Swarm. Various Locust Drones and the Matriarch managed to avoid the Imulsion countermeasure, joining the ranks of the Scions as the original Locust. |
Creatures[]
Bastion | Bastions are DeeBee Guardians possessed and transformed by the Swarm, typically by Leeches or Pouncer quills. They can project kinetic, impenetrable shields for its allies. | |
Carrier | Carriers are large Swarm creatures designed to protect the Hive. Slow and lumbering, the Carriers are incredible in strength and can easily destroy any obstacle. Carriers also can launch biological projectiles called Cankers. It is possible that Carriers are female, and Cankers are juvenile larvae of Carriers and Snatchers - thus acting to not only protect the Hive but to reproduce for it. | |
Hive | Hives are the physical spaces where the Swarm originate, live, and reproduce. The Swarm Hive itself is a living organism similar to fungi with tendrils, stalks, and sporocarps. As spores spread throughout an area, tendrils grow in the environment and transform all life to members of the Hivemind. | |
Hive Beast | Hive Beasts were enormous creatures that protected Swarm Hives and responsible for the reproduction of Snatchers and Carriers. | |
Kraken | Krakens are creatures possessed by the Swarm. A gargantuan beast similar to the Riftworm, it was once native to the deserts of Vasgar. At some point, the Swarm possessed it as a large weapon capable of burrowing and destroying entire military installations. It was killed by JACK using the Hammer of Dawn in Frost, 42 A.E. | |
Leech | Leeches are small Swarm creatures that are capable of possessing other creatures into becoming Swarm. When in contact with DeeBees or other artificial intelligence, the Leeches can override and hack the system - allowing the Hivemind to control the machines. When in contact with a living organism, they burrow and devour their prey from the inside before bursting out, similar to a Heart Leech, or they will explode on contact. Leeches are also capable of flight. When in a group, the Leeches act as one organism - called the Flock. | |
Reject | Rejects are DeeBee Shepherds that are possessed and transformed by the Swarm, typically Leeches or Pouncer quills. Rejects stand guard until alerted and attack intruders. | |
Snatcher | Snatchers are the most common and important creatures in the Swarm. They are large creatures that capture humans in their bellies to form pods and place them within Hives to transform the humans into Drones for their army. Snatchers can launch a large quill from their tails to incapacitate its prey in order to "snatch" them. Snatchers are able to climb walls and leap great distances. Their defenses including regurgitating acidic fluids on their enemies. Pouncers are juvenile forms of Snatchers. They can leap long distances, but lack the ability to snatch their prey. Their tail also shoots five, smaller quills instead of one large quill. Pouncers will often leap on top of their prey and devour them. | |
Stump | Stumps are DeeBee DR-1s possessed and transformed by the Swarm, typically by Leeches or Pouncer quills. They fire the large weapons once armed by the DR-1s, as well as launch electric attacks and release Leeches to attack enemies. | |
Swarmak | Swarmaks were once Brumaks and, like Scions, evolved when the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon was deployed. The Imulsion in their cells were expelled from their body and created an impenetrable crystal shell, preserving them for twenty-five years. Swarmaks, unlike Brumaks, were then connected to the Hivemind. They were also covered in Imulsion crystals, making them almost invincible. Blisters from where the Imulsion crystals once were are the only vulnerable spots. Bursting the blisters on the Swarmak causes it to bleed to death and is one of the only ways to kill it. |
Behind the Scenes[]
- The idea of the Swarm existed as early as Epic Games's original version of Gears of War 4; at least one Swarm monster type existed in this version. The Coalition retained the name of "the Swarm," but the nature of the faction itself changed between developers.[1]
- The original idea for the Swarm was that some of the Locust avoided the Imulsion countermeasure and spent twenty-five years in hiding to rebuild their army. Despite the fact that some Locust did manage to avoid the Imulsion countermeasure, this idea was scrapped due to it lacking originality and being too repetitive of the Locust surviving the three previous games. Rod Fergusson explained that there needed to be a reason for the Locust surviving in order to explore more of the series, and so it was written that the Locust had evolved when exposed to the Imulsion countermeasure.
- The Swarm have their own race-specific execution in multiplayer, consisting of smashing a COG's face into the ground multiple times before a final head smash that bursts their head.[2]
- When butterflies emerge from their chrysalis, a red liquid called meconium is expelled from within. This "pupal fluid" is made up of waste material that is produced during the pupal stage. It's possible that the Swarm organism itself, the fungal-like growths, originated as pupal fluid from the Locust crystal shells.