The Infected

The Infected are the twisted remnants of many human beings within the world of Combat Arms.

History
After the deadly mistreatment of an experimental Stamina Kit, several NEMEXIS test-subjects underwent horrifying mutations and eventually went berserk. Unable to contain these monstrosities, many lab personnel quickly fell prey to their once captive prisoners.

Most of the employees at the time were unaware of what their company had been doing (and thus had no inkling of what had happened). When the creatures from the laboratory reached the upper levels of the complex, all hell broke loose and many innocent people were slaughtered. Those who survived seemingly began to show the same symtptoms as these inhuman creatures, and from there the virus began to spread.

As more and more personnel began to die, the laboratory outbreak reached an epidemic level. Anyone who came in direct contact with "Infected" personnel would eventually succumb to the virus themselves, leaving the ever-dwindling number of survivors to fend for themselves.

To prevent any more possible civilian casualties, LAB 3 initiated a lock-down protocol which prevented anyone from leaving the complex. In a last-ditch attempt to notify the UAF, the remaining staff managed to get a vague distress signal out before all contact with LAB 3 was entirely lost.

Upon arrival, UAF reconnaissance found themselves surrounded by hundreds of Infected personnel. Attempts to contain the outbreak failed, and the Infection quickly spread within LAB 3 and beyond.

More detailed information can be found via Quarantine and NEMEXIS.

Overview
The Infected are not your ordinary, everyday zombies. They are slow yet aggressive, remiscient of a cross between the standard Romero undead and those Infected with the "Rage Virus" from the "28 Later" series.

Because the Infection was originally just a drug, it is much more different than your typical contagious pathohen. The Infected may simply be individuals who have no longer retain any previous human traits.

In fact, many of the Infected don't seem to be dead or reanimated beings at all.

Becoming Infected
There doesn't seem to be any set precedence from the point of Infection to the point of turning into an Infected.

First off, it doesn't seem that anyone is entirely immune to the Virus. Even the Player seems to be vulnerable to Infection, though he-or-she may be counted on to avoid the Infection entirely. Then there is the matter of carriers, or people who have contracted the virus, but have yet to show any symptoms or changes.

If you've played Cabin Fever before, you'll notice that it took at least 30-40 minutes before anyone succumbs to the virus in the end. In Quarantine, on the other hand, players can instantly become Infected and "turn" in a matter of seconds.

The different number of ways that you can become Infected is also uncertain, though there seem to be many. While it seems basic that you can contract the Infection from a scratch or wound, the Infected really never seem to bite their victims (Viper was practically eaten alive in the Quarantine Trailer, but she was supposedly mercy-killed by Scorpion before any changes could take place).

It seems that the virus can travel through liquids and through the air by limited means, leaving few possible methods of protection from the Infection. As seen with the Witch, gas-masks and possibly even HAZMAT equipment may offer no protection against the virus.

The Infected (In-depth)
There is currently no limit to how rampant the virus can become; nor is there any information on how to stop or prevent it. For anyone who has become Infected, their is seemingly no cure. Their mutations have become extensive to the point where:

All Infected:
 * Have very noticeable changes in appearance, behavior, and all other traits.
 * Have more endurance and stamina than a normal Human.
 * Have much more strength than any normal Human.
 * Suffer a major loss of cognitive skills; though their reasoning is gone, they still retain some of their intelligence..
 * Suffer a major loss of vocal skills.
 * Suffer a major lack of balance. Most Infected are hunched, and some can easily be knocked-back.
 * Have an increase in hearing.
 * Have an increase in predatory skills.
 * can move very quickly.
 * Can directly Infect other people. They also use their claws to attack and Infect.
 * Have a general immunity/resistance to most types of damage, thanks to their skin.

Have an immunity to: Are very resistant to:
 * toxic chemicals
 * drowning.
 * falling damage.
 * flashbangs.
 * nutshots.

Are (slightly) vulnerable to:
 * headshots. (They'll still do extra damage, but without the proper equipment, it will never be a 1-hit Kill.)
 * bullet damage. (Bullet resistance once ranged from near-immunity (0-4 max), to the current maximum (6-15) after a series of patches).


 * melee damage (Though using melee is extremely discouraged..)
 * explosives and fire damage (The best weapons against the Infected).

Pre-Mutation (Tier 1)
In dealing with the Infected, there are two mainstream species.

Host Infected
(Main article: Host Infected)

The Host Infected are a unique type of Infected. These people may have had an indirect contact with the virus, which caused them to become Infected in the first place. Several known methods of contracting the Host Infection is through very direct contact (such as with needle injection) or diffusion through the air (involuntarily). In fact, practically ALL of the original test subjects were Host Infected because they were directly influenced by the virus, instead of contracting it from someone else. Because of their unique genetic make-up and the fact that the Infection has had more time to completely infect the Host, Host Infected can be much more dangerous than the Viral Infected.

Viral Infected
(Main article: Viral Infected)

The Viral Infected consist of anyone who contracted the virus through someone else. Notable methods of contracting the Viral Infection is through any direct contact (bites, scratches, wounds) or even prolonged exposure to the virus (such as in Cabin Fever). There are many more Viral Infected than there are Host Infected, namely because most people have unwillingly become Infected by another person. Highly violent, numerous, though weaker than the Host Infected, Viral Infected should not be taken lightly.

Differences
Despite their similarities, there are still differences between a Host and a Viral Infected.

The Host Infected:
 * Are notable for their grayish-pale skin, instead of a bloody-red like most Infected.
 * Have much more power, health, and sprint stamina than a Viral Infected.
 * Seem to have more "authority" over the other Infected.
 * Have clearer vision than the the Viral Infected, since their vision isn't prohibited by any external damage.
 * Retain their normal camouflage, since they haven't sustained any major wounds leading to blood loss.
 * Seemingly retain some of their hair.

The Viral Infected:  Any other type of Infected have evolved from these progenitor species.
 * Usually have a bloody, ashen-red skin after becoming Infected.
 * Have a clouded, "bloody" tint to their vision.
 * May have a "bloody" camouflage, because their vest eventually became soaked in blood.
 * Are the more numerable of the Infected.

Post-Mutatation (Tier 2)
(TBE)

Advanced Mutation (Tier 2.5)
Though the virus's mutation has seemingly halted, the Infected themselves are reported to have grown more intelligent. Several of them have retained a few of their cognitive skills from when they were human, and as a result, they can still "use" the weapons they were wielding before they became Infected.

Assault Maulers



Weapons Used A special "variant" of the Mauler, which can be seen only in Operation: Black Lung. Though they retain their usual look, each of these Infected awkwardly wields a gun by the tip. This grants them slightly farther range than normal. They can currently have two weapons. a camouflaged M3/G3, or a MP5 (unconfirmed). They deal 25 damage via swinging their gun. Oddly enough, these also seem to be the only type that consciously attacks objectives, such as the generators in Black Lung.
 * What seems to be an camouflaged M3 Super 90/SPAS-12 Stocked
 * MP5



Trivia

 * It is possible for some people to lag out and spawn with infected hands, but the rest of their body is human.
 * If the human is lagging with a weapon, when he/she is infected the infected soldier will be an infected with a weapon in their hand.Infected_Hands_Glitch_001.jpg