Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show I'm your host Paul aka the guy who's
dealing with a staff infection like Jared Caught Cordyseps.
Sorry just to clarify I don't have a staff infection I'm just
doing the worst pun possible to start the video. Now speaking of infections
throughout this video we're gonna be going through the multiple stages
of what happens when the cordyseps take over someone in the last of us universe.
This ranges from things that we saw on outbreak day all the way up to one
of the creatures we encounter during the last of us part 2.
Because of that there will be some spoilers but I'll give you a heads up on that before
we get to it incase you just want what's in the show. If you enjoy the video then please
hit the thumbs up button and make sure you subscribe for videos like this every day.
With that out the way huge thank you for clicking this, now let's get into the breakdown.
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Ok so in the show and game we learn that the initial cordyseps outbreak happens
due to people injesting a mutated form of it through flour and yeast products. If enough
of the fungi enters the body then they beging to hijack the brains motor functions and they
take over the hosts body. This is the first stage in which they become a runner. The cordyseps are
actually able to rewire the brain and actually fix disabilities so that one no longer carries them.
We saw this in the case of Nana Adler who was up partying like it was 1899 again and she was able
to run after Sarah when she encountered her in the house. Now one thing that you
might not have noticed is something that was brought up on the podcast in the case of Sam.
Series creators Neil Druckman and Craig Mazin said that the cordyseps actually fixed Sams
deafness showing the ability they have to figure out faults in the body. Now beyond injesting the
cordyseps the show also has the infection spreading through bites. The game adds an
additional layer to it as well with spores being something that can give someone the cordyseps.
Though we don't really see this in either version, the majority of those who were
infected with the fungi ended up dying shortly after. These corpses would find
somewhere to lay down and die and from there they'd grow into the wall and start firing
out spores into an area. This was normally in dark and damp areas underground which
is why you'd tend to come across them in basements and abandoned buildings.
Breathing the spores in even for just a couple of minutes was enough to cause infection and
thus people had to carry gas masks with them at all times to navigate these areas.
Anyway upon becoming infected the first signs of someone being taken
over comes in the form of muscle spasms and twitching. Episode 1 also showed us
that depending on where youre bit it can drastically effect how long things take.
Someone bit in the leg or foot has 12 to 24 hours whereas those bitten in the
neck or face have 5 to 15 minutes. This is purely because the cordyseps need to
travel to the brain so the closer the bite the easier it is. They've never shown this
in the series or game but I do wonder if amputating a leg after a bite can stop it
in it's tracks and this is a tactic that's of course been used in zombie shows and movies.
The infection slowly reduces them down to their basic instincts and
not only will they attack people but they'll also go after animals too.
Now over the space of two days someone will turn a runner and at this point they kinda
go off into two possible paths. The first is where their body can't really handle it,
the body is then instructed to find a dark corner and this is where they lay down and die.
In the game and show Sam asks if the people are still in there and I've always been someone who
thought that they were. The wiki says that the twitchign is people trying to fight back
and that the sad expression some of them have when attacking is because they are
genuinely remorseful. They don't want to be doing this but the fungi is controlling them
and thus they're very much being forced to do horrific things because of it.
Stronger people will last through this though and they'll keep going, being runners and so on and
so forth. Those they don't pick up on light they are alerted by sound and upon hearing a
noise they'll tend to run towards it. If they find a person they'll attack using their bear
hands and will do whatever they can to put the cordseps into them. The show adds an additional
layer with some being located in their mouth and it really elevates the level of horror with them.
Though it's never explicitly stated I think that the infected you find crying
and sobbing away in corners are the ones who are probably gonna be dead in a couple
of days wheres the ones who keep walking around are those that will become stalkers.
Now I actually think that stalkers are the scariest form of them. Anyone
who's played through that office block scene in part 2 knows what I'm talking
about and the reason that they are so creepy is because of how they move.
Now in the case of a runner you could typically drop down into somewhere and
they wouldn't be aware of you. You could then sneak about and stealthily kill them. If you
got caught then you knew what you were dealing with and they'd run towards you and attack.
Two things that you were well aware would happen but stalkers were so unpredictable.
As soon as you enter an area with them in theyre immediately alerted but rather than
running at you they'll hide around corners and stalk you through the level. Sometimes
they'll run at you and other times they won't but the fact theyre so unpredictable is what
makes them so scary. They might all ambush you at once or they might just watch you. You
really don't know whats gonna happen which keeps you on edge at all times with them.
Now during this stage the cordyseps have started to grow out of their face and
through their eyes. Stalkers usually develop after roughly two weeks and over the next
couple of years after the fungi grows out of the hosts face turning them into a clicker.
Now these are the infected that I think the game is most famous for. Completely blind the
clickers get their nickname from the fact that they use echo location and clicks to
scope out their surroundings. Possessing increased strength they're not only able
to to easily grapple their victims but they can also take more bullets and hits than your
typical infected. The fungus on them acts almost as armor plating and somtimes you'll have to land
multiple head shots against one to take it down. This can be extremely tense if they're running
towards you swipinging the air like 'im not touching you, cant get mad im not touching you.
In the game until you unlock the shiv defence skill they're one
hit kills that only have to reach you to give the game over screen.
If you know what youre doing it is possible to navigate them pretty safely and you can
use bottles and bricks to create noises which will draw them away.
Now the next stage up from this is the bloater and in the game this is pretty
much a recurring boss character. In the series they first encounter it after escaping Kansas
City whereas in the game you come across it at the school with Bill.
When discussing this creature the creative team said that this was someone who was
really strong in the real world like a bodybuilder or youtuber.
Most of these were infected decades ago and they've kept going whereas
clickers normally tend to just lie down and die after a while.
They were basically arnie back then and thus they had resistance to the cordyseps. They
became huge hulking figures that could throw acidic spores at you and in the game if they
grab you they'll stick their fingers in your face and tear you apart. This is a
similar fate to what perry experienced in the show but we can't show it cos f**king youtube
demonetisation. Anyway the bloaters are of course blind so they can be navigated if
they're not alerted to you and even though they're extremely powerful it is possible to beat them.
Due to them being heavily covered in fungus they're also extremely vulnerable to fire.
Molotovs and flamethrowers work extremely well against them but
they do take a while to kill. Now for the next part of the video I'm gonna be
talking about the two infected that were introduced in the second game.
The first is a shambler and this shares several characteristics with the bloaters. Like them
they've been infected for years but they aren't as large or as powerful as the bloaters are. They
also attack by using acidic spores are much stronger than your typical grunt.
Death isn't the end for them either and upon being taken out
they'll then explode and spread more acidic spores into the air.
Now part 2 also has the most gigantic infected creature that you come across in the two parts.
When youre playing as Abby you head to the WLF hospital base in order to
get medical supplies for Yara. Unable to get them
on the surface you have to travel deeper into the location in order to find more.
Now this takes you to an area that was ground zero on outbreak day. When things went down
no one knew what was happening and the hospital staff desperately tried to help out the infected.
They went into the basement which is where they worked away as the situation got worse.
It got so bad that the entire area had to be quarantined and there were several sanitary
tunnels set up along with highly secure doors so that things could get locked down.
This didn't stop it from spreading though and it got to the point where
the military realised they couldn't handle the situation. Thus they locked the doors,
destroyed the stairs in and out and never went back.
For decades those that were infected have remained down there and upon searching the area you come
across the Rat King. This is a creature that was created by several of the infected combining
into one being to make a ginormous monster who's capable of taken extensive damange.
The Rat king is terrifying and even if you manage to damage it it will simply have the infected that
are part of it break off and chase you around the basement. Eventually you'll be able to take
it down but then you have to deal with one of the offshoots and it's a horrifying encounter.
Now that's people who were infected on day
one so we can pretty much gather that that is all of the stages.
However there may be more and if we get part 3 then who knows how many years into the future
that is gonna take place. Potentially if we get a ten year time jump we're gonna be about 34 years
away from outbreak day and this could lead to even more grotesque versions of the infected.
Anyway that's a video for another time and now I wanna hear which infected is
your favourite...well your least favourite.
Basically which one do you s**t yourself when you come across?
Comment below and let me know and...
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown
of perfect scene in Spider-Man Homecoming. We break down the entire thing so it’s
definitely worth checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video,
I’ve been Paul and I’ll see you next time. Take care, Peace