Defiler

The defiler was a rare breed of the Zerg Swarm that used toxic substances to support other Zerg forces. Resembling a silverfish and functioning, in effect, as a living cancer factory, it synthesized hazardous biochemicals from the leftover genetic material of other strains and turned them against the Swarm's enemies, shrouding allies from sight and dissolving foes beneath corrosive clouds.

Nature and origin#

The defiler is a relatively rare Zerg breed, resembling a silverfish and acting in function as a kind of cancer factory. Its core genus, if it has one, is unknown, since the defiler contains the DNA of all other Zerg breeds. It was created from festering, carcinogenic pathogens that were, in essence, leftover genetic chains from other strains, and it uses this genetic material to synthesize virus-like biochemicals. These compounds are extremely hazardous, resistant to the most effective anti-toxins, and paradoxically dangerous even to the Zerg.

Producing the chemicals expends a great deal of energy. Defilers are known to cannibalize other Zerg to fuel the metasynaptic processes that generate the compounds, and for this reason they are often accompanied by zergling escorts. They can also recharge those processes by burrowing.

Weapons#

The defiler's body hosts countless small organisms that live on its carapace and constantly feed on one another. The defiler can spontaneously launch a number of these creatures to swarm a location, making it difficult to target anything beneath the resulting cloud. It can also produce corrosive spores and hurl them at a target area, where they explode into a dense cloud whose highly toxic mist corrodes anything it touches. These spores are prone to igniting, however, owing to a flammable accelerant they contain.

The defiler moves with a slow, intelligent slither and is highly vulnerable to any form of counterattack, especially long-range or aerial assaults, so it usually stays at the rear of Zerg formations. Beyond its toxic arsenal, the defiler possesses the ability to extract and process information from terran minds.

Decline and the viper#

The defiler evolved into obsolescence after the Brood War. When the need for a specialized support strain returned, the Zerg revisited the defiler template and perfected it with genetic data from an unknown species, preserving its core functions while excising its unnecessary lethality. The result was the viper. Feral defilers still existed after the End War, and the Defenders of Man used psi-emitters to lure a number of them to Borea.

Notable defilers#

Among the recorded variant strains of the defiler are the Plague Bringer and the Unclean One, and individual defilers known as Thakras and Zergrinch are remembered by name.