| “ | One single Flood spore can destroy a species. | „ |
| ~ Rtas 'Vadum explaining his decision to glass New Mombasa. |
| “ | It gets inside you. Chews you up. | „ |
| ~ Female UNSC Marine after witnessing how the Flood infect and mutate their victims. |
| “ | I could see it crawling...SLIDING AROUND BENEATH THEIR SKIN!! | „ |
| ~ Traumatized UNSC Marine after witnessing his fellow Marines get mutated. |
The Flood are one of the two main antagonists (alongside The Covenant) of the Halo franchise.
They are an ancient alien race of parasites capable of assimilating any other organic life-form and turning them into mindless zombies, and if left unchecked could consume all other sentient life in the universe. Eons ago, the Forerunner race were at war with the Flood and created the Halo Array as a last resort to kill all other life in the galaxy so that the Flood would starve to death. It is the goal of the Covenant to activate the Halos, which they mistakenly believe will send them on a "Great Journey" to godhood.
It was revealed that the Flood were originally Precursors, an advanced race that created all other races in the galaxy (including Forerunners and Humans). The Forerunners, under the leadership of Master Builder Faber, rebelled against Precursors, nearly exterminating all of them. However, some Precursors survived, turning themselves into dust/powder, designed to reconstitute themselves at a later date. But the powder got corrupted and thus, The Flood was born. The Primordial is the only remaining Precursor alive.
The Flood are all controlled by an intelligent hivemind called the Gravemind, who often speaks through his Flood zombies. The Flood and Gravemind are seemingly destroyed once and for all following the events of Halo 3 when the Ark is damaged by the Master Chief. However, they later returned in Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare.
Members[]
Types[]
- Gravemind
- Proto-Gravemind
- Juggernaut Form (cut)
- Pure Form
- Stalker Form
- Ranged Form
- Tank Form
- Infector Form
- Transport Form
- Stealth Form
- Combat Form
- Human Combat Form
- Sangheili Combat Form
- Jiralhanae Combat Form
- Kig-yar Combat Form
- Unggoy Combat Form
- Active Camouflage Combat Form
- Carrier Form
- Shielded Carrier Form
- Combat Carrier Form
- Infection Form
Individuals[]
- Jacob Keyes
- Prophet of Regret
- Prophet of Truth
- Wallace Jenkins
Mission Appearances[]
Halo: Combat Evolved[]
- 343 Guilty Spark
- The Library
- Two Betrayals
- Keyes
- The Maw
Halo 2[]
- The Oracle
- Sacred Icon
- Quarantine Zone
- High Charity
Halo 3[]
- Floodgate
- The Covenant
- Cortana
- Halo
Halo Wars[]
- Anders Signal
- The Flood
- Shield World
- Cleansing
- Beachhead
- Reactor
Audio[]
Trivia[]
- Halo 3 was the only game so far where the Flood could infect and mutate UNSC Marines, Brutes/Jiralhanae, and Elites/Sangheili in real time. Should an Infection Form latch onto a Marine, Brute, or Elite, the body would writhe in pain and agony as it began to mutate, before standing up as the mutation finished and the victim became a Flood Combat Form. If Master Chief performed a mercy kill on the intended victim before the transformation advanced too far, the Flood biomass would eventually die off and the body would remain unharmed until another Infection Form could try again.
