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"You might see this thing swaying in the distance, look at it and go 'What the hell is going on?' And then you realize too late that there's actually a creature inside of it."
—Necromorph designer Ben Wanat[1]

Fodders, also referred to as Wasters, are a Necromorph form encountered in Dead Space 3 which uses a human-like façade to hide its alien interior.

Fodders are encountered during the outbreak on the New Horizons Lunar Colony as well as on Tau Volantis, both during the original S.C.A.F. expedition and at the time of the planet's rediscovery in the 26th century.

Overview[]

Fodder_Necromorph_Sound_Effects_HD

Fodder Necromorph Sound Effects HD

Fodder sound effects

Fodders use a rather cunning disguise in which they retain their hosts' clothing and overall silhouette, presumably allowing them to fool potential victims. The most obvious change to their appearance is their slime-oozing eyes and mouth that emanate a ghastly yellow light.

Unlike other Necromorphs, which rely on mutated limbs to murder their prey, Fodders attack their victims using a variety of melee weapons previously possessed by their host, including ice axes, hatchets, bone saws, pipe wrenches, crowbars, and police batons.

DS3 Fodder Close-Up

A Fodder on the surface of Tau Volantis.

DS3 Fodder Mutations

The mutations of a Fodder.

Fodders emit sounds that closely resemble distorted human speech, these mumbles turning into angered roars when attacking a target. They also let out a near normal pained scream if injured, and a horrified scream during mutation which quickly fades into a monstrous roar.

While a Fodder's body has almost minimal physical alterations compared to a standard Necromorph, it possesses the unique ability to trigger mutations in action. Shooting them in either their upper part or their lower part can trigger various mutations. When the upper body receives significant damage, the torso explodes, revealing three pronged tentacles growing out of the host's pelvis. Upon damaging the legs, the pelvis will explode and three projectile-shooting appendages will sprout from the chest area for ranged combat and also to help with locomotion.

Variants[]

Fodders have various appearances based on who the host was. The tools they wield also differ accordingly.

S.C.A.F. Legionary[]

These Fodders are made out of deceased S.C.A.F. Legionaries. Their hosts were equipped with green uniforms that covered most of their bodies, leaving only their arms open to the elbows. They are coated in blood and slime and they lack some skin on their faces, exposing face muscles. They wield a pair of crowbars or hatchets.

New Horizons Security Officer[]

This Fodder variant is a mutated version of a New Horizons security officer. They carry two retractable batons as well as retaining their host's armor, albeit covered in slime. The helmet's visor is broken, exposing the face. The nose is gone, and the mouth area is bursting with slime. They retain all the damage the host has received before mutation.

S.C.A.F. Navy Enlisted[]

These Fodders are mummified corpses of the crew pertaining to the fleet orbiting Tau Volantis. They retain their host's faded green uniform with the S.C.A.F. Navy logo on the left breast and shoulder area. Parts of the uniform are covered in dried blood and the right arm has an exposed area with fleshy bone. They carry a pair of hatchets. This variant also appears on the surface of Tau Volantis in certain parts.

S.C.A.F. Snow Scout[]

These Fodders are mummified S.C.A.F. snow prospectors. Their hosts were once wearing black-and-yellow jackets. The only difference between them and the corpses of other S.C.A.F. snow scouts is that their faces ooze with slime. They carry a pair of ice axes with brown handles. They are found at S.C.A.F camps and outposts on the surface of Tau Volantis.

Unitologist Soldier[]

These Fodders are reanimated mutilated corpses of Circle soldiers. Just like with S.C.A.F. snow prospectors, the only difference between the appearance of Circle soldier corpses and this variant is that their faces ooze with slime. They look bulky because of their RIGs and they carry a pair of ice axes with red handles. They do not use their rifles and are encountered only in places with a large presence of Unitologist Soldiers.

S.C.A.F. Research Team[]

The S.C.A.F. research team variant is encountered only in the labs of the S.C.A.F. Science Division's mountain peak base. Their hosts were once wearing uniforms which closely resemble those of snow prospectors; however, their coloration is different, being blue-and-white jackets instead of black-and-yellow. Their hosts were also wearing masks with glass visors and peculiar filters. After mutation, the visor part of their masks is broken and their uniforms are splattered in slime. The slime in their mouths can be seen pulsating through the filter. They wield a pair of saws that were most likely used to slice through alien specimens.

Enhanced Fodder[]

S.C.A.F. personnel that were issued with bulky Legionary Suits. After their deaths, their bodies were left to decompose in their enormous suits, resulting in mutation into forceful Necromorphs later on. They are oozing with olive slime that even bursts through the covering of their suits. Their gas masks are holding off the slime but it still can be seen protruding through the eye pieces. Their suits grant them soundly protection from any sorts of damage. They wield a pair of pipe wrenches. 

Strategy[]

  • Sometimes, when a particular mutation is about to happen, these Necromorphs become invulnerable to any kinds of damage.
  • Due to the Fodder's ability to split in half, it is recommended to aim for the legs first when equipped with a heavy damaging weapon, since this will kill the Fodder within one or two shots.
  • Blowing off a Fodder's arm then severing a leg will kill it without much trouble.
  • Fodders are extremely resilient to TK impalements from their own tools, so it's not recommended to throw a tool at one as it leaves the player open to other attackers while not being able to neutralize the Fodder and may even cause it to split.
  • If there are other types of Necromorphs in an area, a weapon can be picked off a Fodder and used as a TK projectile.
  • Stasis and melee attacks are an effective combination when facing a weakened Fodder.
  • Use a Force Gun (Heavy frame + Plasma core + default tip/ Mk 2 conic dispersal) while they are sprinting at you to launch them backwards, and while they recover from their fall, shoot them with a chain lightning gun (Heavy Frame + Tesla core + diffraction torus) upgraded with damage circuits. Normal Fodders die in one hit, even to the body, and enhanced Fodders die in one hit to the limbs or two hits to the body at impossible difficulty.
  • The Force Gun and Military Engine are great for mowing down large groups of them.
  • A decently upgraded Chain Lightning Gun (Heavy Frame + Tesla Core + Diffraction Torus) will instantly kill any Fodder type, even Enhanced ones, in a single hit to the body on all but the highest difficulty settings. The Fodder will break apart at the waist but will not transform, simply dropping dead on the spot while the chain lightning effect already deals damage to other nearby hostiles.
  • Weapons with Acid or Fire attachments can dismember one in seconds.
  • Line Gun-type weapons will quickly finish them off if their tentacles are exposed.
  • A Rip-Core, especially an upgraded one, usually defeats them with little difficulty.
  • Slasher blades will cut them in half instantly on Normal difficulty.
  • A single Shotgun blast will kill a Fodder instantly without allowing it to mutate. Enhanced Fodders are much tougher and can withstand multiple Shotgun blasts even if the weapon has full damage, regardless of the difficulty level.
  • A Military Engine with a Directed Suspension Field (a.k.a. Sub-Machine Gun tip) will make short work of any Fodder coming your way (tested on Hard difficulty, 2-5 bursts with no upgraded parts and circuits). Add a Flame Glaze or Acid Bath attachment to amplify the effectiveness.
  • The Anchored Bolas (Tesla Core + Directed Suspension Field) or the shock from an Electrocution Module will kill Fodders without causing them to transform. Similarly, any weapon that can remove both legs at the same time (e.g. Shotgun, Line Gun/Bolas Gun variants, Plasma Cutter variants) can also kill them without triggering their transformation.
  • A Seeker Rifle (military engine with sniper rifle barrel) that is upgraded to max damage can easily kill most Fodders with a single torso shot. Note: you should attach a secondary weapon to the Seeker rifle due to its low ammo capacity and fire rate.
  • The most effective way for killing Enhanced Fodders (or any other Necromorph) is a MK V Seeker Rifle on top with a MK V Force Gun at the bottom on a S.C.A.F. Frame and MK V Stasis coating with MK V Stasis Amplifier as attachments. While the Force gun pushes back groups of them, it takes 2 shots to the body to take them down. Being fast is critical because after one high damaging shot, Fodders can quickly mutate themselves into horrific forms.

Trivia[]

Ben-wanat-dismember-reveal-alien

Ben Wanat's early idea for the Necromorphs in the original Dead Space, which later inspired the Fodder.

DS3-OG-W-P

Official Dead Space 3 Dev Team Edition flipbook, which refers to the Necromorph as Waster.

  • The Fodder is based on a very early concept of Necromorphs by Ben Wanat, wherein an octopus-like parasite would wear a corpse like a suit. Upon being dismembered, the parasite would emerge as a mass of flailing tendrils in search of its lost limb. While this concept for Necromorphs was completely scrapped, it was eventually reintroduced as the Fodder.
  • The Fodder can be compared to the alien creature from John Carpenter's The Thing, due to the fact that it somewhat resembles a still living human until it manifests inhuman appendages for offensive or defensive purposes, and the Fodder is also inhumanly resistant to damage.
    • Additionally, the Fodder's winter gear and clothing is very similar to the scientists from the film and its arctic setting. The ghastly light emitted from its face is also reminiscent of The Thing's famous poster.
  • The glowing eyes and mouth of a Fodder are also similar to the hallucination of Nicole Brennan encountered throughout Dead Space 2 as well as the hallucinations of monstrous miners encountered in Dead Space: Extraction.
  • Fodders are the only Necromorphs seen to use human weapons and tools along with the Shambler. The only other Necromorph form seen to attack using items from its surroundings as weapons was the Slug in the original game, which grabbed objects off of the USG Ishimura's hull and hurled them at Isaac.
  • When Isaac ascends the cliffs of Tau Volantis, a Fodder can be heard and then seen using its own ice axes to smash into the ice in a snow cavern in an attempt to free itself after a boulder landed on its foot.
  • When the corpse of a Circle member is reanimated into a Fodder, it discards its former firearm and proceeds to pull out a pair of ice axes.
  • The Fodder is the only Necromorph that Isaac will turn into should he fail the button sequence with a Swarm Infector.
  • The Fodders encountered in the Prologue do not sprout tentacles from their abdomen or their legs when dismembered. The Enhanced Fodders in the Disposal Services bonus mission also never mutate.
  • When Fodders lose their upper bodies, their legs walk backwards.

Death Scene[]

Waster_-_Fodder_Death_Animation_(Different_View)_-_Dead_Space_3_(HD,_60_FPS)

Waster - Fodder Death Animation (Different View) - Dead Space 3 (HD, 60 FPS)

  • The Fodder will grab onto Isaac, and if he doesn't fight off the creature, it will slice off his arm, knock him to the ground and proceed to beat him repeatedly with its tools.
    • If Isaac succeeds, he will push the Fodder down and decapitate it with his foot. This does not guarantee a kill, however.
  • If Isaac is low on health, the Fodder will punch him over to the ground.
  • If Isaac is low on health and is hit by the tentacles of the Fodder, it will split him apart.

Gallery[]

Concept Art[]

Screenshots[]

Sources[]

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