In the Zerg swarm, the base of everything they use, from their buildings to their creatures, comes from the Larva. The Larvae are the only creatures in the Zerg swarm that resemble the original Zerg insects that the Xel’Naga discovered and modified. Although they have been altered considerably in both size and strength, the creatures carry inside them the ability that the Xel’Naga found most intriguing: their genetic versatility. The Xel’Naga enhanced this ability and, later, the Overmind refined it to serve its own purpose.
Inside each larva are the genetic codes and the DNA for every creature in the Zerg swarm and many assimilated races that the Overmind did not see a use for. While the larvae are not individually intelligent, they have very strong survival instincts, which is one of the reasons they were able to survive for so long on their desolate home world. With a single command, the Overmind, a Cerebrate, or an Overlord can initiate a transformation in a larva that will change it from a single insect-like creature to a dangerous monster of the swarm.
When the command is given the larva will form a strong eggshell around itself to protect it during the transformation process. The Zerg Swarm will protect these eggs and they will kill anything that approaches one, including simple animals that accidentally wander too close. The egg will vary in size and strength depending on the creature that the larva is transforming into, as will the time it takes for the creature to reach maturity. Inside the egg, the larva is destroying the delicate balance it establishes between the diverse genetic codes inside its body, allowing a single strand to become dominate. Once dominate, the strand will continue to mutate and change the larva’s body until it is ready to hatch as a fully mature member of the Zerg Swarm. The only way to stop a larva from changing once the process begins is to kill it.
Ground units DroneDrones fill a very important role in the continuation of the Zerg Swarm. They function as laborers, gather resources, transport food and eggs over land, and provide general maintenance to a Hive Cluster. The Drones can also mutate into one of the structures used by the Zerg, such as a Hive or a Creep Colony. Inside each Drone are the genetic codes to transform it into a living building that feeds off of the Creep that permeates the ground around a Hive Cluster.
The Drones transform into buildings in a similar manner as larvae transform into other Zerg creatures. With a command from an Overlord, a Cerebrate, or the Overmind, a Drone will disturb the delicate balance the separate genetic codes in its bodies live in, thus causing a drastic mutation in the Drone’s body. The Drone will then form an eggshell-like covering around itself while it mutates into whatever building is needed by the Hive Cluster. Once started, the process cannot be changed or stopped by any means except killing the creature.
ZerglingThe Zerglings are a common sight at any Zerg hive cluster and can be encountered in large numbers wherever the Zerg are found. At some point during their long search for the Protoss home world, the Zerg encountered a species of dune-runners on the planet of Zz’gash. This species was quick, dangerous, and deadly and the Overmind believed it would make an excellent addition to the swarm. Soon after, the Zerg decimated the planet of Zz’gash and assimilated the DNA and genetic code of the dune-runners.
Traits common to all Zerg creatures were engineered into the DNA of the dune-runners, as was thicker armor and sharper claws. The creatures were then named Zerglings by the Overmind and placed as the frontline warriors of the swarm. One of their greatest advantages is their relatively simple genetic code, which allows two Zerglings to be created from a single larva. Only one other Zerg creature shares this feature, and that is the short-lived Scourge.
For the invasion of Aiur, the Overmind devised an upgraded breed of Zerglings. These new Zerglings were stronger and more deadly than their brethren and helped the Zerg overwhelm the powerful Zealot armies of the Protoss. The upgraded Zergling can be created in two different ways; the first is by morphing an existing Zergling, while the other is creating an upgraded Zergling directly from a larva.
HydraliskIf any creature has come to represent the Zerg Swarm, it is the deadly Hydralisk. These creatures form the shock troops of the swarm and large armies of Hydralisks can quickly overwhelm even well defended positions. During the early travels of the Overmind, it discovered a worm-like creature residing on an ordinary planet. The creature was not violent, instead it was very peaceful and docile, but it was very strong and had natural armor that protected it from the predators and elements common to its planet. The Overmind saw great potential in the worm creatures and quickly absorbed them into the swarm.
The worm-like creatures were transformed into violent and deadly creatures; they were given stronger armor and even more powerful claws, but the main advantage of the Hydralisk was from the very hard spines that it stores in its upper carapace, originally from a different creature. The spines are fired from a special aperture that has incredibly strong muscles, capable of sending the spines at incredible speeds towards its target. A combination of the density of the spines and their speed enables them to pierce even the hardest armor.
LurkerThe Lurker is one of the newest and deadliest Zerg strains and they were developed just prior to the invasion of Aiur. While the Overmind worked to create improved versions of the Zerglings, Hydralisks and Ultralisks, one of its Cerebrates, named Daggoth, developed a modification of a Hydralisk that would be used primarily for defense around a Hive Cluster. The increased defensive capability of a Lurker would give new Hive Clusters on Aiur a chance to survive until the Zerg swarm could reinforce every position. The basic genetic structure of a Lurker was the same as the Hydralisk, but it used genetic material discovered just prior to the invasion of Aiur. Due to the haste in preparing for the invasion of Aiur, the Overmind only modified existing Hydralisks into the new Lurker strain, instead of creating them from the Larvae, as was normal.
The Lurker can attack in several ways; it can attack using its traditional claws and powerful biting attack, but its main weapon is a long series of retractable spines that it can shoot in a straight path in front of it. A common tactic for Lurkers is to have a small cluster of five or six Lurkers that will wait until an opponent in traveling almost right on top of them before attacking.This type of ambush can quickly rip apart small groups of attackers especially those that are not capable of easily reaching the buried creatures.
UltraliskUltralisks form the brute strength of the Zerg Swarms and function as tanks for the swarm. Armed with monomolecular edged mandibles and armored with incredibly thick Chitinous Plating, even a small number of Ultalisks are dangerous. The Ultralisks are considered to be the pinnacle of current Zerg evolutionary abilities, taking many strong genetic traits and laying them on the foundation of the original creature. Little is known about the original creatures, except that the Zerg absorbed them only a few decades before their invasion of Aiur and that they were simple herbivores. Their original planet must have been filled with either dangerous predators or strong elements, otherwise why would such a creature evolve with such strong armor plating.
Ultralisks usually operate independently or in large groups. Typically a strong attack force will have up to 10 Ultralisks with a large force of Hydralisks and Zerglings to support it. These creatures are tough to kill and although they are relatively slow moving, they are fast enough to chase down most ground units. The Ultralisks only real problem is their lack of long range attacks. The Ultralisks have only their mandibles and their body to damage their opponents, but once they close with the enemy, it is usually more than enough.
As with the Zerglings and the Hydralisks, the Overmind devised a new breed of Ultralisks that was even stronger, faster, and more heavily armed, but it had not fully completed its experiments to determine if the mutation was stable. Without time to experiment, the Overmind decided that it would be too risky to use an untested strain during the invasion, so it went unused. Following the invasion of Aiur and the death of the Overmind, Kerrigan gained access to sections of the Overmind’s memories, including its new breed of Ultralisks. Kerrigan tested the creatures and introduced them in her portion of the Swarm, greatly enhancing her army.
DefilerThe Defilers are rare creatures within the Zerg Swarm, although the exact reasons for this have always been unclear. It is known that these creatures specialize in producing and using bio-chemicals for various purposes. Similar to the Queens, these creatures are apparently support units that have little combat purpose when not used in conjunction with other Zerg strains. The Defilers are also the only Zerg strain that apparently practices cannibalism and will consume other Zerg creature, including other Defilers, to regain lost strength.
The Defilers are vaguely scorpion shaped, but it is not known what their original creature looked like or how and why it lived with so many toxins coursing through its system. It is assumed that the original creatures lived on a very harsh planet, where these toxins permeated the local atmosphere, where every creature would have had to adapt to the toxins or be killed by them.
Defilers will often sneak close to an enemy camp prior to combat and use some of its abilities against the enemies. Once the Defiler has used its toxins it will burrow itself underground and wait for the Zerg Swarm to overrun the enemy before revealing itself again. In case of a close battle or where the enemy is beating back the Zerg, the Defiler will rejoin the battle to use its toxins once again, before burrowing down to avoid its own destruction.
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