Viral Proliferator

Viral Proliferator
Weapon Data
Requirements	Research - 3 Exotic Weapons - 4
Ammunition	Worm Clusters
Magazine Size	8
Attack Types	Anti-Human Anti-Annelid
Damage	15
Summon Code	"viral prolif"
[Source]

The Viral Proliferator is a weapon featured in System Shock 2, and is the first organic weapon a player can obtain.

This weapon releases a host of anti-annelid virus in an explosive radius. The virus can be tailored to affect pure annelids, or humans and human/annelid hybrids. It also has a special mechanic that allows its users manually control when the payload detonates.

The central hexagonal core is an energy-rich media, ringed with receptacles containing nanite-virus hybrids. Release of the virus hybrids into the core will cause cycles of replication at nanite, rather than biological, speeds, building up until the payload is released. The media must be replenished with annelid tissue.

Requirements

The Viral Proliferator requires Exotic Weapons skill level 4 to use. Research level 3 is also required to research this weapon. Both Technetium and Tellurium are needed in the process.

Ammunition Types

File:WormClusterSmall.png File:WormClusters.png

Worms - Annelid tissues which appear all around the game. When collected in laboratory beakers, they can be injected into this weapon and will allow it to reproduce nanite-virus hybrids.

Damage Table

Attack Type	Annelid	Half-Annelid	Mech	Half-Mech	Basic	Final Boss
Anti-Human	x0	x2	x0	x1	x0	x0
Anti-Annelid	x4	x1	x0	x0	x0	x0

Firing Modes

• Anti-Human - It fires a pink projectile which deals Anti-Human damage. As long as the fire button is being hold, the projectile will not explode unless touching any surface. Each shot consumes 2 units of Worms.
• Anti-Annelid - It fires a pink projectile which deals Anti-Annelid damage. Both the firing mechanic and the ammunition consumption are same as that of the primary mode.

Modifications

• Upgrade 1 - Increases clip size from 8 to 18 and increases damage by 10%.
• Upgrade 2 - Decreases worms consumption by 50% and increases damage to a total of 25%.

Strategies

• Always remember to hold the fire button, otherwise the projectile will explode instantly and may heavily hurt the player.
• The HUMAN mode deals a large amount of extra damage to the player, and thus should never be used in close range. The ANNELID mode, on the other hand, does not hurt the player.
  • Rumblers, which are the most durable half-annelid creatures in the game, can approach the player very fast. Therefore, either eliminate them in HUMAN mode quickly from a distance, or prepare for a prolonged, close range battle in ANNELID mode.
• Since one can control the exact moment to detonate the projectile, it may take out more enemies than the TC-11 "Brick" Grenade Launcher in one shot. It is recommended to explode it in the core of a group of organic foes.
• Exotic Weapons degrade much faster than any other type of weapons, so upgrade the Maintenance skill as much as possible if you intend to use this weapon a lot.
• When facing a tough enemy, you can conserve your ammo by firing just one shot and running away. The virus will kill the infected creature after a short while.
• This weapon does not have any reload animation and hence can be instantly reloaded. Use this to your advantage.
• Since this weapon requires a lower level of Research skill than the Crystal Shard, users of the latter weapon may consider to give it a shot. In most cases, such characters will maximize their Exotic Weapon skill anyway.
• A LabAssistant implant can rise one’s Research skill by one level, in other words, only Research skill level 2 is needed. Do not forget to equip the implant as it can spare 8 Cybernetic Modules.
• Bear in mind that Worms are the most uncommon type of ammunition in the game, so it is advised to make every shot count.
• As an Annelid Launcher cannot target at the Nodes floating around the Brain of The Many, this weapon is a good choice for Exotic Weapons user to get the job done.

Trivia

• According to the in-game description, this weapon appears to have been cobbled together from both human and alien technologies. Plus, judging from its stock and trigger, it is created by human.
• This weapon, along with the Stasis Field Generator, are the only reloadable weapons that do no have a reload animation.

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