Parasite
| General Information | Strategy Guides Main Game - Cure Mode |
May 23, 2012
(Version 1.0)Parasite is one of the standard plagues that appears in the game, it is characterized mainly by having a great degree of severity at the beginning of the game even though it does not have any serious symptoms previously evolved, making it easily detected by the doctors in case its severity rate is not neutralized through Symbiosis.
Additionally, this pathogen will gain much less DNA from daily infections, making it necessary to alternate in various methods for obtaining DNA during the course of the game.[Note 1] Furthermore, among the standard pathogens, Parasite gets slightly more DNA points by pressing orange bubbles.[Note 2]
Description
Main Game
Unlike other pathogens, the parasite and its style of life prevent it from passively gaining DNA points from infections and has a much higher starting Severity than usual. Additionally, it is one of the pathogens where the cost of symptom devolution doesn't change.[3]
Like the previous three disease types, Parasite has all the same Transmissions, Symptoms, and Abilities. Its unique Ability Symbiosis lowers its Severity, which is vital for it to spread far before the governments of the world notice it. It also gains a large number of DNA from orange bubbles, allowing it to improve its Transmission ability and the lethality of its symptoms.
Cure Mode
Within this mode, Parasite presents similar characteristics to the previous plagues in terms of treatment to eradicate it, only that this pathogen is much more effective in spreading in poor areas,[4] which makes the health system of certain countries collapse much faster after the overload of patients.
Additionally, this is one of the plagues that requires a preliminary analysis before starting the vaccine development process, which will take some time to complete. When the disease analysis has been completed, several procedures will be unlocked in the Operations and Responses panel.[5]
Multiplayer
- « The Parasite has a parasitic(!) approach to DNA collection, with the ability to harvest DNA from your opponent's corpses. However, your severity will increase as your opponent evolves so it won't be long before humans are out to cure you. »
- — General Introduction to Parasite in the Multiplayer Mode (Evolution 18)
In April 2016, Parasite was added to the Multiplayer Mode, along with Fungus.[6] The severity of Parasite varies randomly each time the opponent evolves a trait, this increase in severity can be from 0 to 2 points. In addition, the pathogen has a 30% lower starting cure requirement.
One of the advantages that this pathogen has is that it can gain 45% of the opponent's corpse DNA flat.
| Multiplayer Disease Stats | ||
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| Stats | VS Mode | Co-op Mode |
| Base Cross Country Transmission |
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| Base Environment Efficiency |
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| Default Stats |
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Special Ability
- Symbiosis 1-3: Makes the parasite more in tune with its respective host, so it gets harder to detect and cure. Symbiosis 2 and 3 also increase infectivity. Devolving these can cause heightened severity.
Special Operations
- Medical Aid 1-2: These operations assist the player in dealing with a Parasite pandemic when it starts or reaches different areas of poor countries. They make these countries less vulnerable to the disease and can deal with it in a better way to prevent infections from increasing too much.
Trivia
- Unlike conventional parasites whose goal is to live off the host for as long as possible, Plague Inc's version of a parasite is more similar to a parasitoid, which eventually kills off its hosts.
Stages of Evolution
Cure Mode Traits
- ↑ Symbiotic Relationship: Shares symptomatic similarities with other diseases making a vaccine significantly harder to develop
- ↑ Dysentery: A complete breakdown in the digestive system causes infected sewage, dehydration, starvation and death
- ↑ Coma: Neuropathic effects in the brain stem cause loss of consciousness and sometimes death
- ↑ Water Transmission: Parasite eggs in water cause significant outbreaks in poor regions with bad sanitation
- ↑ Vomiting: The expulsion of infected material through projectile vomiting increases the risk of infection
- ↑ Fever: Pathogen destroys motor neurons to cause paralysis. Can be lethal
- ↑ Diarrhoea: Pathogen active in digestive tract, causing infection through faeces and potentially lethal dehydration
Achievements
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Achievement Name: | Unlock Parasite disease type | ||||
| Achievement Description: | Unlock the Parasite by winning with a Fungus on Normal or Brutal difficulty | |||||
| Value: | 20 pts | Difficulty: | Normal/Brutal | |||
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Achievement Name: | Parasite Victory | ||||
| Achievement Description: | Win a game with Parasite on Normal Difficulty or higher | |||||
| Value: | N/A | Difficulty: | Normal | |||
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Achievement Name: | Parasite Master | ||||
| Achievement Description: | Beat Parasite disease type on mega-brutal difficulty | |||||
| Value: | Difficulty: | Mega Brutal | ||||
Gallery
Parasite's 3D Model in the PC Version
Disease's Old Icon used in the Early Builds of the Game
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Notes
- ↑ "When playing parasite, the player can find himself frequently running low on DNA in this stage due to reduced DNA gain from day-to-day infections. To counteract this, it is adviced to evolve a symptom to increase severity slightly, thus increasing DNA gain." (Page 6)[1]
- ↑ "Oh, if you're playing Parasite then orange bubbles are worth more (up to 7 iirc). You will tend to get a lot of orange bubbles near the start. And if you miss them, then yes, they will usually (but not always) respawn." - Quote from the thread "Popping bubbles reaction time" (2015)[2]
References
- ↑ Jamal, Ilyasa (2021). "Utilizing Decision Trees to Formulate a Winning: Strategy in Plague Inc. Evolved". Institut Teknologi Bandung Retrieved on February 11, 2025.
- ↑ "Popping bubbles reaction time" (2015-02-18). Steam Discussions Retrieved on March 24, 2025.
- ↑ @NdemicCreations (2019-02-25). "That explains it! This gene is useful for plagues that refund or don't cost to devolve, such as Bacteria, Prion, Bio-Weapon, and Parasite. For other plagues where you have to pay to devolve, it reduces the devolving cost". Twitter Retrieved on February 28, 2025.
- ↑ Sami2024 (2021-03-15). "Advice+Strategies to beat all plague types (Cure Mode)". Reddit Retrieved on October 18, 2023.
- ↑ Pravus (2021-01-31). "Plague Inc: The Cure - Parasite Mega-Brutal Guide". YouTube Retrieved on October 18, 2023. (Note: Relevant information is between 1:26 and 1:32)
- ↑ "Parasite, Fungus and Steam Controller come out to play!" (2015-12-01). Ndemic Creations Official Website Retrieved on April 19, 2022.
External Resources
- General: Reddit - True Achievements - Steam Discussions - Steam Guides
- Regional: Naver Blogs (Korean) - Zhihu (Simplified Chinese)
