Combat Form

A Combat Form is life form that has been infected with the Flood parasite and "transformed" in a combat unit that fights for Flood goals.

Transformation
To become a combat form one has to be infected by the Infection Form. If the Infection Form obtains a frequency match for the host's neural system, it begins to rewrite the very DNA of it's host. While in most cases the the infection form succeds in infecting its hosts occasionally a match isn't found the being can't be infected, as shown by Sergeant Johnson.

Once fully transformed, the Flood infection is usually in total control of the body. Depending on the strength of the infection form and the strength of the host a strong host or weak infection form allows for the host to gain some control over their bodies. Unfortunately for the host, he/she stays alive for the duration of the transformation process and is even conscious of his/her environment as the Flood take over the body. Once completely infected, the host becomes a Combat Form. Any body capable of carrying a weapon or that is still useful in combat becomes a Combat Form and is very deadly. The Combat Form grows whip-like tendrils on its arms, and will use them as melee weapons in close range. The Flood Human and Covenant Elite Combat Forms have been seen and known to use any weapon. However, in both Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 they have not been seen to hold the Fuel Rod Cannon. Some Combat Forms are equipped with Energy Shields or Active Camouflage.

The Flood infection is capable of not only controlling the host's body, but of also tapping into its memories to find relevant information about using weapons and equipment. In Halo 2, the Flood have learned how to tap on the host's knowledge to drive vehicles.

End of Flood Life Cycle
Eventually a Combat Form will mutate into a Carrier, regardless of damage, to perpetuate the Flood species. The combat form will prematurely transform into a Carrier Form if it takes enough damage and the combat form cannot function effectively. As a Carrier the host will basically become a walking incubator for more Infection Forms.

Killing a Combat Form
The Combat Forms can take extensive damage before being neutralized. Arms, legs, even heads can be totally blown off of their bodies before they are incapacitated. The only known weakness of a Combat Form is its sensory feelers that normally develop in the upper chest region. This is where the Infection Form has nestled, and once destroyed, the body is incapacitated. In Halo 2, if the body is not destroyed, such as by an Energy Sword, Grenade, or Shotgun, Combat Forms can be "revived" by Infection Forms.

Making Flood Friends
In Halo 2 if you take away their arms, the body will disappear and the Flood infection form comes out but in Halo 1 you can neturalize the Combat Form by blowing off its arms, head and even part of its stomach. This harmless torso on legs will follow you and can even be used as a shield against enemy fire.

The Flood Combat Forms have also been known to completely forget about it's target and move onto another, while this can get annoying if it moves onto you, it can be quite useful to create a distraction against a large group of Covenant/Sentinels. The reason why they do this can either be a demonstration of the Flood's tactics in fighting, or just because of the game AI's intelligence.

SubForms
Hunters cannot be infected by the Flood as they are not a sentient being however while the other Covenant species are known to be infected in the books only two known sub-forms are seen in the Halo games:

Elite Form
The Covenant Combat Form is a formidable enemy; it is capable of a deadly physical attack using its tentacles (once the arms of the Covenant host), as well as having the ability to wield both human and Covenant weapons. It is very fast, very strong, and can jump great distances. Due to the Flood Controller's indifference to its host's discomfort, it is nearly immune to some weapons (notably the sniper rifle), but reliance on the host life support systems render it vulnerable to shotgun blasts. In Halo: Combat Evolved it does not have the capability of using Covenant Energy Shields, though it does, on occasion, use Active Cloaking Devices. In Halo 2, some Elite Forms use energy shields and cloaking devices (only on Legendary) or if you activate the "Envy Skull". Fortunately, because of Elite physiology they are 'bigger' than the human form therefore presenting a bigger target.

Human Form
The Human Combat Form is significantly smaller than the Covenant version (due to the comparative differences of the host bodies), and is both slower and weaker than its Covenant counterpart (though it has the same jumping ability). It shows a preference for human weapons, and can be deadly with a shotgun in close quarters. As with other Combat Forms, it is capable of sustaining massive physical damage before being unusable to the Flood Controller; in fact, as long as the chest cavity and legs remain intact, it will continue to try and fight. They seem to drive vehicles more often than the elite form.