Talk:Flood

Source for Origins?
Just read through the article and saw the Origins paragraph, and was completely confused about where that information came from. It depicts humans and Prophets seeming to have come in contact with the Flood 100,000 years ago, which does not make any sense, and depicts a part of the Flood history I have never heard of. Have yet to read the Cryptum novel yet, but if that information is in there, there should be a source link of some kind. While I have yet to read the novel, it seems to suggest that this article is not entirely accurate, as there does not seem to be any way to fit the information into the current Halo canon. --208.123.133.218 15:50, 6 January 2011 (EST)Extron 117

It is indeed from Cryptum. Ironic, to consider that the Forerunners wiped out ancient Humans, and in so doing they rid the galaxy of a cure to the Flood -- Am I a Lion, or a Lamb? Or a Boy?  Saint o r Sinner? The Lost Books 18:37, 6 January 2011 (EST) About my recent edit to this page: Can we expand on this idea some more? I read Halo: Cryptum and found this interesting. I am actually really surprised no-one has speculated on this before. Vegerot ( talk )  16:35, 17 March 2011 (EDT)!!!

Halo Wars
Uh your wrong on Forge detonating a reactor he detonated there Slip-Space Drive and there not lost, there trying to get home without a slip-space drive, and it would seem from what Ive unlocked on the Halo Timeline in Halo Wars that only Anders is put in cryo cause it says that Cutter goes and sees the Sprit of Fires doctor and write condolances to families and all such stuff and finally sleeps for the 1st time in 2 weeks... Master Chief Petty Officer Matthew 124 -AKA- Firehawk77 (I tried to sign but it wouldnt work in preview,sry)

Cryo protocol requires all non-essential personnel to go into cryo, to conserve resources and energy that would otherwise be wasted on life support. By non-essential, that would include Professor Anders. A skeleton crew is retained to keep the ship barely running, including the Captain. As for what Forge detonated, it was actually their FTL drive - the Spirit of Fire can still probably enter and exit slipspace, but without an FTL drive, it would be no faster, and a lot less accurate, than just drifting. -- ' Administrator  Specops306  -  Qur'a 'Morhek ''  Honour Light Your Way! ''' 04:59, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Administrator Specops306, the Human FTL Drive is a Slipspace Drive. The method of moving faster-than-light is to travel in Slipspace, and speed in Slipspace is determined by the initial velocity of the transitioning craft. And MCPO Matthew, to whom are you addressing your post? I'm genuinely curious.--Bruce2401 20:42, 15 March 2011 (EDT)

Problem
I just noticed that about 3/4ths for is in bold can someone fix this i really don't know how.Snore 00:41, 10 July 2009 (UTC) Uh never mind i fixed it.Snore 00:47, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Passages with Poorly Supported and Written Statements.
'''The Flood, a virulent species of parasites, is an anomaly in all known biology, and an anomaly to regular life. Due to this, it is thought to be an extragalactic species, originating from different galaxies, and even from different universes.'''

While this sentence begins with accurate information which persists until the middle of the second, it ends with a statement that is not mentioned or corroborated anywhere.

"and even from different universes."

Where did this come from? I had earlier deleted it because it was flat-out wrong and part of this wikia's problem of poor grammar and reasoning being passed off as fact, but it was put back anyway. This is apparently someone's pet theory that they're trying to pass off as fact.

Since when is it said in actual canon that the Flood could have come from different universes? I have reviewed many sources of canon, and nowhere does it say this. All that is said about the Flood in regard to their origins is that they are foreign to all known forms of life in the Milky Way galaxy, and that they are extra-galactic in origin.

Even if they did come from other universes, how could they get here without it being noted somewhere that they came from a device or mechanism that could lead to this kind of event? No such statement or idea has ever been described.

This kind of activity is rampant at this wiki, and really needs to stop. Proper encyclopedia's do not have baseless speculations and unsubstantiated pet theories being paraded around as fact. If people do this, then those who come here to cite this will be being fed false information and outright lies, and will perpetuate the problem even further.

--Exalted Obliteration 15:48, 30 August 2009 (UTC)


 * "part of this wikia's problem"

- Your comment


 * Actually, every Wiki suffers from this problem.-  5 əb'7 aŋk (7alk ) 15:54, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

how come the article looks different, like at the top?

Elephants
Elephants 124.191.85.41 12:46, September 26, 2009 (UTC)

???--Shade  Link  Shadow   13:22, September 26, 2009 (UTC)

RECRUITING

 * Hi, I'm Sciencematt123. I am trying to make a study group for the flood. I need some field people, someone who knows how to mod, and some fom of organization I haven't really thought of yet. I don't think that everything about the flood is known, so we would really be helping out the wiki. Feel free to use my talk page. Sciencematt123 15:03, September 26, 2009 (UTC)

Grey101
See this article: Forerunner-Flood War.

98,379 - 97,448 != 300. In other words, that is not 300 years. That's almost 1000. 931 to be exact, just like the article said. Don't change it.  Smoke Sound off! 02:44, November 28, 2009 (UTC)

Cleanup
This article requires massive cleanup, especially the Halo Wars'!-  5 əb'7 aŋk (7alk ) 00:53, January 10, 2010 (UTC)

I concur completely. I think that the picture should instead be the flood-infested High Charity, and more screenshots from Halo Legends: Origins should be included. They show the massive scale of the Flood's attacks. - Vladith 10:01, June 13th, 2010.

Yeah... I've also noticed a lot of sporadic tense changes and changes in referring to the Flood as both a singular thing and a collective entity. I'm gonna clean it up and change it all to are, considering the flood is not just one single organism... They are all the same consciousness, not the same life form. Critical Tortoise 17:13, 18 September 2011 (EDT)

What's Next?
I wonder whether we've seen the last of the Flood. There is so much mystery surrounding them. Where exactly did they come from, and how did they originally come into being? Did they develop naturally, or were they artificially created? Do they have any connection to the Precursors? After all, Mendicant Bias states to the Gravemind that they share the same ultimate goal somehow but that the Flood's way is "faster". What could Mendicant have meant? What do the Forerunners and Flood and perhaps Precursors have in common? In the same conversation, Mendicant says in response to the Gravemind "That would explain why [life] developed independently!" Is it possible that life wasn't supposed to develop in independent forms? Maybe there is much more to the Flood than meets the eye. So far, it seems like the Gravemind has merely been consciously rationalizing his primal instincts rather than trying to develop a world-view truly different from them, but maybe the Flood really does have an ultimate, rational goal for their behavior. Maybe that was the reason they were brought into the world: to end the suffering that comes with being independent beings. The Gravemind has implied this several times in his conversations with the Chief and Mendicant: that the Flood will make the galaxy into a utopia without pain or suffering, only oneness, since all life will be part of Compound Minds, such as the Flood or A.I.. Maybe the reason that the Gravemind is so fascinated by Artificial Intelligences like Cortana and Mendicant Bias is that he wants to find a program that will be able to assimilate all programs in the same way that he can assimilate all biological life, so that he can further the Flood's goal of universal oneness. It is likely that all Flood/Graveminds share this goal. Since the two Graveminds known seem to share the same memories (see the Gravemind's first speech in Halo 2), it seems that the memory of all Flood is retained in even a single Flood spore. Therefore, even if a Gravemind is destroyed, or if a Flood specimen exits its Gravemind's area of mental control (by leaving its galaxy for a new one without a Gravemind, for example), the memories so far from the previous Gravemind are retained in the specimen. This would also explain why all of the Graveminds seem so similar.

Anyway, what about this mysterious "Intergalactic Stage" of the Flood? In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Flood were in the "Feral Stage". In Halo 2, they were in the "Coordinated Stage". In Halo 3, they were in the "Interstellar Stage". Does that mean that we will eventually witness the Flood's "Intergalactic Stage"? If I have any guess as to what this stage may be like, I suspect that it would most resemble a "technologically advanced" Flood; it would resemble life pre-Flood, with all of its civilization and technology, with the exception that all life would be under the control of the collective intelligence of the Gravemind, and life would be self-sustaining. If this is indeed the case, galactic life's state of being would indeed resemble the "utopian socialism" advocated by the Gravemind. (Of course, if you think about the fact that there are no separate consciousnesses in this system and so the only "real" person is the Gravemind, then it seems less like "utopian socialism" and more like complete and total tyranny, where all organisms are merely the extension of one individual's will. But this makes the idea far less appealing.)

I wonder if the planet the Chief is heading toward at the end of Halo 3 is G617 g1. If so, that would explain the eerie, hectic music that plays when it is revealed. If this is the case, a sequel could explain how the Flood were able to get there in the first place.

Also, I wonder if there is a "good" Gravemind somewhere, that started out as a normal Gravemind but eventually learned the value of living in harmony with other forms of life. It is stated in Halo 3's Bestarium that it is "unfortunate" that the Flood's ultimate goal is to "consume all life". But what if its goal changed? If anything could change the Flood, I would guess that it would be contact with the Precursors, the alien beings (most likely from another galaxy) that originally taught and enlightened the Forerunners and handed down their Mantle to them, the religious belief that all forms of life are sacred and that sentient beings must respect biodiversity while allowing evolution to proceed untampered by them (unless of course, biodiversity itself is threatened). Theoretically, the Flood could choose to only assimilate what it needed to survive (like the dead), or use its technology to sustain itself, much in the same way that many humans choose to only eat what they need to survive without harming other intelligent species. In this way the Flood could exist as part of the universe's biodiversity rather than as a threat to it. Of course, such a Gravemind would need a much less sinister name; perhaps the Dreammind?

- User:Webspidrman 18 January 2010 (UTC)

At the end of origins part 2, A gravemind is seen handing Spartan 117 a data core, showing no signs of hostility, could the flood have gained respect for 117 and the humans, seeing what they had done at the Ark, and called a truce, realizing that this is one race they cannot assimilate? -- User:Matt98 17 April 2010 13:29 (UTC)

Interesting theory, but I think that was more symbolism than anything. Origins does seem to have a lot of it.--One who survived 19:05, 11 June 2011 (EDT)

Forerunner Combat armor
Where is that article I couldn't find it?!?!?!Thank you taking time to listen to my post! 06:15, January 31, 2010 (UTC)!!!
 * Combat Skin.外国 人 (7alk ) 06:17, January 31, 2010 (UTC)

Sir, please marshal your grasp on the english language and endeavor to make whatever statement you post intelligible to the rest of us. Please. --Bruce2401 20:45, 15 March 2011 (EDT)

Sorry, I was young and reckless :). I have now made it more appropriate, please forgive me! (I have already found where in the article it is. But it wasn't there a year ago! ;) Vegerot  ( talk )  22:45, 15 March 2011 (EDT)!

When will we see the flood again?
I would like to see the flood in a new Halo Game maybe The Flood.Anyone agree with me.

Smallest Flood infection vector......
I was under the impression that the only way one could be possessed by the Flood was via an infection form. Recent Halo sources have muddied the waters a bit, however.

Covenant commander Rtas 'Vadum states that "one single flood spore can destroy a species" and in the Halo: Evolutions short story "The Mona Lisa", the Flood seems to be transmitted through a bite or scratch, almost like a bacterial infection.


 * I just assumed 'Vadum was talking about infection forms. In The Mona Lisa I believe they were all attacked by infection forms. Benti, for example, mentioned "sacs of pus" attachted to them. The marines didn't know how it worked though, so they didn't pay much attention to them I guess.

Obviously, the way the Flood actually works is still "evolving" as more writers explore it, but I'm rather confused as to what the current official line is on this subject.--Mayhemm 23:29, March 23, 2010 (UTC)


 * Naturally, the Infection Form is the primary method. When the Flood spread, they change the atmosphere by releasing their Flood spores. If enough are inhaled -I presume- you will succumb to the "Flood Super strain", and be converted into a Flood form.--  Fore  run  ner  00:06, March 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * Does anyone remember the greenish mucosa-like substance that was dripping from the ceiling (as I recall, it looked to me like greenish-grey bird droppings) in the level 343 Guilty Spark before Master Chief's first encounter with the Flood? What was it? Was it just biomass shed from Flood combat forms or was it something else? And if so, how does it relate to the way the Flood spreads (if at all)? Secret Service 88 06:07, May 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * Does anyone remember the greenish mucosa-like substance that was dripping from the ceiling (as I recall, it looked to me like greenish-grey bird droppings) in the level 343 Guilty Spark before Master Chief's first encounter with the Flood? What was it? Was it just biomass shed from Flood combat forms or was it something else? And if so, how does it relate to the way the Flood spreads (if at all)? Secret Service 88 06:07, May 14, 2010 (UTC)

Isn't "Infection Form"sopposed to be capitalized?If it is,the Flood page has SEVERAL captial errors. Ninja bebe 22:32, May 14, 2010 (UTC)Ninja_Bebe.


 * I believe the capitalization is optional. We tend to do it here because it aids in our ability to link to pages, which are automatically capitalized. --Dragon<font color="#F28500">c laws (<font color="#4D56B1">talk ) 19:00, June 13, 2010 (UTC)

Mythology
FWIW, mythology really just means a collection of stories belonging to a people. To call the Bible a collection of myths is true whether or not the stories themselves are true. In informal usage, myth means a false story (e.g. Mythbusters), but I think in a formal usage such as an encyclopedia article you can call Noah's Ark a myth without starting a religious flame war. --<font color="#4D56B1">Dragon<font color="#F28500">c laws (<font color="#4D56B1">talk ) 18:11, June 13, 2010 (UTC)

Attack on High Charity
I'd just like to say that on the section "Attack on High Charity" is completely unfair on the covenant's part. The populace WAS a match for the flood onslaught, I mean they may have lost the battle but they managed to put up a good fight and kill a great deal of flood during the battle. I mean come on, something got to be done about that statement. High Charity wasn't QUICKLY overrun it was EVENTUALLY overrun. Sorry for over-emphasising but I just don't think that does the covenant justice.


 * No, it was quickly overrun.  Smoke Sound off! 12:56, June 26, 2010 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't say so, personally.


 * High Charity had a population of millions, mostly civilian. We see the process of its infection throughout the High Charity level, and it is rapid. A cut line of Cortana's dialogue mentions the Flood injecting spores into the city's ventillation systems, spreading the infection even faster. By the end of the game, in what we are meant to assume has been mere hours rather than days or weeks, High Charity has been overrun completely by the Flood. --  Specops306   Autocrat     Qur'a 'Morhek   00:46, June 28, 2010 (UTC)

A Long-Obsolete and False Paragraph
'''The mutations can occur randomly, or uniformly: according to the Halo Graphic Novel, they can sometimes develop into engorged combat forms notably larger than the normal combat form, or can alarmingly grow thick shells within minutes, indicating that the Flood can facilitate tremendous and exaggerated metabolic activity during the physiological mutilation. Furthermore, in rare cases, the mutations can constantly shift: when Rtas 'Vadumee battled his comrade-turned-combat form Bero 'Kusovai aboard the Infinite Succor, 'Kusovai continued to mutate throughout the duration of the battle. Though never seen, it can be assumed infection forms were involved in infecting victims in this case. Before being killed to prevent his becoming a Flood, one of the Sangheili accompanying Rtas 'Vadumee appears to have a wound in his chest that may have been the entry point for an infection form. Many of the Flood on the Succor seemed to constantly be mutating the infected biomass and also seemed to merge them together. This suggests the possibility that over time any infected host can mutate further and further, as exemplified by the Brain Form or the Gravemind and different versions of the Combat Form.'''

Whoever wrote this made a very large mistake in their logic; he/she assumed that the visuals in the Halo Graphic Novel story "Last Flight of the Infinite Succor" were fully canon. When comparing the visuals from that story with that in the 4 games the Flood are present in, that turns out to be false. Nowhere is it depicted elsewhere that the Flood constantly mutate and merge the biomass of the hosts in the manner shown in the story, nor does the Flood ever have the features and color palette shown in the comic.

In all other cases, the Flood are shown to have a fairly uniformly yellow, green, and brown visual palette, and structured in a very consistent way, such as the structure of the Infection, Combat, and Carrier Forms along with the Hive structures seen in Halo 3 and Halo Wars. The only real exception that exists to this fairly uniform color assortment are the colors on the Pure Forms and the more reddish tones seen within High Charity in Halo 3. But even then, the Hive environments still possess a considerable amount of sickly yellow, green, and brown, while the Pure Forms are colored and textured more like a reptile with shades of green and grey mixed in.

But none of this is consistent with the rainbow assortment of colors seen on the Flood in that story; the Flood Combat Forms are even shown having mechanical structures fused into them, including weapons, which is something that has never been seen elsewhere. This includes what are clearly meant to be infected animals, but they do not show the traits of infection that is so uniform everywhere else. The comic is also replete with weapons that never made an appearance in any of the games, especially those used by the former UNSC personnel. There are even instances of Grunts using assault rifles, which is something they are not meant to do.

So in all, the writer of that paragraph failed to take into account that practically every visual within the story is artistic licenses and cannot be seen as canonically valid. The same is true for the other stories, though the stories "Armor Testing" and "Breaking from Quarantine" were more consistent with the canon visuals of the time.

The one thing that the Infinite Succor story did get right was this: the Flood can and do infect high-order animals and use them in combat. This adds a further dimension to the Flood's capabilities in the Feral Stage, which is further corroborated and expanded upon in Halo Wars. In that game, the Flood have not only infected UNSC and Covenant forces along with creating a large Proto-Gravemind, they have also infected and indeed interfaced and blended with the biosphere of the Shield World.

This can be seen very clearly with the spore-covered environment, the Hive structures such as the Dens, Nests, Stalks, Launchers, etc., as well as the variety of mobile forms the Flood employed there; The "Thrasher" Forms, the Swarms, and the "Bomber" Forms. Though not prominently stated, these forms are visually and functionally canonical examples of what were inaccurately depicted in the Graphic Novel; repurposed and reshaped animals infected for the Flood's use. It is perhaps even possible that in the course of Halo Wars' development cycle that the concept of interactive ambient wildlife was shifted over and indeed transformed into the origin for the unique forms shown in Halo Wars.

In any case, I recommend and indeed will remove and redo that paragraph for the sake of improving this respectable article.

--Exalted Obliteration 02:05, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Exalted Obliteration, while I agree that within the games the Flood has a rather uniform and predictable pallete of colors and forms I disagree with what I assume to be your stance that the Flood only slightly alters a host for combat purposes. It would be highly illogical and impractical for a species as adaptable as the Flood to limit themselves to the rough original shape of the host and not experiment with merging and further contorting the biomass available.

For example, let us presume that the Flood arrives on a planet that possesses only large land animals and small avians with sizes varying from a sparrow to a raven. When an antagonistic force (Forerunners, Humans, Covenant) arrives they will quickly attain aerial superiority. Within your parameters, the Flood will catapault large masses at the flying machines, attempt to grapple them with long tentacles based on long-necked herbivores, or bombard them with sparrow-sized suicidal homing bird-forms. Within my paradigm the Flood, assuming they possess a reasonably intelligent proto-gravemind or even full Gravemind, will tinker with what biomass they possess and essentially "invent" a large aerial form capable of combating Hornets and the like on equal, or even Flood-favorable, terms by studying the aerodynamic properties of the original birds and mimicing them.

I say this not to be confrontational, but because I geatly admire the Flood species and wish to give them what credit is due.--Bruce2401 20:07, 15 March 2011 (EDT)

Greatly admire the flood eh? Someone liquidate him before he betrays us all! You are correct though. The Gravemind has the intelligence of trillions of sentient beings at his disposal. There is no reason that such a creature would not optimize the flood forms under his control. Also, Exalted Obliteration's argument is predicated on the belief that the Flood forms seen in the game are the only forms the flood is capable of producing. If Bungie/343I were to show the diversity of forms the Flood should be capable of, it would have taken up the combined memory of Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo Wars, and Halo: Reach. I guarantee that for every flood form that made it into the games, at least 20 other ideas where rejected due to time constraints alone.--Sierra 109 10:06, 16 March 2012 (EDT)

Reference
For reference: "You can see how the body's been transformed by the genetic restructuring of the Flood infection. The small creatures carry spores that cause a host to mutate. The mutated host then produces spores that can pass the Flood to others. It is insidious and elegant. As long as any hosts remain, the Flood is virulent." --343 Guilty Spark

Guilty Spark, what was the book, comic, game, or video that provided this material, and on what page, level, or at what time in the video was the information located? I don't mean to be rude, but those are rather important to a source.--Bruce2401 20:32, 15 March 2011 (EDT)

A cure
In halo Cryptum it says tha humans encountered the flood before the forerunners did and actualy manage to stop them with a cure, so how come when the flood later atacked the forerunners, who are more advanced as they just won a wars against us, couldnt make a cure?--Legionwrex 15:45, 15 January 2011 (EST)

The way I see it, it was for one or all of these reasons: A) The Flood were still just getting started and probably hadn't even formed a Gravemind yet, so they were easier to deal with, B) The Forerunners didn't really know how the humans beat the Flood, and even if they did they probably couldn't replicate the strategy given their circumstances, C) The Flood adapted to the cure and became immune to any sort of genetic weapon.


 * The Gravemind was apparently already in existence upon entry into the galaxy according to Iris. The Forerunners couldn't replicate the humans' research because it was thousands of years ago and, due to the destruction of human civilisation, irretrievable. It didn't kill all flood, just the spores that were on their worlds - they were probably unaware of Seaward. Forerunner 17:29, 15 January 2011 (EST)

Thanks for helping.--Legionwrex 13:39, 16 January 2011 (EST)


 * I haven't read the actual book yet, but from how I've seen it described the "cure" was no such thing - the Precursor provided a gene insertion that made the affected humans unable to be infected, causing the Flood that tried to simply die. It didn't affect the Flood's ability to simply kill them or ignore them, and was very localised. It also meant that anyone with this gene would still die, horribly, though it did cause the Flood's advance to falter, until the Forerunners tore down humanity, and let its onslaught continue. If I'm totally off base, please correct me. --  Specops306   Autocrat     Qur'a 'Morhek   18:25, 16 January 2011 (EST)

You're more or less right, except the Precursor had nothing to do with it, and it didn't prevent victims from being infected - it just made the new flood forms die off and spread the "killer gene" to the rest of the Flood. SPARTAN-347 17:17, 19 January 2011 (EST)

I would say that the "cure" was a virus of some sort, infecting the Flood and causing them to die due to cellular destruction or terminator genes. The book states that the Humans developed this weapon and sacrificed a significant portion of their population to deliver it. With the Flood being as adaptable as it is I wouldn't be suprised if id became immune to that particular virus, but as far as the Forerunners couldn't replicate the feat? They destroyed Human records and so all research concerning it would have been lost. Moreover, in Cryptum it is stated that the Humans of the time were nearly as advanced as the Forerunners themselves. For your consideration, --Bruce2401 20:17, 15 March 2011 (EDT)


 * Now that we're 2 books into the series, it's become more obvious that the "cure" was nothing more than a stalemate, or a genetic "nuclear deterrent"; Biological MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction... "Sure you can wipe out my species, but I'll take all of you bastards with me", except that the Flood had such a numerical superiority that it really wasn't a viable option, given that it didn't stop infection so much as it killed the infecting organism as the host was itself consumed. The problem with this approach is that there would still be plenty of Flood left over after Humanity had sacrificed itself to the last being. Instead, we can now see that the Flood in fact STOPPED attacking Humans after they had demonstrated the capability to effectively fight back on a cellular level and the willingness to sacrifice themselves to do it. Could the Flood adapt to the countermeasure? Quite possibly, yeah, but that wasn't the point. The Flood (and by extension, the Precursors) were looking for some sign that Humans were the worthy successors that they'd created them to be. To say that the Flood could adapt to the "cure" is to look at the issue from a strictly biological standpoint, and it's obvious from everything we know that the Flood is intelligent and capable of directing its actions. It would probably be more constructinve to look at the issue from a sociological or even religious perspective.
 * Think about it: Humans saw themselves as the Precursors' true inheritors. One day they find the very thing that they venerated, hibernating at the edge of the galaxy, and they bring it to their capital, and learn to comunicate with it. Then they begin to get ravaged by this terrible "disease", losing planet after planet to it. Desperate, they consult with their "deity" who informs them that it is, in fact, their creators, who have returned to judge them... Immediately after learning of this revelation, millions of Humans commited suicide, unable to face the knowledge that their gods had come back to destroy them. The remaining Humans had developed a way of combatting the Flood on its own playing field: at the cellular level. In desperation, they innoculated a third of their population and placed them in harm's way. Of course, the Flood died after consuming them, but then something altogether unexpected happened as well: The Flood withdrew from Human space, making it seem as if their "cure" was exactly that, when in fact it was something altogether different... The Precorsors/Flood had been looking for some sort of sign that the Humans were the worthy successors that they had long been seeking to take over the Mantle. Having learned the harsh lessons from their ill-fated war with the Forerunners, the few Precursors that remained used their vast knowledge of the biological sciences to ensure both their own survival and the means to carry out their plan via the Flood. When the Humans developed their "cure" and sacrificed 1/3 of their population to implement it, the Precursors apparently saw this as the sign they had been waiting for: Their heirs had risen to their challenge and had shown willingness to sacrifice themselves prevent the spread of the Flood. I'm guessing that the Forerunners hadn't been as selfless when they were tested, millions of years earlier. (Forgot to log in before signing...durr!) DJenser 13:31, 24 May 2012 (EDT)

Flood forms in legends
In Orgins, many of the "Unknown" flood forms are actually from the art of halo, and art of halo 3. Seeing as how these concept forms were discrebed in those books, and now are more or less canon, do they warrent their own pages? http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/9315/signxb.jpg 13:50, 19 January 2011 (EST)


 * Legends occupies a confusing place in canon. The events themselves are canon, but the precise details are subject to a certain "fuzziness" - Daisy, for example, couldn't have been wearing CQB, but the fact that her armour was red is canon. I don't know how Origins works out, since there's really very little there that conflicts with anything, but I'd hold off until we get word from 343i. --  Specops306   Autocrat     Qur'a 'Morhek   15:56, 19 January 2011 (EST)


 * If I'm not mistaken, those from the Art of Halo and the Art of Halo 3 already have their own articles. *points at the Flood template* - <font face="Century Gothic"> <font color="#FF4F00">5 əb<font color="#FF4F00">'7 aŋk (<font color="#FF4F00">7alk ) 17:14, 19 January 2011 (EST)

The Foreunner page has pictures from Legends.--Roberthaha 12:07, 13 February 2011 (EST)

"Prophet Form?"
I would like to know why people insist on a "Prophet Form" existing or that it is specific to the San 'Shyuum species. I don't believe that Prophets have any sort of unique physiological trait that preserves their intelligence when assimilated by the Flood. Instead I believe that this so-called form as depicted in Halo 2 was only preserved as it was by the Gravemind for the sole purpose of manipulating the Arbiter and the Chief. And for those who bring up the Halo Graphic Novel, that flood form did not behave like the preserved entity in Halo 2. I therefore move that we remove the rank of "Prophet Form" and indeed all mention of a "Prophet Form" from the wikia.


 * I believe that this is simply a Combat Form that the Gravemind is controlling, like the Pure Forms in Halo 3, when they ally themselves with the Master Chief and the Arbiter. Vegerot  ( talk )  22:47, 15 March 2011 (EDT)!!!

We originally removed until it appeared in the Halo Encylopedia. It's canon now. Tuckerscreator (<font color="#008000">stalk ) 19:15, 17 March 2011 (EDT)

Inferi Redivivus
Properly translated, Inferi redivivus means "The dead given life again" or "The restored life of the dead." Redivivus can be broken into three words: Re, meaning "again"; Di, meaning "of" or "of the"; and Vivus, of course, means life. "The dead reconstructed", as it says in the article, would be Inferi redifacere or even more literally Inferi redistuere in Latin. Just thought some would like to know. For your consideration---Bruce2401 18:35, 19 September 2011 (EDT)

Picture
Would it be more appropriate to have a picture of Infection Form(s) at the top of the article, as they are the basic form of the Flood, and the unique feature of them. Pure forms aren't bad, but they are far less iconic and unique. Banshee Boy 01:20, 17 February 2012 (EST)

By that logic we should have a picture of the flood biomass or the flood cell, I think we can live with the tank 67.219.75.36 22:16, 7 March 2012 (EST)

Halo 4 Version
I don't know what the hell those things are, but i'm not sure they are stricly flood, look at them: no red tentacles from the chest, no reclined head (it looks like it's still in function), no green veins (they are instead crismon colored), and they have some kind of armor (looks like the grunt's skin). They also doesn't look like corpses. Maybe those things are more than "just" flood-infected spartans?!
 * The information is taken apparently from the October issue of the Xbox Magazine. It is possible (though unlikely) that the magazine editor made a mistake. But I'm going to go ahead and guess that 343i did that for an artistic license or gameplay balance, or UNSC simulation just isn't that accurate. They look like a bunch overgrown Falmers. And that's disgusting. — S331 Bubbleshieldhud.svg(COM • Mission Log • Profile) 08:55, 26 September 2012 (EDT)
 * The Flood forms seen in Halo 4 are infected SPARTAN-IVs. That explains why they are more muscular than those seen in past games, as well as why their protruding bones look so dense. I do see a bit of resemblance to the Falmer, by the way, and their claws remind me of Chaurus pincers. --Courage never dies. 17:56, 26 September 2012 (EDT)
 * It seems to me that the Flood wouldn't need to stick to one model of combat form: the Flood Super Cell is able to mimic any organ it might need. A proto-graveming might have just decided to use these forms to determine the most effective configuration; furthermore, SPARTANS are much more resilient than most any other sapient so far encountered: the Flood might not have been able too, say, break their bones to reform the bodies more extensively and a Proto-Gravemind might have elected to leverage the enhancements of the SPARTANS for all they were worth. For your consideration, --Bruce2401 18:13, 26 September 2012 (EDT)

Title
A while back I renamed this page to Flood but added the title template so that it still read "The Flood". This was taken down, but I'd like to change it back. Solely "Flood" is almost never used in favor of "the Flood". Note statements like Guilty Spark's "Someone has released the Flood" or Chief's "The Flood is spreading". If the word "the" weren't part of the name, they wouldn't have used it. Contrasting how they perfectly willing to call a single ring "Halo" versus "the Halo". If there are no objections, then I shall change it back. Tuckerscreator (<font color="#008000">stalk ) 13:11, 31 October 2012 (EDT)
 * I object, because this. The "the" will still obviously be used in articles to accompany the name, but it's far more convenient from a linking standpoint and for the sake of consistency to keep the title as it is. It's no different from, say, "the Didact" or "the Composer". --<font color="MidnightBlue">Jugus (<font color="Gray">Talk  | <font color="Gray">Contribs ) 15:30, 31 October 2012 (EDT)

But on those pages, they too have the title template adding "The" to their name, which is exactly my point. To clarify, the "The" will only be in the title template. The actual name of this article will still be "Flood", so it will be easy to link. Tuckerscreator (<font color="#008000">stalk ) 15:55, 31 October 2012 (EDT)
 * In that case I have no objections; I should've read your post more thoroughly before rushing to reply. Though having the title template there might lead to some assuming the "The" is a part of the actual title of the page, it's not exactly harmful either. --<font color="MidnightBlue">Jugus (<font color="Gray">Talk  | <font color="Gray">Contribs ) 16:01, 31 October 2012 (EDT)

No problem. So far, I haven't seen that issue pop up with "the Covenant", though, so I think it'll be alright. Tuckerscreator (<font color="#008000">stalk ) 17:38, 31 October 2012 (EDT)

Which Plan?
From everything I've read from the novels and this wiki the Flood are actually Precursors who had broken themselves down into dust to be reformed later. But the powder went bad and turned into a disease, The Flood. Precursors, whether infected or not I don't know, decided they would use this powder to (as I've read), create a Flood outbreak which would test the humans on whether they can achieve peace in the galaxy by defeating the Flood or succumb to it, fulfill the Precursors plans of using humans to get their revenge against the Forerunners for them and finally to make sure their creations never rose up against them again. The achieving peace thing was initially accomplished when the humans managed to put up enough of a fight that the Flood decided they would stop infecting and back off but then the Forerunner's de-evolution of humanity messed this up and then the using humanity for revenge was almost accomplished when they put the geas of the old humans, like Forthenco, into machines to fight against the Forerunners but again this was ruined by Forerunners.

With all this laid out my question is what part of the plan is the Flood and Gravemind of the games following? Are they again testing humanity to see if they bring peace to the galaxy? The getting revenge on Forerunners angle wouldn't make any sense with no Forerunners around. Or after so many years have they just started doing their own thing, no longer following their original plans?

I'd also like to mention the Gravemind in the games still has the memories from the time of the ancient humans and Forerunner dominance and the speech he gives at the end of Halo 3 about the activation of the ring just adding time "to a sentence [he] never deserve[d]" makes me think he still even remembers the time the Forerunners rose up against the Precursors. Either that or, as stated on this wiki, "the Gravemind does not understand why the living races hate the Flood; indeed, he seems to think that it is only natural to absorb all life in the universe" and his speech has nothing to do with his race's past.

Also this wiki states The Timeless One/Primordial told the IsoDidact that some Precursors still survive outside of the galaxy and still manipulate the life within it, whether referring to normal Precursors or Flood types I don't know. If normal Precursors did survive though it would be amazing to see some return in the future Halo games.

Opinions and thoughts please, thanks =) 176.26.30.125 17:30, 29 March 2013 (EDT)


 * Well they vowed that no one would rise up against them again. If they can destroy the Halos, Humanity has no means of stopping Precursors (Forerunners couldn't with extremely more advanced tech) and they can take control of the galaxy and uphold that vow. Colonel Grade One.png Col.  Snipes  4  50 Colonel Grade One.png 22:30, 29 March 2013 (EDT)

Non-Sentient Absorption
So I know the Flood's goal is to absorb all sentient life in the galaxy, but do they also infect non-sentient life and turn them into various Flood forms? Or do they break down non-sentient life for biomass? I'm just wondering if the Flood seek out purely intelligent life, or if they make use of all organic material they find in one shape or another.


 * The Flood on Shield World 0459 repurposed at least three indigenous creatures. The thrashers were rhino-like combat forms, the swarms were akin to flying stalker forms, and the bombers were airborne carrier forms. I imagine that the Flood use most non- and semi-sentient beings for biomass but convert useful ones for use "in the field", so to speak. -- Our vengeance is at hand. Gravemind.svg ( Talk to me. ) 12:28, 16 June 2014 (EDT)


 * As I'm aware, the only advantage that the use of sentient biomass confers is the additional "processing power" of the Gravemind that gets built to manage it, and the useful experience and memories that the Flood can repurpose. Otherwise, all biomass is fair game - which makes the current explanation of how the Halos work - by killing only sentient organisms and letting the Flood starve themselves - make little sense to me. You'd still have planets overrun by Flood, now uninhibited by a sentient Gravemind and basically feral, waiting for sentient spacefaring species to stumble upon them. --  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   20:06, 16 June 2014 (EDT)

How many species are capable of being assimilated?
From the original trilogy we see flood in various forms yet only the humans, brutes, elites and the prophets are able to be infected. Yes in Halo Wars we see other forms of flood, including combat forms of grunts, jackals, hunters, buggers, engineers and even zombified birds, but those forms of assimilation are never heard from again. So is it safe only humans and three species of the covenant can be all alien races capable of been converted?--106.69.214.237 08:17, 23 August 2015 (EDT)


 * No. As far as I know, the Flood can assimilate anything with sufficient biomass, calcium deposits (ie; bones) and brain power. If it's sentient, it just increases its "processing power" for lack of a better term. It's perfectly capable of assimilating animal life - the animals aboard the Infinite Succor were also infected, and turned into terrifying forms. We only see a few forms in the games for sake of game balance, and because forms based on Grunts and Jackals, which are more fragile than humans, Elites or Brutes, wouldn't be as interesting to the player. To my knowledge, the Flood ignores Drones and Hunters because Drones don't have a skeleton, which it uses to build new forms, and because Hunters don't have a singular consciousness to take over. --  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   19:35, 23 August 2015 (EDT)

^ I think they can also "infect" all dead things, but when they are alive they wouldn't be infected. Alertfiend (talk) 19:53, 23 August 2015 (EDT)

Could the other combat forms in Halo Wars be considered cannon? Because if they are, it would balance the list of the species that they assimilate.--106.69.214.237 05:02, 24 August 2015 (EDT)


 * I don't see why it shouldn't be considered canon. Just because it hasn't appeared since doesn't mean it never did, or never will. If (when) the Flood ever do return to the Halo games, 343i could choose to diversify their game units by including some infected ambient wildlife, to fill new niches - a Flood Crawler, for example, made from an alien animal, etc. --  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   05:39, 24 August 2015 (EDT)