Leaper

The Leaper is a Chimera product of a Crawler's failure to find a suitable host form.

Description
In the process of transforming into a Leaper, a Crawler begins a search for a means of sustenance whether it is through human or animal corpses. Once they have gorged themselves, the Crawler transforms into a Leaper Pod which is a protective pupae state. After which, the Leaper is spawned once the pod reaches maturity. Young Leapers are voracious creatures that attack their foes with their claws and teeth. While easily dispatched at range, the Leapers are deadly when they are encountered in large numbers. Before making an attack, Leapers are known to make an ear splitting scream which has been known to terrify their foes. Toward the end of their life, Leapers turn into Rollers.

Leaper bites can also turn humans into Chimera. To those with the Hale Vaccine the bites are normal injuries, but to the unvaccinated they must amputate the injured limbs or cauterize the wounds. Signs of pending tranformation include complaints of heat or cravings for raw meat. It is unknown what exact strain of Chimera the bites transform humans into.

Resistance: Fall of Man
Leapers are weak, and can be killed with a single shot of virtually any weapon in the player's arsenal. The problem is that they attack in large swarms, especially in the level Manchester - "The Cathedral". Leapers usually attack by hitting their foe but will sometimes jump on its opponents and bite them much like the Menial's common attack.

Strategy

 * Keep moving to prevent from being overwhelmed, and use available weapons to plow through the Leapers that will charge straight for the player.


 * The XR-003 Sapper is also more effective against Leapers thanks to the explosive globules it produces to act as landmines.


 * The Bullseye is also a preferable weapon, as its firing spread makes it perfect for dealing with large Leaper swarms.


 * If playing through the second playthrough, a Backlash Grenade is the perfect alternative. Simply throw the grenade at their feet to create a defensive barrier around the player, and the Leapers will walk straight into it and kill themselves.


 * The Rossmore 236 Combat Shotgun can also be employed very effectively against Leapers as the wide bullet radius will take many with one shot as the Leapers tend to come in swarms.


 * The Arc Charger and the L11-2 Dragon are able to quickly dispatch Leapers. Using the Arc Charger's secondary fire is useful since it's electrical beams arcs between enemies and the L11-2 Dragon's flamethrower capability will engulf them quickly.

Strategy

 * Leapers are easy to kill with a Razor or Storm Rifle if the player use the aim assist. If the player do without the aim assist, thus making it difficult to gain accuracy on Leapers due to the way they skitter.
 * The player can use the Razor's charge shot, by charging the Razor half way (don't fully charge it in case the player miss) and allowing the energy disc to bounce off the walls and kill the Leapers.
 * The Schrotflinte .12 Gauge shotgun is more useful in killing Leapers given the weapon's spread of fire.

Strategy
Leapers don't appear much throughout Resistance 2 and are much weaker, but still dangerous in swarms. Unlike in Fall of Man, Leapers resemble more to the Rollers, and that they even spit acid much like the Rollers (possibly a side effect from the new conversion process).
 * Leapers can be easily be wiped out with a M5A2 Carbine, or any weapon such as the Rossmore 238.
 * Like in Resistance: Fall of Man, the Leapers will sometimes jump on the player and begin to bite and, like in the first game, can be shake off by shaking the SixAxis controller around.

Resistance 3
The Leapers are among the Chimeran strains that were rejected from the Chimeran hierarchy and are considered 'feral'. The Leapers have been gorging on the bodies of dead humans and Chimera for several years, as such they have become fatter and slower. Leapers also hold the ability to spit acid, an ability that was limited to the more advanced Rollers in the previous two games.

It is mentioned by Dr. Malikov that Leapers are antipathetic to militarized Chimera, like Hybrids or Steelheads. Surprisingly, Leapers are edible to humans as one of the religious residents of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania is seen making a stew with adding parts of a dead Leaper beside him. Furthermore, Leapers can turn humans into Chimera such as Grims.

Strategy
The rossmore is an excellent weapon against these creatures, due to its large damage spread. A leaper's primary attack is a jump scrab attack and its secondary attack it pukes acid onto you.