Leaper

Leapers are a strain of Chimera that are a byproduct of a Crawler's failure to find a suitable host form, looking like a mix between a lizard and a scorpion.

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, though by Resistance 2 the two species are no longer referred to separately and all Leapers appear to have become Rollers.

Resistance: Fall of Man
Leapers first appear in York - "A Lone Survivor" after Nathan Hale woke up from being infected by the Crawlers. 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 Bullseye is also a preferable weapon, as its firing spread makes it perfect for dealing with large Leaper swarms.


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


 * The XR-003 Sapper is also more effective against Leapers later in the game, as they will rush blindly into the explosive globules, often killing several with one globule. Laying Sapper mines in front of Leaper Pods is a good way to deal with the the instant they hatch.


 * If playing through the second playthrough, 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. A Backlash Grenade can also kill a large number of Leapers; however, these are best saved for tougher enemies.

Resistance: Retribution
Leapers appears in The Guns of Rotterdam after James Grayson and a British Marine kills several Boilers in the sewers and the Leapers kills the Marine.

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.

Resistance 2
The creatures called "Leapers" in Resistance 2 are what the first game called Rollers, and have the distinctive acid spit and rolling locomotion seen in the previous game. They do not appear much throughout Resistance 2 and are much weaker, but still dangerous in swarms.

Strategy

 * Leapers can be easily be wiped out with any rapid-fire or spread weapon.
 * 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
Leapers appears in Wrightsburg where Joseph Capelli and Fyodor Malikov travels in Mississipi River by boat and they're devouring the carcasses of Kraken.

Leapers are among the Chimeran strains that are considered 'feral'. Feral Leapers are stated to have evolved somewhat from their military ancestors, and Resistance 3 Leapers are much more bulky than those in previous games. They now apparently retain the ability of their infant Crawler morph to pass on the Chimeran virus into adulthood, transmitting it via their bite ; this ability was never shown in any previous game, implying it is a new development. Leapers also have the same ability to spit acid present in Resistance 2, though their bulkier bodies mean they have lost the ability to roll.

It is unclear what kind of Chimera a human bitten by a Leaper becomes, though the transformation apparently does not require the cocoon stage used by the Crawler and Spinner infection methods. Leapers are now shown creating not just their distinctive pods but also the webbing more characteristic of Spinners, and the pods of this new form have many separate egg sacs embedded in one place, rather than the single Leaper per pod of previous iterations.

It is mentioned by Dr. Malikov that Leapers are aggressive towards militarized Chimera, like Hybrids or Steelheads. Leapers are edible to humans, as one of the residents of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania is seen making a stew with parts of a dead Leaper beside him.

Strategy

 * The Rossmore is an excellent weapon against these creatures, due to its large damage spread.
 * The Cryogun is also effective, especially the upgraded secondary fire, as is the Atomizer in both modes.
 * The Mutator works on Leapers and when fully upgraded can easily defend against large numbers of the creatures.

Resistance: Burning Skies
Leapers made their first appearance in the first mission, Staten Island, after Tom Riley exits a train garage. A group attack a civilian woman and kill her, then attack Riley when he moves close.

Leapers in Burning Skies are the same as in Resistance: Fall of Man, lacking the acid spit or trundling locomotion, and simply move towards the player and attack by leaping or biting. Leaper Pods do not appear during the game, with Leapers mostly coming out of pipes, vents or gratings.

Strategy

 * Leapers will walk towards the player's position, often ending up in single file if the player backpedals.
 * The Mule is a excellent choice of weapons against Leaper swarms.
 * Any area effect weapon, such as grenades, will work well. The secondary fire of the Mauler is effective and does not use ammunition.