Spire Missile

"By the time you see them in the air it's already too late."

―Rachel Parker

A Spire missile, or simply a Spire, was a Chimeran biological weapon designed to infect large numbers of humans with the Chimeran virus.

Description

A Spire missile is fired from a Goliath into human-held areas. After impacting and embedding itself into the ground, the Spire releases its deadly payload of Crawlers upon nearby humans. Spire missiles were capable of wiping out entire cities in a matter of minutes, and have become one of the Chimera's most effective and lethal weapons used in the Chimeran War. After the events of Operation Overstrike, Spire missiles changed their payloads to the Spinner strain.

Deployed Spires are a common sight throughout the series, showing an area that has come under attack; the missiles land with enough force to reduce buildings to rubble and cause a slight tremor. Their use has been discontinued by the Chimera since 1957, due to their new objectives of exterminating humans instead of capturing and converting them.

Resistance: Fall of Man

In York, following the 1st Ranger Regiment securing the landing zone in the abandoned bus depot after repelling Chimeran forces, three Spire missiles were launched at the depot and unleashing swarms of Crawlers upon the human soldiers.

Resistance 2

A Spire Missile as it appears in Resistance 2.

By 1953, the Chimera have changed the Spire missile's payload to Spinners. Under the leadership of Daedalus, the Chimera expanded their invasion to the United States and had launched Spire missiles upon cities and locales such as Orick, Twin Falls, and Chicago, where millions fell victim to Spinners and turned into Grims.

Resistance 3

In 1957, Chimera discontinued their use of Spire missiles. Since America's downfall to the Chimera, many crashed Spires littered across ruined cities and towns such as Haven. Some Spires are seen in the wastelands depicted in Nature of the Beast.

Resistance: Burning Skies

A Spire attack is depicted at the end of Staten Island. The missile released swarms of Crawlers, forcing Tom Riley and Ellie Martinez to flee as more Spires fell around them. While large numbers of deployed Spires are seen during the game (and are much smaller than in any other in the previous entries), no Crawlers or Spinners are ever encountered again at any point during gameplay.

Gallery

Resistance: Fall of Man

Three Spire missiles in the air prior to impact.

Resistance 2

A Titan standing next to an embedded spire missile in Orick.

Resistance 3

A Spire missile sticking out of a bowling alley in Haven.

Trivia

• The Spires depicted in Resistance: Burning Skies are outfitted with a "Spire Beacon" that is located on the section between the tip and the pods. This beacon is used to inform Carriers and other Chimera that a Spire attack has occurred so they can follow up on it. Chimeran infantry have never been shown to follow up on Spire strikes before, and the idea seems to have been invented by the writers of Burning Skies to allow the Chimera to be deliberately called to a specific location by Richard Gorrell using one of these beacons.