Fast Headcrab

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Fast Headcrab
General information
Type	Headcrab subspecies
Affiliation	Xen wildlife
Health	10
Attacks	Bite (5)
Game information
Designed by	Ted Backman
Entity name	npc_headcrab_fast

 

"In Ravenholm, you do well...to be vigilant."

―Father Grigori

 

The Fast Headcrab is a headcrab subspecies that appeared on Earth after the Combine invasion. Like the common headcrab, it latches on to prey to turn them into zombies.

Overview

The Fast Headcrab looks much slimmer and more agile than a normal Headcrab, having thinner, spindly legs, smoother, lighter bodies, and no visible mouth-parts. Fast Headcrabs share many of the vocalizations of the standard Headcrab. Fast headcrabs have wart-like bumps on their skin. The legs of a Fast Headcrab have elongated claws on each end, which serve as weapons as well as a means to latch on to prey once latches on to it's head, or even to attach to surfaces.

Behavior and skills

Fast headcrabs, as indicated by their name, move with great speed. They are rarely seen not moving and tend to skitter around the length of an area looking for prey. When they find one, fast headcrabs will rush straight on towards their prey. Like all headcrabs, they attack by jumping onto their prey and try to latch on to their head. The main difference is that Fast Headcrabs close the distance between themselves and their target very quickly before proceeding to leap at the target frantically. Their speed and unpredictable movement patterns make them difficult targets, and they can be very dangerous in groups of three or more.

Due to their speed, fast headcrabs are mostly active hunters that search for prey. However, they can be ambush hunters as well. In dark areas, fast headcrabs can attach themselves to overhead ceilings where they will wait to drop down on unsuspecting prey. However, they will drop down early if a light source is pointed at them.

Fast Zombie

Like all other Headcrabs, Fast Headcrabs can latch onto a Human's head and take control of their nervous system, creating a 'Zombie' that submits to the will of the Headcrab. The resulting zombie is a human body stripped of all its flesh, with only the skeletal and muscular systems remaining. Like fast headcrabs, these fast zombies move at great speed thanks to their lightweight frame. Unlike regular zombies, they are also able to jump.

Tactics

Fast Headcrabs deal the same amount of damage as the as standard headcrabs and have the same amount of health. As such, the player can kill the fast headcrab with the weapons used to kill a headcrab. However, fast headcrabs are harder to kill than their cousins due to their quick movements which makes some surefire weapons like the crowbar or pistol harder to use. The player should take out the fast headcrab at a distance when they can. Weapons such as the MP7 can be quite effective in taking down one or a group of fast headcrabs due to it's high rate of fire. Fast headcrabs can attack consecutively faster than other headcrab subspecies, which when combined with their quick movements make them more trouble than meets the eye as they can get a few hits in before being killed. When near a fast headcrab, the player should try to regain distance or keep visual track of the fast headcrab as to kill it immediately.

Trivia

• A new, animated Fast Headcrab model can be found in the files of Half-Life: Alyx, despite this headcrab not being an enemy in the final game. According to Dario Casali, the headcrab and Fast Zombie were removed from gameplay almost immediately after testing, as "The shock of having that guy come around the corner and latch onto you before you’d even know what was going on was just too much.”
• The All-Knowing Vortigaunt collects fast headcrabs to eat.
• The first Fast Headcrab can be only seen if the player immediately goes back after the loading screen for the next chapter (water hazard) loads, then after arriving you'll find Arlene killed by a Fast Headcrab. she doesn't get turned into a zombie though, probably due to no female headcrab zombie models existing.

Gallery

Concept art.

Beta Fast Headcrab.

First appearance, near Arlene's corpse.

At the end of the Canals, roasting above the All-Knowing Vortigaunt's fire.

Ditto.

List of appearances

• Half-Life 2 (First appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
• Half-Life 2: Episode One
• Half-Life 2: Episode Two

References

The Half-Life Wiki has more images related to Fast Headcrab.