The Ubermorph was a unique Regenerator-type Necromorph encountered on Titan Station during the final moments of the outbreak. The Ubermorph was a manifestation of a Hive Mind/Nexus form.^[1]

Overview

The Ubermorph is a tall, bipedal Necromorph that resembles a Slasher in body shape and proportion, while several of its other features bear a strong resemblance to those of the Hive Mind encountered on Aegis VII. The Ubermorph's head is connected to its body by a short, stiff neck, and its face features five glowing eyes. The Ubermorph's bulky torso supports two massive arms, and sports a pair of claw-like appendages on its abdomen. The bone structure of the rib cage is clearly visible both on the front and rear, with the back also sprouting small arms. The Ubermorph utilizes its two enormous arms, each ending in three long claws, to impale, slash and mutilate its prey.

The creature has the ability to regenerate lost tissue, mass and bone at an astoundingly rapid rate, making it virtually impossible to kill; this ability is shared by the Hunter, a Necromorph created by Dr. Challus Mercer on the USG Ishimura, and also by some dormant Necromorphs on Tau Volantis.

Origin

"The face is a manifestation of the "Hive Mind" - something that pops up in many of my Necromorph experiments."

—Dead Space Designer Ben Wanat^[1]

A common and very likely theory is that the Ubermorph is an early stage of a Hive Mind's life-cycle: the creature's head, chest and antenna-like appendages protruding from its back are very reminiscent physical features to the Hive Mind found on Aegis VII. Another point to suggest this theory is true is that Hive Minds (or "Nexus") are Necromorph commanders, controlling the intelligence of Necromorphs in a certain region and the Ubermorph might demonstrate this when Isaac opens the bulkhead door to the Government Sector, as the Ubermorph slowly walks among the charging Slashers, Pregnants and Pukers. It possibly commanded this horde to assault the Government sector to clear a way to the Site 12 Marker prior to the start of the Convergence Event.

Unlike most Necromorphs, the Ubermorph does not display many physical signs of decay or open gashes or lesions on its body. It has dark brown, smooth skin covering its body, lending it a uniquely alien appearance, and it was presumably made with the body of at least one person. A variant of female Slashers in Dead Space 2 have lumps on their faces that match the Ubermorph's eyes, suggesting that the Ubermorph may have mutated from a female host.

Project Telomere

"You compromised the compound, you... idiot! If any of them reach the Marker... Fall back! Fall back to the Marker chamber! We have to seal it off!"

—Director Tiedemann panics as Isaac Clarke allows the Ubermorph and the Necromorph horde to enter the Government Sector.

When the Necromorphs proceeded to swarm the Government Sector of Titan Station, the Ubermorph travelled with many of its kind toward the center of the station where the Marker, the cause of the outbreak, laid waiting for Convergence. The creature was first spotted by Isaac Clarke entering the EarthGov facility after Isaac removed the power to the bulkhead door, allowing the Necromorphs to enter and slaughter the barricade of EarthGov security soldiers. The Ubermorph appeared to be commanding the horde as the Necromorphs advanced towards the Marker chamber.

After Clarke accessed the secrets of the Marker using the Noonlight Diagnostics Machine, the Ubermorph moved on him. He led the creature on a mad chase through the laboratory, utilizing various weapons and techniques to slow the rampaging monster. Underpowered and on the run, Clarke shut the Ubermorph out from the Marker's storage area and was able to destroy the Marker. The Ubermorph was destroyed as the Marker's destruction breached Titan Station's reactor core and caused it to explode, killing everything on the station.

Strategy

General Tips

• The Ubermorph's appearance causes a drastic change in the gameplay, transitioning into a sprint to the finish line. It will stalk Isaac throughout Chapter 14 and 15. Because of this, it is best to rush through the rooms leading to the final boss. Trying to kill the Necromorphs in the area is tedious at this point as it is a waste of ammo. This is problematic especially on Zealot difficulty as the player will weaken themselves going into the final boss fight. Otherwise, make sure you have 3-4 full stacks of ammo on each gun before Chapter 14.
• As with The Hunter, a good strategy is to completely dismember it, then Stasis the torso as it begins regeneration. With a fully upgraded Stasis Module, this will give Isaac approximately ten seconds of leeway before the Ubermorph is active again.
• When regenerating limbs and getting back up to its feet, the Ubermorph is completely impervious to all damage, although it can still be put under Stasis.
• Even if Isaac's Stasis and ammo run out, he can still use Kinesis to throw dead bodies and other objects at the Ubermorph with handy results. The Ubermorph suffers greatly from physical impacts, as a mere human corpse thrown at it will knock it off its feet, while doing the same on standard Necromorphs will only attract their ire further.
• Where upon Isaac needs to scan Security Chief Armand Fattouh's body in order to open the door to the Marker, he does not need to approach the scanner with the body. Throwing the corpse at the door with Kinesis will achieve the desired result.
• The Ubermorph will not return to areas Isaac has already encountered it in. Therefore, if he is running low on supplies, he can revisit previous areas to restock on items he may have missed—without fear of the Ubermorph showing up.
• When encountered by itself, the Ubermorph is not much of a threat, and can be dealt with easily. The Ubermorph is later on backed up by Enhanced Slashers, Pukers, Leapers and Lurkers making it much more of a threat. The Enhanced Necromorphs should be made the main priority, rather than the Ubermorph, as they provide backup support for it.
• If Isaac encounters the Ubermorph in the vicinity of Stasis tanks, he can take advantage of them, as they last longer than the Stasis used by Isaac and have a larger blast radius. Stasis tanks can give him enough breathing room to coordinate an offense or move to the next area; however, they can also slow down some doors and heavy objects in the area, and can make a situation more difficult.

Weapon & Gear Tips

• A fully upgraded Force Gun's alt-fire is highly effective, as one or two shots will sever all of its limbs.
• A very useful tactic is to have a fully upgraded Contact Beam and use the alternative fire when close to it. While the firing animation plays, Isaac will not flinch from attacks. The upgraded Stasis blast from the Contact Beam not only slows the Ubermorph down, but has a chance of dismembering it also.
• A Javelin bolt with full upgrades to alt-fire will completely dismember the Ubermorph in only two shots; one bolt, and one alt-fire. The Ubermorph's harder plates of armor—shoulders, elbows, and other areas—will deflect bolts. It will also use its arms to swat away bolts that are aimed at its upper torso, so Stasis should be used before firing with the Javelin Gun at the Ubermorph.
• The Ripper is a great tool as one disk is sufficient to amputate the legs of the Ubermorph, saving a lot of ammunition for other enemies; the only issue concerns keeping the Ubermorph within distance of the tethered blade.
  • Aiming a Ripper Blade at its kneecaps will dismember its legs, then shredding its arms when it collapses to the floor, saving ammunition and rendering it powerless.
• Each fully deployed Detonator mine that the Ubermorph walks onto will completely sever its legs, except for a fully regenerated Ubermorph on Zealot or Hard Core difficulty,making it far less of a threat. This tip is especially true for when the Ubermorph first introduces itself, as Isaac is forced to hack to open the way to his objective, and some well placed mines will hold the creature off while he does so.
• The Flamethrower is utterly ineffective against the Ubermorph. Even fully upgraded, the flames lack the ability to burn off its limbs, and the Ubermorph's infinite health will not drain. The weapon's secondary fire is equally useless.
• The Seeker Rifle can take out the Ubermorph's limbs in one shot if its damage and alt-fire attributes have been fully upgraded. It is better to use the weapon when dealing with fewer Necromorphs, since using it requires precision.
• The Line Gun is a very good choice against the Ubermorph; when fully upgraded, it can sever the Ubermorph's legs and another shot rips off its head and arms.
• The Advanced Suit is a good RIG for the Ubermorph chase, since Isaac will be using a lot of Stasis during the last two levels of the game and, since the Advanced Suit reduces stasis recharge time by a good 50%, it is always a good choice.
• The Elite Advanced Suit is a good choice in higher difficulties, since it grants a 10% damage bonus to all weapons, a 15% increase in Stasis duration, and a 25% damage resistance, making it easier when being chased by the Ubermorph.

Bugs and Glitches

The Ubermorph is subjected to multiple bugs and glitches that causes the creature to disappear completely from play. Unlike the Hunters on the Ishimura and Tau Volantis, which have multiple spawn scripts that generate them at multiple points throughout the game, the Ubermorph uses only a single spawn command that, once the creature is "killed", will no longer generate another Ubermorph to stalk the player.

• An alternate way to get rid of the Ubermorph is to trap it: when it enters the hallway, Stasis can be used on it, then the player can run to the opposite door and destroy the second fuse. This will cause both doors to close, trapping the Ubermorph inside. If the player enters the door that the Waypoint system leads away from, the Ubermorph can be seen standing motionless inside since its AI doesn't know how to reach the player.
• After descending the elevator, the Ubermorph is encountered along with Enhanced Slashers and Enhanced Infectors. It is possible, when the player exits the elevator, to leave and re-enter the elevator. The Ubermorph will fall through a vent, and will stand in place. It can then be dismembered, but will stay motionless.
• A possible third way to permanently get rid of the Ubermorph exists. In the final room where Isaac must destroy fuses to unlock the doors to proceed. Once the first fuse is destroyed, a large fan can be found in the next room, to the left; the player can knock the Ubermorph into the fan, causing it to disappear. This can be achieved using weapons such as the Force Gun, or any other weapon that causes knockback. Doing this is largely a waste of ammunition, however, as the room where the fan is located is the second-to-last room of the game and the Ubermorph cannot follow Isaac into the Marker chamber.

Not counting the bugs and glitches, the Ubermorph is the only regenerative Necromorph so far to not have any method provided in-game to destroy it. The Hunter was burned by the Executive Shuttle's test fire, while the Tau Volantis Hunters in Dead Space 3 can be blown up using special military ordnance.

Trivia

• In Dead Space 2, a variant of Slasher created from a female host features a rudimentary version of the five "eyes" seen on the Ubermorph's head.
  • Necromorph creator and designer Ben Wanat has confirmed that he designed the five "eyes" to be a manifestation of the Hive Mind/Nexus Necromorph variant.^[1]
• The Regenerators encountered in Dead Space 3 feature the five glowing "eyes" seen on the Ubermorph's head, though in a less prominent manner. Concept art for these creatures featured in The Art of Dead Space shows different variations that look closer to the Ubermorph.
• The name "Ubermorph" comes from the German word "über" meaning "over" and the Greek word "morph" meaning "form".
  • The creature's name is first revealed as the Ubermorph in the Prima official strategy guide.
• The Ubermorph uses exactly the same audio and animations, including its death scene, as the Hunter from Dead Space. Occasionally, while chasing Isaac, the Ubermorph will halt completely and start sharpening its claws, just as the Hunter did.

Death Scene

• Isaac's death at the hands of the Ubermorph is exactly the same as his death scene from The Hunter. The creature first rears its blades back, then thrusts them into Isaac's chest, lifting him up while repeatedly stabbing him. It then bisects him at the waist and cuts off his left arm. Isaac holds his remaining hand up to the Ubermorph as if pleading to it, before being swiftly decapitated and thrown off-screen.
• If Isaac was hit by the creature's blade while low on health, whatever part of his body hit by the creature will be torn off.

Gallery

Sources

Videos

v • d • e Necromorphs Dead Space Trilogy/Remake Enhanced Forms • Regenerator Forms • Exploder • Guardian • Leaper • Lurker • Pregnant • Slasher • Spitter • Twitcher • The Corruption • Tentacle Enhanced Variants Enhanced Slasher • Enhanced Leaper • Enhanced Brute • Enhanced Lurker • Enhanced Puker • Enhanced Exploder • Enhanced Pregnant • Enhanced Stalker • Enhanced Fodder • Enhanced Feeder • Enhanced Infector Phantom Variants Phantom Slasher • Phantom Leaper • Phantom Lurker • Phantom Brute Dead Space 1/Remake and DS2 Brute • Divider • Infector • Pods • Swarmer Dead Space 2 and DS3 Cyst • Crawler • Nest • Puker • Stalker • The Pack Dead Space 1/Remake and DS3 Wheezer • Nexus Organism Dead Space 1/Remake The Hunter • The Leviathan • The Slug (2008 only) • The Hive Mind Dead Space 2 The Tormentor • Tripod • The Ubermorph Dead Space 3 Alien Necromorph • Brethren Moons (Tau Volantis Moon) • Creeper and Shambler • Feeder • Fodder • The Hunters • Medusa • The Nexus • Swarm Infector • The Snow Beast Dead Space: Extraction Flier • Grabber • The Urchin • The Spider Dead Space: Sabotage The Boss Cut Content Flytrap • Graverobber • Commander • Swinger • The Bully