Husk



Husks are synthetic "zombies" created by the geth. When a human is captured, they are placed on impaling devices, huge spikes that Alliance marines have nicknamed "dragon's teeth". Over time the body's organs, skin and water content are converted into cybernetic materials; blood is changed to a sickly green fluid, and the body generates an electrical charge.

When the spikes are approached &mdash; say, if marines try to recover their dead comrades &mdash; the Husks are released and attack. The Husks will charge at their enemies and, once close enough, give off a powerful electrical blast which disables shields and causes massive damage.

Mass Effect
Husks are encountered throughout the game, first on Eden Prime and then anywhere humans have been fighting the geth. No one knows why the geth do this to their captives. It seems like a lot of effort for a small result, though it is an effective psychological warfare to make soldiers fight their own dead. The geth used a ship full of husks, the MSV Cornucopia, partly as a trap and partly as a warning to other organic races not to enter their space.

Cerberus were studying husks as part of their experimental programme into creating a super soldier, and as a test they deliberately exposed a colonial pioneer team on Chasca to dragon's teeth. There were also husks in Saren Arterius' research facility on Virmire, possibly part of his study of indoctrination.

When Sovereign "possesses" Saren's body, the resulting creature strongly resembles a husk, and the Reaper indoctrination effect is similar to the "zombie" nature of husks, which suggests that the dragon's teeth are Reaper technology. A cache of the spikes was found buried on Trebin and had to be excavated by the local research team, but there is no evidence of who put them there or why.

Tactics
While not as resistant to damage as Thorian Creepers, husks are still quite resilient. If they get close enough on foot, their electrical blast carries over a large area. This damages the entire squad and overloads their shields, and if there is a large group of husks, this can be lethal. Husks are vulnerable to Warp and Neural Shock (although they appear robotic, they count as organic enemies as they are corpses, and AI Hacking does not work). Tech abilities like Damping or Sabotage can also slow them down. Otherwise, if they haven't used their electrical attack, it's safer to keep them at a distance and pick them off, using Throw if they get too close.

Like Thorian Creepers, the unarmored bodies of husks are vulnerable to mêlée strikes. The husk tends to pause for a brief period after using its electrical attack, allowing ample time to perform a melee attack. This tends to inflict light to moderate damage and is virtually guaranteed to knock the Husk down.

Mass Effect 2
Husks are now known to be of Reaper origin, as it is clearly stated several times that the geth gained their dragon's teeth from the Reapers in order to create Husks themselves.

The Collectors appear to make use of husks along with several new husk variations, namely, the Abomination, Scion, and the Praetorian, all of which are noted to be more advanced than those previously fought by Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. It is also noted that no dragon's teeth are seen at places where the Collectors deploy husks. Shepard and the squad speculate this indicates the husks were transported by the Collectors from elsewhere, although this is never confirmed. These husks are encountered along with Abominations and Scions aboard a derelict Reaper when a science team falls victim to the Reaper's indoctrination. Shepard and the squad finds multiple dragon's teeth onboard, indicating that the husk variants were used by the Reapers at least 37 million years ago. It is currently unknown why the Husks used by the geth were less advanced and no other husk variants were seen alongside the geth, though it is possible that Sovereign was uncomfortable about giving the geth too much Reaper technology. The basic Collector-produced husk seems somewhat different than geth-produced husks, lacking the electrical attack and using armor for defenses rather than kinetic barriers.

An excavation team in the Minos Wasteland on the planet Aequitas finds an alien artifact that creates advanced husks. This device does not look like dragon's teeth at all but instead is an orb filled with an unknown energy source that turned the excavation team into Husks with what appears to be a form of indoctrination, according to logs kept by the team, before it started creating more husks.

Capabilities
Offensive

Husks usually charge at Shepard and the squad to enter close combat. Their melee attacks have a knockback effect so try to avoid getting surrounded by three or more husks.

Defensive

Husks only have moderate health, but get light armor on higher difficulties.

Tactics
Unlike their Mass Effect counterparts, Husks no longer use an electrical attack at melee range in Mass Effect 2. Instead, Husks now attack by charging at Shepard or the team and attempting to maul them. Once they start rushing, they can be sidestepped easily, causing them to helplessly dash past you. You can also stop them by shooting their legs out from under them, ideally using a submachine gun or an assault rifle. Armor Piercing Ammo is particularly effective. Husks are instantly killed by Powers that knock them off their feet, hence Powers like Concussive Shot or Shockwave are very useful against groups of Husks as is Inferno Grenade or Flashbang Grenade. Shockwave is especially good when a long line of husks are emerging from cover to charge towards your team one after another; a single well placed Shockwave can destroy half a dozen or more. Charge, Throw and Pull can kill a husk in a single hit, and if the powers are evolved to affect an area, it can be effective on tight groups. The Collector Particle Beam is also very effective against husks, quickly destroying their armor and tearing their bodies apart. The M-622 Avalanche, Cryo Blast and Cryo Ammo will cause husks to shatter, killing them instantly on any difficulty (once their armor is removed on higher difficulties). Singularity can be effective if used on a group of husks, especially near a choke point. Dominate used on a group of husks will destroy them rather than control them, however it will control an Abomination like it would regular organic enemies.

Husks are vulnerable to headshots like any other enemy, but their jerky movements make them hard to target, and body hits inflict less damage. Instead, aim for their legs, as a strong enough shot (like a shotgun or assault rifle) can sever a husk in half, killing it instantly.

Melee attacks are another viable tactic when fighting husks, but isn't recommended against abominations. This is because melee attacks always inflict the same damage against defenses (armor, etc) as they do health, possess a high attack speed and a brief daze effect that can keep an enemy stunlocked with repeated blows. It also requires no cooldown, reload time or ammunition useage. Using Heavy Muscle Weave, Strength Boost Pads and Heightened Adrenaline Rush will provide a +190% melee damage bonus and 70% time dilation. Hardened Adrenaline Rush will provide a nice health damage resistance bonus to melee attacks combined with Heavy Bone Weave but only a +150% melee damage bonus and 50% time dilation so it's a good idea to use the N7 Breather Helmet, Aegis Vest, Strength Boost Pads, N7 Gauntlets and Life Support Webbing for a +23% health bonus and +25% melee damage bonus on missions with alot of husks. Tactical Cloak with the Heavy Muscle Weave and Strength Boost Pads will provide a 90-125% melee damage bonus. The main drawbacks of these tactics are husk melee attacks can also stunlock Shepard as well, and it's only viable with Soldiers and Infiltrators on higher difficulties due to their damage boosting abilities. You can counter being mobbed by the husks through use of the M-622 Avalanche fired at Shepard's feet (doesn't inflict any type of splash damage on Shepard or the squad), and by keeping a krogan by Shepard's side through use of squad commands so the charge attack can clear a hole. Do not use excessive melee damage bonuses if trying to earn the Brawler Achievement on low difficulty settings as it can make the required action more difficult to successfully perform.

The maximum attainable melee bonus damage is +210% if you possess the Aegis Pack. Heavy Muscle Weave (+25%), Heightened Adrenaline Rush (+140%), Kestrel Torso Sheath (+10%), Strength Boost Pads (+25%) and Kestrel Arm Sheathing (+10%). This is plenty to bash husks and other enemies into pulp on almost any difficulty.

On Hardcore and Insanity difficulty, husks have armor that protects them from physics-based biotic attacks, complicating standard crowd control tactics. However, this armor is relatively weak and even a Rank 1 Incinerate will destroy it, rendering the husk vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

Other Husk variations
Mass Effect 2 introduces various advanced husk-like forms:


 * Abominations - An exploding husk.


 * Scions - Three husks fused together.


 * Praetorians - Thirty husks fused together.