Basic Parasite Guide | Plague Inc App

In Plague Inc., you play Parasite on Brutal similar to how you play Fungus on Brutal. It’s a fairly slow spreading plague, but it has an Ability that is just amazing and makes it pretty easy to beat, just time consuming.

The special ability for Parasite is called Symbiosis. Symbiosis helps to keep your plague from being detected, which is key to winning. It doesn’t keep it from being detected completely, but I have figured out exactly how many symptoms you can load up on without being detected.

I have listed my gene setup below. I have all genes unlocked, which just requires winning 25 games. You don’t need to unlock all of the genes to win this one, as most of these are just the third in each category to unlock.

DNA Gene - Cytochrome Surge (Get more DNA from popping orange DNA bubbles – this one is vital for getting DNA points throughout the game)
Travel Gene - Teracyte (Increases the chance of your plague spreading by land)
Evolution Gene - Sympto-Stasis (Symptom costs don’t increase, but easier to cure – the benefits far outweigh the cost though, this is a must for this strategy)
Mutation Gene - Genetic Mimic (Your plague is harder to cure – counterbalances Sympto-Stasis a bit)
Environment Gene - Extremophile (Minor bonus in all environments – I like this one instead of the specific environment bonuses, but it’s not vital)

The main strategy here is to infect the world without them knowing, and then kill them all as fast as possible. This is a longer game since Parasites takes a little while to spread, so you have to be patient.

Your Symbiosis ability is vital for this to work. With all three levels of Symbiosis purchased, you can buy a ton of symptoms to increase infectivity, and you don’t even need a ton of transmissions because of this. Since you’re working with Symptom-Stasis as well, symptoms you purchase will be a lot cheaper than normal as well since they don’t increase in cost.

One very important thing to remember is that you DO NOT want your plague to be detected until everyone in the world is infected. The only way to do this is to keep your severity at zero, which means buying exactly the symptoms I list and no more than that.

You also need to devolve any mutated symptoms that aren’t on the list below immediately. When I say that you need to devolve mutated symptoms immediately, I mean once the notification pops up that a symptom has mutated, do not close the notification first, go immediately to the symptoms list and devolve it, or risk your plague being noticed before you even get a chance to react. If the world detects your plague early, you might as well start over because you probably won’t win.

Ok, let’s get to it then shall we?

Phase 1

• Start in China
• Abilities: Symbiosis 1, 2, and 3 (get these before anything else)
• Symptoms: Cysts, Hyper Sensitivity
• Transmissions: Livestock 1, Water 1

Phase 2

• Symptoms: Anaemia, Haemophilia, Rash, Sweating, Sneezing, Coughing, Pneumonia, Nausea, Vomiting – Devolve anything else that mutates (trust me, they can’t detect your plague with these, but anything else and they will)

Phase 3

• Transmissions: Bird 1, Air 1, Blood 1
• Symptoms: Devolve any symptom mutations immediately
• Abilities: Drug Resistance 1, Cold 1

Phase 4 

• Ride this out and rack up points. You’ll need 59 points to begin killing people everyone off, but you should have more than enough
• Abilities: Genetic Hardening 2 if you have enough extra points at this time, but if you don’t for some reason then let time run a little longer and gather up the points from orange DNA bubbles

Phase 5

• Time to start destruction!
• Symptoms: Once everyone in the world is infected and you have 59 points, purchase Paralysis, Coma, and Total Organ Failure to start killing people off
• The cure will start to rise quickly, but don’t panic.. you’ll be racking up points quickly as well
• Purchase Genetic Reshuffle 1 when you have enough points, spend the rest on deadly symptoms like Internal Hemorrhaging, Hemorrhagic Shock, and Necrosis
• The cure shouldn’t get much higher than 50% with everyone dying so quickly, spend any spare points on other fun symptoms

Congrats, you win!

It’s tough to get a very high score on this one, but at least you beat it.

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Plague Inc. | Walk through : Virus

Casual || Normal || Brutal 

Casual -

Starting Out:

Pick a Starting Country	Pick a Symptom Path	Focus on Infectivity
This is the first step to starting the game. This will affect how your plague acts to different climates, but also how quickly your plague will spread.	Symptom paths effect how your plague interacts with humans. Learn all of the deadly, quick killing Symptom Paths Here.	Infectivity is what gains you more dna points. Don't try to kill people too early in the game. Or else they will have the time needed to finish the cure.
Best Starting Countries:	Click Here - Symptom Manual	Starting Countries Matter
1.       Saudi Arabia 2.       China 3.       Iraq 4.       Indonesia 5.       Mexico 6.       UK	There are the most effective starting countries that I have found. Saudi Arabia is my favourite just because of its mass of airplanes and ships that travel around the world.	If you are having trouble beating a plague on plague inc: ·         Use a better or different starting country ·         Focus on infectivity more until 60% of people are infected ·         Learn your symptoms.

Walk through:

# of infected	|| Walkthrough ||	Transmission:	Symptoms:	Abilities:
1	Start in any country you like. I have made some recommendations in the starting out section above. I usually use Saudi Arabia.	N/a	N/a	N/a
2-30	Pick a symptom path. This is how you will evolve symptoms for your plague. Save up DNA points. So that you can buy a transmission and infect your starting country faster. I start with Water 1. I find it can increase infectivity more than air 1.	Water 1 Or air 1. But I usually start with water 1. If you do use air 1 instead first; buy water 1 in the next step instead.	None Not needed right now.	None Not needed, just like symptoms. Wouldn’t do much for your plague.
31-1,500	Watch your screen for tips. The game will give you news updates and reminders throughout the game. They can be important and game changing during fighting the cure and killing the world. You should have around 15 DNA points by now, invest once again in transmissions.	Air 1	First Symptom Path Trait. I picked the coughing path. But, because the virus mutates a lot I have nausea & coughing.	Still not needed until your plague spreads to a much larger scale. These are important later on in the game.
15,501-100,000	15k - 100k infected took me a couple seconds with: Water 1 Air 1 Coughing & nausea You should now have roughly 11 DNA points. Transmissions will not allow your plague to be detected as they don't effect humans other than increasing the chance of the plague spreading. Keep this in mind. But right now you should invest in drug resistance to help increase infectivity!	Right now you will want to save for more transmissions. During this stage, I find drug resistance to be a good investment.	Don't buy any more symptoms. Because virus mutates more, you will have to DEVOLVE lethal symptoms. This is to not alert the humans.	Drug Resistance 1 This lets your virus survive treatments from basic medicine. This is very effective when starting out.
100,001-5,000,000	Boom! Once you purchase the drug resistance you should see some red bubbles to pop. Your disease should now be in multiple countries. This is a good step. You now have millions infected but still need more transmission! Evolve the trait: Air 2.	Air 2 This will increase the change of your plague being spread by airplanes.	Not yet! Devolve any lethal symptoms for now. This is the reason most people struggle with virus. They aren't aware that the free traits aren't helpful.	None for now.
5,000,000-50,000,000	You should have around 17 DNA points by this point. Congradulations. You have infected over 1% of the world. 50m. Keep an eye on government activities around the world. Evolve water 2 & remember to devolve those annoying, random symptoms that keep popping up for "free".	Water 2 This will increase the movement of your plague through waterways. This helps infect Greenland!	You can keep the less harmful ones. Symptoms can raise awareness of your plague. Isn't good at this point of the game.	These will help stop the cure.
50m-80m	You have been spotted! This is the point the government has noticed the virus. The spread of your plague has slowed down from the 5m-50m jump by now. And they are now aware of you. Keep spreading. Evolve Extreme Bioaerosol to boost your transmission and to infect the still healthy countries.	Extreme Bioaerosol	Keep devolving. Have a question of need help? Leave a comment!	None
80m-2b!	Billions now infected.. Good. You should have just under 80 DNA points that can be used to start the beginning of the end! I continue on my coughing path by purchasing sneezing & Pneumonia. Cold resistance will be effective in infecting Greenland & Canada.		Sneezing Pneumonia	Cold Resistance 1
2b-2.5b	Cure is started. The cure will not have much funding as it has just begun. You will not have to worry about the cure until it reaches 80+ %. Now evolve Pulmonary Oedema. This will once again increase infectivity. Bird 1 and Insect 1 will help to boost infectivity in almost all countries. This will help infect the rest of the healthy population!	Bird 1 Insect 1	Pulmonary Oedema	Heat 1 (if you have extra points you don't want to save)
2.5-4b	You should now have over 100 DNA points. 4 billion is large part of the world. The cure should have less than 5% by now as well. This is the perfect time to become hostile. Evolve: Pulmonary Fibrosis Total Organ Failure Insomnia Rash Sweating With left over DNA points evolve Rodents 1.	Rodent 1	Pulmonary Fibrosis Total Organ Failure Insomnia Rash Sweating	Genetic Hardening 1
4b-6b	By now a country should have started to lead cure research on a global level. Also, your first death will cause countries to worry about how far spread you have become. Pop the blue bubbles! The world leaders will now start to kill off animals carrying your disease and close ports, airports & borders. Now it is a race to see if you can kill before they can cure. Evolve all symptoms you can. But buy a couple transmissions if you have spare dna points.	None	Coma Skin Lesions Seizures	None
6b-7b	Annoying Cold Countries. Buy Cold Resistance 2. Purchase Necrosis to make the dead bodies around the world a source of infection. Purchase as many symptoms to kill as you can.	None	Insanity Necrosis	None, unless cure is 80%+ Then buy: Genetic Reshuffle 1
Endgame	Buy genetic reshuffle to blow the cure off. This will make sure that you will succeed. Continue evolving your virus as much as you can. All symptoms help out at this point of the game. No healthy people in the world - this is one of the last steps to defeating the world.	Insect 2	Internal Hemorrhaging Fever	buy: Genetic Reshuffle 1 & 2

Choosing A Symptom Path | Symptom Manual

2. Choosing a Symptom Path

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Now you must choose your symptom path! There are 6 total paths you may take, the path is usually decided by the first symptom you buy; and are named after the first symptom in the "path of traits.

If you buy Nausea first, it doesnt mean you use the "Nausea Path". The path you use, you decide by the amount of traits you have bought. If you have 4 traits from the Coughing Path, but started with 2 Rash Path Traits, 3 Insomnia Traits, and have cysts; 

you would have started with the Rash Path of traits but now are following the "river" or path" of Coughing.

       

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The 6 Paths:

 Coughing Path
          Nausea Path
          Rash Path
          Insomnia Path
          Cyst Path
          Anemia Path

ALL COSTS IN THIS MANUAL ARE FOR BRUTAL

Coughing Path

Coughing, Sneezing, Fever, Immune Suppression, Pneumonia, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Pulmonary O edema.

3. General Symptoms 

3.1 Coughing Path

Coughing

Chance of Infection by spreading pathogen into surroundings, especially in high density, urban areas.

Cost: -4

Unlock: Always avaliable

Infectivity: low

Severity; Very, very low

Lethality: None

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, 2 & bioaerosol 

Best starting Countries for trait:

USA - UK

CANADA - CHINA

JAPAN - SWEDEN

NORWAY - RUSSIA

AUSTRALIA - NEW ZEALAND  

Sneezing

Fluid discharge through sneezing greatly increases infection rates.

Cost: -6

Unlock: Coughing

Infectivity: low

Severity; very low

Lethality: None

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, 2 & bioaerosol 

Best starting Countries for trait:

USA - UK

CANADA - CHINA

JAPAN - SWEDEN

NORWAY - RUSSIA

AUSTRALIA - NEW ZEALAND 

Pneumonia

Serious fluid build up and discharge from the lungs. People in cold climates especially vulnerable. 

Cost: -5

Unlock: Coughing

Infectivity: low

Severity; very low

Lethality: None

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, 2 & bioaerosol 

Cold 1, Cold 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia

Uk, Iceland, Greenland, Canada,

New Zealand

Immune Suppression

Pathogen attach to lymphocytes, suppressing immune system and allowing significantly greater freedom of mutation. Can be lethal.

Cost: -14

Unlock: Coughing > Sneezing

Infectivity: low

Severity; very low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Rodents 1, Rodents 2

Birds 1

Best starting Countries for trait:

Canada, Russia, USA

Mexico, Saudia Arabia

UK, Iceland, China

Japan

Fever

Increase in temperature, contagiousness and severe dehydration, which can be fatal.

Cost: -11

Unlock: Coughing > Sneezing

Infectivity: low

Severity; very low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Rodents 1, Rodents 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Canada, Russia, USA

Mexico, Saudia Arabia

UK, Iceland, China

Japan, Africa, Greenland

Pulmonary O edema

Potentially fatal heart abnormality causes breakdown of respiratory system, releasing pathogen into the air. 

Cost: -10

Unlock: Coughing > Pneumonia 

Infectivity: medium

Severity;  low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Blood 1, Blood 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Canada, Russia, USA

Mexico, Saudia Arabia

UK, Iceland, China

Japan

Pulmonary Fibrosis

Scarring of the lungs causes shortness of breath and extreme coughing. Can be fatal when combined with intense exercise.

Cost: -9

Unlock: Coughing > Pneumonia 

Infectivity: medium

Severity;  low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Blood 1, Blood 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Canada, Russia, USA

Mexico, Saudia Arabia

UK, Iceland, China

Japan

 3.2 Nausea Path

 Nausea

Irritated stomach lining leads to discomfort. slight chance of infection when kissing. 

Cost: -2

Unlock: Always avaliable

Infectivity: very, very low

Severity; very, very low

Lethality: none

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Water 1, Water 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Any

Vomiting

The expulsion of infected material through projectile vomiting increases the risk of infection.

Cost: -4

Unlock: Naseua 

Infectivity: very, very low

Severity; very, very low

Lethality: none

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Water 1, Water 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Any

Pulmonary Fibrosis

Scarring of the lungs causes shortness of breath and extreme coughing. Can be fatal when combined with intense exercise.

Cost: -9

Unlock: Naseua, Vomiting 

Infectivity: medium

Severity;  low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Blood 1, Blood 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Canada, Russia, USA

Mexico, Saudia Arabia

UK, Iceland, China

Japan

Diarrhea 

Pathogen active in digestive track, causing infection through faeces and potentially lethal dehydration. Poor countries very vulnerable. 

Cost: -9

Unlock: Naseua, Vomiting

Infectivity: medium

Severity;  low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Blood 1, Blood 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Canada, Russia, USA

Mexico, Saudia Arabia

UK, Iceland, China

Japan

Dysentery

A complete breakdown in the digestive system causes infected sewage, dehydration, starvation and death.

Cost: -22

Unlock: Naseua, Vomiting

Infectivity: medium

Severity;  low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Water 1, Water 2

Rodents 1, Rodents 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Any

3.3 Rash Path 

Rash

The skin becomes blistered and painful, slightly increasing infectivity.

Cost: -3

Unlock: Always Avaliable

Infectivity: low

Severity;  very low

Lethality: none

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Blood 1, Blood 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Any

Sweating

The loss of fluid through sweating also increases infection rates due to poor hygiene. More dangerous in cold countries.

Cost: -3

Unlock: Always Avaliable

Infectivity: very ow

Severity;  very low

Lethality: none

Helper Transmissions:

Air 1, Air 2

Water 1, Water 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Any Cold

Fever

Increase in temperature, contagiousness and severe dehydration, which can be fatal.

Cost: -11

Unlock: Rash > Sweating 

Infectivity: low

Severity; very low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

Rodents 1, Rodents 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

Canada, Russia, USA

Mexico, Saudia Arabia

UK, Iceland, China

Japan, Africa, Greenland

Skin Lesions

Breakdown in the epidermis causes large open wounds which significantly increase infectivity.

Cost: -11

Unlock: Rash > Sweating > Immune Suppression

Infectivity: high

Severity;  medium

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

blood 1, blood 2

air 1, air 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

China, Saudia Arabia, UK, 

Canada, US, Greenland,

Japan

Necrosis

Large swathes of infected tissue lose blood supply and become fatal sources of gangrene. Decomposed bodies remain a vector of transmission.

Cost: -31

Unlock: Rash > Sweating > Immune Suppression > Skin Lesions

Infectivity: very high

Severity;  very high

Lethality: high

Helper Transmissions:

blood 1, blood 2

air 1, air 2

Best starting Countries for trait:

China, Saudia Arabia, UK, 

Canada, US, Greenland,

Japan

3.4 Insomnia Path

Insomnia 

Inability to sleep makes people irritable and less productive.

Cost: -2

Unlock: Always Avaliable 

Infectivity: very, very low

Severity;  very, very low

Lethality: none

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Paranoia

Irrational delusions and mental symptoms. Victims distrust of others makes them unlikely to seek treatment or cooperate with others.
Seizures – Random blackouts and fits reduce the patient’s ability to function independently. Can be fatal.

Cost: -5

Unlock: Insomnia

Infectivity: very, very low

Severity;  very low

Lethality: none, unless combined with Insanity

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Inflammation

Inflammation obstructs bodily process. Swelling can obstruct breathing and be fatal.

Cost: -7

Unlock: Insomnia > paranoia

Infectivity: very, very low

Severity;  very low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Seizures

Random blackouts and fits reduce the patient’s ability to function independently. Can be fatal.

Cost: -6

Unlock: Insomnia > paranoia

Infectivity: very, very low

Severity;  very low

Lethality: very low

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Insanity

Neuropathic action of the pathogen in the frontal cortex causes severe emotional and behavioral abnormalities. Significantly harder to cure.

Cost: -21

Unlock: Insomnia > paranoia > Seizures

Infectivity:  low

Severity;  very high

Lethality:  low

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Paralysis

Pathogen destroys motor neurons to cause paralysis. Significantly harder to cure and can be lethal.

Cost: -15

Unlock: Insomnia > paranoia > Inflammation

Infectivity:  low

Severity; medium

Lethality:  low

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Coma

Neuropathic effects in the brain stem cause loss of consciousness and sometimes death. Significantly harder to cure.

Cost: -27

Unlock: Insomnia > paranoia > Seizures

Infectivity:  low

Severity;  very high

Lethality:  high

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

3.5 Anemia Path

Anemia

Decrease in red blood cells or hemoglobin in the blood can lead to hypoxia in the organs.

Cost: -2

Unlock: Always Avaliable

Infectivity:  very very low

Severity;  very very low

Lethality:  none

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Hemophilia 

Cost: -4

Unlock: >Anemia

Infectivity:  very low

Severity;  very low

Lethality:  none

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Tumours 

Pathogen disrupts cell growth pathways, causing uncontrolled, eventually fatal tumor growth.

Cost: -7

Unlock: >Aemia >Haemophilla

Infectivity:  very low

Severity;  very low

Lethality:  very low, slow

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Abscesses

Pockets of infected flesh are painful and act as breeding grounds for the pathogen, increasing infection rates when burst.

Cost: -5

Unlock: >Aemia >Haemophilla > Tumours

Infectivity:   low

Severity;  very low

Lethality:  very low

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Cysts

Painful lumps containing pockets of the pathogen. Slight chance of bursting which can spread disease.

Cost: -6

Unlock: >Aemia >Haemophilla > Tumours > Absesses

Infectivity:  low

Severity;  low

Lethality:  none

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Systemic Infection 

Pathogen affects multiple organs and tissue types, causing body wide infections that spread fast and can be fatal.

Cost: -22

Unlock:  >Aemia >Haemophilia > Tumours

Infectivity:  low

Severity;  very high

Lethality:  high

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

Hemorrhagic Shock

Failure of the heart to pump effectively causes oxygen deprivation, loss of consciousness and death.

Cost: -27

Unlock:  >Aemia >Haemophilla > Tumours > Internal Haemorrhaging 

Infectivity:  low

Severity;  very high

Lethality:  high

Helper Transmissions:

none

Best starting Countries for trait:

ANY

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