With season 1 of The Last of Us redefining the post-apocalyptic genre and season 2 set to deliver even more heartbreak and horror, it’s time to spotlight the real stars of this nightmare world: the infected. These aren’t your typical undead. They’re the result of nature gone rogue, a terrifying mutation of humanity itself. And there are 7 different types of infected in The Last of Us zombie land.
The Last of Us has created a chilling hierarchy of horrors, each stage of infection more grotesque and lethal than the last. Born from a real-world fungus and shaped by time, decay, and suffering, every infected type marks a grim chapter in the evolution of Cordyceps. In this breakdown, we’re ranking every type of zombie in The Last of Us by their threat level, mutation lore, and sheer terror factor.
Table of Contents
1. Runners
Key Characteristics
- Infected for 2 days or less
- They have speed, hence the name, but are slow in their attacks
- Attack in numbers
Fast, feral, and horrifyingly human, Runners are the earliest stage of infection. Turned within 48 hours, their minds are already lost, but their bodies still move in human-esque fashion. Their faces spasm with fading emotion; their cries sound like agony. Killing one feels less like combat and more like mercy.
In HBO’s The Last of Us, they’re even deadlier. The Cordyceps hive-mind links them—step on a fungal tendril, and they swarm from miles away. Though weaker than Clickers or Bloaters, their speed and numbers make them deadly up close. In the game and the show, Runners were the first sign that the infection is taking over the world.
2. Stalkers
- Infected for 2 to 52 weeks
- Stay hidden, follow prey, and attack at night
- Some allow cordyceps to fester by sticking to the wall
Caught between Runners and Clickers, Stalkers are the worst of both worlds, patient, calculating, and utterly terrifying. Infected for 2 weeks to less than one year, they’re in the transitional phase where Cordyceps starts overtaking the brain and distorting the body. They don’t scream or charge blindly. Instead, they lurk in the dark, breathing in ragged gasps, their guttural growls crawling under your skin. You won’t hear them coming until it’s too late.
In The Last of Us Part II and HBO’s series, Stalkers are even more disturbing, half-fused with walls, their bodies tangled in fungal nests, with tendrils snaking through muscle and bone. Their faces are split wide, exposing the early bloom of Clicker infection. They thrive in tight spaces, using the environment to stalk, hide, and ambush. One wrong step, and silence turns into a snapping jaw in the dark, ending everything before you even know what hit you.
3. Clickers
- Infected for more than a year
- They are blind and use echolocation (sound waves) to find and attack prey
- Enhanced strength and stamina
More than a year into infection, the Cordyceps splits their skulls open, leaving them blind but far from helpless. Clickers navigate using sound, their eerie clicks bouncing off walls, a warning that death is near. Make a noise, and their shrieking lunge will be the last thing you ever hear.
In both the games and series, Clickers represent the point of no return, bodies warped beyond humanity, their fungal-plated heads bursting with tendrils. Their movements are jerky, unpredictable, and their attacks are fast and savage. In the show, the prosthetics and sound design make every encounter with the Clickers even more nerve-wrecking.
4. Bloaters
- Infected for a few years
- They are blind and walk slowly due to their weight
- Extremely strong
Years of fungal corruption have forged these walking tanks, their bodies sheathed in armoured plating, their strength enough to rip a man in half. Bloaters don’t hunt. They annihilate. And if you think distance saves you? Their volatile spore bombs turn the air into a death zone.
The Last of Us Episode 5 unleashed the Bloater in all its nightmare glory, erupting from the ground like a boss fight made flesh. That moment wasn’t just action; it was a chilling promise: the longer the infection spreads, the worse these abominations will become. The show’s practical effects magnified every guttural roar, every bone-crushing charge, making it clear—this is what the end of humanity looks like.
5. Shamblers
- Infected for many years
- Usually found near water bodies
- Eject clouds of acid that burn and kill their prey in close combat
Shamblers are a mutated variant of Bloaters introduced in The Last of Us Part II. Found in wet, fungal-rich environments, these terrifying creatures are bloated with acidic pus that burns everything it touches. They don’t just crush their victims, they melt them with corrosive rage.
Though Shamblers haven’t appeared in the show yet, they’re a perfect fit for season 2’s Pacific Northwest setting. If the show’s design team leans into their grotesque nature, we could see a new wave of body horror that will leave audiences horrified and captivated. Their acidic attacks and slow movements could add an unsettling layer to the horrific world of The Last of Us.
6. The Rat King
- Over 20 years of infection
- Extremely strong
- Huge body with multiple hands and legs protuding
The Rat King is a horrifying outlier, a twisted fusion of multiple infected bodies. First appearing in The Last of Us Part II, it’s the result of unchecked Cordyceps infection, where separate bodies merge into a single monstrous infected body. The infection has overtaken them completely, making the Rat King both unstoppable and nightmarish. The Rat King first appeared in a Seattle hospital after over 20 years of infection.
Massive, nearly indestructible, and shedding other infected, the Rat King represents the final stage of the Cordyceps mutation. If any creature from The Last of Us could inspire true Cthulhu-level horror, it’s this abomination. While it hasn’t yet appeared in the show, its potential arrival promises a new level of terror that will leave audiences in pure dread.
7. The Cordyceps Network
- Connected, mentally working like a hive mind
- Usually attack in hordes upon sensing an attack on one of their own
The show introduced a game-changing horror element that redefined the infected threat: a fungal network that connects every monster across the wasteland. Disturb one mycelium strand and you trigger a coordinated assault from dozens of infected at once. This hive mind transforms them from mindless zombies into a tactically intelligent swarm that hunts with terrifying precision.
This evolution elevates the infected from simple monsters to an overwhelming army of infected zombies. The show’s version creates relentless tension where every step could alert the entire network. It’s no longer about surviving random encounters but escaping an ecosystem that actively hunts you.
What Fans Expect from The Last of Us Season 2’s Infected
The Last of Us changed the entire zombie horror genre by making its infected tragic symbols of a fallen world. With season 2 adapting Part II, expect Cordyceps mutations to reach terrifying new levels. From the predatory intelligence of Stalkers to the corrosive brutality of the Shamblers, each variant escalates the survival horror, forcing adaptation to ever-evolving threats. The infected aren’t just enemies; they’re the embodiment of nature’s relentless reclamation. As the franchise progresses, one truth remains: humanity isn’t fighting zombies, but evolution itself.
