Buzzers

“

Those darn buzzing things, they're everywhere!
- GDI soldiers witnessing buzzers in Cologne, Tiberium Wars

”

Buzzers are the Scrin basic infantry unit. They are small, fast and agile, but extremely fragile. They swarm enemies and kill using melee attacks.

Background[]

Buzzers are one of the least understood Scrin units. Little is known about them other than they appear to be the aliens' basic infantry unit. And according to information gleaned from those fortunate enough to have survived an encounter, they are described as "clouds of razor sharp buzzing things."^[1]

They appear to be swarms of insectoid bio-mechanical constructs, capable of reducing even armored soldiers into bloody mist with their blade-like bodies. They are capable of attaching themselves to Scrin ground vehicles, providing them with anti-infantry support. They can also swarm into structures, occupying them and killing any unfortunate troops inside it.

In addition to its offensive roles, the Buzzers are also released from Buzzer Hives, serving the role of anti-infantry base defense.

Abilities[]

“

Those buzzers! They're somehow attached to that walker!
- GDI infantryman observing the Buzzers surrounding an Annihilator tripod

”

Combine with Vehicle

Buzzers can swarm around a Scrin vehicle and are impervious to damage until they are removed or the vehicle is destroyed. Buzzers automatically attack anything that approaches the vehicle (Ctrl+A).

In-game[]

Buzzers are perhaps the most flexible early infantry unit in the game. They attack by swarming enemies and are small enough to go unnoticed in hectic battle situations, and because they lack any solid mass, they are notoriously difficult to direct and track. For human players, Buzzers are extremely difficult to manage and there are only a few ways to know of their presence:

Faint, consistent flashes of reflected light in one spot
Allied infantry seem to be firing and/or dying for no reason
Antipersonnel defenses seem to be firing at nothing
Sudden, unexplained clearing of allied garrisons
Allied infantry attacking Scrin vehicles from the rear are killed

Since Buzzers do not have any available upgrades, there is only one version of the Buzzers available in-game, possibly to save up space. Many other units have a separate version for each sub-faction.

Assessment[]

Pros[]

Lethal to infantries, even can make a quick work on commandos
Several swarms can attack one target
Can clear and garrison neutral structures
Can surround Scrin vehicles to provide antipersonnel defense
Very cheap and quick to train; also available via Support Power
Extremely fast and agile
Can only be crushed by Epic units

Cons[]

Weakest infantry unit in the game; can be killed by most other infantry units
Can only attack enemies in immediate vicinity
Defenseless against aircraft
Deals minimal damage to vehicles and structures (same damage type of the Sniper team, Shadow Team and Commando)
Difficult to manage, as lack of solid mass makes them hard to locate
Extremely vulnerable to railguns and snipers, since each swarm is considered a single squad member

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Buzzers are somehwhat similar to attack dogs from the Red Alert Universe in the sense that both can instantly kill infantry and can only attack in melee.
Strangely, sniper teams can kill a swarm of buzzers with a single shot, which should be impossible for sniper rifles to do. This is most likely due to balancing reasons.