If there’s one thing we know about The Last of Us, it’s that there are a lot of different enemies that Joel and Ellie have to deal with to survive. The infected are some of the most difficult enemies that they have to go through from time to time, as there are a lot of different types of infected that have their own properties. Arguably some of the most feared out of all of the infected are the Clickers, which was one of the infected that we saw in episode 2 of The Last of Us. So, what are Clickers in The Last of Us?
The Clicker is the third stage that the infected go through after getting infected. It takes around a year for an infected to turn into a Clicker. At this point, the infected gains a massive increase in strength and durability but loses eyesight as a Clicker. Instead, Clickers rely on echolocation for sight.
There are a lot of different infected in the world of The Last of Us, and Clickers are some of the biggest threats that Joel and Ellie have to go through to survive the entire series. Of course, as we saw in episode 2, things didn’t exactly go well for our protagonists, especially because of what the Clicker did to Tess. So, with that said, let’s learn more about Clickers in The Last of Us.
What Are Clickers In The Last Of Us?
Back in episode 1 of HBO’s The Last of Us, we saw that the world went to hell due to the outbreak of the Cordyceps Brain Infection (CBI), which caused infected people to go crazy as the Cordyceps fungus takes over their brain and transforms them. Of course, while we saw how mad and ferocious infected people were during the early part of the pandemic, they soon became much more fearsome and deeper into the outbreak, especially after 20 years after the start of the CBI pandemic.
It was during episode 2 that we were able to see a lot of infected in action, but there was no arguing against the fact that the one that caught the attention of most people was the infected called a Clicker, which Joel and Tess faced off in the museum in Boston. But what exactly are Clickers in The Last of Us?
When a human gets infected by the Cordyceps fungus, the infection takes over the brain until it spreads throughout the body, as the fungus itself is now in control over the person. The longer the fungus stays in the person, the worse the infection gets because it grows and spreads throughout the entire body. That’s what happens when the infection has already lasted for about a year in a person. These are Clickers.
Clickers are those that have been infected for around a year already, as the fungus has already grown from the inside to cover the person’s body in a layer of Cordyceps fungus. This is why Clickers don’t look as human as Runners and Stalkers, as the fungus has already taken over the head and has covered it with a thick layer of Cordyceps that acts as armor. That is why Clickers are blind, as they can no longer use their eyes due to the thick layer of fungus.
But while Clickers may be blind, they are able to tell where their prey is through echolocation. That is why Clickers make the clicking sounds that allow survivors to distinguish themselves from other types of infected. Of course, the clicking sounds are the reasons why they are called Clickers.
On top of the fact that Clickers have thicker layers of Cordyceps that protect them from attacks, they are also far stronger than regular human beings. A Clicker can easily overpower any person at his peak. Clickers are also quite mobile, and that’s why they are great threats to survivors throughout the entire storyline of The Last of Us. There’s also the fact that Clickers tend to be more intelligent than the other infected humans. In fact, they are so intelligent that they know where their hunting grounds are.
How Do Clickers Differ From Other Infected?
Of course, we all know that Clickers are different from the other types of infected. The first thing that differentiates them is the fact that Clickers have been infected for a longer time than Runners and Stalkers.
However, another reason why Clickers are different is the fact that they have fungal growths that have completely enveloped their heads such that only the ears and the mouths remain untouched. In that regard, they are different from Runners and Stalkers in the sense that they don’t look as human-like as they are and are no longer capable of using their eyes to locate prey.
Runners are also far easier to kill compared to Clickers because they don’t have the same kind of layer of protection that differentiates Clickers. What we mean is that they don’t have the fungal growth that acts as armor for Clickers.
Of course, there’s also the fact that the Clickers are so much stronger than Runners and Stalkers, as seen in the second episode of The Last of Us. Their physical strength has been enhanced to the point that the Clicker in episode 2 easily disarmed Joel and nearly killed him, on top of the fact that it was able to survive multiple gunshots.
The second Clicker in the episode was also so durable and strong that it survived a direct hit from an axe. This means that there is a huge difference between Clickers and the other infected that are still in the early stages of their infection.
Of course, the thing is that not all infected get to become Clickers. That’s because there is no assurance that the infected get to live for more than a year, as the fungus has to find a way to keep the host body alive for the infection to spread. This is why Clickers are not as common as Runners, as there are some infected that don’t even get to live a year or so into the infection.
