Swarm Mother Enemy type 14 of 15 · first met in Vale of Wrath

Enemy33 placements1 elite variant

Health: 120
Catalysts: 150
Placements: 33
Methodology: Data Methodology
Author: Dakota Chinnick

Swarm Mother is an enemy type in Valor Mortis, first met in Vale of Wrath and placed 33 times across 5 regions. At level 1 it has 120 HP and gives 150 Catalysts; its strongest placements (level 6) have 360 HP and hit ×2.7 harder. It uses 6 attacks, 1 of them unblockable. No damage type does extra damage to it.

How to beat Swarm Mother

Game data

Counterplay for Swarm Mother, written from its move list, resistances, variants and drops.

They have no posture bar, no weak points and no resistances: just damage them. A level-1 Swarm Mother has 120 HP (4 Pistol shots) and the Nest variant only 25. They cannot be backstabbed.

The elite (800 HP, 6 segments) has a -250% Stasis resistance in the data, so the Stasis Transmutation freezes it far faster than anything else, and a full break is worth 750 damage, nearly its whole health. Swarm Mothers drop Mighty Rounds 3% of the time.

How to fight Swarm Mother

Game data

Tips built from its data: what it resists, what it is weak to, which attacks to dodge and how to open it up.

Watch for the red attacks: Range Attack cannot be blocked, so dodge them instead of holding block.
It never blocks, so a full light-attack chain always lands.
It cannot be backstabbed, so there is no stealth opener: break its posture or race its health instead.
It has a grab, and grabs cannot be blocked: step back when it lunges.
Its toughest variant, Elite*, starts at 800 HP, far more than the 120 of a level-1 placement.

Swarm Mother variants

Game data

The game defines 4 versions of this enemy. Each has its own health, posture and defensive behaviour; elites are tougher one-off placements, summoned ones appear mid-fight.

Swarm Mother variants
Variant	Role	Health (lowest → highest level)	Catalysts	Posture	Stasis segments	Block chance	Parry chance	Backstab	Placed
Tier 1*	Regular	120 → 360	150	—	2	No	—	No	12
Tier 4 Nest*	Regular	25 → 0	50	—	—	No	—	No	8
Tier 2 Aggressive*	Regular	120 → 480	150	—	2	No	—	No	13
Elite*	Elite	800 → 1,360	700	—	6	No	—	No	—

* Variant names are built from the game's internal tier tags (the game shows no name for them). Block and parry chances are listed in the order the game stores them. Placed = how many level spawners use that variant.

Health of every variant by level

Health of every variant by level
Variant	Lv 1	Lv 2	Lv 3	Lv 4	Lv 5	Lv 6
Tier 1*	120	168	204	240	300	360
Tier 4 Nest*	25	0	0	0	0	0
Tier 2 Aggressive*	120	168	216	288	384	480
Elite*	800	1,120	1,360	—	—	—

Speed and posture by variant

Game data

How fast each variant closes the distance, and how quickly its posture comes back once you stop pressuring it.

Its fastest variant moves at 10 m/s; your walk speed is 4 m/s.

Speed and posture by variant
Variant	Role	Move speed	Sprint	Posture recovery	Recovery delay
Tier 1*	Regular	10 m/s	—	—	2 s
Tier 4 Nest*	Regular	10 m/s	—	—	—
Tier 2 Aggressive*	Regular	10 m/s	—	—	5 s
Elite*	Elite	10 m/s	—	—	5 s

Speeds are the AI's movement settings in metres per second. Posture recovery is the posture regained per second, and the delay is the wait before recovery begins (game fields posture_recovery_per_sec and posture_reset_delay). — = not set for that variant.

Swarm Mother level scaling

Game data

Enemy levels in Valor Mortis are set per placement, not by a difficulty setting (the game has a single difficulty): the same enemy is level 1 in one spot and level 6 in another, usually higher later in the campaign. This is the main variant from level 1 to 6.

Swarm Mother level scaling
Level	Health	Catalysts	Damage dealt	Critical attack damage taken	Backstab damage taken	Backstab share of HP
Lv 1	120	150	×1	120	120	100%
Lv 2	168	190	×1.4	168	168	100%
Lv 3	204	230	×1.7	204	204	100%
Lv 4	240	270	×2	240	240	100%
Lv 5	300	310	×2.3	300	300	100%
Lv 6	360	350	×2.7	360	360	100%

Damage dealt multiplies every attack's base damage. Critical attacks (after a posture break) and backstabs deal the fixed amounts shown, whatever your weapon; the share column is our arithmetic.

Swarm Mother attacks

Game data

Every damaging attack across its variants, grouped into moves, with base damage per hit, wind-up and whether you can block it.

Moves
Move	Type	Hits	Damage per hit	Wind-up	Block / parry
Range Attack*	Special	1	40	—	Unblockableparry window 0.2 s
Melee Attack*	Melee	1	30	—	Blockableparry window 0.2 s
Grab Attack*	Grab	1	30	—	Blockableparry window 0.2 s
Melee Attack Combo*	Melee	1	30	—	Blockableparry window 0.2 s
Dive*	Melee	1	25	2 s	Blockableparry window 0.2 s
Falling*	Melee	1	20	—	Blockableparry window 0.2 s

* Attack names are built from the game's internal tags. Damage is the level-1 base; multiply by the placement's damage multiplier (up to ×2.7 at level 6), so Range Attack goes from 40 to about 108.

Swarm Mother resistances and weak points

Game data

It has no special resistances or weaknesses: every damage type works the same.

Melee—

Firearms—

Explosives—

Fire damage—

Ignite build-up—

Stasis (Crystallization)—

Infection—

Red = takes extra damage of that type; filled to the right = resists it (100% = immune).

Variants with different resistances

Variants with different resistances
Variant	Melee	Firearms	Explosives	Fire damage	Stasis (Crystallization)	Infection	Head
Tier 1* · main	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Elite*	—	—	—	—	+250%	—	—

Red = takes extra damage of that type; negative = resists it. Head = damage multiplier on head hits.

Swarm Mother drops

Game data

Random drops on every kill, with the chance the game rolls for each.

Swarm Mother drops
Item	Type	Chance	Amount	On average
Mighty Rounds	Consumable	3%	1	1 in 33 kills
Crude Transmutation Material	Upgrade material	1%	1	1 in 100 kills

"On average" is 1 ÷ chance (calculated): the expected number of kills per drop, not a guarantee.

Where to find Swarm Mother

Game data

Placed spawners per region in campaign order: 33 in total, the most in Cursed Hollow (10).

Where to find Swarm Mother
Location	Region	Placed	Enemy level	Health	Share of placements	Map
Vale of Wrath	V	8	1–2	120–168	24%	Show on map
Cursed Hollow	VI	10	1	120	30%	Show on map
City of Orphans	VIII	9	1–2	120–168	27%	Show on map
University	IX	2	2	168	6%	Show on map
Fortress	X	4	2–3	168–204	12%	Show on map

Counts are the game's placed spawners; scripted waves and summons during fights are not included.

Data: Steam build 25907482 (1.0 launch). How we source this

Cursed Hollow

Full map

Elsewhere in this region (separate area, not drawn): Village Church (Lantern)

Map drawn from the region's own level geometry in the game files (terrain, buildings, water); every marker sits at the exact position of a placed object.

Everything placed in Cursed Hollow

Bosses: 1 (Anna)

Chests: 14 (Exquisite Firearm Parts, Distilled Transmutation Material, Life Diverted, Indestructible Shell, Pure Blade Material, Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrade, Distilled Blade Material, Superior Firearm Parts, Empty Ferrofluid Flask)

Lanterns: 3 (Deep Water, Silent Cannons, Eerie View)

Letters: 11 (Seamus's Journal — Page One, Seamus's Journal — Page Two, Seamus's Journal — Page Three, Letter to Headquarters — Distressed Soldier, Headman's Daughter's Diary, Apothecary's Note, Headman's Daughter's Prayer, Cryptic Note — Spindle, Headquarters' Orders — Operation Torrent, To Headquarters — Morale Crisis)

Hits to kill Swarm Mother

Calculated

Basic hits needed to kill a level-1 Swarm Mother (120 HP) with every blade and firearm at weapon levels 1, 5 and 10.

Hits to kill
Weapon	Weapon level 1	Weapon level 5	Weapon level 10
Pistol	430 per hit	342 per hit	260 per hit
Musket	1150 per hit	1210 per hit	1300 per hit
Blunderbuss	1150 per hit	1230 per hit	1350 per hit
Saber	620 per hit	340 per hit	260 per hit
Rapier	525 per hit	435 per hit	345 per hit
Claymore	350 per hit	280 per hit	2100 per hit

Calculated from weapon damage × the first light attack's multiplier × (1 − resistance); firearms also show head hits. Upgrades, Ambers, coatings and the stat board are not included, and higher-level placements need proportionally more hits.

Journal entry

Game data

William's journal page on Swarm Mother, as written in the game.

SpoilerShow the journal entry

A grotesque creature that releases living offspring directly from its body. The spawn resemble hornets; they are highly aggressive and persistent, pursuing their target across long distances without hesitation.

What is unclear is whether this is instinct or cruelty of design. Does the Swarm Mother act out of something like maternal care, or is it simply compelled to endlessly produce beings doomed to die moments after birth? The latter would mean she is locked in an endless loop of torment, forced to watch her children repeatedly die, yet unable to stop the process.

Swarm Mother is the #9 most common of the 15 enemy types, with 33 placements across 5 regions; you meet it first in Vale of Wrath and see it most in Cursed Hollow. Of its 6 attacks, 1 is unblockable (Range Attack), and the hardest hitter is Range Attack at 40 base damage. No damage type does extra damage to it, so pick a weapon you like. None of its placements carry a scripted Amber or key. Its health runs from 120 at level 1 to 360 at level 6, paying 150 Catalysts to 350 Catalysts.

Swarm Mother FAQ

How do you beat Swarm Mother in Valor Mortis?

Swarm Mothers move at 10 m/s, the fastest movement setting of any enemy, so you will not escape one. Their Range Attack (40) is red and their hardest hit; the rest (Melee Attack, Grab and Combo 30, Dive 25, Falling 20) can be blocked for 40 Endurance, unusually even the grab. They have no posture bar, no weak points and no resistances: just damage them. A level-1 Swarm Mother has 120 HP (4 Pistol shots) and the Nest variant only 25. They cannot be backstabbed.

How much HP does Swarm Mother have in Valor Mortis?

Swarm Mother has 120 HP at level 1 and 360 HP at level 6, its highest placement level. Levels are set per placement, not by difficulty. Its toughest variant, Elite*, starts at 800 HP.

What is Swarm Mother weak to?

Swarm Mother has no elemental weakness or resistance: every damage type does normal damage.

What does Swarm Mother drop?

Random drops: Mighty Rounds (3%), Crude Transmutation Material (1%). Every kill also pays 150 Catalysts at level 1.

Where do you find Swarm Mother?

Swarm Mother first appears in Vale of Wrath and is placed 33 times in total: Vale of Wrath (8), Cursed Hollow (10), City of Orphans (9), University (2), Fortress (4).

Where is the best place to farm Swarm Mother?

Cursed Hollow has the most Swarm Mother placements (10 of 33), so that is where you meet it most often. Each level-1 kill pays 150 Catalysts and rolls its drop table.

Can you backstab Swarm Mother, and does it block?

No: Swarm Mother cannot be backstabbed. It never blocks or parries.

Why does Swarm Mother have different health in different places?

Each placement has its own enemy level from 1 to 6. Level 6 has 360 HP and deals ×2.7 damage compared with level 1. It is not a difficulty mode; Valor Mortis has a single difficulty.

Swarm Mother Enemy type 14 of 15 · first met in Vale of Wrath

How to beat Swarm Mother

How to fight Swarm Mother