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The Lurkers are a race of varying creatures seen in The Precursor Legacy, Daxter, Jak II, and The Lost Frontier. They were the primary antagonizing faction in The Precursor Legacy, led by Gol Acheron and his sister Maia, and became slaves in the Haven City-era during Jak II, before they were liberated after the death and superseding of the tyrant Baron Praxis towards the end of the second game.[1][2]

The race varies widely, ranging from insects to large beasts, fish to reptiles and amphibians, and birds to primates, all with two primary distinguishing traits: two pairs of spurs placed along the jaw line appearing to be made of something similar to cartilage, and large, yellow eyes.[1][3]

History[]

The Precursor Legacy[]

Prologue from TPL 2

Lurkers assembled on Misty Island.

During The Precursor Legacy, the Lurkers acted as the primary antagonizing faction under the control of Gol Acheron and his sister, Maia. Throughout the course of the game they terrorized humans in villages all in a quest to find all Precursor artifacts and eco, as well as serve Gol and Maia in their mission to flood the world with dark eco.[1]

Lurkers held fort in many major hub locations, including Sentinel Beach, Misty Island, and Forbidden Jungle in which they were deployed while antagonizing the Sandover area. They were later found in various locations surrounding Rock Village such as Precursor Basin, lost Precursor city, and Boggy Swamp. Klaww, a giant and notable member of the Lurkers, assaulted Rock Village by stationing himself in the volcanic area of Mountain Pass while throwing flaming boulders at the village. A large lurker fort was found on Snowy Mountain on top of the Volcanic Crater in which many lurkers were stationed in and around a large stronghold surrounded by wooden stakes. Lastly, they would be found in Gol and Maia's citadel towards the end of the game.

After The Precursor Legacy[]

After the supposed death of Gol and Maia, the Lurkers' future is unknown. They evidently survived the Metal Head Wars as babaks, lurker sharks, and jungle fish were seen in the future.[4][5] Babaks at some point inhabited the dig site which was originally a secret lurker cave where they constructed villages until the Krimzon Guard began mining for eco there and captured them.[2] Either after the death of their leaders, or after experiencing the Metal Heads, babaks turned non-hostile and became allies to the humans (though the piranha and shark still remained hostile). This is possibly what led to their enslavement, though the details of these politics remain largely unknown. However, it could have something to do with the fact that they were near-extinct,[6] with the apparent exception of water-dwelling specimen such as the shark and jungle fish.

DaxterJak II[]

By the time of Jak II, lurkers were regular slaves, enforced by the Krimzon Animal Control. Lurkers were known to have behavioral problems and typical animalistic hygiene problems.[2][4] However, one lurker named Brutter, who, seemingly could speak the human language, became a regular citizen in Haven City and had a trinket stand set up in the western Bazaar. He also acted as an advocate for other "lurker brothers", sending Jak on the missions "Rescue lurkers for Brutter" to free trapped lurkers. After the death of the tyrannical ruler of Haven City, Baron Praxis, and the evident dissolution of the Krimzon Guard (and thus the Krimzon Animal Control), Brutter became captain of the New Krimzon Guard, a transition faction between the Krimzon Guard and the Freedom League seen in Jak II.[2] It is unknown what happened to Brutter after the events of Jak II as he is not seen again.

After Jak II[]

The only lurkers seen after the events of Jak II and before the events of The Lost Frontier were jungle fish which made a rather diminutive appearance during Jak X: Combat Racing inside a fish tank at the Bloody Hook pub in Kras City.[5]

During The Lost Frontier, the only lurker seen was Barter, a self-proclaimed "top-dog" and bar owner in Far Drop. He seemed to be treated equally by the pirates and other humans. Jak and Daxter could complete side missions ("bar-brawls") for Barter to earn Precursor orbs and scrap as well as plane modifications.[3]

Overview[]

Characteristics[]

Lurker shark from The Precursor Legacy screen

A lurker shark attack

Lurkers, while coming in many different forms resembling many different species in the animal kingdom, have two distinguishing traits making them easily recognizable against other species: all lurkers have spurs of bone or cartilage placed along their lower jaw, some spurs growing longer or shorter than others, as well as two large, yellow eyes[note 1] (though in some rare cases, insectoid lurkers' eyes are not large, rather beady). Some, especially those representing primates or more advanced than insects, fish, or birds, wear diaper-like clothing with makeshift cloth and patched together material. Most lurkers have either a red or blue skin and fur color (or sometimes an even mix; purple), although some also are seen with orange, green, yellow, or beige, though this is less common.

During the first game, most lurkers also had metallic collars or braces, suggesting slavery or a drone-like military system under the Acherons.

Society[]

During The Precursor Legacy, the Lurkers did not appear to have any societal structure amongst themselves, rather followed blindly the command of Gol Acheron and Maia. They did not appear to have any hierarchy, military or otherwise, other than lurkers which were seemingly more capable than others.

During Jak II they worshiped various totems in the dig, though other than this they mostly followed Brutter's general direction.

Habitat[]

Due to the large variety of lurkers, they inhabit nearly every known habitat in The Precursor Legacy. They appear in the sea, rivers, jungle, swamp, mountains and caves. In Jak II they inhabited a cave (possibly hiding so they are not captured as slaves) in makeshift huts and houses.

Military[]

Lurkers come in many different species and tribes. Babaks are always present in lurker-controlled locations, but many species of either larger or smaller lurkers appear. Their military, though not civilly existent, is formed by necessity and different lurkers are deployed to areas in which they are capable of handling for their size and/or level of intelligence.

Technology[]

Weapons[]

It appears as if most lurkers do not use equipment for combat or artillery, though there are some lurkers with clubs (bone armor lurkers) and others; the driller lurker will attack you with large drills. Some lurkers can shoot fire from their hands, spit dark eco projectiles, use electricity, and use spines on their back to attack their enemy.

Vehicles[]

The lurkers are able engineers and have designed a multitude of water, land, and air vehicles, though they excel at constructing balloons and other aircraft. Their vehicles are often made out of simple wood, cloth, and rope, though they will sometimes use metal on larger objects. The largest vehicles commonly carry massive spikes made out of bone for aesthetics. Common vehicles include a trapeze balloon and the transport balloon. The former was used in Jak II to move the Rift Rider, and is significant because it was the only vehicle to use electrical equipment, suggesting an technological or economical change since The Precursor Legacy.

Their largest air vehicle was a large dirigible, which was stationed at Boggy Swamp to remove a piece of Precursor robot from the swamp. Another large vehicle, a Lurker ship was docked at Misty Island. Aside from these few they have also constructed very small, hand-driven helicopters and ice drillers.

Species[]

Name Location Description
Lurker shark Oceans and other bodies of water A large orange/yellow shark.
Babak Everywhere Large red/purple lurkers resembling primates, and most common among the lurker species. Blue variants wearing fur clothes live in Snowy Mountain.
Lurker crab Sentinel Beach A crustacean lurker resembling hermit crabs. They appear at Sentinel Beach and remain neutral until approached, at which point they will emerge from their shells and attack their opponent.
Sand worm Sentinel Beach These reside in sand pits at the beach, and have a blue/yellow color and will appear once a victim approaches.
Lurker puppy Sentinel Beach A small canine lurker which will bark and weakly approach their enemy.
Poisonous eel Forbidden Jungle Poisonous eels which swim in the streams of Forbidden Jungle along with the one-pound and five-pound fish. If one poisonous eel is caught in a net full of good fish, the poisonous eel will poison the other fish.
Jungle snake Forbidden Jungle These brown snakes hide in the trees, when prey comes they drop to the ground and will attempt to bite their target.
Hopper Forbidden Jungle Large, green toads with a back covered with spikes. They attack by simply jumping towards their target and biting them.
Jungle fish Forbidden Jungle, Kras City, (waters) Medium-sized fish with large dorsal fins and a wide variation of coloration.
Aphid lurker Forbidden Temple Medium-sized insectoid lurkers acting as a defense mechanism for the dark eco plant.
Bone armor lurker Misty Island Large powerful blue lurkers wearing bone-made armor and equipment.
Quicksand lurker Misty Island, Mountain Pass Purple-colored lurkers often dwelling in mud pits and attack by spitting dark eco projectiles.
Robber Precursor Basin A purple robber seen at the Precursor Basin.
Puffer Lost Precursor city Flight-bound lurkers which will protrude spikes from their body as a defense mechanism.
Double lurker Lost Precursor city A large lurker plus another smaller soldier-like lurker on its shoulders.
Bully Lost Precursor city A lurker in a small cage which will spin quickly until dazed, leaving the top of its cage vulnerable to attack.
Swamp rat Boggy Swamp Red rat-like lurkers, spawning from tree-like nests.
Lurker toad Boggy Swamp Large purple toads, unlike the hoppers these attack by using their tongue which produces electricity.
Swamp bat Boggy Swamp Small flying bats, they live in swarms attacking anything in their path by swooping downward.
Pedal-copter lurker Mountain pass These purple lurkers use a primitive flying bike to scout ahead and protect the Pass.
Ice lurker Snowy Mountain Rare lurkers appearing to be made entirely of ice, spawning from the ice on Snowy Mountain. Similar to the aphid lurker and dragon, these will protrude spikes from its body then charge its target.
Glacier troop Snowy Mountain These humanoid lurkers operate the ice drillers on Snowy Mountain. They carry a shield and shoot a harmful energy from their hands.
Spider Spider Caves These will drop down from silk strings and spit dark eco balls. They can lay eggs for smaller baby spiders to aid in combat.
Gnawing lurker Spider Caves Centipede-like lurkers, they will eat the support beams and skitter randomly throughout their own support beam holes.
Driller lurker Spider Cave These lurkers use large drills to attack you.
Citadel bunny Gol and Maia's citadel, Snowy Mountain These lurkers will rapidly spawn from a machine and try to jump their target with great numbers. A light blue version lives on Snowy Mountain.
Green eco lurker Gol and Maia's citadel These lurkers are only seen in the last mission of The Precursor Legacy. They appear to be a more tough and mutated version of the lurker soldiers as they are all the color of dark eco with spikes protruding from them.

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  1. A trait also carried by Gol Acheron, a unique human.

References[]

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