Omega Pirate

!	This is a rare creature/object. It may only be scanned in one or few encounters.

Omega Pirate
Featured in	Metroid Prime Metroid Prime Pinball
Location	Elite Quarters, Phazon Mines Level Three
Attacks	Wave Quake Generators, dual Plasma Artillery Cannons, claws
Weakness	Phazon Armor, later chest orb.
Reward(s)	Phazon Suit

Elite Pirate Upsilon, more commonly known as the Omega Pirate, was one of the most powerful Space Pirates ever created and had the potential to be a new standard for the Pirates. The Omega Pirate was considered, by Science Team, the zenith of Project Helix. Fused with Phazon reserves, the Omega Pirate was capable of regeneration and wave quake generation. It was destroyed by Samus Aran when she took the Phazon Mines by force, providing her with the Phazon Suit upgrade. The Berserker Knights and Berserker Lords from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption are most likely the result of continued research on infusing Pirates with Phazon, making the Elite and Omega Pirates somewhat their ancestors.

Biography

Elite Pirate Upsilon was created by the Space Pirates research team to be the ultimate Space Pirate. After discovering Upsilon's very high tolerance for Phazon, the team infused this monster with Phazon far beyond safety restrictions. Fortunately for them, the results were positive. It was one of a limited series of Space Pirates to be infused with Phazon successfully (the other being the Phazon Elite). Its creators dubbed their creation the Omega Pirate, and placed it in stasis in the Elite Quarters, deep within the Phazon Mines on Tallon IV.

Abilities and weapons

The Omega Pirate was equipped with wave-quake generators, two Plasma Artillery Cannons (all other Elite Pirates carry only one), a Chameleon Manta for cloaking, and, most importantly, the ability to heal damaged tissue and organs by absorbing Phazon. The only issue with the regenerative abilities is that it is extremely vulnerable when it is cloaked, as all energy is drawn from its defense systems leaving it open for attack. It also possesses an energy-siphon system to absorb beam-based attacks; along with its other protections, this renders it nigh-invulnerable. Missiles will not be affected by the energy-siphon system.

In adition to the Pirate's weapons, it can also summon various beam troopers to deal with intruders.

Battle

Samus faces the released Omega Pirate.

In combat, the Omega Pirate is one of the most formidable foes that the Space Pirates can field. It has powerful armor that can repel beam attacks, and it also uses an energy-siphon field, drawing in most attacks and using them for energy; however, Missiles and Super Missiles are semi-immune to the siphon's effect.

Its primary mode of attack is a Wave Quake Generator, which it uses by slamming its hands into the ground to create an electric shockwave. This moves outward in a ring of electricity, though it can be jumped over by a skilled opponent. It also possesses two Plasma Artillery Cannons on its back, which it can fire to launch two huge missiles at an enemy (later on). And, of course, it can simply use its huge claws to crush anyone who gets too close.

There are only four chinks in its Phazon Armor: the glowing, Phazon-charged plates on its shoulders and its legs. Throughout the entire battle, these plates are vulnerable to Missile barrages, which can be sped up using the Rapid Fire Missile technique. They are also vulnerable to Super Missiles, though the legs less so than the arms. When it drops its siphon field to use an attack, these four spots will be open to attack, from both Beams and Missiles. Its Wave-Quake Attack is a perfect time for this, as the attack leaves it open for a good few seconds. The Omega Pirate is also highly susceptible to the newly-acquired Power Bomb: not only can the Power Bomb bypass the energy-siphon system, it can also destroy 2-4 Phazon plates in one attempt, making it easier to weaken the Pirate and send it into its next phase.

Samus battling the Omega Pirate.

Once all its plates are destroyed, the Omega Pirate's unique affinity for Phazon comes into play. It will activate its Chameleon Manta, disappearing from sight to move to one of the large pools of Phazon in the room.

While its Manta renders it invisible in the normal and infrared spectrums, it can still be detected with an X-Ray Visor, and this is the only time that the Omega Pirate itself is vulnerable to attack. However, the Pirate will only become visible to the X-Ray Visor when it starts absorbing Phazon, so Samus must keep all the Phazon pools under surveillance to catch the Omega Pirate. After a short time in a Phazon pool, it will regenerate the Phazon plates, return to visibility, and resume attacking. If damaged enough before regenerating all its plates, it will become invisible to all Visors again and reappear at another Phazon pool. If Samus can reach it in time, she can hit it enough to make it move to another pool, but it is generally inevitable that it will manage to regain its plates before she can do enough damage to kill it. A quick and efficient way to damage the Omega Pirate is with the use of Super Missiles. Three Super Missiles will defeat the Pirate instantly. While it is vulnerable, though, it will summon other Elite Pirates and Trooper Pirates to harry attackers. These Pirates are equipped with beam-based armors, weak only to certain kinds of attacks. These pirates aren't immune to the Omega Pirate's attacks, though; if they are still around when its armor regenerates, it will often kill them with its own Wave-Quake Attack, apparently having no regard for the lives of its compatriots. However, those which are outside the Wave-Quake radius or are clinging to the walls for a better vantage point will usually stay alive after this attack.

The Omega Pirate collapses on Samus and spews pure Phazon into her Suit.

They also cannot survive Power Bomb blasts, and as such releasing a Power Bomb is the quickest way to dispatch the Pirates. Samus can either kill them or just dodge their attacks and focus on the Omega Pirate, since they all disappear after the Omega Pirate's death.

After being damaged enough, the Omega Pirate collapses on top of Samus. The Phazon inside it is absorbed in to Samus's Power Suit, and she gains the Phazon Suit. The Omega Pirate's corpse explodes.

Official data

Logbook entry

Omega Pirate

Metroid Prime

Temporary scan

Morphology: Omega Pirate
Most powerful of the Elite Pirate Forces.

Logbook entry

Omega Pirate can become invisible to normal sight. It is vulnerable when cloaked, as all energy is drawn from defense systems. By exposing itself to Phazon, it can regenerate damaged tissue and organs. Considered the pinnacle of the Elite Pirate program, this enemy should be handled with extreme caution and maximum firepower.

Official website

Homeworld: Unknown

Civilization Type: Mercenary

"The Omega Pirate is the most powerful of the Elite Pirate forces. Omega Pirate can become invisible to normal sight. It is vulnerable when cloaked, as its cloaking mechanism is powered by energy redirected from defensive systems. By exposing itself to energy sources, it can regenerate damaged tissue and organs. Space Pirate engineers consider the Omega Pirate to be the pinnacle of their Elite Pirate program."

Mike Sneath interview

"I believe that this boss was the boss I did the quickest because at that point in the project we were getting to the tail end of development and that meant he had to be done quickly so the animator's [sic] and programmers could do their work. Not much else comes to mind about the Omega Pirate."

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Omega Pirate had a multiplayer mode in the early Metroid 1.5 design draft.

3 on 1:

One-player controls an omega Pirate, the others control bounty hunters. This is basically a remake of the Omega Pirate battle in the singer[sic] player game, only this time, its multiplayer and could be a bit more intense.

Rules:

•Bot or Human player permitted

•Split screen

•For the Omega Pirate’s UI, the camera will be raised significantly to emphasize height

•Omega Pirate can call in support of trooper pirates and recharge via phazon.

•A multi-player variant on the boss battle from the single player game, we could use the same arena or create a new one.

Trivia

If Samus skips the Gravity Suit and fights the Omega Pirate, she will be wearing the Gravity Suit during the acquisition cutscene (though it quickly turns into the Phazon Suit afterwards).

• The Omega Pirate may be the first Pirate to speak English in any Metroid game; every time it summons Trooper Pirates, it is possible to make out the words "Finish her".
• The Omega Pirate has no heat signature in the Thermal Visor.
• Omega Pirate also appeared in Metroid Prime Pinball as the boss of the Phazon Mines, guarding the Missile Launcher upgrade.
• It is possible that the DNA of the Omega Pirate is contributed in the Phazon Suit as the Phazon particles of the Omega Pirate are absorbed into Samus' Power Suit. The Logbook has no mention of this. If true, then Dark Samus may contain Space Pirate DNA as the result of the Omega Pirate.
• A rather easy method of defeating the Omega Pirate in the PAL and Wii versions is to roll through its legs in Morph Ball mode, and drop a Power Bomb. If done correctly, this will knock off all armoured plates, or at least knock off a significant number. There is a glitch where using a Power Bomb while the Omega Pirate is in a Phazon pool will drain its health by a third.
• The Omega Pirate can be scanned before it breaks out of its tank. It is one of three bosses in the Metroid Prime trilogy to be scannable before the fight, the other two being the Alpha Blogg and Spider Guardian. Of note, the Omega Pirate is also the only of these three to appear in Metroid Prime.
• Scanning the Omega Pirate's projectiles will say that they are Elite Space Pirates and depict several images of a Parasite. These scan images are likely placeholders, as they are also associated with other unfinished scans found in the game's files. [1]
• There is a trick in only the original NTSC version of the game dubbed by fans as "Omega Pirate Sleeping", where the cutscene must be skipped at the first few seconds before the Omega Pirate breaks out of its tank. When Samus regains control, she will see the Omega Pirate standing up, as the game thinks it is in stasis. She can then destroy its armored plates with ease as the Pirate breaks out of stasis. This has been fixed in the PAL and Wii versions, however.
• It is possible to destroy the Omega Pirate's cannons. After its four armour plates have been destroyed he will kneel down for a moment, at this time its cannons can be attacked. The cannons can also be destroyed by a Power Bomb while it's summoning Troopers.
• Another glitch exists if entering the Elite Quarters from the top floor via Hidden World techniques. This will allow Samus to fight and even defeat the Omega Pirate without the cutscene triggering, though if she attempts to leave the room it will trigger, but not show the Omega Pirate, and Samus will be locked in the room with no means of escape.
• Oddly, the term "Omega" is commonly used to describe the lowest-ranking member of a group, for example, in a pack of wolves. However, in this boss's case it is likely meant to denote that it is the last and greatest Space Pirate; this use is another way in which the term "omega" is commonly applied. The same is mostly true for the Omega Metroid as it is the last usual life stage of the SR388 Metroids' lifecycle, and the most powerful before the Queen Metroid.
• The Omega Pirate is extremely vulnerable to Charge Combos, a property that is confirmed in its Logbook entry, where it states that Samus should use "maximum firepower" to defeat it.
• The Omega Pirate has its own battle theme.
• The Omega Pirate is mentioned in Metroid Prime: Federation Force during the debriefing of M03: Smokestack. General Alex Miles remarks on the size of the Space Pirates: "They were just about the same size as an Omega Pirate!"
• According to Jack Mathews, the Omega Pirate was intended to be a scaled-up Elite Pirate battled alongside waves of Space Pirates, but this plan was abandoned after Kraid was scrapped as a boss.

Gallery

Official website images

Concept art

Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide

Samus approaches the gigantic stasis tank containing the creature.

The Omega Pirate appears.

Samus targets the recovering Omega Pirate with the X-Ray Visor.

The Omega Pirate's invisible form, revealed briefly in the Combat Visor.

The Omega Pirate's skeleton, viewed in the Combat Visor while it is regaining energy.

Samus defeats the mutant Pirate.

Scan of the Omega Pirate's projectile.

The other half of the scan.

Metroid Prime Pinball