Jack Krauser

There's nothing left to say. For you and I, Leon, we're merely different sides of the same coin...

Jack Krauser, was a former government agent alongside Leon S. Kennedy, but it was assumed that he died in a helicopter crash in 2002. Soon after, Krauser ended up working for Albert Wesker, in the Umbrella Corporation.

Background
He seemed quite loyal to Wesker, as he thought highly of his attempts to use his new Umbrella to bring order to the world, and was distrusting of Ada Wong, whom he suspected of treachery toward Wesker, which was in fact true. Ada's Report mentioned that he was a subject of much study and observation by the "Organization" while Ada worked alongside him due to his near-superhuman abilities.

Operation Javier
"Something's wrong. It smells like... like a battlefield. Yeah... like 'death'."



In 2002; before the destruction of the Russian branch of Umbrella, Krauser, a seasoned operative, (a member of the US SOCOM - U.S. Special Operations Command) was selected to be Leon S. Kennedy's partner due to the difficult nature of the operation.

They are sent to a small South American country as part of a secret military detachment after the headquarters were informed that a former researcher from Umbrella contacted a man named Javier Hidalgo in a small South American state.

Krauser and Leon have been sent on a mission by the U. S. government to infiltrate Javier's mansion in small locale of Amparo. Finding Javier is their objective, since he is a drug lord who has taken de-facto control over a large area of jungle. He rules the entire area absolutely. The small government is unable to do anything about Javier's control of the drug trade, so Krauser and Leon have been called in.

The U.S. government has received information that a former Umbrella researcher has somehow entered the region. Sources indicate that something strange is going on, but no accurate information can be obtained. Unwilling to risk a biohazard incident, a secret military agency pairs Leon and Krauser and sends them into this volatile region to determine what, if anything, is going on.

Shortly after they arrive at their drop point zone (the Jungle), but prior to arriving at the village of Mixcoatl, Krauser tells Leon that he doesn't believe in B.O.W.s. Leon speculates that he sees the Enemy as being the same to him.

They found themselves having to cooperate as a two-man cell in a t-Virus outbreak. During their cooperation, he becomes more interested in Leon's experiences in the Raccoon City Destruction Incident. After learning as much from Leon as he can, he realizes that the enemy they are facing is entirely new to him, and thus starts to realize that B.O.W.s do indeed exist. Upon arriving within Mixcoatl, Leon and Krauser are faced by the zombified residence of the village, before finding their guide mortally wounded as well. They soon struggle past the various B.O.W's which they encountered, only to find a mysterious girl, named Manuela Hidalgo, along with a fierce amphibious B.O.W. which they soon manage to defeat for the time being.

Leon and Krauser are guided by Manuela through Javier's massive dam, only to encounter even more B.O.W.s. They then learn that the young girl is actually Javier's daughter, and had been infected with the Veronica virus, before being separated from her by Javier's men. As Leon and Krauser eventually struggled through the dam and met up with Manuela yet again, they learn that she was administered the virus in order to save her from a terminal illness which she and her mother contracted, with Manuela agreeing to take them to her father's mansion.

Along the way, Krauser, concerned about the possible transformations which Manuela could undergo due to the Veronica virus, learns of Leon being sent in to this mission under the direct orders of the President, in order to completely eliminate the virus. Although Krauser agrees to help Leon, deep down he begins to feel jealous, almost spiteful, of Leon's elite status.

As the two make their way through Javier's mansion, Krauser continues to contemplate the mission. He soon finds himself agreeing with Javier's mentality of "becoming stronger to survive" and he grows increasingly resentful of Leon. This leads Krauser to become obsessed with the power of the Veronica virus.

As the three make their way down to a warehouse, they find the truth about Manuela's control over the virus: She has her vital organs regularly transplanted from kidnapped girls, in order to both reduce the pain of the virus, and to keep her mind strong. Javier then sends out the same amphibious B.O.W. which Krauser and Leon encountered earlier, only to find that Manuela can keep it from attacking by singing.



As they try to protect her, Krauser ends up having his left arm impaled by the beast, severely wounding him, before he and Leon learn that the B.O.W. is actually Manuela's mother, Hilda.

As Javier merges with the Veronica Plant, becoming the "V Complex" bio weapon, Leon, Krauser and Manuela work together to defeat it. All the while, Krauser becomes more and more convinced that the power of this virus is beneficial, and that destroying it would be a mistake. He thus becomes fully convinced that he must become stronger, viewing Leon as a "coward", and deciding that he will become more powerful.

After destroying Javier once and for all, Manuela is taken into the custody of the US Government, while Krauser himself plans to search for Wesker, so that he can gain more strength. His arm does not fully recover, and he is thus taken out of commission from the US Military, further increasing his anger, before he would soon fall further into darkness.

Los Illuminados Incident
You catch on quick, as expected. After all, you and I both know where we come from.



At some point in 2002, Krauser supposedly died in a helicopter accident, when in truth he had actually faked his death and sought out Wesker, in order to gain the power he desired so much after the incident in South America. Now working for the Organization, he became acquainted with Ada Wong as well, despite being extremely suspicious of her.

Krauser was sent by Wesker to the Ganados' island to infiltrate the cult group Los Illuminados and steal a dominant strain Plaga. He was ordered to kidnap the president's daughter, Ashley Graham to gain admission to the cult, and later became enamored with the power of Las Plagas and took the dominant strain Plaga into his own body. The Plaga granted him jumping ability beyond that of the average human, as well as the ability to transform his arm into a large blade-like appendage. Krauser was supposed to work with Ada Wong, another agent sent by Wesker, however, they didn't see eye to eye; Krauser believing that Ada was untrustworthy and would betray Wesker. Krauser was ordered to assassinate Leon but failed due to Ada Wong's intrusion, thus increasing his paranoia about her.

In the morning, Leon battled Krauser again in a large ruins area where Krauser appeared and disappeared, shooting Leon all he could with a TMP and throwing flash grenades while Leon had to gather three insignias to open a gate, where he could escape the Ruins. After Leon got the second insignia, Krauser locked him in the tower with him. C4 charges were set to 3 minutes whilst Krauser's arm mutated into a large bladed claw that was completely bulletproof and dealt massive damage. He used it to shield his upper torso, while his legs remained vulnerable to attack.

Defeated by Leon, the third insignia -which he had upon his person- was taken by Leon as he escaped the area before Krauser's C4 would detonate. Krauser, however, survived. After Leon and Ada met near the prison, Ada proceeded to the tops of the buildings where she met Krauser for the last time. He was determined to kill Ada, jumping from top to top of the towers, hoping to slow her down. Although powerful, he was still severely injured from his earlier encounter with Leon and was killed for good by Ada.

Abilities
Witness the Power!

Prior to Mutation
Krauser is a masterful knife fighter, trained in hand to hand combat, and along with the same training as Leon, knows how to use a wide variety of firearms and heavy ordinance. Compared to Leon, he has a more rugged fighting style: utilizing surprise attacks from behind cover; long-range longbow shots; traps, such as robotic spiders with TNT strapped to them, and small flying robots equipped with full-auto armaments; more physically-oriented, close-range combat; and especially the luring of his enemies into the environment to pull off any one of the aforementioned tactics. He is also capable of executing inhumanly powerful jumps, although this was attributed to his infection; during the interactive knife fight cutscene and the fight within the ruins, he displays the ability to pull off powerful back flips to reach platforms or ledges more than six feet from the ground.

Post-Mutation
Prepare for your death, Leon!

When mutated, Krauser's speed, endurance, defensive capabilities and killing potential are increased dramatically. He sports a gigantic bladed arm not only capable of being utilized for cleaving opponents in two, but also capable of 'unfurling' into a fan-like metallic shield, protecting him from the knees up like a personal riot shield. He is also capable of dodging bullets with his enhanced lightning-quick reflexes, and his endurance has also been greatly increased. With the gigantic 'wing', he is also able to execute powerful forward charges, the action of which looks like he's being propelled by jets.

Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game
Jack Krauser appears in the Resident Evil: Deck Builing game as a character card in the premier deck and Alliance expansion and as a infected card in Nightmare expansion.

The Mercenaries
In the "The Mercenaries" minigame of Resident Evil 4, Krauser is unlockable. To unlock him, one must get a Four Star Rating on Salazar's Castle level.

Krauser is powerful in The Mercenaries, and by far the most vigilant. He wields a powerful bow which has a high probability of a one-hit kill to the head and body as well as the mutated arm which he used in his fight against Leon. It can transform when it is glowing red. The arm can only attack once when mutated, but can destroy any enemy in one hit with a violent explosion, even the Special Bosses such as Super-Salvador and the Garrador. This massively powerful attack also launches Krauser about 15 feet forward, and has a small area affect; in that, even if the arm doesn't physically touch a Ganado, any Ganado within a meter or so will still explode. Krauser has two special moves. When the enemy is hit in the head and staggering, he unleashes a powerful set of kicks that almost always decapitate the foe. Similarly, if an enemy is on their knees, Krauser can knee the target in the face, almost certainly severing the target's head. However, it is very rare that the player will use his takedowns, as Krauser's bow instantly kills most enemies with one head shot, and taking only two body shots on most enemies. When knocked down by a foe, Krauser performs a getup move that is different from the other characters, causing him to move backward. Krauser is the only character with a full 10 bars of health, and can take upwards of 7 or 8 hits before succumbing.

Krauser, although being one of the most powerful of the characters, he does have some weaknesses. First of all, his grenades are all Flash Grenades. Furthermore, Krauser's arm takes over a minute to regenerate, and without his arm being ready, he lacks the power to control groups, unless he can use his flash grenades to stagger a group, and then unleash a flurry of kicks. Also, although Krauser is extremely fast, and when injured, he is quite a bit slower, so those who rely on his speed will find their advantage shattered. Krauser's bow also needs to be reloaded after every shot meaning he can't keep a constant bead on his enemies nor can he follow them very well, being as he aims very slowly. Krauser can fire his bow slightly faster if the player skips the reload animation; by rapidly release and then depress the aim button, Krauser will level his bow faster than if the player had kept the button held; however, Krauser loses his aim, and the bow will be aimed at the neutral position again.

Melee Moves:


 * Head: Roundhouse, Hook kick
 * Leg: Knee
 * Special: Arm Blade Thrust

He also appears in The Mercenaries 3D as an unlockable character.

His loadout is:
 * Krauser's Bow (Infinite Ammo)
 * Knife
 * Rocket Launcher (2/0) (When using the ability Infinity 7, the Rocket Launcher has infinite ammo, but the score is permanently set at 0).

His Moveset is as follows:
 * Roundhouse: When Krauser shoots an enemy in the head and approaches from front or back, he does a roundhouse to reverse roundhouse kick combo, sending the enemy flying away from him. Both kicks also hit nearby enemies.
 * Up-Slice: When Krauser shoots an enemy in the arm and approaches from the front, he draws his knife and uppercuts them with it. This is also the move he uses to destroy Time Bonuses.
 * Tackle: When Krauser shoots an enemy in the arm and approaches from the back, he performs a shoulder tackle that sends enemies flying away from him.
 * Stinger: When Krauser shoots an enemy in the leg and approaches from the front, he grabs their shoulders and knees them in the face. This move also has a high critical headshot rate.
 * Throat Slit: When Krauser shoots an enemy in the leg and approaches from the back, he draws his knife and stabs the entire blade into the enemies throat before ripping it out.
 * Knife Stab: When Krauser approaches a downed enemy, he draws his knife and preforms Sheva's Impale attack from Resident Evil 5, albeit one-handed; high critcal head-shot if directly above.
 * Dropkick: When Krauser approaches a powerful stunned enemy (like Gatling Gun Majini) or uses the skill Reversal, which gives the character access to their best melee move(s) when Vitality is low, he jumps and kicks the enemy with both feet before landing on his stomach. This move takes a HUGE chunk out of the target.

Krauser is a resilient Mercenary, taking less damage than he heals, similar to HUNK. His alternate outfit, Exo-Skeleton (Chris' Heavy Metal costume from Resident Evil 5), increases his damage resistance but degrades his healing ability.

Krauser's knife allows him to make excellent use of the Thunderbolt skill, which makes all Melee attacks electric. This allows him to handle most enemies in large groups at once and also stun minor sub-boss type enemies such as Big Man Majini who will be open to a Roundhouse attack prompt every few slashes.The Rocket Launchers in his inventory also allow him to take down most bosses easily. However, he only gets two (without infinity 7 which is pointless to use for gameplay where scoring is needed.) so the player has to think strategically when it would be a good time to use them.

His bow however is much weaker so handling bosses may be difficult unless Krauser has access to a large supply of Grenades and/or Proximity Bombs. His bow is very useful for handling Chainsaw Majini who have gone into berserker mode as it will take them out in a few hits provided they don't close the distance between them and Krauser. A knife with Thunderbolt equipped isn't recommended on bosses, especially those with instant death attacks unless the player is experienced enough.

When handling Super Salvador in this game, Krauser should remain a fair distance away because he no longer has access to the arm attack he had in Resident Evil 4. It is recommended saving the Rocket Launchers especially for Super Salvador because it can kill him in one hit.

Trivia

 * Of all the antagonists in Resident Evil 4, Jack Krauser is the only one to make an appearance in all game modes: the main game, Separate Ways, Assignment Ada and "The Mercenaries".
 * According to Yasahiro Setu's Blog "Talking Evil" as well as Nintendo Power's Darkside Chronicles coverage, Jack Krauser is Setu's favorite Resident Evil Character.
 * To promote Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, a Twitter account for Jack Krauser was created, which details what he does during the Operation Javier mission.
 * In Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, his main firearm is an H&K Mk.23 SOCOM.
 * Krauser's reasons for being absolutely loyal to Wesker is comparable to Sergei's reasons for being loyal to Spencer - both were employed after they were removed from Military Command (due to his arm injury never recovering, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, respectively).
 * Krauser is the only character in "The Mercenaries" mode who front flips off ledges.
 * When fighting Leon in his mutated form he, ironically, can be very easy defeated with the knife, provided Leon can get close enough to hit him.
 * Krauser is able to wear his original Resident Evil 4 costume in the Darkside Chronicles.
 * Krauser is the only RE antagonist to still maintain the same voice actor throughout his appearances (Jim Ward in RE4, Darkside Chronicles, and The Mercenaries 3D).
 * In the Resident Evil DBG, the second Jack Krauser card mimics the abilities of Slifer the Sky Dragon; one of the Egyptian God Cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Both cards have their base strength determined by how many cards are in the player's hand. This is a trait shared also by the card Maro in Magic: The Gathering.
 * Krauser's knife is about the same size as Leon's
 * His sword arm in Resident Evil 4 resembles the Soul Edge weapon in the Soul Calibur fighting series. Both are large swords with an eye at the base.
 * In Separates Ways, he is much weaker and easier to defeat than in Assignment Ada and the main game.
 * He bears a long scar in his face which goes from his left eye to his chin, and a small one on from his right cheek to his mouth. It is unknown how or when he got those scars, it is only known that it was at some point between 2002 and 2004 it could be a result of his faked death or experimentation on himself to recover his arm, but it is not known for sure.
 * Strangely, in the Mercenaries 3D, Krauser's assassination move, Throat Slit, actually shows him stabbing his entire knife blade into the target's throat, not slicing it open as the move's name would imply.
 * In the Mercenaries 3D, Krauser seems to share many moves with chracters like Sheva and Josh Stone, such as variants of the roundhouse, impale, knee, throat slit, iron tackle and dynamite kick.
 * His scar isn't present in Resident Evil: The Merceneries 3D.
 * It is recommended to conserve Magnum bullets when lacking money for buying the Rocket launcher.
 * Krauser carries a bow that resembles both a Re-curve and a Compound.