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This subject appears in Serious Sam: The First Encounter.  This subject appears in Serious Sam: The Second Encounter.  This subject appears in Serious Sam: Next Encounter.  This subject appears in Serious Sam 2.  This subject appears in Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter.  This subject appears in Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter.  This subject appears in Serious Sam: Double D.  This subject appears in Serious Sam: The Random Encounter.  This subject appears in Serious Sam 3: BFE. This subject appears in Serious Sam: The Greek Encounter.  This subject appears in Serious Sam's Bogus Detour.  This subject appears in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope.  This subject appears in I Hate Running Backwards.  This subject appears in Serious Sam: Tormental.  This subject appears in Serious Sam 4.  This subject appears in Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.  This subject is from the Mental War era. 

 
"That one's for Jones, bones."
Sam Stone[src]
 

The Kleer Skeleton (Kleer Knight in Serious Sam: Next Encounter) is a common reccuring enemy in the Serious Sam series. They serve as common enemies and are often released in large numbers. Kleers, along with Beheaded Kamikazes, are some of the most iconic enemies in the series, and have appeared in every Serious Sam game except for Serious Sam Advance.

Overview[]

The Kleer Skeleton is the reanimated remains of an extinct alien race that originated from the planet Kleer, of Alpha Canis Majoris. The Kleers were once a thriving civilization until they were discovered by Mental and wiped out with orbital bombardment, which rendered the species extinct.[1]

Upon their demise, Mental reanimated the Kleers' skeletons and connected their bones together with magical links.[2] After their resurrection, they were made to serve in Mental's army.

Appearance-wise, Kleers are somewhat equinus, but only in stature, as their physical properties are very different. They have large sharp ram-like horns on their heads, a long tail, scythe-like claws at the ends of their forearms, and hooves on their two hind legs; the galloping sound of a Kleer's hooves is a telltale sign that one is nearby.[2]

Application[]

Kleers are one of the most common troops in Mental's army, and usually serve as medium to close-range assault units. They can be encountered in a group of any size, from lone ones ambushing behind corners or triggered by traps to large swarms in open areas.

Appearances[]

In all of their appearances, Kleers often appear on the first or second levels. At first they appear sparingly, but they soon become a lot more common. On higher difficulties, they are more numerous and replace weaker enemies like Beheaded Rocketeers.

Serious Sam 1[]

Kleers are one of the most common enemies encountered in both Serious Sam: The First Encounter and Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. They are also far more common on Serious difficulty, often replacing weaker enemies like Beheaded Rocketeers and Gnaars. In The First Encounter, the first Kleer appears in Temple of Hatshepsut, and then in every level all the way to The Great Pyramid. In The Second Encounter, Kleers have more or less the same spawning rates as they did in the previous game, and are first seen in Sierra de Chiapas all the way up to The Grand Cathedral. Like in The First Encounter, they often appear in traps or when the player picks up a health pill or armor shard.

In the Serious Sam Classics: Revolution-exclusive Bright Island campaign, Kleers are encountered in every level, all the way up to the final village in The Steps of Despair. They are most common in Crystal Cove, where they can appear in huge swarms. As with before, they become even more common on Serious difficulty.

Serious Sam 2[]

Kleers are less prevalent in this title than they were before. They start to appear on their eponymous home planet Kleer.

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

A Kleer's skull is seen slightly buried in the sand in the opening intro of the first level, Summer in Cairo. Their first in-game appearance is after Sam makes it to the Egyptian Museum; it can be seen popping out of a window. After Sam kills it, several more appear. Later on in the game, they appear in small groups at first, and eventually are seen in large hordes during the final level.

Like in Serious Sam 1, Kleers will often spawn after finding secrets, especially in the Cairo levels and when playing on Serious difficulty.

Serious Sam: Double D[]

Kleers first appear in Egyptian Assault and then in every level in the game.

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour[]

Kleers first appear in groups along with other enemies in Knee Deep in Sand, and then every level after that in small to medium groups or even large hordes.

Serious Sam: Tormental[]

Kleers are first encountered in the final stage of the game, Fortress.

Serious Sam 4[]

The first Kleer in this game appears in Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Just like in the previous games, they are seen on pretty much every level in small to medium groups.

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]

The first Kleer appears in A Smell Of Petroleum Prevails. As with before, Kleers are seen on every level in small to medium groups, although they are slightly less prevalent than before, occasionally being replaced by Processed Anthropolyps. On Serious difficulty and in New Game+, Kleers are much more common and can be encountered in larger numbers, replacing weaker enemies such as Gnaars.

Behavior and skills[]

Despite its seemingly frail structure, the Kleer Skeleton is more resilient than it appears. This is due to their bones being held together by technomagical links. However, this osteocohesive effect is relatively weak, a powerful blow is strong enough to shatter the skeleton into pieces.[1] Despite being stripped of their skin and muscles, a Kleer's speed and leaping ability are not to be underestimated; they can run at a similar speed to that of a galloping horse, and can easily catch up with an adult human. It is impossible to outrun a Kleer, even by sprinting away from it. The sound of a Kleer's gallop is a telltale sign that one is near.[2]

Like the majority of troops in Mental's army, Kleers lack any form of tactics and will usually charge straight towards the target. Occasionally though, a Kleer will attempt to use flanking maneuvers if the player puts their crosshairs on it. This behavior is also shared with Beheaded Kamikazes. At close range, Kleers will use their scythe-like claws to slash at the target repeatedly, which deals low-moderate damage per hit (each attack hits twice). They will also attack using their claws when leaping at medium range, which deals higher damage. They can also use their claws to dig underground or cling onto walls, which grants them a good grip.

When a Kleer spots the player from medium to far range, they will conjure twin vertical chainballs one after another in a single direction towards them. These chainballs are low-grade, non-tracking projectiles, but cannot be destroyed until they hit an object or travel a certain distance. Due to the size of these projectiles, it's easy for them to hit small objects or other enemies in the way. Kleers are immune to their own chainballs.

On at least Hard difficulty in the Serious Sam Fusion version of Serious Sam 3, Kleers have a chance to conjure electric chainballs that travel horizontally which have a bigger hitbox than their regular chainballs, making them harder to avoid as they are also thrown in a manner that attempts to predict where the player will strafe to. On at least Hard difficulty in Serious Sam 4 and Siberian Mayhem, Kleers can throw horizontal chainballs too, but they are not electric like they were previously.

Tactics[]

General[]

  • While a single Kleer is barely a threat, they very rarely come alone aside from those ambushing behind corners or triggered as a trap. Most Kleers appear in large groups in all their appearances and this is why they are dangerous.
  • A group of Kleers will attempt to mob the player and hurl chainballs from afar. When there is a large group of Kleers, the number of chainball projectiles can be very high and extremely difficult to dodge.
  • Against lone to small groups of Kleers, the quickest way to kill them is by using the Double Barrel Coach Gun when they attempt to leap at the player. At such a close range it's hard to miss and the resulting shot will kill one instantly when timed right (the closer the better). This method is recommended when faced with a lack of room to dodge the Kleers' attacks.
  • The XM214-A Minigun is extremely effective against hordes of Kleers. The weapon's high rate of fire and damage output can decimate an entire group in seconds, so long as the player has enough ammo to spare, can dodge their projectiles and does not get swarmed at the same time.
  • With large masses of Kleers, the SBC Cannon can effectively wipe all of them out if they are chasing towards the player in a straight line. The player should lure in as many Kleers into a straight line as possible to ensure that most, if not all of the Kleers in the group will be wiped out.
  • When a Kleer attempts to leap, it is easy to sidestep the attack, after which the Kleer will be momentarily stunned. However, large groups are difficult to deal with and it's easy to lose track of the Kleer that the player dodged, allowing them to surround and attack the player from all angles. Avoid allowing them to use their leap attack if possible.
  • Jumping while sidestepping increases the player's chances of dodging multiple simultaneous attacks. Sometimes, when a Kleer is close to the player but hasn't leaped at them yet, they might turn and run sideways to dodge the player's attacks and surround him/her if they put their crosshairs on them, so when facing huge hordes, try to size them down at range with explosive weapons as much as possible.
  • When appearing with other enemies, Kleer Skeletons should be medium-priority targets but higher if they get closer to melee range and there are many of them. Their melee attacks are rather powerful, but they can be dodged with some skill and ranged attacks can be dodged as well with relative ease unless there are a lot of Kleers.
  • Kleers appearing with other melee enemies are more dangerous as other enemies tend to shield Kleers and often make their movement and especially leap trajectories less predictable.

Serious Sam 1[]

  • When in a larger room, the knife is a faster way to take a group out. Before the Kleer(s) reach the player, a few shots from the Schofield .45 or pump shotgun can be used to weaken them enough to be taken out with a single knife attack. The shotgun is not practical for large groups due to its slow rate of fire as the next Kleer will attack before the gun is ready to fire again.
  • When dealing with large groups, explosives (especially grenades) are an effective way to take out Kleers at long to mid range. The minigun and XL2 Lasergun (or the Thompson submachine gun if the previous two weapons are unavailable) are good for mid to close range encounters to compensate for the fact that using explosives at such close ranges will typically incur self-damage.
  • In The Second Encounter, at close range, the XOP Flamethrower is extremely effective against groups of Kleers of any size. A single flame puff can damage several Kleers, it does decent damage per minute, and has plenty of ammunition plus an after-burn effect. The P-LAH Chainsaw is also effective, especially with Serious Damage, as long as the player keeps circle strafing to avoid the Kleers' jumping attacks.
  • Like Gnaars, damaging a Kleer quickly can cause them to flinch, which can give the player some time to keep their distance before finishing them off. If the player is quick enough, they can use this moment of opportunity to finish the Kleer off with the knife.
  • In The Second Encounter, the chainsaw is also effective against Kleers as it can shred through groups of them without wasting any of the player's ammo. The weapon's rapid damage output can, for most of the time, prevent Kleers from attacking as the damage they take will cause them to flinch and temporarily halt their attack.

Serious Sam 2[]

  • Kleers pose much less of a threat in the second installment despite the slower player walking speed in this game. Firstly, Kleers are significantly slower and have less health (96 versus 125 in other games) than in the previous installments. Secondly, the Double Shotgun is much stronger and can take out Kleer Skeletons with one shot even at longer range. The Auto Shotgun is also capable of killing a Kleer Skeleton with two shots even at mid to far range.
  • Against larger groups, the XL 808 Plasma Rifle and XM214-A Minigun are alternative options.
  • For extremely large groups, explosive weapons are a good option so long as the Kleers are far away.
  • Kleers are less of a threat thanks to the combo weapons system and addition of sprinting mechanics if activated. Dual wielding an Auto Shotgun or Double Shotgun with another weapon like the Uzi or XPML30 Rocket Launcher is an effective strategy to deal with Kleers and conserve shotgun shells for more powerful enemies or larger groups of enemies, while the player can more easily outrun or give themselves more space from Kleers by sprinting unlike in later games, where they will easily catch up with the player anyway.
    • In addition, the Beam Gun is extremely useful against groups of Kleers, although it can only be obtained from secrets.

Serious Sam: Double D[]

  • The 12 Gauge Shotgun is effective against lone or small groups of Kleers, as a close range shot can kill one instantly.
  • Unlike other games, Kleers don't have a ranged attack. This makes them harmless at long range.
  • Against larger groups, a Gunstack combination of both the Thompson submachine gun and XL4 Lasergun works well against them.

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

  • It is harder to dodge Kleers in this installment due to their faster leap attack speed and longer leap trajectory. The Axe or Sledgehammer can kill a Kleer with one swing and is faster than the double shotgun. However, the attack has a delay so it must be more well-timed. These weapons are also less effective against groups, as the player has to stand still or move forwards towards the Kleer if they wish to land a precise strike.
    • Another disadvantage to using the axe or sledgehammer is it can lead to the player being swarmed if they only focus on one Kleer at a time.
  • Rough terrain is also susceptible to make the Kleer's movement less predictable.
  • Kleers are medium-high priority targets due to the player's slower movement speed, even when sprinting.
  • The Sirian Mutilator works well against small groups of Kleers. In addition, the Mutilator briefly stuns them as well. An experienced player can take out medium groups of Kleers if there are no other enemies around to distract them.
  • The player can attack Kleers with a special Melee Grab finishing move only when they are charging at the player or leaping. Sam will sidestep and put the Kleer in a headlock and promptly tear the Kleer's skull off. The skull can then be thrown as a weapon, doing minor damage. The range of the melee grab is larger than the Kleer's own attack range, so with good timing the player can easily avoid damage. As with all melee grabs, this attack takes a short amount of time and immobilizes Sam for the duration, making it impractical for groups of Kleers but is effective against lone or a few Kleers. This is most especially dangerous in the boss fight against Raahloom, the Imposing Prototype, as his cannonballs can easily splatter the player while they are doing a melee grab on a Kleer.
  • Like in the previous games, the minigun makes a great anti-Kleer weapon. However, minigun ammo is much scarcer in the campaign, so the player needs to be aware of this if they don't have enough ammunition to face of an entire horde.
  • Against larger groups, rockets and the A-24 Devastator are good for killing Kleers at medium to medium-long distances as Kleers generally run straight towards the player when spotted. C-4 Demolition Charges are very useful against denser groups that are seen approaching beforehand. When Kleers from a large group get a bit too close and are starting to leap behind the player, it is best to switch to the lasergun and minigun to not cause self-damage from explosives.
  • Large hordes of Kleers can be dealt with the cannon or the Devastator, but using the cannon may deplete ammunition quickly.

Serious Sam: The Random Encounter[]

  • The Kleer's projectiles can be avoided by moving up or down.
  • The minigun is useful against small to medium groups of Kleers.
  • The rocket launcher is effective against larger groups of Kleers.

Serious Sam: The Greek Encounter[]

  • The pump-shotgun is effective against lone Kleers, as two shots at close range is enough to kill each one.
  • The minigun is effective against larger groups, due to its rapid rate of fire and high damage.

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour[]

  • Groups of Kleers can be easily killed with the auto shotgun, pump shotgun, Thompson or the laser cannon.
  • The minigun can easily take out medium to large-sized groups of Kleers.
  • The Devastator, Erasergun or cannon are the best weapons to use against Kleers when they are lined up or clustered together.
  • With large massses of Kleers, the flamethrower can be very effective against them.

I Hate Running Backwards[]

  • The best way to deal with Kleers is to use melee attacks frequently. A well placed melee attack, especially when upgraded with Super Swinger, can effectively take out a pack of Kleers with relative ease.
  • Alternatively, a simple secondary weapon such as the shotgun is enough to deal with smaller Kleer threats.

Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]

  • The coach gun once again remains an effective weapon against Kleers. It's easier to eliminate small groups with this weapon more efficiently thanks to the gun's slightly faster reload speed.
  • Dual wielded coach guns and assault rifles are very useful for taking out groups of them at a time.
  • Compared to Serious Sam 1, the combat knife can now kill a Kleer with a single swipe, as the weapon's damage output has increased (130 per slice). This can prove useful to the player if they are running low on ammo or for dealing with small groups of Kleers at close range.
  • Another useful weapon to use against Kleers is the Autoshotgun. Thanks to its relatively large magazine, it can easily finish off a small or medium-sized group of Kleers from close to medium range before having to reload again. However, since ammo is not very common for this weapon, especially in Siberian Mayhem where it is a secret-only weapon, it should be used sparingly or if the player is faced with a large horde of them.
  • In Siberian Mayhem, the AK-74MX is useful for small to medium-sized groups of Kleers. It deals slightly more damage than the M29 (13 damage points as opposed to the usual 10), which makes it easier to finish Kleers with the weapon.
  • Hordes of Kleers can be taken out with the Devastator, grenade launcher, minigun, rocket launcher, TCC-2 "Perun" Crossbow, or XPMR "Burner" Raygun.
  • Even though Kleers have a chance of throwing horizontal chainballs on higher difficulties, dodging them shouldn't be too difficult if the player strafes in a certain direction, away from the direction the horizontal chainballs are actually thrown in.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Kleers in Test 1 looked like Egyptian mummies, though they used the same animations as they do in the final version of the game.
  • There are unused death animations for the Kleer in Serious Sam HD, which appear in pre-release footage but have since become unused in the final game. They can be viewed in the Serious Editor and, with modifications, be restored.

Related achievements[]

Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter[]

Achievement Bone Crusher SSHDTSE
Bone Crusher
Kill 300 Kleers with the Cannon.

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

Achievement Kleer Wrestler
Kleer Wrestler Ps 3 bronze
Tear off 10 Kleer heads.
Achievement Bone Crusher
Bone Crusher 5 Gscore Ps 3 bronze
Smash 20 Kleers with the Sledgehammer.

Serious Sam VR: The Second Encounter[]

Achievement Crunchy SSVRTSE
Crunchy
Kill 100 Kleers with the Cannon.

Serious Sam Fusion[]

Achievement Kleer Wrestler SSF
Kleer Wrestler
Tear off 10 Kleer heads.
Achievement Bone Crusher SSF
Bone Crusher
Smash 20 Kleers with the Sledgehammer.
Achievement Crunchy SSF
Crunchy
Kill 100 Kleers with the Cannon.

Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE[]

Achievement Bone Crusher SS3VRBFE
Bone Crusher
Smash 20 Kleers with the Sledgehammer.

Serious Sam 4[]

Achievement All Kleer
All Kleer 20 Gscore Ps 3 bronze
Kill 50 healthy Kleers with a direct double shotgun hit.

Bugs/glitches[]

  • In some games, especially in Serious Sam 1 and Serious Sam HD, Kleers will sometimes not give chase and just wander around a room or an open area in a circle or square pattern, occasionally hurling their chainballs at the player. They will pursue the player if they take damage from the player's weapons or if the player stands right in front of them. Examples of this occurring are on flat, open levels like Ziggurat, Unearthing the Sun, and The Power of the Underworld.
  • In Serious Sam 3, Kleers will sometimes get stuck between obstacles or walls when pursuing the player. This usually happens if the player is on top of a structure.
  • In Serious Sam 3, if the player uses the Mutilator on a Kleer while it scales down a wall, it will instantly teleport onto the ground.

Trivia[]

  • In games the player model is available in, the player can select Kleer Kenny/Kurt as their player model in multiplayer. He is the first player model based on an enemy and the only one to still appear in the HD and VR remakes of both The First Encounter and 'The Second Encounter.
  • Kleers have a walking animation as shown when invoking NETRICSA, but Kleers are very rarely seen walking as they tend to gallop towards the player in order to attack.
  • The Kleer is called "Boneman" in Serious Sam 1's game files.
  • In Serious Sam 1 and Serious Sam 2, Kleers make a bowling ball sound when killed. This also applies to Kleer Kurt in Siberian Mayhem, only if he is not killed in a way that would gib a player character (e.g. Piercing damage, 150 or more self-damage from the rocket launcher).
  • Kleers have a death animation in Serious Sam 1 (only if they are not killed in a way that gibs them, such as with explosives or taking 60 or more bullet damage upon death), but they fall apart into a pile of bones in any other game when they are killed.
  • In Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, giant Kleers can be found in the secret 'yard of strange-looking heads' in The City of the Gods. This size difference does not change their hitbox or the amount of damage they deal and is merely a cosmetic effect.
  • The Kleers are similar to the Fiend from the Quake series, both in design and behavior.
    • The Kleer's skull is also very similar in appearance to that of the Lost Soul from the Doom franchise.
  • Kleers in Serious Sam 3 can scale down walls, clinging to them like Antaresian Spiders.
  • In Serious Sam 3, the player can attach two C-4 to a Kleer — one on its head and one on its chest.
  • General Brand's quote on Kleers when he guns them down with the RAPTOR Sniper Rifle is a reference to Ezekiel 37:1-10, an excerpt from the Book of Ezekiel.
  • Along with the Sirian Werebull and Processed Anthropolyp, the Kleer makes a cameo in Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! as one of the heads the player can equip for the Kamikaze.

Gallery[]

Artwork[]

Serious Sam 1[]

Pre-release[]

Retail[]

Serious Sam: Next Encounter[]

Serious Sam 2[]

Pre-release[]

Retail[]

Serious Sam: Double D[]

Serious Sam: The Random Encounter[]

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

Serious Sam: The Greek Encounter[]

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour[]

I Hate Running Backwards[]

Serious Sam: Tormental[]

Serious Sam 4[]

Pre-release[]

Retail[]

List of appearances[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Serious Sam 4 NETRICSA description
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Serious Sam 3: BFE NETRICSA description
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