Veinhole

Veinholes, often called Veinhole monsters were first noted during the First Tiberium War, but they did not spread worldwide until the Third Tiberium War. They ravenous appetites for vehicles, and their tendency to spread veins over large areas combined with their great resilience to most types of damage made them a formidable threat.

The "creature" consisted of two parts: a large mouth in the ground and the 'veins,' which were a network of tentacles which spread out in every direction from the mouth of the veinhole monster. Given time, these veins would cover all surfaces present in the vincinity. Any vehicle entering the veins would be quickly ripped apart, while any structure that the veins happened to 'spread over' would be quickly destroyed. The veins and the mount had a characteristic red and orange coloration.

Veinhole monsters were located in areas which were later classified as borderline Red Zones, due to their dangerous mutation levels and tiberium proliferation. For example, at least one was present in the Genesis pit area, and two were present in the South American Region that Ghostalker investigated.

If the mouth itself was attacked, it would quickly spew forth clouds of toxic, Tiberium gas. These clouds would move away from the mouth very slowly, almost in a random direction. The clouds were extremely effective against infantry, turning them into Visceroids quickly, and degrading vehicles. It should be noted that non-hovering vehicles (such as tick tanks), would quickly be ripped apart by a veinhole's veins, unless out of range.

The Brotherhood of Nod used veinholes by collecting veins through the use of a 'Weed Eater' vehicle. Once enough veins were collected, the processed gas, similar to veinhole gas, could be turned into a chemical missile, which released clouds of Tiberium gas that were very similar to the ones released by a veinhole in self defense.

In general, the veinhole monster's maw could take a considerable amount of punishment, but their defense mechanism left them vulnerable to hovercraft, such as GDI's Hover MLRS, and very long range units, such as Juggernauts and Artillery. The Orca Bomber was extremely effective, destroying a Veinhole Monster in two passes of its heavy bombs.