[quote]If thats how hive conquer new territory its no wonder it took them a thousand years to reach their current status.[/quote]That's actually not typical. Before the Hive chased the Traveler to Earth, Oryx was erasing civilizations across the galaxy in massive interstellar conflicts. Their entrenchment on the Moon is due to them knowing of the Traveler's power, so they instead gather their forces. [quote]In the end the hive are smart[/quote]As are the Flood. You seem to not know of Graveminds or Keyminds, which act as centralized intelligences for Flood. [quote]have magic[/quote]Esoteric sciences is not out of the realm of the Flood. [quote]have organization[/quote]They require organization because each individual Hive thinks on its own. The Flood do not require organization like that because the Graveminds have immediate and direct control over all of their forces, making them an extension of the Gravemind itself. [quote]gods who can only die under specific circumstances which the flood would struggle with.[/quote]Yes, but they can die. Graveminds literally can't die. You can kill and obliterate their physical form, but the second the Flood create another Gravemind, its consciousness manifests in that one, still retaining all of its memories. [i]"Like water I ebb and flow. Defeat is simply an addition of time to a sentence I never deserved, but you imposed." -Gravemind, Halo, Halo 3[/i] I suggest to you this as well: The Hive are an individual species. They do not repurpose the dead or take control of their fallen enemies. The Flood do, and no species has biological immunity to them. The majority of Hive forces are composed of Thrall, who mindlessly charge at their opponents. That's literally free troops for the Flood. Eventually, the Flood would infect some Hive who knows how to operate their technology. The second that happens, you have Flood capable of understanding and utilizing Hive technology; including their magic.