Plague inc. Virus Brutal Guide/ Walkthrough

The Virus plague type is one of the 7 standard plagues in Plague inc.. It is unlocked by finishing Bacteria in normal or brutal difficulty(Bacteria guide here). As the description says on the plague selection screen, the virus plague type mutates symptoms more frequently than other plague types. Its unique ability, Viral Instability(which could be evolved 3 times), increases the chances of mutation. Standard strategies in Plague inc. such as devolving symptoms before the world is completely infected is a very hard thing to accomplish in virus. Devolving costs DNA and will increase with each devolve.

In my opinion, the best way to deal with this plague type is to just let it mutate freely and focus on spreading the plague fast before lethal symptoms start to mutate. This guide focuses on what I think is the fastest way to win Virus in Brutal difficulty.

I have tested different ways to finish virus.  The guide I'm about to post does not let you win the game 100% of the time, maybe 75-80% of games you'll win. It is because the guide is somewhat dependent on how the virus mutates. Early mutation of lethal symptoms can cause faster deaths than infection. On average, I can finish the game within 700 days and never go above 40% in cure completion. Anyway, time to start with the guide.

I did this guide without the use of genes, so you can experiment with any gene you might have at this point.

Start the plague in China

• It has high population, an airport, and a harbor

Evolve Air 1 and Water 1

• If a pop-up about airplane/ship sterilization appears upgrade the corresponding transmission first

Evolve the following transmissions and abilities in this order:

• Drug Resistance 1
• Hot 1 and Cold 1
• Water 2, Air 2, and Extreme Bioaerosol
• Genetic Hardening 1 and 2
• Drug Resistance 2
• Genetic Reshuffle 1, 2, and 3
• Viral Instability 1, 2, and 3

Evolve the following symptoms if they have not yet mutated, follow the order:

• Insomnia, Paranoia, Seizure, Delirium, and Insanity
• Coma and Paralysis
• Total Organ Failure and Necrosis

Once all those are evolved or mutated, just evolve every symptom that is lethal with the spare DNA you have. From here on out you'll just be watching people die and the world ending.

One of the reasons why you won't win 100% of the time with this guide is because the mutation of symptoms is completely random. Sometimes it evolves symptoms that are lethal sooner and that messes up the spread of the plague since countries are more likely to close their harbors and airports.

Once again, I did this guide without the use of genes. Put some on and experiment with the guide if you want.

I'll post a guide with a recommended gene setup in the future, hopefully.

Updates:

Dec. 17, 2013: Guide Finished. Will post recommended gene setup soon. Post some tips in the comments if you have some tips you'd like to share. I'll go test them out