Weaver

The Weaver (Typhon geneocratis) is a Typhon in Prey and Prey: Mooncrash.

Overview
Weavers are an advanced form of Typhon Mimic that has, through unknown means, been selected for transformation into a Weaver. Even in normal gravity, Weavers possess powers of flotation, possibly through psychic means.

Weavers get their name from their production of Coral, a luminescent web-like substance that hangs in the air wherever Weavers are found. Talos I Weavers are protected by a luminescent yellow veil. As long as a Weaver is protected by it, physical attacks will be blocked and a psychic wave of fear will be induced in the attacker's mind, an effect known as Psychic Backlash. Pytheas Weavers, who lack the Coral-producing "spinnerets" of their Talos I cousins, do not possess this veil. The Weavers' Backlash ability is therefore theorized to be connected to their ability to synthesize Coral.

Weavers are able to reanimate the husks of humans who have been killed, turning the husks into Phantoms. While humans killed and depleted by Mimics are typically selected for this, any body can suffice, as evidenced in the Cargo Bay when a Weaver converts Enoch Kouneva's remains into a Phantom. Weavers can choose whether or not to phantomize a corpse, though it is unknown what factors drive them to abstain from phantomizing. Rarely, a Weaver's attempt to create a Phantom may fail, resulting in a mutation known as a Poltergeist.

Weavers are known (but not shown) to create other Typhon organisms, like telepaths, technopaths, and nightmares to protect the Typhon ecology and advance their goals. If attacked, the Weavers create cystoid nests as passive defenses or traps, and spawn cystoids directly for personal defense. Weavers do not, however, transform normal mimics into the greater mimics that supply them with energy they need to create the aforesaid entities.

In-Game Description
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Common Name: Weaver

Scientific Name: Typhon geneocratis 

Along with Mimics, Weavers were some of the first Typhon encountered near the Vorona I, as observed in log #0215-051060, in larger Mimic populations, one mimic will be chosen via an as yet unknown mechanics to undergo a specialized metamorphosis. The chosen mimic is stung repeatedly by the others, triggering a rapid change, resulting in a new Typhon geneocratis, or 'Weaver'.

Weavers appear to be central to the Typhon ecology, largely as vectors for production for some of the other species as well as the substance known as Coral.

PYTHEAS ADDENDUM:

Due to procedures #2845 - #2864, all Pytheas Base Weavers have successfully had their spinneret surgically excised in the ongoing process of studying Coral creation. This has had the unforeseen side-effect of removing their ability to produce a psionic shield. More research on this is required.

MORGAN'S NOTES:

Prefers to avoid direct fights. Watch out for Cystoids. Protected by a shield that floods attackers with a terror effort when struck. GLOO ineffective while shield is up.

PETER'S NOTES:

It poops Cystoids and turns corpses into Phantoms. Lovely.

Design
Weavers somewhat resemble the Mimics from which they metamorphose. Weavers look like clustered tentacles, 3 in the top and several on the underside. They are usually coated in a yellow sheath of psychic energy. A weaver's "head," which can be located by locating the purple glow emitted by it when it is mind-jacked, reportedly contains a spinneret organ (cannot be harvested) that it uses to weave coral and produce its backlash shield. This spinneret is not involved in Typhon genesis.

Strategy
A Weaver's golden shield appears to mitigate most damage dealt against it on a first hit. Afterward, the shield will be broken for only short window, during which a Weaver will attempt to flee, floating away from the player. Coupled with its Backlash ability which will throw the player's camera control off kilter and the myriad of Cystoids a Weaver is capable of spawning, it makes them an extremely difficult opponent to pin down.

If the Player has the Fear Shielding Scope Chipset activated however, they will be shielded from the Fear effect applied when its Backlash ability is triggered. As a result, this makes the Weavers laughably easy to deal with, as they do not have a lot of health once their shield is down. Several shots with a pistol can usually wipe them out. If Fear Shielding is not available to be added, drinking any type of alcohol will remove the fear effect as well, at the cost of stumbling and blurry vision, unless the Psychoactive Amp Suit Chipset is installed, which disables the negative effects of alcohol while still letting it negate fear as well as give bonus melee damage. As such, it's a good idea to keep a couple bottles in your inventory for these cases.

The Q-beam, even minimally upgraded, is highly effective against them, as its lack of direct damage won't rupture the Weaver's shield and cause it to deal Backlash, which will also prompt it to remain and fight rather than flee, making it a far easier target. Just be careful with the plethora of Cystoids that the Weaver spawns, making it best engaged from a distance and ideally at a high vantage point. The Q-beam is the only weapon with which a weaver can be killed without triggering backlash. The stun gun can immobilise a weaver and does not trigger the backlash as it does do not deal damage to the weaver.

Melee appears to be an extremely ineffectual strategy without the aid of a psychic inhibitor such as Psychoshock or a Nullwave. The Weaver's shield, if the player can even manage to approach them unnoticed and uninhibited by Cystoids, will nullify any first hit against them making sneak attacks incredibly difficult to pull off. This leaves them vulnerable only in the brief period following, during which the player will still have to deal with the Cystoids it spawns and hope the weaver doesn't simply float out of range, which it is quite capable of doing.

Weavers are capable of making Phantoms from bodies at any time. As a precaution, move any bodies you can in advance, get them out of the way to reduce the chance of it creating backup. If you see a Weaver in the process of making a Phantom from a body, you can shoot at the Weaver. Even if you don't hit it directly, hitting a point close enough to it will get its attention and make it drop the body again. Although you lose the element of surprise, it means the Weaver won't have an extra Phantom supporting it. Also, in lore, it is said that the Weavers are able to invest additional energy into creating more powerful phantoms such as the Etheric, Thermal, and Voltaic Phantom varieties.

Weavers are somewhat difficult to fight in zero-gravity, due to the fact that the cystoids they spawn are much more maneuverable and thus dangerous.

In Prey: Mooncrash, Weavers lack their usual shield, making them much easier to defeat and kill. There are extremely susceptible to damage caused by the Shotgun or the Psychostatic Cutter. If the player manages to sneak behind a Weaver and get close to it, it will take only a few attacks to kill the Weaver before he can even react and unleash Cystoids or flee.

Trivia

 * While Backlash II and III can be scanned from Talos I weavers, they seem to only use Backlash I, as their shields temporarily dissipate after only one hit.