Nightmare

The Nightmare is a hostile Typhon encountered on Talos I during Prey (2017).

Overview
The Nightmare is the second biggest, strongest and most dangerous of all the Typhon. Created as a form of response due to the Typhon seeing Morgan Yu as a threat to their species, as Yu unlocks more Typhon powers through neuromods, this action will attract Nightmare attention, provoking it to hunt Morgan down. However, Nightmare will also appear even if Morgan does not have any Typhon powers.

Initial spawn

 * After Morgan goes to Deep Storage.
 * After spending enough Neuromod points on multiple Typhon skills at once.
 * It can also start its hunt after you gain access to the lift in the lobby, even if you have no Typhon skills whatsoever. The circumstances it can do such are currently unknown but may be linked to total Neuromods used.
 * After resetting the Neuromod's license or if the player already has more than 20 Neuromods.

The first sign of the Nightmare's arrival is a brief shake of the station, followed by a loud roar produced by the creature itself. This is not a guarantee, as the Nightmare can spawn in another area you have just entered and your only warning will be by spotting it. Each time the Nightmare has spawned, you will have three minutes to evade or kill it before the timer runs out and it despawns. January will sometimes warn you when Nightmare makes its first appearance unless you destroy January before it spawns for the first time.

Killing it will cause it to respawn 30 minutes later, where as running away and exhausting the timer will cause it to respawn 20 minutes later.

Nightmare will usually drop 30 Typhon Organs and 1 Typhon Cortex everytime it is killed.

Design
Nightmares look like a bulkier version of a Phantom. Like almost all Typhon, it is a mass of tentacles and shifting matter. They possess six white spots that can merge into one, which serve as makeshift eyes. The Nightmare's "head" is actually, in fact, four to six mandibles that have conjoined to form the shape; These mandibles will split apart and spread out when it unleashes its main attack, accompanied by a roar. It is capable of squeezing through doorways, and appears to only take a humanoid shape for combat purposes.

Quests

 * The Nightmare is Hunting you (Repeatable, 3 minutes time limit)
 * Mixed Signals (Limited use up to 4 times once satellite has been repaired) Can attract and repel Nightmare when completed.

Strategy

 * Hide until the Nightmare's associated side quest time is exhausted.
 * Gloo can work for a duration currently thought to be under 10 seconds. Useful for scanning more than offence.
 * Chaining several recycler grenades seems to be the safest method for a kill.
 * Circle strafing with a shotgun (especially upgraded) can often result in a quick kill.
 * If lucky it will spawn in as you are getting on or off the elevator. At that point you are safe from its attacks and can wait out the hunt in the elevator. Then go to a different area for a brief time and head back and it will be gone but it will be marked as you have evaded Nightmare and it will respawned 20 minutes later.
 * Turrets are often not very effective, but in certain areas the Nightmare can be trapped within firing range yet unable to hit the turrets, resulting in a guaranteed (if slow) kill.
 * Nightmare is vulnerable to psi abilities. Four uses of fully upgraded Psychoshock is enough to kill it.
 * The Nightmare is also susceptible to Mindjack, which will allow the player to escape and hide, while also making the powerful Nightmare sweep the area for other Typhon that often accompany it.
 * If possible barricade a doorway with large items using the leverage ability, keeping yourself out of its melee range and blocking its energy balls. Even better is find a door with a "manual lockdown" button beside it, such as most of the offices in-game.
 * The Side Quest will not start until Nightmare is alerted of your presence. If you find Nightmare patrolling and doing nothing, the Side Quest will not start. Sneak away from it to avoid triggering the side quest, because when it is alerted the countdown will start.
 * The Nightmare will disappear once the timer goes out regardless of any remaining HP it has, so it is necessary to kill the Nightmare before the timer goes out for loot.
 * If Nightmare spawns where Dahl's Military Operators are everywhere (Shuttle Bay or Arboretum), the Military Operators and Nightmare will take each other out. Military Operators engage Typhon as well as human targets, and also Typhon see them as enemies.
 * If you complete "You rang?" Achievement or the "Mixed Signals" optional objective, you will be able to evade Nightmare every time it spawns by playing the TranScribe "Satellite Signal: Repel Nightmare".
 * The Nightmare will not fit into tight spots such as under the table and tight areas (such as maintenance tunnels).
 * The Q-beam is an effective weapon if you can hide in a place where you can reach the Nightmare but it can't reach you
 * The Nightmare (like other walking enemies) will not spawn in zero-gravity environments such as Talos-1 Exterior or G.U.T.S.
 * This can be utilized if the player finds themselves chased by a Nightmare in the reactor chamber, as resetting gravity will kill walking enemies (since they are not programmed to combat in zero-g).

Trivia

 * The Nightmare is reminiscent of the Nemesis monster from Resident Evil 3.
 * This is the only side quest that can be repeated many times. When it respawns and notices your presence, the countdown timer and side quest will start.