Weaver

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

Overview
Weavers get their name from their production of Coral, a luminescent web-like substance that hangs in the air wherever Weavers have been active for some time. Talos I Weavers are protected by a luminescent yellow veil. As long as a Weaver is protected by it, classical assaults with guns will fail and trigger fear in the attacker's mind, an effect known as backlash. Pytheas Weavers do not display this veil, and they are directly vulnerable to any kind of assault. Weavers' backlash ability, indicated by the presence of veil, may be related 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 Cargo Bay when one makes a Phantom from Enoch Kouneva while Alfred Rose and Sam Hertz look on in distaste. However, a Weaver's attempts to create Phantom may sometimes fail, resulting in a Poltergeist being created from the husk instead.

While the Weavers on Pytheas are deprived of their spinnerets, thus unable to product Coral and unable to shield themselves, they remain able to create Phantoms from deceased bodies. This indicates that the mechanisms for Coral synthesis or backlash and for Phantom creation rely on independent body parts of the Weaver.

Weavers are known (but not shown) to create other Typhon organisms like the Telepath and the Technopath to protect the Typhon ecology and reach their goals. If attacked, the Weavers can manifest and release Cystoids to protect itself. It is unknown if the mass to create these defenses come from the Weaver itself or from some other source.

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 unforseen 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 are actually a Mimic that have been stung repeatedly by a group of other Mimics, transforming the Mimic into the Weaver. It seems to have the ability to "promote" average Mimics to the greater/elite variant, which do more damage, are much faster, and harder to kill and can be a nuisance. Weavers look like clustered tentacles, 3 in the top and several on the underside.

Strategy
A Weaver's golden shield appears to mitigate all, if not 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 and even capable of some short range teleportation. 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 trivial 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.

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.

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.

The Q-beam appears to be 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 to flee and teleport away, 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. Recommended to start Q-beam on the Weaver right before the player is spotted. Watch out for its Backlash ability. It's best to nullify it then kill it.

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.