Technopath

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

Overview
Spawned by the Weaver using one or more Operators, the Technopath can manipulate machinery aboard the Talos I. The Technopath can control and manipulate both the physical hardware and software of any mechanical or technological device it has encountered at this time at will. Reports show that the Technopath appeared differently than the other Typhon organisms. Personnel reports show that the first signs of the Technopaths appearing were software glitches and hardware rewiring that appeared out of nowhere, no Typhon material was detected at this time.

By the time of the outbreak, the Technopaths fully emerged into the multiple Operator conglomerates with Typhon material and occasionally Turrets built into their bodies. Technopaths seem to be only able to completely control technology when it is near its physical avatar, otherwise it appears to only interact with other computers as other computers would. This Typhon was not seen by TranStar scientists until the outbreak that took hold of Talos-1.

Design
The Technopath is similar in appearance to the Telepath, but with a blue eye, a more cubic look, and an Operator jutting out. It should be noted that a Technopath can also have a turret as opposed to an Operator. An example of this is found in Deep Storage.

Related Quests
Technopaths have scripted encounters that are triggered during certain quests. Its scripted appearances in quests are shown below:
 * Lift Interference
 * Deep Storage (Quest)

Description
EXCERPT FROM THE ENGINEERING DATABASE: Maintenance log #1546-011735 Filed by: Carlos Popinga

It took forever, but repairs to Arboretum airlock doors are finally complete. I think someone's been tampering with the electronics up there. When I popped open the control box, the whole thing looked like someone had been at it with a soldering iron, just a bunch of crossed wires - stuff that's not even supposed to be in there. The programming was all wonky, too. I had to wipe it clean and reinstall.

I'll have to bring up an Engineering Operator to clean up the rest of this. I'm filing a report with security about this, too. We have enough junk malfunctioning around here.

MORGAN'S NOTES/PETER'S NOTES: Takes control of nearby tech. If this thing gets ahold of turrets, you're dead. Shrugs off GLOO. Prefers to keep away from enemies. Stun or Nullwave it to get in close.

Abilities
When the player receives the Psychoscope, they can scan Technopaths for the following abilities:
 * Electrostatic Burst I, II and III
 * Remote Manipulation I, II and III
 * Machine Mind I, II and III

Strategy

 * In 1v1 case (with normal gravity) the player can wrench it to death while non-stop running and using covers to regain stamina.
 * The Technopath's attacks are electric arcing nodes that ignore armor and can deactivate weapons such as GLOO Guns and Q-Beams temporarily, in the same manner as the Voltaic Phantom. Shotguns and similar weapons are unaffected. Hitting it with an EMP will prevent it from using this attack for a short time. Psychoshock is also very effective, and if you have the backlash ability, you can use it to get close to deliver powerful shotgun blasts.
 * In space or overall Q-beam seems effective, however it takes two whole Q-beam cell packs to kill it or at least one Q-beam cell pack if fully upgraded.
 * A fully upgraded pistol (or golden pistol) is an easy way to kill it.
 * Avoid using turrets near it as it will likely turn them against you making it harder to deal with them.
 * Any turrets, hacked or not, will be instantly picked by the Technopath even if they were not deployed, unless you place them where the Technopath can't reach them (such as closed rooms) or the Turret is not in condition to fight (Broken Turrets).
 * It is unknown if the Technopath has a maximum limit of Turrets or operators it can control simultaneously.
 * Circling around constantly and attacking the Technopath with a Pistol or Q-Beam at a safe range is a very effective strategy as the Technopath's attacks will never reach you because of the constant loop and the electric projectiles take time to charge and attack. However, this strategy can only be used in Talos I Exterior.
 * Ensure you stay mobile at all times when doing this in order to succeed.
 * DO NOT underestimate the range at which it can generate electrical nodes. If you try to deal some quick damage with the silenced pistol from a distance, be sure to avoid higher ground, as the nodes will deactivate your propulsion system, and you will fall to take significant damage.
 * Technopaths are not only weak against Nullwaves, but they are also weak against EMP charges, and since EMP's are more common, using them is preferable.
 * Using a Nullwave or EMP to disable it from a distance is a good strategey to allow you to close the distance between you and hit it with a Distruptor Stun Gun, which not only disables them, but also does significant damage; almost as mutch as the shotgun.
 * If the Technopath is accompanied by corrupted operators such as in the main lift, try to toss an EMP to disable them all. Try to destroy the Operators with Gloo and a wrench while the Technopath is disabled. Do not try to destroy the operators with guns, as they are extremely resistant to projectile damage. once the operators are dealt with, use Kinetic Blast, and the silenced pistol, or (if you are going with the pacifist route without using any Typhon Neuromods) use the pistol, and shotgun to lower its HP, and then (if possible) finish it with the Q-Beam.

Gallery
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