Screw



The Screw is a common Citizen in Void Bastards. They first appear in Level 1, with elite Trusty Screws appearing in Level 4.

Appearance
The Screw is a large humanoid dressed in a WGC prison guard environmental suit, bearing the WGC shield logo. The "faceless" helmet has been smashed, revealing a ghoulish mouth. They are covered in glowing blue energy spikes, which grow larger when they are alerted.

The elite variant is called a Trusty Screw. They are very similar in appearance to regular Screws, except that their uniform has red highlights on it.

Behavior
Screws are quite focused hunters once they are aware of the Client. They will slowly plod in the direction where it last saw the Client, taunting the Client sadistically.

Sound Effects

 * STOMP - This sound effect indicates that there's a Screw in or near the room.
 * HOVER - This sound effect can indicate that an alerted Screw is nearby.

Attacks

 * Spikes - Screws will periodically spray a volley of bouncing spikes at the Client. These spikes are virtually impossible to block or dodge reliably.

Basics

 * Avoid - It's almost never a good idea to engage Screws. The time and ammo required to take them down is not worth it, especially on ships with low oxygen.
 * Imprison - If you can get a Screw trapped inside a locked room, then do it. However, if the room has multiple exits, make sure they're ALL locked, otherwise the Screw will just hunt you from a new path.
 * Use Environment Hazards
 * Electrical hazards will stun and damage the Screw.
 * Fire does significant damage to Screws.
 * If they become irradiated it doesn't kill them right away, however they are more likely to spread that radiation to other Citizens while they're wandering around.
 * On WGC ships with a Drier Room, you can use the drier to damage them swiftly - be sure to collect the 50 Bio Dust Pak behind the drier control panel afterwards!
 * On PAC ships with a Buzz Room, lead the Screw into the buzz tube, lock them in, and then launch them into space with the control panel.

Firearm Tactics

 * Regulator - Don't waste your ammo!
 * Stapler - Don't waste your ammo!
 * Toaster - You can score easy high-powered head shots on the Screw through protective glass (especially if you happen to be Caffeinated at the time). May not be necessary if the Screw is already trapped.
 * Riveter - Don't waste your ammo!
 * Nebulator - Screws can stand up to multiple hits from this weapon, and close-range hits can risk damaging the Client. However, with this in mind, Nebulators can be used against Screws if necessary.

Indirect Tactics

 * Bushwhacker - Not advised unless you are dedicated to a "kill the Screw" strategy.
 * Spiker - Arguably one of the most effective damage-dealers against Screws (from an ammo-to-damage perspective). The poison works very slowly since the Screw has so much HP, however you can stack the poison effect with additional spikes to make it work faster, you can upgrade the Spiker so its base poisoning speed is faster, and once poisoned, the Screw will die eventually. Don't count on it to get you out of a tight spot quickly, but if you can quietly poison a Screw and go about your business early on in the run, it may pay off for you by the end.
 * Banger - Depending on how much space you have to fight the Screw in, this can be a good tool. Bouncing Bangers around corners can be effective, however there's also a risk of a bad bounce or poorly aimed throw bringing the explosion home into the lap of the Client. It may not be worth the ammo expense.
 * Clusterflak - Like the Nebulator and Banger, the risks to the Client make this a viable but messy tactic against Screws.
 * Rad Spiker - While radiation damage doesn't stack like poison, the Screw is a great candidate for radiation poisoning, since they'll spend more time infecting all the other Citizens they pass during their hunting.

Device Tactics

 * Zapper - Most anti-Screw strategies will involve the Zapper at one point or another, especially in the early game. You can stun them while a door lock is authorizing. Stun them in a hallway with a turret in it and use the Screw as cover. Another tactic is to authorize a turret or a robot, lead the Screw towards it, and use the Zapper to freeze the Screw in place while the turret/robot does all the work for you. Zap a Screw while it's crossing a fire hazard or drier to concentrate even more damage on them. There are a lot of ways you can use a Zapper to mess with the Screws!
 * Kittybot - Duck around a corner and send a Kittybot in the opposite direction. This will get a Screw off your back, at least temporarily.
 * Rifter - On the bright side, it makes dealing with Screws super easy - one zap and they're trapped. You can then lock down a room, "empty" the Screw into it, and lock it. On the other hand, you can only store one Screw at a time, so on most ships with "Many" Screws or more, you may be better off bringing the Zapper (except perhaps on LUX ships, where the Suites make excellent impromptu jail cells to quickly dump Rifter victims into).
 * Bouncer - You can use the Bouncer to mitigate some of the damage from Spikes, however since they bounce in unpredictable patterns, they can still get around the shield. Not an effective tool.
 * Scrambler - Making Screws your allies doesn't guarantee that they'll kill every last Citizen on the ship for you, however it does assure they aren't following you around trying to kill you, and it does reduce your overall workload and ammo usage, so it's still a winning strategy.

Trivia

 * "Screw" is a British slang term for a prison guard or police constable. "Here come the the screws!" @Cam Stew