Juve



The Juve is one of the most common enemies in Void Bastards. They first appear in Level 1, with elite Hardened Juves appearing in Level 3.

Appearance
Like most Citizens in the game, Juves are blue-skinned humanoids with glowing eyes. They are significantly shorter than most other Citizens, which means they are one of the few Citizens (along with Tourists) that can use crawl spaces and low-level broken windows. They usually walk, but will hover when alerted. Juves are bald, chubby, and they wear a purple hooded sweater.

They have one elite variant, the Hardened Juve. These start appearing in ships around Level 3. Hardened Juves have a brown hoodie instead of a purple one.

Behavior
Juves wander more quickly than Janitors, and also tend to make more noise. Their distinctive high-pitched voices give them away.

Once alerted, a Juve will immediately and enthusiastically pursue the Client, moving in a swift and erratic pattern. They tend to keep some distance between the Client and themselves, favoring a relentless hit-and-run strategy, however unlike Scribes they like to stay on the offensive.

Sound Effects

 * TAP - This sound effect indicates that there's a regular Juve in or near the room.
 * HOVER - This sound effect can indicate that an alerted Juve is in the room, however it can also indicate a non-alerted hovering enemy as well, such as a Scribe or Zec.

Attacks

 * Energy Projectile - The Juve fires an energy projectile at the Client from its mouth. They must stop for a moment to fire, however their projectile is swift and accurate.

Basics

 * Be Calm & Carry On - Don't let the Juve's movements and taunting trick you into wasting ammo. Find cover, study their movement, and wait for your opportunity to strike. Remember, they have to stop for a moment before they can fire, so time your attacks accordingly.
 * Mind The Low Openings - Juves can use their small stature to approach from crawl spaces, broken windows, etc. Be mindful of these openings.
 * Single Or Swarm? - Be aware of whether your loadout and tactics are best suited for dealing with Juves one-on-one or as a swarm. You can plan your looting and conserve ammo more effectively this way. It isn't difficult to get Juves to swarm up fairly quickly, so both tactics are valid.

Firearm Tactics

 * Regulator - Juves die in 1 head shot or 2-3 body shots. Time your shots well to avoid wasting ammo. Hardened Juves require 2-3 head shots to kill, so upgrading to the Heavy Regulator or the Legislator is advised. Practice and get good with the Regulator before attempting to clear a whole swarm of Juves with it.
 * Stapler - One shot at short/point-blank range is enough to kill any Juve. Upgrading the Stapler all the way gives it a tighter and more damaging spread, making the effective one-hit-kill range longer. However it's not an effective long-range solution.
 * Toaster - Not advised, since Juves move swiftly most of the time, and even the upgraded Roaster's charge-up time is slower than the Juve's pause before attacking. Also, Juves tend to form into swarms if left alive for too long, so the Toaster's slow rate of fire is more likely to get the Client into deeper trouble.
 * Riveter - A pretty good short to mid range weapon for dealing with Juves, especially when they swarm. Head shots are highly advised. Try to fire in short bursts to conserve ammo.
 * Nebulator - If possible, try to get the Juves to form a swarm before firing, as this will conserve ammo. Juves are especially vulnerable to explosions. Try not to use it in tight spaces or at close range, since the blast can also damage the Client.

Indirect Tactics

 * Bushwhacker - Instantly kills Juves, but unless placement is timed perfectly it's somewhat unreliable against swarms, since it only takes 1 Juve to trigger the explosion while the rest are outside of the blast radius. That said, it can be good in a pinch for covering your escape.
 * Spiker - Effective and relatively quick against a single Juve, if you're lucky enough to sneak up on one.
 * Banger - Terrific if you have the Short Fuse trait), especially against swarms. Also a decent first-strike tactic in general if you manage to sneak up on a room full of Juves. Since Juves like to use cover and hit-and-run tactics, there are some situations where bouncing a Banger into their general area can be effective as well.
 * Clusterflak - Good for tossing into a room full of Citizens and locking the door. Otherwise, not advised.
 * Rad Spiker - Great for ammo conservation! Shoot one Juve in a swarm and then run for cover or switch to the Bouncer. The Juve will pass the rad sickness on to all the other Juves.

Device Tactics

 * Zapper - Marginally useful against a single Juve, if only to reset your position and/or make an escape. The fully-upgraded Herd Zapper is more effective against swarms, but with the same problem - you're still going to have to deal with them eventually. Can be useful in the early game as a backup plan against Juves, generally speaking though you're better off using any other weapon to quickly kill them.
 * Kittybot - Somewhat effective as a distraction. Use it to keep Juves in a room distracted while you quickly loot and then lock all the doors. The Unstable Kittybot is great against swarms, but try to get some distance to avoid getting hit with your own flak.
 * Rifter - Always effective, however it's a waste of Rifter ammo. Save your Rifter Nuclei for bigger enemies.
 * Bouncer - You can aim the ricocheted shots, so for quicker results, aim for the Juve's head. They will attempt to flank you, so try to lead the Juves to a hallway or someplace where you can prevent that. Pay very close attention to your Bouncer ammo.
 * Scrambler - Most other Citizens can dispatch a Juve fairly easily. It's a better strategy to use the Scrambler on a tougher Citizen that hunts, such as a Screw or Zeb, and let them take out the Juves for you.

Trivia

 * "Juve" is British slang for "juvenile", so it's likely these Citizens were children when they were mutated.