Janitor



The Janitor is one of the most basic and common enemies in Void Bastards. They first appear in Level 1, with elite Veteran Janitors appearing in Level 3.

Appearance
Like most Citizens in the game, Janitors are blue-skinned humanoids with glowing eyes. Their proportions change slightly when they are alerted; their necks bulge up and their mouths gape open, revealing a bright blue glow. They also hover instead of walking when in this state. Janitors are bald, slim, move with a slouched posture, and wear a dingy tan janitor's jumpsuit with green markings.

Elite Versions
They have one elite variant, the Veteran Janitor. These start appearing in ships around Level 3. Veteran Janitors have yellow glow effects instead of blue, and their jumpsuits are tan with red markings. They have more hit points and fire two shots per attacks instead of one.

Behavior
Janitors wander slowly and stop fairly often. It's not uncommon to come across a Janitor just standing in a doorway staring off into space. They seem to be very dull-witted, reacting somewhat slowly to the presence of the Client (on normal difficulty it can take them up to a full second to acknowledge a Client that's in range and within their line of sight).

Once alerted, the Janitor will pursue the Client slowly but relentlessly. They will choose a path based on where they last saw the Client. Janitors can open closed doors but not locked ones, so one valid evasion strategy is to activate a door lock as you are running through it.

Sound Effects

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

Attacks

 * Energy Projectile - The Janitor's attack is a slow-moving ball of blue energy coming from its mouth. The Janitor does attempt to track where the player is going and will shoot quite accurately at where it thinks the player will be. Veteran Janitors fire faster-moving volleys of 2 shots each.

Basics

 * Unpredictable Movement - Try to move in unpredictable zigzag/serpentine patterns to prevent the Janitor from tracking your movement.
 * Cover Strafing - Use corners and doorways to make the Janitor's projectiles slam into the cover instead of the Client.
 * Sneak Attack - Janitors are arguably the easiest Citizens to sneak up on. The Client can walk right up to one with its back turned (remember, you do NOT have to be crouching to sneak - just walk at full speed and you're still effectively silent).

Firearm Tactics

 * Regulator - 2-3 head shots with the standard Regulator is enough to kill a Janitor. However it can take up to 5-6 body shots, during which the Janitor can get off multiple (and quite accurate) shots of its own, so firing wildly, without cover, and/or without an exit strategy is not advised.
 * Stapler - One shot at short/point-blank range is enough to kill a regular Janitor, especially if it's a head shot. 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 - If you're on a ship with lots of glass in the doors (such as XON or CNT ships) then the Toaster can be a viable "first-attack" strategy. Otherwise it's not advised, since even the upgraded Roaster's charge-up time is slow enough to let the Janitor get off a shot or two while you're aiming.
 * Riveter - Even with head shots and a sneak attack advantage, the Riveter can't kill a Janitor fast enough to avoid returned fire. If you must use a Riveter, try to stun or distract the Janitor first.
 * Nebulator - One-shot kill, however 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 Janitors. If you're being chased by one or more Janitors, toss a Bushwhacker down and duck around the nearest corner to lose them.
 * Spiker - An excellent weapon for sneaky runs and ammo conservation. Janitors are very easy to sneak up on and the Spiker doesn't alert them. You can spike a target multiple times to make the poison work faster if need be. However if the Janitor is already alerted, consider switching to a different weapon.
 * Banger - Kills Janitors in one hit, however unless you're well-practiced in aiming and timing Bangers (or you have the Short Fuse trait) Bangers aren't a good "first choice" strategy.
 * Clusterflak - Good for tossing into a room full of Citizens and locking the door. Otherwise, not advised.
 * Rad Spiker - Good for any ship with "Many" or "Shedloads" of Janitors, or any high-Level ship in general. While radiation damage doesn't stack like poison does, the Janitor can spread the radiation sickness to other Janitors.

Device Tactics

 * Zapper - If you are forced to use non-optimal equipment (e.g Riveter, Toaster), the Zapper can give you a few seconds grace period to aim and do your damage. You can also use it to lure a Janitor into a room, zap them, and then lock them in. The fully upgraded Herd Zapper is phenomenal for getting yourself out of unexpected muck-up situations.
 * Kittybot - Use this to create some distance between yourself and the Janitor. If you've upgraded to the Unstable Kittybot, try to use it to guide the Janitor(s) in a room first, so you can lock it.
 * 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 Janitor's head. Janitors will attempt to flank you, so try to lead the Janitor to a hallway or someplace where you can prevent that. Pay very close attention to your Bouncer ammo, especially if you get mobbed.
 * Scrambler - Most other Citizens can dispatch a Janitor fairly easily. So, while it's a good short-term strategy to turn a Janitor and let the other enemies kill it, it's a better long-term strategy to use the Scrambler on a tougher Citizen that hunts (such as a Screw or Zeb) and let them take out multiple Janitors for you.

Trivia

 * When the player initiates a security shutdown from a ship's Sec Room, the ship's PA will announce that janitorial staff are now able to perform their duties. Since the security shutdown is only 45 seconds, it's possible that the sheer number of janitors the Clients run into is because they needed to clean the entire ship in that 45-second window.