Spook

The Spook is a mid-level Citizen in Void Bastards. They first appear in Level 2, with elite Shifty Spooks appearing in Level 4.

Appearance
The Spook is a tall humanoid wearing a brimmed hat and a long overcoat-style garment. Their spy-like garments conceal all their features in shadow, with only their round "glasses" showing. However when attacking, their coat opens to reveal that their bodies are a floating mass of tentacles, with a centrally-located glowing "heart", and syringes for fingers.

The elite variant is called a Shifty Spook. They are very similar in appearance to regular Spooks except that their clothing is red instead of gray. Shifty Spooks have a LOT more Health and can even go toe-to-toe with a WarBot.

Behavior
Spooks wander fairly quickly from place to place. Once they spot the Client, they will immediately start "phasing out", which is where they go from completely visible to completely invisible over the course of about a second. During this "phasing" period they don't move but they do take a lot less damage, so Firearm attacks at this point are typically a waste of ammo.

Once they become completely invisible, the Spook will attempt to "phase in" somewhere behind the Client. The "phase in" period also takes about a second. Once completely visible, they will fire a rapid series of energy bolts from their chest. These bolts can bounce off of walls (similar to a Screw's spikes). Facing the Spook makes them stop shooting and start to "phase out" again.

Sound Effects

 * WHISPER - This sound effect indicates that there's a Spook in or near the room.

Attacks

 * Bouncing Shots - Spook projectiles have a fairly high rate of fire and can bounce off of walls. Spooks tend to favor firing at the Client from behind.

Basics

 * Use Your Eyes - Spooks stop attacking the moment the Client looks at them. Use this to your advantage.
 * Know Their Limits - While the Spook does "teleport" while invisible, there are rules the Spook has to follow:
 * The Spook can only teleport to a place outside of the Client's vision.
 * The Spook cannot teleport through walls or closed doors - meaning you can still trap Spooks in rooms just like any other Citizen.
 * Keeping the Client's back to a wall is a very effective way to prevent Spooks from re-appearing.
 * If you can find a spot where the Spook has no way of flanking the Client (such as in most Gen Rooms with the Client's back to the power terminal) then you can force the Spooks to "phase in" around the corner instead of behind the Client.

Firearm Tactics

 * Regulator - Reasonably effective when the Spook is Zapped first. 2-3 head shots will do the trick.
 * Stapler - Arguably the best Firearm for the job, as it will kill a stunned Spook in one body hit at short range.
 * Toaster - If you're on a ship with a lot of glass on it (XON and CNT ship doors often have lots of glass on them, and Krell Freighters sometimes have Tank Rooms with lots of glass) then you can use the Toaster to score some sneaky kills on unsuspecting Spooks. Not as good against alerted Spooks, since even if they've been Zapped, the time it takes to swap to the Toaster, charge it up, and aim it can exceed the time it takes the Spook to start phasing out again. Upgrading to the Roaster somewhat mitigates this.
 * Riveter - Not a great choice but not terrible either. Use the Zapper to stun the Spook and then go for close-range head shots to reduce misses caused by spread.
 * Nebulator - Shots must be timed very well, since Nebulator shots are relatively slow-moving and a phasing Spook can reduce almost all of a Nebulator's damage to nothing. Close-ranged attacks also run the risk of catching the Client in the explosion. Use with caution.

Indirect Tactics

 * Bushwhacker - There are spots on every ship where you can force a Spook to approach you unprotected for just a moment. Once you get familiar with these places, you can figure out the best place to put Bushwhackers to explode the Spook in one shot. See the diagram for a specific example that works in most Gen Rooms. You can also throw Bushwhackers down while running away from a Spook; this doesn't necessarily guarantee a kill, but it can help.
 * Spiker - VERY useful. First of all, it can attack without alerting the Spook, so great for sneak attacks. Secondly, the spotty "poison" aura remains visible even if the Spook phases out, so you can more easily see where a Spook is going to appear and act accordingly. And of course, the poison will still kill them eventually, so one viable tactic is to poison a Spook and then stand with back to a wall looking around until the Spook dies.
 * Banger - Possible but difficult. The timing and accuracy required to kill a Spook makes Bangers a bad tool for the job.
 * Clusterflak - Probably the worst possible tool for dealing with Spooks. Might be effective against Spooks trapped in a room, otherwise don't bother.
 * Rad Spiker - About as effective as the Spiker, and for the same reasons. While you can't stack the radiation damage, there is always the possibility that the Spook will infect other Citizens with rad sickness before they die.

Device Tactics

 * Zapper - Arguably the most valuable tool for dealing with Spooks. Zapping a Spook also cancels its "phase out" animation and leaves them vulnerable to a follow-up attack.
 * Kittybot - Not entirely worthless if you're just trying to get away from a Spook. Can also theoretically force a Spook to turn its back on you and give you a free full-damage shot or two.
 * Rifter - Just as effective against Spooks as it is against any other Citizen.
 * Bouncer - Basically worthless against Spooks, since they seldom attack the Client from the front and they can bounce their shots.
 * Scrambler - Making the Spooks your allies is actually a cheeky way to deal with most other enemies on a ship, since everything that makes them frustrating to fight gets turned onto the AI.

Trivia

 * "Spook" is a slang term for a person that engages in espionage, such as a spy or CIA agent.
 * "Spook" is also the dutch word for Ghost.
 * Posters inside the Warp Key Chamber of Otori Warp Rooms show a picture of a Spook, inviting Citizens to lay on the ground and prepare for their "free vacation". This implies that Spooks were once agents of the Otori Corporation tasked with "disappearing" citizens of the CNT.