Scout

The Scout (often referred to as "Tentacles," "Tendrils," or "Feeler") is one of the special enemies in the complex and serve as a force multiplier by alerting and calling enemies to the player. The Scout is one of the few enemies encountered that do not sleep, instead actively patrolling their designated areas and periodically extending long tendrils in order to locate threats. If a player comes in contact with its tendrils (or feelers), it will emit a loud scream, waking up any nearby enemies and spawning new ones nearby.

Appearance
Scouts closely resemble a slightly taller Shooter with distinct oval sacs on its head. While they share a similar appearance to Shooters, they house a large amount of tendrils used to look for threats. These only appear when the Scout is not patrolling and not alarmed. Unlike sleepers, which glow bright red, Scouts will glow a distinct light blue color when alerted.

Spawning
The Scout has a probability of spawning only in certain rooms, most of which are generally critical to the completion of an objective. They make a sound similar to that of loud, bare footsteps as they walk. This sound is audible through doors, letting players know in advance of their presence.

Behavior
The Scout's primary purpose is to detect the players while they are in stealth. It does this by patrolling rooms in a random pattern, making it difficult to foresee its movements. It periodically extends its long tendrils in all directions, and when it makes contact with any player it is alerted of the player's presence. This makes the Scout difficult to approach for a silent melee kill.

When alerted through contact made with the tendrils, they will glow red and the Scout will retract them for a short duration before emitting a blue light and screaming. This light also indicates its invulnerability during this charge and scream period. Loud noises in the same room like gunfire, a sleeper death (nearby), and other alerted sleepers' screams will instantly trigger the Scout. Direct contact or an attack which does not kill it instantly will also instantly trigger it.

The Scout's scream will alert enemies in the current room, it will spawn an extra wave of enemies in addition of the current monsters on the map, and these these newly spawned enemies can scream and wake nearby rooms if players are close. If too close, the Scout's scream will also briefly deafen the player.

Right after the scream, the Scout will be stunned on the ground for a few seconds (see screenshot below), then becoming vulnerable again and aggressive. The Scout has a medium amount of health, and its attack patterns are very similar to those of Big Shooters. Lacking melee attacks, it keeps its distance, firing bursts of four projectiles at the players, each of them dealing 4% damages. If killed after being alerted, it will make a loud and deep growling sound.

Strategies
The Scout must be killed in a very short span of time in order to prevent it from becoming invulnerable. It is recommended to measure the entirety of a situation before attacking it (doors to keep closed, areas to retreat to, etc.).

Stealth kill

 * A fully charged melee hit in the head will stealth kill a Scout. The player can use C-foam to make this task easier and less risky, thus giving an additional five seconds to perform the kill (still needs a charged melee attack). This can also be done when a Scout's tendrils are extended if there are no sleepers around, as there will be a small period (2 seconds) after touching the tendrils where you can still kill it before it screams.
 * The sniper rifle will one-shot a Scout in the head. The kill can be silent if the player kills it from far away and from a different room (35 meters seems to be the least needed).

Regular kill

 * A mine can be placed on the Scout's upper body path to detonate and one-shot it. (Note: be careful to not place the mine with its laser immediately touching the Scout, the mine will explode on the Player)
 * The pump shotgun will eliminate a Scout in one shot, assuming the player is close enough to make the pellets hit either the head or the back. Headshots are easier to achieve once the Scout bends down.
 * The revolver can one-shot a Scout under certain conditions. The shot must hit the Scout's occiput (back of the head) and be led from a short or medium distance.
 * The Techman Klust 6 Burst Cannon can consistently kill the Scout with one burst to any part of the body. Kills at long ranges can be difficult due to the recoil within the burst.
 * Other methods which are riskier include guns such as the TR22 Hanaway DMR, Buckland AF6 Combat Shotgun, and potentially other medium damage guns. Scouts can be killed with multiple gunshots in very quick succession to the back of the head, being killed before it can scream. This method is only recommended as a last-resort effort, as it has a much higher risk of failure than other procedures.

If Triggered
When triggered, the Scout will spawn a wave of enemies.


 * You cannot stop the scout from screaming. She is immune to all attacks for a short period while & after screaming. Do not waste resources until after the scream.
 * If the player is two or more rooms away when the Scout screams, enemies may spawn on one's character.
 * The best strategy is to stay together and avoid splitting up at all costs.
 * Utilizing bottlenecks on the map is another way to increase the player's odds of survival.
 * If the room is a dead-end, clean out the Scout's room before alerting it to make it easier to defeat the incoming wave.

Trivia
The Official GTFO Discord has a role called the "Scouts are friends" which can be obtained by pledging to not harm scouts to Mod Mail.