Mesmer

Overview

The Mesmer is an aggressive life form belonging to the Fauna category. It can be found in deep caves of certain biomes, such as the Kelp Forest and the Bulb Zone.

Appearance

The Mesmer is a small, colorful fish with three design patterns. Its four large skin panels are bluish-white and capable of emitting a green bioluminescent glow at night, featuring dark violet stripes surrounded by a thin translucent blue film. The patterns on these panels radiate and ripple when the creature is mesmerizing its prey.

The Mesmer's body is ridged, shimmers purple, and ends in two small teal-coloured flippers in place of a tail, which it uses to paddle itself through the water. Its head is bulky and speckled with white dots, ending with a teal maw. Behind its head, right above and below, are two smaller blueish fins. Its binocular eyes feature tilde-shaped pupils and yellow sclerae.

When attacking, the Mesmer's head opens up, revealing its soft, slimy body and four pink stalks topped with sharp teeth. These stalks surround its true toothless mouth.

Behavior

Mesmers are aggressive towards the player as well as small, medium, and shark-classified fauna. Mesmers will attempt to lure in the player or prey with a hypnotic effect. The player experiences this as the PDA telling them to swim closer to the beautiful creature. Upon successfully luring the player or another fauna, the Mesmer will launch its jaws outward and bite for moderate damage.

The player can escape the effect by pulling away, hitting the creature with their knife, or using the Propulsion Cannon or Repulsion Cannon. Mesmers swim slightly slower at night while docile. This does not impact their aggression range or chase speed. The creature will flee for a few seconds upon being struck once with the knife.

Like most carnivores, holding any fauna will cause the Mesmer to eat the fish upon attacking the player, preventing damage from being taken. This will decrease the creature’s aggression for a short time.

Mesmers hatched in the Alien Containment are passive towards the player.

Energy Value

• Mesmer: 560 Energy
• Mesmer Egg: 175 Energy

Data Bank Entry

Small, carnivorous lifeform with a unique hunting mechanism that enables it to hypnotize its foes.

1. Outer Wings: The mesmer swims using a number of wings which can be angled up and forwards on approaching its prey. Tiny lenses on the surface can be tilted independently to create mesmerizing patterns which flood the victim's brain with enticing messages, interpreted in whatever form is most convincing by the target.
2. Outer Shell: The mesmer can open the jawlike recess in its protective outer shell in order to [ERROR463] share its beauty... Do not resist...

Assessment: Draw closer

Source: Scan

Gallery

• Mesmer Egg
• A Mesmer with its mouth open, showing its fleshy blue innards
• The Mesmer drawing in the player. The Mesmer's mesmerising effect.
• Concept art
• Model from Sketchfab
• Model of Egg from Sketchfab

Trivia

• The Mesmer's hunting strategy has some resemblance to the Cuttlefish, who use shimmering color patterns to distract their prey. When the cuttlefish gets close enough, it quickly launches tentacles out to ensnare the prey.
• During the Mesmer's hypnotic effect, in addition to the PDA, one can hear what appears to be the opening notes of White Zombie's Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks And Cannibal Girls that have been slowed down.
• The Mesmer's hypnosis seems to also have possible electrical properties as in its data entry, your PDA will suffer an error and will tell you to draw closer if you encounter one again.