Nutcracker

Nutcracker
Information
Power level	1
Max spawned	10
RADAR pip size	Medium
Door opening speed multiplier	2 ; (0.5s)
Vitality
HP	5
Stun multiplier	0.5 3.75s ; 0.88s
Offense
Attack damage	-
Attack speed	-
Contact damage	0
	v; t; e;

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Bestiary Entry[edit]

Nutcracker

The guardians of the house.

Spawn chances[edit]

Moon	Spawn chance
Experimentation	0.44%
Assurance	0.28%
Vow	0%
Offense	0.88%
March	0.95%
Adamance	1.97%
Embrion	6.94%
Rend	24.10%
Dine	6.98%
Titan	12.84%
Artifice	8.29%
Liquidation	13.30%

Moon	Spawn chance
Experimentation	0.44%
Assurance	0.31%
Vow	0%
Offense	0.95%
March	0.98%
Adamance	2.20%
Embrion	6.94%
Rend	24.10%
Dine	4.95%
Titan	12.84%
Artifice	8.62%
Liquidation	13.30%

Moon	Spawn chance
Experimentation	0.44%
Assurance	0.31%
Vow	0%
Offense	0.95%
March	0.98%
Adamance	2.22%
Embrion	7.83%
Rend	24.75%
Dine	5.10%
Titan	12.84%
Artifice	8.77%
Liquidation	13.30%

Moon	Spawn chance
Experimentation	0.44%
Assurance	0.31%
Vow	0%
Offense	0.95%
March	0.98%
Rend	25.91%
Dine	12.27%
Titan	12.59%

Mechanics[edit]

The Nutcracker spawns carrying a Shotgun, which serves as its primary form of offense. It has infinite ammo for this shotgun, and can shoot twice before having to reload. The Nutcracker drops its shotgun and 2 Shotgun Shells upon death, with any unfired shells remaining in the gun.

The Nutcracker is also capable of kicking any employee if they get too close, instantly killing them and immediately sending the Nutcracker into the attack state, possibly dooming any other nearby employees.

The Nutcracker cannot take damage until its eye is exposed, but can register being attacked. A shotgun blast or several shovel hits will make the Nutcracker immediately start attacking the instigating employee.

As of version 47, Nutcrackers can aim while moving, making it much more adept at corner kills.

The Nutcracker has 3 behavioral states which are described below.

Patrol[edit]

The Nutcracker patrols, wandering around the facility. In this state it cannot see, and thus has no awareness of its surroundings.

Every 8 to 17 seconds^[1], a Nutcracker will check a certain list of conditions:^[2]

At least 4 seconds have passed since the last inspection
AND
(
  The distance to the nearest player is short enough (27 units - almost maximum shotgun range) 
  OR
  Successfully pass a 40% chance
)

If the above conditions succeed, the Nutcracker enters the scanning state.

Scanning[edit]

The Nutcracker stops moving and scans its surroundings, raising its headpiece and turning counterclockwise in increments until it has turned a full 360 degrees or the below conditions are met. In this state the Nutcracker has a field of view of 140 degrees.^[3]

The Nutcracker will move to the attack state if:

The employee is within line-of-sight or too close to the Nutcracker^[4]

That same employee is also 'moving'^[5]
- Performing an emote
- Moving the mouse/turning
- Crouching down or standing up
- Walking or sprinting

Note: Walking or sprinting without moving the camera won't alert the Nutcracker, which seemed to be a bug. This behavior is fixed in v50.

If the above conditions are not met, the Nutcracker will return to patrolling.

Attack[edit]

The "metal ringing" sound when a Nutcracker targets a player

The music looped during a Nutcracker's attack

The Nutcracker targets an employee. A metal ringing will sound when an employee is targeted, and distorted whistling with marching drums will play to indicate the attack state is in effect. At this point, the targeted employee can no longer freeze to avoid being seen until the attack state ends.

In this state, the Nutcracker will follow and attack the targeted employee until the employee dies or line of sight has been broken for a sufficient amount of time (at least 12 seconds), at which point the Nutcracker will move to the scanning state, and then back to the patrolling state if no employee is found. Additionally, the Nutcracker will not pass up other employees spotted while in the attack state if the originally targeted employee dies or manages to evade the Nutcracker.

The hit detection and damage is explained in the Shotgun article. (It's the same logic as when an employee uses a shotgun.)

Strategy[edit]

The Nutcracker can be a very dangerous adversary due to their extremely lethal shotgun that can instantly kill any employee caught out in the open, making cover a must for most fights with a Nutcracker. However, despite this danger the Nutcracker is usually an enemy worth killing, as the shotgun it drops is a very powerful weapon and can be sold to help meet quota. Do not be fooled by the ‘grab’ prompt that appears when hovering over an active Nutcracker’s shotgun, a Nutcracker’s shotgun cannot be taken from its hands until it is dead. There is no way to get around fighting the Nutcracker if you want its shotgun.

Be warned when fighting a Nutcracker that it can instantly kill you by kicking you if you come into physical contact with it but cannot kick you if it is firing or reloading its shotgun. Additionally, sometimes the Nutcracker will chase you while running backwards, and is unable to shoot you whilst doing so. If it touches you while this is happening, it will kick you and kill you, so it is advised to circle an obstacle and hope it starts facing you again. This is likely not an intended mechanic and is therefore (probably) a bug.

Nutcrackers can also kill other monsters with their shots, however they will not intentionally target other monsters, so getting this to happen will require an employee to be targeted by a Nutcracker and bait its shots into collaterally killing other enemies. If you decide to take the attention of 2 Nutcrackers at once, one may kill the other depending on their positioning relative to you and to each other, giving you the opportunity to take the dead Nutcracker's shotgun and kill the one left alive with it.

Technically speaking, it is possible to jump a shotgun blast from a Nutcracker but requires amazing timing and a decent amount of distance.

Below are some strategies for dealing with a Nutcracker.

Ambush (Shovel)[edit]

This is one of the quickest methods of killing a Nutcracker, but it requires multiple employees with multiple shovels. This strategy is very simple: 2-4 employees grab shovels, group up around the Nutcracker while it's in its patrol state and hit it to death as soon as it enters its scanning state and raises its headpiece, as there is a short delay before the Nutcracker can fire out of its scanning state. Stunning the Nutcracker with either a Homemade Flashbang/Stun Grenade or a Zap Gun can aid this strategy, allowing more time for the Nutcracker to be beaten down without repercussion. Be careful when trying to kill a Nutcracker this way, as it can be very easy to hit or be hit by your fellow employees while trying to gang up on the Nutcracker.

Ambush (Shotgun)[edit]

This is much the same as the above method, only it is both easier and faster, as it requires only one employee and one shotgun instead of multiple employees and multiple shovels. Simply walk up to a Nutcracker with a loaded shotgun and shoot it point blank at any point when its eye is exposed. If done correctly the Nutcracker should instantly die, as a shotgun can do up to 5 damage per shot if the target is close enough.

Bait and Hit[edit]

This strategy is not reliant on employee count. Find cover you're comfortable with then get a Nutcracker to target you before retreating to the aforementioned cover. Peek out of cover for a moment to bait out its first shot, repeat to bait out its second shot, and then attack once with a shovel while it's reloading and start the sequence over. A Nutcracker will make the same metal ringing noises mentioned in the attack state section every time it's about to fire, which can make knowing when to take cover easier. This strategy can be done with one player as the bait and another as the attacker, or with one player as both the bait and attacker. Note that Nutcrackers have 5 hit points and thus take 5 hits from a shovel to die, and that a Nutcracker on its last health point will reload and fire much faster. Because of this it's recommended to hit the Nutcracker a total of 3 times, then finish it off with 2 consecutive hits to avoid dealing with a low health Nutcracker.

Note: due to Nutcrackers being able to aim while moving as of version 47, along with being more aggressive with its kick attack, this strategy now requires constant movement and good reflexes to properly dodge.

Crouch Cheese[edit]

Note: This strategy has been fixed in v50. Nutcrackers are able to aim downwards, killing any players foolish enough to attempt this method.

Walking up to and crouching a small distance in front of the Nutcracker (the sweet spot is hard to find, it takes some practice) puts you under the shotgun's hitbox, and just out of range of the Nutcracker's kick, allowing you to hit it without retaliation. The only flaw is if the Nutcracker walks forward, it's very hard to react and dodge backwards fast enough before it gets into kick range.

Avoid[edit]

If you wish not to fight a Nutcracker, you must take advantage of the quirks of its patrol and scanning states. While a Nutcracker is patrolling it is effectively blind, meaning you can pass by one safely in this state as long as you keep your distance to avoid being kicked. If a Nutcracker enters the scanning state as you're passing by, stand completely still when it turns to face you and wait for it to continue turning, as it cannot detect you unless you are in its line of sight and moving. Note that even actions you may think count as stationary, like moving your camera or emoting, count as moving and will allow the Nutcracker to target you.^[6] It is recommended to keep your eye on the Nutcracker as you pass by so that, should it enter its scanning state while you're nearby, you know when you're out of its vision and can thus move freely.