Mesmer

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 capable of emitting green bioluminescent glows at night, with dark violet stripes and are surrounded by a thin translucent blue film. The patterns on these panels radiate and ripple when the creature is mesmerising 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 horizontal, "S" 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 toothless true mouth.

Behavior
The Mesmer is capable of manipulating the player's mind, causing them to hear the PDA telling them to approach the Mesmer, the messages are as follows:

"It is your primary directive to swim closer to that beautiful creature... Swim closer... Swim closer now... It looks so friendly... Do not resist... Don't struggle... Go closer"

If the Mesmer succeeds in attracting the player, it will attack by opening its body and thrusting its spiked tentacles towards the player, removing 35% of the health bar, then fleeing.

It can be also seen using this behavior as a self-defense against other larger fauna, fauna of the same size, or even against its own kind. It will also use this as a hunting strategy to catch small fauna.

The Mesmer will often home in on either the Seamoth, Prawn Suit, or Cyclops and attach itself to their fronts if a player is inside. This does not cause any damage.

It should be noted that if a Mesmer is killed while using its hypnosis on a creature or the player, its hypnosis will not cease, and will continue until the player runs out of oxygen, gets out of its pull, or is attacked. The player has a hard time breaking free from the Mesmer when it is using hypnosis, and can only break free if they swim far enough backwards.

Audio


Gallery
Screenshots=