The player first encounters a pair of these creature in Chapter 5-1, later facing a horde of them before taking the elevator to the U-8 boss fight. They later appear in Chapter 5-2 and 5-3, which in most cases, the player can choose to fight them or simply sneak past. They also appear in the Experimental Facility stage of The Mercenaries as sub-bosses.
Moveset
Licker β's moveset consists of :
Move
Description
Damage
Impale
The creature uses its long tongue to impale the player, initiating a QTE.
Slash
The creature quickly swipes its claw up at the player.
Light
Heavy claw
The creature winds up for a bit while raising its claw then slashes the player.
Moderate
Pounce
The creature pounces and pins the player down, attempting to rip the player's throat. The player has a moment to counter this move with a button prompt. Should the player fail, the partner character has to assist the player as there is no QTE.
Instant death
Lunge
The creature leaps while trying to swipe its claw at the player from a distance.
Light
Strategy
Licker β is relatively easy to defeat if only faced with one or two of them. They start becoming a threat if the player faces hordes of them, in which the situation becomes rather hectic. The creature's weakness is its exposed heart which is difficult to aim at since they crawl on all four.
Should the player face one of them, using a handgun is a viable option. Shoot its exposed brain which causes the creature to coil back, exposing the weak point briefly. At that moment, shoot its exposed weak point, causing them to be knocked back. They can get back up right after getting knocked down or stay down for a bit, exposing them to a one hit kill move; Stab.
Should the player encounter hordes of them, packing Hand Grenades is recommended. The player can also use shotguns for crowd control which can knock them back. Using a magnum is also effective should the player has saved an ample amount of ammunition for it. Grenade Launcher loaded with Acid Rounds work best when facing a horde of these creatures if the player wants to conserve ammo.
In most cases, the player can avoid combat with hordes of Licker βs as the player can make use of their weak senses and sneak past them.
