The scanner does two jobs: it identifies what is in front of you, and it builds the bestiary you can read later.
It is also completely useless against the two entities you most want it to work on.
What the scanner does
Point the handheld scanner at an entity and hold it. Once the scan completes, that entity is on record.
That record has two uses. It fills the bestiary so you can read about the entity later, and in the moment it tells you what you are looking at.
Scanning is worth doing on any entity you do not recognise, because the file tells you how it behaves. What it costs is time and attention, so do it at a distance rather than while the thing is approaching.
Reading what you have scanned
At the terminal:
BESTIARY opens the list of wildlife you have on record.
INFO [creature name] opens a specific creature file. Typing the creature name on its own also works, and shortened creature names are accepted.
This is the fastest way to check a mechanic mid-run instead of arguing about it.
What cannot be scanned
This is the part that decides how much you should trust the scanner.
Masked cannot be scanned. It mimics crewmates, it does not register, and on the radar it appears as a normal blue employee icon. There is no tool that identifies it.
Ghost Girl cannot be scanned. She is also visible only to the player she is haunting. The one person who needs to identify her is the only one who can see her, and the scanner will not help.
So the scanner solves the entities that were already solvable and fails on the two that are not. The counter for both is procedural: call names, wait for answers, never travel alone.
Using the scanner well
Scan from a distance. A completed scan at range is worth more than a failed one up close.
Scan unknown entities once, then remember them. You do not need to re-scan a Bracken every run.
Do not scan instead of leaving. If something is approaching, the scan is the wrong priority.
Let the ship operator read the file. The person walking is busy; the person at the terminal is not.
What the scanner is not
It is not a threat detector. It does not warn you about what is around a corner, it does not reveal a Masked, and it does not replace looking up at the ceiling for a Snare Flea.
Crews that treat a scan as confirmation that an area is safe get caught by exactly the entities the scanner cannot see.
Related guides
- Terminal commands — BESTIARY, INFO and the shortcuts.
- How to beat Masked — why scanning fails and what to do instead.
- How to beat Ghost Girl — why only the target can see her.
- Monsters database — every entity on record.