Two different things will kill you in a facility, and crews often treat them as the same problem.
One group of entities finds you by sound. Another finds you by sight. The correct response to each is close to the opposite of the other.
The sound hunters
The clearest sound hunter is the Eyeless Dog. It is blind, it moves by hearing, and it kills what it hears.
Against it, the answer is to stop. Stop running, stop talking, stop making noise, and walk away slowly. The Eyeless Dog guide covers the details, but the core is that noise is the trigger and silence is the answer.
This is also why the Boombox is dangerous. The store lists it as a sound source, and a sound source in a facility is you, announcing yourself, on purpose.
The sight hunters
Coil-head is the opposite problem. It moves only when nobody is watching it, so noise has nothing to do with it.
Against sight hunters, the answer is eyes. Assign a watcher, keep the entity in view, and walk the crew past. Talking is fine. Running is fine, as long as somebody is looking at it.
Several other entities are sight-driven in the same way: they notice you, they react, and the noise you made getting there is irrelevant.
Why the distinction matters in the moment
When something appears and you do not know which kind it is, the safe default is to stop making noise and leave.
That covers both cases. Silence handles the sound hunters, and leaving handles everything else. What it does not do is let you keep looting, which is the point.
The expensive mistake is guessing wrong. A crew that runs from a Coil-head has turned a watching problem into a chasing one. A crew that talks near an Eyeless Dog has handed it a target.
Practical stealth habits
- Walk when you are close to something you cannot identify. Sprinting is the loudest thing you can do, and the extra speed rarely matters.
- Keep radio calls short near threats. The walkie-talkie is the crew’s best tool, and it is also noise.
- Close doors behind you. A door buys distance against whatever is slow enough to be held, and it hides which way you went.
- Do not test unknowns. If you cannot name the entity, you do not know which rule applies, and the answer is to leave.
The one item that changes the calculus
The TZP-Inhalant makes you faster and lighter on stamina, which is a movement item, not a stealth one.
It helps you cross dangerous ground quickly and quietly in the sense that you spend less time in it. It does not make you silent, and it does not help against a sight hunter at all.
The two-question check
When you cannot name what you are looking at, answer two questions from a safe distance.
Is it facing you? An entity that holds your position and reacts when you move is working off sight. Stay watched, back away slowly, and do not run.
Does it turn toward noise? Have a teammate make one quiet sound somewhere else and watch. If the entity turns toward the sound, you are dealing with a sound hunter, and silence is now your best tool.
Neither test requires you to get closer, and together they tell you which rule applies. Guessing is what turns a manageable encounter into a chase.
Related guides
- How to beat the Eyeless Dog — the sound hunter, in detail.
- How to beat Coil-head — the sight hunter, in detail.
- Boombox guide — the store item that is explicitly a sound source.