Entomologist

**Melly Plinius** or **Melly Pliny**, also known as the **Entomologist**, is a Contain/Assist Hybrid Type and Difficulty 1.5 Survivor available for purchase after completion of the prologue. She is one of **43** playable Survivors added to Identity V.

—Melly Plinius (Deduction Star 2021)

## Appearance

Melly is a slender, thin doll with fair skin, braided brown hair pulled into a pigtail with a black ribbon, thin black eyebrows, hexagonal black button eyes stitched with black thread, and a port-wine birthmark across her left cheek.

She wears a long, patched, olive green trench coat with a high, black collar and matching cuffs, a light grey shirt, a brown tie, leather gloves, brown trousers, and black-and-white saddle shoes. Her entire head is hidden beneath a stained, light grey beekeeper's helmet with haphazard black stitching, a single, stitched patch on the back, and fitted netting, and sitting on the helmet is a tan fedora with a black ribbon and a small torn hole showing cotton stuffing in the left side. A leather satchel is also slung over her left shoulder. A tear is visible in her left arm, showing cotton stuffing. She holds a butterfly net with a long wooden handle in her hands.

## Gameplay

The Entomologist is a contain/assist-type Survivor who is able to summon a swarm of insects, which can push any teammate or herself around, as well as Hunters. While swarmed by the insects, she or her teammates can take two hits of any kind before the insects are dispersed, though hitting the insects will not activate the Hunter's attack recovery animation. She can also lubricate pallets and windows to make herself and her teammates vault faster, but she will be visible to the Hunter for another 2 seconds upon leaving their sight.

### External Traits

Below is a list of Entomologist's intrinsic traits. For more in-depth information, please check the individual pages.

 Entomology | *The Entomologist carries a net that can assemble a swarm of insects to propel other Survivors forward.*
*Holding the Button will gather the swarm around her and make it move with her.*
*The swarm will form a barrier against some abilities so that Hunters passing through it will be disrupted and their movement speed will be reduced by **85%**. Survivors won't be affected.*

### Character Statistics

Below is a list of Entomologist's statistics. To view other Survivors' gameplay data, please view **this article**.

### Tips

**Please press "Expand" to see tips about playing as and against this Survivor.**
* The insect swarm is useful for gaining distance, as survivors within the swarm move faster.
	+ This can greatly help Entomologist in kiting against hunters like Feaster or Guard 26.
* When spawn selection is active and the hunter spawns near you, the swarm can be used to transition away without leaving footprints.
	+ Using the swarm will not leave footprints, but the hunter can still hear the sound of it.
* Entomologist can still control the swarm while incapacitated, pushing the hunter away to buy a few extra seconds. If the swarm is still present while she is on a rocket chair, she can also control it then.
* The swarm can also be used to assist rescues, by pushing back or slowing down the hunter after an attack. This is especially helpful for basement rescues.
	+ Try not to deliberately send the swarm across the map just for the sake of assisting rescues, this wastes the durability of the swarm. Instead, they should be placed in a relatively central location if you are intending to assist.
* When kiting, use the swarm strategically: leave the swarm in narrow gaps or right next to a corner to either force the hunter through them or go around taking the longer path. In some cases, this can force out a Blink.
* Try not to let the swarm get hit twice in a row, or else you will be forced to kite without it for the next 20 seconds.
* The swarm can be placed next to cipher machines or exit gates when predicting a hunter's teleport. The swarm will slow down the hunter and provide time to escape.
* The insect swarm can take the damage from some hunters' secondary abilities:
	+ Ripper's foggy blade
	+ Axe Boy's souls
	+ Guard 26's bombs
	+ Smiley Face's rocket dash
	+ Soul Weaver's web shot
	+ Gamekeeper's hook
* Note that the latter three especially are dependent on distance. If Entomologist is just barely out of reach, the rocket dash and hook will hit the swarm instead. Otherwise, if Entomologist is within range, the rocket or hook will affect her directly. The swarm will not protect against a web shot if the distance of origin is too far.
* However, keep in mind that a hunter's basic attacks will prioritize hitting Entomologist when she is near her swarm.
* Entomologist can be a secondary rescuer, as her external traits Entomology and Mixed Reagent can essentially replace Knee Jerk Reflex. Her lack of decoding or kiting debuff makes her an extremely versatile character.
* The swarm can be used to maneuver around obstacles near the chair, giving you a better chance at a successful rescue.
* Note that tapping the button while riding the swarm disables the riding status, but the swarm will still appear to circle around you until you move.
	+ This can give you the element of surprise while rescuing, as hunters cannot tell when you stop riding the swarm.
* As the swarm can be depleted, Entomologist is capable of carrying other items when she has used up the swarm's durability. This makes characters like Toy Merchant a good teammate for the Entomologist.
	+ However, she cannot use other items until the swarm is depleted. Any items obtained from opening chests will remain on the ground and can't be picked up until the swarm is gone.
* The swarm can still take 2 hits when Detention is active.

Against Entomologist* Entomologist is a survivor with extremely high kiting potential if used correctly. Avoid chasing her first if possible, especially on maps like Arms Factory or Sacred Heart Hospital.
* Attack the swarm when she leaves it. If you manage to successfully hit it twice, Entomologist must kite raw for the next 20 seconds, which can potentially allow you to gain an advantage.
	+ If you manage to deplete the swarm, Entomologist is left without tools to help her kite unless she opens a chest.
	+ If Ripper has a foggy blade available and attacks the swarm with a basic attack, it will count as double damage and disperse the swarm instantly.
* Because of her external trait Fragrance, Entomologist will be visible for a short period after she leaves your line of sight. You can use this to predict her position and use secondary abilities.
* When Entomologist calls the swarm around herself, there is a short time period where her movement speed slows as the swarm surrounds her. This time can be used to get a hit in or even down her if she is already at half health.
* Switching from using the swarm has a 3 second cooldown, meaning that Entomologist can't recall the insects instantly after leaving the swarm.
* Night Watch can slow down Entomologist even when she is within the swarm, essentially negating its effects.

## Concept / Design Notes

### Official News

She is a wealthy widow with astonishing wealth, an academic star with many publications, and a mysterious woman who has experienced legends. Surrounded by insects and rumors, her arrival at the manor will add new fun to the intense chase. In the increasingly confusing train mystery, who is the best? Is he the "real murderer" who directed everything?

***Rising star in academia, shrouded in fog***

Mellie Plinius is a rising star in the world of biology. Not only does she have profound knowledge in the study of insects, but she is also able to understand and even control the actions of pterygoid insects, presenting a miraculous scene.

But what is more controversial than her academic achievements is her legendary experience and rare appearance - Mellie Pliny, who was born in a poor family, miraculously completed the transformation from a maid to a The transformation from a hostess to a widow and then to an entomologist, but what is even more difficult to understand is that after inheriting astonishing wealth, she is still obsessed with traveling through dense forests, swamps and wilderness in search of strange insects and rarely appears in public. Even in the few public events, she covered her entire face with an airtight and exaggerated gauze hat, as if she wanted to hide her appearance and past into a corner where no one could reach.

***A thrilling drama unfolds on the train***

***Tsarist envoy, carrying mysterious secret orders***

### Social Media

Hello everyone, the design ideas column is finally open again! This time I want to share with you the entomologist character design ideas.
First of all, let us ask the planning students to talk about how the role of the entomologist was created.

#### Design Idea Plans

*"After the accident, Melly finally understood that humans are no different from insects. They will only be loyal enough when they need you."*

According to our investment plan and plot arrangement, this time we hope to launch a female survivor with intellectuality, high IQ, and clear grievances. The skill planning proposes a set of skills framework for containment survivors. When combined, these elements can make I thought of an "interesting little life" - bees.

The growth trajectory of the queen bee and the survival relationship between the worker bees, the drones and the queen form the core of Melly Pliny's background story. At the same time, the queen bee's ability to drive the bee swarm can also meet Melly Pliny's skill needs.

In terms of shape, we initially referred to the standard shapes of beekeepers in the early 20th century: exaggerated head nets and hand-held insect nets.

However, considering the future expansion and the background of the plot, the identity of an entomologist is obviously more suitable for Melly than a beekeeper with a relatively simple working environment and coverage area.

Next, it’s time for our original painters to appear. Let’s take a look at how the entomologist’s design drawings were born~

#### Design Idea Sketch

In order to match the masked, mysterious temperament of entomologists and the professional characteristics of beekeeping, we designed three versions of the sketch in the early stage, using three different masking forms.

Considering the character setting of an entomologist, we finally chose the most mysterious and distinctive headgear that completely blocks my face.

In terms of clothing design, we referenced the attire of female scholars in the early 20th century, including windbreakers, gloves, and leather shoes. According to her professional characteristics, we equipped her with insect nets and insect catching boxes to drive away insects.

Then, to make her look more insect-friendly, bees, dragonflies, and butterflies were added around the dress.

Finally, adjust the number of buttons, seam marks, hem raw edges and other clothing details, and the entomologist's design is complete.

## Change Log

September 24th, 2020
* Buff: The duration of Fragrance is reduced from 5 to 2 seconds.
* Buff: The Swarm of Insects now can be moved in every direction.
* Adjustment: Survivors are no longer automatically pushed by the swarm, requiring them to press the button on the bee swarm to be pushed.

May 13th, 2021
* Adjustment: Added a new ability, "Circling Swarm." Holding the item and dragging it to activate "Circling Swarm." The Entomologist can generate a Swarm of Insects at her location and propel herself.
* Adjustment: The Swarm of Insects will now be released on Entomologist herself and will not propel her by default and Survivors will be in the center when propelled.
* Adjustment: Adjusted the cooldown of switching the camera from the Entomologist to the Swarm of Insects to 3 seconds.
* Buff: Increased Swarm of Insects' slowing effect on Hunters to 85%.
* Buff: The Swarm of Insects' size is increased by 10%.
* Adjustment: Adjusted the movement of Survivors when propelled by a Swarm of Insects.

May 27th, 2021
* Buff: The Swarm of Insects deploy time was reduced from 1 to 0.67 seconds.

August 10th, 2023
* Adjustment: Entomologist's Fragrance will still be exposed her location despite her being close to the Hunter.

September 28th, 2023
* Adjustment: Added a Bonus Achievement: Used Well.

## Trivia

* She is 1 of 14 survivors that have a 'secondary role' which classifies them in two categories. (This can be seen on the paperclip when viewing Survivor Profiles.)
	+ She is classified as both a Contain and Assist role, Contain appears to be her primary role while Assist is her secondary role.
	+ She was previously a pure Contain Type Survivor until it was changed to Contain/Assist on May 19th 2022.
* Entomology is the study of insects. She is especially interested in pterygotus (flying insects).
* Even though her face is almost never shown, the Entomologist's head is fully modeled underneath all of her costumes. The same goes for her Sophia and The Wicked Witch costumes, except that she has different faces.
	+ Her Original costume's eyes have hexagonal coal-like eyes instead of circular buttons, unlike most other survivors.
	+ Concept art shows that Melly's face was planned to be shown a little more, as seen in her gallery.

## References

1. ↑ In-game, according to a website confirming the voice actress of Geisha, Perfumer, Coordinator and **Entomologist** - https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E9%BB%83%E9%B6%AF/3513461
2. ↑ Appearances Listed Down Below:

	* In Ashes of Memory Update Story Mode (Twitter)
	* Ashes of Memory Chapter II MV - Endless Banquet
	* As Konghou in Season 28 Essence 2 Trailer
3. ↑ In Ashes of Memory Update Story Mode and Season 25 Essence 3/Orfeo's Game Music Video, according to Facebook post by Voice Actor - https://www.facebook.com/laurenamante/posts/pfbid06aBYsCdUM9qz6GUf3MdPPJWWbDMYMVM5gbewPAt3yij8EMKch8GtndJtFeNjiDmnl
4. ↑ Melly's mark is describes to a birthmark in Chinese - https://weibo.com/6140485374/Mx73CrNp1
5. ↑ https://id5.163.com/news/official/20200702/26476\_890345.html
6. ↑ Read in Sophia
7. ↑ Read in "Ambassador"
8. ↑ https://weibo.com/6140485374/JaGUNsKAy