I find myself in a difficult position. On the one hand, I rarely if ever waste my time dropping medpacks, and on the other hand, I feel that medpacks should cost more resources to put more emphasis on the choice between dropping them or not.
Anyway, medpacks introduce an interesting dynamic for skulks, I find. Often I will play against marine commanders who aren't noobs by any standards, but they employ a "medical domination" strategy whereby every encounter is important and every encounter will be assisted by medpacks, simply to demoralize and completely overwhelm the alien team. In such a situation, against the right opponent, you can actually get the commander to spend in excess of 10 or so resources in a situation where it simply isn't necessary. All you need to do is play evasively for 90% of the time, and land a single bite every 5 or 6 seconds, and the commander will continue to roll out the med drops.
<!--quoteo(post=2065236:date=Jan 23 2013, 10:07 AM:name=Wheeee)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Wheeee @ Jan 23 2013, 10:07 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2065236"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->i medspam a lot.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> like in this <a href="https://dl.dropbox.com/s/u0c0acggiqw1xee/ns2%202013-01-23%2020-38-48-82.jpg" target="_blank">screenshot</a>?
lol surely that is a macro to spam so many meds at once
btw, i med spam heaps :)
to put into perspective
A destroyed RT cost 10 tres plus the time it takes for a marine to respawn and go back to rebuild, the risk of the rebuilding, and then lack of income until its rebuilt.. At the same time, saving an RT means you killed a skulk who now has to sit int he spawn kill, take up one of the eggs, and run back into battle
So thats a lot of meds thats worth it if you can save the RT...
of course if you can't save the RT with meds then its wasted
<!--quoteo(post=2065294:date=Jan 23 2013, 06:35 AM:name=|strofix|)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (|strofix| @ Jan 23 2013, 06:35 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2065294"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->All you need to do is play evasively for 90% of the time, and land a single bite every 5 or 6 seconds, and the commander will continue to roll out the med drops.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Land a bite every <i>5 or 6 seconds</i>? Green, much? :P
<!--quoteo(post=2065250:date=Jan 23 2013, 03:18 PM:name=umphrey)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (umphrey @ Jan 23 2013, 03:18 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2065250"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Sometimes I tend to be pretty stingy with them, but often times I do it just to inspire the men.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=2065449:date=Jan 23 2013, 06:49 AM:name=Tweadle)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tweadle @ Jan 23 2013, 06:49 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2065449"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Mhmm, mhmm. I'm going to rest my case before I even make it. That's how right I am.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah.. I almost took a bite out of that troll bait too.
I think the moral of this thread is if you don't medpack then you're just a mean old scrooge mcduck swimming around in your pool of t-res.
Meds are probably the single most powerful marine commander ability. Good medpacking can completely change the outcome of a battle.
How to medpack:
1. Consider these factors: --how long will it take for my marines to get back into this position --what will we gain if we win this engagement --what will we lose if we lose this engagement Then make a guess: --how many medpacks will it take to turn this fight around, can I afford this?
2. Balances the res output vs the map control / res damage you are doing to the enemy
Some examples:
I have two marines on the offensive against an alien RT, There are no nearby phase gates. These marines get jumped by 2 skulks. --if these marines die, it will take 30-60 seconds to get more marines to this position. --If we win this fight, we will probably kill the harvester. --if we lose the fight, the aliens keep the rt.
--I estimate this fight is worth 5-8 medpacks. Decent marines shouldn't need more than 4 medpacks. RESULT: Drop lots of meds.
Killing the rt will remove 10-20 res from the alien economy. Potentially a lot more if I can keep marines in the area and prevent the aliens from re-dropping the harvester. Med packs cost 2 res each, so I can safely drop 5-10 med packs and still know I've dealt more damage to the alien economy than I've cost myself. PLUS I will end up with 2 marines alive and well in enemy territory, ready to do more damage.
It is a calculated risk, as it is possible the marines will just die, but with 5-10 medpacks their chances of winning are very high.
Another example:
1 shotgun marine is defending a phase gate against a fade.
--if this marine dies, it won't take long to get more marines here, provided some one on the team is near a phase game (not always the case). --If the marine 'wins' the fight the fade may just run away. If the marine has gotten a few good shots on the fade, he may kill it if I medpack him. --If the marine loses this fight, I will need to get more marines through the gate to defend.
--estimate this situation may be worth a few medpacks. It really depends on how close other marines are to a phase gate, and how close the fight is.
RESULT: Drop meds if the marine does a lot of damage to the fade, but the fade doesn't retreat, or if most of the team is busy on the other side of the map.
Comments
Anyway, medpacks introduce an interesting dynamic for skulks, I find. Often I will play against marine commanders who aren't noobs by any standards, but they employ a "medical domination" strategy whereby every encounter is important and every encounter will be assisted by medpacks, simply to demoralize and completely overwhelm the alien team. In such a situation, against the right opponent, you can actually get the commander to spend in excess of 10 or so resources in a situation where it simply isn't necessary. All you need to do is play evasively for 90% of the time, and land a single bite every 5 or 6 seconds, and the commander will continue to roll out the med drops.
like in this <a href="https://dl.dropbox.com/s/u0c0acggiqw1xee/ns2%202013-01-23%2020-38-48-82.jpg" target="_blank">screenshot</a>?
btw, i med spam heaps :)
to put into perspective
A destroyed RT cost 10 tres plus the time it takes for a marine to respawn and go back to rebuild, the risk of the rebuilding, and then lack of income until its rebuilt..
At the same time, saving an RT means you killed a skulk who now has to sit int he spawn kill, take up one of the eggs, and run back into battle
So thats a lot of meds thats worth it if you can save the RT...
of course if you can't save the RT with meds then its wasted
Land a bite every <i>5 or 6 seconds</i>? Green, much? :P
You're a good comm. :)
Any more and you risk killing the target, and halting the resource expenditure on pointless med packs.
Noob
Yeah.. I almost took a bite out of that troll bait too.
I think the moral of this thread is if you don't medpack then you're just a mean old scrooge mcduck swimming around in your pool of t-res.
Meds are probably the single most powerful marine commander ability. Good medpacking can completely change the outcome of a battle.
How to medpack:
1. Consider these factors:
--how long will it take for my marines to get back into this position
--what will we gain if we win this engagement
--what will we lose if we lose this engagement
Then make a guess:
--how many medpacks will it take to turn this fight around, can I afford this?
2. Balances the res output vs the map control / res damage you are doing to the enemy
Some examples:
I have two marines on the offensive against an alien RT, There are no nearby phase gates. These marines get jumped by 2 skulks.
--if these marines die, it will take 30-60 seconds to get more marines to this position.
--If we win this fight, we will probably kill the harvester.
--if we lose the fight, the aliens keep the rt.
--I estimate this fight is worth 5-8 medpacks. Decent marines shouldn't need more than 4 medpacks.
RESULT: Drop lots of meds.
Killing the rt will remove 10-20 res from the alien economy. Potentially a lot more if I can keep marines in the area and prevent the aliens from re-dropping the harvester. Med packs cost 2 res each, so I can safely drop 5-10 med packs and still know I've dealt more damage to the alien economy than I've cost myself. PLUS I will end up with 2 marines alive and well in enemy territory, ready to do more damage.
It is a calculated risk, as it is possible the marines will just die, but with 5-10 medpacks their chances of winning are very high.
Another example:
1 shotgun marine is defending a phase gate against a fade.
--if this marine dies, it won't take long to get more marines here, provided some one on the team is near a phase game (not always the case).
--If the marine 'wins' the fight the fade may just run away. If the marine has gotten a few good shots on the fade, he may kill it if I medpack him.
--If the marine loses this fight, I will need to get more marines through the gate to defend.
--estimate this situation may be worth a few medpacks. It really depends on how close other marines are to a phase gate, and how close the fight is.
RESULT: Drop meds if the marine does a lot of damage to the fade, but the fade doesn't retreat, or if most of the team is busy on the other side of the map.