They dont set off each other, but alien might explode them all at once..
Imagine 4 mines in same place, once skulk runs above them they explode all, because they were all too close to skulk.. (There is slight delay allowing one weak alien to detonate many mines).
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Are you certain about this? Even if it is true, I think if you hide them under the legs of the RT, they are far enough apart to not all go off at once. The only thing that would set them together is larger aliens like the fade. In that case, you're still getting a deal, since multiple mines exploding at once will damage a fade respectably. Regardless, mines around an rt, even at a distance, will still have the desired effect of luring skulks in, blowing them up, and making them look twice if they ever try it again.</span>
Those mines are SNEAKY! It took me a second to find them when I was standing still! I'm gonna have to do that. I'll ask comm for a pack of mines and see what happens.
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Since this thread parallels the one going on about ways to use mines and how good they are or are not, I should point random things out for everyone:
If you're going to be buying mines as a com, or if you're going to be requesting them from your com, it's a good idea to keep in mind how many you need for a job.
You get four mines in a 10 res pack, the same cost as a shotgun or a turret. If you want the pack of mines to pay for itself with kills, you have to lay them where they will all get triggered by skulks or lerks. I can't stress enough that there is a correct side to place mines on when it comes to buildings, it's not like you just put them in a circle around the things. They're for the back end only, the side of the RT you can't shoot if a skulk is hiding behind it. Figure out which way you'll be walking when you pass by the RT on your way towards the hive, which side the alien will be on to try and avoid marine fire, and stick them mostly back there.
Usually, you only need 3 mines to mine up an RT, two in back, one in front, but if you're sneaky and the RT is in a tight corner, you can probably skate by with 2. That leaves one or two mines left for the marine (YOU) to fool around with. Any place in the level which is narrow enough that aliens have no choice but walking over certain places, such as the exit to low vents, or narrow doorways like you would see in ns_nancy are the first places to put leftover mines. Just pay attention to which direction and doorways the skulks are using, and stick the mines somewhere they will have trouble seeing or avoiding.
Four mines is a lot of explosive power, tbh. If you're anywhere except a phasegate in enemy territory, using more than one pack of mines in a single room means that someone is wasting mines and resources putting them places where they aren't killing approaching skulks. If you're a com, and you're going to hand out mines, make sure you give them to the guy who is asking for them, knows what to do with them, or drop them in a corner somewhere Joe J. Average-Noob won't accidentally pick them up and put twelve mines all in the marine start. If worse comes to worse, you can always wait for your marines to go res-grabbing, drop yourself a pack of mines, hop out for ten seconds to mine up the IPs, armory, and arms lab, and hop back in. Works in a pinch.
Mines still seem rather buggy to me. It's still possible to place them THROUGH structures. If you stand in the center of a phase gate or aim too far into the center of an RT, the mine will not be placed, sometimes will blow up the moment you place it, sometimes hang in midair above the structure, and so on. Play a game on an empty server or create your own with sv_cheats 1 activated, and try putting down mines around various structures. Usually, it's a lot better not to get fancy with how you're hiding the mines. Just put them on the ground very close to the buildings. They shouldn't be clipping all the way into the building, even though you can put them that close. The reason you actually want them a little bit off the center of the building is because skulks have a HUGE bite range, and if they know mines are around an RT, they will usually try any way possible to bite it without setting off the mines. Mostly, this means they'll be on the wall above the RT biting it, or they will be on top of the RT or something, and if you're walking by, you can just blow them right off. But keep in mind, not every skulk presses as close to buildings as he can before biting.
Mines are not offensive tools. You cannot use them very effectively to try and move into an area. Mine rushing can be done, but it's very wasteful, and this is why: After a mine rush, count how many mines are left on the ground in your area. Every fourth leftover mine means a completely wasted pack. Mines are VERY good defensive tools, especially if you've just pulled a raid into enemy territory and you have no doubt the skulks are going to respawn and come kill you all and take back that part of the map. A scattering of mines means you can often hold off several waves of desperate skulks before having to replenish the mines on the ground or losing the position.
STAND NEAR YOUR MINES. I can't stress this enough. Just like you mine up structures by putting the mines very closeby, a marine standing in a minefield is going to have way less worries about skulks getting him. On the other hand, a marine who places his mines somewhere, then runs ahead instead of waiting and baiting some aliens into the mines, is a shortsighted idiot who wants his frags right now and can't wait thirty seconds for the alien respawn. Mines are a huge problem for skulks, and if you make a wedge of mines in front of you, you can usually squat in a corner twenty yards from their hive, and it'll take anywhere from three to five skulks to try and kill you before succeeding.
That's all I can think of right now. Play combat and learn how to use dark spots and tight places to conceal mines and get loads of kills in the early game. Frankly, no combat upgrade will save you from focus skulks better than camping behind perimeter of mines. It's my number one first upgrade on any CO_ server with more than 7 alien players.</span>
Comments
One more reason to use them now more than ever.</span>
Imagine 4 mines in same place, once skulk runs above them they explode all, because they were all too close to skulk.. (There is slight delay allowing one weak alien to detonate many mines).
If you're going to be buying mines as a com, or if you're going to be requesting them from your com, it's a good idea to keep in mind how many you need for a job.
You get four mines in a 10 res pack, the same cost as a shotgun or a turret. If you want the pack of mines to pay for itself with kills, you have to lay them where they will all get triggered by skulks or lerks. I can't stress enough that there is a correct side to place mines on when it comes to buildings, it's not like you just put them in a circle around the things. They're for the back end only, the side of the RT you can't shoot if a skulk is hiding behind it. Figure out which way you'll be walking when you pass by the RT on your way towards the hive, which side the alien will be on to try and avoid marine fire, and stick them mostly back there.
Usually, you only need 3 mines to mine up an RT, two in back, one in front, but if you're sneaky and the RT is in a tight corner, you can probably skate by with 2. That leaves one or two mines left for the marine (YOU) to fool around with. Any place in the level which is narrow enough that aliens have no choice but walking over certain places, such as the exit to low vents, or narrow doorways like you would see in ns_nancy are the first places to put leftover mines. Just pay attention to which direction and doorways the skulks are using, and stick the mines somewhere they will have trouble seeing or avoiding.
Four mines is a lot of explosive power, tbh. If you're anywhere except a phasegate in enemy territory, using more than one pack of mines in a single room means that someone is wasting mines and resources putting them places where they aren't killing approaching skulks. If you're a com, and you're going to hand out mines, make sure you give them to the guy who is asking for them, knows what to do with them, or drop them in a corner somewhere Joe J. Average-Noob won't accidentally pick them up and put twelve mines all in the marine start. If worse comes to worse, you can always wait for your marines to go res-grabbing, drop yourself a pack of mines, hop out for ten seconds to mine up the IPs, armory, and arms lab, and hop back in. Works in a pinch.
Mines still seem rather buggy to me. It's still possible to place them THROUGH structures. If you stand in the center of a phase gate or aim too far into the center of an RT, the mine will not be placed, sometimes will blow up the moment you place it, sometimes hang in midair above the structure, and so on. Play a game on an empty server or create your own with sv_cheats 1 activated, and try putting down mines around various structures. Usually, it's a lot better not to get fancy with how you're hiding the mines. Just put them on the ground very close to the buildings. They shouldn't be clipping all the way into the building, even though you can put them that close. The reason you actually want them a little bit off the center of the building is because skulks have a HUGE bite range, and if they know mines are around an RT, they will usually try any way possible to bite it without setting off the mines. Mostly, this means they'll be on the wall above the RT biting it, or they will be on top of the RT or something, and if you're walking by, you can just blow them right off. But keep in mind, not every skulk presses as close to buildings as he can before biting.
Mines are not offensive tools. You cannot use them very effectively to try and move into an area. Mine rushing can be done, but it's very wasteful, and this is why: After a mine rush, count how many mines are left on the ground in your area. Every fourth leftover mine means a completely wasted pack. Mines are VERY good defensive tools, especially if you've just pulled a raid into enemy territory and you have no doubt the skulks are going to respawn and come kill you all and take back that part of the map. A scattering of mines means you can often hold off several waves of desperate skulks before having to replenish the mines on the ground or losing the position.
STAND NEAR YOUR MINES. I can't stress this enough. Just like you mine up structures by putting the mines very closeby, a marine standing in a minefield is going to have way less worries about skulks getting him. On the other hand, a marine who places his mines somewhere, then runs ahead instead of waiting and baiting some aliens into the mines, is a shortsighted idiot who wants his frags right now and can't wait thirty seconds for the alien respawn. Mines are a huge problem for skulks, and if you make a wedge of mines in front of you, you can usually squat in a corner twenty yards from their hive, and it'll take anywhere from three to five skulks to try and kill you before succeeding.
That's all I can think of right now. Play combat and learn how to use dark spots and tight places to conceal mines and get loads of kills in the early game. Frankly, no combat upgrade will save you from focus skulks better than camping behind perimeter of mines. It's my number one first upgrade on any CO_ server with more than 7 alien players.</span>