Smd
SmoodCroozn
Join Date: 2003-11-04 Member: 22310Members
Join Date: 2003-11-04 Member: 22310Members
<div class="IPBDescription">The tables are turned...</div> With 2.0 we had DMS, now with 3.0 I suggest y'all try a 360 and do a SMD. Why? It makes sense logically:
With sensory first, your skulks will be able to cover its biggest weakness; closing the distance to the enemy. Not only that, but recon will be boosted, meaning you can plan ahead if you see marines heading toward a direction. As a fragile lifeform such as the gorge or lerk, you can see the enemy coming, so you know where to run. If that doesn't work, you can also cloak to avoid enemies. Sure it is not as beneficial to a fade or onos, but it only encourages RTs, chambers, and possibly a hive to be built.
Next, movements make everything much, much faster. Movements give a tremendous boost at hive 2 compared to hive 1 because of the fact you can warp to hives. That alone could save a hive that's being assaulted. When placed properly in the field, they can benefit the energy consuming hive 2 attacks such as bilebomb, stomp or leap. Though silence might not be useful once motion tracking is up, celerity will allow your team to move around the map faster, to slow down marine advances. Adrenaline let's the lerk become even more effective as it can lay down BOTH spore and umbra faster.
And finally defense is useful last because it does not offer as many benefits as the other 2.
In short:
sensory > early game advantage benefits early lifeforms most
movement > improved map control benefits all lifeforms
defense > insurance benefits costly lifeforms most
With sensory first, your skulks will be able to cover its biggest weakness; closing the distance to the enemy. Not only that, but recon will be boosted, meaning you can plan ahead if you see marines heading toward a direction. As a fragile lifeform such as the gorge or lerk, you can see the enemy coming, so you know where to run. If that doesn't work, you can also cloak to avoid enemies. Sure it is not as beneficial to a fade or onos, but it only encourages RTs, chambers, and possibly a hive to be built.
Next, movements make everything much, much faster. Movements give a tremendous boost at hive 2 compared to hive 1 because of the fact you can warp to hives. That alone could save a hive that's being assaulted. When placed properly in the field, they can benefit the energy consuming hive 2 attacks such as bilebomb, stomp or leap. Though silence might not be useful once motion tracking is up, celerity will allow your team to move around the map faster, to slow down marine advances. Adrenaline let's the lerk become even more effective as it can lay down BOTH spore and umbra faster.
And finally defense is useful last because it does not offer as many benefits as the other 2.
In short:
sensory > early game advantage benefits early lifeforms most
movement > improved map control benefits all lifeforms
defense > insurance benefits costly lifeforms most
Comments
Since you get metabolize at hive 2, I thought most fades took carapace at that point.
I'm seeming MDS so much it's not even funny; at LEAST 80% of the time, if not more (this is on LunixMonster). MCs are just way too useful to be ignored...
1) Movement to hives under attack
2) Movement rushes
3) Celerity -> hitboxes don't follow very well, most fast lifeforms don't get hit with bullets that much
4) Silence -> works magic until MT
5) Adrenaline -> good for field gorges bile-bombing, or adren-wasting fades, or biting down rts faster (no wait for energy recharge).
The benefits are overwhelming.
Movements are great first, if you're on a FF server, because you can attack the 2nd hive. On regular servers, they aren't that great as a first chamber, because MT counters silence and celerity.
SCs get hard countered by a good comm and they don't help that much late game, except against jetpackers, as long as you have good scouting.
I still think DMS is very viable. Carapace gives another 4 LMG bullets for a skulk at hive 1 and it really helps the fades out. Movements get put up at hive2, so you can defend hives easier. On FF servers, I'd MDS.
Since you get metabolize at hive 2, I thought most fades took carapace at that point. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
You can heal with metabolize, but it's far faster with regeneration, so you have a lot less down time. I've always thought if it as a staple of a fade that's not defending the hive.
Movements are great first, if you're on a FF server, because you can attack the 2nd hive. On regular servers, they aren't that great as a first chamber, because MT counters silence and celerity.
SCs get hard countered by a good comm and they don't help that much late game, except against jetpackers, as long as you have good scouting.
I still think DMS is very viable. Carapace gives another 4 LMG bullets for a skulk at hive 1 and it really helps the fades out. Movements get put up at hive2, so you can defend hives easier. On FF servers, I'd MDS. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
MT does not counter celerity. When marines have MT, you are much better off with celerity than without, so it is still an upgrade. Silence doesn't help you much at all after marines have MT, though.
Sensory does have hard counters. However, it takes time and res to get those hard counters. You are supposed to use that time to pressure the marines and get the second hive up, before they have the hard counters. Eventually the sensory upgrades become useless, but you are supposed to get the upper hand and another chamber before that happens.
Anyway, mds or sdm is becoming increasingly popular, mainly because of the zero res upgrades that skulks can get. I'm seeing more celerity, silence, focus, and cloaking skulks, which are quite tricky to stop. These upgrades forces the marine commander to stay on top of his soldiers more often.
That 3 hive just gives marines tiking clock of 3 minutes to act before they are doomed, sounds nice eh?
This is the way it goes on my server!
SMD or MSD
for some reason they don't like DC's anymore on my servers!
and they flame alot for dc 1st even sometimes flame when it's 2nd!
Me i don't care if i have a decent alien team against a decent marine team it don't matter what order we do the chambers in the aliens usually win!
use it all the time on linixmonster
Hive one- Movement: Wonderful for the skulk, with scilence it forces MT or tons of res spent in meds. Makes ambushing a breeze, closeing distance a snap and with the odd hive one adren skulk, nodes don't last a second. Celerity fades are ownage, and with an adren gorge or two, you've got mobile mini-hives in terms of healing. Finnally, when the second hive is going up, defending it is also a breeze because of the ability to warp to it quickly and efficently.
Hive two- Sensory- Unlimited focus leap skulks own. Focus fades own. Focus owns. Free wallh4x to boot. Invisabilty when needed. The alien machine is not going to stop rolling at this point.
Hive three- DC- Successfully accomlish invincibilty. Yay.
Hive one- Movement: Wonderful for the skulk, with scilence it forces MT or tons of res spent in meds. Makes ambushing a breeze, closeing distance a snap and with the odd hive one adren skulk, nodes don't last a second. Celerity fades are ownage, and with an adren gorge or two, you've got mobile mini-hives in terms of healing. Finnally, when the second hive is going up, defending it is also a breeze because of the ability to warp to it quickly and efficently.
Hive two- Sensory- Unlimited focus leap skulks own. Focus fades own. Focus owns. Free wallh4x to boot. Invisabilty when needed. The alien machine is not going to stop rolling at this point.
Hive three- DC- Successfully accomlish invincibilty. Yay. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm okay with this strategy too. I just feel movement truly becomes powerful when you have more than 1 hive. Movement also means at most, you will have 2 upgrades, which you can have all 3 with sensory. You can argue that either silence or cloaking is better at ambushing, although one does get nerfed to hell by MT. IMO, celerity is one of the, if not best upgrade in the entire game. It's not only useful when attacking, but it's useful at any stage at the game. Adrenaline works well with lerks, but I don't see it amazing with other forms. Scent of fear allows you to plan actions, and it's a given trait in a small area. Focus is also a great upgrade as well.
So in conclusion, I feel either way: SMD or MSD works well.
NS Dev team, looks like your goal has been accomplished <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->