exactly, a rine shouldnt be able to do that... skulks just cant close the gap.. hopfully b6 will help this with the free upgrades,bu ti dont think it will sadly... itl mean that 3 gorges will have to build chambers at the start, meaning less rts, and getting 3 peeps to do it on a pub may be hard.
personaly i think skulks need a speed boost, they arent the blistering quick aliens their suposed to be.
Speed shouldnt effect a skulk a great deal, as a skulk isnt meant to run head on at a rine. He's meant to wait for the MARINE to close the gap, not the other way around.
<!--QuoteBegin-Teppla+Jan 11 2005, 06:36 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Teppla @ Jan 11 2005, 06:36 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> From the information I have gathered from some of the best of the best PTs (redford, injury, athena, jane). You can counter focus with grenades. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Explain this...plz i want to know how to counter focus with grenades.
<!--QuoteBegin-Faskalia+Jan 11 2005, 05:04 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Faskalia @ Jan 11 2005, 05:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Teppla+Jan 11 2005, 06:36 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Teppla @ Jan 11 2005, 06:36 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> From the information I have gathered from some of the best of the best PTs (redford, injury, athena, jane). You can counter focus with grenades. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Explain this...plz i want to know how to counter focus with grenades. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> You just pull the pin and throw the gernade at your feet <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> The counter to focus is ranged attacks and the PT's found that the best ranged attack is a gernade <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-Faskalia+Jan 11 2005, 11:04 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Faskalia @ Jan 11 2005, 11:04 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Teppla+Jan 11 2005, 06:36 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Teppla @ Jan 11 2005, 06:36 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> From the information I have gathered from some of the best of the best PTs (redford, injury, athena, jane). You can counter focus with grenades. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Explain this...plz i want to know how to counter focus with grenades. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> At the moment, the answer to cloaking is n00bspam. >.>
[EDIT] I mean in combat. Scan simply doesn't trigger often enough in a co_ map to even be worth a point. In classic, the counter is a change in tactics; you need more obs, and you need to scan more often. That - along with sticking in squads - is all you really need to do good against SC-first ns_ maps.
I will say right now that DMS could actually be broken; SCs are a viable first chamber. Plus, the game is fairly balanced on the whole - it just needs some tweaking.
early upgraded skulks might actually be enough to stop the lone rine ****, well hopfully <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-Jermain+Jan 10 2005, 06:22 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Jermain @ Jan 10 2005, 06:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Gecko God Of Dooom+Jan 10 2005, 05:05 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Gecko God Of Dooom @ Jan 10 2005, 05:05 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> get heavies and welders and less JPs. Youve now solved the problem of Focus. SG=Focus as long as the offending player is a skulk. How ever if the its a fade, you should have a2 by then and saving one point. by the time they get regen, or unlock next hive or what ever. You could be heavy by then, with welders. get another point for hmg. and your set.
The problem is. Aliens have Flexibiltiy while Marines Dont. If Marines go heavy, Aliens Can easly counter with onos and Marines can't do anything since thier stuck as one class. 2nd. Marine have less options with upgrades to get while aliens get way more options. Such as Triple Defence Upgrades. Combat will be unbalanced as long as these remains <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> so you want to INCREASE the focus of teamplay in combat, its hard enough to get a team to stop humping the armoury let alone know what a welder is. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Usualy I just, "Hey Guys, lets all go heavy armor and Welders, Who with me." And maybe 3 outa 10 will do it first, since they are higher lvl, If you get some good kills, <b>and make it look, and sound fun to be in a heavy armor train</b>. then about antoher 5 people join in cause they want to join in the fun.
K, to follow up witht he rest of the conversation;
compitive play will show the more exploits of sensory first, and what will happen with cloaking in the hands of multiple orginized very skilled players. But im sure the constie test will help hammer out alot.
there will prob be about 2 weeks of saying its over powered, then finaly a commander will figure out how to effectivly counter it, or the best tactic against it, and that tatic will slowly trickle down to the everyone except the newest of commanders.
I must say that the best counter to focus is seriously team work, but with so many dumb**** players that really dont have half a mind dont listen, always contridicting... best thing is to stick to one server and after a few months you gain respect from regulars on the server, on a good server 8/10 on your team will respect you... maybe 2 noobs... or thats how it is on the server I play on... if your on a new server for first time chances are your gaming experience is going to suck bad...
in ns, there comes a certain time where no matter how much teamwork your gonna use, you will lose. (full HA/HMG no alien rt's and 1 hive = gg)
but 1 marine camping a hallway 1:30 in and killing 7 skulks is not GG. GG is when you keep rushing him and giving him the res. the comm will keep feeding him ammo because he's a self made res node. meanwhile rines have gotten lots of rt's and probably reached a hive by now. thats GG.
this thread can really be ended by 2 words. GET. SKILL. if you cannot hit a fade with a sg thats doing the whole focus blink in, blink out, blink in routine, then practice shotguning more against fades. if you cant kill jp's without focus. GET SKILL. stop saying something is better or overpowered, because at the end of the day it just comes down to your own level of incompetance at wielding said weapon. the phrase "a bad workman blames his tools" applies beautifully here.
one more thing. about so called "lameness" of early focus, or fades/onos/whatever you think is lame. in a recent argument between some nerds about whether windows xp/linux was better a person interjected with this piece of advice. "you use whatever tools are needed to get the job done"
nothing in ns is "lame" "lameness" is how one use's that tool. everything in ns has it's place. even early focus.
<!--QuoteBegin-suppers ready+Jan 10 2005, 09:37 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (suppers ready @ Jan 10 2005, 09:37 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think Xeno is the same as Focus, in the sense that you just need armor to defeat it. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Ever tried xeno and focus? bite once and then boom, even if you have level 2 armor you die.
obuhNot Quite Smart at NSJoin Date: 2003-03-31Member: 15072Members, Constellation
edited January 2005
Focus kills a LA marine with armor level 3 in 2 bites, unless the marine receives a medpack after the first bite. And good luck trying to get someone to weld you. /:
Also, even though a skulk with xeno has leap, it's hard to get one and impossible to get more than one leap in before the boom if you don't have adrenaline, so that's another point.
If you don't have accurate, precise locations of where the marines are, you'll just end up suiciding repeatedly for no reason, so sof is a necessity.
That's 5 points just to become a good xenoer. Add to that celerity, carapace, silence (great upgrades to have for a xeno skulk) and that's 8. The point is, xeno alone isn't a great killer; a skulk with xeno is just as east to kill as one without. It gets ridiculous with other upgrades, though <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo--> Well, if you can get Xeno early on (2-6 mins into game) you're gonna pwn the Marines. Usually, the Marines don't bother getting Armor that early, so Xeno is deadly in the beginning, but just a little less deadly at the end.
First upgrades = first 4 (being for me, resup/a1/w1/shot in no preset order) Of course, if the aliens are total crap, I take the weapon/weapon/weapon path.
They CAN have xeno or focus before I get armor, but not often. I prefer having resup which can save me more than once per life, than have armor for one pesky focus.
Well, I'm trying to say that the majorty go for other upgrades first. At least, from what I've seen. . . <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-im lost+Jan 11 2005, 03:54 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (im lost @ Jan 11 2005, 03:54 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I don't understand why people keep complaining about cloaking (in this thread, I mean). Just get scan, and you don't have to worry about it anymore. In fact, if they are cloaked, then your scanner will tell you that there is an alien nearby, so it works out to your advantage. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I prefer MT to scanner. It helps you with the non-cloaked aliens too.
<!--QuoteBegin-Sky+Jan 12 2005, 01:24 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Sky @ Jan 12 2005, 01:24 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Yeah well, xeno is 3 points, focus is 2.
Also, even though a skulk with xeno has leap, it's hard to get one and impossible to get more than one leap in before the boom if you don't have adrenaline, so that's another point.
If you don't have accurate, precise locations of where the marines are, you'll just end up suiciding repeatedly for no reason, so sof is a necessity.
That's 5 points just to become a good xenoer. Add to that celerity, carapace, silence (great upgrades to have for a xeno skulk) and that's 8. The point is, xeno alone isn't a great killer; a skulk with xeno is just as east to kill as one without. It gets ridiculous with other upgrades, though <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> You can bite twice before you blow up after leaping. Plenty of time for one focus bite.
You don't need upgrades to be an effective xeno ****, it just heightens the futility of the marines trying to take you out (sof so you can activate xeno and leap around corner into 4 marines, silence so they can't hear the leap or xeno, celerity so you turn into a cruise missle, etc.. carapace isn't even needed unless you need to survive through GL spam to hit some marines.
ChurchMeatshield grunt-fodder // Has pre-ordered NS2Join Date: 2002-12-31Member: 11646Members, Constellation
Most everyone knows that combat on most maps (i.e, NOT Core) is biased towards aliens. Aliens win because they can achieve tehc normally not available in ns_ maps. Fades with regen, cara, celerity, focus, and metabolize, for example. utterly invincible. Or how about an Onos with Carapace, stomp, redemption, and celerity? Never dies. Marines never get xp.
The way to fix this is to either limit the amoung of higher lifeforms that can be on an alien team at once (a certain % perhaps. In all seriousness, when do you EVER see the entire alien team be higher lifeforms? Probably onto when the comm chair is about to go down and ther is 3 hives.) OR limit aliens to one upgrade per upgrade branch. That'll make the alien power be more like classic, rather than the uberness they are now. do this, and focus would be fine.
Oh yeah, and place level restriction on third hive abilities. Maybe you must be level 6 or 7 before you can upgrade to hive3 ability. Stops the early xeno spamming. In return, give a level limit to grenade launchers too.
focus and shotguns are cheap I think they should both be removed from the game entirely. only way for it to be fair is everyone had guns so give skulks guns and they all do the same damage but you can buy different ones and a helmut and grenades and there's a bomb to plant. that's the only way to make this game fair and fun
You can whine about losing to a strategy you didn't expect, or you can suck it up and find a counter strat.
Focus is great if you can catch a marine on his own. Otherwise, you're toast. You'll kill one rine and then his two buddies will give you lead poisoning. As a marine, you'll only fire so many blasts before you hear the CLICK and then you're exp fodder.
Focus is a one hit kill... on naked marines and at EXTREME short range. Factor in more marines, upgrades, and SKILL, and you can see that focus gets harder to use. Of course, if you're running around like a hyperactive two year old and keep getting focus ambushed then naturally you're going to scream "ogm unfair".
Likewise a player with a bit of wit is running around with armour upgrades because he is fully expecting focus skulks. 1 bite kills become 2 bite kills, and 2 bite kills are tricky to pull off versus 3 aware marines. Teamwork helps.
If a player is rushing his HMG and doesn't take into account his enemy's strat, then that player is a fool. You don't barge in and expect the enemy to choose an upgrade that cant beat yours.
"Hey you skulk, dont get focus, I have no armour because I rushed this HMG, and you will easily kill me with one bite because of my greed for guns. You should go gorge, and stand still in a well lit room".
Doesn't happen folks. Likewise a skulk can go focus then proceed to whine about how dare those marines shoot you, but the solution to that is called CLOAKING. If he has guns then he's likely passed up armour, and earlygame that means you can still drop a rambo in a few bites. Once you've killed a few, you can be cloaked and FOCUSED, which means you can have endless fun one hit killing most passing gun freaks.
It all balances out, and as long as your team diversify then you shouldn't have any problems. After all, its a team game with different classes - few of those types of game are won by having one side all take IDENTICAL upgrades...
<!--QuoteBegin-Necrosis+Jan 14 2005, 05:22 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Necrosis @ Jan 14 2005, 05:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> You can whine about losing to a strategy you didn't expect, or you can suck it up and find a counter strat. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> wrong, there is no effective counter against a focus-cara-adren-celer-regen fade. "yea, just get 3 sgers" Yea well then they get 3 focus fades gg. Unless the marine team has 3 sgers to every 1 fade, combat will NEVER be fair.
p.s. even if you *do* manage to luckily take down a focus fade, chances are he'll have faded again by the time you reach the hive, thus marines can never hope to win in a focus fade situation.
<!--QuoteBegin-R e n e g a d e+Jan 14 2005, 08:30 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (R e n e g a d e @ Jan 14 2005, 08:30 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Necrosis+Jan 14 2005, 05:22 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Necrosis @ Jan 14 2005, 05:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> You can whine about losing to a strategy you didn't expect, or you can suck it up and find a counter strat. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> wrong, there is no effective counter against a focus-cara-adren-celer-regen fade. "yea, just get 3 sgers" Yea well then they get 3 focus fades gg. Unless the marine team has 3 sgers to every 1 fade, combat will NEVER be fair.
p.s. even if you *do* manage to luckily take down a focus fade, chances are he'll have faded again by the time you reach the hive, thus marines can never hope to win in a focus fade situation. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Here is a little fact you might not know, renegade: by the time the aliens have focus-cara-adren-celer-regen fades, <i>they should have won already!</i> Combat is based around ten minute matches; no more, no less. If servers stopped running 20, 30, and 60 minute timelimits combat would be balanced nicely.
<!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='siege.gif' /><!--endemo--> Hey you big silly head! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> If all servers ran 10 minute games, it would be almost impossible for marines to win and aliens would always win by timelimit! willy billy silly! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Comments
personaly i think skulks need a speed boost, they arent the blistering quick aliens their suposed to be.
<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Explain this...plz i want to know how to counter focus with grenades.
<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Explain this...plz i want to know how to counter focus with grenades. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
You just pull the pin and throw the gernade at your feet <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
The counter to focus is ranged attacks and the PT's found that the best ranged attack is a gernade <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Explain this...plz i want to know how to counter focus with grenades. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
At the moment, the answer to cloaking is n00bspam. >.>
[EDIT] I mean in combat. Scan simply doesn't trigger often enough in a co_ map to even be worth a point. In classic, the counter is a change in tactics; you need more obs, and you need to scan more often. That - along with sticking in squads - is all you really need to do good against SC-first ns_ maps.
I will say right now that DMS could actually be broken; SCs are a viable first chamber. Plus, the game is fairly balanced on the whole - it just needs some tweaking.
early upgraded skulks might actually be enough to stop the lone rine ****, well hopfully <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Im really scared about beta 6, it will be so hard for comms to comm competative matches with such a good substitute for sc :/
SG=Focus as long as the offending player is a skulk. How ever if the its a fade, you should have a2 by then and saving one point. by the time they get regen, or unlock next hive or what ever. You could be heavy by then, with welders. get another point for hmg. and your set.
The problem is. Aliens have Flexibiltiy while Marines Dont. If Marines go heavy, Aliens Can easly counter with onos and Marines can't do anything since thier stuck as one class.
2nd. Marine have less options with upgrades to get while aliens get way more options. Such as Triple Defence Upgrades.
Combat will be unbalanced as long as these remains <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
so you want to INCREASE the focus of teamplay in combat, its hard enough to get a team to stop humping the armoury let alone know what a welder is. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Usualy I just, "Hey Guys, lets all go heavy armor and Welders, Who with me." And maybe 3 outa 10 will do it first, since they are higher lvl, If you get some good kills, <b>and make it look, and sound fun to be in a heavy armor train</b>. then about antoher 5 people join in cause they want to join in the fun.
K, to follow up witht he rest of the conversation;
compitive play will show the more exploits of sensory first, and what will happen with cloaking in the hands of multiple orginized very skilled players. But im sure the constie test will help hammer out alot.
there will prob be about 2 weeks of saying its over powered, then finaly a commander will figure out how to effectivly counter it, or the best tactic against it, and that tatic will slowly trickle down to the everyone except the newest of commanders.
Or these tactics will be found in constie play.
in ns, there comes a certain time where no matter how much teamwork your gonna use, you will lose. (full HA/HMG no alien rt's and 1 hive = gg)
but 1 marine camping a hallway 1:30 in and killing 7 skulks is not GG. GG is when you keep rushing him and giving him the res. the comm will keep feeding him ammo because he's a self made res node. meanwhile rines have gotten lots of rt's and probably reached a hive by now. thats GG.
this thread can really be ended by 2 words. GET. SKILL. if you cannot hit a fade with a sg thats doing the whole focus blink in, blink out, blink in routine, then practice shotguning more against fades. if you cant kill jp's without focus. GET SKILL. stop saying something is better or overpowered, because at the end of the day it just comes down to your own level of incompetance at wielding said weapon. the phrase "a bad workman blames his tools" applies beautifully here.
one more thing. about so called "lameness" of early focus, or fades/onos/whatever you think is lame. in a recent argument between some nerds about whether windows xp/linux was better a person interjected with this piece of advice. "you use whatever tools are needed to get the job done"
nothing in ns is "lame"
"lameness" is how one use's that tool. everything in ns has it's place. even early focus.
Ever tried xeno and focus? bite once and then boom, even if you have level 2 armor you die.
Also, even though a skulk with xeno has leap, it's hard to get one and impossible to get more than one leap in before the boom if you don't have adrenaline, so that's another point.
If you don't have accurate, precise locations of where the marines are, you'll just end up suiciding repeatedly for no reason, so sof is a necessity.
That's 5 points just to become a good xenoer. Add to that celerity, carapace, silence (great upgrades to have for a xeno skulk) and that's 8. The point is, xeno alone isn't a great killer; a skulk with xeno is just as east to kill as one without. It gets ridiculous with other upgrades, though <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
They CAN have xeno or focus before I get armor, but not often. I prefer having resup which can save me more than once per life, than have armor for one pesky focus.
I prefer MT to scanner. It helps you with the non-cloaked aliens too.
Also, even though a skulk with xeno has leap, it's hard to get one and impossible to get more than one leap in before the boom if you don't have adrenaline, so that's another point.
If you don't have accurate, precise locations of where the marines are, you'll just end up suiciding repeatedly for no reason, so sof is a necessity.
That's 5 points just to become a good xenoer. Add to that celerity, carapace, silence (great upgrades to have for a xeno skulk) and that's 8. The point is, xeno alone isn't a great killer; a skulk with xeno is just as east to kill as one without. It gets ridiculous with other upgrades, though <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You can bite twice before you blow up after leaping. Plenty of time for one focus bite.
You don't need upgrades to be an effective xeno ****, it just heightens the futility of the marines trying to take you out (sof so you can activate xeno and leap around corner into 4 marines, silence so they can't hear the leap or xeno, celerity so you turn into a cruise missle, etc.. carapace isn't even needed unless you need to survive through GL spam to hit some marines.
The way to fix this is to either limit the amoung of higher lifeforms that can be on an alien team at once (a certain % perhaps. In all seriousness, when do you EVER see the entire alien team be higher lifeforms? Probably onto when the comm chair is about to go down and ther is 3 hives.) OR limit aliens to one upgrade per upgrade branch. That'll make the alien power be more like classic, rather than the uberness they are now. do this, and focus would be fine.
Oh yeah, and place level restriction on third hive abilities. Maybe you must be level 6 or 7 before you can upgrade to hive3 ability. Stops the early xeno spamming. In return, give a level limit to grenade launchers too.
Focus is great if you can catch a marine on his own. Otherwise, you're toast. You'll kill one rine and then his two buddies will give you lead poisoning. As a marine, you'll only fire so many blasts before you hear the CLICK and then you're exp fodder.
Focus is a one hit kill... on naked marines and at EXTREME short range. Factor in more marines, upgrades, and SKILL, and you can see that focus gets harder to use. Of course, if you're running around like a hyperactive two year old and keep getting focus ambushed then naturally you're going to scream "ogm unfair".
Likewise a player with a bit of wit is running around with armour upgrades because he is fully expecting focus skulks. 1 bite kills become 2 bite kills, and 2 bite kills are tricky to pull off versus 3 aware marines. Teamwork helps.
If a player is rushing his HMG and doesn't take into account his enemy's strat, then that player is a fool. You don't barge in and expect the enemy to choose an upgrade that cant beat yours.
"Hey you skulk, dont get focus, I have no armour because I rushed this HMG, and you will easily kill me with one bite because of my greed for guns. You should go gorge, and stand still in a well lit room".
Doesn't happen folks. Likewise a skulk can go focus then proceed to whine about how dare those marines shoot you, but the solution to that is called CLOAKING. If he has guns then he's likely passed up armour, and earlygame that means you can still drop a rambo in a few bites. Once you've killed a few, you can be cloaked and FOCUSED, which means you can have endless fun one hit killing most passing gun freaks.
It all balances out, and as long as your team diversify then you shouldn't have any problems. After all, its a team game with different classes - few of those types of game are won by having one side all take IDENTICAL upgrades...
wrong, there is no effective counter against a focus-cara-adren-celer-regen fade.
"yea, just get 3 sgers"
Yea well then they get 3 focus fades gg.
Unless the marine team has 3 sgers to every 1 fade, combat will NEVER be fair.
p.s. even if you *do* manage to luckily take down a focus fade, chances are he'll have faded again by the time you reach the hive, thus marines can never hope to win in a focus fade situation.
wrong, there is no effective counter against a focus-cara-adren-celer-regen fade.
"yea, just get 3 sgers"
Yea well then they get 3 focus fades gg.
Unless the marine team has 3 sgers to every 1 fade, combat will NEVER be fair.
p.s. even if you *do* manage to luckily take down a focus fade, chances are he'll have faded again by the time you reach the hive, thus marines can never hope to win in a focus fade situation. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Here is a little fact you might not know, renegade: by the time the aliens have focus-cara-adren-celer-regen fades, <i>they should have won already!</i> Combat is based around ten minute matches; no more, no less. If servers stopped running 20, 30, and 60 minute timelimits combat would be balanced nicely.