Useless abilities/weapons/upgrades you want replaced.
Raneman
Join Date: 2010-01-07 Member: 69962Members
Join Date: 2010-01-07 Member: 69962Members
Comments
Actually I use webs a lot. The problem is most games usually end before the third hive goes up.
In my opinion webs are kind of weak for a third hive ability. Then again lots of things seem weak compared to the skulk's ability to blow itself up.
It's rarely used for two reasons.
1. It requires 3 hives in NS mode (right?). This doesn't usually happen until later in the game.
2. Gorge is a supporting role with less action. It's not as exciting to play gorge as it is a combat role.
It's not that Web is a bad ability so much as the game is generally over before 3rd Hive, and if it isn't then the Marines probably can't leave their base anyways.
GL needs a good learning curve and some less spamming oriented method maybe. Having a proper reload mechanism would give it some flexibilty already.
Catpacks are a tricky one on NS resoucre model and tech tree. I think they could be viable even now with both commander and team being completely familiar with them, but I don't think anyone wants to experiment that much with such risky thing at these activity levels. And even then they'd be a very situational 6 vs 6 rarity, not any kind of general tech pick.
It would be nice if you could stop reloading and fire a partially reloaded GL, like with the shotgun.
As for the turrets, they were good, but most commanders use them sparingly. Example: We'll capture an unclaimed hive room and the comm just wont drop turrets for me most of the time. So, he yells at me until we lose the hive room because I stand there and guard it. If he fortified the room, I wouldn't need to guard it... Also, turrets need at least one upgrade (reminds me of team fortress).
Scent of Fear is my SC upgrade of choice. In case you haven't played NS1 in a while, Scent of Fear got upgraded to view all marines, even if they weren't damaged. So its basically Motion Tracking for Aliens. It's very useful when you're biting down an RT and want to know when marines are coming so you don't get grenaded/shot and can finish the job without dying. Other than that, motion tracking in general is very useful.
1. Scent of Fear should only work on marines with less than 100hp.
2. Motion tracking should only work on non-cloaked aliens that are not moving.
This way, both teams can only see some of the other team. So, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Example: You run around a corner because motion tracking sees nothing, but there's an alien sitting in wait there. Thus, you are deceived by your upgrade if you trust it 100%.
motion tracking is for every player.
thats enough advantage for the marines for me.
This. Focus is great and cloaking is fun, but I almost always end up with Scent of Fear.
1. Scent of Fear should only work on marines with less than 100hp.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Used to be this way. No one bothered with Scent of Fear because it was too situational.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2. Motion tracking should only work on non-cloaked aliens that are not moving.
This way, both teams can only see some of the other team. So, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Example: You run around a corner because motion tracking sees nothing, but there's an alien sitting in wait there. Thus, you are deceived by your upgrade if you trust it 100%.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I believe you mean "only work on non cloaked aliens that are moving". Motion Tracking doesn't pick up walking or halted aliens right now. However, if an alien is moving at full movement while inside an SC's cloaking AoE, they are still picked up by MT. The only way to be cloaked outside of an SC's cloaking AoE is to either be walking or halted, so cloaking doesn't matter in regards to MT right now.
Focus is the best sc upgrade
An SC already comes with scent of fear and cloaking.
My preferred upgrades
Celerity
Focus
Carapace
As for the turrets, they were good, but most commanders use them sparingly. Example: We'll capture an unclaimed hive room and the comm just wont drop turrets for me most of the time. So, he yells at me until we lose the hive room because I stand there and guard it. If he fortified the room, I wouldn't need to guard it... Also, turrets need at least one upgrade (reminds me of team fortress).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1753435:date=Feb 16 2010, 08:50 AM:name=johnny truant)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (johnny truant @ Feb 16 2010, 08:50 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1753435"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Scent of Fear should be replaced, for sure. I don't think i've ever used it in a real game (only when messing around) and I don't know anyone else who's used it either.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
WHAT THE F.... ?
Sorry but... please stop posting on these forums. Seriously. We're talking about a game that's to be "as competitive has Starcraft has become".
Moreover they showed this (crazy) slider idea for the alien commander as a new, possible upgrade system.
Anyway I've never liked cloaking much; this whole getting killed out of nowhere thing is just frustrating.
But I understand the appealing factor of cloaking to a lot of players; it is a cool thing to be invisible after all.
And because of the powerful cloaking ability they had to add a hard counter, which renders it completely useless in certain areas and/or situations.
This makes the sensory chamber very ambivalent as 1st choice.
In addition the chamber itself became rather useless and vulnerable after one single scan, because everyone knows its location after checking the minimap.
If something similar to the SC gets added to ns2, I'd like to see the following changes:
-Replace cloaking with a new upgrade "distortion", which helps to get closer to marines or survive longer just like carapace or celerity without any hard counter
-Distortion makes the alien kinda warp and/or adds multiple, changing illusions of it around itself so more bullets are going to miss it (fake hit-regs or no blood at all might be necessary aswell)
-SCs still cloak aliens and structures, Scan or nearby Obs is still a hard counter (this is for everyone loving cloak)
-Make SCs invisible on the minimap (and maybe everything in its range aswell), so marines actually have to check the area themselves after it was scanned in order to destroy the sc or spot structures in range
-Maybe remove SoF (not the upgrade) from SCs to make up for its new strength
I don't care, if you think this might be imbalanced. That's no arguement here, because you can always tweak costs, durations and stuff.
The only question is, if this idea makes sense and adds fun, while removing the love/hate relationship towards this chamber.
I want to choose if I want to sacrifice speed for damage or the other way around.
An onos benefits from damage, a skulk from speed.
I want to choose if I want to sacrifice speed for damage or the other way around.
An onos benefits from damage, a skulk from speed.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I thought the whole point of Focus was jacking up Skulk/Fade damage so they could one-shot Marines.
I think first purpose was mainly to replace ######omene... i mean pheromene or whatever that ugly upgrade was called.
But the way it has been done, it is by far the best second upgrade for Kharaa. When second hive gets up, depending on rts but chances of win would go between 50-50 to 80-20, but getting dc would lower it to between 50-50 and 60-40 or so.
In current metagame, it is suicidal to go 1.MC.2.DC ...
PS : See this ? This is my pocket. The numbers come from here :p
Distortion sounds pretty cool. It also sounds pretty damn powerful. Making the skulk harder to hit with either illusions/visual warping or doppelgangers would make them very difficult to kill if the effects were large. I think a lot of minor warping effects working together or trading off would work pretty well. Blurring, fracturing, invisibility, cloning, scaling all sound good. Better versions would make the visual effects larger or make the effects last longer/come on more often, or make effects overlap.
Not sure if I want NS2 to look like the Developers were tripping on acid, dreamt of trippy skulks, and decided to share their vision with the world.
<!--quoteo(post=1753850:date=Feb 18 2010, 08:17 AM:name=RobB)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RobB @ Feb 18 2010, 08:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1753850"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Focus redone.
I want to choose if I want to sacrifice speed for damage or the other way around.
An onos benefits from damage, a skulk from speed.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Call the fast version "Frenzy" :)
Gorge frenzy spit would be awesome. Pew pew pew!
For all the noobs, here's how you really use focus. Ill use the fade as an example.
The fade is expensive. It is a very valuable asset to the alien team so it must be well supported and kept alive. Fades can solo marines easy no problem but once the marine starts getting bigger guns, starts dealing heavier hits starts to assault as a team, and starts to take more punishment, that's when focus comes into play. The fade needs to constantly do a hit and run. Of course, an 80 damage swipe does a decent amount of damage, but it is not enough to kill a marine.
A fade cannot stay for more than 2 seconds when doing a hit and run on a squad of marines. Any longer would mean a dead fade.
Focus increases the attack power. Hit and runs become more effective as you deal heavier hits. Usually, a squad of marines cannot constantly weld up and healed while being victims of a hit and run fade, especially if the marines are in a field of gas with lowlier skulks trying to attack while marines waste their ammo on them.
Focus is useless if you sacrifice attack power for attack speed. You will fail hard especially in late game. You wont even last long enough against a marine to deal enough damage while you do your "speed bites" in the early game.
As for the turrets, they were good, but most commanders use them sparingly. Example: We'll capture an unclaimed hive room and the comm just wont drop turrets for me most of the time. So, he yells at me until we lose the hive room because I stand there and guard it. If he fortified the room, I wouldn't need to guard it... Also, turrets need at least one upgrade (reminds me of team fortress).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
don't forget aliens are mostly melee oriented.
Dead very fast if turrets are placed right, even if you get "behind" them.
Placed correctly, they can all cover each other is some areas
Since there is no need for permagorges anymore I spend most of my time as skulk, lerk or gorge. Building, harassing, or ambushing was my primary field of operation. by the time i stacked enough res for lumbering meatsack -pardon- onos, the game was over.
I can't play fade nor onos very well as hit & run because it's either armored with wet toilet paper or to slow (I never got the hang of the new "blink", or "mass (of) diarhea", as I dubbed it).
Anyway, my favorite tactic is to stay right out of the visual area of marines either by eating legs or biting asses.
By the time I'm in the flow my presence has been anounced and I'm running unpredictable to avoid damage and get shielding through friendly fire.
getting one shot out per whatever long it takes throws a monkeywrench into my gears, that's why focus is totally useless to me.
</cool story bro>
TL,DR: Focus disturbs my style of playing to a point it's useless because it's against the very core of my tactics: speed.
It might be possible to adapt, but you can't adapt to something that's against everything you believe or feel.
I feel that the consume ability may need to be revised, it was an instant kill, but it was annoying on the receiving end.
Namely, the point where the round ceased to be fun.
I'd like for some more skill requirement than in NS1. We like skill factor, right?
You're goddamned right we do.
NS1 Motion Tracking currently updates every half second or so (and I think it updates continuously on the minimap GUI). It never makes a mistake (this is okay in my book). But it works on the entire freaking map in real time. Can you say wall hack? In RTS terms, it's a map hack.
Bad. No.
Solution: Remove NS1's researchble map wide 0 ping map hacks and never think of it again. Remove the built-in motion tracking of NS1 observatories and instead make it researchable and only update every 5 seconds.
Boom. Done. Skill factor accomplished and not brokenly powerful. Tweak the ping time and radius of effect for flavor.