Marines: 1. Get shotguns off the bat, best upgrade in the game and it can be taken immediately. 2. Your initial res should be spent on an IP, armory, shotguns, and 2 resource towers. Hold the two near marine start (flight/vent on Summit).
3. Constantly scout for the first dropped hive by running between them. It takes ~45 seconds to check every hive if you're starting near heliport. Do this constantly until you take down a hive and can be sure they won't have the res for another one.
4. Don't drop robotics bays, sentries are awful and dropping them solely for macs isn't worth it. Plus if you're dropping them you're taking away res from upgrades for your marines and allowing aliens to expand.
5. When you're running around keep your map constantly open and watch for skulk positions. Skulks that are biting nodes (especially at the starting of the game) are extremely good food for RFK and die in 4 pistol shots. This is going to get fixed eventually but may as well use it to have total map control now.
6. Aim your gun. Track aliens with your cursor, don't just spam wildly in the alien's general direction. Turn your sensitivity way down so moving your mouse from the left side of your mousepad to your right will result in about a ~60 degree angle change. Getting good aim takes months/years of practice, so don't expect to get aimbot overnight.
7. If the alien you're after isn't near a power node (which reveals them on the map), stop and LISTEN. The sound in this game and NS1 is like a free ESP/maphack. Plug in some headphones and you can train yourself to hear exactly which direction skulks are coming from and how far away they are.
8. Instead of dropping 10 million sentries, focus on getting an arms lab down and training upgrades. At the starting of the game you die in 3 bites, or 1 parasite and 2 bites. With armor 1 it's 3 no matter what (ignoring alien upgrades). Weapons 2 will allow you to kill eggs in one hit, making it much easier to lock down a hive.
9. The optimal structure placement is to put stuff as far away from the chair as possible so you can get out and kill stuff if necessary. Place any IPs you've got on opposite sides of the room too, so aliens can't spawn camp newly-spawned marines.
10. Remember that having max armor (especially early in the game) saves lives. Dropping a med will rarely get you all your armor back, so it's a good idea to run back to the armory when your armor gets low so you don't feed kills.
11. It takes 10 rifle shots to kill a skulk. Due to poor hit registration in the current build skulks will often not die until the 25-30 mark. Upgrading to weapons 1 (which you should never do before armor 1) will take off a whopping one bullet off of that 10.
12. Finally, remember to play aggressively. Most people assume that the game plays like a territory control minigame where holding a part of the map will do something, but in reality the marine goal is to control and shut down aliens early on by killing resource towers and hives. Don't focus on building worthless power nodes halfway across the map when a skulk is likely to come by and kill whatever is dropped in the resource tower. Check hives constantly, and tell your team whenever you see a new hive.
Aliens: 1. Either drop a hive immediately or drop an RT and then a hive. Right now aliens depend a bit too much on fades. Even though it requires teamwork, encourage your team to defend the new hive location.
2. Having at least one lerk for spores can change the outcome of that first hive battle. Not only do they waste all of the commander's PRes, but most of the time (on public servers) commanders won't know what's going on and the attacking marines won't get any meds. Note that it's important to NOT die if you go lerk, you're most useful early on when your spores will stop entire groups of marines from entering a hive room.
3. Surprisingly in lower player-count games (7v7 and under) a Gorge and 2 or so Hydras work really well for defending unbuilt hives. They can also help by dropping infestation on the nearby unbuilt RT spot so the commander can drop another RT.
4. If you're a commander and you have a hive going up, get the hell out of the hive and help your team. Placing a few patches of infestation will do next to nothing.
5. I know I already went over this on marines but aim, aim, and aim some more. Hit your F key to turn on alien vision, don't just randomly bite hoping to get lucky on marines. Control your movement and focus on the marine.
6. Leaping at marines has an okay chance of working but due to perma-shotguns the absolute best way of killing marines is and has always been to ambush them. There are plenty of spots on the map that aren't revealed by map where you can wait until a marine walks by and chomp on him before he even knows what hit him.
7. Parasite! It may seem worthless but not only does it let you see where that marine is at all times (until he gets a medpack), it will allow you to kill them in 2 bites instead of 3! It's a good idea to just barely be around a corner and then parasite when a marine walks by, then run away and wait for him in ambush. Don't just stand in the same spot though, wait until he's building or walks into the next hallway or something.
8. Don't suicide your lifeforms. Skulks are generally cannon-fodder so they're fine, but if you're a fade/lerk/gorge (and I guarantee this will go for Onos as well) don't waste your res running in once and dying. Despite what bad players are saying fades are pretty crappy right now. They lose most of their momentum coming out of blink, they have to run all the way back to the hive to heal, and they get completely screwed by flamethrowers. Don't be greedy! Walk around and hit a marine 1-2 times, but if you're getting blasted by a shotgun don't hesitate to run away. You're much more valuable to your team alive than dead.
9. I don't have any advice to give for the 2 hour turret rounds except don't bother. If it's gotten to the point where aliens have 2-3 hives and marines have 2 bases and 500 turrets, good luck. Prepare to be bored out of your mind blinking in to a base for 3 seconds and then having to run back to the hive. Most of these problems would be pretty easily solved with metabolize/regen, but I guess frenzy/swarm were more important to implement(?!?!?!?!).
And that's it! One thing I'd also like to add is that there is no one aimbotting in this game (yet). If a marine is actively missing shots, then they're not aimbotting.
Hey, Im new to NS in general (though i tried and loved it back when NS1 was still pretty active)
today i tried playing aliens and knew atleast that killing IPs were important, however i was called a noob for not knowing what did what (in my case, that an observatory is used for beaconing). So i ask, what are important buildings to destroy as aliens? what should be the kill order for buildings?
<!--quoteo(post=1869305:date=Aug 16 2011, 01:12 PM:name=monkeyscythe)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (monkeyscythe @ Aug 16 2011, 01:12 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1869305"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Hey, Im new to NS in general (though i tried and loved it back when NS1 was still pretty active)
today i tried playing aliens and knew atleast that killing IPs were important, however i was called a noob for not knowing what did what (in my case, that an observatory is used for beaconing). So i ask, what are important buildings to destroy as aliens? what should be the kill order for buildings?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Ignore petty kids calling names, question is not simple but I would start with observatory (if one) and then go for the AA (Advanced Armory) or IP's.
Nice read but Marines should get Armor 1 first, to prevent 2 bite kills and aliens should go Melee 1 first so they have 2 bite kills and need less time to eat an RT.
And early game Melee 1 and Frenzy for Skulks is the best you can have in Early game!
Another thing I want to mention is that Skulks shoud Parasite more. You can see Parasited Marines till they die or get a medspack from commander and it does DMG so you need often only 2 bites for a kill then!
ScardyBobScardyBobJoin Date: 2009-11-25Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
<!--quoteo(post=1869305:date=Aug 16 2011, 04:12 AM:name=monkeyscythe)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (monkeyscythe @ Aug 16 2011, 04:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1869305"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Hey, Im new to NS in general (though i tried and loved it back when NS1 was still pretty active)
today i tried playing aliens and knew atleast that killing IPs were important, however i was called a noob for not knowing what did what (in my case, that an observatory is used for beaconing). So i ask, what are important buildings to destroy as aliens? what should be the kill order for buildings?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Either the obs or IP first. For example, if they have 2 IPs, I'd go for the obs first (to prevent beacon). However, if marines are turtling, its better to try to take out the powernode. This is especially useful on summit because the powernode is pretty exposed to attack from the vent side of marine start.
<!--quoteo(post=1856622:date=Jun 26 2011, 11:32 PM:name=Chris0132)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chris0132 @ Jun 26 2011, 11:32 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1856622"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also the pistol in alternate fire mode will kill a skulk in 3 shots at the start of the game. Making it potentially stronger than the rifle, depending on your taste.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> But you can get more shots off with primary faster and get the kill.
Also there is some bad information in this thread. Things I had previously believe as well.
Comments
Normal Powernodes can be fixed by any marine.
Dropped Powernodes can be fixed by MAC's or replaced cheaply.
Not GG :(
Marines:
Sentries can be taken out by a single Gorge with bile bomb.
Also not GG :(
If a single gorge rolls the marine base/outpost, marines were destined to lose that round.
Marines:
1. Get shotguns off the bat, best upgrade in the game and it can be taken immediately.
2. Your initial res should be spent on an IP, armory, shotguns, and 2 resource towers. Hold the two near marine start (flight/vent on Summit).
3. Constantly scout for the first dropped hive by running between them. It takes ~45 seconds to check every hive if you're starting near heliport. Do this constantly until you take down a hive and can be sure they won't have the res for another one.
4. Don't drop robotics bays, sentries are awful and dropping them solely for macs isn't worth it. Plus if you're dropping them you're taking away res from upgrades for your marines and allowing aliens to expand.
5. When you're running around keep your map constantly open and watch for skulk positions. Skulks that are biting nodes (especially at the starting of the game) are extremely good food for RFK and die in 4 pistol shots. This is going to get fixed eventually but may as well use it to have total map control now.
6. Aim your gun. Track aliens with your cursor, don't just spam wildly in the alien's general direction. Turn your sensitivity way down so moving your mouse from the left side of your mousepad to your right will result in about a ~60 degree angle change. Getting good aim takes months/years of practice, so don't expect to get aimbot overnight.
7. If the alien you're after isn't near a power node (which reveals them on the map), stop and LISTEN. The sound in this game and NS1 is like a free ESP/maphack. Plug in some headphones and you can train yourself to hear exactly which direction skulks are coming from and how far away they are.
8. Instead of dropping 10 million sentries, focus on getting an arms lab down and training upgrades. At the starting of the game you die in 3 bites, or 1 parasite and 2 bites. With armor 1 it's 3 no matter what (ignoring alien upgrades). Weapons 2 will allow you to kill eggs in one hit, making it much easier to lock down a hive.
9. The optimal structure placement is to put stuff as far away from the chair as possible so you can get out and kill stuff if necessary. Place any IPs you've got on opposite sides of the room too, so aliens can't spawn camp newly-spawned marines.
10. Remember that having max armor (especially early in the game) saves lives. Dropping a med will rarely get you all your armor back, so it's a good idea to run back to the armory when your armor gets low so you don't feed kills.
11. It takes 10 rifle shots to kill a skulk. Due to poor hit registration in the current build skulks will often not die until the 25-30 mark. Upgrading to weapons 1 (which you should never do before armor 1) will take off a whopping one bullet off of that 10.
12. Finally, remember to play aggressively. Most people assume that the game plays like a territory control minigame where holding a part of the map will do something, but in reality the marine goal is to control and shut down aliens early on by killing resource towers and hives. Don't focus on building worthless power nodes halfway across the map when a skulk is likely to come by and kill whatever is dropped in the resource tower. Check hives constantly, and tell your team whenever you see a new hive.
Aliens:
1. Either drop a hive immediately or drop an RT and then a hive. Right now aliens depend a bit too much on fades. Even though it requires teamwork, encourage your team to defend the new hive location.
2. Having at least one lerk for spores can change the outcome of that first hive battle. Not only do they waste all of the commander's PRes, but most of the time (on public servers) commanders won't know what's going on and the attacking marines won't get any meds. Note that it's important to NOT die if you go lerk, you're most useful early on when your spores will stop entire groups of marines from entering a hive room.
3. Surprisingly in lower player-count games (7v7 and under) a Gorge and 2 or so Hydras work really well for defending unbuilt hives. They can also help by dropping infestation on the nearby unbuilt RT spot so the commander can drop another RT.
4. If you're a commander and you have a hive going up, get the hell out of the hive and help your team. Placing a few patches of infestation will do next to nothing.
5. I know I already went over this on marines but aim, aim, and aim some more. Hit your F key to turn on alien vision, don't just randomly bite hoping to get lucky on marines. Control your movement and focus on the marine.
6. Leaping at marines has an okay chance of working but due to perma-shotguns the absolute best way of killing marines is and has always been to ambush them. There are plenty of spots on the map that aren't revealed by map where you can wait until a marine walks by and chomp on him before he even knows what hit him.
7. Parasite! It may seem worthless but not only does it let you see where that marine is at all times (until he gets a medpack), it will allow you to kill them in 2 bites instead of 3! It's a good idea to just barely be around a corner and then parasite when a marine walks by, then run away and wait for him in ambush. Don't just stand in the same spot though, wait until he's building or walks into the next hallway or something.
8. Don't suicide your lifeforms. Skulks are generally cannon-fodder so they're fine, but if you're a fade/lerk/gorge (and I guarantee this will go for Onos as well) don't waste your res running in once and dying. Despite what bad players are saying fades are pretty crappy right now. They lose most of their momentum coming out of blink, they have to run all the way back to the hive to heal, and they get completely screwed by flamethrowers. Don't be greedy! Walk around and hit a marine 1-2 times, but if you're getting blasted by a shotgun don't hesitate to run away. You're much more valuable to your team alive than dead.
9. I don't have any advice to give for the 2 hour turret rounds except don't bother. If it's gotten to the point where aliens have 2-3 hives and marines have 2 bases and 500 turrets, good luck. Prepare to be bored out of your mind blinking in to a base for 3 seconds and then having to run back to the hive. Most of these problems would be pretty easily solved with metabolize/regen, but I guess frenzy/swarm were more important to implement(?!?!?!?!).
And that's it! One thing I'd also like to add is that there is no one aimbotting in this game (yet). If a marine is actively missing shots, then they're not aimbotting.
today i tried playing aliens and knew atleast that killing IPs were important, however i was called a noob for not knowing what did what (in my case, that an observatory is used for beaconing). So i ask, what are important buildings to destroy as aliens? what should be the kill order for buildings?
today i tried playing aliens and knew atleast that killing IPs were important, however i was called a noob for not knowing what did what (in my case, that an observatory is used for beaconing). So i ask, what are important buildings to destroy as aliens? what should be the kill order for buildings?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ignore petty kids calling names, question is not simple but I would start with observatory (if one) and then go for the AA (Advanced Armory) or IP's.
Nice read but Marines should get Armor 1 first, to prevent 2 bite kills and aliens should go Melee 1 first so they have 2 bite kills and need less time to eat an RT.
And early game Melee 1 and Frenzy for Skulks is the best you can have in Early game!
Another thing I want to mention is that Skulks shoud Parasite more. You can see Parasited Marines till they die or get a medspack from commander and it does DMG so you need often only 2 bites for a kill then!
today i tried playing aliens and knew atleast that killing IPs were important, however i was called a noob for not knowing what did what (in my case, that an observatory is used for beaconing). So i ask, what are important buildings to destroy as aliens? what should be the kill order for buildings?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Either the obs or IP first. For example, if they have 2 IPs, I'd go for the obs first (to prevent beacon). However, if marines are turtling, its better to try to take out the powernode. This is especially useful on summit because the powernode is pretty exposed to attack from the vent side of marine start.
But you can get more shots off with primary faster and get the kill.
Also there is some bad information in this thread. Things I had previously believe as well.