The Newbies Handbook To Ns
Cronos
Join Date: 2002-10-18 Member: 1542Members
Join Date: 2002-10-18 Member: 1542Members
<div class="IPBDescription">**Warning** Extremely Long</div> Have you ever had a new player wonder what the hell a gorge was and decided it must be a good alien? Or someone that didnt know how to bite as a skulk? Or even to ask how to buy guns?! Yeah, new players, we have all seen them and encountered them before. I decided to write a begginers guide to at least give new players somewhat of a basic grounding in NS. The original NS manual furthers the plot and is nice unto itself, but does not teach one useful tips, such as using ambush tactics and the vital importance of the hive.
Below, I have included the alien section of the guide. It is not perfect. Which is why I am posting it here. I need you, the people of the forums to help me perfect any errors or ommisions in this guide to make it as accurate in relation to 1.04 as possible.
Without further Ado, I present the alien section to The Newbies Handbook To Ns...
[Begin Copy]
Chapter 3: Aliens
If you are new to NS, the alien team will be very complex and difficult to master. Each alien species practically deserves a chapter all to itself.
If you’ve joined the beginning of the game, you will spawn in a room with a big brown/yellow/green object inside. This is called the hive. This is the single most important structure for the aliens to have. It is even more important then the command console; the aliens are nothing without their hive. The hive allows you to spawn, it allows you to use higher-level weapons, and it heals you if you are hurt. The hive also gives you important tactical information. If you look around, you may see white, yellow, and red circles. This is called “Hive-sight”. White circles are your teammates; yellow circles are marines that your teammates can see or marines that have been parasited (more on that later). Red circles are structures or players that are under attack.
Chapter 3A I – Upgrades
Upgrades for aliens work differently from marines. When a gorge (alien builder class) builds and upgrade structure (Defense Chamber [DC] Movement Chamber [MC] or Sensory Chamber [SC]) you can pick different upgrades.
The Defense Chamber allows three upgrades. Regeneration, Redemption, or Carapace. Carapace increases your armor; redemption will transport you to a hive when your health falls below a particular level, although not 100% reliable, it can save your life many times over before it fails. Regeneration will allow you to heal damage over time without the hive or a DC. DC’s will heal you if you are hurt and within their range.
The Movement chamber also allows for three upgrades. Silence, Celerity, and Adrenaline. Adrenaline allows your alien to continue to use its weapons for longer; it speeds up the rate at which the yellow bar to the right goes back to full. Celerity will deliver a speed boost to your alien, making you move even faster. Silence allows you to make no noise as you move through the level, allowing you to sneak up behind marines without arousing their suspicion.
The Sensory Chamber allows for three upgrades as well. Advanced Hive sight, Scent Of Fear, and Cloaking. Cloaking allows you to become almost completely invisible to the marines, which is wonderful for ambushes. Scent of Fear will allow you to see hurt marines within a certain range of yourself, while Advanced hive sight will allow you to see through enemy buildings and to see marines better in dark places.
Chapter 3A II – Hives
A little foreword on hives before a more detailed description further below. Hives allow for one chamber type of upgrade. To have all three upgrade chambers, the aliens must have all three hives. On any map, there are only 3 Hive locations indicated by hive sight. Aliens will start in one random hive, and will expand from there. Hives heal hurt aliens and structures, grant more powerful weaponry, allow higher evolutions and increase the alien spawning rate. If you lose all your hives, you will slowly lose health and die, as will all other aliens on your team. This is your teams punishment for being incompetent enough (or at the very least, for being unable to counter the marine strategy) to lose a hive.
Chapter 3B – Alien Classes
For each alien class, I will give a set of recommended upgrades. However, you are allowed to choose any upgrade you want, these are only recommendations but your play style may demand different upgrades. Feel free to pick and choose your upgrades as freely as you wish.
It should also be noted that the third and fourth weapon slots only become active when the 2nd and 3rd hives are up. More on hives later.
Chapter 3B I – The Skulk
Now, you have just spawned. You are the default, level one alien. This alien is called a “Skulk”. Skulks have many unique abilities.
One of these abilities is the “Wall Climb” (Wall climbing will be very familiar to AvP players). To wall climb, simply go to the nearest wall and walk up it. You will stick to the wall, and can even walk across the roof. Wall climbing does have some limitations, but you will be able to learn what those are better through experience rather then through here. Wall climbing gives you an advantage in maneuverability. You have four times the surfaces to walk upon, use it to your advantage! Sit above doorways to ambush marines as they walk through, dodge and weave side to side to avoid their bullets rather then running in a straight line. Skulks are 2 – 3 times faster then a marine, this speed will also play into your favor as a skulk.
Always remember, as a skulk, you are not a tank. You will have only 70 health and 10 armor to begin with, meaning 9 LMG bullets can kill you and even heavier weapons will kill you in even less time. Ambush the marines, take them by surprise and try to avoid running straight down long hallways.
The first weapon in your inventory is called “Bite”. Biting a marine will deal 75 damage to him. Biting him twice will kill a standard marine. The bite is a melee weapon, so you will have to get very close to the marine to kill him.
The next weapon is called “Parasite”. Parasite is not an offensive weapon, but it is ranged. Parasite will do only a little damage to marines, so it will take many many parasites to kill a marine using it, but parasites usefulness comes in under hive sight. Parasite allows your team to see the parasited marine (yellow circles) so if you see a squad of marines rolling by, parasite them before attacking so your team knows where they are.
The third weapon in your inventory is called “Leap”. At one hive, leap is disabled, however, when your team has built a second hive, leap is usable. When you use leap, you shoot forward at tremendous speed. If you touch a marine as you leap, you will damage him slightly. A common tactic is to leap and close the distance to a marine and then quickly switch to bite and kill him. Leap also works in mid air and can be useful for taking out jet packing marines.
The fourth and final weapon in your inventory is called “Xenocide”. It is a third hive ability, meaning that your team must have three hives up before you can use it. Xenocide will turn you into a time bomb. Simply press the fire button, and run in towards your target until you explode. You will deal massive damage with Xenocide, it’s not unusual to kill multiple marines, and in addition, you will heavily damage all structures in the blast radius (Note, Double damage is delivered to structures when using Xenocide)
The recommended upgrades for the Skulk are Carapace, Celerity/Silence, and Cloaking. Though, as I said above, change these according to your playing style.
Chapter 3 B II – The Gorge
The next alien is the Gorge. It is very important to know the following. The Gorge is near useless for direct combat. Also, being one drains resources away from other gorges and players. The gorge is the alien builder class; it builds hives, Offense Chambers, all the upgrade chambers and resource towers. I recommend that you practice with building structures in a LAN game before gorging in game. Gorges have 100 Health, with 50 armor, 75 with level 3 Carapace.
Although the gorge is not an offensive class of alien, it does have some weak weapons at its disposal.
The first weapon is spit. Put simply, the gorge spits out a green glob that does 50 damage. It moves slowly and can be dodged easily by marines. Alien offense chambers use the same weapon, but they have the advantage of not being as vital to the alien team, and of numbers.
The second weapon for the gorge is called Healspray. Healspray does exactly what it says. It is a spray that heals aliens and their structures, while damaging marines. HEALSPRAY DOES NOT AFFECT MARINE STRUCTURES.
The third weapon for the gorge is called web. Web is very very special. A gorge can web a hallway by shooting one glob of web at one wall, and another glob at another wall. Bingo, you got web. When a marine walks by and into the web, he gets slown down horrendously, his weapon holsters and he is skulk food. Webbing can slow down the marine team considerably, as well as stop jetpackers in their tracks. Web carefully however, there is a limit on how many you can lay down in an area, so be very strategic in its use if you are a gorge.
The final weapon for the gorge is Babblers. When used correctly, babblers are pure evil. Babblers are much like half-life’s snarks, though, a little less intelligent. They run around, bite things, and then explode. The devilish thing is, they look exactly like skulks, providing excellent camouflage for the real skulks while damaging enemy positions. Be aware however, babblers aren’t very bright and can get lost in the middle of a room, but this should not discourage use of them in any way.
Remember, the Gorge is not an offensive class. The gorge is the most important alien species to the alien team, so if you’re new you shouldn’t be one until you have a good grip on the game.
The best upgrades to have as a gorge is Redemption, Adrenaline/Celerity, and Cloaking.
Chapter 3 B III – The Lerk
The Lerk is the most unique alien to the Kharaa. It is the only alien species that has the ability to fly. Unless you are skilled in the usage of a Lerk, it is recommended that you don’t evolve to it until the second hive is up. To fly as a Lerk, you use your jump key. It is important to remember that the first flap of your wings will push you up; the second flap will propel you forward. Holding down your jump key will let you glide. It is rather difficult to use the Lerk, and will require some time to master. It should be noted that the Lerk is more of a support unit rather then direct assault, but the support of the Lerk will be invaluable if used correctly. Lerks cost 33 resources, have 60 health and 50 armor, 75 with level 3 carapace.
Weapon one for the Lerk is bite. It does 50 damage per bite; so 3 bites will kill a marine. You may notice that the Lerk bite does not occlude your vision as much as the skulk bite does; this is because of the lower damage that a Lerk bite delivers. Other then that, Lerk biting should work precisely the same as skulk biting, simply close in on your target and chomp away.
Weapon two for the Lerk is called Spikes. Spikes are just that, spikes. Spike is a ranged weapon that does 18 damage per hit. Try aiming where the crosshair is. The animation is very misleading and should be addressed in NS 1.1.
The third weapon for the Lerk is one of the most useful weapons for the alien team. It’s not precisely a weapon in the strictest sense. This weapon is called “Umbra” and is devastating if used correctly. Umbra is a yellowish, slightly opaque gas that the Lerk spews out. It absorbs 5/6ths of every bullet incoming. This will allow you to weather extreme bombardment, only a grenade will be unaffected by umbra. Stick near a fade (will be described in the next chapter) and lay some umbra at his location. With a gorge, a Lerk and a fade, you have a near invincible combination that only a smart and decisive marine team will be able to break.
The Fourth and final weapon for the Lerk is called “Spore Cloud”. You will love this weapon. Marines will hate you for using this weapon. It works like a grenade launcher, fire it into a room, it will it a wall and green gas will fill a given space. This green gas is toxic to marines, but leaves structures unaffected. This weapon, when used correctly, and as any other third hive ability, is pure pure evil =)
The best upgrades to get as a Lerk are Carapace/Regeneration with Adrenaline and good old Cloaking.
Chapter 3B IV – The Fade
The fade is one of the most versatile species available to the alien team. It’s tough, maneuverable and devastating if used right. They are the Alien equivalent to HA/HMG combination marines, and are unstoppable in competent hands. They cost 54 Resources, have 200 health with 125 armor, 150 with level 3 carapace. For TFC (Team Fortress Classic, another HL mod) players, the fade will be very similar to the “Soldier” class.
The first weapon in the fades arsenal is swipe. It does 80 damage per hit, but has a short range. It’s good for taking out buildings close up and taking care of marines that are out of ammo. Swipe is a melee weapon, so close range is needed as always.
The second weapon will be the one you use the most, and the one that TFC players will find most familiar. This is called “Acid Rocket” and is exactly what it says it is. For those familiar with first person shooters, Acid rocket will work precisely like any rocket launcher. Simply aim at marine’s feet, or where they are going to be to hit them and inflict maximum damage. Acid rocket is a ranged weapon that deals about 60 damage per direct hit with splash damage. Acid rocket can also be used to take out structures at a safe distance, although a careful aim is needed, always aim for vital structures like the Turret Factory or the Phase gate.
The third weapon for the fade is possibly the most unusual weapon the kharaa have in their possession, and is perhaps one of the most difficult to master. This weapon is called blink, and is a supplement to fade mobility. Blink is essentially a short-range self-teleporter. Simply point where you wish to go, and you should go there, provided there is nothing obstructing your path. What makes blink difficult to master are various little issues. Blink will sometimes not work in certain hallways, or you will get stuck in certain parts of map geometry. The best way to blink safely is to avoid blinking through textures that can be seen through (Ladders, grates, etc). The most effective way to get blink working reliably is to crouch, jump, and use blink in that order. On a personal note, blink works fine for me without having to do that, but whatever floats your boat =\
The fourth and most devastating weapon for the Fade is known as the bilebomb. Have I mentioned before how all third hive abilities are pure evil? Well, so is bilebomb. It works precisely like acid rocket does, except that bilebomb delivers more damage, arcs (so that it can be fired over buildings and such), and delivers double damage to structures.
The best upgrade strategy I have found to use as a fade is an Adrenaline/Redemption/Cloak combination. However, other players use Celerity/Redemption, Celerity/Carapace, Adrenaline/Carapace etc, so it really is up to you to determine what the best upgrades are for you as a fade to suit your play style.
Chapter 3B V – The Onos
The Onos is the ultimate species in the alien arsenal. If the marines have allowed your team to achieve a three hive status, but are well fortified within their spawn, the Onos is the perfect tool with which to decimate them. The Onos is the most powerful species the kharaa posses, and are there to tell the marines “Game Over man, Game over!”
The Onos Costs 70 Resources to evolve to. Has 500 Health points, with 150 points of armor, 200 with Carapace. The Onos is a literal tank on legs, and should be treated as such. When you are an Onos, you are powerful, use that power to your teams advantage.
The first weapon for the Onos is the gore. This works precisely like bite and swipe, with the exception that it deals out 120 damage per hit. Use it to attack structures and nearby marines.
The second weapon in the Onos’ inventory is Paralyze. In all essentiality, it does exactly what it says it does. When you activate paralyze, 3 “Tentacles” stick out in front. Don’t worry; they launch the paralyzing agent at the marine. When you fire paralyze at a marine, he will be immobilized for a little bit, but he will still be able to fire his weapon, so take him out if you can, or if your low on health, run for some healing and deal with him later. Paralyze is very effective against jet packing marines, as they will fall out of the sky and take falling damage. Paralyze can save the hive at times when a Jet packing marine is attacking, so do remember to use it if you are defending the hive.
The Onos’ third weapon is “Charge”. This works very much like leap, except that the Onos simply runs faster and in a straight line on the ground. Damage is dealt by touching the marine, the more touches, the more damage dealt to the marine. Charge, as far as I know, does not damage buildings, only gore does.
The final ability for the Onos, although a support weapon, is extremely powerful and useful. It is called “Primal Scream”. When an Onos Primal Screams, all surrounding aliens, as well as the Onos that screamed, will move and attack twice as fast. This might not sound like much, but it is unbelievably potent when used in the presence of teammates when destroying the marine base or outposts.
The best upgrades to have as an Onos are probably Carapace/Regeneration with Celerity/Adrenaline and Cloaking/Scent of Fear. As I have stated earlier, adjust what upgrades you choose to your personal taste and play style.
Chapter 3C – The Hive
As many of you will have noticed, there are few if any descriptions of structures in this handbook. Remember, the aim of this handbook is to give a basic understanding of NS. Most of the structures will be simple to learn, and will become very obvious in function. But, of all structures, the Hive for the aliens is as important for the aliens as the Command Console is for the marines. Hives allow more potent weapons, more upgrades, and even more potent aliens to evolve. Without a hive, aliens will literally begin to die (a pinging sound will be heard, and aliens will lose health) unless a new one is placed post haste. The hive allows for spawning, Hive sight, the building of structures, evolution. The loss of a hive is devastating to the alien team. If your hive is under attack, it is advisable to run to it to defend, unless you have a chance to cripple the marine team irreparably (by destroying their only CC, or their entire Spawn, even so, if it’s your only hive though, you must defend it at all costs). The hive also heals you if you’re hurt. Although it does not have the active functionality of the marine CC, it is even more important to the alien team.
Chapter 3D – The Final Word
For aliens, the Hive is your god. It tells you about important events, such as what is under attack and indicates where it is through hive sight. Aliens are more individualistic then marines are, so you can afford to go on lone ambush or reconnaissance missions, rush the marine spawn or even harass undefended marine resource nodes. Or, you can team up with friends and try to take down a marine base in one of your hive locations, or support your gorges by keeping marines well away from them or even sacrificing your life to save the gorge. Aliens work wonders when working as a team, but also work well when working as individuals. It is always advisable to work as a team when on aliens, while keeping a few people on solo missions attacking stragglers or undefended resource towers.
If you can deny the marines strategic locations, such as hives, resource points and even a forward base, you will eventually tech up to more advanced hive evolutions and send the marines screaming to they’re commander.
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I hope you managed to tolerate that immense mountain of text, now tell me what you think <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Below, I have included the alien section of the guide. It is not perfect. Which is why I am posting it here. I need you, the people of the forums to help me perfect any errors or ommisions in this guide to make it as accurate in relation to 1.04 as possible.
Without further Ado, I present the alien section to The Newbies Handbook To Ns...
[Begin Copy]
Chapter 3: Aliens
If you are new to NS, the alien team will be very complex and difficult to master. Each alien species practically deserves a chapter all to itself.
If you’ve joined the beginning of the game, you will spawn in a room with a big brown/yellow/green object inside. This is called the hive. This is the single most important structure for the aliens to have. It is even more important then the command console; the aliens are nothing without their hive. The hive allows you to spawn, it allows you to use higher-level weapons, and it heals you if you are hurt. The hive also gives you important tactical information. If you look around, you may see white, yellow, and red circles. This is called “Hive-sight”. White circles are your teammates; yellow circles are marines that your teammates can see or marines that have been parasited (more on that later). Red circles are structures or players that are under attack.
Chapter 3A I – Upgrades
Upgrades for aliens work differently from marines. When a gorge (alien builder class) builds and upgrade structure (Defense Chamber [DC] Movement Chamber [MC] or Sensory Chamber [SC]) you can pick different upgrades.
The Defense Chamber allows three upgrades. Regeneration, Redemption, or Carapace. Carapace increases your armor; redemption will transport you to a hive when your health falls below a particular level, although not 100% reliable, it can save your life many times over before it fails. Regeneration will allow you to heal damage over time without the hive or a DC. DC’s will heal you if you are hurt and within their range.
The Movement chamber also allows for three upgrades. Silence, Celerity, and Adrenaline. Adrenaline allows your alien to continue to use its weapons for longer; it speeds up the rate at which the yellow bar to the right goes back to full. Celerity will deliver a speed boost to your alien, making you move even faster. Silence allows you to make no noise as you move through the level, allowing you to sneak up behind marines without arousing their suspicion.
The Sensory Chamber allows for three upgrades as well. Advanced Hive sight, Scent Of Fear, and Cloaking. Cloaking allows you to become almost completely invisible to the marines, which is wonderful for ambushes. Scent of Fear will allow you to see hurt marines within a certain range of yourself, while Advanced hive sight will allow you to see through enemy buildings and to see marines better in dark places.
Chapter 3A II – Hives
A little foreword on hives before a more detailed description further below. Hives allow for one chamber type of upgrade. To have all three upgrade chambers, the aliens must have all three hives. On any map, there are only 3 Hive locations indicated by hive sight. Aliens will start in one random hive, and will expand from there. Hives heal hurt aliens and structures, grant more powerful weaponry, allow higher evolutions and increase the alien spawning rate. If you lose all your hives, you will slowly lose health and die, as will all other aliens on your team. This is your teams punishment for being incompetent enough (or at the very least, for being unable to counter the marine strategy) to lose a hive.
Chapter 3B – Alien Classes
For each alien class, I will give a set of recommended upgrades. However, you are allowed to choose any upgrade you want, these are only recommendations but your play style may demand different upgrades. Feel free to pick and choose your upgrades as freely as you wish.
It should also be noted that the third and fourth weapon slots only become active when the 2nd and 3rd hives are up. More on hives later.
Chapter 3B I – The Skulk
Now, you have just spawned. You are the default, level one alien. This alien is called a “Skulk”. Skulks have many unique abilities.
One of these abilities is the “Wall Climb” (Wall climbing will be very familiar to AvP players). To wall climb, simply go to the nearest wall and walk up it. You will stick to the wall, and can even walk across the roof. Wall climbing does have some limitations, but you will be able to learn what those are better through experience rather then through here. Wall climbing gives you an advantage in maneuverability. You have four times the surfaces to walk upon, use it to your advantage! Sit above doorways to ambush marines as they walk through, dodge and weave side to side to avoid their bullets rather then running in a straight line. Skulks are 2 – 3 times faster then a marine, this speed will also play into your favor as a skulk.
Always remember, as a skulk, you are not a tank. You will have only 70 health and 10 armor to begin with, meaning 9 LMG bullets can kill you and even heavier weapons will kill you in even less time. Ambush the marines, take them by surprise and try to avoid running straight down long hallways.
The first weapon in your inventory is called “Bite”. Biting a marine will deal 75 damage to him. Biting him twice will kill a standard marine. The bite is a melee weapon, so you will have to get very close to the marine to kill him.
The next weapon is called “Parasite”. Parasite is not an offensive weapon, but it is ranged. Parasite will do only a little damage to marines, so it will take many many parasites to kill a marine using it, but parasites usefulness comes in under hive sight. Parasite allows your team to see the parasited marine (yellow circles) so if you see a squad of marines rolling by, parasite them before attacking so your team knows where they are.
The third weapon in your inventory is called “Leap”. At one hive, leap is disabled, however, when your team has built a second hive, leap is usable. When you use leap, you shoot forward at tremendous speed. If you touch a marine as you leap, you will damage him slightly. A common tactic is to leap and close the distance to a marine and then quickly switch to bite and kill him. Leap also works in mid air and can be useful for taking out jet packing marines.
The fourth and final weapon in your inventory is called “Xenocide”. It is a third hive ability, meaning that your team must have three hives up before you can use it. Xenocide will turn you into a time bomb. Simply press the fire button, and run in towards your target until you explode. You will deal massive damage with Xenocide, it’s not unusual to kill multiple marines, and in addition, you will heavily damage all structures in the blast radius (Note, Double damage is delivered to structures when using Xenocide)
The recommended upgrades for the Skulk are Carapace, Celerity/Silence, and Cloaking. Though, as I said above, change these according to your playing style.
Chapter 3 B II – The Gorge
The next alien is the Gorge. It is very important to know the following. The Gorge is near useless for direct combat. Also, being one drains resources away from other gorges and players. The gorge is the alien builder class; it builds hives, Offense Chambers, all the upgrade chambers and resource towers. I recommend that you practice with building structures in a LAN game before gorging in game. Gorges have 100 Health, with 50 armor, 75 with level 3 Carapace.
Although the gorge is not an offensive class of alien, it does have some weak weapons at its disposal.
The first weapon is spit. Put simply, the gorge spits out a green glob that does 50 damage. It moves slowly and can be dodged easily by marines. Alien offense chambers use the same weapon, but they have the advantage of not being as vital to the alien team, and of numbers.
The second weapon for the gorge is called Healspray. Healspray does exactly what it says. It is a spray that heals aliens and their structures, while damaging marines. HEALSPRAY DOES NOT AFFECT MARINE STRUCTURES.
The third weapon for the gorge is called web. Web is very very special. A gorge can web a hallway by shooting one glob of web at one wall, and another glob at another wall. Bingo, you got web. When a marine walks by and into the web, he gets slown down horrendously, his weapon holsters and he is skulk food. Webbing can slow down the marine team considerably, as well as stop jetpackers in their tracks. Web carefully however, there is a limit on how many you can lay down in an area, so be very strategic in its use if you are a gorge.
The final weapon for the gorge is Babblers. When used correctly, babblers are pure evil. Babblers are much like half-life’s snarks, though, a little less intelligent. They run around, bite things, and then explode. The devilish thing is, they look exactly like skulks, providing excellent camouflage for the real skulks while damaging enemy positions. Be aware however, babblers aren’t very bright and can get lost in the middle of a room, but this should not discourage use of them in any way.
Remember, the Gorge is not an offensive class. The gorge is the most important alien species to the alien team, so if you’re new you shouldn’t be one until you have a good grip on the game.
The best upgrades to have as a gorge is Redemption, Adrenaline/Celerity, and Cloaking.
Chapter 3 B III – The Lerk
The Lerk is the most unique alien to the Kharaa. It is the only alien species that has the ability to fly. Unless you are skilled in the usage of a Lerk, it is recommended that you don’t evolve to it until the second hive is up. To fly as a Lerk, you use your jump key. It is important to remember that the first flap of your wings will push you up; the second flap will propel you forward. Holding down your jump key will let you glide. It is rather difficult to use the Lerk, and will require some time to master. It should be noted that the Lerk is more of a support unit rather then direct assault, but the support of the Lerk will be invaluable if used correctly. Lerks cost 33 resources, have 60 health and 50 armor, 75 with level 3 carapace.
Weapon one for the Lerk is bite. It does 50 damage per bite; so 3 bites will kill a marine. You may notice that the Lerk bite does not occlude your vision as much as the skulk bite does; this is because of the lower damage that a Lerk bite delivers. Other then that, Lerk biting should work precisely the same as skulk biting, simply close in on your target and chomp away.
Weapon two for the Lerk is called Spikes. Spikes are just that, spikes. Spike is a ranged weapon that does 18 damage per hit. Try aiming where the crosshair is. The animation is very misleading and should be addressed in NS 1.1.
The third weapon for the Lerk is one of the most useful weapons for the alien team. It’s not precisely a weapon in the strictest sense. This weapon is called “Umbra” and is devastating if used correctly. Umbra is a yellowish, slightly opaque gas that the Lerk spews out. It absorbs 5/6ths of every bullet incoming. This will allow you to weather extreme bombardment, only a grenade will be unaffected by umbra. Stick near a fade (will be described in the next chapter) and lay some umbra at his location. With a gorge, a Lerk and a fade, you have a near invincible combination that only a smart and decisive marine team will be able to break.
The Fourth and final weapon for the Lerk is called “Spore Cloud”. You will love this weapon. Marines will hate you for using this weapon. It works like a grenade launcher, fire it into a room, it will it a wall and green gas will fill a given space. This green gas is toxic to marines, but leaves structures unaffected. This weapon, when used correctly, and as any other third hive ability, is pure pure evil =)
The best upgrades to get as a Lerk are Carapace/Regeneration with Adrenaline and good old Cloaking.
Chapter 3B IV – The Fade
The fade is one of the most versatile species available to the alien team. It’s tough, maneuverable and devastating if used right. They are the Alien equivalent to HA/HMG combination marines, and are unstoppable in competent hands. They cost 54 Resources, have 200 health with 125 armor, 150 with level 3 carapace. For TFC (Team Fortress Classic, another HL mod) players, the fade will be very similar to the “Soldier” class.
The first weapon in the fades arsenal is swipe. It does 80 damage per hit, but has a short range. It’s good for taking out buildings close up and taking care of marines that are out of ammo. Swipe is a melee weapon, so close range is needed as always.
The second weapon will be the one you use the most, and the one that TFC players will find most familiar. This is called “Acid Rocket” and is exactly what it says it is. For those familiar with first person shooters, Acid rocket will work precisely like any rocket launcher. Simply aim at marine’s feet, or where they are going to be to hit them and inflict maximum damage. Acid rocket is a ranged weapon that deals about 60 damage per direct hit with splash damage. Acid rocket can also be used to take out structures at a safe distance, although a careful aim is needed, always aim for vital structures like the Turret Factory or the Phase gate.
The third weapon for the fade is possibly the most unusual weapon the kharaa have in their possession, and is perhaps one of the most difficult to master. This weapon is called blink, and is a supplement to fade mobility. Blink is essentially a short-range self-teleporter. Simply point where you wish to go, and you should go there, provided there is nothing obstructing your path. What makes blink difficult to master are various little issues. Blink will sometimes not work in certain hallways, or you will get stuck in certain parts of map geometry. The best way to blink safely is to avoid blinking through textures that can be seen through (Ladders, grates, etc). The most effective way to get blink working reliably is to crouch, jump, and use blink in that order. On a personal note, blink works fine for me without having to do that, but whatever floats your boat =\
The fourth and most devastating weapon for the Fade is known as the bilebomb. Have I mentioned before how all third hive abilities are pure evil? Well, so is bilebomb. It works precisely like acid rocket does, except that bilebomb delivers more damage, arcs (so that it can be fired over buildings and such), and delivers double damage to structures.
The best upgrade strategy I have found to use as a fade is an Adrenaline/Redemption/Cloak combination. However, other players use Celerity/Redemption, Celerity/Carapace, Adrenaline/Carapace etc, so it really is up to you to determine what the best upgrades are for you as a fade to suit your play style.
Chapter 3B V – The Onos
The Onos is the ultimate species in the alien arsenal. If the marines have allowed your team to achieve a three hive status, but are well fortified within their spawn, the Onos is the perfect tool with which to decimate them. The Onos is the most powerful species the kharaa posses, and are there to tell the marines “Game Over man, Game over!”
The Onos Costs 70 Resources to evolve to. Has 500 Health points, with 150 points of armor, 200 with Carapace. The Onos is a literal tank on legs, and should be treated as such. When you are an Onos, you are powerful, use that power to your teams advantage.
The first weapon for the Onos is the gore. This works precisely like bite and swipe, with the exception that it deals out 120 damage per hit. Use it to attack structures and nearby marines.
The second weapon in the Onos’ inventory is Paralyze. In all essentiality, it does exactly what it says it does. When you activate paralyze, 3 “Tentacles” stick out in front. Don’t worry; they launch the paralyzing agent at the marine. When you fire paralyze at a marine, he will be immobilized for a little bit, but he will still be able to fire his weapon, so take him out if you can, or if your low on health, run for some healing and deal with him later. Paralyze is very effective against jet packing marines, as they will fall out of the sky and take falling damage. Paralyze can save the hive at times when a Jet packing marine is attacking, so do remember to use it if you are defending the hive.
The Onos’ third weapon is “Charge”. This works very much like leap, except that the Onos simply runs faster and in a straight line on the ground. Damage is dealt by touching the marine, the more touches, the more damage dealt to the marine. Charge, as far as I know, does not damage buildings, only gore does.
The final ability for the Onos, although a support weapon, is extremely powerful and useful. It is called “Primal Scream”. When an Onos Primal Screams, all surrounding aliens, as well as the Onos that screamed, will move and attack twice as fast. This might not sound like much, but it is unbelievably potent when used in the presence of teammates when destroying the marine base or outposts.
The best upgrades to have as an Onos are probably Carapace/Regeneration with Celerity/Adrenaline and Cloaking/Scent of Fear. As I have stated earlier, adjust what upgrades you choose to your personal taste and play style.
Chapter 3C – The Hive
As many of you will have noticed, there are few if any descriptions of structures in this handbook. Remember, the aim of this handbook is to give a basic understanding of NS. Most of the structures will be simple to learn, and will become very obvious in function. But, of all structures, the Hive for the aliens is as important for the aliens as the Command Console is for the marines. Hives allow more potent weapons, more upgrades, and even more potent aliens to evolve. Without a hive, aliens will literally begin to die (a pinging sound will be heard, and aliens will lose health) unless a new one is placed post haste. The hive allows for spawning, Hive sight, the building of structures, evolution. The loss of a hive is devastating to the alien team. If your hive is under attack, it is advisable to run to it to defend, unless you have a chance to cripple the marine team irreparably (by destroying their only CC, or their entire Spawn, even so, if it’s your only hive though, you must defend it at all costs). The hive also heals you if you’re hurt. Although it does not have the active functionality of the marine CC, it is even more important to the alien team.
Chapter 3D – The Final Word
For aliens, the Hive is your god. It tells you about important events, such as what is under attack and indicates where it is through hive sight. Aliens are more individualistic then marines are, so you can afford to go on lone ambush or reconnaissance missions, rush the marine spawn or even harass undefended marine resource nodes. Or, you can team up with friends and try to take down a marine base in one of your hive locations, or support your gorges by keeping marines well away from them or even sacrificing your life to save the gorge. Aliens work wonders when working as a team, but also work well when working as individuals. It is always advisable to work as a team when on aliens, while keeping a few people on solo missions attacking stragglers or undefended resource towers.
If you can deny the marines strategic locations, such as hives, resource points and even a forward base, you will eventually tech up to more advanced hive evolutions and send the marines screaming to they’re commander.
[End Copy]
I hope you managed to tolerate that immense mountain of text, now tell me what you think <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Comments
1) Gorge spit does 22 damage, not 50. Offence Chambers do 50 damage, and they are recorded under the same kill icon and name (spitgunspit).
2) Lerk bite does 75 damage, contrary to what the manual says. This has been tested and discussed many times.
3) Heal spray goes through objects.
4) Heal spray's range is incredible, far more than what the animation suggests.
5) Post this is the "new players" forum.
Once again <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Aside from the numerical changes above, I wouldn't recommend regen for lerks: it's got to be cara really. After all, you're so fast that you can just retreat to a DC cluster/hive and regen there. It's too risky to be surprised by a few pistol shots and die. (possible exception in power silo rafters maybe, but even then...)
And: one should always jump when babbling <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
As for gorging - new players should definitely put this off for a while. The flames you can get for a start...Better to follow a decent gorge around and cover him as a skulk, while learning some gorge tactics.
Finally, probably best to point out that going lerk at hive 1 usually requires you to be a very good player to turn a profit for your side.
This needs its own webpage with a nice easy-to-write-down URL so that I can put it on a bind to send newbies to it <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->