Kharaa Strategy Guide By Species
The_Finch
Join Date: 2002-11-13 Member: 8498Members
Join Date: 2002-11-13 Member: 8498Members
<div class="IPBDescription">except Gorges</div> Having played NS for a while, I've found that while I'm better at being a Marine then an Alien, I like Aliens a whole lot more. Having a decent amount of experience playing non-Gorge critters, I've decided to impart some of my tactics.
Skulks:
-Keep up the pressure. Skulks are fast, vicious and best of all, free. Keep attacking outposts. Go for the Turret Factory by finding a side that isn't visable to Turrets. When it goes down, take out the turrets (19 RP each).
-Parasite. Always, always, always use parasite. Unless you're going to kill that lone Marine right now by yourself, parasite him. Can't take him by yourself, parasite and call in backup or use hit-and-run attacks. You'll always know where he is as will all your team.
-Death. You will die as a skulk. You have few HP and almost no armor. That's alright. You're free. Don't worry about your kill:death ratio and you'll be better off.
-Mobility. Skulks can go anywhere, which is one of their greatest strengths. Use vents, wallrun and your natural speed for ambushes and attacks. Often, traveling to your target and evolving there is faster then evolving at the hive and running there.
-Use your upgrades. Those 2 RP evolutions make a world of difference. For movement, I recommend either Celerity or Silence. Celerity boosts your already impressive speed and Silence makes your movement and those regen pulses 100% quiet. For defense, I like Regeneration and Redemption. Regen allows you to recover from any damage and Redemption will pull you out of the fray, but isn't 100% reliable. I don't like Carapace because Skulks never have enough armor to make it truly worth-while. Sensory, Cloaking. Scent of Fear and Adv. Hivesight aren't useful enough, because you've hit everything with a parasite, right?
-Leap. Use leap to cover distance quickly. Getting in close is what Skulks are all about and leap does the job brilliantly.
-Xenocide. Use it, love it. It's the most effective anti-personnel attack the Kharaa have. My record is 4 dead Marines and 2 Turrets with 1 Xenocide. It goes off about 1 second after you hit the fire button, so time it accordingly.
Lerks:
-You can't take damage. If you like "straight fights", Lerks aren't for you. They're sneaky, supportive and damn dangerous when used properly.
-Hit-and-run. Lerks are very fast when flying. Get into position, attack then fly away. Spike cannon isn't very damaging, but it's accurate and can shoot for a long time.
-Fly. Get used to flying, since it's a Lerk key ability. Flying into vents, down halls and around rooms makes you a difficult target.
-Support your team. Lerks possess the arguably most powerful ability in the game. Umbra. Umbra will stop 6/7ths of any bullets fired. It won't stop knife or grenade attacks. A single Lerk with Umbra can a Turret Farm from a serious health risk to a waste of resources.
-Drop turrets. Spike cannon is accurate and has a nice, long range. Use it to take out those turrets in relative safety.
-Gas! Gas! Gas! Nothing annoys, cripples and kills like a Lerk's Spore Cloud. It doesn't cost much energy, it very damaging and can stack. Use it to weaken Marines for assaults or to cover your retreats. Most Marines won't run through it.
-Upgrade. Get Adrenaline. All of your attacks use energy, and Umbra is a real energy hog. Adrenaline is always useful. Redemption or Regen will serve you better then Carapace, since you have little armor. For a sensory upgrade, I recommend either Scent of Fear, since you damage most of the Marines you see, or Cloaking.
Fades:
-Fades are the first Alien that can really stand up to a beating in a firefight. Don't be afraid to take some damage.
-Use all of your attacks. Fades are good fighers at any range. Take advantage of this. Shotguns are horrible at long range, and grenade launchers aren't useful close-up. Try to get good at spotting what weapons Marines are carrying so you can adapt the best attacks.
-Shoot the floor or ceiling. It's a little puzzling how this tactic didn't carry over from TFC. Acid Rockets are pretty slow, so they can be dodged easily. But if you shoot at the floor or ceiling, you can virtually always get some good splash damage in. CS freaks who are used to headshots usually chalk it up to poor aim <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
-Look for Bilebomb opportunities. It might be broken now, doing only 4 damage to buildings, when the manual says it should be 160. But it's probably going to get fixed soon. When attacking outposts, ask yourself if Bilebomb would be useful here.
-Blink. For the love of Homer J. Simpson, blink! Use it to get up close to an enemy and hack away while circle strafing. I see very few Fades who actually use this stupidly powerful ability. Probably because it's hard to use. Just do a duckjump and "fire" the blink. Make sure that you're pointing at a smooth surface, or there's a good chance it won't work.
-Get support. Fades are powerful on their own, but with a Lerk or Gorge healing them and spitting Umbra, they're the reason people constantly **obscenity** about them being overpowered. Teamwork isn't just for Marines.
-Upgrade! Fades are the first species that I really consider Carapace to be useful on. They have a good amount of armor and making it better would be very beneficial if you know there's defense towers or friendly, neighborhood Gorges around. If there isn't healing support, I'd say Regen would be more beneficial. Get Adrenaline. Acid Rocket, Blink and Bilebomb all take a lot of energy. Getting Adrenaline really cuts the pause between firing. Again, I have to recommend cloaking for Fades. It's just too useful of an ability to choose Scent of Fear or Adv. Hivesight over it.
Onos:
-They're called Onos for a reason (O no!). These guys are shock troops. Marines hate them and for good reason.
-Wait for it. Going Ono usually isn't the best idea as soon as they become availible. They're well known for getting stuck. Run to the area of operation as a skulk, find a nice spot and evolve there.
-Use corners. Charging down a long hallway just gives Marines time to shoot at you. Try and find corners that Marines frequently come around to surprise them with Charge or Gore.
-Paralyze. Use it often. It stops Marines dead in their tracks, and if they're flying, they drop right to the ground. It lets you close the distance quicker and stomp them.
-Scream, baby! Use primal scream when attacking a base. It makes all of the other Kharaa much more powerful.
-Upgrade. I recommend Celerity, Carapace and Scent of Fear for Onos. Celerity makes your ponderous mass move faster to cover the distance between you and your foes. Carapace increases your already beefy armor and Scent of Fear will help you hunt down those last pesky Marines, since you've already gotten 3 hives and have trashed their base <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Skulks:
-Keep up the pressure. Skulks are fast, vicious and best of all, free. Keep attacking outposts. Go for the Turret Factory by finding a side that isn't visable to Turrets. When it goes down, take out the turrets (19 RP each).
-Parasite. Always, always, always use parasite. Unless you're going to kill that lone Marine right now by yourself, parasite him. Can't take him by yourself, parasite and call in backup or use hit-and-run attacks. You'll always know where he is as will all your team.
-Death. You will die as a skulk. You have few HP and almost no armor. That's alright. You're free. Don't worry about your kill:death ratio and you'll be better off.
-Mobility. Skulks can go anywhere, which is one of their greatest strengths. Use vents, wallrun and your natural speed for ambushes and attacks. Often, traveling to your target and evolving there is faster then evolving at the hive and running there.
-Use your upgrades. Those 2 RP evolutions make a world of difference. For movement, I recommend either Celerity or Silence. Celerity boosts your already impressive speed and Silence makes your movement and those regen pulses 100% quiet. For defense, I like Regeneration and Redemption. Regen allows you to recover from any damage and Redemption will pull you out of the fray, but isn't 100% reliable. I don't like Carapace because Skulks never have enough armor to make it truly worth-while. Sensory, Cloaking. Scent of Fear and Adv. Hivesight aren't useful enough, because you've hit everything with a parasite, right?
-Leap. Use leap to cover distance quickly. Getting in close is what Skulks are all about and leap does the job brilliantly.
-Xenocide. Use it, love it. It's the most effective anti-personnel attack the Kharaa have. My record is 4 dead Marines and 2 Turrets with 1 Xenocide. It goes off about 1 second after you hit the fire button, so time it accordingly.
Lerks:
-You can't take damage. If you like "straight fights", Lerks aren't for you. They're sneaky, supportive and damn dangerous when used properly.
-Hit-and-run. Lerks are very fast when flying. Get into position, attack then fly away. Spike cannon isn't very damaging, but it's accurate and can shoot for a long time.
-Fly. Get used to flying, since it's a Lerk key ability. Flying into vents, down halls and around rooms makes you a difficult target.
-Support your team. Lerks possess the arguably most powerful ability in the game. Umbra. Umbra will stop 6/7ths of any bullets fired. It won't stop knife or grenade attacks. A single Lerk with Umbra can a Turret Farm from a serious health risk to a waste of resources.
-Drop turrets. Spike cannon is accurate and has a nice, long range. Use it to take out those turrets in relative safety.
-Gas! Gas! Gas! Nothing annoys, cripples and kills like a Lerk's Spore Cloud. It doesn't cost much energy, it very damaging and can stack. Use it to weaken Marines for assaults or to cover your retreats. Most Marines won't run through it.
-Upgrade. Get Adrenaline. All of your attacks use energy, and Umbra is a real energy hog. Adrenaline is always useful. Redemption or Regen will serve you better then Carapace, since you have little armor. For a sensory upgrade, I recommend either Scent of Fear, since you damage most of the Marines you see, or Cloaking.
Fades:
-Fades are the first Alien that can really stand up to a beating in a firefight. Don't be afraid to take some damage.
-Use all of your attacks. Fades are good fighers at any range. Take advantage of this. Shotguns are horrible at long range, and grenade launchers aren't useful close-up. Try to get good at spotting what weapons Marines are carrying so you can adapt the best attacks.
-Shoot the floor or ceiling. It's a little puzzling how this tactic didn't carry over from TFC. Acid Rockets are pretty slow, so they can be dodged easily. But if you shoot at the floor or ceiling, you can virtually always get some good splash damage in. CS freaks who are used to headshots usually chalk it up to poor aim <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
-Look for Bilebomb opportunities. It might be broken now, doing only 4 damage to buildings, when the manual says it should be 160. But it's probably going to get fixed soon. When attacking outposts, ask yourself if Bilebomb would be useful here.
-Blink. For the love of Homer J. Simpson, blink! Use it to get up close to an enemy and hack away while circle strafing. I see very few Fades who actually use this stupidly powerful ability. Probably because it's hard to use. Just do a duckjump and "fire" the blink. Make sure that you're pointing at a smooth surface, or there's a good chance it won't work.
-Get support. Fades are powerful on their own, but with a Lerk or Gorge healing them and spitting Umbra, they're the reason people constantly **obscenity** about them being overpowered. Teamwork isn't just for Marines.
-Upgrade! Fades are the first species that I really consider Carapace to be useful on. They have a good amount of armor and making it better would be very beneficial if you know there's defense towers or friendly, neighborhood Gorges around. If there isn't healing support, I'd say Regen would be more beneficial. Get Adrenaline. Acid Rocket, Blink and Bilebomb all take a lot of energy. Getting Adrenaline really cuts the pause between firing. Again, I have to recommend cloaking for Fades. It's just too useful of an ability to choose Scent of Fear or Adv. Hivesight over it.
Onos:
-They're called Onos for a reason (O no!). These guys are shock troops. Marines hate them and for good reason.
-Wait for it. Going Ono usually isn't the best idea as soon as they become availible. They're well known for getting stuck. Run to the area of operation as a skulk, find a nice spot and evolve there.
-Use corners. Charging down a long hallway just gives Marines time to shoot at you. Try and find corners that Marines frequently come around to surprise them with Charge or Gore.
-Paralyze. Use it often. It stops Marines dead in their tracks, and if they're flying, they drop right to the ground. It lets you close the distance quicker and stomp them.
-Scream, baby! Use primal scream when attacking a base. It makes all of the other Kharaa much more powerful.
-Upgrade. I recommend Celerity, Carapace and Scent of Fear for Onos. Celerity makes your ponderous mass move faster to cover the distance between you and your foes. Carapace increases your already beefy armor and Scent of Fear will help you hunt down those last pesky Marines, since you've already gotten 3 hives and have trashed their base <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Comments
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->-Parasite. Always, always, always use parasite. Unless you're going to kill that lone Marine right now by yourself, parasite him. Can't take him by yourself, parasite and call in backup or use hit-and-run attacks. You'll always know where he is as will all your team.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Absolutely!! I rarely see Skulks using parasite nearly as much as they should. There's usually a vent or something in most marine main's, so use it!! Get a skulk to get there right at the start, and just flick parasites on the marines until they see you. Knowing where they're going for in early-game (<i>ie:resource nozzles and hives</i>) is just as important as tagging them in late-game.
It's rediculously useful in late-game as well since most marines would have HMG+HA by then. If an alien knows there's a group of marines around the corner, it'll (<i>hopefully</i>) keep him from strutting his bad self right into a spray of bullets.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I don't like Carapace because Skulks never have enough armor to make it truly worth-while.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Depending on the situation, I'll take carapace or regeneration. If I'm xeno-bombing a base late-game, I'll go with carapace. If just doing some marine sniping, I'll go with regeneration for fairly obvious reasons.
Redemption is, IMO, useless for a skulk since they're <i>free</i>. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->-Xenocide. Use it, love it. It's the most effective anti-personnel attack the Kharaa have. My record is 4 dead Marines and 2 Turrets with 1 Xenocide. It goes off about 1 second after you hit the fire button, so time it accordingly.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Xenocide is quite a lovely skill. The ability to spontaneously combust into a spray of acidic body parts is just too much fun to resist!! My highest xenocide kill isn't quite as impressive as yours, but 3 marines and their last remaining turret factory is still pretty nice. (<i>I was xeno-bombing the factory for about 5 mins and nobody repaired it</i>). <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> *BANG!* <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> ahhhh!!!!1
Dont believe me?
who makes all of this stuff
initray portals and command stations / hives
Turrets/ offense chambers
health packs/ defense chambers and healiing spray
weapon and armor upgrades / upgrades
without a good groge, the aliens can lose very easily.. It takes longer for someone to turn into a gorge than it does for someone to enter aocmmand station.
Good tips, but I wouldn't call it a stratgey guide.
-PD