Skulk and Lerk bites.

grazr

<div class="IPBDescription">What's the difference?</div>I'm a little confused at the numbers involved in these two attacks.

Lerk bites seem to be more powerful which makes sense since it's a "higher" evolution. But i've noticed the numbers don't add up.

Skulk bites hit for 75, 50 and 25 whilst lerk bites hit at 60, 40 and 20 yet appear to actually deal more damage as they kill in fewer bites.

Is there an armour penetration value on the lerk bite or is it just the poison messing up the numbers. I'm also assuming poison only applies on direct bites. As a marine i've been bitten by Lerks a fair bit, yet rarely suffer the poison DPS afterwards.

PureHostility

There is a poison in lerk's bite.

"Poison bite is the primary attack for Lerk. It can bite using its large beak and inject non-lethal poison into Marines, which often brings them to the brink of death and make for easy prey. "


Both skulk's bite and lerk's poison bite are normal damage.
Lerk's poison bite has less base damage than skulk's one.

Not sure, but I think poison does around 30 damage to health over duration of 6 seconds, stopping at 5 hp (you can't die due to the poison).

Also skulk has faster attack rate.

Neoken

I'm not quite so sure myself actually. From what I've gathered, a good bite does 60 damage, but not instantly. Only about half of that is instant normal damage, while the other half is the poison that acts slowly and only affects marine HP (not armor). But I could be way wrong. The wiki itself is also not that clear about it.

rantology

Skulk bite: 75 normal damage

Lerk bite: 60 normal damage + 36 poison damage over 6 sec (poison does direct damage to HP, ignores armor)

You have to note that the lerk is primarily a support class, and that raw killing power is not it's primary function. In the early game the lerk can do very well in terms of killing power, but as the game progresses to mid+late game it's role becomes much more cemented into supporting other life forms via gas/umbra rather than trying to solo harass/kill marines.

Swiftspear

Does anyone know how poison works with glancing bites? Does it still do 36 damage or does it scale with the reduced damage of the bite? or perhaps it doesn't even sink with glancing bites?

Destroid

It appears you only get the poison on a full hit.

Mestaritonttu

Not 100% on this, but I think Lerk poison doesn't kill you, it always leaves you with a minimum of 5hp. Something to do with not watching yourself inevitably die.

Or I might be just imagining it.

rantology

<!--quoteo(post=2042344:date=Dec 9 2012, 04:57 AM:name=Mestaritonttu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Mestaritonttu @ Dec 9 2012, 04:57 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2042344"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Lerk poison doesn't kill you, it always leaves you with a minimum of 5hp.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

that is correct

Timarius

You will know if the Lerk is getting the poison in by the green drips going down your screen (outside of alien vision). I'm pretty sure I've gotten them on glancing bites a few times.

Skulks will do more damage a lot faster than a Lerk, but a good Lerk will combine spikes on the fly in with the bite to seal the deal. Unless there's a shotgun. Then they cry.

MaximumSquid

<u><b>grazr:</b></u>

Lerk is nasty because it's attacks bypass armor making it useful all the way up till +3/+3 and at that point you usually need umbra to continue pressuring

I think spikes deal partial damage to health too making it so if a Marine is down to 5 health from poison that they die in 1 spike

Poison cannot finish off a Marine though like spores can

PureHostility

<!--quoteo(post=2042373:date=Dec 9 2012, 02:52 PM:name=MaximumSquid)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MaximumSquid @ Dec 9 2012, 02:52 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2042373"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><u><b>grazr:</b></u>

Lerk is nasty because it's attacks bypass armor making it useful all the way up till +3/+3 and at that point you usually need umbra to continue pressuring

I think spikes deal partial damage to health too making it so if a Marine is down to 5 health from poison that they die in 1 spike

Poison cannot finish off a Marine though like spores can<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


All attacks deal partial damage to health ;).
It's just that spikes are puncture type of damage.
They deal 25% more damage to players (marines, not exos).

Yuuki

Summary: Lerk bite is different from skulk bite because it has hidden modifiers that are impossible to know about if you don't read the lua code.

Timarius

<!--quoteo(post=2042477:date=Dec 9 2012, 10:29 AM:name=Yuuki)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Yuuki @ Dec 9 2012, 10:29 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2042477"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Summary: Lerk bite is different from skulk bite because it has hidden modifiers that are impossible to know about if you don't read the lua code.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I'm pretty sure there's a load screen tooltip, and it tells you in the lifeform description when you choose to evolve. And there's also the poison drip visual indicator. The Lerk poison bite is not hidden. You may not know the exact numbers it does, but you know it's there.

yehawmcgraw

Another critical question:

Do the poisons stack?

rantology

<!--quoteo(post=2042701:date=Dec 9 2012, 09:05 PM:name=yehawmcgraw)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yehawmcgraw @ Dec 9 2012, 09:05 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2042701"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Another critical question:

Do the poisons stack?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

no. just refreshes the duration of the DoT I believe.

pendelum5

It seems the most effective way to hurt marines is to bite each one once, fly away for 6 seconds, then bite them all again once they switched their attention to your skulk teammates. This is also a great way to not die trying to chew 4 marines to death at once.

Timarius

<!--quoteo(post=2042718:date=Dec 9 2012, 08:56 PM:name=pendelum5)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pendelum5 @ Dec 9 2012, 08:56 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2042718"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It seems the most effective way to hurt marines is to bite each one once, fly away for 6 seconds, then bite them all again once they switched their attention to your skulk teammates. This is also a great way to not die trying to chew 4 marines to death at once.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Silent lerk. Spike them on the way in from behind, bite, then turn around and do it again when they turn to face where you were. Dead Marine. Easier said than done against one with a shotgun, though. Silent lerks are so fun.

And yes, biting a poisoned marine only refreshes the poison, and the poison will never kill the marine.

And, for future reference, while you have armor up, your armor takes 70% of the damage coming at you. A lerk bite puts you in a bit of a bind, especially when your commander doesn't have the resources or isn't spamming medkits.

Yuuki

<!--quoteo(post=2042687:date=Dec 10 2012, 03:17 AM:name=Timarius)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Timarius @ Dec 10 2012, 03:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2042687"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm pretty sure there's a load screen tooltip, and it tells you in the lifeform description when you choose to evolve. And there's also the poison drip visual indicator. The Lerk poison bite is not hidden. You may not know the exact numbers it does, but you know it's there.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I'm probably stupid but I always forget about poison when I play lerk, I really don't take it into account.