Remove Xenocide : Replace with Acid Blood

schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
I think that xenocide is a really badly thought out ability. I mean how can an ability that removes yourself from the playing field be useful to the team? And being in dead/spectating is boring for the player as well.

I get the idea behind it - it's supposed to make the skulk a powerful unit late game. Well it doesn't work.

What would work however is an upgrade for the skulk, that lets you do your normal skulking thing AND when you die, you get the benefit of still potentially causing some additional damage. And we would do this by giving the skulk extra bacteria that has various effects.

You could give the skulk perhaps either blood infused with:
Spores : When the skulk dies, he explodes in could of spores to cause damage to marines
Bile : When skulk dies he explodes in a blob of bile damaging all marine buildings near by
Umbra : every time the skulk bleeds (e.g. is shot) a small umbra could pops out
Ink : when a skulk dies, ink spews out as if a shade were there
Frenzy mist : every time the skulk gets shot nearby aliens are frenzied and increase their attack speed
Heal Wave : when the skulk dies the healing bactieria pops out a decent one time heal to nearby aliens


Perhaps even all could work depending on what else you have evolved. E.g. if you evolve Adernaline your blood is now bile, if you evolve celerity your blood is spores, if you evolve a shade ability you get ink. etc etc

Or we could just have plain old acid blood like in various aliens films, so that if you a skulk is too close to you when you kill it it will damage everything around it, and even leave a 2-3 second acid pool that you can't step in or build on.


Either way, now even late game the skulks will be very useful late game, as will play a big part in wearing down the marines and their turtle base.





ps. btw where is the colour code html option gone :( new forum with less features?

Comments

  • Evil.IguanaEvil.Iguana Join Date: 2012-11-02 Member: 166120Members
    I like this idea, but the team seems to be wedded to the idea that all passive upgrades must come from chambers and everything you research on the hive has to be an active ability.
  • killer monkeykiller monkey Join Date: 2010-02-26 Member: 70743Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    lame Xeno is better imo
  • schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
    I like this idea, but the team seems to be wedded to the idea that all passive upgrades must come from chambers and everything you research on the hive has to be an active ability.

    Well i'm just throwing stuff out there, i'd be happy if it was really simplyfied and xeno triggered automatically when you died tbh.
    lame Xeno is better imo

    Thanks for that insightful comment... I think you must have meant xeno is better at being worse?

  • EmooEmoo Ibasa Join Date: 2002-12-20 Member: 11198Members
    Xeno wouldn't be so bad if:
    A) You could continue to attack after it was triggered (I believe it worked this way in NS1?)
    B) You respawned instantly (not on the next spawn wave, instantly), provided there was a free egg
  • meatmachinemeatmachine South England Join Date: 2013-01-06 Member: 177858Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    I like the idea of xeno having a status effect depending on what the upgrade is of the hive that evolves it, in line with the above suggestions. Though tbh at the moment xeno is one of those abilities that is endgame, trying to see how many kills you can get with it is a game in and of itself, I don't think extra attributes would make it any more useful.
  • SixtyWattManSixtyWattMan Join Date: 2004-09-05 Member: 31404Members
    Xenocide is fine the way it is. It's extremely powerful and still balanced.
  • WakeWake Join Date: 2003-03-05 Member: 14351Members, Constellation
    I like the idea, auto triggered by death, I'd go for spores, bile or Ink.
  • bERt0rbERt0r Join Date: 2005-03-23 Member: 46181Members
    Passive xeno would be op but xeno is one of those things that were ported over from ns1, but does not work the same way and is therefore unbalanced. In this case it is underpowered. Xeno in ns1 was great because you could get off 1 leap and 1-2 bites after you activated your xeno.
  • SixtyWattManSixtyWattMan Join Date: 2004-09-05 Member: 31404Members
    Xenocide is fine the way it is. It's extremely powerful and still balanced.
    So "extremely powerful and balanced" that no one uses it, the absolute last thing a comm would buy. I forgot it even existed for about 3 months until I saw this post. Pubs and pros, no one xenos.

    You play with bad commanders.
  • AurOn2AurOn2 COOKIES! FREEDOM, AND BISCUITS! Australia Join Date: 2012-01-13 Member: 140224Members, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Forum staff
    unless you can get 3 hives in under 10 minutes (so before armor 2/3), xeno is useless, and a goshdarn waste of resources.
  • GrueneMedizinGrueneMedizin Join Date: 2012-12-13 Member: 175008Members
    Xeno is pretty good, you wont find it properly used it pubs though. You need more than one exploding skulk obviously to be effective and take down multiple marines. You just need to know when to use it. One time the marines were turtling on mineshaft and every time we killed their power in operations, they would just get it up again (they had an exo all the way up the wall). Once we got the power down again I just jumped into a pack of marines with leap and xenocided, killing at least 4-5 marines and allowing the rest of the team to clean up their base at last.
  • dragonmithdragonmith Join Date: 2013-02-04 Member: 182817Members, Reinforced - Diamond
    I found this in the screenshot gallery:

    IebtA.jpg

    Really seems like its an ablity to use while they replace the arms lab.
  • Cr4zyb4st4rdCr4zyb4st4rd United Kingdom Join Date: 2012-08-09 Member: 155200Members, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow
    Xeno in 99.9% of situations is useless. It really only becomes suitable when a marine or group of marines are low on health, and really low, because the radius and damage suck.

    It might make some more sense if it did damage and poisoned marines, the reason no one really uses it is because it's a sacrifice of your life for almost no return, you only ever have it late game, because 3rd hive ability and generally last researched. At which point you're probably trying to get res for a higher life-form with upgrades to have a chance vs 3/3 'rines/exos you don't want to die and stop that res income. Considering xeno doesn't outright kill a 'rine on lvl3 armor (at least pretty sure it doesn't) why bother trying?
  • SixtyWattManSixtyWattMan Join Date: 2004-09-05 Member: 31404Members
    edited February 2013
    Xeno in 99.9% of situations is useless. It really only becomes suitable when a marine or group of marines are low on health, and really low, because the radius and damage suck.

    It might make some more sense if it did damage and poisoned marines, the reason no one really uses it is because it's a sacrifice of your life for almost no return, you only ever have it late game, because 3rd hive ability and generally last researched. At which point you're probably trying to get res for a higher life-form with upgrades to have a chance vs 3/3 'rines/exos you don't want to die and stop that res income. Considering xeno doesn't outright kill a 'rine on lvl3 armor (at least pretty sure it doesn't) why bother trying?

    OR... OR... BEAR WITH ME FOR A MOMENT. YOU COULD USE XENOCIDE TO WEAKEN ALL THE MARINES AND GET RID OF THEIR ARMOR AND YOUR FADES AND OTHER SKULKS COULD COME IN AND ONE SHOT THEM. 2-3 XENOS WILL KILL ALL THE EXOS WELDERS LATE GAME. HOLD ON. GOTTA BLOW YOUR MIND. GET A LERK TO SPORE THE ROOM BEFORE YOU XENO OR... OR... YOU COULD GET A GORGE TO BILE AWAY THE MARINE ARMOR.

    Why does everything think Xenocide is supposed to be a gaming ending ability that one shots Armor 3 Marines, ESPECIALLY IN NS2 where the Khammander can spawn you WHEREVER HE WANTS?
  • |strofix||strofix| Join Date: 2012-11-01 Member: 165453Members
    edited February 2013
    I feel xenocide suffers from the same warped perception that vortex does.

    When is xenocide most useful? When the marines are all crowded and scared sitting in their final base with aliens on all sides.
    Which are the only viable lifeforms at this stage of the game due to the marine team's awesome power of turtlage? Gorges and Onos.

    If you aren't a gorge or an onos, or your third ability doesn't directly help gorges or onos, the ability is going to look like crap. No matter what.

    As with vortex, the ability itself is fine. I've used it to great effect in combat mode. But once you introduce the situational constraints that come with 3 hive aliens against losing marines, it suddenly seems lack luster in comparison to the alternatives.
  • whoppaXXLwhoppaXXL Join Date: 2006-11-03 Member: 58298Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    I like acid blood when died. Make it an upgrade you can choose via the evolutions - combined with xenocide it splashes around damaging marines/structures over time and not just once.
  • schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
    Xeno in 99.9% of situations is useless. It really only becomes suitable when a marine or group of marines are low on health, and really low, because the radius and damage suck.

    It might make some more sense if it did damage and poisoned marines, the reason no one really uses it is because it's a sacrifice of your life for almost no return, you only ever have it late game, because 3rd hive ability and generally last researched. At which point you're probably trying to get res for a higher life-form with upgrades to have a chance vs 3/3 'rines/exos you don't want to die and stop that res income. Considering xeno doesn't outright kill a 'rine on lvl3 armor (at least pretty sure it doesn't) why bother trying?

    OR... OR... BEAR WITH ME FOR A MOMENT. YOU COULD USE XENOCIDE TO WEAKEN ALL THE MARINES AND GET RID OF THEIR ARMOR AND YOUR FADES AND OTHER SKULKS COULD COME IN AND ONE SHOT THEM. 2-3 XENOS WILL KILL ALL THE EXOS WELDERS LATE GAME. HOLD ON. GOTTA BLOW YOUR MIND. GET A LERK TO SPORE THE ROOM BEFORE YOU XENO OR... OR... YOU COULD GET A GORGE TO BILE AWAY THE MARINE ARMOR.

    Why does everything think Xenocide is supposed to be a gaming ending ability that one shots Armor 3 Marines, ESPECIALLY IN NS2 where the Khammander can spawn you WHEREVER HE WANTS?

    yeah but considering you are dying when you use your attack, you'd want it to be pretty damn good - ns1 had it much better
  • ritualsacrificeritualsacrifice Join Date: 2012-11-14 Member: 171148Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Ink and Xeno are both incredibly badass abilities that don't really have a purpose right now. Allowing skulks to use Ink offensively at the cost of having to xenocide could be incredilby useful. If any of you have seen ink used in combat mode, you'll understand what I mean.
  • ijustpwnedu96ijustpwnedu96 Join Date: 2013-01-27 Member: 182320Members
    They can perhaps increase the radius and damage a tiny bit to make it more useful. Also, they can potentially add poison damage after the Xenocide. If the marine is still alive from the blast, it slowly drains their health for a reasonable few seconds.
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