Map-Specific Strategies, care to share?
2cough
Rocky Mountain High Join Date: 2013-03-14 Member: 183952Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
Rocky Mountain High Join Date: 2013-03-14 Member: 183952Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
Pretty straight forward, are there any strategies that you find work for you repeatedly on specific maps? For example, early 2nd hive drop on Veil? Relocating on Summit? Gorge tunnel locations, sneaky pgs locations, rushing certain tech, hiding upgrades, blah blah blah, you fill in the rest! Any strats you'd care to share that you only use on certain maps?
Or do you just go same route on each map? Not trying to get into specifics or semantics about general tactics, just map-specifics.
Thread, engage!
Or do you just go same route on each map? Not trying to get into specifics or semantics about general tactics, just map-specifics.
Thread, engage!
Comments
Well the obvious one here is immediate gorge tunnel from alien start to nano grid on veil. Place the tunnel behind the railing, BETWEEN the two rez nodes, and you don't ever have to cyst over to there.
Marine insta-relocate to Cargo (fun Gambit)
Gorges on the ceiling in Smelting (patched out?)
Gorge in the Vents from Overlook to Skylights
I really liked sniping higher life forms with the railgun on that long hallway from Sub Sector to Overlook back when railguns first came out.
Sneaking to Cave tunnels, killing upgrades near hive, run back and hide in tunnel before enemy response. Many pub players didn't know that there was a tunnel back then, so I was able to do this for almost 10 minutes at a time.
rip man, rip.
Aliens' most exploitable weakness on this map is being arc'ed and being heard. Luckily there are ways to deal with this.
Shade hive first (tight corridors and good vent interconnection greatly favour silent aliens), but rather than rushing the upgrades ensure your gorges can hold power sub with whips (2 seems optimal).
Skulks should be primarily defensive, with perhaps only 1 or 2 biting res at all. I say this because yes, marines will struggle to hold it if you go for the res, but that makes it so much easier for them to get into power sub, and once they're in its super hard to get them back out if they have any sense and use mines. So largely your skulks should patiently camp the pinch points and help gorge/s.
IF the marines camp somewhere threatening with pg/mines early on (power sub, south loop, gen monitors), OR you fail to hold a 2nd tech point
Dont_get_the_upgrade_structures and just straight out get bile.
While biomass and gorge ups are researching and marines are likely setting up base with PG, mines and robo factory from all that early res income from their initial deployment, you should have lerks which should mostly fend off the marines early pushes into your base. Skulks should bite RTs more in this phase to keep marines tech down, especially if they are getting arcs.
If you can take back power sub with bile and life forms, all-in team pushes, you will win.
For your 2nd hive crag/shift, take your pick, I personally like crag hive; armour for your life forms in those tight corridors, plus a frontline crag w/ heal wave + optional mucous for invincible skulks. Usually if the game has lasted this long, marines are in serious trouble if they have not prepared.
I cannot stress enough that you need to keep the marines out of power sub guys. Dont take your eye off it for a second.
Many still dont
On mineshaft: dark dark tunnel between crusher and cavern
On descent: one of the corners on plaza
On docking: in the corner of ballcourt
Those are have little chance of being scanned, unless they are scanning all the map for upgrades specifically.
Downside is, if they find them, you will have hard time defending those.
raw maps are found here: wiki.unknownworlds.com/ns2/Map_Index
Sure we probz all know the gorge tunnel in nano one, but what else we got?
I'll chime in a little since I have some more time now. I've seen double pgs work pretty succesfully on Central Drilling in mineshaft, one coming out near pwr, the other on the 2nd rt on elevated platform. This was used to hold central & 2 tps til tech was available for alien murder. Of course, pwr is all the more important to protect if doing this. I'm sure most of us have also seen the double pg in hub on tram a la Titus as well. Any other maps this can be helpful on that you can think of?
Okay, here's another obvious one. Forego pgs on summit til you've got at least a1, w1, and shotties. It's a very easy map to run around on, especially since running encourages more offense, as well as running thru rooms w/ rts that need to be protected/destroyed. Maybe unless you start atrium... I quite hate atrium start for both aliens and marines..
Marine Start: shipping.
Get the two naturals, get a robo factory, send a skilled and sneaky squad to plateform, place sentries in bottom right corner, all back against the wall, the battery in the middle, somehow. One sentry covers both the entrance and the the two other sentries, the other sentries face the opposite direction (where the aliens will come from). The set up must have the curved shape of this corridor. Get the power, leave on guy or two there (depends on the number of players in your team : if 10+, leave two guys), get them the RT and an armory. North side is cut for aliens, they're forced to expand south, having not more than 3 RTs. Marines cap the whole other side, while putting pressure on first alien natural, and defending plateform. Get mines, tech up, win the game, and thank me later.
Veil
Alien start : sub / cargo.
Get a gorge tunnel in nano, get three harvesters, not more. Wait for the pressure to cool down, let the first wave of marines cap the right side.
Get a second gorge to build a tunnel in the corridor south of Topographical, like in front of the ventilation entrance or something. Get him a shift a crag and a whip (even a second one if you can afford), he gets clogs, a few hydras. Right side is secured, send skulks kill the marines, bite all the res (C12, Pipe, Topo), then mass expand on right side. Cap 7 harvesters, enjoy your money.
Downside :
-delays the trait upgrades.
-if those silly marines go for fast phasegates and get one set up in Pipe or Cargo, you're screwed. The good thing is that they won't be attacking your gorge tunnel and you won't fear an arc push on nano. The bad thing is they now got two techpoints and they screw you from behind... your lines.
Counters :
- If marines send a a lot of soldiers to take down the tunnel, let the gorge trying to defend (the set up will probably be destroyed and skulks shredded), send all the other skulks on the left side, rush the marine base. GG.
Seriously, this works. I even saw a gorge going topscore (358, 100 points ahead of the second alien, the one who carried and got the kills) because he spent his time defending the bunker like a hero.
Biodome
Alien start: Atmosphere exchange
(this works better on servers with less slots)
Tell your team what you're doing before you do it, and define clear roles for a few aliens.
Send a squad to bamboo pass to ambush. Gather your skulks around seeding (bioreactors / bridge / analysis). Tell them to ambush only, not attacking seeding.
When the game starts, drop immediatly the hive in Hydroponics (since the marines are too far to hear it, they won't suspect there's one).
Get a gorge tunnel on the hydroponics res node, get your gorge a shift and the harvester, place a drifter. No cysts. When Hydro is set up, clogged, defended by two skulks, and the gorge healing the hive, beging to capture agri labs and filtration.
Tell the other skulks to avoid fights and go bite some res.
Summit :
Alien start: Flight / Atrium (assuming cross spawn)
Wait for lerks to be up, send a gorge build a tunnel in Pipe Junction, defended by lerks (top left corner), get him a crag a shift and a whip. Right side / South side secured. Skulks have an easy access to DC / Cross / Ventilation to resbite, and those locations will slowly become yours. Pipe is hard to siege, and maybe marines will spend time and energy trying to clean it. The corridors aren't long and skulks or lerks can easily run in circle and bite marines behind their backs. Moreover crag area of effect covers the whole room, and gorges / lerks will never lack energy thx to the shift.
Thanks to RioS for some of the tips.
Mega verbal typo by reddog and crew during that cast. It should be Joan of Arc.
So much historyfail spread through the NS2-sphere by one single verbo (verbal typo).
Sigh...
Of course it *should* have been Joan of Arc, but like the 'scorpian that hovars without flaping' (NB flaping not flapping as is incorrectly written on the in-game posters), these little slips can, and should, be continued as the true lore underpinning our wonderful community
how do i shot web again?
So much comprehension fail in this post it is unbelievable. Yes, we KNOW it's Joan of Arc, but guess what?
Joan was a REAL woman, and not an IMAGINARY object in a game. Hence why it was called John as a 'Play On Words'.
Seriously, if you do not understand the difference between a play on words, and a genuine lack of knowledge, you will struggle understanding much of life...
Proceed to take nano, leave cargo open for marines. Drop pipe/sub hive. Get bile. Bile cargo from the rafters. Win.
Sigh...Why couldn't you have taken my post lightheartedly, as Roo did? You don't need to get so emotional.
Take a deep breath and read my post again. You are a glaring example of comprehension fail.
Someone with your skillset really is in no position to be giving life advice. Get over it.
Because I have Asperger's, so social/conversational mis-understandings are my speciality.
Also your post had no trace of humour or Irony
Also, with my very advanced years and condition, I have a hell of a lot of useful life advice to give...
Particularly about what doesn't work in the world
Yes yes... we all know you're 4000 years old, have seen the rise and fall of empires, and have had more loves than most men have breaths in their entire life... don't need to keep rubbing it in dude...
insta CC cross and 1 ip, no phasegate agressive relocate
aliens crap their pants until they ultimatly lose haha
Meanwhile the aliens eating your old base + the only restower, cysting around cross and killing the recappers.
Im sure your Uber cross relocate work on your 35 slot server, but only work all the time there cause the quality of the alien players is "sub-optimal"
No troll flag...hmm.. dissagree!
It works with more skilled players, too. Ask meatmachine.
If it works (typically against a team you would have beaten anyway), it is certainly a lot of fun, if stressful as a field player
If you want crossroads rush mines, get a cross armory, let team mine it up, and then rush pgs.
The wiser move:
Take crossroads when you have a1w1 (or 2) and pgs up the 'natural' way.
That was on purpose since we wanted the ARC male instead of female...
No. You have to historically accurate no jokes allowed.
Strats too long to list
Harass res(both sides), hold lanes, aliens look for openings to attack base, marines tech up (mines, A1/W1/SG/PG/2/2/CP/AA/3/PT/JP/3/Exo (arcs whenever you have the extra res)) and always drop a 2nd chair.... always. Unless you want to pull a "Decoy Plz" (like I did last night :facepalm:)
People get too caught up in KDR and lose focus on the team play. Your marines should have welders and not be wandering off too often on their own, when gates are up have 1 person watch them, and micromanage them as needed)
Aliens expand (cyst a lot) drop PVE and don't rush a 2nd hive when you have no ups. Your team needs the ups (which include biomass) to stay in the fight.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Jambi- gorge tunnel to either organ or bay. Gates Sky and Security. Don't let marines stay in Oxy too long. Don't put a gate in gravity on the same side of the wall as the RT, you can clear the gate from the doorway of X if you put it in the open part of the room. Pressure pipe and organ via offload.
Summit- you don't have to have cross to win, but it helps. Crevice gate with Data or Sub Spawn. Usually when I lose on Summit it is due to res-starvation. If you hold cross as marines it allows you to hit comp, vent, crevice and reactor easily. (But summit sucks in pubs usually unless you have cross spawns)
Eclipse- Don't let the marines have powersub-junction/south loop for too long. To the west of maintenance drop a tunnel and shade it, marines don't wander through that area a lot.
Tram- South Marine Spawn: Hub gate, gorge tunnel shaded either in the hallway from south tunnels to logistics or the north side of logistics (shaded). Tunnel Hub with PVE
Descent- Fab Spawn Marine: can relocate to hydro. Marine spawn Mono, alien rush via the vent system in water hit base end game. Tunnel to shipping shaded or plaza. Marine base in launch get bile, bile rush via the launch vent.
Veil- Alien pressure top side, marines can wait to take nano when PGs are up, PG system, PG dome, arc nano. Tunnel to nano with a crag.
Biodome- Atmo alien spawn, tunnel to hydro with PVE. Marine pressure team through falls, bridge jump to agri, go alley to filtration. Gates west route, and C02 scrubbers if possible. Can relocate to falls, but the power is pretty vulnerable in this location
Don't recommend 2nd hive without having some ups first. It makes no sense to drop a 2nd hive is there are 0 spurs/shells/veils on the field. Your team will continue to lose engagements as marines get 1/1, and having a second hive isn't going to help that.
Relocates are hard to hold. Aliens will usually see it and clear the old base and eat any of your other res while you try to build up the new base.
Bile rush or base rush will ruin your steam roll if you have only 1 chair so I stick by that as an every map strat... drop a second chair.