Sensory Towers

hooligans

<div class="IPBDescription">yay</div> So what's the big deal about these? I don't understand why teammates would get mad if you instantly put a sensory tower... i thought they only make you invisible when near.... so what's the deal?

Charge

dc is better

RaVe

DCs and MCs outclass the SC for first use.

The DC allows for total aggresive behaviour. You need that extra few shots to get to that LMGer? Carapace. Hit and Run tactics? Regeneration. Reckless rushing without dying? Get Redemption

MS is a versatile chamber, FAR too versatile IMO. You want to go aggresive? Get Celerity. Sneak attacks? Silence. Need that extra healing power? Adrenaline.

SCs most of the time put you into a defensive scheme. SoF only shows you your enemies, but when they get Motion Tracking, yuou're back on square one.
Cloaking? Just one scan or an attentive marine and poof, you're cover's blown. I don't even have to talk about Pheromones.

DCs just outweigh the MCs in terms of aggresive tactics.

esuna

<!--QuoteBegin--RaVe+Dec 5 2003, 12:58 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (RaVe @ Dec 5 2003, 12:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> DCs and MCs outclass the SC for first use.

The DC allows for total aggresive behaviour. You need that extra few shots to get to that LMGer? Carapace. Hit and Run tactics? Regeneration. Reckless rushing without dying? Get Redemption

MS is a versatile chamber, FAR too versatile IMO. You want to go aggresive? Get Celerity. Sneak attacks? Silence. Need that extra healing power? Adrenaline.

SCs most of the time put you into a defensive scheme. SoF only shows you your enemies, but when they get Motion Tracking, yuou're back on square one.
Cloaking? Just one scan or an attentive marine and poof, you're cover's blown. I don't even have to talk about Pheromones.

DCs just outweigh the MCs in terms of aggresive tactics. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
As soon as they get weapons level 1 or 2 carapace is useless. For everything there is a counter except for possibly movement.

I don't think SC is too bad, it makes a good chamber on any hive, as long as you're positive you can control a second hive for a second upgrade. But then again, the kharaa end up pretty screwed without two hives, especially against upgraded marines.

Cloak is an immensely powerful upgrade for hive 1 skulks, and with 2.0's addition of being able to move you can ambush and kill marines before they can shout "Jesus christ, get off my face."

Phin

From the sound of it you probably didn't know that you can only drop one type of chamber per hive, (excluding OCs). So you can't, say, drop a sensory chamber right at the start of the game and then proceed to drop a defence/movement chamber, because the sens has taken up the hive 'slot' and you must build another hive before you can get any other types of chambers. People complain about sens as the first hive chamber because it doesn't offer as many benefits as DCs or MCs do, (But I'm not saying I hate sensory; Personally I just see it as a different way of playing).

Anyway, if you allready knew that then just ignore this post. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->

Bogglesteinsky

Sensory is a good first have chamber. It is immensly powerful in early game, ambusing marines with cloak as they try to expand is devastating for them. It is virtually useless for mid game though, so you need to take full advantage of the cloaking and SoF before the marines get too handy with the scan. If you cannot secure a second hive with sensory, you have basically lost the game.

Only go for sens if you are sure you will be able to get the 2nd hive for another upgrade. If you do go for sens, use it wisely. dont go chargint at marines in long corridoors, you will die. sneak up on them slowly, or work out where they are going and ambush them. You can get a marine team on it's knees with some decent sensory chamber action, but if it fails, you have lost.

Sensory is the biggest risk chamber, but it pays back a lot, if you use it well.

RaVe

<!--QuoteBegin--esuna+Dec 5 2003, 08:14 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (esuna @ Dec 5 2003, 08:14 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> [QUOTE]
As soon as they get weapons level 1 or 2 carapace is useless. For everything there is a counter except for possibly movement.

I don't think SC is too bad, it makes a good chamber on any hive, as long as you're positive you can control a second hive for a second upgrade. But then again, the kharaa end up pretty screwed without two hives, especially against upgraded marines.

Cloak is an immensely powerful upgrade for hive 1 skulks, and with 2.0's addition of being able to move you can ambush and kill marines before they can shout "Jesus christ, get off my face." <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I know that, but that is why they get DCs first. At level 0 weapons carapace lets you live way longer before you die (exceptions are those with godlike aim)

And yes I am aware of SCs not really being that bad. They CAN be used offensively, but that requires a LOT of teamwork and a sensory network....most of it anyway :/

Sadly most pubs lack the teamwork needed to win with an MC or SC. DCs are like a getaway from a responsibility I'm afraid.

But don't get me wrong, they are all potentially good but DCs and MCs remain useful throughout the whole game already. SCs can be countered by multiple Observatories, but they need some time for the res to flow. There's also building and energy recharge time. But whe you're in late game and marines are winning and marching through each of your hives, he's likely to plop 1 down. Or 2 if he finds a good spot to hide it :/

BlueNovember

I dont want to turn this into another discussion on the pros and cons of the various chambers; there have been loads of threads on this already. However, I will mention the obvious advantage of SC that has somehow been skimmed over: It can cloak surrounding buildings and aliens without any upgrades needing to be used.

This is very underestimated. SC as first means marines charge into that halway just before the notice the OCs decloaking to fire... Skulks can make ambushes using cloak/SoF combos, and gorges can remain hiden as they expand the frontier.

I do agree that SC as first hive is a no-no in pubs games; it is a specific style of play that most ppl dont like. Your average ns2 'res hog' wants to go onos asap, even with one hive, and if you dont have a DC for him there's going to be some flaming.

HTH

maverick651

In my experience, sensory chambers are only effective very early in the game to ambush the marines when they still don't have upgrades, or late in the game to find those last two or three marines hiding in the vents with Scent of Fear. Sensory really seems to be only effective early in game if the map is nearly covered with sensory towers, and to do that, you need more than one gorge to agree to place them, but since public servers often don't have that level of teamplay, sensory chambers are looked down upon as the first chamber to be built.

BlueNovember

...and you would certainly ask before you placed. Still, I think a well-organised clan should nearly always go for SC first, as they can co-ordinate their stealth attacks better. However getting hive 2 without DC can be problematic.

There is no real *perfect* order of chambers that suits all players; DC, MC, SC is just used as it is a good all-rounder.

maverick651

I was playing yesterday on a server, and a gorge put down sensory tower first, and the whole team started badmouthing him, and he said it was to prevent res hogs from going onos 5-10 minutes into the game. On a side note, anytime that person is on the alien team, they tend to lose.

Cold_NiTe

<!--QuoteBegin--esuna+Dec 5 2003, 08:14 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (esuna @ Dec 5 2003, 08:14 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--><b>As soon as they get weapons level 1 or 2 carapace is useless.</b> For everything there is a counter except for possibly movement.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Which is what makes {DC / MC} > SC. These "counters" take longer and/or cost more to get <b>AND</b> they never <i>COMPLETELY</i> negate the chamber. Whereas <u>multiple</u> observatories in coordination with frequent scans in the areas surrounding your troopsand emplacements and with the researching of MT destroys the best effects of the SC. Whereas better weapons / armor does not negate the effects of the DC / MC it simply puts them back on a somewhat more even playing field.

(However one must note that the Chamber abilities are almost always above the Marine Armor / Weapon upgrades because of their usuability. You can find all kinds of ways to abuse the Chamber abilities, whereas Armor / Weapon upgrades just give you that much more Armor / or a weapon that is that much better. The only equalization of this would be JP / HA / Welder abuse. But that is all opinion.)

zerwalter

Regardless of which chamber that you consider the best, one fundamental thing that you need to understand is that NS is about teamwork. So, ask your team which chamber they want <u>before</u> you put one down. As you can only have one chamber per hive, you need to be sure that your team wants the chamber that you are stuck with until another hive is completed.

The general opinion on pubs seems to be that sensory first is a big no no but it is really up to whatever team that you are playing with.