Leap As Your First Ability Always!(combat)

ShotgunEd

<div class="IPBDescription">It really is the best skill.</div> Everyone should get leap with their first XP point. Especialy at the start of the game it will give you a massive advantage. Good marines can take out skulks running down corridors but even the best will find it hard to take down a skulk thats lept at his feet. Apart from a gorge, all aliens need their 2nd skill (and the gorge their 3rd anyway), so at some point you have to get this upgrade. So why not at the start when its most effective?

Then focus or cara, and your be almost as effective a skulk as your guna be.

Last

I go focus first, then leap, unless they have armor 1 already. Armor 1 makes last angry <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->.

NGE

Leap is esentially a free bite on a rine.

However, I still find it more effective to tech for fade right away, as one can still quite easily get EXP as a vanilla skulk if played smart, and a fade with your fastest 3 lv's can help out quite a bit.

DK_Sizzla

i get focus first cause you get ur XP more quicker that way untill they get lvl 1 armor which just makes it a bit harder.

Outlaw

I'm partial to celerity for most maps, but leap is very important as well. It's even more important as a fade, since I am not nearly as effective without it, but that's another post entirely.

Demented

Carapce is usually my first ability, followed by celerity. Normally I don't get focus -it can be a real pain when using higher lifeforms such as fades and oni who could use a higher rate of fire to take on multiple enemies. Leap is good, but i prefer celerity. Its already quite hard to hit a bunnyhopping celerity skulk, and celerity also gives you the edge in close combat.

tuutti2

I usually take focus first and celerity second. Otherwise those resupply marines (especially if they can play) will be difficult to kill.

I used to take leap first/second.

Align

I suppose if you can bunnyhop, you don't need celerity/leap :/
Otherwise it is the best. Even better than focus first, which I used previously. While focus first is great for ambushes, you can make your own ambushes with leap.

r3dsk4r3

leap, in my opinion is definitely useful, but some people still prefer focus because its only i hit to kill early on. Leap also loses its effectivness in CQB, where you'll make most of your encounters early on while the rines are in the "camp until i get w1/a1" stage.

in maps with long hallways, i.e. the one with the sliding doors and the hive with the platform next to it, with the weldable grate under it. ( ireally need to learn the names.) leap could be of more use in closing distance...

Outlaw

I think the map you're thinking of is CO_rebirth.

If you're in close quarters combat, think about biting a marine once and then leaping away. You'll do nothing for your team if you get 1 kill and a group of marines gets the XP from you dying after that kill. (I hope that made sense, esentially it's better to hit and run than to give a group of them points while only giving yourself 1 point)

I often try to keep my death count as low as possible, even if it means giving up the occassional kill.

pikey

Leap is a good idea, especially if the rines are camping in base, you can usually follow it up with xeno to flush them campers out.

UKchaos

I go leap->adren->regen. Always.

Adrenaline allows you to to constantly leap around to dodge shots and regen lets you stay alive, away from the hive.

Its also a combo that works great for all lifeforms.

BreakfastSausages

Leap is a good skill but I am going to disagree with you because of the message you send to the young skulks out there on the playground.

Even with leap, rushing down the guns is not the way a skulk should behave.

a few words that I would like to see put into more skulks' vocabularies:
1)ambush
2)flanking
3)teamwork


Im not saying leap is bad, but the leap philosophy encourages alot of skulks to play badly.

taboofires

You don't need adren to leap successfully. You can get 3 leaps and enough bites to kill a few marines on a tank of adrenaline, which is more than enough if you don't waste them.

Don't need adren to fade, either. Lerks, however, will need it if they want to use primal/umbra, and they should!

Act_Chill

I dont do this, but the BEST strat for aliens is to all go straight zeno. You leap then explode killing a marine and you get xp and marines get nothing. You get surrounded, but exploded in time you kill marines they get nothing <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> See how it works. Oh someone went early JP hahaha leap and explode.

Align

Yes.
Just like everyone getting cloak+focus. Or all marines getting grenade launchers.

Ever heard of the golden rule?

Norml_E_High

Eh I find saving for fade is better than wasting a level on leap. I mean sure, I will have the third ability eventually for meta/stomp if I go onos, but, a fade will always be able to do better than a skulk. So... I usually just go straight to fade. I mean I may have no upgrades, but an unupgraded fade is better than an unupgraded skulk.

killer_olie

To be honest i find leap pretty pointless without celerity/focus. Any good marine with a shotgun, which they will probably have by that time, will kill you after the leap or even while your in mid air. Also with celerity you can bhop a bit after the leap and keep your speed, really usefull.
I always go Celerity, focus, leap, adren, silence. Then it depends on what the other team is like. I also never get cloaking until my last level as i very rarely use it, i find leap biting all the marines alot better than waiting about for a group, killing one then dying...

Align

Shotgun takes 2 levels, leap only takes 1, why should 'they have shotgun at that time'?
Norml, going fade would take 3 levels at the very least, so it's really not fair to compare that to an unupgraded skulk. Tell you, I do better than the unupgraded fades, as an upgraded skulk.

NGE

I love it when skulks go cloak-focus. Makes them that much easier to kill- they wasted an upgrade on cloaking and probably don't know how to use it effectively.




That is, you arn't 100% invisible, and against a compitent rine, he'll see you as you approach. That's the key- don't approch like that.



Furthermore, armor 1 really should be most rine's first upgrade.

spawny

ShotgunEd i tried out what you were suggesting and im gonna agree with what some other posters have said.
Leap isnt such a good upgrade without carapace/focus or even adren.
I tried going for the leap for a first upgrade, i can see what your saying about how it can be effective, but i was still getting plastered retreating & because i didnt have focus i couldnt effectively do any noticable damage.

I say focus / leap / cara / adren works best for me

RandomEngy

I only get adren when going lerk or super-skulk. Leap is great to get early, but I usually get focus first, where it's most effective. Celerity is also a good substitute for leap in maps with fewer open areas.

Norml_E_High

<!--QuoteBegin-NGE+Mar 13 2004, 07:48 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (NGE @ Mar 13 2004, 07:48 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Furthermore, armor 1 really should be most rine's first upgrade. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, it's always funny to see a skulk come at you and get a bite in, and almost look like he was about to run off like he thought you should have died to his focus bite <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->. Armor 1 first always.

HDBorris

Yer leap + bite are ur best friends along wid silence and celeirty all at once

Gecko_God_Of_Dooom

i pretty much get celerity, focus, leap. first
save for fade
get regen
then I eather just stay as a fade and get Acid rockets. and what ever grades I feel like
or just go onos.

JacKnife

No real need for leap/adren if you have focus I dont usually get leap till my 3rd level though i can easily get in 2 leaps and 2 or 3 focus bites maybe even 3 leaps

RaVe

Leap is good, but Leap+Celerity is better. However, Leap+Celerity+Focus= nightmarish pwnage till they get A1.

Which is why I take Celerity first. I have more of a speed advantage earlier AND later.

Of course, depends on your playstyle.

And then, if I don't get Focus, that means I'm not gonna Lerk but I'm gonna Fade. Sadly, I stink at Fading ever since the move to 3.0

ThE_HeRo

It's all relative.

MightyDarK

the problem is that marine is ranged and skulk is melee i do CLOAK first 2 sneak up so they ranged weapons is no unfair use then u get focus and then u are on it its sneaky maybe unfair but WTH it works <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Eggs

Boooo, why would you say that? Everyone knows focus is standard first upgrade....omg it owns. I go focus - cloaking - cara - celerity - THEN leap. Derr!

Norml_E_High

<!--QuoteBegin-RaVe+Mar 13 2004, 05:07 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (RaVe @ Mar 13 2004, 05:07 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Leap is good, but Leap+Celerity is better. However, Leap+Celerity+Focus= nightmarish pwnage till they get A1.
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
True, but the only problem is, most of the smart marine players have armor 1 on their first level, while you either, have leap already, or nothing at all. Then you only get to be a nightmare to all the nubs who think their precious HMG will kill anything before they get near him. Sigh, maybe they will figure it out someday. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->