Skulk tactics
Ekaj
Creator of ns_mineshaft, co_core Join Date: 2002-01-26 Member: 95Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, NS2 Map Tester
Creator of ns_mineshaft, co_core Join Date: 2002-01-26 Member: 95Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, NS2 Map Tester
The skulk/lvl1 is the default alien class, which means that every time you respawn you will start as one. Skulks are great for ambushing and getting fast kills, but they are very fragile and can’t take many hits. At the start of the game you’ll want to hide near a marine spawn exit and wait for the marines to ship out (or you can dart in and out of view and parasite marines, to make them visible on the hive sight and know where they are until they die), choose places that people don’t always use, because the more obvious spots are usually checked first (marines will come into rooms looking upwards at high ceilings).
If the marines rush out quickly to set up their main base somewhere else try to take out the CC in their absence, they will drop a CC in their new base but it will be a late start and thus easier to defeat them and end the game early (well actually skulks can usually only rush a group of marines and win if you wait around for other skulks to show up and rush in at the same time).
Teamwork is quite important for aliens as well as the marines, and multiple skulks cause much more chaos than one, so if you’re trying to take out some turrets don’t do it alone unless you have a healing source nearby (gorge, defense chamber, regeneration upgrade, hive) that you can run back to. When the second hive goes online you can start to take a more aggressive approach, leap is the second hive ability and works perfectly for closing the distance between you and the marines. Aim right for the marines and switch to bite mid leap and then bite the marine when you land on/near them (with on being preferred but harder to execute). Before you get leap it’s much harder to close the distance (when you aren’t ambushing) so be sure to strafe, jump, and/or wall climb as you run towards the marines or you’ll end up dead.
If the aliens get a third hive the xenocide ability will be unlocked. This makes ambushing a lot easier (instead of dropping on marines and biting, you drop on them and blow everything near you to hell, including yourself) but at this stage of the game the aliens will be very offensive and won’t need to ambush much or at all. Xenocide is great for finishing marine bases, position yourself in a vent or entrance to the base, take a peek inside, choose your target and then start the xenocide before you run in, it takes a few seconds to go boom so you might die if you start it too late. That’s all for now, feel free to add to this thread or correct me.
If the marines rush out quickly to set up their main base somewhere else try to take out the CC in their absence, they will drop a CC in their new base but it will be a late start and thus easier to defeat them and end the game early (well actually skulks can usually only rush a group of marines and win if you wait around for other skulks to show up and rush in at the same time).
Teamwork is quite important for aliens as well as the marines, and multiple skulks cause much more chaos than one, so if you’re trying to take out some turrets don’t do it alone unless you have a healing source nearby (gorge, defense chamber, regeneration upgrade, hive) that you can run back to. When the second hive goes online you can start to take a more aggressive approach, leap is the second hive ability and works perfectly for closing the distance between you and the marines. Aim right for the marines and switch to bite mid leap and then bite the marine when you land on/near them (with on being preferred but harder to execute). Before you get leap it’s much harder to close the distance (when you aren’t ambushing) so be sure to strafe, jump, and/or wall climb as you run towards the marines or you’ll end up dead.
If the aliens get a third hive the xenocide ability will be unlocked. This makes ambushing a lot easier (instead of dropping on marines and biting, you drop on them and blow everything near you to hell, including yourself) but at this stage of the game the aliens will be very offensive and won’t need to ambush much or at all. Xenocide is great for finishing marine bases, position yourself in a vent or entrance to the base, take a peek inside, choose your target and then start the xenocide before you run in, it takes a few seconds to go boom so you might die if you start it too late. That’s all for now, feel free to add to this thread or correct me.
Comments
GReat job keeping us newbs from being newbish Ekaj!
you go in the direction youre facing, so if you look down and push forward, you fall off the ceiling.
you get used to it after ahwile, but it's really tough to get around corners or obstacles or whatever, especially if youre trying to simultaneously track an enemy.