Alien Upgrade Guide
Reaper
Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3649Members
Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3649Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Answers: *Wtf is Upgrading?*</div> <b>Overview</b>
Aliens have 3 structures that will allow them to upgrade. Most people think of upgrading in the marine-sense, where you upgrade once and it effects the entire team. The aliens do not upgrade in this manner, each alien is responsible for his own upgrading. The benefit of this is that aliens have 9 different upgrades to choose from, 3 groups of 3 upgrades, and can choose the upgrades that are best suited for their playstyle or team role. How exactly do you obtain these upgrades and what do they do? See Below.
<b>Hives and Upgrade Chambers</b>
Ok so you are ready to start upgrading but there is just one problem, you don't have any upgrade chambers on your team. No problem. Gorges have the ability to build upgrade chambers for their team. They are just like any other structures, in that they can be built anywhere. All of the upgrade chambers have dual purposes. Not only do they allow players to upgrade, but they also have their own distinct abilities (Discussed in detail below).
Aliens can only build 1 type of upgrade chamber for each Hive they have up. There is no particular type of chamber associated with each Hive. The first upgrade chamber built is automatically assigned to the first hive. So if you just started the game and you build a Defense Chamber, the first hive is now associated with Defense Chambers. A little defense chamber icon appears next to the hive, and you can now build as many defense chambers as you want.
For each defense chamber you build, your upgrade will become stronger up to 3 levels. This does not mean you can only have 3 Defense Chambers, it just means that your upgrades are maxed at 3 levels. Look at this example:
A Gorge starts the game and immediately builds a Defense Chamber. When its finished he upgrades his Carapace (Defense Upgrade). He now has a Level 1 Carapace Upgrade. The same gorge now moves to a new location and builds a second Defense Chamber. When its finished he notices that his Level 1 Carapace Upgrade has now been changed to a Level 2 Carapace upgrade automatically. If he builds a third Defense Chamber his Carapace Upgrade will automatically change to a Level 3 upgrade. If he continues to build Defense Chambers nothing else will happen, his Carapace will stay at Level 3. If he gestates into another form, his upgrades stay with him. This auto-upgrade is a feature of the aliens. You only have to upgrade a particular type of ugprade 1 time and it will stay with you until you die.
In the example above, the Gorge will be unable to build any other type of Upgrade Structures (Sensory, Movement) until another hive is built. When the next hive is built he can now build either a Sensory or a Movement chamber. When the first chamber is built, that chamber is associated with the second hive and he can now build an unlimited number of these chambers. If a third hive comes up, the gorge can now build all 3 upgrade chambers. Pretty simple yes?
<b>The Act of Upgrading</b>
Many times the alien team's chat window is filled with 'How do I upgrade?' Well its very simple, first you take a look at the hives in the upper right hand corner. If there is a structure in the corner of any hive picture, then you can upgrade the corresponding type of upgrade. Ok, so you see some structures next to your hive now what? Well now you right click, move to Upgrade, then move to whichever type you want: Sensory, Movement, or Defense. Then you move to whichever upgrade you want. The number next to the upgrade notes the <b>Number of Resources Required</b> to upgrade, NOT the level of the upgrade. You will know the level of the upgrade after you do it, by looking at the icon that appears on the right. If there are 3 stacked icons, then its level 3. If there is just one icone, well that's a level one upgrade. Choose your upgrades carefully, because you are stuck with them until you die.
<b>Upgrade Structures</b>
Now I will explain the reasoning behind makeing upgrade structures, sure they give you upgrades but that's not all they do.
<i>Defense Chamber</i> - Defense Chambers allow aliens to upgrade Carapace, Regeneration, and Redemption. They also heal any structures or units in the immediate area. They are good companions to Offensive Towers to help keep them alive when they are under attack. Their effects stack, that is if you make 3 defense structures and stand near them, you will heal 3x as fast.
<i>Sensory Chamber</i> - The Sensory Chamber allows the aliens to upgrade Scent of Fear, Enhanced Sight, and Cloaking. It also acts as a radar station, detecting any foreign presence in the immediate area. Yellow blobs will appear when marines or marine structures get near the Sensory Chamber. Sometimes putting these in obscure locations will help you keep tabs on the whereabouts of marines.
<i>Movement Chamber</i> - The final chamber is the Movement Chamber. This gives aliens the upgrades for Celerity, Adrenaline, and Silence. Movement chambers act almost like Marine Phase Gates. If an alien hits USE on a Movement Chamber, then they will be instantly teleported to the FURTHEST HIVE from the chamber. Aliens can place these in their own hives or in the field to allow movement between hives or to allow a fast route back to the hive.
<b>Upgrades</b>
I'm sure all of you have read the manual located at : <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/manual' target='_blank'>http://www.natural-selection.org/manual</a>
I haven't seen an actual link to it on the NS website anywhere, but that's where the online version is. You can find the descriptions of all upgrades there, but I will go ahead and list them here with some brief descriptions.
<i>Carapace</i> - Upgrades the maximum armor points and absorbtion % for aliens. See chart at : <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/manual/alien_evolutions_carapace.html' target='_blank'>http://www.natural-selection.org/manual/al...s_carapace.html</a> for more details. Great if you are attacking.
<i>Regeneration</i> - Returns a % of alien health over time, also makes some regeneration noise. Nice if you need to heal up.
<i>Redemption</i> - Provides a % chance of being instantly teleported to a hive when you are about to die or low on health. The chance increases with more levels of Redemption. This skill is good in the early game if you are trying to stock pile resources.
<i>Cloaking</i> - Provies the alien with the ability to cloak while standing still. The higher the level the better the cloak, level 3 providing total invisibility. You can also make small steps while cloaked, use some attacks, and build structures.
<i>Enhanced Sight</i> - By default, turning on your flashlight allows you to see your teamates much better. They light up and become translucent. By upgrading Enhanced Sight, your flashlight will show you enemies as well, turning them a translucent white and making them much easier to see. Very useful.
<i>Scent of Fear</i> - Shows the alien which marines are more damaged. I'm not exactly sure how this works because normally there isn't enough time for you to pinpoint and chase the marine that's the most damaged. This adds injured marines in your general vicinity to the hivesight. Most useful to Lerks who are strafing marines or using their damage cloud ability.
<i>Celerity</i> - Makes the alien run faster. Up to 30% at level 3.
<i>Adrenaline</i> - Increases the rate at which energy is returned to the aliens. Great if you run out of energy a lot or use high-energy dependant abilities.
<i>Silence</i> - Makes you silent. At level 3 you are completely silent and make no noise. This effects both movements and attacks.
<b>Conclusion</b>
Well there you have it, you should now know how to make chambers, when to make chambers, and how to use chambers. You should also have an idea which upgrades you like and can find useful. Hopefully you can take this knowledge and with the help of the most recent patch, beat back the marines and show that aliens are superior.
Any suggestions are welcome/updates.
Aliens have 3 structures that will allow them to upgrade. Most people think of upgrading in the marine-sense, where you upgrade once and it effects the entire team. The aliens do not upgrade in this manner, each alien is responsible for his own upgrading. The benefit of this is that aliens have 9 different upgrades to choose from, 3 groups of 3 upgrades, and can choose the upgrades that are best suited for their playstyle or team role. How exactly do you obtain these upgrades and what do they do? See Below.
<b>Hives and Upgrade Chambers</b>
Ok so you are ready to start upgrading but there is just one problem, you don't have any upgrade chambers on your team. No problem. Gorges have the ability to build upgrade chambers for their team. They are just like any other structures, in that they can be built anywhere. All of the upgrade chambers have dual purposes. Not only do they allow players to upgrade, but they also have their own distinct abilities (Discussed in detail below).
Aliens can only build 1 type of upgrade chamber for each Hive they have up. There is no particular type of chamber associated with each Hive. The first upgrade chamber built is automatically assigned to the first hive. So if you just started the game and you build a Defense Chamber, the first hive is now associated with Defense Chambers. A little defense chamber icon appears next to the hive, and you can now build as many defense chambers as you want.
For each defense chamber you build, your upgrade will become stronger up to 3 levels. This does not mean you can only have 3 Defense Chambers, it just means that your upgrades are maxed at 3 levels. Look at this example:
A Gorge starts the game and immediately builds a Defense Chamber. When its finished he upgrades his Carapace (Defense Upgrade). He now has a Level 1 Carapace Upgrade. The same gorge now moves to a new location and builds a second Defense Chamber. When its finished he notices that his Level 1 Carapace Upgrade has now been changed to a Level 2 Carapace upgrade automatically. If he builds a third Defense Chamber his Carapace Upgrade will automatically change to a Level 3 upgrade. If he continues to build Defense Chambers nothing else will happen, his Carapace will stay at Level 3. If he gestates into another form, his upgrades stay with him. This auto-upgrade is a feature of the aliens. You only have to upgrade a particular type of ugprade 1 time and it will stay with you until you die.
In the example above, the Gorge will be unable to build any other type of Upgrade Structures (Sensory, Movement) until another hive is built. When the next hive is built he can now build either a Sensory or a Movement chamber. When the first chamber is built, that chamber is associated with the second hive and he can now build an unlimited number of these chambers. If a third hive comes up, the gorge can now build all 3 upgrade chambers. Pretty simple yes?
<b>The Act of Upgrading</b>
Many times the alien team's chat window is filled with 'How do I upgrade?' Well its very simple, first you take a look at the hives in the upper right hand corner. If there is a structure in the corner of any hive picture, then you can upgrade the corresponding type of upgrade. Ok, so you see some structures next to your hive now what? Well now you right click, move to Upgrade, then move to whichever type you want: Sensory, Movement, or Defense. Then you move to whichever upgrade you want. The number next to the upgrade notes the <b>Number of Resources Required</b> to upgrade, NOT the level of the upgrade. You will know the level of the upgrade after you do it, by looking at the icon that appears on the right. If there are 3 stacked icons, then its level 3. If there is just one icone, well that's a level one upgrade. Choose your upgrades carefully, because you are stuck with them until you die.
<b>Upgrade Structures</b>
Now I will explain the reasoning behind makeing upgrade structures, sure they give you upgrades but that's not all they do.
<i>Defense Chamber</i> - Defense Chambers allow aliens to upgrade Carapace, Regeneration, and Redemption. They also heal any structures or units in the immediate area. They are good companions to Offensive Towers to help keep them alive when they are under attack. Their effects stack, that is if you make 3 defense structures and stand near them, you will heal 3x as fast.
<i>Sensory Chamber</i> - The Sensory Chamber allows the aliens to upgrade Scent of Fear, Enhanced Sight, and Cloaking. It also acts as a radar station, detecting any foreign presence in the immediate area. Yellow blobs will appear when marines or marine structures get near the Sensory Chamber. Sometimes putting these in obscure locations will help you keep tabs on the whereabouts of marines.
<i>Movement Chamber</i> - The final chamber is the Movement Chamber. This gives aliens the upgrades for Celerity, Adrenaline, and Silence. Movement chambers act almost like Marine Phase Gates. If an alien hits USE on a Movement Chamber, then they will be instantly teleported to the FURTHEST HIVE from the chamber. Aliens can place these in their own hives or in the field to allow movement between hives or to allow a fast route back to the hive.
<b>Upgrades</b>
I'm sure all of you have read the manual located at : <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/manual' target='_blank'>http://www.natural-selection.org/manual</a>
I haven't seen an actual link to it on the NS website anywhere, but that's where the online version is. You can find the descriptions of all upgrades there, but I will go ahead and list them here with some brief descriptions.
<i>Carapace</i> - Upgrades the maximum armor points and absorbtion % for aliens. See chart at : <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/manual/alien_evolutions_carapace.html' target='_blank'>http://www.natural-selection.org/manual/al...s_carapace.html</a> for more details. Great if you are attacking.
<i>Regeneration</i> - Returns a % of alien health over time, also makes some regeneration noise. Nice if you need to heal up.
<i>Redemption</i> - Provides a % chance of being instantly teleported to a hive when you are about to die or low on health. The chance increases with more levels of Redemption. This skill is good in the early game if you are trying to stock pile resources.
<i>Cloaking</i> - Provies the alien with the ability to cloak while standing still. The higher the level the better the cloak, level 3 providing total invisibility. You can also make small steps while cloaked, use some attacks, and build structures.
<i>Enhanced Sight</i> - By default, turning on your flashlight allows you to see your teamates much better. They light up and become translucent. By upgrading Enhanced Sight, your flashlight will show you enemies as well, turning them a translucent white and making them much easier to see. Very useful.
<i>Scent of Fear</i> - Shows the alien which marines are more damaged. I'm not exactly sure how this works because normally there isn't enough time for you to pinpoint and chase the marine that's the most damaged. This adds injured marines in your general vicinity to the hivesight. Most useful to Lerks who are strafing marines or using their damage cloud ability.
<i>Celerity</i> - Makes the alien run faster. Up to 30% at level 3.
<i>Adrenaline</i> - Increases the rate at which energy is returned to the aliens. Great if you run out of energy a lot or use high-energy dependant abilities.
<i>Silence</i> - Makes you silent. At level 3 you are completely silent and make no noise. This effects both movements and attacks.
<b>Conclusion</b>
Well there you have it, you should now know how to make chambers, when to make chambers, and how to use chambers. You should also have an idea which upgrades you like and can find useful. Hopefully you can take this knowledge and with the help of the most recent patch, beat back the marines and show that aliens are superior.
Any suggestions are welcome/updates.
Comments
<b>Cloaking</b>: Possible to active <i>some</i> attacks without uncloaking, and building structures while cloaked does not uncloak you. Using your 'use' key to build them doesn't uncloak you either.
Ya it was pretty confusing to me too when I first played the game. And I hear plenty of people asking these same questions.
i'll see if i can et some screen shots up and running so it doesn't look so textsy and stuff <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
My understanding is that it happens whenever you stop moving around. IE: you're running around, stop for a second, and the cloaking automatically will kick in.
Does regeneration occur similarly? Or is it a constant thing?
It's automatic when you stop moving. You should see yourself (if you have "visible weapons" turn transparent.
Cloaking is temporarily lost if you start moving again but you cloak again when you stop (there's a little delay). The ability is lost if you die and have to be selected again.
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Feel free to post other questions or comments and if you want I can write some other guides on issues you think are a bit confusing.