Marine tactics class

Sturmsoldat · November 2002

Nice reading... more teamwork in public's when peoples read that <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='wink.gif'>

Archzai · November 2002

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Narfwak @ Nov 6 2002, 04:51 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Yes, I forgot to mention the importance of the radio commands. Other uses:

If you need the commander's attention, and you've asked him for it, and he can't find you, just use ANY command a bunch of times. When playing commander, I've had marines need turrets or RP sites set up when my attention was at an offensive on the other side of the map. Both areas were equally important, but it was tricky to manage both at the same time. Solution? I had my marines use the "I need orders" radio comm when they needed structures. The command is mostly pointless anyway (just go where you were before, or where your waypoint is; chances are, using that command in the main base more than once a mapcycle is gonna REALLY **obscenity** off your commander), so it's a good choice.

Also, you might want to do it several times in rapid succession, but not prolonged succession. This ensures that even if a "turret firing" or other brief pops up for the commander, he can still make it to you position. Doing this for a sustained long period of time is just going to make the commander want to drop that turret factory you need on top of you.</td></tr></table>
hey narfwak.. are u narfnak.. real name: clarence?
who goes to school in the states now?? but used to go to Chinese Int'l School?

Narfwak · November 2002

Er, no. I live in Iowa. I have always lived in Iowa. I've never even been to China. And my name certainly isn't Clarence.

I also have a really stupid error in my guide that I've neglected to fix for some time now. In the guide, I say that that HA is overall more useful than jetpacks. Upon further study, however, I've noted that this is far from true. While HA has its uses, it isn't cheap - 35 RP. Also, a HA/HMG marine is slower than anything else in the game. A jetpack, on the other hand, costs only 9 RP and makes marines very fast and mobile. In fact, if you combine a jetpack with any heavy weapon, you in effect completely negate the speed restrcitions imposed by the heavy weapon. Jetpacks allow access into many of the otherwise skulk-only vents and areas, and can be incredibly powerful when used in teams.

XiaoXiao · November 2002

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA....HAND OUT THOSE JETPACKS!!!!!
IT:Keeps you away from <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'>

Keeps you away from <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tiny.gif'>

Makes you fast and mobile like a <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'>

You can fly over defences! AHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

HAND OUT THOSE JETPACKS!!!!!!!! DO YOUR MARINES A FAVOR!!!!

erm.....I'm done <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'>

Vertigo-1 · November 2002

Excellent points, Burn. I'll make it a point from now on to suggest relieving the commander whenever a win is imminent (Not too common these days, but hey..) With a little time in the chair, a lot of players will understand both the commander's job and what they can do to help him in return.

Personally, I'm very happy to say I'm a great commander. For the first 5 minutes. After a certain point I try to bail out and let an experienced commander take over, since I just don't have enough practice giving support to multiple locations and worrying about upgrade paths.

ynnaD · November 2002

Commanding is rather quite hard at first, but with practice you will improve. Unfortunately, the "practice" part is sometimes hard to achieve - having read an earlier guide in here about being a marine comm, and capturing hives early etc etc etc, I decided to try it out. Up went ASE, up went HL and in I went into an eclipse server. Eventually I got the chance to try my hand at commanding, and I tried to follow the guide as best as I could -- thing is, the players are playing the game, not you. They're there buulding stuff, shooting stuff and dying, and to them a newbie commander is as big an irritation as .... a very irritating thing. Suffice to say that although most of the team followed my undoubtedly idiotic orders, one self proclaimed "veteran" decided to "help" me play the game.

I don't know what it is about experience that makes it come with an extra large portion of arrogance, but the annoying sod begain insulting me, calling me a fag and so forth because I didn't give him the equipment he wanted and build the stuff he wanted. Faced with that and a team that was growing increasingly dissatisfied with me, I decided to bail out and become skulk food. Never been back to commanding since.

Narfwak · November 2002

I wouldn't be surprised if the person you described is really just a n00b that hasn't gotten past the ridiculous resource bugs of version 1. Some people are just stupid, and that's life.

Also, guides are generally intended for people who know the core playing elements, but could use a few sneaky tips. Commander mode is hard to learn because so many people are intolerent of newbie commanders. Give it another go sometime, and I'm sure you will do better. You might want to start out on a smaller map too, such as bast or tanith; probably bast because all the bugs in tanith will be much more annoying than not knowing any map.

Nottingham · November 2002

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Narfwak @ Nov 24 2002, 10:07 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>In HL mods in general, your flashlight is rather pointless. Why? Well, in addition to whatever area you want to light up, it also makes you glow. In fact, it is often easier to see a person using their flashlight than the area the flashlight is pointed at. HL flashlight code sucks.
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In "The Professional" the player dont glow when using a flashlight. So it shouldnt be to hard to code it that way for the NS team if you look at the advanced coding in this mod

<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='siege.gif'> POW!!! <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/pudgy.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='pudgy.gif'> OH NOW!!! they got sieges outside the hivezone I just lost a whole lot of credit on that hive <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='sad.gif'>
____________________________________

Nottingham (the **obscenity** marine patriot who never wants to play as an alien)
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Discobird · November 2002

Another thing--

Whenever you engage Offensive Chambers, always crouch. Half the time they will miss, and you can sit there and shoot at them with no fear of being shot back.

Spotter · December 2002

Havn't read everything, but make sure "Do not shoot at every structure you see" gets added.

Way too many times I reach a hive with another marine or two, and he starts blasting away at the hive, when we would of had the time to get up a turret fact or siege it from outside.

Narfwak · December 2002

Good call discobird - chambers suck at hitting anything on a lower plane of elevation than them, so crouching is a good idea. Also, take advantage of how big they are, as you can hit parts that you can see but can't see you (by looking around a corner). If you stand in an area lower than the chamber, even only slightly, and crouch, the chamber will not hit you.

Another good point by Spotter. All too often, I have seen people rush into a hive and blast everything they see. Obviously very stupid because of alien alerts and hivesight. Your commander would much rather have you build a TF and a couple of turret in double siege style, then start nuking the hive.

Narfwak · December 2002

A short note about killing gorges - be very, very carefull. Gorges are generally the smartest players, and can really screw you over if you get sloppy. DON'T follow them off into unknown territory if you don't have a welder (you will die, probably in a humiliating way). Why? Well, I was playing gorge last night and had a mini wall of lame outside the marine base on hera, in the really dark tunnels right outside the small door. I spun lots of difficult to see webs, then waited. Sure enough, a killed about 20 foolish marines with healing spray (which is deceptivly deadly) that ran right into the webs without welding them away. Don't you make their mistake.

Shadowscorpse · December 2002

just a few cents worth of info Ive picked up n put in play...

a good easy way to learn the maps n to learn how to comm is to be a scout/handyman with welder...that shoud be like a pre-requisite to being allowed to comm IMHO

dont sit around at main base beggin for equip...when ya got the res your comm will give you what ya need/want...failing that a good comm will give a hmg to 1 guy...I recommend 3-4 marines to a squad atleast mebbe have 2 squads goin doin things with a scout/handy man runnin round makin sure buildings are fixed

I personally dont keep too much of an eye on "rambo players" unless Ive seen them n know they can work alone with efficiency. I know most comm's I been a marine under are the same way. Teamwork is the best way to get what ya want when ya want.

if ya see some1 weldin a weldspot...cover them.

dont kick a comm for 1 mistake or cos he didnt cover you whilst you were off rambo style...2 mistakes is a good time to warn him ya thinkin bout kickin him.

one last point...when your at a hive...theres 3-4 of you...get comm to set up turret factory...let him then upgrade it to siege...place 1-2 sieges to be built but dont build them all the way...place 2-3 sentries down...then continue with the sieges...by the time they realize n try do somethin...ya got the hive n have 2-4 marines still there to build anything else <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'>

Narfwak · December 2002

It's time I wrote a simple and informative guide on squad tactics. After all, the thread is called "Marine Tactics Class," so I might as well write some. Here goes:

The first thing you need to realize about squad tactics is that a squad is not just a group of players thrown together to accomplish a task, specific or general. A squad is a group of player who work together by accomplishing their own specific individual tasks, and by doing so, they are the hands of the commander in accomplishing a general task. This division of the squadmates while still forcing the, together as a group is what makes a squad a squad.

On to the nitpicky stuff. First off, not everyone in your squad is going to be doing the same thing; this is implied above. These tasks, or roles, can be very specific, or fairly general. As a rule, it is best to try to keep your squad members thinking about specific actions and letting their squadmates worry about the rest. Let's take a look at some of these prospective roles:

First of all, we have the Point Man. The man running point is generally the best man in the squad, and the most well-suited for leading on a tactical scale. However, he is also the most likely to die first if the squad fails. In addition to leading the squad and assigning dynamic orders in cases that deviate from situations where people could accomplish their specific duties without modification (ex.- A specialized fighter is killed in combat, so the Point Man gives the specialized fighter's equipment to a more general fighter).
Depending on the size of your teams, the duties of the Point Man may also include welding vents, placing mines, building structures, etc. - in other words, the tasks given to the most trusted troops.
Equipment for the Point Man also varies depending on the requirements of your team. In cases where good tech is available, the Point Man should be able to get by with a shotgun and jetpack (the Point Man is on point after all, and therefore must be the first man in and the last man out). In some cases, it may be better for the Point Man to use Heavy Armor. In no situation should the Point Man be given more expensive equipment simply because he is more trusted than other troops. In contrast, the Point Man should be able to make up for any inadequacies in his squad by not taking the more advanced weaponry. This can help build morale in a team and show that team that they have a good Point Man.

Second, we have your basic firefighters, referred to here as Grunts. Grunts are the most dynamic members of the squad, as well as the most populous. Grunts are the guys that follow general orders, lay cover fire, adapt to specific orders, and in general shut up and do what daddy tells them to. Grunts are not given their rank because they aren't good enough to be something more specific, they are given that role when specific equipment has been given out and someone is needed to fill in the gaps. In fact, no one but the Point Man should ever have a dedicated role throughout the conflict (read: mapcycle). Grunts are expected to replace fallen comrades in their specific duties should the need arise.
Grunts should be fine with an LMG and pistol until fairly late in the game. At that point, if resources allow, they should be equipped with Heavy Armor, a Heavy Machine Gun, and a welder. The inclusion of the welder also expands their duties - they are now responsible for the welfare of their teammates in regards to repairing damaged troops.

Next, we have specialized combat troops. These people are no better men or women than their Grunt comrades; they simply have a more specific task to accomplish.
The Heavy Support troop is defined as a Grenade Launcher-wielding marine. Any other specifications are up to the commander, Point Man and possibly the marine him/herself. The primary task of the Heavy Support unit is to lay suppressing fire against heavily armored xenoforms such as the Fade and Onos, as well as to be the primary siege method for destroying chambers. Unless a hive is being laid to siege, the Heavy Support unit is sufficient and siege cannons are not necessary. The Heavy Support marine is not responsible for building structures of any kind unless specifically ordered to do so. If a player proves himself too inept to use a grenade launcher effectively, they should not be assigned this task in the future.

The Scout is a seldom needed spec-ops type marine used for doing odd tasks that a Grunt would not normally be able to accomplish. First of all, the Scout is more independent from a squad than the rest of its members, and takes more orders directly from the commander than the other parts of a squad; in many ways, the Scout fills the role of the "Commander's Handyman (patent pending)" mentioned at length in previous posts, altered to fit in a squad-based environment. The Scout seals vents (welding or mining), goes on missions related to the squads directive but not requiring its full attention. In short, the Scout does the things that are out of the range of an entire squad (it is not feasible for three to five marine to go into a vent together just to seal a vent) while still staying nearby. Equipment for the Scout can be almost anything as long as the combined cost is not great, and includes a jetpack. The Scout should not be needed continually throughout the game, and should only be used when absolutely required.

Putting it all together:
Whew! That's a lot of text to read through! Time to put all these roles together into a squad.

Most squads are going to consist of 3-4 players, 5 if a Scout is needed. In that squad, you should always have one Point Man and two or more Grunts. So a sample four-man squad equipped to take out a hive would include:

One Point Man: Jetpack, shotgun, welder
Two Grunts: HA, HMG, welder
One Heavy Support: GL, HA (optional)/jetpack(optional), pistol (someone has to have one).
The Point Man takes out any small targets he runs into and issues orders, while the Grunts lay down heavy fire on anything that tries to push them back. The Heavy Support pumps bombs into any structures he sees, but leaves players to be dealt with by his teammates (in most cases).
Configurations can depend on player preferences or tactical or strategic requirements.

In contrast, a three man squad to secure a small area with some resource nodes might include:

One Point Man: LMG, welder.
Two Grunts: LMG, pistol.
The Point Man leads them in, gives them orders to cover him, and the comm plops down some buildings. The Point Man then builds while the Grunts cover him. This can be reversed if the grunts really, really suck.
This is a case where a Scout may also be useful to secure any nearby vents or other passageways while his/her comrades secure the main area.

Odd Notes:
How should squad tactics be used? As a command tool. Despite how tactically independent a squad may be, they are and always should be strategically dependant on their commander. Suggestions for other courses of action is fine, but you never "command the commander." The commander orders the squad, and gives them general, conceptually simple objectives to accomplish. These objectives must be concrete enough to be treated as missions that would require a squad, yet not so specific that the decision-making aspect of the squad is compromised

What is the purpose of squad tactics? Firstly, they bind marines together. When you care about whoever is getting they buttocks handed to them, you tend to respond with a bit more vigor. People can learn each others' play styles and become familiar with them much more quickly when stuck with them and only them for an entire game, and can then perform better alongside them. Last but certainly not least - it relieves a lot of pressure off the commander when his or her marines can handle themselves well enough in tactical situations without the commander having to hold their hands all the way.

Squad tactics are by no means foolproof. It takes a lot of training a practice to really understand how to be an effective squadmate and an effective squad-based team. Most players you encounter in public matches lack the dedication to develop these skills. Additionally, it is very difficult to develop a spontaneous bond with people you've never even met before in a public game. I don't expect squad tactic to become much of a reality in anything but team games and clan matches, where you and your team have practiced together enough to understand how to be an effective squad-oriented team.

The biggest rule you need to follow when using squad tactics - COMMUNICATE! A broken mic is a broken team is a lost game. A squad must be able to coordinate themselves and cover each others' backs or they are mutant alien dog meat. It is of very great importance that every marine understand that they are not the most important (no matter who they are or what they are doing), that every man or woman must be kept alive for as long as possible (especially in late-game sieges with tons of expensive equipment), and that, most importantly, they are one part of a greater soldier, and not individual soldiers themselves.

Comments would be nice y'know...

Okabore · December 2002

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Narfwak @ Nov 18 2002, 04:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>One note - suppressing fire isn't much of a reality in NS, especially against skulks, so don't bother. It only tells the aliens that you are scared and tells them where you are, and we all know that scared marine meatsicles are much tastier than than intelligent meatsicles.</td></tr></table>
I don't totaly agree with this.
In one game (on tanith I think, the one with the "laser") we where trying to set up a siege base while fades where attacking us. I only had la/lmg so I knew that i couldn't take them out and I couldn't follow them since at the end of the corridor I was guarding there was a wall of lame. So what I did was laying out mag after mag of supressing fire and it seemed to help. The fade at that position didn't attack as often as he did before and most of the time when he did he was trying to shoot me who didn't stand near any important equipment.

But in this case the enemy allready knew where we were and I knew where he would be coming from. I would never dream of doing this if I didn't and if I hadn't had a armory close by.

On the note of the force of welders I managed an unusuall kill in the same game. I was welding a switch to stop a gorge from hitting our double resource point. When I finished i heard the shutter go down with a wet thudd and a kill mark in the window. I didn't get credit for it but it was a quite fun way any way to kill someone <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'>

Kid-A · December 2002

[B]Don't ammo Horde[B] especially at important times.

One thing I see alot, we establish a mini-base (phase, tf, turrets) and then get discovered and the marines there get taken out and then the mini-base starts getting destroyed. Some reinforcements go thru phase, they help but still get chomped.

Then all the people that respawn go and FILL on ammo. WHY? if you get through it's unlikely you'll use all your ammo and by the time you do it will be safe and you can return to base to fill on ammo. Even in a normal spawn you'll rarely use more than 50+150 ammo with LMG unless your attacking structures. So:

DON'T WASTE TIME GETTING AMMO AT IMPORTANT TIMES!

Narfwak · December 2002

I agree totally. I see this a lot too, and it bugs me as well. If something needs to happen, make it happen. Just don't go out without ammo if there isn't anything wrong.

Sirus · December 2002

Yah, ive never understood why people get 250 ammo with the lmg then bum rush a fade, and most of the time not be able to get off a whole clip. Best tactic is to just run out, or get an extra clip, get the job done, and if need be, come back and get more ammo.

mahnchowder · December 2002

In reply to previous posts, I weld everyone I see pretty much and it works fine - when the welder is whipped out and starts shedding its armour-loving light, the people who need welding will come to you - and if you start welding a person who's full, he'll walk away from you. Noobs are the exception, but .. whattaya gonna do?

Narfwak · December 2002

The welder can repair a fully-upgraded light armor marine in about a second, and it takes about two and a half seconds to weld a fully-upgraded heavy armor marine. So if welding one guy, don't sit there for any more than three seconds, or you'll be wasting time.

Maek · December 2002

On the subject of mines...

I've noticed that people just place a couple/three mines and say "ahh, that should hold them!"

Well, lets think of mines more as gorge's webs. You'll want them to be placed in subtle and effective places.

I've noticed that it is very difficult to detonate proximity mines, and they are really easy to spot, so I usually opt for tripmines.

Since it is very easy for aliens to just shoot mines if they see them, or have their teamates do it, you should try to hide the actual mine as much as possible. Just the laser with a well hidden base is enough to dissuade most aliens.

Some tips on hiding mines... preferably place mines on the ceiling, there, they are harder to hit, yet usually just as effective (lots of low ceiling with ridges in NS. Hide a mine behind a ridge and it can only be shot from right underneath.... dangerously close).

EDIT: Also, a good place for trip mines is the ceiling right above phase gates. Place 3 or 4, and the next alien through is a thin mist of ewwy green stuff, fade, skulk, lerk, or gorge.

!!!MOST IMPORTANT!!!

Do NOT just place 3-4 mines and say.. "ah, job well done!" Be the camper, and make your mines work for you. It is a great tactic to give the Handyman a set of mines or two so he can place them, and keep an eye on them. Often you will find an alien puzzling out how to get past well laid mines. Easy alien hamburger.

GO 'RINES!

Khan · December 2002

Narfwak-

No doubt squads are extremely effective. Something I'd like to add -- make sure they get equipped, move to the target, take half a second to make sure everyone is in position, and then get on with what they're there to do without delay. A decent squad should move fast and hit hard, and with luck be hitting the hive or have the structure up before the aliens catch a whiff of what's going on. That way, the first few will respond piecemeal, and in the time the rest take to put together a concerted attack, the marines are done.

Gadzuko · December 2002

Overall I agree with everything said, but there are a couple of caveats.

First off, the bit about mines; whenever I play as an alien, I love it when marines try to use mines to stop me. If they are silly enough to put a large cluster of them together, I just charge in recklessly (as a skulk). It costs my team nothing for me to respawn, and if they want to keep wasting resources on mines I'm happy to oblige them (this is, of course, only if there's nothing else I could be doing productively). After all, score doesn't matter.

Onos and jetpacks; most people assume that there is no way for an Onos to take down a jetpacker, but this is wrong (sometimes). There's a pathetically underused Onos attack called Paralyze (second attack) which renders the target unable to move briefly... it also happens to be the only ranged attack they have. Catch a 'packer flying about like a bee, and it's child's play to knock them down and eat them. If they're hiding in a vent it's another matter, but there's not much that can be done about that. Moral of the story is, don't fly above an Onos (and maybe a gorge too... a really good webber, that is. Just had that thought).

Everything else is quite good, though. A good read for newbies.

Exploding-Man · December 2002

Allright. Lets poing tis out. I am a n00b too NS. Ive played starcraft a few times and Ive played HL alot and Ive played a few rounds of NS. I have a few things to say.

First off after I read all of this I was thinking ok thats great, But how would you assign a point man and get people to follow this guy. Well I havent tried this but I think it may work. You May assign a waypoint to your point man and assign all of your grunts to protect him. The grunts will all feel special thinking "Wow, this guy thinks Im special enough to protect this lamer". And comunicate with your heavy suport guy.

Also a question: Does this mod enable more damage for aiming at a certain area, or sould you just aim for the largest part of the alien? <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'>

Quazars · December 2002

The damage is the same no matter where you hit an alien. Maybe in a future patch, this'll change.

Narfwak · December 2002

Squad tactics are not very effective in public games for exactly the reasons you mention Exploding-Man. It is too difficult to force twelve-year-old former CS players to form a tightly knit unit that can operate well, and get back together when they all die. Squad tactics would be incredibly useful in clan games, where roles can be pre-assigned and members know each other well enough to trust whomever is in their squad.

CutterJoe · December 2002

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Tucker Gerak @ Nov 6 2002, 07:12 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>=Up, Up and Away!= 
Jetpacks are better than Heavy Armor...and cheaper (last time I checked...)

But it does seem you get bit once too often when your lifting up, up and away...I don't get it; I just do...and I'm one of the best Jetpackers around...
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Yes I have found jetpacks to be very useful in combat. Esp. if you have a shotgun or lmg. But remember one thing. NO matter how high you are when you use the jetpack to gain great speed and the just cut the power, "OUCH" either you are hurt really bad or dead. Words of wisdom from one who has experienced it all to often trying to escape a clawful hulk of a fade.

DarkWing · January 2003

oh damn i reply at wrong place shame on me <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='sad.gif'>
soz >_<|||

M-K · January 2003

Im not suure about this, but I beleive that the knife does more damage, depending on what u attack. I was an onos charging into a marine base once, and this cockly little marine was hiding behind the door when i came in, and put his knife right up me 4$$. and kept swiping at me. He was actually the guy that killed me D: and everyone htough i r teh suck <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='sad.gif'> but it was doing like 40 damage each hit D: <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/turret.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='turret.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/pudgy.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='pudgy.gif'>

Narfwak · January 2003

The knife doing tons of damage was either a bug or a balance problem, or both - it is fixed in 1.04 either way. In any case, I am fairly sure that all weapons do equal damage to any target, no matter what the target is. This doesn't take armor absorbtion into effect however; in which case some enemies, such as an Onos with carapace, are harder to kill.

The knife is still an effective weapon. It is very good at killing Onos if used properly. First, make sure you are not the only thing attacking it - duh. Get to a blind spot and start swinging. The melee damage will throw off the view of the Onos some, as well as do damage. Whether or not you get the kill is just luck; most of the damage to the Onos is likely from turrets or other ranged weapons, so you usually do not.