Skulk Club
VoodooHex
Join Date: 2012-06-14 Member: 153264Members
Join Date: 2012-06-14 Member: 153264Members
<b>Skulk Club:
</b>
I decided to put this out to show others how I play skulk. This is a combination of techniques that I have developed over my two years in the beta.
<b>Rule#1</b>
You don’t talk about Skulk Club
<b>Rule#2</b>
You do not talk about Skulk Club!
<b>Rule#3</b>
Only strike at the opportune moment.
I took some advice about skulking from Fana a while back. He said only attack when the situation is in your favor. While this should be obvious to anyone, I have tried to follow this advice every day since I heard it.
<b>Rule#4</b>
Don’t attack marine(s) head on from the ground at a distance. Even a new player will snipe you. Stay behind cover and wait for them to come to you.
<b>Rule#5</b>
Listen. Learn to judge where the enemy is going. Slow crawl when you hear marines nearby. (If you have evolved silence, you can ignore this)Too many times my cover has been blown because another skulk came dashing passed me, blowing what could have been a perfectly executed ambush.
<b>Rule#6</b>
Ambush, especially in the early game
Plenty marines think that they are running into an empty room just because it is close to their spawn base. Utilize the dark areas of the ceiling and only switch to alien vision when you know you are hidden.
When to execute the ambush? Wait until you are sure that there are no more marines coming in to the room. Wait until you hear them start to build: normally this is the power node/extractor.
Always attack from behind when breaking your ambush. Try and take down the marine who isn’t building as the builders will have to break away which will give you enough time to munch down your target and escape. If it is only builders around an extractor, ambush and you might have a chance at getting both of them.
Try to organize an ambush with other skulks. It’s hella fun and you feel like a ninja, especially with silence+celerity.
<b>Rule#7</b>
Always have an escape plan in your head when entering combat. A dead skulk is a useless skulk. If you start attacking a marine and a few more appear, run away, unless you know you can kill the first one and still manage an escape.
I know it can be hard to break away from an engagement, you want that kill. Try and pay attention to your health and armor. If you are close to a hive don’t be ashamed at running off for healing.
<b>Rule#8</b>
Don’t rush into a pack of marines by yourself. You’re just going to die and you don’t gain personal res when you’re dead.
<b>Rule#9</b>
Try to attack in packs as much as possible. This means coordinating, communicating, and executing a plan. If your commander isn’t giving direction don’t be afraid to speak up and get something organized. There is nothing worse than everyone just running around doing their own thing while your bases get owned.
<b>Rule#10</b>
How to engage:
Whenever I fight a marine I always try and jump to the nearest wall, move upward diagonally then come back down for another bite. I try to only bite when I know I am going to land a hit.
<a href="http://youtu.be/cE_dmY7VEtE" target="_blank">Rough-around-the-edges version of what I am talking about.</a> I'll try and record a better version later.
Why get to a wall and move up? I do it because it throws off a player’s aim when they have to aim upward suddenly. It takes a different hand movement to aim up and down then to aim left or right.
Go ahead and try it.
If I have celerity I will incorporate circle strafing after I break my ambush. This is mainly for rifleman, shotgunners are another matter. It will really come down to skill at this point. Who has better aim, and mobility.
If the marine has good air movement, you need to predict where he is going to land. Take cover and decide whether to re-engage or go back for healing.
<b>Conclusion:</b>
I hope you all enjoyed the read, those of you who didn’t fall asleep. Skulking is about using your mobility, aiming your bites dead center, and using cover. It will take practice and many deaths before you get good. Don’t give up.
I would also encourage others to make comments about changing these rules, adding to, and making them more clear. Thanks.
</b>
I decided to put this out to show others how I play skulk. This is a combination of techniques that I have developed over my two years in the beta.
<b>Rule#1</b>
You don’t talk about Skulk Club
<b>Rule#2</b>
You do not talk about Skulk Club!
<b>Rule#3</b>
Only strike at the opportune moment.
I took some advice about skulking from Fana a while back. He said only attack when the situation is in your favor. While this should be obvious to anyone, I have tried to follow this advice every day since I heard it.
<b>Rule#4</b>
Don’t attack marine(s) head on from the ground at a distance. Even a new player will snipe you. Stay behind cover and wait for them to come to you.
<b>Rule#5</b>
Listen. Learn to judge where the enemy is going. Slow crawl when you hear marines nearby. (If you have evolved silence, you can ignore this)Too many times my cover has been blown because another skulk came dashing passed me, blowing what could have been a perfectly executed ambush.
<b>Rule#6</b>
Ambush, especially in the early game
Plenty marines think that they are running into an empty room just because it is close to their spawn base. Utilize the dark areas of the ceiling and only switch to alien vision when you know you are hidden.
When to execute the ambush? Wait until you are sure that there are no more marines coming in to the room. Wait until you hear them start to build: normally this is the power node/extractor.
Always attack from behind when breaking your ambush. Try and take down the marine who isn’t building as the builders will have to break away which will give you enough time to munch down your target and escape. If it is only builders around an extractor, ambush and you might have a chance at getting both of them.
Try to organize an ambush with other skulks. It’s hella fun and you feel like a ninja, especially with silence+celerity.
<b>Rule#7</b>
Always have an escape plan in your head when entering combat. A dead skulk is a useless skulk. If you start attacking a marine and a few more appear, run away, unless you know you can kill the first one and still manage an escape.
I know it can be hard to break away from an engagement, you want that kill. Try and pay attention to your health and armor. If you are close to a hive don’t be ashamed at running off for healing.
<b>Rule#8</b>
Don’t rush into a pack of marines by yourself. You’re just going to die and you don’t gain personal res when you’re dead.
<b>Rule#9</b>
Try to attack in packs as much as possible. This means coordinating, communicating, and executing a plan. If your commander isn’t giving direction don’t be afraid to speak up and get something organized. There is nothing worse than everyone just running around doing their own thing while your bases get owned.
<b>Rule#10</b>
How to engage:
Whenever I fight a marine I always try and jump to the nearest wall, move upward diagonally then come back down for another bite. I try to only bite when I know I am going to land a hit.
<a href="http://youtu.be/cE_dmY7VEtE" target="_blank">Rough-around-the-edges version of what I am talking about.</a> I'll try and record a better version later.
Why get to a wall and move up? I do it because it throws off a player’s aim when they have to aim upward suddenly. It takes a different hand movement to aim up and down then to aim left or right.
Go ahead and try it.
If I have celerity I will incorporate circle strafing after I break my ambush. This is mainly for rifleman, shotgunners are another matter. It will really come down to skill at this point. Who has better aim, and mobility.
If the marine has good air movement, you need to predict where he is going to land. Take cover and decide whether to re-engage or go back for healing.
<b>Conclusion:</b>
I hope you all enjoyed the read, those of you who didn’t fall asleep. Skulking is about using your mobility, aiming your bites dead center, and using cover. It will take practice and many deaths before you get good. Don’t give up.
I would also encourage others to make comments about changing these rules, adding to, and making them more clear. Thanks.
Comments
You know... If you REALLY want to be awesome to the n^th degree you should post a vid showing each rule :P
And so did God look down from on high upon the wonders our greatest had wrought and he saw that it was good and he spake thusly,
"Pffft, that's just common sense really."
This is mainly for newer players. While it should seem like common sense, new players will have no idea how to handle a skulk. This is meant to help.