Why Dont Aliens Stick Together As Much As Marines?
Markeo900
Join Date: 2002-11-17 Member: 9041Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Whats going wrong?</div> Marines are getting smarter, I can see it every time I play, and im sure you can too. Every day I play I see a few more marines with brains and a few less mindless rambo marines. They're working in groups as they need to now much more and much more effectively.
So why is it alien players always end up split up?
Marines move much slower of course, and theres a much better benfit from being in groups as ranged weapon fire is cumilative in effectiveness, (4 marines firing in a room or corridor is very effective) but for 4 skulks to be effective they have to attack at the same time (which is much harder as they all have melee weapons.)
I use the voicecom as much as I need to to help co-ordinate attacks, but i get frustrated with the way aliens always split up much more.
Every seen how effective two fades are? 2 Fades working together can fell a HMG / HA guy with no problems whatsoever. And normal armoured marines have abolsutely no chance (2 fades firing acid rockets with spash damage minces groups of marines no matter how many there are or what guns they have.)
Aliens tend to end up further apart also because of their movement speed, but i still feel us alien players are less co-ordinated and things aren't gonna be pretty if this doesn't change and the marines keep working in group more and more.
Why can't we all just be friends and kill marines together in one big happy and rather dangerous family?
Happy hunting, Mark
So why is it alien players always end up split up?
Marines move much slower of course, and theres a much better benfit from being in groups as ranged weapon fire is cumilative in effectiveness, (4 marines firing in a room or corridor is very effective) but for 4 skulks to be effective they have to attack at the same time (which is much harder as they all have melee weapons.)
I use the voicecom as much as I need to to help co-ordinate attacks, but i get frustrated with the way aliens always split up much more.
Every seen how effective two fades are? 2 Fades working together can fell a HMG / HA guy with no problems whatsoever. And normal armoured marines have abolsutely no chance (2 fades firing acid rockets with spash damage minces groups of marines no matter how many there are or what guns they have.)
Aliens tend to end up further apart also because of their movement speed, but i still feel us alien players are less co-ordinated and things aren't gonna be pretty if this doesn't change and the marines keep working in group more and more.
Why can't we all just be friends and kill marines together in one big happy and rather dangerous family?
Happy hunting, Mark
Comments
I believe that besides the strategy of the early Marine Hive rush, the Aliens are stronger in every way if they only work as a team.
Another story is a group of well-commanded and skilled Marines who were slaughtering single and small groups of skulks. We only overcame them after we rounded up all the skulks and baited them into an ambush. That one battle stalled their offensive and kept them from taking over our now-being-built 2nd Hive. After the 2nd Hive was up, we quickly killed them of with classic Fade/Fade, Fade/Lerk, Fade/Gorge tactics. However, I believe that we didn't work together, we would have lost our 2nd building Hive and would have eventually lost the game.
skulks are much better alone too.
I think it's best for aliens to split and annoy the hell outta marines... except end game - then you should be attacking the mairne base together..
of course to take out many marins together you will need a few marines
agreed! it's farking cool to be chomping on a rez node or tfac or whatever, and then suddenly, 3 of my brethern skulks RUSH in to help me chomp away. it's such an organic way to team play,i love it <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <----(Long way)---> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tiny.gif'><!--endemo-->
I say this as a die-hard marine who is more often on the recieving end of the skulk bites and fade rockets.
I'mnot gonna make a long argument because frankly if you don't see it I'm not up to trying to convince you. The bottom line, however, is that in this game people are generally much weaker than they are in other FPS's. Just because aliens can survive going solo doesn't mean they SHOULD...take the aliens inherant advantage and use your teammates to multiply that by a factor of 10x.
The easiest example is turret factory hunting. A lone skulk can usually take out about half of a turrets health. So, grab 2-3 friends and you can take out that turret for sure. Most comms will only protect a TF's sides with 1-2 turrets, so if you have 3 skulks you can kill off the 2 turrets and then go munch on the TF (thus taking out the whole base).
Aliens are too dependant on the lone wulf mentality IMHO and you're missing out on some wins.
peace
When they go work together, they can be unstoppable- at the third hive/HA|HMG stage, I've never seen the turret farm that can survive two Fade's with Onos/Gorge's/Lerks. I mean, hell... bile everywhere and lots of death messages... many of the alien's abilities are <i>made</i> for teamwork, it's just that not everyone's got the hang of that yet...
Skulks work good alone, IMO, when trying to take out marines.
All aliens work better when trying to take out marine buildings.
Just remember:
Fade (with adren and carapace) + Lerk (adren and carapace) + Gorge (adren + regen) = Unstoppible (to bullet type weapons)
Not all good ambush spots have room for two skulks (vents for example - they can hose an infinate number of skulks trying to get out of a vent, once they see the first one). In a pub server, you don't know if your "partner" is going to do something stupid or not and get you both killed, while alone you KNOW what's going to happen, for better or for worse. Two skulks charging from long range are taking a big risk, because they'll frequently be inside the same cones of fire, i.e. your teammate will draw fire to you, and vice versa (this can be avoided when there are smooth ceilings for climb on, though, then two skulks is much better than one).
Logistics can be a problem when you get to the bigger aliens (fades, onos). When you reach that critical point where you have to pull back NOW, a teammate will inveriably be right behind you, pinning you in the open. He may clean up after you, but you're still dead. A similiar problem is teammates stepping in front of you, causing your acid rockets/bile bombs to go off in your own face.
But when it comes to head on assaults, or attacking structures, teamwork is much, much better. Two skulks can easily chew all the turrets defending one side of a factory and then proceed to shred it. Mixed types of aliens work best. Any group of aliens with a skulk is much deadlier, as a skulk can move in fast while the bigger, more "dangerous" aliens are being shot at (there's nothing more deadly than an ignored oppenent), and clean house. If they shoot at the skulk, they're going to go nuts trying to hit the thing while they're being ripped up by other aliens. Any group with an onos is a in a good position, as most fire will be concentrated on the big boy, while everyone else gets a "kick some marine arse free" card. Can you say "primal screamed skulk?" Heh heh... watch those structures fall. Tonight I was playing a game where we were having difficulty taking back the unnamed hive, so as a skulk I snuck into a vent and parasited marines while my teammates came in from the front door, pounding away at the marines who could no longer hide. It was a beautiful sight to be able to watch a fade and a lerk come in together, tearing things up. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Anyway, aliens are for rambos, and when there's heavily concentrated aliens in one spot, less in another. A smart commander will use this advantage, by taking footholds from the aliens that they could've held if the aliens were split up. I'll try to make another badly spoken example, if half your team is full of fades, the others skulks waiting to go fade, and gorges going around building/healing, and that group of fades all attack.. say the third hive held by the marines, that makes the other two hives susceptible to marine assault. If the fades would've split up, they'd be all over, causing havoc, rather in just one spot. For the commander, several outposts severely weakened is worse than one entire outpost destroyed. Why? Because he has to split his forces and keep marines at each outpost, spreading his forces thus too thin, giving the aliens the team to build up. Now, we go back to the other example of the fades just attacking one area; the commander can send a few marines to defend and fend off(and end up dying anyway) the third hive he's holding, and send the rest of his marines towards another hive.. building it up and taking two hives. (If he loses the third hive, that's fine because it'll be awhile before the aliens get it up, so all the aliens will now rush to the hive they lost, and the marines can then do the tactic over again, and thus end up gaining two hives.)
Gah, I can never seem to put the words out just right, but that's how it is.. in some screwed up way. And yes, teamwork is always good, but the Kharaa isn't truly meant for teamplayers as much as the Marines depend on it. And just to get this out there: don't mix coordinated attacks and grouping. Grouping = bad. Coordinated attacks = good. (Coordinated being me distracting the grouped marines for P-crab, and Grouping being the bunches of Fades attacking the third hive)
MY REASON:
BECAUSE ALIENS HAVE A SCORE AND MARINES DONT... ALIENS ARE TOO CONCERNED WITH THEIR "FRAG-KILL RATIO"
i hafta admit at times even im like that.. goin solo to take kils.. but then i smash myself wif my hammer to remind myself this is NS <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> haha
seriously... 5v5.. aliens own if they do it rite
1 gorge heal
2 fade
1 ohnos
1 lerk
owange..
the ohnos is bascially there for the purpose of intimidation..
gorge heals and spams blabbers adds more "units" into the fight.. numbers scare ppl <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Otherwise, grouping can actually be bad for you some times. Overkill can waste some opportunities to pierce the marines' defenses. Can't quite be everywhere at the same time (but almost), so find where you can do the most damage. Scattering is a good way to get intel on marine movements, too.
or did you post into the future?
As for the topic at hand, there are times to be solo, and times to be grouped. This goes for both teams, but moreso for aliens because the damage a single skulk can inflict on either a surprised marine squad OR an unattended marine outpost is considerable. However, if the skulks all stick together during the first 15 minutes or so of the game, and keep the marines from leaving their base? Now THAT is a huge advantage for the aliens. First contact should be the initial rush where you'll almost certainly catch some marines building and therefore be able to take out 1 or 2 before going down... but right after that I suggest camping their exits.
If you can keep the marines pinned for even 10 minutes, your Gorge can have a field day collecting res nodes and leaving them undefended (no point since the marines can't get to them). This leads to a very substantial resource advantage which means eventually (all other things being equal) you're going to win. I know it kills some skulks to NOT be running around constantly and biting things... but let the marines build all they want in their little base. If you can keep them confined there, all the turrets in the world aren't going to keep a handful of Fades at bay forever. Resources are just huge. No two ways about it.
As a skulk, I value these:
- speed. Being able to travel across the map quickly is a massive advantage.
- size. Small = hard to hit.
- stealth. Small = hard to see, small = fairly quiet.
- chaos. If I run straight into your group, and dance around, you will find it damn hard to see/hit me.
- knowledge. Everyone is running around solo. We 'know' the state of the whole map. I can see where the marines are with yellow/red circles. I can see where marines are sitting down shooting o-towers, I can hear/read which hive the marines are heading for. I can see where the wounded marines are (red circles). I can know far more than the target does.
Being in a group:
speed? I have to wait for everyone. In vents you get stuck behind someone that decides to go another way, you get stuck when the person in front lags.
size? Fire an LMG into a group of 6 skulks, and you will do massive damage.
stealth? Not many places that 6 skulks can hide, and they make a lot of noise & blue circles on the motion tracker.
chaos? Now a disadvantage, a marine spraying wildly stands a very good chance of hitting something.
knowledge? We're all bunched up - I have no idea what's going on at hive A unless a whole group goes over there to find out. Since they travel slower, and have a harder time picking a direction I know even less about the map.
respawn? Aliens are stuck with 1 respawn per hive. 3 skulks that die at the same time, with 1 hive, will take 40 seconds for them all to respawn. 1 skulk dying at a time is 10 seconds out of action.
reaction time? 1 marine near the hive putting up a phase gate? Where's the nearest 'group'?
Anyway, sometimes it is useful to group [e.g. after the 2nd hive for lerk+fade, initial rush, attacking a siege farm], but I don't intentionally group as a skulk.
The Kharaa are experts of guerilla warfare. Modern-day special forces stay in small groups because they're much less likely to be noticed, and they can move a lot faster. And historically speaking, the army that moves the fastest wins the war. So, after the initial rush (which I don't really like to do) the skulks should be split between guarding the gorge/hives, wanted assets, or keeping the marines on the defensive through harassment and psychological warfare.
In the mid-late game, it's a different story. As many others have mentioned, Fade/lerk combos are nearly unstoppable, moving across the map like a locomotive hyped up on charcoal.
Skulks are great in groups, especially if you attack from different angles. It amazing how easy it is to kill distracted marines just by running up a wall or coming from another angle as they fire at the other skulk(s).
Try it with a clanmate or something, one of you runs in, the other runs in 3 seconds later and kills the jarhead firing at your friend.
Works wonders trust me, even if your teamate is killed, your gonna mop up all the marines before they have a clue whats going on.
Course this dont work in corridors. If ur a skulk and a marine is in a corridor, just parasite him and run off to another part of the map. One of your mates eat his face when he get cocky and runs into a big area later on.
I love watching that swirling yellow dot get closer until its 3 feet away round the corner, you can almost taste the blood...
Happy hunting, Mark
Its a bit rough on the other skulk, but hey, its rougher on the marine(s).
A swarm of skulks is very deadly. With all those skulks causing chaos it is impossible for marines to actually win the battle. This is of course if the distance from skulk to marine is close enough so that marines can't just spray bullets from long range. Also the fact that bullets do not go through friendly player bodies so if a skulk is attacking a fellow marine they can't help much because the bullets will hit the bodies which would act as shield for the skulk!
So yes, I think we aliens need to get along better, but that is mostly dependant on skill level as I said above. Decent players always play as team.
someone mentioned skulks goin solo
i think skulks in a gropu are very very powerful.. tehy can take almost anything early game... even late game
u have 5 marines vs 5 skulks.. skulks will win..
ie... when we gorup up to stop rushes.. kil outposts... tear down TFs and phases.... Skulks are powerful...
ie... one time they took both hives... it was a matter of time before we lost... we all went skulks (10 ppl) and rushed their base... they decided not to put any D up.. and so we went for the IPs and obs... then they lost..... <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
"Team of species" is not limited to fades, anything goes when everyone realizes it, sometimes somebody must push the right buttons though. It also seems to me that marines are more quickly organized for team effort, probably because their commander is "ordering" them,but aliens can only order/give information to each other.
Small example what might make it more obvious:
Commander: Protect the phase gate at all costs, until we get turrets. Fight to the bitter end even with your knives if you have to.
Marines: Roger that!.
Commander: Heavy guys, use the phase gate now and wait for futher instructions.
Gorg: They are building near Computer core.
<silence>
Gorg: Marines got phase gate up, and are reinforcing troops here!.
Skulk: I'm coming (in eclipse)
Fades: On our way. (in maintance)
Reason for edits: Typos!
most players will respawn and immedietly run off to rush the base or something instead of waiting at the HIve for more skulks to come in
And for anyone to say "Lone ambushes are better" is wrong. A single skulk will not last long versus a squad of decent-skilled marines
I played a game last night with a bunch of rookies. I was the Lerk applying Umbra for my inexperienced Fades. We took out their base in MaintAccess (this is ns_eclipse) and then every RT on the map. We then secured 3rd Hive and went for enemy base. Sadly, everyone on the team except for myself and my friend went Onos
ohwell, we still won
PS: Lerks own; Onos are overrated humps of compost <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
I'm all for teamplay, but not for the hunt-in-packs style of play. Personally, I'm satisfied with the way things are right now. The Kharaa function best when they are a fluid, cohesive force, not a solid phalanx (like the marines are). In other words, Kharaa teamplay works best when you assist an assault by coming in from the other side, or covering a retreat, or by attacking a small outpost to draw the marines' attention away form attacking a hive that's under construction... The Kharaa seem to fight better as a team of individuals. You do your bit, you use hivesight to find where you're needed, move in, kick arse, move on to the next hotspot. I've co-ordinated a few maneuvers, called for backup a few times (and recieved it). Teamplay does happen. Hell, I've seen more teamplay in NS than any other game. But there's a difference between teamplay and hunting in packs.
Yeah, I guess you could pair off with someone if you know them, or if you can get something organised or whatever. But.... it's no more a "cool thing that's missing" in NS than it is in other games; it's not essential and it's not likely to happen. It's the way the marines play (because they HAVE to); if an entire Kharaa team were to play like that it just wouldn't work.
<b>Aliens NEED to have teamwork</b> If they just run around alone they are doomed. Being together in a group of Skulks does not preclude the possibility of a surprise attack, nor does it mean you attack the same target in the same pattern (thus putting you in the cone of fire so to speak). But rest assured, Skulks CANNOT and SHOULD not run amuck alone.
Don't get me wrong, they can do it. And they do, and sometimes it works to their advantage (just as it does for rogue marines to sometimes go rambo), but most of the time it DOESN'T work, and they must learn to work together. Why? Because the other team always does! They have a commander that they have to listen to, if they want to win. The commander makes it easy to work together (with waypoints and such).
All the aliens have is a hive - and it is a poor commander. It only tells you what is broken, not what to do. If you ever hear the hive mind tell you your hive is dying that means it's usually ALREADY TOO LATE. You need ot take steps to make sure that you never even hear your hive mind go off.
Instead, these idiot skulks don't guard the gorge, or any hive point, and they run off one by one to 'pwn', but for the most part get slaughtered. Its simple numbers - marines stay together, they therefore normally outnumber the 1 skulk who happens upon them (who is normally just as surprised to see the marines as they are to see him).
Of course, 1 skulk can take 1-2 marines (or even 3) if they plan a good ambush (dropping from above a door works best), but that is not what we are talking about here is it? Planning a good ambush will work only if you have the ambush in the right spot (like a hive) and only if they dont have motion tracking, or turrets, or lots of friends nearby yet (which more and more often they quickly do). But that is not what we are talking about here is it?
We are talking about running around here like an idiot, not planning well conceived ambushes at key locations (the key locations for that particular match will change from match to match, of course. Even on the same map depending on what the marines are doing. Always on what the marines are doing - all the aliens do is respond to the marines, because for the simple fact they have NO commander - only a hive mind, which can only react to its hurts, not pro-act to prevent them).
<b>Best way:</b> A coordinated attack (from different directions if possible) of all possible skulks at whatever tactical target that needs to be removed (be it a siege cannon, infantry portals, marines, phase gate, res towers, or the big bad CC) has to be done en masse, guided by a leader skulk, simoultaneously, but from different directions if possible. (read my post on this in General Topics: Strategy from a n00b)
Without this, single skulks wandering in at 20 second intervals (if they can even get to that important location without getting lost, and if they care to or know to) is only good for one thing: target practice. They will be completely ineffectual. They might get the occasional rogue marine, but that can never win them the game - and if it does, it's because the marine commander could not control his rambo troops, not because of any imagined advantage that skulks have when hunting alone.
maskedpussy
even in pubs. three or four skulks together rip marines apart like nobody's business. when the marines start using teamwork and start slaughtering aliens, the only way to re-inspire fear into them is to work together and own em <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->