How to deal with lerks

RammlerRammler Join Date: 2013-06-18 Member: 185607Members, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow
Hi guys. at minutw 2 or 3 lerks pop out. you know that. a good lerk, and i mean a really good lerk can kill a single marine very easy. flying with top speed a marine is dead before he knows that a lerk is behind him. i saw a lot of games that are already over just because 2 lerks came on the field. its nearly impossible to kill them without a shotgun. the lerks fly in few seconds from room to room creating superior numbers and kill every marine. small maps like tram is a good example. i really do not know how to deal with this lerks. they get evry bite and hit me with every spike. they fly so fast around me that it is impossible to focuse the weapon on them. does anyone have an idea how to deal with them?

Comments

  • WobWob Join Date: 2005-04-08 Member: 47814Members, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Back to a wall so they can't fly past you. (There's an exception here)
    Burst fire when far away.
    Spray when biting you.
    When no skulk support and you have an opportunity (full weld / hp / comm has his attention on you), push the lerk out of the room.
  • N@uralBornNoobistN@uralBornNoobist Gorge-N-Freeman,2Gorges1Clog Join Date: 2012-12-24 Member: 176138Members
    edited May 2015
    Hope the lerks pc's crash.

    Hope an internet Troll doesnt give you advice.
  • DC_DarklingDC_Darkling Join Date: 2003-07-10 Member: 18068Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver
    you have a 30 res lifeform in 3mins, and you are wondering why a 0res marine has trouble killing the flying bugger?
    I would say 'do not move alone' and 'let your partner have clear LoS on you'.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    nachos wrote: »
    Spray when biting you.

    LOL don't do that.

    1. Don't expect the lerk to die
    2. The most important damage is him entering a room because you have accuracy and dps he doesn't and you know his path, so you need to do that entry dmg to scare him off while he tries to spike you initially
    3. When he attacks you, you need to jump away to a position you can get some shots in. Jump behind things, around things, over things. No one has exact control of their lerk in most environments, so he WILL hit into something and give you spacing if you lead him to it
    4. When your clip is out, you're fucked, so choose shots carefully up close.

    But really, it's not about killing them, it's about lowering their effectiveness enough to maintain some res control while you get ups and shotguns. You can scare them just as much as they do you with corners and vents.
  • RammlerRammler Join Date: 2013-06-18 Member: 185607Members, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow
    Haha, i know i am not supposed to kill him. i do not even expect to kill a lerk in a 1vs1. but i think i am doing a lot of wrong decisions at the moment and make it the lerk to easy to kill me. i just want to do the best things i am able to do at this moment. i think maybe my positioning is wrong, my aiming bad or my behavior. maybe a mix of all these things, but i think there is more i could do. to die in 3 seconds over and over again is definitely not the right thing i guess ;-)
  • CRaZyCAT_RusCRaZyCAT_Rus Russia Join Date: 2013-10-31 Member: 188899Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    edited May 2015
    1. Positioning + Aim and Burst (at long-medium range primarily)
    OR
    2. Spray all bullets (LMG first then pistol then reload pistol) + Hard strafing (If you know there isn't time to perform Burst fire for example if lerk is killing you ASAP)
    BUT
    3. If lerk close in but doesn't make real actions to kill you and just troll while flying above your head (in hope you will proceed 2) try to increase the distance and then proceed 1 or 2.

    Train your aim and good luck :wink:
  • NordicNordic Long term camping in Kodiak Join Date: 2012-05-13 Member: 151995Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    You just need to be in a position where you and preferably a group of Marines can do enough damage to scare him off. If you take off the lerks armor it will probably leave to go heal. It's not about getting a kill but not letting the lerk get a kill.
  • BeigeAlertBeigeAlert Texas Join Date: 2013-08-08 Member: 186657Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester, Pistachionauts
    'do not move alone' and 'let your partner have clear LoS on you'.

    YES! YES! I cannot tell you how many times I'll say "lerks are up", and the guy in the room with me just saunters off on his own, like wtf are you doing man??? BITE BITE BITE, he's dead. Oh well thank you kind sir, now I'm going to die too!

    Seriously guys, STAY IN LINE OF SIGHT of each other. SOOOO often I see players close together, but around corners. That's how they get you!!! It doesn't take more than a second or two to kill a marine, even if his buddies are close by.
  • IronHorseIronHorse Developer, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributor Join Date: 2010-05-08 Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
    you have a 30 res lifeform in 3mins.
    You mean 20 pres lifeform in ~2 minutes. (assuming the comm isn't asleep and has 3 RTs up and nutrient mist)

    1) Keep an ear out for the idle growl it makes when gliding or the flapping sound.
    2) Position yourself just like you always should, with long lines of sight (like down a hallway)
    3) Do not aim for the wings, (they only absorb a % of the dmg) aim for the body and recognize that a "good" Lerk is going to go up and down erratically.
    4) Shoot in bursts when you can, because a good lerk will wait for you to empty your magazine before they come in for the bite.
    5) Call out the lifeform's position on the map when it will be near teammates, especially if it is damaged.
    6) If you are alone, damaging it as much as possible and following rule #5 should be your goal. A good lerk will leave the room before it let's you kill it with an LMG



  • 2cough2cough Rocky Mountain High Join Date: 2013-03-14 Member: 183952Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    edited May 2015
    Rammler, do you play under the same name as your forum alias? If so, were you playing last night and getting destroyed by lerks, maybe on the dmd sever? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then MUAHAHAHA!

    DRUM SOLO

    If not, plz ignore ;)

    But I think @IronHorse's post above has probably the best summation of lerk tactics.

    Also, I'm not sure why, but this thread reminds me... I love this game...
  • DC_DarklingDC_Darkling Join Date: 2003-07-10 Member: 18068Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver
    its been a long day, am I mixng up res cost again? :P
  • twilitebluetwiliteblue bug stalker Join Date: 2003-02-04 Member: 13116Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
    edited May 2015
    To eradicate Lerks, you must destroy their natural habitats...the Clorfs.

    Great tips @IronHorse I did not know Lerk wings take reduced damage. :open_mouth:
  • HeatSurgeHeatSurge Some Guy Join Date: 2012-09-15 Member: 159438Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    I didn't know wings even take any damage at all? I thought anything passes through freely through them as if they didn't exist.
  • KalopsiaKalopsia Join Date: 2003-05-15 Member: 16331Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Just stand still and make it easier for me to eat you ;)

    Few good counter tips to take down a Lerk

    - Get good at using a shotgun for close combat
    - Learn the best spots to place mines on a map. E.g. put 2-3 in the one spot near a vent entry....just hope a skulk doesn't trigger them
    - Pistol Lerks at a distance

    Checkout my videos on Lerk play style and try and identify ways to combat them.

    How to DIE as a Lerk:


    How to KILL as a Lerk:


  • SantaClawsSantaClaws Denmark Join Date: 2012-07-31 Member: 154491Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Improve your basic awareness. Lerks (or any other lifeform for that matter) should not be able to surprise you from behind. You have to use more than just sight and hearing to be fully aware in NS2, game sense is key. Position your self in spots that you can't be surprised from behind - and move swiftly but methodically from place to place.
  • WobWob Join Date: 2005-04-08 Member: 47814Members, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    mattji104 wrote: »
    nachos wrote: »
    Spray when biting you.

    LOL don't do that.

    ok then let him bite you and kill you whilst you're still burst firing?

    If you're crouched with your back against the wall and a lerk is biting you; you hold mouse 1, hope for meds, and kill him ez pz...
  • CRaZyCAT_RusCRaZyCAT_Rus Russia Join Date: 2013-10-31 Member: 188899Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
  • MephillesMephilles Germany Join Date: 2013-08-07 Member: 186634Members, NS2 Map Tester, NS2 Community Developer
    is it just me or does that look like a high mouse sensitivity? @CRaZyCAT_Rus
  • UncleCrunchUncleCrunch Mayonnaise land Join Date: 2005-02-16 Member: 41365Members, Reinforced - Onos
    It also looks like the Lerk is biting from miles away. I think it's the most problematic thing about this game (not only Lerks).
  • unrenderedunrendered Finland Join Date: 2013-11-07 Member: 189137Members, Reinforced - Supporter, WC 2013 - Supporter
    edited May 2015
    Position yourself so that you have:
    Good sight of your teammate(s) and proper distance between you
    Some geometry (walls, pillars, etc.) around you that can be used to avoid spikes and help at outmaneuvering the Lerk at close range
    Good angles to shoot from

    What I see a lot of players do is position themselves way too carelessly. If you try to fight a Lerk in the middle of huge open areas, it's just ezpz spike dmg you're taking. Don't oversimplify it. In group engagements you should also try to have one marine be in a more hidden position than the rest to get some ez free dmg and potentially block the lifeform as it's retreating.

    At close range do mid-strafes left and right to avoid bites. Strafe jumping is applicable too, just don't spam it. Something I also like to do is that if I notice the Lerk is biting exceptionally high, you can crouch to make him miss the bite and go over you (dunno how effective this is but yolo).
    nachos wrote: »
    Back to a wall so they can't fly past you.

    I feel like that just cuts down options and makes it easier for the Lerk to read your movement.

  • NordicNordic Long term camping in Kodiak Join Date: 2012-05-13 Member: 151995Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    Lots of good advice in here, mostly the same thing from a different perspective which is good.
  • CRaZyCAT_RusCRaZyCAT_Rus Russia Join Date: 2013-10-31 Member: 188899Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Mephilles wrote: »
    is it just me or does that look like a high mouse sensitivity? @CRaZyCAT_Rus
    yes, it is
  • AnzestralAnzestral Join Date: 2013-05-21 Member: 185327Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Silver, Subnautica Playtester
    mattji104 wrote: »
    nachos wrote: »
    Spray when biting you.

    LOL don't do that.

    1. Don't expect the lerk to die
    2. The most important damage is him entering a room because you have accuracy and dps he doesn't and you know his path, so you need to do that entry dmg to scare him off while he tries to spike you initially
    3. When he attacks you, you need to jump away to a position you can get some shots in. Jump behind things, around things, over things. No one has exact control of their lerk in most environments, so he WILL hit into something and give you spacing if you lead him to it
    4. When your clip is out, you're fucked, so choose shots carefully up close.

    But really, it's not about killing them, it's about lowering their effectiveness enough to maintain some res control while you get ups and shotguns. You can scare them just as much as they do you with corners and vents.

    Listen to Wobs (nachos) advice. It is the way to kill good lerks. Trying to track a moving/dodging lerk at high distance is very hard. Fire some (maybe 5-10 bullets) at the lerk when he enters a room, then wait form him to come close to bite and then spray him down strafing in a circle around him. Don't jump with any alien biting you, it will f*** up your aim. Strafe around the alien and spray them down.
  • MephillesMephilles Germany Join Date: 2013-08-07 Member: 186634Members, NS2 Map Tester, NS2 Community Developer
    Wob and Anze are right, the moment a lerk is easiest to hit is when he approaches/bites you. That's why you spray him down. A lerk can only dodge or attack. He can't do both.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    I mean, I don't have problem killing lerks or pushing them off. I'm not 100% successful, but no one is. I was also considering being by myself in a solo cap or something
  • AnzestralAnzestral Join Date: 2013-05-21 Member: 185327Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Silver, Subnautica Playtester
    A little off topic, but another thing I see a lot of people do wrong is to focus too much on killing higher lifeforms except for killing skulks. All the advice given in this thread pretty much only holds for a 1v1 against a lerk. If you are a single marine capping rts and you see a lerk/fade and skulks coming for you, you should try to focus the skulks. Of course it feels good to be a hero and solo a higher lifeform, but with the skulks around getting the kill is unlikely and you help your team much more killing the skulks and denying the resbiting. A good lerk or fade won't stay in combat long enough to get killed anyway, so if you don't know help is coming or someone is trying to trap the lifeform on it's way out, go for the skulks.
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