advice time.

[holy_devil]

alright everyone.. time to get off your rear and start playing. i'm tired of the half-assed playing mode people get into =\ lack of effort or caring, whatever it may be. it ruins a lot of games, and pisses some people off(myself included).

first of all, aliens aren't overpowered. they can only do what marines allow them to. comms, this means be offensive instead of defensive. upgraded armories are more important than ever. if the aliens are using half hte team in gorges to stop a siege hive death, get one gl in there, he'll take care of everything at once. literally. also, counter the chambers aliens have. if they have sc, don't waste time on mt. keep the obs up for pings, have the teams main group thats pushing pinged 24/7, so it gives people a reason to not rambo off(they'll just die without ping so). get obs at every spot you push to, hive locations or good central ones. 2-3 obs is usually enough to keep pings up until marines can build an obs. i'll list full counters;

dc = weapons upgrades, better to try to counter with hmgs/sgs though, and focus on the other more deadly chambers

mc = motion tracking, unless sensory/mc mix. if its mc first though, get mt asap. silence > marines.

sc = obs as said above. armor is a gigantic help as well, but thats a general thing imo.

as for the marines themselves, SHOOT. ALIENS. can't tell you how many times i've picked a marine off in the back of a group because no one turned around. if you're in a group, call incomings. anything aside whats directly in front of them. call fades/onii, whatever. if you have anything but an lmg, let the lmgs build unless so directed by the comm. if someone is trying to be stealthy, don't walk up and make tons of noise as well, please. ninja pgs are still useful when theres no sc =]

aliens, make people save for things. drop res asap if you have nothing to save for or would prefer gorging, etc. generally, you'll need a good fade, two people for chambers asap, one hive, rest nodes. can't stress the following enough, so: LISTEN TO TEXT CHAT. some people don't have voice/can't use it at the time. so pay attentino to text as well as voice. i'm guilty of ignoring it from time to time myself, but if its something important i'll repeat it over voice comms. i suggest others do this as well. alien team work = communication.




now that i have that out of my system, i feel better. so get it through your heads, neither side is overpowered. its just more skill based than before. no, i don't care what goes on in clan matches/pugs. that isn't lm. marines just need more teamwork than ever, since aliens can actually *OMG* have upgrades.

[Legionnaired]

I think our game last night was a total illustration of that. You did enough fading to rape 5 marine teams in the last version, but in this one the marines played hard and stayed tight. On that rush on cargo, there was only one straggler who phased by mistake, then phased back to help the rush.

In a half- hour game like that, everyone feels a lot of fatigue (esp. the comm, I should know.. ) and it's the team that plays tight and communicates that will come out on top. One player won't do it anymore, the whole team has to be of higher skill.

Also, props to both teams on that game last night. It was the most frustrating commanding I've ever done thanks to the aliens, and simultaneously the most rewarding thanks to the marines.

If anyone wants it, I'll write up an account of what happened.

[Malevolent]

I agree with making sure to notice text chat. I know I miss it since it isn't used primarily. I even miss people saying things sometimes when I'm in certain situations in the game. If it's something very important, it needs to be said more than once.

[CryForMe]

I agree with everything HD said, and in addition, it goes for aliens too. If you want to win a game as aliens, theres things you need to do in EVERY map.  
As soon as you join and the round starts, CALL CHAMBERS AND HIVE! This way, theres no confusion as to what needs to be put up or by whom. You know who is dropping the chambers and you know who is saving for the hive.
I ALWAYS go gorge at the beginning of every alien round i play to assist the team, whether its in dropping an RT or chambers. The biggest gripe i have is that i ask my teammates what chambers they want and dont get a response until around the 2:00 mark when they start whining that they dont have any chambers. As HD said, READ TXT CHAT!!!! I dont have reliable voicecomm, so people need to learn to read as they play.  I generally dont spam, so anything i'm putting out to the team has some kind of relevance, whether its asking what chambers you want or to GTF to the hive!
The final point for aliens is RT's. This is the ONLY reason that aliens lose. Everyone is so gung-ho that they think that a skulk rush can beat the rines every time. I see a successful skulk rush about once every 30-40 games, if that. So lets play smarter. When youre aliens, spread out, gorge, drop an rt and re-skulk. Takes 45 seconds and we'll have most of the rts on the map. then you can stand there and mow down rines while the res flows in. If done right, you can have a whole team of higher lifeforms and 2 hives by the 6:00 mark. However, the converse is also true. With the latest trend of elec'ing rts, if you stay skulk and let the rines have all the res, theyre gonna electrify, and then its more than likely gg time.

So for everyone, start playing smarter. Less ninja, more teamwork...intelligent teamwork.
/end rant.

[Necrosis]

Aggression aggression aggression.

So many marine games lost because marines wasted time waiting for all the stragglers while aliens bulkrushed the few at the waypoint. You see a waypoint, get moving.

On aliens, chambers need to be called ASAP. One guy needs to call higher evo, one needs to call hive. If you vote SC first then for the love of bunnies make an SC network and be sure that it covers the hive you intend to take. If you let marines lock one hive in SC first games then you're going to lose. They only need to hold one and pressure the other, that leaves you with SC in the face of ever increasing weapon upgrades and armour upgrades.

If you have 50 res, and we have a hive already, then fade. Learn to fade well. Even blinking AROUND marines is enough to spook them. So what if you don't make so many kills, you can practice that later. Its the DETERRENT thats needed.

Games are getting far too slack now, people are moving in slow motion and if anything the current version is MUCH faster to play.

[Mac]

Yeah, people need to pay attention to text, and also, people using mics need to remember to type if people aren't responding. I always mute everyone on my team except the commander because people are almost constantly talking, and it makes me lag more than I already do. People who use voice chat need to keep in mind those who don't, such as myself. I always have second thoughts about muting people because I feel like I'll miss important information.

If you have 50 res, and we have a hive already, then fade.

Wait.. for the aliens, are resources collected individually? Or does the res count I see on the screen apply to the team as a whole? I'm very new and I'm constantly learning more as I go along, specifically with the aliens. Up until a few days ago I had no idea the aliens could switch between attacks, much like the marines switch between weps.

[Legionnaired]

Each alien has their own resources. The resources you get from kills will go directly to you, where the resources gathered from RTs will be spread out to the whole team.

[holy_devil]

Yeah, people need to pay attention to text, and also, people using mics need to remember to type if people aren't responding. I always mute everyone on my team except the commander because people are almost constantly talking, and it makes me lag more than I already do. People who use voice chat need to keep in mind those who don't, such as myself. I always have second thoughts about muting people because I feel like I'll miss important information.

If you have 50 res, and we have a hive already, then fade.

Wait.. for the aliens, are resources collected individually? Or does the res count I see on the screen apply to the team as a whole? I'm very new and I'm constantly learning more as I go along, specifically with the aliens. Up until a few days ago I had no idea the aliens could switch between attacks, much like the marines switch between weps.

[snapback]44377[/snapback]

muting people ignores their text too, fyi.

aliens res bar = your own, personal res. no one else can touch it res system works as so: say 3 res towers, 6 players. every 4 seconds, half the team(3 people, 3 res towers) gets 1 resource. marines commander gets all the res as far as marines go though

aliens weapons=  linked to hive, weapon1 is permanant. weapon2/3/4 are linked to hives 1/2/3, and you can't select the new weapon until that hive is up(you need 3 active hives to have every weapon)


and im glad everyone is giving positive feedback, i'd really love to see better games, like the one legion is referring to.

[GrayDuck]

Well I just had two games in a row where within the first 3 min the rine team gave up and ran around with their knives.  Really freaking annoying - felt bad for Sasquash (sp?) he got stuck being the commander both games.  He did a fine job it's just the marines gave up quickly then f-ed around the rest of the map.  Luckily the third game (on NS Metal) redeemed itsself, even though I quit early - I think rines were still going to lose, but it was a 'good game'... despite the single 'joke eject' vote that everso PISSES ME OFF.

Look people.  If you think the game is lost and lose your desire to try - LEAVE THE SERVER - take a break, come back later!  ESPECIALLY within the first five minutes.  There is no excuse for that.  Its getting ridiculous.

[Niteowl]

I'm very new and I'm constantly learning more as I go along, specifically with the aliens. Up until a few days ago I had no idea the aliens could switch between attacks, much like the marines switch between weps.

[snapback]44377[/snapback]

Welcome to the GAME! Feel free to ask us questions, but if you would rather read the answers
Manual

[CryForMe]

another little side note in addition to what duckie said: if you THINK the game is lost and you dont feel like trying to help your team, leave the server. HOWEVER, if the game IS lost (i.e. aliens have taken down the ips and the rest of rine spawn or the aliens are out of hives and no res) please dont draw the game out for another 5 minutes by dc camping or sitting in the CC or some obscure area of the map saying "ha ha, you cant find me". I played a game recently where the aliens won with one hive and MC, but the last rine had been boosted to some spot where he was obscured from sight and nobody would think to look and just camped, taunting the aliens. sufficed to say, the aliens had to drop a second hive and get sensory to find the guy. of course, the aliens thought it was funny, but it was a complete waste of 10 mins for the rest of the rines who were sitting dead waiting for this guy to give it up.
Summing it up: Help your team until the very last possible moment. But when that moment has passed, dont draw out the inevitable. not everyone likes to sit dead and watch you act the fool cause you're still alive.

[Necrosis]

Don't be afraid to get in the chair. You'll probably lose anyway, since aliens have got it together these days, but at least you can judge how fast you lose.


Currently I'm comming more, and going combat lerk/fade more. I'll tell you what, its certainly worth it, and a celer cara lerk is a joy to play as, reminds me of TIE Fighter (actually moreso in the previous version, which had spikes).

[Condizzle]

If your com gives you a waypoint and you hear a gorge, don't go after it! If the com wants you at that waypoint he wants you there ASAP. I'm very guilty of this and ususally die in the process.

[rad4Christ]

Bravo.


Basically, the will to win is what carries the team now. 2 hive aliens and high tech marines can be equal if the res flow is in check. On that game Legion referred to, the main reason the aliens lost was the loss of focus from the team. That last Powersilo PG should have never gotten up, but aliens relented, even when people (including myself) were screaming to get there. 3.0 Final does not allow for slacking and goofing in the mid end game and expect a win. You have to remain aggressive, all the time.

[AzubahF]

alright everyone.. time to get off your rear and start playing. i'm tired of the half-assed playing mode people get into =\ lack of effort or caring, whatever it may be. it ruins a lot of games, and pisses some people off(myself included).

Right on.

[Mr.Ben]

Aliens: Every time i played 3.0 on LM i've been fading before their are chambers. Aliens are overpowered if you drop chambers straight away. Don't wait till 4 minutes to get your chambers. Go gorge straight away and drop the chambers straight away so from 1 minute onwards you should have level 3 upgrades. Then you'll see that aliens are overpowered.

- 2 chambers
- 2 rts
- 1 hive
- 2 fades
- 1 early lerk/another rt

GG. 8v8 is so easy to annihlate with aliens that it's not even funny. Only major skill stack should result in an alien lose.

Marines: You still have to do A1 first, i'd not recommend rushing MT because if they do SC and get chambers straight away you'll be destroyed without A1. The advanced armoury and early hmgs are extremely important but don't forget PGs. It's important that you get a PG up early so you have some map control by the time fades turn up. Early game find out what chamber they have, if they're SC try and go after them and obviously try and go for their RTS.

Your best bet is early hive pressure, which is unfortunately bannable here. If you send 2 marines to the hive straight away, 1 with a shotgun after getting base then you can really keep the aliens occupied provided your comm is willing to med you. Then use a few guys to cap rts on the far side and have another shotgun team speed shoot down the RTs. A PG in the second hive location before it goes up is more important than ever.

If they rush SC then go for middle hive and turret farm the **** out of it and just hold as many RTs as you can till you can afford JP hmgs. If they do MCs try and get MT asap but don't prioritise it over HMGs or PGs because without either of those you'll get nowhere. HMGs are an absolute requirement to drop good celerity fades, they're out of the range of the shotguns too fast.

[Necrosis]

Aliens: Every time i played 3.0 on LM i've been fading before their are chambers

You've not been playing with me then. Every game I've been on, we've had at least two chambers down immediately - largely because I drop them, and when there's more regs on its usually because we've dropped one each.

It also helps that I avoid "nub hours" and try to play only when its reg dominated. It doesn't make the games perfect but at least people make more of an effort.

Your best bet is early hive pressure, which is unfortunately bannable here.

I dunno, in the rare game where marines win, they've kept up hive pressure by sneaking into the hive and putting a few clips into it, or sneaking in and taking out a chamber or two. Its not as "perfect" as running in and shooting all spawners, but it has roughly the same effect in that aliens go ape.






But yeah, HMGs are wonderful tools, and totally demoralising to aliens if they appear before the Fades do.

[SwiftSpear]

as for the marines themselves, SHOOT. ALIENS. can't tell you how many times i've picked a marine off in the back of a group because no one turned around. if you're in a group, call incomings. anything aside whats directly in front of them. call fades/onii, whatever. if you have anything but an lmg, let the lmgs build unless so directed by the comm. if someone is trying to be stealthy, don't walk up and make tons of noise as well, please. ninja pgs are still useful when theres no sc =]

[snapback]44365[/snapback]

ROFL, That is by far my favoriate advice there.  I can't tell you how many times I have just hopped out of a vent and pwned a long string of marines just cause none of them turned around.  If I am at the ass end of a march, I am generally walking backwards.  Me dying at the rear making noise > me staying close as possible to the march and dying silently right behind the next marine in line.

[Absinthe]

I came back to play this game from an era where 1 hive DC fades were the way to go, and upgrades cost skulks money so noone in their right minds bought them. At the time I found the game to be VERY balanced in terms of win percentages. Back then it was very easy to solo against skulks due to the upgrade cost and no inate regen but now it requires some CPL++ aim to take on one of them if not groups that make use of the chambers. Many marines have no caught on to this for some reason and still insist they can rack up kills by wandering the map. This version has been out for weeks now and you'd think that people would get themselves up to speed, and still most haven't .

In my mind, marines USED to have the advantage early game, lost it in the middle to fades and chambers (right around the 2 hive mark) and gained it back slightly towards the end if HMG/HA trains made their appearance. It was all about the resources; strategy and teamwork I found was minimal. Now with the free upgrades **** really got stirred and marines really need to work together to make it to a hive intact. Comms can't force anything and it really comes down to the players to take the initiative most times. 4-5+ rines rushing to lockdown a hive is very tough to stop without a fade and yet you rarely see it happen.

With aliens, MC seems to be the chamber of choice in at least 70% of the games I play in. I try to opt for SC to make it interesting once in a while but that tends to get voted out in most cases. So when I DO play as marines (comm or not), I just auto assume its MC until further notice and I think many other comms do as well. That alone should tell you to stick in groups!

On a side note: what I've noticed in the new version is that no matter where I play (server to server) and no matter what the skill base; Aliens win the majority of games. This is not a small majority either, it's like a 4:1 ratio almost! I'd hate to chalk that up to game imbalance, but all things equal evidence seems to point in that direction The only other thing I can think of is that with new players, they tend to want to get some bearings in the game and go for marines because it's "CS" like. That alone would make the game very one sided, but usually the game is full of regulars (or maybe that random booting script is lying to me) so that should only slighly skew the stats.

[2_of_8]

4:1? You must be joking.
Last night, 20 rounds straight, no exaggeration - probably more, of alien wins. Simply unbelievable. And it's not like the teams were stacked for aliens - in fact, we tried stacking Marines with the best players... still, marines lost.
NS devs keep saying "Give it time, you'll adapt". Yeah, we're adapting. To a one-sided game.