4mn3s14

ive been playin ns for a bit now and i still am finding it hard to uncover any signs of pwnage for this mod . i am looking for some general combat tips and techniques that will vanquish my crappiness (crappiness as in my kills are usually even or around 5 under my deaths). stuff like crouching when a fade tries to blink rush u (sometimes buys u a few extra slashes to get ur squad memberes to chew up his hp while hes still tryin to hit u). and a few opinions on what weapons i should use for diff environments/surroundings/situations. thnx

__________________
---------------------------------------------------
Physics exploits are what make the world go round :)

Pokerface

__________________

NS Game Officer. TF2 Admin. BF2 Admin / Scripter. PM with issues.
Tempus: Pokerface is nailing it right on the head. Everyone who is arguing against him is simply arguing against reality.
<anmuzi> it is not permitted to have privacy or anonymity
<LazyEye> yeah when I play on TG the server digs though my trash
Arm yourself with knowledge: TG NS TF2 BF2

Polska

Let me start off by saying I think combat stinks (mainly because of FADES ).

Having said that, there isn't really much you can do in combat to get better as it's just a big fragfest. Stick with your buddies and hope for the best.

__________________

Stupid

Fine philosophical points Poker. Allow me to add some application:

Kharra --
Some will laugh, but I suggest Scent of Fear (SoF) as a first upgrade for new players. People that have played the map 100,000,003 times know where all the hallways are, which ones to avoid, which ones the marines rush first etc etc etc. With SoF (which allows you to "see the marines through walls") you just have to worry about picking a nice ambush spot and waiting for a marine to walk by. Preferrably just a solo marine. After that - celerity (go faster), leap (second ability) + carapace (more armor), regen (heal automatically) are all good choices. Stick with the skulk until you're comfortable with it. You spend most games (CO and NS) as a skulk and need to feel good about it. When engaging a marine, don't run straight at him - that makes it easy for a marine to aim at you -- they don't even have to move the mouse! Dodge side to side (later try bunnyhopping), run up on the walls, use corners to your advantage. As Poker points out above - you won't be able to take even the most brain-dead of marines in a long hallway until you're more experienced. Hang around doorways, on overhangs, in vents - use the environment to your advantage. Ambush is your friend.


Marines --
Again, Motion Tracking (MT) isn't a bad upgrade. Let's you see what's coming at you through walls. After that - I suggest resupply. Marines need to learn to jump backwards and dodge sideways. If a skulk is running at you head on, and you dodge one way - they have a 50% chance of choosing correctly and following you. Better than sitting where you are and giving them a 100% chance of biting you. If you time your jumps right - you can take advantage of the world-physic known as "knockback" where a successful bite will literally throw you across the room. This allows you to recenter your aim and blast away. Marine tactics are the opposite of skulks - be wary of ambush spots, use long halls to your advantage, and don't let their dodging fool you. Keep track of what and how skulks move so that you can figure out how to dodge yourself - all while keeping your crosshairs on target (aim just above the back of their neck - like 1" above).

Oh - and shoot fades in the gonads - that's where they're most vulnerable.

__________________
Former TGNS admin until WoW blinded me with flashy lights.

Mr. Krueger

Scent of Fear and Motion Tracking are definately good upgrades to get early, and I don't think it's something really limited to new players. I always get SoF as my first upgrade as Alien, and it helps a lot. You can ambush people a lot easier, and just generally know how much trouble you're getting into by running through a door or hallway. Also, as an Alien, if you find a good ambush spot that you like, get in it and stop moving. Motion Tracking doesn't work on Aliens that just sit still...so unless you get to the ambush spot right before the Marines do, it's likely they won't notice that you're there, even with Motion.

TheFeniX

Marine: Mines, mines, and more mines. Mines are great. Mines make combat worth playing. Enough said. It's free XP, and the more you die, the more mines you get. Turn that 1-5 kill ration into five more mines that will tag all these skulks who don't get carapace (which I usually skip until about 5-7th level.

Alien: Skulk Leap. Learn it, live it, love it. Or do what I do and go lerk and kill everything that moves (teammates included, they shouldn't have been standing there anyways).

__________________

4mn3s14

so the dude above said to shoot fades where the sun don't shine. why is that? does more damage, or does it just provide for a more solid hit?

__________________
---------------------------------------------------
Physics exploits are what make the world go round :)

Addict

skulk silence is also great. Get the guy watching the groups back dead, and the rest often don't notice you till it's way too late. Munch a few, run away, then the aliens from the front can get in and finish them off.

Zek

If a Fade is crouching, including in mid-blink, his hitbox is broken such that the upper portion of his body doesn't register damage. So you want to aim low when possible, especially with the shotgun if you want the higher pellets to hit.

TheFeniX

Plus, shooting a fade in the balls is so satisfying for some odd reason. I recommend a quick duck once they get close with blink. This will not only help against "lesser" fades (I've specced quite a few and they tend to aim high) by having them miss sometimes, but it also puts your crosshair right at crotch level.

Or you can be like me and hop around like a madman. Tends to work on Custom and a few others on this server. Sure he kills me, but not before our little dance.

__________________

Stupid

LOL -- a good hopper can solo a walker fade. No problem.

And for the record - the sun does shine on my gonads. :O

__________________
Former TGNS admin until WoW blinded me with flashy lights.

4mn3s14

ic. what about the nade launcher. some people seem to have an innate gift for makeing the nades hit just about everytime. oh yeah, the nade explode on contact right? so you can just lay them out on the floor and when someone runs over them theyll explode?

__________________
---------------------------------------------------
Physics exploits are what make the world go round :)

Wintermute

You could start out by reading all the stickies in the Tactics Forum!
http://www.tacticalgamer.com/natural-selection-tactics-mod-discussions/
N.B. Be wary of old posts that relate to a previous version of NS. Gameplay has changed significantly between updates.

Grenades will explode either on contact or after a few seconds, whichever happens first. Remember with grenades that TG is a Friendly Fire server and you will kill your team mates. Use them to take out structures and Oni let your team mates with HMGs and shotties kill the other aliens.

The biggest hint I can give on ownage is teamwork = win on a TG server. Communicate, coordinate, follow orders, stick together. If you do this better than the other team you rarely need to worry about individual fights as you will always have the upper hand in terms of tech and numbers.

__________________
Wintermute

Play EVE online. It's like being an accounting addict in space.

www.MakePovertyHistory.com