Earlier today when I was commanding and had a nice responsive team, I tried out using what could best be called a TF advance, and it seemed to have worked out well. Instead of sieging or rushing in I used this set of actions:

1) When a few marines were outside the hive, instead of dropping them a PG, I'd first drop them a TF and have them build that first. Several times this step failed, but there are 3 advantages to dropping a TF instead of a PG.
- it's cheaper, so it didn't really hurt that it took several tries for one to get up.
- it doesn't make that loud PG noise, beckoning all Kharaa to it.
- a TF has more HP than a PG, so when one failed to get up, several times I actually managed to recycle it.

2) After the TF is up, I still don't drop a PG yet, instead I dropped 2 (or in a case where the terrain was good for it 3) turrets, placing them at almost maximum range from the TF so there is plenty room in between. I did not (repeat did not) electrify the TF becuase
- Electrification is expensive, and takes quite awhile to take effect.
- Electrification is really only good for defending the TF and (once it's dropped) PG, it doesn't really help in keeping the marines alive.

3) Now I drop the PG down somewhere between the Turrets and the TF.

4) Once more marines arrived, I had some of them start pressuring and hitting the hive, while a dropped another TF a little closer to the hive (about at the range where the already built turrets just barely fall under it's power). This is so I can drop more turrets to cover the marines assualting the hive, and so a cheap shot an the old TF doesn't leave the PG defenseless.

5) I drop 2-4 turrets forward, so they can cover the marines attacking the hive.

6+) This would essentially have been a repeat of steps 4 and 5, but becuase I always managed to start close to the hive, I never needed to continue on. But I just thought I'd note that you could have continued this infinitely.


Twice I used this method to good effect, with another 2 times it was partially completed. I think it works really well, and here's why:

) it only takes 75-105 res. This may seem like alot, but considering this is all used up over the coarse of about 2-4 minutes, and that it is all on long lasting structures, it really is cheap.

) This significantly cuts down on enemy RFK and significantly increases friendly RFK. It's like adding a few extra marines (albeit really bad ones) to the assualt. Marines with much more health than normal.

) It basically makes it so the only thing the kharaa can defend with are fades and onos, everything else is too easy for the marines to kill. And seeing as that generally puts the odds about 4-1 in your favor, there's no debating that that's a good thing.

) It doesn't require you to tie up your whole team. If a few skulks had rushed base (and I vaguely recall at one point a pair did), withdrawing a few marines to take care of it doesn't cause you to automatically lose tempo, the way it does with a rush, or occasionally with a siege.

) It stays there. Probably the biggest (not to say the others are small) advantage of this is that once the hive is down, everything is still there. You now have a locked down hive.


There are two big disadvantages to this:

( it requires a responsive, cooperative team. Later in the night I tried to do this a few times, but instead of having a roughly 50-50 mix of guards an builders, I'd end up with one builder while everyone else played attacker pushed the hive and (seeing as this was not a SG rush so everyone had LMGs) got killed, soon to be followed by the one person building.

( it does take a minute or two (instead of the short time for a PG) for it to build momentum. As I said, this failed early more often than it succeeded. But, becuase it only takes a few marines to start (and therefore not stopping marine progress elsewhere) and little res, I could afford to keep trying.