I found this informative.

Originally Posted by FireWater

the Lerk: The most under appreciated class in NS. Why? There are no statistics that give the lerk any notice. Gorges can build structures are get points for that. Skulks, Fades and Onos can munch on RTs and get kills as well. Lerks can kill, and take down RTs, but their role is more specialized. The lerk is the support class of the Kharaa, using spores and umbra to aid their teammates in combat. Unfortunately, there is no statistic for how many times umbra can save a fades life, or how much armor the lerk has taken off to give skulks/fades an easier time shutting down a rush.

This guide will attempt to explain how to use the lerk effectively as a support unit.

Even a 1 hive lerk can be a great help to his teammates by using the spores properly. Spores can take away the armor 1 advantage in the early game, if marines stay in spores for 4-5 seconds with armor 1, they lose that advantage, and make them a two bite/swipe kill. While using spores, since they use a lot of energy, its best to avoid direct combat, true the lerk bite makes it a better unit, but after a few volleys of spores, the energy left over is about enough to get you out of harms way, NOT to fly in and try to kill a marine. Lerks are supposed to be support units, and think killing second. Now this isn't set in stone, if you see an oppurtunity for a kill, by all means take it, just be cautious, marines usually setup ambushes for lerks and if you fly in, you might not fly out. Its best to spore and let skulks/fades finish them off. Assuming D chambers are placed, I recommend Carapace so the lerk can take those extra few bullets in case you are caught off guard.

2nd hive lerk is absolutely key. The key ability, Umbra, is VERY useful as it blocks 1/2 bullets for any teammate in the cloud. I would recommend getting adrenaline and alternating between spores and umbra while your teammates are in a fight. If you have to retreat, ALWAYS fire some umbra in front of you in case someone turns the corner. Be creative, you don't need to fire umbra at the wall, fire it at the ceiling if you are flying high, or on the floor if you are swooping down. If though you don't stay in it long, it can still block those few bullets (especially HMG and Pistol) to get you out alive. When you have umbra, it is also easier to become more an assault class, but thats secondary to your primary responsibilites of providing support.

Flying with the lerk is also very important. Alternating between flapping and gliding will help save your energy in case you get in a jam. Don't just hammer the jump key, the best method I've found is, flap until you get maximum speed, and then do a flap...........glide..........flap. If you turn corners you will lose speed, so obviously flap around them, but try to glide in the straightaways, so you can save your energy.

With flying comes another important role of the lerk. Recon. Recon is the lerk's next responsibility because of its speed and ability to go anywhere on the map. If you find yourself with a group to follow, or just come out of a major battle, fly around your main hive, or even more important, fly around a hive that is building if available. As a lerk you should be giving recon to your teammates, telling them where to attack from and when. Use your speed to fly past the enemy and do recon. Lerks can work well with skulks to provide a decoy so the skulks can get off a few parasites.

The two important roles of the lerk, support and recon can be done very simply by staying in the background. This unnappreciated unit is very vital to the alien team, and should be used for its specific roles for which it is specially suited. Use the speed and flying, and try to avoid direct combat. You will do your team a better service by supporting them rather than being a frag **** with it.

The full thread is available at ns.org:

http://www.natural-selection.org/for...howtopic=71544