Wraith of Darkness's Guide to... _ _ _ _ | \ | | __ _| |_ _ _ _ __ __ _| | | \| |/ _` | __| | | | '__/ _` | | | |\ | (_| | |_| |_| | | | (_| | | |_| \_|\__,_|\__|\__,_|_| \__,_|_| ____ _ _ _ / ___| ___| | ___ ___| |_(_) ___ _ __ \___ \ / _ \ |/ _ \/ __| __| |/ _ \| '_ \ ___) | __/ | __/ (__| |_| | (_) | | | | |____/ \___|_|\___|\___|\__|_|\___/|_| |_| Version 1.0 UNDER CONSTRUCTION If you wish to contribute, by all means, please! Just mail me your ideas at paradox_92@hotmail.com so I can add it to the FAQ. Give me your name so I can give you credit, and specify whether or not you want your address listed. =============================================================================== Table of Contents 1. Intro 1.1 What is Natural Selection? 1.2 Where can I get it? 2. Getting Started 2.1 Finding a Server 2.2 How to Remove the Title of 'n00b' 3. The Teams 3.1 Frontiersman (AKA Marines) 3.1.1 Equipment 3.1.2 Buildings 3.1.3 The Commander 3.2 The Kharaa 3.2.1 Classes 3.2.2 Buildings 4. Detailed Strategies 4.1 Frontiersmen 4.1.1 Commanders 4.1.2 Marines 4.2 Kharaa 4.2.1 Gorges 4.2.2 Skulks 4.2.3 Lerks 4.2.4 Fades 4.2.5 Onos 5. Update History 6. Acknowledgments and Legal Junk =============================================================================== 1. Intro 1.1 What is Natural Selection? Natural Selection is a Mod, short for MODification, for VALVe Software's game Half-Life. It is Multiplayer Only, so you need a good connection to play. Natural Selection takes a First-Person Shooter, crosses it with a Real-Time Strategy game, and adds a Sci-Fi atmosphere. In this game, each team must capture resources, build up and guard their home bases, establish new bases, and ultimately destroy the opposition's base. It is what one would expect to see if they could play StarCraft first person. 1.2 Where Can I Get Natural Selection One can get Natural Selection from the NS homepage at www.natural-selection.org and download ONLY version 1.0. The updates to the game so far have been server-side, meaning you only need those updates if you plan on running a server. The advantage to server-side patches is that unlike a TFC or Counter-Strike update, a player doesn't have to endure the search for a decent connection to a patch site. Yay for us! =============================================================================== 2. Getting Started 2.1 Finding a Server (AKA The Endless Quest....) Finding a Natural Selection server is easy, yet can be difficult at times. To set yourself up, first figure out what your connection speed is. Now that you know this, enter the game, and click on the following choices: Multiplayer,Play Online, and Filters. You should see several checkboxes and pulldown menus to choose from. I suggest you check the following boxes and make these choices: Are Responding Dedicated Servers Are Running Game: NS Currently have players Now this is where you show your connection speed. If you have a Broadband internet connection, choose this: Responded More Quickly Than: 175 ms If you are one of the poor unfortunates cursed with 56K, than choose: Responded More Quickly Than: 300 ms OK, now you are good to go! Exit this screen, and click on Preferences. Pick a name and a spraypaint, then go back to Internet Game. Click on Update, pick a server, double-click on it, and go kill something (in the game, please.) Now, you may get an error message about installing NS. DO NOT PANIC!!!! Simply load up Half-Life, pick your options, and connect that way. 2.2 How to remove the title of "n00b." (AKA How to be a good player) Very simple. Don't do anything stupid. Listen to advice from others, and play. Don't whine, and you will prove yourself to be a good player! =============================================================================== 3. The Teams This is where Natural Selection sets itself apart from other mods. Each of the teams have wildly different methods of play. You CANNOT use the same tactics as a Frontiersman that you did as the Kharaa. Does. Not. Work. You must adapt, and work as a team. Loners cannot win in this game. Now, onto the teams. 3.1 The Frontiersmen (AKA Marines) This team is made up of humans, and do not have classes per se. They do not have a builder unit; instead, they must rely on a single player acting as Commander, who has an overhead view of the entire battlefield, to supply weapons, buildings, and upgrades. 3.1.1 Frontiersmen Equipment The Knife - 30 damage per swipe, unlimited ammo. Now, you may think that this weapon is useless, and you would be correct. In most cases. However, this weapon is ideal for killing Kharaa all Kharaa structures, except for Offense Chambers or Hives. Heck, if you are good enough, you can kill Skulks with no problem. I bow to your skill if you can perform this feat. Pistol - 20 damage per shot, 10 rounds per clip, 30 extra rounds max. Ahh, the Pistol. One may also assume that this weapon is useless, and you are partly right. However, this weapon is DEAD accurate, and with 20 damage per shot, one clip will kill a Skulk. However, don't even think about killing a Fade or an Onos with this. They have way too much armor for that. Light Machinegun - 10 damage per shot, 50 rounds per clip, 250 extra rounds max Your default primary weapon is a good one. Like the manual says, best used in groups. This weapon is good against all classes except Onos, if in groups. It fires quickly, reloads quickly, is accurate, and looks cool. What more is there to say? However, the Heavy Machinegun is superior. Shotgun - 16 damage per pellet, 10 pellets per shot, 10 round magazine, 50 extra shells. Costs 20 resources. This weapons is obtainable only after the Armory is constructed, and when the commander spawns one for you. This weapon is death for any light class, and can eliminate Fades if used correctly. As a shotgun, the closer you are, the more damage you do. This weapon can do 160 damage per shot, and that will put a Fade down with two or three hits. Beware, this is a pump action weapon. Heavy Machinegun - 20 damage per shot, 150 rounds per clip, 225 extra rounds. Costs 25 resources. Time to break out the big stuff! This requires an Advanced Armory, but is worth the wait. This gun dishes out tons of damage at a fast rate. This is my weapon of choice against any Kharaa, except an Onos. And even the dreaded Onos will die if you attack in groups. The downside of this weapon is the slow reload, and the shortage of extra ammo. 225 rounds seems like a lot, but you will burn through it quickly. Also, this weapon will slow you down some, so beware. Grenade Launcher - 200 splash damage. 4 rounds per clip, 30 extra rounds. Will damage you if too close! Costs 32 resources. Indirect Artillery is good. That is what the Grenade Launcher provides, when an Advanced Armory is around. Each grenade is capable of killing a Skulk, so it is safe to say that nothing is invulnerable to the power of this gun. However, buildings can't take damage from this gun. Also, you will take damage if one of your grenades lands at your feet. Despite these flaws, this weapon is fully capable of clearing out a room, or ridding yourself of that one Lerk in the rafters. Welder - Unknown damage to hostiles, heals friendly units and structures. Costs 7 resources. This becomes available when the Armory goes up, and should be issued liberally. This is vital to your success, as buildings don't heal themselves, and armor is not affected by medikits. The welder can kill enemies, though I suggest you use it on structures, not on a Fade. This will replace your pistol, so be careful not to pull this out by accident in a firefight. Trip Mines - 100 splash damage, 5 mines max. In weapons slot 4. These can be a blessing and a curse. They can be put on walls for a laser trip mine, or on the floor for a contact mine. They can put an assault on hold, but a pesky Fade can set these off with Acid Rockets or Bile Bombs. Use with caution. Heavy Armor - 200 Armor points standard, absorbs 95% of damage. Costs 25 resources. This becomes available with the construction of a prototype lab, and must be researched. A Frontiersman equipped with this can take massive amounts of damage and emerge unscathed. Combined with HMGs, Grenade Launchers, and most importantly, Welders, a squad of Marines can plow through most defenses. This armor does restrict movement, so you move SLOW. Don't expect a hasty retreat if you are overwhelmed. However, this will not be a problem too often. Jet Pack - Gives a rocket pack to the wearer, cost 9 resources. This will give you a kick in the pants, when used correctly. The Jet Pack does what it advertizes. 'Nuff said. Oh, don't be too far off the ground when you run out of gas. The gas does recharge, though. 3.1.2 Frontiersmen Buildings Buildings must be built by your teammates after the commander plops one down, so remember to hold the use key to assemble the building. It is USELESS otherwise. Command Console - Cost: 30 resources. Health: 10000. This is the key to Frontiersman victory. Think of it as the construction yard in Command & Conquer. If this goes down, and you do not have a spare, you just lost. Protect this at all costs! This is where the Commander sits. To become Commander, go up to this and hit the Use key. Only one person may be Commander, so only one Command Console may be in use at any time. Construction of a spare in a secure location is recommended. The Commander can immediately spawn health and ammo packs, as well as all basic structures. This is also a favorite target of an early skulk rush, so beware. Allows: Infantry Portal, Resource Tower Infantry Portal - Cost: 15 resources. Health: 2000. Must be placed near Command Console. This is the second essential building for the Frontiersmen. This small pad is where Marines will respawn after death. If no Infantry Portals are left, nobody can respawn. Defend these as well as the Command Console. Also, you may want to build more than one, as bottlenecks can develop if there are too few portals. Requires: Command Console Allows: Observatory, Turret Factory; Armory Resource Tower - Cost: 22 resources. Health: 5000. This is the third essential building for the Frontiersmen. This can only be placed on a resource nozzle, so be on the lookout for these. These will give some resource points every so often, so it is good to have a lot. Resources are life in this game. Without them, the team will wither and die. Requires: Command Console Armory - Cost: 25 resources. Health: 2400. Upgrades to Advanced Armory. This structure allows the Commander to spawn weaponry for his Marines. It also allows any Marine to get free ammo for his chosen weapon by holding Use. This structure can also be upgraded to an Advanced Armory for 35 resources. This allows the Commander to spawn heavier weapons for the Marines. All weapons must be dropped near the Armory. Requires: Infantry Portal Allows: Adv. Armory, Shotguns, Trip Mines, Welders (Adv. Armory): Heavy Machine Gun (Adv. Armory and Arms Lab): Grenade Launcher Observatory - Cost: 25 resources. Health: 1000. The Observatory is a structure that should be built near any strongpoint. It reveals all nearby enemies, even those who have cloaked. They appear as a blue circle on every Marine's screen. More importantly, they allow you to research Motion Tracking. Motion Tracking allows a Marine to see the location of every Kharaa, as long as it is moving. This has unlimited range, so is quite useful. The Observatory also allows the construction of Phase Gates, and the use of Distress Beacon. For 15 resources, you can summon EVERY Marine back from the dead. Very useful, and under-used. Requires: Infantry Portal Allows: Phase Gates Research: Motion Tracking Abilities: Distress Beacon Turret Factory - Cost: 25 resources. Health: 3000. Upgrades to Advanced Turret Factory Turret Factories are the base structure for the Frontiersmen static defense system. These allow the construction of sentry turrets, and with 30 resources, upgrades to the Adv. Turret Factory. This allows you to build the best way to take a Kharaa strong point: the siege cannon. Requires: Infantry Portal Allows: Sentry Turrets, Siege Turrets (with Adv. Turret Factory) Phase Gate - Cost: 20 resources. Health: 3500. Probably the only structure not likely to be destroyed by the Kharaa when they take a forward base, the Phase Gate allows any player, Marine or Kharaa, to travel instantaneously across the map to another Phase Gate. This should be built as soon as possible, to allow instant reinforcement of a forward base, or of the main base. Beware, if the Kharaa take one intact, recycle it before a herd of Fades come to pay you a visit. Also, if three or more gates are built, you will teleport between the gates in order. If you step on Gate 1, and you want to go to Gate 3, you are teleported to Gate 2, then to Gate 3. Simple, yet effective. Requires: Observatory Arms Lab - Cost: 40 resources. Health: 2200. Think that Light Machinegun doesn't have enough kick? Want better armor? Then build the Arms Lab! Not only does this allow the construction of Grenade Launchers, this allows the Commander to upgrade Marine's armor and weapon strength. This also allows you to build the Prototype Lab. Requires: Armory Allows: Prototype Lab, Weapon and Armor Upgrades. Upgrades: Lv.1 Lv.2 Lv.3 Armor 70 90 110 Damage Absorbed 40% 50% 60% Heavy Armor* 230 260 290 Weapons 10% 20% 30% Cost 20 40 60 *Heavy Armor always absorbs 95% of damage, and upgrades with normal armor. Prototype Lab - Cost: 45 resources Armor: 2000 The final base structure, the Prototype Lab allows the research and building of Heavy Armor and Jetpacks. That's about it. Requires: Arms Lab Allows: Heavy Armor, Jetpacks (Must be Researched first) Sentry Turret - Cost: 19 resources. Armor: 1000. Damage: 27 per hit. This automated turret keeps those pesky Skulks out of the base. It fires quickly, and does a good amount of damage per hit. It won't keep a Fade out, but it will slow him down long enough for a squad of Marines to show up. The turret has a 360 degree field of fire, but can only pitch up or down about 30 degrees. Don't expect to cover a ceiling vent with a turret placed under it. Requires: Turret Factory Siege Turret - Cost: 25 resources. Armor: 2000. Damage: 750 for structures, 350 for any Kharaa near the hit. This is what you want to use when attacking a Kharaa strongpoint. It is pretty useless for base defense, as it will not target units. However, it will target structures, and will fire through walls. It has good range, and does a lot of damage. If you get three set up in range of your target, all you have to do is go in and mop things up. Requires: Adv. Turret Factory 3.1.3 The Commander The Commander is the key to the Frontiersmen gameplan. Without a good Commander, the team will easily be overrun by the Kharaa. The Commander is the only person who can place a structure, upgrade weaponry and armor, give orders, or give out weaponry and equipment. He uses a set-up similar that should be familiar to anybody who has played a Real-Time Strategy game. The main difference is that your "units" are other Marines, controlled by real players, who may not like your orders. Most players; however, will follow your lead, and you should help them out when you can. Placing a Building - This is your first job as a Commander, and it is relatively easy. Just left-click on the Building List, and drop a building when you have a green highlight around it. Remember, at least one Marine must build it for you, so don't spam a herd of sentry turrets and expect an area to be secured. Also, certain buildings must be put in certain places. Infantry Portals must be placed in range of the Command Console. Likewise, turrets must be placed near a Turret Factory. This range is shown by a green circle. Also, be careful not to put something on an unreachable ledge, or a catwalk, when you wanted it on the ground. If you do this, or you are running short on resources, you can recycle the building to get some resources back, and to remove the offending building. Supplying Your Fellow Marines - An equally important job, YOU are the sole supplier of equipment to your fellow teammates. To get superior equipment, you must build the prerequisite buildings, then select the item you wished drop, and drop it. Also, you can drop ammo clips and health packs to fellow Marines. A health pack is the only way for a Marine to restore lost health, and a Welder is the only way to restore ammo. Very simple, but equipment is a constant drain on resources, as people will get killed, and will lose all those shiny HMGs and Jetpacks they were begging for. However, an equipment upgrade is a one-time expenditure. Just click on the building that has the upgrade, and research it. Heavier armor, more powerful weapons, and Motion Tracking are ALL very useful. And even if the Arms Lab or Observatory goes down, the upgrades stay the whole game. Issuing Orders - Now this is where the Commander gets to command. To select a teammate, either click on someone, or click and drag a box around a group. Then, right click on a place, a new structure, or an enemy. The former will issue an order to proceed to the waypoint. The second will issue an order to build the building at the waypoint. You can also select your teammates, then drop the building. The order will be given automatically. The third will issue an order to attack the target. When an order is given, a blue symbol will appear to guide people to the waypoint. 3.2 The Kharaa The Kharaa use a Class based structure, and have a builder unit to build their bases. They have less buildings, yet are no less complex than the Frontiersmen. Each player must pick his own class upgrade and Chamber upgrades using his own resources. The Kharaa pool their resources, so a Resource Collector gives the resources to everyone. The more players on your team, or the fewer Collectors, the slower the resources come. Also, you can see every player on your team via Hive Sight. Think of it as a built in wallhack. If an enemy is parasited, or is seen by one of your fellows, you can see him as well. 3.2.1 Classes Skulk - Cost: FREE! Health: 70 Armor: 10 (30% Damage Absorbed) The basic class, you start out as one. Very quick and agile, and can walk on walls. Bite - 70 Damage Parasite - Permanently tags an enemy to the Hive Sight. Leap - Damage varies, jump forward a long distance Xenocide - 400 splash damage, 2x vs Structures, kamikaze attack Gorge - Cost: 15 resources Health: 100 Armor: 50 (30% Damage Absorbed) This is the builder class, and recieves more resources than the other classes. This is the only class that can build buildings. Spit - 22 Damage Healing Spray - Heal friendly players and structures Web - Create a web that can trap enemies Spawn Babblers - Make weaker versions of Skulks. Lerk - Cost: 33 resources Health: 60 Armor: 50 (30% Damage Absorbed) This is a support/sniper class, and should not be used to attack the enemy outright. Use the Umbra and Spore Cloud to support an assault, and snipe at an enemy with the Spikes Bite - 50 Damage Spikes - 16 Damage Umbra - Protective cloud around nearby friendlies. Spore Cloud - 36 damage, large radius. Fade - Cost: 44 resources Health: 200 Armor: 90 (30% Damage Absorbed) This is the main assault class of the Kharaa, and is good at melee combat, ranged combat, and indirect bombardment. Using the Blink ability, you can go around defenses and attack from behind. Swipe - 80 damage Acid Rocket - 40 damage, 2x vs players Blink - Teleportation Bilebomb - 80 damage, 2x vs structures, arcing fire. Onos - Cost: 70 resources Health: 500 Armor: 150 (30% Damage Absorbed) The best way to describe this class is to call it a tank. The Onos can take withering amounts of firepower, shake it off, then kill all of its attackers with ease. Gore - 120 damage Paralyze - Paralyzes foes for 6 seconds Charge - Variable damage, faster movement. Primal Scream - Energy boost for all nearby Kharaa 3.2.2. Buildings The Gorge is the only class capable of building any structures. Several of the various Chambers provide three upgrades as well as providing their services. The upgrades are mutually exclusive, and will be documented by their respective chamber. Hive - Cost: 80 resources The Hive is the most vital structure on the Kharaa side. Without any active Hives, you will start to die slowly. Each Hive provides health, armor, respawn points, Hive Sight, and one type of Chamber. You can have a maximum of three hives, and each boosts your total resource amount by 1/3, all the way to a max of 100 resources. The only exception to that is a Gorge, who always has 100 resources. Abilities - Hive Sight - Acts as a wallhack, lets you see teammates and parasited enemies. Healing - Just stand by the Hive, and it will heal you. Resource Chamber This gathers resources, and distributes them to all of your teammates. Simple enough, just remember that Gorges get a bigger share. It's like a Communist government: They're all equal, the Gorges are just more equal than the others. Offense Chamber This is your form of a static base defense. Build lots of these, and back them up with Defensive Chambers. This will form what is commonly called a "wall of lame." Defensive Chamber This is the first upgrade chamber available, and it also does the job of healing all friendly players and chambers near it. A must have at any decent strongpoint. Remember, you need at least three to get the most out of any of the upgrades. Abilities - Carapace - This increases the amount of armor you have. Regeneration - Lets you regenerate health without a Gorge or Defensive Chamber. Redemption - This will save you if you are about to be killed. Not 100% effective. Movement Chamber Often the second type of Chamber to be built, this allows you to move to the furthest hive from it's location by Using it. Also provides some nice upgrades. Abilities - Adrenaline - Increases the speed your energy recharges Celerity - Increases your top speed Silence - Makes you move quietly. What a surprise. Sensory Chamber The last Chamber to get built, it acts as an early warning device. If it can see an enemy, it puts the enemy on the Hive Sight. Abilities - Cloaking - The only worthwhile upgrade, you can cloak when not moving or attacking. Great for ambushes. Adv. Hive Sight - You can make enemy structures/units glow. Yay. Scent of Fear - When an enemy is wounded, you can track them via the orange circle on your hive sight. Yay again. =============================================================================== 4. Detailed Strategies 4.1 Frontiersmen These strategies are based on what I have read in the Natural Selection forums, and from what I have seen work in the game itself. If you have any alternate strategies, email them to me, and I will gladly post them. Remember, these are just a framework. You must decide where and when to do things based on the different maps, what the enemy is doing, and what your own teammates are doing. Remember, in this game, any of the above variables can radically shift a strategy. 4.1.1 Commanders Just because you are in charge does not make you God. The Marines can vote you out if you are a bad Commander, so be sure to support your troops. It is alright to ignore the one guy who begs for all the best equipment, then proceeds to wander off alone and die. However, if a group of Marines are doing your bidding, support them. And remember, you can use the Space Bar to zoom in on radio messages. If you hear a request for ammo, zoom in on that person and give them ammo. This function is invaluable. Stage One - Getting Started When you start a game, get in that Command Console and immediately place an Infantry Portal. Once this is up, place an Armory. These actions must be performed QUICKLY. The dreaded Skulk rush is coming, and if they kill the Command Console, you are dead. Once you kill those Skulks, get an Observatory up. This will provide early warning for your base defense. Now, go grab the nearest resource nozzle to your position. Whether you defend it at this time is up to you. Put a Turret Factory at your base, and get two or three Sentry Turrets up. Now that you have a relatively secure foothold, it is time to expand a bit. Stage Two - Taking the First Hive It may seem to be a little early for this, but trust me. You want to secure one Hive early, in order to deny it to the enemy. Using that nice Observatory that you built, use Scanner Sweep over a hive site. If you see no Kharaa, send a squad of Marines to that location. Quickly, get a Turret Factory and some turrets up, then get a Resource Tower down. There is always a nozzle at a Hive site. Next, get a Phase Gate up at both the main base and at the Hive. This will allow you to shift reinforcements between the two bases. You may want to add an Armory to supply Marines at this base, but that is up to you. Now that this is done, it is time for... Stage Three - Consolidation This stage involves securing more resources, and locking down your main base. You need resources to do the latter, so that usually comes first. Have your Marines search for resources, and get a Tower, Turret Factory, and some Turrets up at these locations. Not only are you getting more resources, you are denying them to the Kharaa and creating a small roadblock. To get the resources, they must get past the turrets. After you have several of these set up, it is time to patch up the main base. Get some more turrets up, and move the defense line outwards. Usually, there are several rooms that a Fade can stand in and bombard the base from. If you defend these rooms AND the main base, you prevent this problem from surfacing. Now, it is time to get some that heavy firepower that your teammates probably have been begging for. Build another Armory at your main base, and then upgrade one of them. At the same time, get an Arms Lab up and running, and begin some of those upgrades. Get the Motion Tracking upgrade, and get a Prototype Lab up. Research Heavy Armor, and you may want to get Jetpacks. Now it is time to begin assembling a strike force to smack down Hive Two. Stage Four - Storming Hive Two This is the hardest part of the game. Fades will be in abundance, and are a danger to even a Marine with all upgrades, Heavy Armor, and an HMG. You will need to find the Hive that has the least defenses, and hit that. Get a strike force of Marines with Heavy Armor, Welders, and various heavy guns to a room next to the Hive site. DON'T RUSH INTO THE HIVE! This is where the assault tends to go awry, as people rush in, get caught in webs, and pelted with goo. This is a stupid way to die. Don't do it. Instead, get a Turret Factory up, and get some turrets up. The enemy will be hitting you constantly, so be liberal with the ammo and health packs. After the turrets are up, upgrade the Factory, and get a Phase Gate up. You may want to put an Armory down, to give reloads. After the Factory is upgraded, drop some SIEGE TURRETS! Drop several of these dispensers of doom, and watch the Fades rush you to kill these things. As the cannons are firing, advance into the room slowly, killing chambers as you go. Once the Hive is dead, secure this hive site like you did the first. Good work, you have just crippled the other team. Stage Five - The Clean-up You may think that, since the Kharaa are limited to Skulks, Gorges, and Lerks, that the battle is over, you are wrong. They can still strech this out. However, this is still easy. First thing you need to do is kill every resource tower that is outside of the final hive. That hive will have a TON of Defense and Offense Chambers in it. Now that their resource flow is now a trickle, start killing off the final hive with the same strategy that you used on the second hive. Now is not the time to get stupid. You may go slowly, but it will be slower still if you constantly have to retake your position. Kill the hive, hunt down any last Kharaa, and watch the victory message come up! 4.1.2 Marines Now, you do not have to worry about the big picture. Let the Commander do this, he can see it better. Literally. If you do your job right, and follow the orders he gives, you should be fine. Remember, if your Commander is completely incompetent, (e.g. he builds three Command Consoles in the middle of nowhere, he doesn't put Infantry Portals up, he gives stupid orders, he gets in and goes AFK, etc.) remember you can vote to eject him using your right-click menu. However, just because you can do this, does not give you the right to abuse the priviledge. Cover Your Teammates! Work as a TEAM. The most common mistake I see is that people do not work together, or do not work well as a team. Walking around alone is just asking for someone to kill you. Two Marines with LMGs can do a lot more than a solo Marine. When building structures, make sure somebody is covering you. Don't have the whole team go to build that Armory at the start, or else the Skulk rush will kill the whole team. Three Marines covering the rest of the squad will stomp the Skulk rush. I cannot emphasize the importance of working as a team. An organized team will defeat an unorganized team every time. Like Benjamin Franklin said, "Either we shall hang together, or we shall hang seperately." The makers of this mod made sure to punish you if you didn't work as a team. If you don't believe me, try to kill three Skulks by yourself. When you respawn, you will have learned your lesson. Listen to the Commander! Another bad habit to get into is ignoring the Commander. The Commander has the best view of the battle, and is your only source of resupply. Getting on his bad side is not advised. However, he does tend to reward those who are polite when asking for supplies. Be nice to him, being Commander is hard work. If he tells you to go somewhere or do something, there usually is a reason behind the order. Don't Beg for Weapons. Don't whine when you don't immediately get the best weapons and armor when you respawn. It is annoying, and does not set a good image for you. Each item costs resources, and maybe the Commander is saving up for an Armor Upgrade. Bottom line, don't whine. Also, don't whine for ammo when an Armory is nearby. Just walk over there and hold Use. Problem solved. Use the Radio Commands! If you beg for ammo over the team chat, the Commander has no way of knowing where you are on the map. If you use your pull-down menu, and ask for ammo or health that way. Also, inform him if you see an enemy, or need a building. Just use a command in conjunction with your text message, and this will make both of your jobs much easier. Your Equipment Light Machinegun - This weapon is what you spawn with, and is enough to keep the Skulks away. It does relatively light damage per shot, but you can empty a clip in a few seconds. At 50 rounds a clip, you can do 500 damage per clip, if every shot hits. This weapon will reload quickly, and you can carry a lot of ammo for it. This weapon is good enough for anybody against anything up to a Fade. It is light, accurate, and best of all, FREE! Feel free to spray at anything, as you have enough ammo to keep you happy. It is very rare that I run out of ammo for this. Usually I die first. This weapon is useless against a Fade or Onos, so you need something with a bit more punch. Don't bother firing at a Resource Collector with this, you just waste ammo. Use your knife. Speaking of which... Knife - Useless? Yes! Except against a target that doesn't fire back, like a Resource Collector or the various upgrade Chambers. Other than that, don't try to knife an enemy. It's better to do like Monty Python and run away. Pistol - Ahh, the Pistol. Not good as a primary weapon, but as a backup, it is perfect. You empty your clip at that Skulk, and it is still running at you? Whip this out and dispense some justice. At 20 damage per shot, and dead accurate, this weapon won't fail you. However, you can only hold 30 extra rounds, so don't go running around with this out, unless you have a Grenade Launcher. Even then, you should be in a group, so don't use this as your main weapon. Shotgun - This weapon is neglected by the majority of NS players, and I see this as a great injustice. Everyone goes straight for the HMGs, yet this gun can do a LOT of damage in a hurry. Use it close up, to maximize the number of pellets hitting the target, and you will be amazed at how fast you can kill a Fade. Three or four shots usually puts a Fade down, so this is a great support weapon. Early on, after the Armory has been built, if you need heavy firepower, consider this weapon instead of going for the Adv. Armory upgrade. The only downsides to this weapon are the pump action, which slows the rate of fire down, and the small magazine. Still, a great support weapon. Heavy Machinegun - The mainstay of any Marine hit squad, this gun chews through the lighter classes very quickly, and should be distributed liberally. Combined with Heavy Armor and a Welder, you are pretty much unstoppable, unless you come across some lines of Offense Chambers. Remember, you are PRETTY MUCH unstoppable, not INVINCIBLE. When I play Kharaa, I wait until that one Marine goes to reload, then I tear him up. A concentrated bombardment by Fades, Offense Chambers, all backed up by Webs and Defense Chambers, will knock you back to respawn. Remember, work as a team, and if you see heavy defenses, call in some Siege Turrets. With the firepower you have, you can hold off the enemy until these get put up. Works best in groups, with supporting fire from Shotguns and... Grenade Launcher - Supporting fire at it's best, this weapon is not designed to be an assault weapon. The purpose of this weapon is to clear an area of Kharaa units. This weapon cannot damage structures, so don't think that you don't need the Siege Turrets. However, if a Fade gets in a vent and starts bombarding your position, four grenades tend to be an incentive to stop that action. Also, an Onos is not invincible. Grenades, supporting the other weapons, will put an Onos down in a hurry. The name of the game is support and indirect firepower. If you can get behind a wall and bounce the grenades around a corner, do so. Anything that you can do to avoid getting shot at is always good, as if a Fade corners you, you will DIE before he does. Just remember my golden rule: "There is no problem that cannot be solved with the liberal application of high explosives." Welder - Everyone should have one of these. It is that simple. This tool is the only way to repair Armor and structures, so if a squad has these, their chances of success increase greatly. Heavy Armor benefits the most from these, yet anything that can be repaired likes having a Welder around. Also, note those yellow symbols found on walls, grates, and doors. These tell you that you can weld a barricade over this. You can force the Skulks out of the vents and into your death trap if you do this. Less surprises are always good. Remember, if someone screams for health, he probably needs to be welded. If you see a Web, pull out your Welder and burn it away. Webs are bad things. Trip Mines - I almost never see these used, as they are not very good. Skulks and Lerks can evade them, and Fades can set them off with Acid Rockets and Bile Bombs. They might be good if placed on the ground, but I need to try this. Heavy Armor - This piece of equipment is essential if you are to go on the attack. With this, your can have up to 290 Armor, and the Armor takes 95% of that damage. The only downside is that you are slow. Very slow. This should not be too much of a problem, as you should be using Phase Gates to get to the battle. Remember, that lone Skulk can still kill you if you are not careful, so work in groups. I cannot re-emphasize this enough. Also, bring a Welder or seven. Jetpack - Another rarely seen piece of equipment, yet this one can be useful if used correctly. Don't use it to go up, use it to go fast. Combined with a shotgun, you can dance around Fades, pumping shells into them. Great for a hit-and-run strike on a Gorge trying to set up defenses, you can be in and out before reinforcements get there. You can drop down long shafts, fire your jets before you hit the bottom, spray some grenades, and rocket back up before whatever was down there knew you were there. Guerrilla warfare is the name of the game with this device. Remember, your amount of energy, while it does recharge, is finite. Marine Tactics Hit and Fade - This is an effective use of the Jetpack, and can be done solo or in a group. Get a heavy weapon and jet around the base. If you see an enemy, spray at him while retreating. You can tie up many enemies this way, and for every enemy fighting you, there is one less bothering the rest of the team. Try to lure them near your team's turrets if you can. Strike Team - This consists of several Marines equipped with Heavy Armor and various heavy weapons. Everyone should have a Welder, and one person should be carrying a Grenade Launcher. This force is ideal for taking any position that is not too heavily defended. If you can't take a room, fall back and call in for Siege Turrets. Handyman - For this role, all you need is a Welder. Your job is to build the things that no one else wants to, and to go around repairing things. It may seem like a boring job, but it is the most efficient way of doing this. Blockade - Grab some Marines and blow up all of the Kharaa Resource Chambers. This forces the Gorges to rebuild these, and will slow down any new Fades or Lerks from popping up. Generally used during the fifth stage. 4.2. The Kharaa Remember, these strategies above WILL NOT WORK as a Kharaa. You have a class system, while they have to buy everything. Also remember, your resources are pooled. Meaning that if you have 100 resources, your extra is not wasted, it goes to other Kharaa. 4.2.1 The Gorge Don't Have Too Many! Remember, the Kharaa pool their resources, and Gorges get a larger share than the others. So if you have three or more Gorges, everyone will accumulate resources at a snails pace. Two Gorges are enough. Get a Hive Quickly. While the Skulks on your team are doing their job and splattering themselves against the Frontiersmen defenses, it is your job to secure a Hive. Get some Offense Towers up in there, and back them up with Defense Towers. Now, have one Gorge save up for the hive, while the other either builds some defenses or goes to get more resources. Once you get this hive up and running, start thinking about Hive Three. Offense Chamber + Defense Chambers + Webs = Death Don't just put your Offense Chambers in random spots, put them like this: __________________________________________________________________ | W OO D | W OO D | W__________________OO D___________________________________ | | | | | | The end of the hallway is in range of the Offense Chambers, the Defense Chambers heal the Offense Chambers, and are back far enough to be Siege Turret proof. The Webs should be on the floor on the corner. This way, the Marines won't see it, and will walk right into the trap. Remember, Offense Chambers have a limited range, so be careful when placing them. Also remember to replace the webs every once in a while. Remember to Heal Things. Gorges have Healing Spray for a reason. Go around and heal everything. Very good trait to have, as you can keep those expensive Fades in combat that much longer. Sensory Chambers Are Early Warning Sites A Sensory Chamber placed in a strategic location can alert everyone to an approaching assault. Used right, you can have the whole enemy team end up as if they were parasited. Babblers Are the Creation of SATAN. If you see a Marine caught in your Web, chuck a few Babblers at him. Remember to aim upwards, and the Babblers will fall right on him. And if they happen to Xenocide on him, sucks for him. Good Upgrades Carapace - This will let you take that much more damage, in order to get to your Defensive Chambers. Get in closer to the battle and heal your team, or build a wall of Offense Chambers. Adrenaline - Use Healing Spray, Web, and Spawn Babblers that much faster. Cloaking - Because the other upgrades from Sensory Chambers suck. 4.2.2. The Skulk The Skulk is what all Kharaa spawn as, and is effective until massed groups of Marines come knocking. Use these guys in packs; a Skulk rush early on can screw the Frontiersmen over big time. Remember, you are small, fast, and weak. You can walk on walls, so use this to your advantage. Sneak attack is the name of the game for you. Wall Walking You can run up walls just by moving your mouse up to look up the wall. A good trick, you can climb a wall, get on a ledge, go Gorge, build a Sensory Chamber, go back to Skulk, and you have an alarm system. This also allows for ambushers to drop down from the ceiling to scare the crap out of your opponents. Parasite Your Foes Using your Wall Walking ability, you can get in a good position near the enemy base and parasite all of them as they walk out. This makes sneaking up on them that much easier, and it distracts the Marines. If you see someone coming up with your Hive sight, climb a wall and wait for that person to walk by. Easy targets are always the best. Leaping Around the Base Leap is not good for an attack. It is useful, however, for getting from one location to another quickly. You jump a HUGE distance when you Leap, so keep this in mind Xenocide in Packs Xenocide does double damage against structures, so if you can't evolve into heavier forms when you have three hives, get some friends and Xenocide in the middle of the Marine base. If you see a Phase Gate sitting around somewhere, jump in, hit Xenocide, and evade fire until you explode. Chaos in the enemy base is good. And if your friends come along, the chaos just keeps increasing. Xenocide is what keeps a Skulk useful in the end game. Preferred Upgrades Regeneration - Carapace only adds 20 armor to you, Redemption doesn't kick in fast enough, so get this. Perfect for a hit and run attack, you rush in, bite some people, run past them, heal, then repeat. Celerity - You don't need more energy that often, and a Skulk with this trait makes a four year old seem dull by comparison. Nobody can catch you now, and with inventive use of the strafe keys, you can dodge bullets like something out of The Matrix. Cloaking - Same reason as for a Gorge, the other upgrades suck. 4.2.3. The Lerk Lerks are rarely seen in games, mostly because they are weaker than a Skulk. However, if you are adept at flying around with these things, they are great support classes. Especially at the end game, when Spore Cloud and Umbra are available, these are great supporters for a Fade bombardment team. Pepper the Opposition With Spikes You can act as a sniper with the spikes, as they do not have a loud noise. Quite often, a Marine will just stand there shooting at a Skulk, and won't notice this stream of spikes until he is almost dead. Flight is Good You are the only class that can do more than fall, so you can move pretty quickly. Like a Marine with a Jetpack, flight costs energy, so watch it. Remember that sentry turrets can't shoot straight up. If you fly high enough, you can avoid much gunfire that way. Umbra Your Teammates When a bunch of Fades get together to bombard a base, go with them. Umbra blocks bullets, so those Marines with the HMGs are now useless. Feel free to mock them as you keep spraying Umbra. Just watch out for grenades, they punch right through Umbra. Spore Clouds Kill Spore Cloud will throw a base into utter chaos when combined with a Bile Bomb attack. No Marine will be able to survive for long, so if the Infantry Portals go down, you have won. Preferred Upgrades Regeneration - You are weaker than a Skulk, and likely to be at the front lines, so don't bother with Carapace or Redemption. Adrenaline - Now you can fly around forever. All your attacks come from your energy, so more energy is always good. Cloaking - Same reason as all the other classes. 4.2.4 The Fade Fades form the backbone of any decent Kharaa team, as they are brutal at both melee and ranged combat. They are capable of indirect bombardment, so the Fade is perfect for taking a Marine firebase. Blink Past Those Defenses Blink allows you to move past any small defenses set up in a hallway, so this can let you get behind the Marines and surprise them. Also, if you are being hammered, you can Blink out of there and regroup. Use Blink liberally. Blink is your friend. Acid Rockets at Range, Swipe Close up. Acid Rockets do 40 damage, double against players, so it is ideal for ranged combat. However, if you get close, you should use Swipe. Swipe does 80 damage, and fires faster. A single Fade, using these tactics, can decimate any opponent foolish to come without Heavy Armor. Bile Bomb Barrage Bile Bombs do 80 damage to players, and 160 damage to structures. With the splash damage done, a group of Fades can quickly knock a base out of commission. Bile Bombs fire in an arc, so remember this when firing. Try to get a Lerk to come with you for Umbra protection. The only thing to worry about is an attack from behind, or a grenade bouncing your way. Preferred Upgrades Carapace - Here is where Carapace becomes useful, as you gain a LOT of armor from it now. You can now take incredible amounts of damage, then blink away. Actually, it is a tie between this and... Redemption - You have a LOT of health, and it takes awhile to get all those resources for the upgrade, so go ahead and get this. You can take damage and get away most of the time, but for the rest of the time, redemption does it's job well. Adrenaline - Lets you bombard that much longer before having to recharge. Also lets you Blink out of a bad situation that much faster. Cloaking - I'm getting tired of putting "because the other upgrades suck" 4.2.5 The Onos They are slow, take forever to upgrade, and are expensive. Are they worth it? Of course! This huge creature cannot use any of the ventilation shafts, or any of the crawlspaces, but when this thing walks in, you don't want to be in its way. You are a tank, time to act like one. Paralyze, then Charge Your Paralyze ability paralyzes all enemies for five seconds. Pick the most dangerous enemy, and Charge him. Now that he is a messy spot on the floor, rinse and repeat. Massed Fire? LOL! You have massive amounts of health, so nothing fazes you. I have seen a single Onos, under fire from eight LMGs, kill ALL the Marines, then proceed to destroy the base. The Onos is the king of the battle, and people tend to leave the game when they see one. I don't blame them too much. Primal Scream, then RUSH! Primal Scream refills everyones Energy bars, so use this to keep a barrage going longer. This affects you too, so you can Paralyze and Charge with cover from the Fades. ============================================================================== 5. Update History 12/01/2002 - Version 1.0 - First Release ============================================================================== 6. Acknowledgements and Legal Junk Thanks go out to the following people: God: For obvious reasons. My Parents: Again, obvious reasons. The Natural Selection Team - For making a great Mod. All Natural Selection Players - To who this guide is intended to help. VALVe Software - For making a great game, and supporting all Mods for it. CJayC - For running a site like GameFAQs. And now for the legal junk This guide, or any portion of it, may not be used without my advance notice. If you email me about using some of, or the whole guide, I will gladly give you permission to do so as long as you credit me with the parts you use. If you use it, please do not alter any part of it, except to change it to HTML. The actual text must be unchanged. Otherwise, use of this guide is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademark and copyrights contained within this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders Copyright 2002 Steven Keisling