I've never played in a clan match and so have had to play with many pubbies, pubbies that you need to co-operate with but be self-sufficent as they are very unreliable and thusly made this build, as I perfere living longer and contributing to the team.

Armor 1
Weapon 1
Shotty
HMG
Armor 2
Save
HA
Welder
Resupply

Armor 1 first is for focus rushers and can be alternated with weapons if you desperately want an early shotty.

The welder makes it so you can make people live MUCH longer then normal and to repair CC, resupply and if someone else has welder = invincible like HA.

HMG is all purpose, better then GL for HA useage (HA = slow tank that absorbs damage)

Also, its good to have 'meatshields' when you or another pubbie only get HA, the only bad part of this strategy is lack of another welder or a lot of onos.

2. Welder
3. Armour 1
4. Resupply
5. Weapon 1
6. Shotgun
7. Weapon 2
8. Armour 2
9-10. Either save for HA or get MT + Wep3.

If I'm playing in a team with good coopertation then I'll always get a welder first, keeps them alive for much longer, especially if they have resupply. If I'm in a pub I usually don't bother, as noone stands still while you try to weld them and they usualy won't cover you effectively when they do. I'll usualy just get mines or cat packs instead.

The rest doesn't really need explanation.

Armor 1
Resupply (because humping the armory wastes precious time in the early game)
Damage 1
Shotgun
Armor 2
HMG (ownage)
Save
JP
Damage 2

jp is the way...

Frost: Agreed, resupply is most useful for late game when the armory is kaputt. Unless you're obsessed with K/D ratio (which isn't important) you don't really need resupply until level 8 or so, unless you're sitting in base nade spamming. I usually get mines first and then armor 1 - which are both anti skulk-rush. When I run out of ammo, I run into their hive (knife in hand) and die, and when I respawn, I've got full ammo and an extra mine.

Resupply is an absolute must for JPs or GLs though - JPs need those medpacks as they typically get one bite from time to time.

While its true that resupply is usually only needed for late game and heavy weapons, I find myself on the rush in the early game while the enemy is weak. The purpose of the Armor 1 is to keep you alive from one bite, then resupply restores your health, permitting you to press home the attack.

I play expressly on pubs, so welders are (sadly) not common.

About the mines, I'd agree they are useful and lots of fun. Especially when aliens get it in their head that they can rush with impunity. Nothing settles them like having their limbs torn off by mines. Wonderful.

Yeah, I like mines occasionally too. Place on mid hallway, pull out my knife and just knife. The stupid skulks rush, thinking that I won't be able to draw my gun fast enough. What is even funnier is doing that, having another mine behind you and fallin back to that while the next skulks rush. They can't see through the explosions that well not to mention they want to rush me quickly while I still have my knife out. >: D I've had one game where the same guy did this three times before wising up. Then I started putting it behind me and pressing jump and back when he bit me. He'd land on the mine and die. Eventually he caught on and got someone else to rush me.

lately i've been goin

armor 1, or weapon one if i've taken damage
weapon 1
weapon 2
weapon 3
welder
shotty
armor 2
heavy if i've got a buddy, if not then

resupply
armor 3

armor 1
wepon 1
shotty
resupply
armor 2
save
jp
wepon 2
wepon 3; hmg; (mostlikely wepon 3 because lv3 shottie pwns the hive)

Reasons why:
L1 armor fixes the focus rushers (focus is aliens 1st upgrade, period)
shotty next is just sexy because lv1 shottie has alot of power
resupply because it saves alot of valuble time and it makes you live 200% longer
JP because JP is the way to go
I get the the hmg or the lv3 depending on my mood or the amount of skulks ingame.

Not to mention that LMG fires at a further range than SG, easier to aim and easier to blast through umbra with. Not to mention smart skulks rush carapace and leap first. They become harder to hit and a lot tougher.

I dont know about you but I ushally get. - This works the best at least for me.

weapons 1
shotty
armor 1
resupply
armor 2
jetpack
weapons 2
weapons 3

*U can get a welder instead of weapons 3 if needed*

heh... so much anti-focus.... I personally don't care.. I'd rather just kill them before they can get to me. Yes, that means you have to play smart and use the long corridors, camp them out, or *gasp* work as a team and use your teammates as a meat shield =P.

lvl 1 gun
shottie
hmg (absolute ownage when you get it this early)
lvl 1 armour
lvl 2 armour
save
HA/JP (map dependant)

Then, if I got HA:
welder
resupply/lvl 2 guns

If I got JP:
resupply
lvl 2 guns



or, if i feel like gl spamming
lvl 1 gun
shottie
gl
resupply
lvl 1 armour
lvl 2 armour
save
JP
lvl 2 guns

Personally i got for my shotgun early on

wep 1
shotgun
resupply (cause i need the ammo by then)
armor 1
armor 2
JP (w00t w00t)
wep 2
OPEN

this build allows you to hit hard and stay alive and keep a slot open for welder/mines/etc...
I've singlehandedly sluaghtered hives with this build cause jp pwns hives cause those fades and onos cant hit you and lerks have problems with you and the shotgun just rips hives apart.
Sometimes i get mines cause portable platforms are fun. make a little ledge and jump onto it and sit and guard spawn early on. Skulks will just rush you and if you dont kill them before they get close enough the mines prox effect will jsut blow up in their face keeping you alive a bit longer and giving you a easy kill.
Or ive had mines save me form falling into that ono's open mouth by quickly getting next to a wall and deploying it under me. try it it works

Lol, yeah, which is why I always follow people out of base ^_^

And hmg = lmg with double teh damage and 2.5x the clip size... I'll take the hmg, thank you.

okay... so if teh hmg sucks so much. why the heck does it cost more than an lmg? hmmm?

sheesh...

half the range - what? do hmg bullets suddenly stop halfway or something? wow... your hmg must be really screwed up..

more spread - okay... so maybe 2/3 of the bullets hit SKULKS... Iounno.. I actually LIKE spread when I'm fighting skulks that tend to leap. If you can't hit fades and onos practically 100% of the time - I never want to be on a team with you. and lerks. They move to quickly to actually track properly with a pistol or lmg. HMGs slaughter lerks meanwhile.

three times teh reload time - you'll never run outta ammo though. if you have to reload in the middle of a firefight, you're probably fighting a lost battle. anyways.. I'd rather fire off 2.5x teh clip and THEN reload rather than having to reload after a short spurt. ANY reload time is already too long.

if you rather take teh lmg and fight, go ahead and die thousands of times againt onos and fades and lerks.

P.S. I wonder why hmgs kill many, many more aliens than lmgs do...?

HMG is better than LMG, but a focus skulk is better than an unarmored rine.


Let us assume you're leveling up at the same speed as the skulk.

Both of you reach lv. 2.

You get weps 1.
They get focus.

Guess what?

They still die in 9 shots, as if you didn't have any upgrades.
You die in one bite now.

so? I son't really think focus it that dangerous until they get leap as well, and then you have a shottie. Which means it's quite even.

edit:: if they get close enough to bite you, your usually screwed anyways.

The point to rush Armor 1 is that if you are being spawn camped you can win it for your team. I shall explain.

-Team dies to 1-2 focus skulks.....(this actually happens a lot in 6v6)
-2 people spawn......-dead-
-You spawn, you now jump around like a drug addict, kill 1 skulk with aim (50 LMG bullets!) you will get hit once, but take the precious time focus gives and finish the skulk(s)!
-Even if you die 2 marines should respawn even as your screen blackens.
-Not guariteed, Armor 1 also makes it so you can keep from dieing so you can save the MS room when it's being camped.

Unless you have Matrix reflexes when you spawn and the skulks don't have celerity to screw hitboxes when shotties shoot them then by all means get shotty.

(Its a good idea to aim at the nose of the skulk with a shotty so their hitbox screws them over)

Hmmm......

Resupply
Armor 1
Armor 2
JP
Weapon 1
Shotgun, or not if I'm feeling bored
GL
<insert upgrade here>

I've gone entire CO games using nothing but a freakin Level 0 LMG......and all those focus users can't touch me, and they're all but useless for killing the CC, they're too slow and don't do enough damage fast enough unless there's like 5 of them, and if there's 5, we've lost anyway.

I don't see what's so special about the shotgun anyway, except when the fades come, I prefer getting more defensive upgrades, and both HMG or shotgun slow you down if you don't have a JP.

Armor 1. first everytime, period. <--- a period
Weapon 1
Shotgun
Armor 2

JP or HA

If i go JP, the last 3 points are
resuply
Weapon 2
Weapon 3

If i go HA, the last 3 points are
HMG
Weapon 2
Welder

If our team has a shortage of GLs, i'l trade weapon3 for the GL as a JPer

But yeah... armor1 first everytime.
Think of it this way, you're only delaying getting that shotgun by ONE level.
If you try for shotgun first, you're delaying getting armor one by TWO levels.

don't try to convince me that getting a shotgun 1 level earlier lets you rape everything, you NEED that armor to avoid getting raped yourself. everytime a focus skulks chomps you for an easy kill you're feeding the alien team.

It takes two levels to get the shotgun asap, assume the skulk has two levels, he probably has leap and focus. As alien, i like to leap to the side of the marine and a little behind him, since leaping right at him gives me a shell in the mouth. if i survived the leap to his side and behind, i might leap again toward his front, chances are, the marine has spun around in confusion looking for me and i'm behind him. the end result is, a good alien with leap and focus will rape a marine with a shotgun and stock armor.

unless you're planning on using teammates as bait (i hope that's not the only way you can get kills), armor1 is the way to go.

bottom line, armor1 first ladies.

I like:

MT / Resupply / Wep 1
Wep 1
Wep 2
Wep 3
Amr 1
Shotgun
Amr 2
Save
Jetpack

And another one of these topics...people post in here their favourite combination without reading the combs of the other people...
personally i wouldn´t read them either...cause i like my combination (which i wont post right here) best!

Although it's usually best to get armor 1, if you can grab a quick HMG and ambush a group of skulks (like on co_core) you can rack up about 5 kills real quick and probably get 2 levels in a hurry. Generally though, it's best to get armor first and then other stuff.

Or rush mines and be happy about dieing a lot.

lol what did i say...

Hehe, I'm a greedy damage**** so lately I've been going Super LA:

W1
Shotgun
HMG
W2
W3
A1
Resupply
A2
A3

You'll note there's one missing. If I feel uppity I'll take cat packs, otherwise I'll get a welder, MT, sweep, or something else. I'm perfectly willing to postpone W2 and W3 until later if the case warrants it, but without my h em gee I'm nekkid :/

I go

1. Weapon 1
2. Shotgun
3. Armour 1
4. Armour 2
5. Save
5. Heavy Armour
6. Weapon 2
7. Weapons 3
8. Armour 3
and maybe a welder after

I dont bother with bullshicht, I just go for the power upgrades!

I actually HAVE read all the above combos ... and here's mine.

weap1
shottie
HMG
Armor1
Armor2
HA
weap2
weap3

Plain and simple. heavy armor + HMG kicks ****. The only aliens it has problems with are the Onos and xeno-skulks(but HA that is mostly undamaged will still survive a suicide attack), but massed HMG's or GL support will solve that problem (there's always a few ppl with GL's in public hubs).

I agree that armor 1 can be useful as the first upgrade to get, but I prefer to tech to HMG instead. Why? Because in order to level up, you need to make kills. And therefore the first upgrades i get are the ones that allow me to kill more efficiently. Once I get to HMG, I can rack up the kills, very quickly tech up to HA, and become a huge headache for aliens. Not to mention that the lerk's annoying poison cloud thingy has absolutely no affect on marines with HA.

Someone mentioned earlier that welders are sadly absent from pubs, which I have found to be untrue. Especially if the game lasts long enough for you to get HA, there's always someone with a welder to keep you alive.

Depending on the map, I go with JP or heavy, if the maps are very open/decent vent system, I get a JP. Rarely do I go with heavy, as they are onos food. I've played a couple of CO games where there were a ton of "super skulks," and our entire marine team got heavies and the alien team was just like "well #@%^" cause they all had maxed out on level 10 skulk upgrades. Maybe I'm just lucky, but the server I tend to be regular at usually has at least one weilder guy, I've been it a few times.

Its good to communicate (I know teamwork is unheard of in CO, but none the less) and ask if anyone has/planning on getting a weilder. It's worked for my teams.

More or less, my upgrades are as follows (usually in this order too):
lv1 armor
lv2 armor
lv1 damage
shotgun
lv2 damage
resupply
jetpack
lv3 damage OR HMG OR Weilder(depends on facing superskulks or onos, or if there are no other weilders)

hmmm I am usually a support marine in combat.... which means good for the team but I get chewed to pieces in seconds by a skulk in late game...

Here is the build:
1)Armor 1
2)Welder
3)Mines
4)Re-supply
5)Catylyst(Super weld speed... trust me it works great)
6)Motion tracking
7)Armor 2
8)Weapons 1
9)Shotgun
10)Weapons 2

I shy away from cat packs, cause it seems they only get dropped AFTER the fight, or maybe thats just my luck.

Every time i have cat packs they kick in at the sight of a fade or onos lol or when im welding.(maybe i have cat packs hacks or something...)

I get a cat pack as soon as I select the upgrade, and then another one everytime an alien dies around me. Anyone else have better experiences with catpacks? or am I the only one that gets the shaft with them?

Here is my problem, I play a pub server where everyone plays CO maps, and the aliens really know each other so they work well together.

The Marines seem to have a whole lot of problems dealing with co-ordinated skulk rushes in the early game. I played the NS scene for a long time, but i took a while off, which is problematic for rebuilding skills. So I can't give a really good guess about what the aliens were doing, however, I need a starting strat to help out.

Here is what I generally do for the first 1-4 levels.

1st lvl up I get damage 1
2nd lvl Shotty, Mainly because there are a lot of skulks on this server, so spread helps, i think
3rd damage 2
4th damage 3

I generally use shotgun till the end of the game because in most CO maps, there are lots of cramped areas that I hide in to use my shotty on them. What I need to know is are there any other better ways that take out coordinated skulks better?

I was thinking mines, but you only get one per spawn...which doesn't work so smooth.... are there any other things I could try?

Thanks for the help

Always get armor 1 first, everything else is irrelevant.

Like Hydralisk, I'm also a support combat player, I usually get the welder first and stay at base keeping the armory and cc at full health and checking fellow players for low armor to fix them up. I use a hotkey for quick welder/weapon switching, sometimes I just stand on top of the armory to weld medpack-hungry humpers.

If ppl complain about cloaked skulks, I do a scan upgrade next. When I get motion tracking I use the mic to tell where aliens are coming from, "2 incoming left", "1 from right", etc.

Chemical has got the right idea help the team and you almost always win.