LONG POST LONG POST LONG POST LONG POST

long post ahead
Skulk: Ambush/Hit-Run
Gorge: Builds/Light-Support
Lerk: Multi-Purpose
Fade: Anti-LA Marine
Onos: Base-Bust/Anti LA/HA Marine

So, each alien has specific roles (with the fade having only one, and the lerk having many, which are medium support, ambush, harassment, hit-run, Anti-JP, Base-Bust, and defensive tactics).


So, lets start off with the skulk. The skulk is already specialized in ambush and hit/run, so very few changes are need.

Skulk: 70/20 health. 325 units/second. Special Ability: Can walk on walls. Attacks: Bite: Uses 5% energy. RoF: 1.25/second. Does 75 damage. Parasite: 10 damage. Uses 25% energy. RoF: 2/second. Parasites the marine. Leap: 80 damage/second. Uses 20% energy. RoF: 1/second. The skulk can leap impressive distances. Xenocide: 300 damage. Uses 70% energy. RoF: .1/second. Gains 10 armor with each level of carapace.


So, the only things that changes on the skulk are health (an extra 10 armor), xeno damage (100 more), speed (an extra 35 units/second) and carapace armor (gives 30 armor at level 3 instead of 20).


Next, we can change the gorge. The gorge, like the skulk, is already specializes in something: building and light-support. But where does bilebomb come in here? Bilebomb is scratched on the gorge.

Gorge: 150/40 health. 0 resources. 180 units/second. Special Ability: Can build structures. Attacks: Spit: Uses 12% energy. Does 30 damage/spit. RoF: 1.25/second. Healspray: Does 16 damage, also can heal friendly players. RoF: .63/second. Uses 14% energy. Sticky Bomb: Uses 35% energy. RoF: .67/second. Any marine inside the splash in rendered immobile, but can still shoot. He is immobile for 1.25 seconds. Webs: Same as now. Gains 20 armor with each level of carapace.

So, the gorge has an extra 10 units/second. Spit also does 5 more damage. Also, carapace adds slightly more armor/level. Bilebomb is gone, and replaced with sticky bomb. Also, it costs 0 resources. But, that means the starting resources are reduced to 15.


Now, onto the lerk.

The lerk is the most versatile of all aliens, filling many rolls, to a lesser extent then more specialized aliens (skulk, fade, onos), but filling them none-the-less. Primal Scream is removed.


Lerk: 125/45 health. 33 resources. 200 units/second. Special Ability: The lerk can fly. Attacks: Bite: Does 60 damage. RoF: 1.54/second. Uses 4% energy. Bilebomb: Does 40 damage to marines, and does 80 damage to structures. RoF: 1.3/second. Uses 14% energy. But, on the lerk, instead of launching bilebomb, the lerk drops bilebomb, directly below him. Spores: 17 damage/second. Lasts for 7 seconds. Uses 35% energy. RoF: .5/second. Umbra: Blocks 3/4 bullets. RoF: 1/second. Uses 40% energy. Lasts for 5 seconds. The Lerk gains 15 armor with each level of carapace.


So, do you see how the lerk fills its many rolls?

Support: The lerk can use spores to weaken marines for other aliens to kill. Also, Umbra is very supportive to those aliens looking to kill a few marines (I.E. a skulk inside of umbra essentially has 280/80 health, a lerk inside of umbra essentially has 500/180 health, a fade has 1400/900 health, an onos has 2900/2400 health).

Ambush: The lerk can sit on a ledge until a marine walks by, then spore him and bite him to death before the marine knows what's coming.

Harassment: Bilebomb and Spores, not meant to kill, but to weaken the foe. Also, the lerk can pancake in the marine base, while bilebombing/sporeing and take little to no damage.

Hit-Run: On a group of marines, the lerk can spore those marines, then do a fly-by bite on 1 of them.

Anti-JP: The lerk can fly, which makes taking down JP quite easy.

Base-Bust: The lerk, once again with bilebomb, can tear down bases. Works well with adrenaline, spores, and umbra if you have them.

Defensive Tactics: Defend your hive with some umbra, or some spores to kill the people attacking. Either way, the marine's attacks are effectively weakened.



The fade's roll is marine killing. It isn't the best at killing structures, and shouldnt be. Think about it - the fade has quick movement. Does that spell death to structures? No.

Fade: 350/225 health. 60 resources. 295 units/second. Special Ability: The fade's energy recharges at 150% any other alien's does. Attacks: Slash: Does 120 damage to marines, but only does 1/2 damage to structures. RoF: 1.11/second. Uses 6% energy. Blink: Uses 5% energy/blink. RoF: 20/second. The fade triples its speed. Metabolize: Regenerates 25 health and 15% energy. can only be used if the fade has 20% energy. RoF: .88/second. Acid Rocket: 100 damage. Uses 20% energy. RoF: 1/second. Splash size raised to 175 (I think it was 165). Gains 33.33 armor with each level of carapace.

Now, you might be saying, "OMG nolsinkler acid rocket is WAY overpowered!!1". Well, that is not the case. You see, the aliens worked hard for a third hive, and they get a 25 damage acid rocket? What is this? AR needed a buff. It still only does 100 damage, slash does 120. And slash is available at hive 0. The only difference is AR uses more energy, does less damage, is ranged and has a medium splash.

Besides, these buffs are warranted; I raised the fade's cost to 60, and the fade comes in the game 20 resources later, because of the gorge cost 0, and starting res being 15.

The Onos used to be the game ender. Once there was an onos or two in the game, marines lost. No exceptions. Well, the Onos doesn't need to be THAT powerful, but powerful enough that 4+ onos spell death (they can be taken down quite easily with a few HA/HMGers).

Onos: 975/800 health. 100 resources. 280 units/second. Special Ability: The Onos has a very thick plate of armor on its frontside. Any damage done there is reduced to 50%. Attacks: Gore: Does 105 damage. Does double damage vs. structures. RoF: 1/second. Uses 7% energy. Devour: The Onos can devour marines whole. They will take 8 damage/second (24 damage/second in CO) to their health, not armor. Uses 20% energy. RoF: .75/second. Stomp: The Onos stuns marines for 2.5 seconds, making it impossible to move or shoot. Uses 25% energy. RoF: 9/second. Charge: Does 550 damage/second. Does double vs. structures. Uses 20% energy/second. Doubles the Onos speed. RoF: .35/second.

So, the Onos,
1.) Has a stronger gore, (15 damage more on marines, 30 more on structures)
2.) Has a faster devour (slightly)
3.) Has a much longer stomp, which is a much needed buff
4.) Has a 230 damage/second stronger charge. MUCH easier to kill marines with.
5.) Is better at his base-busting and marine killing roles.
6.) Costs 25 resources more, and comes 35 resources later in the game because of the gorge costing 0 resources, and starting res going down to 15.


So, we have a less-seen, more powerful onos. We have a less-seen, more powerful fade. We have a lerk that is seen about just as much, and as slightly more powerful, a gorge that is slightly more powerful, and a skulk that's slightly more powerful.


Express yourself on the I&S forums!

/End of long post.

clickeh here and pm Status Quo for his idea on 'epic'://clickeh here and pm Status Quo for ... 'epic'

nuf said

I already did PM status quo about it. And I told him I liked the ideas already. But this is completely different than any of his ideas, such as alien lifeforms not being "upgrades" like now, but all alien lifeforms being around equal, (there is more to the idea).

My ideas are simply to buff aliens in many ways, but nerf the aliens in others (I.E. the Onos is buffed because of health and attack power, but comes 35 res later in the game).

Eh, please don't do that, jamespsx. If you liked the ideas, great. I feel bad enough about hi-jacking the original thread though, and I don't want more of them on my conscience.

I like how you are trying to define the roles of the aliens a bit better, but i think the lerk is getting stretched to thin. My head hurts now, so i won't try thinking of some good argumetns to support my accusation, but i shale return!

Just having glanced at your post (will read later).. One of the things I'm pushing for is to get aliens back to what they once were, and I don't think we need significant changes for that to happen.. But let me see if I can get an official word on if Flayra agrees with me..

1 problem: no locational damage yet.

Other than that: *applause*

i love you Zunni <3

OHHHH MY GOODNESS A MOD RESPONDED TO MY THREAD NOT TO LOCK IT!

*ends excitement over such a small thing*

Yeah I know that we need very few changes to the aliens as of right now to get balance where we want it. But, I really like to just throw my ideas out at I&S, and see what we all think. I just like people responding to my ideas, and it is kind of fun thinking up a bunch of changes.

But the aliens need to either, 1.) fit their old roles again, or 2.) all have the same roles, and each alien is just more powerful (such as all aliens are good at base-destruction, hypthetically, but lerk isn't as good as fade, who isnt as good as onos). Of course, the first choice sounds more logical.