Everyone has concentrated on the early game differences of having a0 take cite+med+cite+2bites now, but i was wondering if the armor boost might be more greatly effecting lerking with it's lower damage per bite. I noticed recently that I suck with the lerk, but I usually can steal a few cheap kills. However I noticed that it seems like it takes many many bites to get to the center of that marine even after some light sporeing.

So if you have actual skills with the lerk do you feel that the armor boost has effected it at all. And if so do you think that a slight boost to the dmg would be appropriate?

Lerk is already one of the least "used" and least vied over positions. Most people are known for their fading or skulking, and few actually choose lerk over either, and when you have such low hp I feel that you should be able to get something other than spores out of your 30 res, or we might see more clans forgoing the lerk and hold out just a little longer for the second/third fade.

150:160 - no difference.

190:200 - no difference

230:240 - no difference

270:280 - again, no flipping difference

So nope, same all along. Unless you use absolutely no spores attacking an A1 marine that gets 1 instant med - because he'll now survive 4 bites with 10hp left, instead of being just barely dead. But thats just stupidly marginal.

Also, what the ****? Lerk is like already the insanest lifeform. Did someone take a dump in your brain last night? Spores alone are insanity in a can, add the speed of the Lerk and all you need is the ability to read a situation.

Saltzbad's right.

Lerks are overpowered, if anything. Especially on pubs. And if some clan matches force a marine team to siege, one lerk sporing the advance base will draw out the welders frequently and open them up to attack. Commander's worst nightmare, they are.

Goddamnit, Golden, whenever I post in here, you have to post hinting that I have no right to be here.

Oh, and Golden, tell me a siege room on any official NS map that is halfway blocked from spores.

I can do the reverse, here are the best examples:

Shipping on Caged.
Aux comm on Nancy.
The room outside Cargo Transfer South on Veil.
Processing on Hera.

Map design doctrine was built in mind that practically every practical siege room would have vents to spore from, or be easy to spore from the hive room. And in competitive play, shotguns and HMGs rule the day, a GL could be useful for the odd skulk or gorge, but you sacrifice so much more firepower for that ability. A lerk has plenty of time to react after he hears those four shots ringing out, and if he got hit directly by them, then he was standing still and being predictable, something that you can't have in competitive play at all.

Why do you think the better clans try to rush the hive outright instead of sieging? It's more effective, and because it doesn't force them to stay in one place. Movement is crucial in NS, and when you stand still, you're a sitting duck.

It's much easier for marines to defend a position than assault one, but they still rush because it's better than building (and you won't be able to shoot for about a second if something comes your way) and getting spored while fades just blink in and out whittling down your marines.

I found that with Cara/Adren I can be one deadly lerk. Its not a hard process either, and doesnt require "mass amounts of skill". Its just basically a beefed up skulk that can fly and shoot green gas. Marines get taken by surprise since the attacking alien is no longer at their feet or waist, but in their face and on their heads.

Makes for a nasty surprise, ya know?

Most competitive lerks prefer cara/celerity? At least I've seen most good lerks choose those combos. Try aiming at a celerity lerk, it's a nightmare, even for the best shots on the best clans.

In my experience, a celerity lerk is a combat lerk and will die stupidly trying to bite people. An adren lerk on the other hand will know be able to harass the marine team much more effectively with spores and umbra.

Yeah celerity lerks are nub.

really gunner? you take adren over cel?

I take exploits over skill dude.

Eh, for hive defence celerity can be nice, due to the fact that you've got movements in the hive to recharge your adren already.

Adren seems more useful overall, however.

And I notice no major difference in lerking style, the armor just helps a bit vs fighting aliens in gas.

He probably does.

Hey gunner, we havent seen you on the server in forever. Where did you go?

Um, the armor increase hasn't effected lerking tbh. Just more clans are using early lerks now to compensate for the +5 armor to gas for skulks. Also to use the CELERITY for lerks to protect their nodes. Just my 2 cents.

LORKS FTW ALL HAIL LORKS!!!!


Yes lerks are ridicilous overpowered but to reach that point you need a quite a skills. Unless you are sporing which even ADj and anni(whos t`s lerk nowayds?) do 70% of the time

Rapier, I didn't mean that you should siege from a spot where you can't be spored. I meant that you should siege from around a corner so the lerk has to come in close to spore you. If you're sieging in a direct line of sight of the hive, and the aliens have movements and one lerk, you're screwed.

the extra armor doesn't make a big difference in strategy... same ol celerity/cara lerk.

Little thing , can OWN you over and over , required skill to play with , die in one shot , die to pscript (the best part) , can eat while flying (umm pancakes are tasty)
Who i am?

"Lerk is like already the insanest lifeform. Did someone take a dump in your brain last night? Spores alone are insanity in a can, add the speed of the Lerk and all you need is the ability to read a situation."

I agree, I think the lerk is greatly underestimated and they do a ton of damage. 90% of the time marines try to siege a hive or build a tf, its the lerks spores that prevent it and add in the huge cost of med pack spam JUST for the lerks spores alone cost more then the lerker. So a real good lerker is almost as valuable as a fade.

Plus, in our European matches, blockscripts are on (though I've been accused of using a pistol script many times before...)

To add my $0.02- a celerity pancaking lerk cannot be killed. (It's gotten to the point where I just ignore lerks, and scan for skulks taking advtange of the lerk acting as a decoy... All the while watching spores sap my health).

I think they really need to lower the effects of celerity on the lerk.

It's easy enough if they're close and you've got a shotgun or HMG, but then you ask yourself- what are they doing that close?

Yep

Unless they are Spanish lerks, in which case, when they bite you at point-blank, you still need to aim at their spawn location, such is their abuse of cl_updaterate