I was playing on a server that I got banned on because the first chamber I put down was sensor.

Personally, I like cloak. It helps allot. ESPICALLY in NS matches because the comm doesn't think to ping areas and/or it's to early for him to even have that tech.

Can anyone give any insights why sensor is such a bad choice in the begining of the game?

Its not a bad choice. On some maps, it could be though. If you gave more info on the server, map, and how many players, and how good they were, then maybe we could help you out. I don't think any decent servers would ban you for this.

hm.

it depends. SCs used to be good and now bad. Why? People only focus with sc. 1 bite before and 2 bites now.

So if you havent ask the team for sc, thats you fault, though i dun think its that serious to ban. but if you ask the team already, no one answered, you dropped one and get banned, get yourself a better server.

Always ask your team before scs. This is becuase they need to go down fast and idealy in strategic spots. If you put one down 2 mins in then you deserve a ban. As for the other chambers MC is the best because the extra killing power comes in handy and you can use it to MC rush with a hive. Where i play ive never seen DC as first chamber.

Sensory first is like relocations - you have to hit them hard with it for it to work. If you don't gain a big advantage in the start, you lose.

The marine counter to sensory is to build lots of observatories and keep you to one hive. One hive focus fades can't move very quickly or heal and end up dieing. All the attack benefits of cloaking disappear if marines build an obs at the spot they're defending.

But if you can use your early cloaking to kick marine butt in the field and get a leg up in the res war, then you'll have a fade and a hive against unupraded marines.

Playing against sensory is the best time for a 2 hive lockdown.

DMS was broken with beta 6 (3.0)

You see MSD more often now, and if an admin banned you for sens first and it was a 3.0 server, good riddance, I wouldn't want to play there.

You need to have sensories go up early, and in agreed locations. Just like a relocation, as someone else said - they have to be swift and organized, or they fail. And sadly, MCs are better than any other chamber at the moment.
Think about it: can you have a lerk without celerity? Yes, one that'd be on its way to the spawn queue on the first encounter
Fades without celer/adren? Very bad against groups of marines that can shoot well, especially if they get the fade in a corridor.
The 2 main lifeforms need MCs to do well... at least in my opinion.

SOme little advices if you want to play Sc:

- what is your hive? if it is the middle one sc could be good since they have a hard time locking down both hives. If it is one of the side ones you generally shouldnt go sc but instead mc. Why? Because if they lock the middle hive against Scs you are pretty ****.

- ask your teammembers: this has to be very quick. Tell them you would like to surprise the comm and tell them that you will plant a hell load of scs all over the map. If you dont have a decision at about 1 minute go for another chamber

- Time: time is very important with scs. If you manage to get them up at the same time your rts go up they work best. Afterwards they become weaker and weaker. So if you want to go Sc first and its about 1:30 or later...let it be. go for another chamber

- I YOU want Scs and asked for them its YOUR job to place them. So start off with placing them into vents at critical locations. Bets thing will be to gestate in a vent and place one there. afterwards sneak out with cloaking and build the next ones.

- Sc Network is important. Scs arent a 3 chamber drop like Dcs/Mcs are. You need a lot of them. Which means a lot of res. At least 5 of them at different positions.

- If the comm gets to know too early that you are playing sc first it will become quite hard for you. SO dont let him see the unbuilt Scs. Thats why you should place them into vents. The later he gets to know you play sc first the better for you

- cover the second hive with a sc too...as soon as the commander knows you have scs he will usually go for a 2 hive lockdown. If this happens everyone in your team will blame scs and blabla you are the noob etc. So make sure they dont get it! easiest way...place a sc in a vent at the seond hive.

Thats the basics you should use if you want scs on a pub...

Banning is a little harsh for dropping a sensory. Some pub admins take these games too seriously.

Am I the only one going to point out that he the title says DC's first?
From my experience most people go MC's First, then DC's, Then SCs.
I hardly ever find that DC's should go first because they hardly help skulks.
Thats opinion though, and not really the full purpose of this topic.

On topic,
I think Ballisto has the best point, it's a lot like a relocation, you have to put all your effort into it, or fail.

If I ever put down SC's at the beginning of a map, I make sure I stay gorge the entire game, and put a grid of them EVERYWHERE.
If done that way, they can help out more then any other chamber will.
But unless the gorge is able to get them down (And not die wasting 10 res and time), then they're not as good.
(Though I have seen hives become completed in a turret farmed location before because of sc's and a few gorges taking the first bit of fire )

The servers I play on usually tend to go MC first. The main reason for this is the ability to get between hives in an attack or for simply increased map mobility.

here's the question

did you drop one, single, unannounced, SC, and promptly de-gorge so you could WTHpwn with f0cu$ (that takes 2 bites with all 3 SCs up anyway, and is sssoo gimpy with only 1 chamber)?



... 'cause those guys, had I a server, I'd ban like woah.


sc's not a BAD first chamber, it's just a tricky one..

when in doubt, or if you can't get the team to consent to anything, just drop MC.. you get the most bang for the buck out of it, with adren, celerity, and silence, which is great for skulks, gorges, lerks and fades.


sometimes.. late at night when no one's looking..
i kinda miss DMS

MCs are definitely the safest bet in the beginning. Silence benefits skulks more than cloak does, because cloak is too easy to counter, and marines still hear you walk anyway. Celerity is great for gorges early on, as it lets them outrun rines, and most of the time gorges on public aren't being protected by teammates, and have to fend for themselves. SCs can be good, but only if the entire team knows how to take advantage of them.

On the servers I have been playing on the past week (just got off deployment in Iraq) i have noticed that we mostly go with M D S

Now I have not read the change logs but the last time I played we used DMS only....

so what happend? did the DC change? the MC? or is the public strats just changing?

Public Players finally got that Mcs are way better than DCs.

And of course the new feature that upgrades do not cost anything any longer...
If Mr. Public Skulk could decide...between

Carapace/(Regen)/(Redempt)

and

Celerity/Silence/(Adren)

what woudl he like more?
nearly noone used upgrades before they made it cost nothing (as skulks)

Clanplayers knew all the mc stuff before the upgrade cost change...but...you know how hard it is to explain somethign to Public players...

Dunno if said already,
but if you or your team plans to go for SC first, then make sure they put all 3.

Cloaking is cool, but in my eyes (or better ears) useless because you still have ticking feet (I know about the tapwalking but its annoying -_-)

Focus on the other hand surely is great.


But if you want to be on the safe side, then dump a MC!
Nothing should be wrong with that unless the team wishes something else.

(imo, I'd ask at the start of the map "MC or SC" - Dumping a DC as the first is insane)


$parki

I was shouting MCs in 1.04
I was shouting MCs in 2.x
I am shouting MCs in 3.x

Glad ppl finally do it, they don't listen, but they do it. Thats good

personnaly i think mc and sc is a toss up depending on the situation / style of the team

however dc needs to be buffed FOR SKULKS, in order to make it a viable first hive option.

The biggest problem I have seen lately is mov only 2 hive lockdowns. (yes I play on crappy servers lately) People are now becoming reliant on celerity and adren, not to mention no one shoots the building hive anymore until there are 4-5 shotguns or tf/phase gate. When you are stuck with only 1 hive having dc makes life much easier than mc or sc. Not to mention people who dont get dc with 2nd hive. Not sure about you but when I have a cara fade I feel pretty damn invulnerable until an entire team sprouts heavies and hmg/shotties.

Oh yeah and I like redemp skulk until marines have ups. Actually really helps take down turret farms without feeding rines res and alerting them to suiciding skulks.

You put an SC down,ur automatically called a noob by all. And so you should. Cloaking is easily countering by obs/motion tracking. That's sumthing you do at 3rd hive,when focus helps the end-game.
DC or MC,no further questions. Always ask ur team though just in case. At start with aliens,I gorge,ask what chamber? 99% MC,1% DC starting chamber.

If you wanna build a chamber,ask your team first. Then everyone is happy.

i decieded to go see something in the damage calculator

vanilla marine vs 1hive skulk
9 shots .9 seconds

vanilla marine vs 1hive 3carapace skulk
11 shots 1.1seconds

the problem is 1hive skulks do not gain enough from carapace for it to be helpful in fact your better off parasite focus biting, or using celerity to move faster, or silience to get in closer. 2 shots is not enough to make a major diffrence.

it's actually 1 alien armour = 2 health so they get 4 extra lmg bullets before they die to vanilla marine making it 14 bullets to kill a skulk

back in 1.04 the armour worked differently and they took like 18 bullets instead of 9 so it was a big buff.