Hive

From NS2 community wiki

The Hive is the Kharaa central hub. It creates up to 9 Eggs from which Kharaa players can spawn. The Hive can rapidly heal nearby players, create Cysts and Drifters, and is the command console for the Alien Commander. Hives can be constructed on unoccupied Technology Points, without requiring infestation unlike most Kharaa structures; in addition, the Hive can create and maintain infestation for Kharaa structures to grow on and remain healthy.

Alien Commander

A Kharaa player can enter any Hive to act as the Alien Commander by interacting with the tentacles that hang down to the ground. The tentacles bring the Kharaa up into the Hive and retract up to indicate that the Hive has a commander.

Tech Tree

Side view of a hive

The Kharaa tech tree revolves around expansion (controlling additional Technology Points). With each new Hive, the Alien Commander can evolve one of three Hive archetypes: Crag Hive, Shade Hive, and Shift Hive; once a Hive is evolved, it becomes specialized and additional Hives are required to unlock the other archetype-based structures.

The number of Alien hives is significant to the amount of upgrades available to the Alien team, rendering the defense of Hives the most crucial task of the Alien team.

One Hive
- The Alien Commander may choose to evolve only one of three Hive archetypes:
  - Crag Hive (Crag and Shell), Shade Hive (Shade and Veil), and soon-to-be Shift Hive (Shift and Spur).
- Only the Evolutions associated with the chosen archetype will be available to Kharaa players.
- Once Mature Hive status is reached, Augmentation can be evolved to unlock tier 2 lifeform abilities (Skulk Leap, Lerk Bile Bomb, Fade Blink, and Onos Stomp)
- The game will end in a Marine victory if the Hive is killed.

Two Hives
- The Alien Commander may choose to evolve a second Hive archetype.
- The Kharaa team will have the Evolutions of two archetypes at their disposal.

Three Hives
- The Alien Commander may choose to evolve the final Hive archetype.
- The Kharaa team will have all Evolutions available for research and purchase.

Additional Hives
- The number of Evolutions that can be evolved is equal to the total number of Hives.

Stats

Newborn Hive
- Health: 4000
- Armor: 750
- Cost: 40 Team Resources
- Build Time: 120 seconds
- Starting Energy: 50
- Maximum Energy: 250

Mature Hive
- Health: 6000
- Armor: 1500
- Maximum Energy: 250
- Unlocks: Evolve Augmentation

Abilities

Build Cyst
- Cost: 5 Energy
- Description Create a Cyst in range of the Hive or other Cysts. Cysts spread and maintain infestation in a large area.
Build Drifter
- Cost: 20 Energy
- Description: Creates a Drifter which can become invisible when not moving.
Nutrient Mist
- Cost: 25 Energy
- Duration: 15 seconds
- Description: Nutrient Mist is a single target ability which speeds up evolving of any player, as well as maturing and researching of any structure by 300% for 15 seconds.

Upgrades

Rear view of a hive

Evolve Crag Hive
- Evolve Cost: 20 Team Resources
- Evolve Time: 15 seconds
- Prerequisite: Hive
- Description: Evolve Crag Tech changes the Hive to Crag Hive, unlocking the Crag and Shell structures.

Evolve Shade Hive
- Evolve Cost: 20 Team Resources
- Evolve Time: 15 seconds
- Prerequisite: Hive
- Description: Evolve Shade Tech changes the Hive to Shade Hive, unlocking the Shade and Veil structures.

Evolve Shift Hive (Currently Unavailable)
- Evolve Cost: 15 Team Resources
- Evolve Time: 20 seconds
- Prerequisite: Hive
- Description: Evolve Shift Tech changes the Hive to Shift Hive, unlocking the Shift and Spur structures.

Evolve Augmentation
- Evolve Cost: 25 Team Resources
- Evolve Time: 45 seconds
- Prerequisite: Mature Hive
- Description: Evolve Augmentation unlocks the next tier of lifeform abilities, granting each lifeform an additional ability.