I want some tips and tricks on how to do better as like a lurker or a runner I feel I am lack luster in every way of combat and I see some others playing and go like “damn how the hell do they do that”. I prefer to trap because of this lack of confidence in my ability, and I would like some assistance in getting better at capping, swapping, and other things. I feel like I can never hit someone half the time in melee combat. Keep in mind I have been playing a long time, and runner was just used as an example.
Don’t play runner as your first caste. - (Greatest tip you will ever hear)
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ive been playing for a long time
If its clicking then you get good at it over time, runner you should only land 2 hits then run away if they have a shotgun. Lurker is just pounce and slash non stop then they go into pain crit before they even get up.
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It helps to have a plan for certain situations - like if you find someone alone you can try pounce + disarm spam, or if queen screeches quickly drag off someone and disarm spam while dragging. I think those are the two most impactful things you can do as regular runner. Are you used to the ctrl click to grab, x to switch hands, and then disarm spam? Have you reviewed the xeno keybinds lately? Also try practicing in tutorial mode.
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Don’t die.
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thanks for the tip with the tutorial I forgot that was added
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Double check if you have directional slashing on, some people just have it off and don’t realise it.
does everyone actually use directional slashing, ive always used sprite click but i dont know if i’m putting myself at a big disadvantage
Direct slash is good for tackling for the most part for me. If you use it on harm intent you have like 30% less accuracy on your slashes (you will slash a random body part like 60% of the time).
yeah direc slash makes it really easy to slash.
The best tip is, practice. Just put the time in to learn it. Limit test, and challenge yourself.
Don’t be afraid to do stupid shit, because that’s how you make mistakes. That’s how you learn what is stupid stupid shit, and what is smart stupid shit
Focus on fundamentals. Things like aim, movement, positioning. Make the game’s combat feel more natural to u. If you can build up muscle memory, then you already have a plan to get better when u decide to play cm.
Work with teammates. Learn what they’re doing, if you think it’s a good idea then maybe try it out. Then just practice practice practice.
Tips for lurker: first of all, classic lurker combo is: pounce from invis (only pounce from invis stuns), slash (click yourself, it will slash the guy under you), use crippling strike ability (it resets slash CD, use hotkeys), slash again, start charging tailstab (use hotkeys, pretty sure there is no default key for tailstab so set it) and move off the guy you are slashing, slash two more times, move away from the guy so there is one tile between you two (at this exact moment he’ll get up, so moving away will help you avoid getting PBed), apply tailstab, retreat. Then either wait for invis CD to strike again (if the guy didn’t get in crit), finish him off by slashing/moving the body (if he did get in crit) or finish him by brawling (if he didn’t get in crit but doesn’t have a shotgun, usually it takes 1-2 slashes to finally put him in crit). This is how you win 1v1 as lurker.
Secondly, pick your fights. Avoid pouncing people with other people within 3 tiles, this is a direct way to get PBed. Look out for robustos and backline hunters. If you are not confident enough, just avoid fighting them, it will be effective enough as they will waste time chasing you, trying to bait your attack, instead of actually killing stuff.
Thirdly, learn to skirmish. Pounce, slash, CS, slash, retreat. Takes a second, speeds you up for a retreat. Great way to deal with groups (just keep in mind the previous tip). Use faint retreat, i.e. start running away, but then come back for the third or even the fourth slash if no one decides to chase you/shake the stunned guy. Tailstabbing people from invis is not very effective in terms of time, but is safe enough and the only way to deal with people sticking to each other.
Fourthly, know your surroundings. Always have a path to retreat, a place to heal. Try to recon before engaging, avoid pouncing people at the edge of your screen unless you’re completely sure there is no one close enough to them. Don’t get outpositioned, remember, you’re squishy and cannot really trade health.
Finally, be on the move. Camping corpses is good, but is not always an option. If there is too many marines fighting you, just find another place to hunt. Then another. Just be everywhere. Kill loners, harass medics, make people fear going to the front. Good backline can solve the round for xenos.
Teaming up with another lurker, a runner or even a facehugger is great, but you should learn to fight on your own as well.
A lot of people have MDs, some have NVG. Always assume they can see you, darkness is your friend, but it will betray you, don’t count on it.
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I turned off directional slash to get good at sprite clicking, It made my combat abilities nose dive.
It’s not worth turning off.
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i have some hours as a runner and picking your fights is the most important, if you are alone never attack 2+ marines as you will get badly hurt in the best case scenario (unless its like a commtech and doctor at the comms tower i had it happen once and i dunno why the doc left FOB)
one round i spent like 20 minutes running around the backline as we had 2 backliner hunting groups and in the end i didnt do anything and we got into the FOB siege
now for combat your pounce has INSANE range, like 7 tiles so you can do real wild shit with it, remember that you can move until you click to pounce, when pouncing (in the air) using ANY movement keys will cancel the pounce mid air and you will just move normaly (good if you expect a PB)
if you get to pounce some lone marine aim for his foot (so hes slower) and slash 2 times, wait a second 2 tiles away from him and time your bone chips to hit him as he gets up to get easier pounces later
basicaly run around dodging his bullets, pounce slash twice and repeat until dead
if you think you can cap him pounce him 3 times with the 2 slashes then pounce again and this time start tackling him, also realy good if you can hit bone chips
if you get hurt too much run away, if you tackle him drag him to brazil and only then start securing him
now its time for the shotgun, if you dont feel confident just awoid them, if you feel like you are good at combat you can start baiting him into firing all his shots into the air by making fake pounce attempts (running up and suddenly pouncing away) so he wastes all his shots, after he empties it you can start killing him IF YOU ARE IN A 1V1 DO NOT TRY TO CAP
you have a giant chance of getting PBed and your day ruined
this is how much i learned about runner in 35 hours and im sure others are better then me i hope this info dump will be usefull in your being annoying days
but again avoid fights if you are alone and aspecialy if there are multiple enemies, stay at front to get caps from queen scree or move them to hive in general, also you can just go and scout as a runner should
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Also a tip for grabbing, IMO Ctrl + click is hella inconsistent, and pressing several buttons at the same time can be rough. I advise switching to grab intent instead, it’s a lot more convenient to just hit the “3” and then click at any time you need. Also grab intent supports directional assist, so you can grab people (both xenos and marines) without actually clicking the sprites. I also advise binding “stop pulling” (also not set by default), this way you can stop pulling by pressing one button instead of two (X to switch hands then Q to drop), can be useful if things get dire, if you tackle drag and get shot, very useful as warrior too. I binded stop pulling to Q and it’s very convenient as a xeno, but it can be detrimental sometimes as a marine, so watch out.
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resist works on pulling you know? i have my resist binded to j and if i ever need to stop pulling anything i just hit it, as easy as that
Yeah but it can fuck you over greatly if you’re on fire so I advise against using it at all.
Acid runner is nice to play and you can focus on tail stabbing (pretty much your only active ability). Runners are also potent at capping when working with the queen during screeches. As soon as queen screeches you can drag em and spam tackle and usually you can get the tackle spam going before their screech stun is over.
For lurker, you could decide if it’s too risky not to use your pounce and instead use it as a get out of jail free card. You would still use invisible but, you would queue up crippling strike and left click a marine. I believe it will still slow and do extra damage. Follow that up with a couple of slashes and tail stab. When things get too dicey, you can use pounce to jump out of combat.
If you are gonna play acid runner, do remember to use your acid when appropriate. Because its T3 acid, and melts cades fully unless repaired. Excelent for siegeing.
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I appreciate everyone’s tips and tricks, good feedback and I have noticed some improvement especially when playing lurker
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