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| | \ \| | | | || | | | | || | | \\_ | | || | |
| | \ \ | | | || | | | | || | | | | | | || | |___^
| | \__| | | || | | \ \__// |___ \ | | | || _| |
| | \_/ \/ |_| ----- \| \_/ \/ |_______|
|/
______ ____ __ ____ ____ _______ _____ _____ __ __
/ ____\ / _/ | | / _/ / __/ |__ __| /_ _/ / ___ \ | \ ||
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^ | | | | | | | | || | | || | | | | || \ |
|\___| | | |__^ | |_ | |__^ | \__ | | __||__ | |^| | || \ |
\______/ \____/ |___|\____/ \_ __| |_| /_____/ \_____/ |/ \/


Kharaa Perfect Guide version 0.5


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by The Draft, Premiere of Clan
A.K.A- Keith Cyphers
el_draft@yahoo.com

Contributions by: ShadowDrgn and Flayra; Shadowics; MJ


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Table of Contents
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1. Kharaa Overview

2. Kharaa Units
2A. Skulk
2B. Gorge
2C. Lerk
2D. Fade
2E. Onos

3. Kharaa Structurs
3A. Hive
3B. Chambers

4. Upgrades
4A. Defensive
4B. Movement
4C. Sensory

5. Misc. Stuff

6. Version History

7. THANK YOU'S!!!

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1. Kharaa Overview
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Have you seen Aliens? Have you played as the Zerg in Starcraft? If so, you're already pretty
familiar with the setup of the Kharaa. That's not to say they're derivatives of the above
species, just that they follow the typical "infectious alien" archetype.
According to Natural Selection's (NS) manual, the Kharaa are actually some sort of bacteria,
not a "race" in the traditional sense. Whatever, it's just an excuse to give them an
interesting play mechanic. Namely, the ability to mutate into different forms designed to fill
specific roles, such as builder, fighter, support unit, etc. It is with the proper use of these
units that an effective Kharaa team can wipe out the pesky human menace and restore harmony to the
vast reaches of space.
In addition to it's armies, the Kharaa also utilize support structures in the war effort. The
most important of these is the Hive. It is from the hive that all new Kharaa will be
"born," and so, it's protection is paramount. To support it's units, the Kharaa
also employ chambers that fulfill certain support roles, from sensor upgrades to offensive turret
functions.


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2. Kharaa Units
(All vital stats taken from NS manual.)
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---------
2A. SKULK
---------

Vital stats:
------------

HP: 70
Armor: 10 (30% damage absorbed)

Abilities:

Wall running
Can run on any surface, including walls and ceilings

Bite
A close range melee attack. does 75 damage.

Parasite (requires 1 active hive)
Ranged attack that infects opponent. Makes target visible on Kharaa radar.

Leap (requires 2 active hives)
Skulk leaps at target, does 4 damage for each "touch" on opponent.

Xenocide (requires 3 active hives)
A vicious suicide attack. After a few seconds, the Skulk explodes, damaging everything around it.
Does double damage against structures. Apparently, this attack is bugged as of right now and
actually does very little damage to structures.

Overview:
---------

The Kharaa base unit is actually pretty useful. First, it's ability to walk on walls is really
nice when you've just spawned in and want to get somewhere fast. also, since you can get into
odd little corners, it's fairly easy to sneak up on unsuspecting marines and take a little
bite. unfortunately, the Skulk is not a bruiser, so expect to get plastered in a heads up assault,
unless you have numbers on your side.
The parasite is also a nice trick, and once you have your second hive working don't neglect it.
It may not seem that great, but it really sucks to be that marine that all the aliens can see from
across the map.
Xenocide, being the final Skulk ability, is of course the most useful. As of the time of this
writing, common consensus is that marine turrets are ridiculously powerful. Of course, there's
room for debate, but for the time being, we just need a way to blow the things up. That's where
Xenocide comes in handy. Don't be afraid to take on for the team, it's all about Unity...
Unity... Unity! (oops, sorry, had a little Fallout Flashback there :)
Here's a handy little tip from MJ. If you type "r_drawviewmodel 0" in the console,
you'll remove that irritating Skulk bite animation. However, this is considered an exploit by
the NS design team. So, while it's OK to mess around with it, it's a strict no-no for
serious or tournament play. All I can figure is that the NS team considers it's inconvenience a
balance to the amount of damage Skulks can dish out.

---------
2B. GORGE
---------

Vital Stats:
------------

HP: 100
Armor: 50 (30% damage absorbed)

Abilities:

Spit
Weak missile attack, does 20 damage.

Build
Ahh, the real meat and potatoes of the gorge. More on that in the overview.

Healing spray (requires 1 active hive)
Short ranged spread that heals nearby units and structures. Can also be used to harm marines, but
uh, not recommended.

Web (requires 2 active hives)
Used to "blockade" doors and other entrances. I've been informed that the term
"blockade" may be misleading. Well, you know what? Too bad, I like to write
"blockade." But, anyway, it doesn't stop advancing marines, it slows them down
considerably and renders their weapons momentarily useless.

Babblers (requires 3 active hives)
Allows you to spawn tiny, AI controlled Skulks. These Skulks are very weak, very stupid, and tend to
run into walls a lot. They have a bite attack, and if left unmolested for about 20 seconds, explode
in a weak xenocide.

Overview:
---------

Gorges are the backbone of any Kharaa hive. They are responsible for the construction of all
chambers and hives that the Kharaa use. Needless to say, they're super critical to the success
of any war effort.
Aside from building, Gorge have decent support abilities. Obviously, their healing is useful for
maintaining offensive chambers and recharging battle weary Kharaa. Don't be stingy with it,
just spray whatever teammates happen to walk by you.
Web can also be an effective hindrance to your opponents. Almost translucent, most marines will be
covered in the muck by the time they see it. Severely slowed down and with out access to weapons or
jumping, they make easy prey for other Kharaa.
Oh yeah, the spit. Don't spit at the marines, it'll just make them mad. Seriously, Gorge
are not offensive units. If you see something clad in heavy armor holding a grenade launcher, just
run.
One final note on Gorge's. While I'm not positive, research has lead me to believe that
the more Gorge your team has, the slower resources will trickle in. Therefore, try to keep the
number of Gorge at two or below. You really don't need more than that anyway. While lerking
(sic) the NS forums, I came upon this post which does a pretty good job of explaining the resource
breakdown. I'm going to reprint it here. Thanks to ShadowDrgn, the poster, and Flayra, the
apparent source of the information.

------------------------------------------------------------------
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your resource modifier = gorge? / (non-gorges + 3 * gorges) | |
gorge? is 1 if you're not a gorge, 3 if you are. | |
| |
10 players on team: | |
10 Skulks, 00 Gorges: Skulks 10%, Gorges 00% each | |
09 Skulks, 01 Gorges: Skulks 8.3%, Gorges 25% each (25% total) | |
08 Skulks, 02 Gorges: Skulks 7.1%, Gorges 21% each (42% total) | |
07 Skulks, 03 Gorges: Skulks 6.3%, Gorges 19% each (57% total) | |
06 Skulks, 04 Gorges: Skulks 5.5%, Gorges 17% each (68% total) | |
05 Skulks, 05 Gorges: Skulks 5.0%, Gorges 15% each (75% total) | |
... | |
00 Skulks, 10 Gorges: Skulks 0.0%, Gorges 10% each | |
---------------------------------------------------------------- |
------------------------------------------------------------------

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2C. LERK
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Vital Stats:
------------

HP: 60
Armor: 50 (30% damage absorbed)

Abilities:

Flight
Does what it sounds like. drains energy. If you hold down the jump button you can skid around the
level faster, and fall slower. This "glide" move doesn't drain energy.

Bite
Close range melee attack. does 50 damage.

spike (requires 1 active hive)
Long range missile. pretty good rate of fire, does 16 damage a piece.

Umbra (requires 2 active hives)
Sort of a bullet proof vest in airborne form. Umbra is not a shield, so standing behind it does
nothing (physics be damned!) To experience the bonus, you have to be inside of the Umbra cloud.

Sporecloud (requires 3 active hives)
Releases a corrosive cloud into the area. Doesn't damage enemy structures.

Overview:
---------

The true support unit of the Kharaa armies. Well, perhaps that does the Lerk a disservice, since
it's flight abilities make it an excellent recon gatherer as well. This guy, much like the
Gorge and Skulk, is ill suited to direct combat. Instead, he's much more useful supporting the
two alien heavy hitters (discussed below.) That doesn't mean you can't fight with a Lerk,
it's just kind of hard.
Bite and Spike are pretty much all you need to know about those two attacks. Both are OK, but
represented better in the more specialized version of the Kharaa.
Umbra is insanely useful, at least until your enemies research grenades. Wait for a Fade or Onos to
make their attack, then spread that crap all over the place. It's at this point that your
direct attacks can actually help, but don't forget to spread more Umbra if it thins out.
Sporecloud is a devestating, powerful, deadly ability. Unfortunately, by the time you have it Onos
are available, which are more devastating, more powerful and more deadly. Plus, SporeCloud
doesn't damage buildings. In short, a terrific ability that just doesn't hang with the
other level 4 attacks.

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2D. FADE
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Vital Stats:
------------

HP: 200
Armor: 125 (30% damage absorbed)

Abilities:

Swipe
Close range melee attack. Does 80 damage, and it's fast, like a horse with steroids up
it's butt (does that violate TOS?)

Acid Rocket (requires 1 active hive)
Projectile attack, with splash damage. Does 50 damage on impact, less for the splash.

Blink (requires 2 active hives)
Short range teleportation technique, just point and shoot. You go where crosshair is, to use caveman
language. Currently, it's rather difficult to use. I've yet to run into a technique that
allows consistent blinking. Still, it's fun when it works :D

Bilebomb (requires 3 active hives)
Arcing projectile attack that does more damage than Acid Rocket. Does double damage against
structures.

Overview:
---------

Primary Kharaa strike force. Given a serious boost with the 1.01 patch, Fade are one of the two
units you should be attacking with most of the time. The swipe is a fantastic melee attack and can
reduce a hulking, power armored marine to giblets in a few seconds. Still, Fade's aren't
indestructible, so stealth is the order of the day. Try to get the drop on all your unsuspecting
victims (though, I suppose if you don't get the drop, they're not really unsuspecting
anymore, but I digress.)
Acid Rocket and Bilebomb are mildly useful projectile attacks. Frankly, no Kharaa projectile goes
above "mildly useful." But, for taking out turrets, Bilebomb is a fine weapon. Probably
shouldn't be tier 3, but again, I digress. Acid rockets aren't going to win any one on
one's with a HMG. However, they can be ultra effective at pinning marines down. Just duck
around a corner, pop a few acid rockets at your enemy, and hide. Repeat ad nauseum. This strategy is
really effective thanks to the splash damage from acid rockets.
Blink is cool. Nothing quite like hiding in a dark corner, watching a marine walk by and warping
right onto his backside, claws a-swipin. Very effective when paired with the cloaking upgrade.

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2E. ONOS
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Vital Stats:
------------

HP: 500
Armor: 150

Abilities:

Gore
Close range melee attack that dishes out 120(!) damage a hit. In a word: brutal.

Paralyze (requires 1 active hive)
invisible missile attack, range is about the same as the Skulk parasite. It renders the target
immobile.