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Charge (requires 2 active hives)
Similar to the Skulk Leap, a forward charge that multiplies damage by the number of touches. Does 10
damage for each hit.

Primal Scream (requires 3 active hives)
Pumps up the stats of all Kharaa in the area, including the Onos it originates from.

Overview:
---------

Now you're cooking with gas, baby. This thing is a friggin' tank with legs instead of
treads. Requires a ton of resources to mutate, but well worth it. Take one headlong rush into a
turret filled encampment, flinging marines to and fro with deadly abandon and try to go back to a
*snicker* skulk. Now, this doesn't mean be reckless. The Onos is as vulnerable as any other
Kharaa, and foolish play will get you fragged PDQ. But, with a few Fades or Lerks to run
interference, one Onos can put a serious hurting on any enemies of the Horde (Horde property of
Blizzard Entertainment.)
Gore really requires no explanation. Paralyze is... eh, paralyze is OK. But, come on, you don't
morph into a thousand pound siege engine to put people to sleep. You do it to annihilate them. The
only situation paralyze really shines in is facing jet-pack equipped marines. They can be a real
pain to the land-locked Onos, so freeze those mofo's and go crazy.
Charge is currently pretty underpowered. It's rather difficult to hit moving targets with all
the strikes, so I like sticking to Gore for combat. However, Charge can be rather brutal against
structures, which really don't know how to dodge. Supposedly, you can Gore while charging if
you keep holding forward, though I haven't tried it.
Primal Scream is another matter altogether. Even if you're attacking all by your lonesome,
always let out a primal scream just before assaulting an enemy stronghold. If there's friendly
units around you, even better. Useful just for the increased recharge rate on your attack energy,
not to mention the increased damage, defense and speed.


============================================================================================================================
3. Kharaa Structures
============================================================================================================================

These are the resources of the Kharaa war machine. Without them, you'll quickly be shouting
"game over, man. game over." heh. Seriously, you will not win the game without a proper
mix of hives, offensive, defensive and support structures. That's why the aforementioned Gorge
is so important.
Structures can be divided into two rough categories: The Hive, and chambers. While chambers are
important, and you want to support and protect them, it's the Hive that wins or loses the
game.

------------
3A. THE HIVE
------------

Center of any Kharaa colony is the hive. It serves two purposes in the game. The first, and most
important, is to spawn in reinforcements. Without an active hive (and yes, there are inactive hives,
as well discuss below) no more Kharaa can be created, which isn't good. For that reason alone,
Hives are crucial, but they fulfill other roles as well, and understanding those roles will be key
to achieving victory.
Take a look at the upper right hand corner of your screen. See those three hive icons? Good. The
first thing you should check is if any of them are clear. If so, it means no one has built a hive
yet at that location. Every map has 3 spots that will support a hive, and the Kharaa start with one
of them. Like any good ravenous alien monster, expansion is the order of the day. Go get those other
hives! Just look for the white circles in your HUD marked "hive." Of course, only Gorge
can build them, but don't mutate till you've reached the prospective area. It's much
easier to get there in Skulk form.
When you've reached the phantom hive mutate to a Gorge. Then, well, hurry up and wait. It takes
80 resources to build a hive, so you could be sitting there for a while, especially if it's
your first expansion. Once you have enough, build the hive. Notice that the hive doesn't appear
fully functional, and has to "grow" first. Unfortunately, there's no way to increase
the growth rate, so you're pretty much stuck waiting for it to pop in. I like to use that time
to set up offensive chambers around the newborn hive.
Once it finally pops in (which takes about 2 minutes,) it's time to make a descision. For each
active hive your team owns, you can choose one upgrade path to unlock. You can choose to get them in
any order your team sees fit, and it's a pretty good idea to ask what your team wants before
you start building. The most common build order I've run into is defense, sensory, movement.
However, that's not the definative way to go. Use your best discretion, and don't forget
to ask your team (with teamsay, for god's sake.) These upgrades are crucial to advancing your
personal Kharaa up the evolutionary ladder, but we'll talk more about them later. Also notice
the amount of resources you can now collect. With one hive, it's 33, two hives makes 66 and
with with 3 a whopping 99. This only applies to non-Gorge, who always have 100 max resources.
In addition to all the above loveliness, Hives also dictate what forms you can and cannot mutate to.
Skulk, Lerk and Gorge are always available. Fade open up on Hive numero two. The mighty Onos is only
available to 3 Hive communities. Finally, being in proximity to a hive will heal units and
structures.
To summarize:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1 Hive: 33 Resources / Skulk Gorge Lerk / One Upgrade Path | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 2 Hives: 66 Resources / Skulk Gorge Lerk Fade / Two Upgrades Paths | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 3 Hives: 99 Resources / Skulk Gorge Lerk Fade Onos / Three Upgrades Paths | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------
3B. CHAMBERS
-----------

Chambers, obviously, include all the chambers that Kharaa construct in order to protect themselves
and procure upgrades. You know that the marines are upgrading themselves, so don't fall behind
in the arms race.
Upgrades are dependent upon not only what chambers your army possesses, but how many. For example,
we'll look at defensive chambers. One defensive chamber will unlock the first level of all 3
defensive upgrades. Two will unlock the second level, and if you've already got the first
level, upgrade it for free. Having 3 does the same exact thing, just for the third level of
upgrades. So, it's in your best bet to build 3 of each as soon as possible. Oh, and once you
hit 3, there are no more upgrades for the Kharaa evolutions. That doesn't mean you
shouldn't build more, just that there will be no more evolution bonuses. Still, it's not
rare to see a good number of defensive or sensory chambers dotting a map for their alternate
benefits.

Offensive Chambers
------------------

These chambers crack devastating "your mama" jokes at advancing marines, rendering them
inconsolable and unable to defend themselves. Haha, no, they're not that kind of offensive.
Instead, they're the kind that lob tiny balls of corrosive mess at any intruder foolish enough
to get close. Set them up around any structure you feel is worth protecting, usually resource
chambers or precious, precious hives. According to the manual, they do 50 damage with each shot, but
are rather inaccurate, so often the only damage they deal out is splash. They seem kind of weak, so
always construct at least 3 or 4 in clusters to maximize their firepower.
Of course, no amount of maximization is going to help against grenades. That's why it's
always advisable to place them in such a way that marines have to round a corner and stare them face
to face to get a clean shot. Never put offense chambers at one end of a long corridor, cause if you
do they'll just get sniped without ever firing a single shot. Try to place them just to the
left or right of doors and vents, out of advancing enemies views. Most important, don't place
chambers one behind the other. For some reason, they can't shoot through each other. Luckily,
they can shoot through sensory chambers, which I just think is too damn sexy.
Oh, and the maximum number that can be placed in any one area is eight. Yup, eight.

Defensive Chambers
------------------

The defensive chamber serves a dual role. Primarily, it unlocks an upgrade path for the Kharaa
troops. Once you have one built, all Kharaa will be able to evolve one of the 3 defensive upgrades.
It's other function is similar to the Gorge Health Spray, though less effective. Any unit or
structure within range will get healed. Here's some defensive chamber lovin', courtesy of
my mortal enemy, Shadowics:

"A defense tower will heal 10 hp per tick, the same as a gorge's healing spray except that
healing spray shoots faster. Any number of Defense chambers can stack their effects, up to the
maximum allowed in an area, which is 6. Each Defense chamber chooses up to 3 damaged targets in
it's range to heal each tick. If there are more than 3 some will get healed more slowly. Each
target is healed 10 hp, so each Defense tower cannot heal more than 30 hp per tick, divided over 3
targets."

Hmm, pretty informative, but I feel it lacks a certain spirit, a certain charm, a certain
"warmth", if you will.

Movement Chambers
-----------------

Like it's defensive brethren, the movement chamber also has two purposes. First, it unlocks the
movement upgrade path for all Kharaa troops. Second, when a Kharaa walks up and uses one, it will
transport the unit to the farthest active hive. Don't underestimate the usefullness of jumping
from hive to hive. Not only will it save your but more than a couple times, it makes defense that
much easier. Otherwise, it just sits there and looks pretty.

Sensory Chambers
----------------

Continuing the Kharaa trend of versatility, the sensory chamber too serves many roles. Of course, it
unlocks the movement upgrades for all Kharaa blah, blah, blah. More interesting are it's
secondary functions. The sensory chamber functions as a sort of watchtower for the Kharaa. Any
marine in the view range of a sensory chamber will be visible to all Kharaa (like it was parasited.)
Also, any enemy unit that touches a sensory chamber WILL be parasited, permanently.

Resource Chambers
-----------------

They collect and process resources for the Kharaa. Simply find one of the resource nodes on the map
(they look like geysers spitting out white smoke) and drop a resource chamber on top. It will
increase the resource allocation for all Kharaa. Unfortunately, the marines also want those resource
points, and aren't above splatting your proudly built resource chambers. It's sound advice
to plop a few offensive chambers around any resource point to discourage claim jumpers.


============================================================================================================================
4. Upgrades
============================================================================================================================

Do you want to be all you can be? Then upgrades are just the ticket. These helpful little bonuses
will make eradicating the human menace all that much easier. However, careful consideration of what
upgrades to use is paramount and can make the difference between life and death.
Upgrades are based on a series of three's. There are three upgrade paths, each with three
separate upgrades to choose from, and each of those has three levels of effectiveness. Each unit can
only use one upgrade from each of the three paths, so it's important to know what each one
does. Remember, the three levels are determined by the number of the respective chambers built (see
chambers section for more info.)

----------------------
4A. DEFENSIVE UPGRADES
----------------------

Carapace:
---------

An armor upgrade. Depending on the level, will add additional armor and increase armor
effectiveness. Since it's easier, here's the graph straight from the manual:

(First number is armor amount, second is % of damage absorbed.)

Skulk Gorge Lerk Fade Onos
----------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------- |
Start | 10 30 50 30 50 30 125 30 150 30 | |
| |
Level 1 | 30 40 75 40 75 40 150 40 200 40 | |
| |
Level 2 | 30 50 75 50 75 50 150 50 200 50 | |
| |
Level 3 | 30 60 75 60 75 60 150 60 200 60 | |
--------------------------------------------------- |
----------------------------------------------------

Regeneration:
-------------

Regenerates hit points, duh. The higher the level, the quicker the HP will be regained. at level
one, you get 1 HP every 2 seconds. At level two, 2 HP every 2 seconds, and 3 HP every 2 seconds at
level three.

Redemption:
-----------

This one's pretty interesting. It's basically a get-out-of-dying-free card. Once your HP
drops below a certain level, you'll be warped back to the nearest hive to narrowly avoid death.
The chance of being saved increases with each level of this evolutions upgrade.

---------------------
4B. MOVEMENT UPGRADES
---------------------

Adrenaline:
-----------

Every attack a Kharaa performs requires energy. Naturally, running out of energy while attacking any
sort of foe is a bad, bad thing. To combat that, the Kharaa developed the adrenaline evolution. It
increases the rate at which individual Kharaa regain energy. Level one nets you a 8% increase, level
two 12% and level three a whopping 16%.

Celerity:
---------
An alien garnish? No, it's in fact a serious speed increase. Very useful for some of the bigger
species, especially the Fade, which I could outrun, and that's saying a lot. For choosing this
path, you'll receive a 10% bonus for each level of the upgrade available, maxing out at a
blistering 30% speed boost.

Silence:
--------
Gee, I wonder what this one does. Naturally, being a scary alien requires a certain amount of
stealth, and silence is just the ticket. For every level, your attack and movement noise drops by a
third (of the total 100%.) So, at level 1 you make about 60% of your total noise, level 2 drops it
to 30% and level 3 makes you totally silent, giving you real ultimate power.

--------------------
4C. SENSORY UPGRADES
--------------------

Cloaking:
---------
Hey, you got your Predator in my Aliens! No, you got your Aliens in my Predator! Well, whatever, as
long as I can turn invisible. Sure, stalking dog faces through dark corridors is fun. But, having
one walk up to you, stare right into your eyes and calmly walk away, only to be eviscerated seconds
later? That's bloody brilliant. One of the funnest and most useful upgrades, recommended
without reservation. Like all other evolutions, it gets more effective with more chambers. This one
you'll definitely want 3 for, since the first two aren't really "invisible."
More like Wonder Woman's plane, or Dotted Line Girl from Rug Rats.

Advanced Hive Sight:
--------------------
First off, make sure you use your flashlight key. That's what kept me from enjoying the
benefits of this nice upgrade (yes, I are teh dumb.) Anyway, I'm sure most of you are familiar
with the Kharaa hive sight ability, which makes friendly units and structures stand out. Advanced
hive sight does just that, except to enemies. Very useful for dark maps where marines try to hide in
the shadows.

Scent of Fear:
--------------
Everyone knows the three different Kharaa "rings." White for allies, red for hot spots and
yellow for marines. Scent of Fear adds one more: the dreaded orange. You see, once you develop SoF,
orange rings will form around injured marines, weeding them from their hiding spots. The more
advanced the upgrade, the further the effective range.
Update: Prepare for lameness! My old adversary Shadowics rears his ugly head again to tell us all
the range of Scent of Fear. Bow before his mightiness!

"The range on Scent of Fear is 17m for Level 1, 34m for level 2, 51m for level 3. You can
estamate the distance of m because it is given with marine waypoints."

Rather nice of him to explain how he came by this information. What a generous fellow!


============================================================================================================================
5. MISC. STUFF
============================================================================================================================

Why'd I write this? Well, two reasons really. One, while the manual that comes with NS is cool,
it's not really all that great at explaining stuff. Seems to me they were concerned more with
making it seem like a field report than actually describing how the game works. Two, I want to force
CJayC to make a NS board ;)
Anyways, usual ownership stuff. Everything here is copyright 2002, property of me, The Draft, also
known as Keith in some corners. Well, everything except the stuff I took from the manual, which I
assume belongs to the NS team. The only place authorized to display this FAQ is good old GameFaqs,
IGN and DLH.net, a german site. The Draft: doing everything he can to promote German-US videogame
relations.So, don't steal from me. Like Vic Mackey says, "You steal from me, you
die!" (BTW, if you're not watching The Shield, you're missing the best dang show on
TV.)
Problems with the FAQ? You spot any glaring mistakes? Just think I'm a total buffoon? Or, by
some small chance, you like it? Drop me a line at el_draft@yahoo.com. If you suggest a correction or
have a strategy and I put it in, you'll get credited. Don't be shy now, the only way
people will notice you is if you hang your butt out.


============================================================================================================================
6. Version History
============================================================================================================================

v 0.1
-Did preliminary Kharaa Overview, and most of Kharaa Unit info. All stats gleamed from manual, and I
have an inkling a bunch of it's been changed in the game. If so, you'll know in version
the next. Did the structures section. Did most of upgrades section.
v 0.2
-Fixed a couple of minor errors dealing with Lerk availability.
v 0.3
-Added table of contents for lazy people. fixed errors concerning upgrade unlocking, added notes on
number of Gorge affecting resource allocation.
v 0.4
-added in some missing descriptions. removed tasteless editorial content :D Added table dealing with
Gorge resource allocation. Fixed numbers to bring current with latest patch (1.01). Oh, and I
whipped up a purty title graphic.
v 0.5
-Whoa Doctor, a whole mess of changes and corrections in this guide. Most can be attributed to
Shadowics, who is a very knowledgable NS player. He's also a total jerk, and if I met him in
real life, I'd punch him in the neck. Of course, afterwards I'd steal all his NS notes :P


============================================================================================================================
7. THANK YOU'S
============================================================================================================================

1. Thanks to Valve for continuously pimping Half-Life. At this rate, it's going to outlast
Strom Thurmond.
2. Thanks to the NS team for creating the best damn MOD in existance (except for Action Quake 2, but
that's not really around anymore :D)
3. Thanks to CJAYC for creating and running GameFaqs.
4. Thanks to all the people who contributed to the making of this guide.
5. Thanks to God, through which all things are possible. Oh yeah, you better believe.