Overview
When I first started playing NS2, like majority of people, I was a complete and utter noob. Whenever I was on alien’s side, I would hear our commander shout,”where is my gorge?! I need a gorge!!” So I would go gorge, and die a thousand horrific death… DX As a begining girl gamer, it was difficult for me to ask for tips or ask for help, both I needed desperately. Secretly I looked up on how to gorge, however most of the videos and guides I could find are very vague. Thus I continued my cycle of life and death as a gorge in hopes of becoming a proud pro gorge one day…Our community can be very unforgiving at times, and NS2 is not exactly an easy game. 3500 hours later, I am known as the “:D gorge”. I have decided that I am tired of seeing my fellow gorges die in front of my bare eyes. I wish to write a guide that is detailed enough to cover all aspects of a gorge’s life: tunnels, hydras, clogs, babblers, webs, survival goal and strategies, etc…It would likely to be broken down to different volumes with a title for targeted searching. I believe that an individual should not withhold his/her knowledge, or a race would not advance.Oh hail to our Gorge Lord!
Introduction to Tunnels
During my entire life of gorging, tunneling had always been my priority.
Why? People ask.
A well placed tunnel can:
+save you & your teammates’s lives
+help with resource gain
+giving more map control & strategic advantages
+allow you to organize rushes
+win you the game
To place a tunnel, push number “2” right above your “w” key on your keyboard, then press the number “4”, when the tunnel is green, it means you can click and place it down. An end costs 3 res to drop, so both ends would cost 6 in total. Both ends are required to be dropped for you and your teammates to travel back and forth.
I consider the insides of a tunnel relatively safe, due to the fact that it would automatically damage a marine’s armor, Exoes(being pure armor) can die inside if they stay for extended amount of time, and marines can not be meded or cat packed, etc… On top of the fact that while bullets only fly straight in this game(mostly), tunnels have a nice curve, have bumps inside(provides cover), even if a marine chase you into your tunnel, you will have a greater chance of killing him or running away!
So, in this chapter, I will be talking about different types of tunnel placements and their strategies.
Tunnel Placement and Categories
Tunnels are expensive, especially during early game. So place them wisely!
After evolving into a gorge, the first thing I do is drop a tunnel end in main base. (Unless asked by the commander to do a res to res tunnel)
Usually both tunnel ends can be placed at around 1:30. I would go around and try to build havesters before that, or spit at marines(if you are confident enough). If you are really new to gorging, or don’t even have a proper headset, I would suggest that you sit around the base building and pay close attention to your map(hold c). Call out however many marines you see in each rooms, or call for help when a havester is under attack. Be ready to heal it once the room is clear. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT DIE BEFORE A TUNNEL IS PLACED. Becuase a gorge dying will delay your entire team from gaining more resources and map control. You can always ask a skulk to check out a room for you before you enter & place a tunnel. Most of them will gladly do so!
Res Tunnel
Res tunnel placement is a tunnel placed directly beside where a havester would be. It is a very standard placement, which allow your commander to drop a havester without cysting, in the hopes of saving some team resources. Team res is important for all lifeforms, if you ever want to be a fancy gorge with fancy upgrades and abilities, and have a strong team watching your back.
Note that even when the tunnel is closed, your commander will still be able to drop a havester there, it is a great way to help when team res is low.
Defence Tunnel
A defensive tunnel placement would be tucked away somewhere safe, out of sight, or hard to shoot at from the room’s entry points. As a matter of fact the first tunnel end I place in main base is usually in a defensive spot.
Sometimes marines will sneak into alien main base sniping upgrades, eggs or tunnels. The worst case is when your tunnel is out in the open and another lifeform try to go through, back to the hive and heal, but there are some marines at the other side shooting at the tunnel, so when the lifeform pops out, it instantly dies… I shed tears for those poor souls every single time.
Offensive Tunnel
Offensive tunnels are personality statements. They are the rebel of all tunnels. They are usually dropped quite close to marines starting base, out in the open with clogs and various booby traps around; or dropped right under a marine’s nose, when he/she is busy shooting at something else. The good thing about this tunnel is that it glows like a million watt light bulb to marines, they will more likely shoot at the tunnel than you in fears of more skulk reinforcements. So you can take your time to spit them down. But in reality, you are required to hold your own offensive tunnel most of the time early game, if it does not double as a res tunnel. It is a very difficult gorge art to master, therefore I do not recommand this type of placement to new gorges.
“A good offensive tunnel is also a tunnel that funnels marines into close quarters with corners blocking line of sight to the tunnel
One such example might be placing a gorge tunnel in the closterfobic cavern area of snake pass near central drilling
but you have to remember that when ono’s come out , a confined area may be determental to their survival and moving the tunnel/clogs may serve the onos’s survival better”
—-from the offensive tunnel master, Battle Gorge Kesuga7
Odd Tunnels
Others will say, these tunnels are utterly useless! Oh, my friend, trust me, a gorge knows better.
As a healer, a tinker, a master mind, and the only other creature (other than the commander of course)who can drop structures, why not try to be a bit more open minded and creative? Sometimes it yields surprising results.
>>For example, during a marine rush, this tunnel allows me to travel to upper region of the room to bile the exos, then go back near the hive for fast heals. (attack and retreat quickly)
>>And this tunnel allow the onos, lerks, fades and skulks to avoid running down a long hallway during a marine rush, and strike them from behind.
>>Tunneling your natural res nodes(the ones right beside your main base) saves at least 8 team res in early game.
Sneaky Base Rush Tunnel
The glorious gorge duty calls! (sneaky tunnel & rush step by step)
When your team is stuck and can not expand; When your hive is struck and everyone panics; When you know marines only have one chair and you have 2 hives(or 3)…
Tell your commander ahead of time that you are doing a sneaky tunnel in certain room so he/she can save up enough res for a shade. Tell your teammates to not touch anything in that room or draw any attention!
Sneak to your designated location near marines base without being seen or detected by obs(it makes your skin beam waves of light, beautiful yet deadly, because you become a fat bacon beacon on the map).
Place a tunnel without its creep hitting any marine structures. Avoid obs(I usually go there as a skulk first to detect an ob’s range). Also make sure its not on a route marines would walk into.
If any teammates come inside the tunnel, tell them to stay there till you give the “go ahead” then pop out, since it makes a REALLY LOUD noise which would potentially expose you and your tunnel.
My dearest fellow gorges, this is your chance to shine and spread the alien gore! Believe in yourself, your babblers, your webs & your bile bomb! Bring as many teammates as possible, tell them to kill the marines(better to focus on the same marine), let you and your fellow gorges handle all of the structure damage! As you smirk seeing the sight of damage numbers sky-rocketing & their power going down, you have successfully taught marines a valuable lession: molars and slow chubby legs can be scary, too!
Tunnel Strategies
Other than a sneaky gorge tunnel, I often drop tunnels in combination with other structures.
I am throwing this screen shot back in just to remind all of my gorge fellows that you can drop more than just a tunnel!
+ number 2 and then 1 will give you hydras, you can have up to 3(default)
+ 2 and 2 gives you a clog, you can have up to 10(default)
+ 2 and 3 is webs, 3 webs max
+ 2 and 4 is tunnel, 2 ends total
+ 2 and 5 is babber egg, sadly only 1. (I dream about having a babbler army someday)
However, in early game stage, right after you have dropped your first working tunnel, you are left with little to no personal resources.
Do not panic! structures like clogs and webs are free, they do not cost any res. So unless you are in a hurry to leave the room,(due to being attacked by heartless marines) make sure you drop plenty of clogs and webs around! There will be a guide on clogging and webbing soon…
Later in game, if your team has already expanded over your tunnel, reaching into another room for res or even another tech point for hive, I would often move my tunnel to allow a more forward and up to the front line access. An offensive tunnel forces the team to be more aggrasive with enemy res, and gives more map control.
Of course when you are not the only gorge on your team, you can connect tunnels like these.:)
A risky but fun strategy I have yet to try is to build both ends in main base, tell all teammates to go inside, then destory one end. Sneak near marine main base and place the other end, this makes an instant rush! The marines might think it is a less of a threat because they only see one red dot on the map and ignore you. Or, if you are really good at being sneaky, they might not see you coming at all. The 2 variants are: how well you are at not dying before you drop the other end, and whether marines kill the one closed end in your main base or not.(marines see it less threatening when a tunnel is closed)
One reminder is that if both ends of the tunnel are destoried, then whatever alien lifeforms or marines inside dies with them. It is useful if someone chases you into your tunnel, you can always hop out and destory one end just so you get to live.