Overview
I can not crawl on walls or ceillings;I can not fly;I can not vanish within the blink of an eye;Death often kisses me as its bride.I am slow but I have a tunnel,My spit is the size of a tiny green apple;I dance and taunt,with evil Marines webbed, Or clogged,I send babblers assassins upon;Death, Grins,BILE BOMB! Special thanks to Eniac, who inspired me to write this guide, and to Combat, who took time to write me some tips
Before the Battle
Enter the hive mind set, keep the greater good in your thoughts.
If “All Talk” is active, avoid exposing your strategies to the opposite team! Instead, use “Y” for typing in team chat.
Tell your commander and your teammates that you are going Gorge, I usually call right after joining the alien team. However, coordinate with your teammates and your commander! If your commander expresses that no more Gorges are needed, you may:
+be a res biting skulk
+still go gorge, but evolve back to skulk when your tunnel is dropped, and then bite res
+save your res for going onos
+when all of the other Gorges have died, and your team still have no tunnels or map control(is your map all green?), ask if you can go Gorge for the team to have a working tunnel.
Keep in mind that as a Gorge, you do not have enough personal resources to drop a working tunnel( with both ends open) till 1:30 into the game. If you die before that, you would lose the 8 res for going Gorge and the 3 res for first tunnel end dropped.
If you choose an alternative method in the begining, such as spending res on babblers or hydras first, then make sure that you TELL the commander and your teammates that you are going to be a battle gorge, supporting a group of skulks by healing and chipping away marine’s health (making them a lot easier to kill).
A gorge’s tactical decision is crucial for shaping its team’s battle strategies. So choose wisely, and remember to communicate your precious thoughts. 🙂
Upgrade Choices
Thank you Gorge C Scott, Fizzon & Shining Lion for your input
This is the different upgrades I take for different tasks. It is a personal preference, of course. You do not have to go for the exact same build.
Bile Rush Gorge Build:
+Adrenaline(gives more energy)
+Aura(so you know when their base is free to go in)
+Crush(extra bile damage)/Carapace(extra armor, so you stay alive longer)
Battle Gorge Build:
+Celerity(being faster)
+Aura(allow you to prey on the physically weak)/Focus(gives 50% more spit damage)
+Carapace(thicker skin, less ticklish belly)/Regeneration(no need to waste energy for healing as much)
Sneaky Gorge Build:
+Silence(shhhh…)
+Vampirism(grants invisibility, SURPRISE,mofo)/Aura(knowing where to go and drop the tunnel)
+Crush(if you are going to bile rush with a tunnel, saves 1 res)/Carapace(worried about being discovered? Get extra armor so you can run away)
During the Battle
Oh, there is soooo much going on during a battle, I am not sure if this part will be a logical fluent paragraph, so maybe I will just make points. :p
- If some of your teammates come to you with a red cross mysteriously floating over their mid-section, ask no question, just right click and heal. If this particular teammate was injured to save you, then depending on how much res you have, you can treat him/her with a face full of babblers(gives extra armor).
- If one of your teammate asks you for babblers, but you do not know him/her; him/her had left you to die several times without apologizing and/or you strongly dislike him/her, tell him/her that you have greater plans for the little you res you have.
- There is nothing wrong being a cautious gorge, especially after marines got weapons upgrades. Getting a gaming headset would really help you avoid unnecessary & meaningless death. Of course, ask some teammates to come with or follow some teammates also gives you a better chance at survival.
- Hold left Ctrl for Gorges to sneak around.
- Keep in mind that most marines can only shoot what is in front of them, or when there is only you in the room and there is nothing else to shoot at than your gorgeous belly. That is usually how I determine when to tactically retreat.
- Bellyslide is a great way to retreat. However it does cost a bit energy; and works better when you are using it from a higher ground (gives extra speed). So I like to combine jump(space bar) and Bellyslide(Shift key) in order to get away. Some other Gorges also drop clogs directly under themselves then bellyslide off the clogs. But I personally find that this consumes too much energy since dropping any structure costs extra energy.
- When you do not have bile, but marines have mines everywhere, you can either spit at the mine to trigger it or send your babblers to trigger it.
- Before going into a potentially dangerous room, I always try to plan an exit. Drop some webbs in the exit hallways can slow marines down. It is particularly useful against Jetpackers and other two legged marines. This extra second may help you saving you and your teammates life.
- When a shotgun marine is far from you, it is your perfect chance to spit him down. Run away when he is getting closer.
- During a close encounter, if you can not land your spits, you can always just heal spray. Heal spray not only keeps you alive, allowing your teammates(if there are any) to land more bites or swipes before dying, it is also a very useful gorge hack where you do not have to worry about aiming. If you think it does not do enough damage, you can always send your deadly babblers upon the target as well.
- Never go into a rush without babblers, webbs, and a working tunnel. Especially if there is an onos around. Onos is too big of a target, and marines often try to capture or pinch it. If the onos is low on health and is being chased, jump up and down behind the onos to soak up some bullets, and heal spray. Sacrifice can be made to save the onos. But make sure that the onos and your other teammates know if their healer dies before the mission is complete. tell them that your gorge died, no more heals.
- If there is more than one onos in a tight tunnel, they might get stuck on each other and die. In addition, YOU might get stuck on them and die randomly. Tell them to split up and push different places or in different directions.
- When you do not have enough energy, and your teammates come to you for a heal, tell them to go back to the hive. Unless the path to hive is infested with marines, or too far away.
- Pay attention to the map(hold c), call out however many marines you see in a room, and heal the havesters in need.
- Bile bomb cost a lot of energy, so plan your shots out. Save some energy just in case you need to run.
- Always remember to bile the expensive weapons(shot guns, GLs, flammers… etc.) dropped on the floor! You might successfully give the ex-owner a heart attack.
- When hitting a phase gate by yourself, combine bile, spit, and babblers. Also drop webbs and clogs so marines can not shoot at you directly.
- When hitting on a phase gate with teammates, drop 2 biles on the gate and heal the gate grinder aliens. It will prevent the marines from walking through and instantly kill your teammates.
- Drop hydras near sneaky gate locations (it is usually in a room with or without a res node & inbetween hive locations). It will help your entire team prevent base rushes.
- In a hive location with high ceilling, always drop hydras in different places. They will help defend the hive, since they are deadly efficient against jetpackers.
- Ask for a shift when building a hive. It gives a faster regen of energy.
- Hydras dance when there is enemy nearby. If I were to stay in a place for a long time(e.g. building a hive), I usually drop a hydra near the doorway where I can see. It also helps if you take the silence trait when building a sneaky hive.
- Gorges are mostly lovers, not fighers. So if you realize some of your teammates are arguing over silly things, tell them to stop, because we are on the same team and we all wish to win, but arguing with one another does not help winning at all.
After the Battle
I would always take time to acknowledge other player’s good decision and sacrifices(sometimes even during the battle I do it), it lifts the spirits and helps everyone learn a bit more of the game strategy. Even if you lose, try not to be a bitter player or point your fingers at others. Instead, think about what you could have done differently to help the team.
When you are more pleasant to play with, people around you will coordinate better.
DO NOT FORGET TO TAUNT AS A GORGE.
Happy gorging! 🙂