Eggs#
Dead aliens respawn from eggs around the hives. Eggs have 350 health and are flammable.
- Each hive grows a new egg every 13 s (faster in big games: the time is scaled by 6 ÷ number of players, for teams larger than 6) up to 2 eggs (more in big games).
- A dead alien waits at least 10 s, then is given the next free egg; dead aliens are queued in order of death.
- Shift Hatch lets the commander spawn extra eggs near a Shift.
- Marines kill eggs with the axe, grenades or fire. Exos crush eggs by walking over them. A team that loses all its eggs cannot respawn until new ones grow.
The commander can also turn an egg into a lifeform egg (Gorge 20, Lerk 40, Fade 80, Onos 100 team res; needs Biomass 2 / 4 / 8 / 9). The next player to spawn from it hatches as that lifeform for free.
Lifeform eggs show as their own icons on the alien minimap, so players can see where a free fade or onos is waiting.
Starting upgrades. If you respawn without having chosen an upgrade for a chamber, you get Carapace (Shell), Celerity (Spur) and Aura (Veil). Anything you picked yourself is remembered and used instead.
Evolving#
Press B to open the evolve menu. Pick a lifeform and/or up to one upgrade per chamber type, then confirm. You turn into an embryo (cocoon) and gestate:
- Each upgrade adds 2 s and costs the lifeform's upgrade price (Skulk 0, Gorge 1, Lerk 3, Fade 5, Onos 8 res).
- Changing only upgrades on your current lifeform takes 3 s plus the upgrade time.
- Embryos are vulnerable. Evolve somewhere safe: a gorge's heal spray speeds gestation up.
- You need room to evolve into a big lifeform. If there is no space, the menu tells you.
- If you die as an embryo, you lose the res you spent.
Where you evolve. You evolve where you stand if the lifeform fits there (the game only adjusts your height); you are not teleported to a random nearby spot. The evolve menu stays open while you move, so you can watch the placement preview and step into a clear spot.