The skulk mindset#
You are fast, small and free. You are also fragile: 75 health dies to 10 rifle bullets. You win by choosing when and where fights happen.
Ambushing#
- Use walls and ceilings. Marines look straight ahead; come from above or from the side.
- Wait around corners next to where marines will walk. Let them pass, then bite from behind.
- Attack together. Three skulks arriving at the same moment beat three skulks arriving one at a time.
- Bite and leave. If the marine turns and starts hitting you, back off around a corner, heal for a few seconds, and try again.
Map pressure#
- Kill extractors and power nodes when the marines are elsewhere. One skulk biting an extractor forces several marines to walk back.
- Parasite (2) every marine you see, plus marine structures, phase gates and exos. Your team then sees them on the map.
- Watch the minimap for parasited marines walking alone.
Movement#
- Bunny-hop and wall-jump to stay fast: up to 8.5 m/s hopping and 11 m/s off walls.
- Use Leap (once researched) to close the last few metres, not to start fights from far away.
- Hold Shift to sneak silently when getting into position.
Upgrades#
| Chamber | Common picks |
|---|---|
| Shell | Carapace (survive one more bullet burst) or Vampirism (heal from bites) |
| Spur | Celerity (speed) |
| Veil | Aura (see marines through walls) or Focus (2-bite A0 marines) |
With 3 Veils, Focus kills an A0 marine in 2 bites, but bites are slower. See Alien upgrades.
When to evolve#
Save res for a Lerk (21) or Fade (35) once your team has enough skulks. Don't go Gorge unless your team needs one.