These pages explain how Natural Selection 2 works underneath: the formulas and numbers behind every fight and every commander decision. Every number on them is read from the game's code at build time, so they match the server.
ResourcesTeam resources pay for structures and research; personal resources pay for your own weapons and lifeforms.Damage typesHow one hit is calculated, what every damage type does to armor and health, weapon and alien damage upgrades, friendly fire and damage modifiers.ArmorHow armor absorbs damage, why it is worth double, how much of each class's toughness is armor, armor upgrades, Carapace, exosuits, Crush, and what restores armor.Hits to killCalculator for bullets, bites and swipes to kill at any biomass, Carapace, armor and weapon level, plus the biomass breakpoints where a hit is added.Kill combosParasite + 2 bites, stab + swipe, stomp + gore, shotgun + pistol: how mixing attacks saves a hit, shown hit by hit for every armor level.Lifeform comparisonSide-by-side numbers for every alien lifeform and marine class.BiomassThe alien tech level. Hives provide it; it unlocks lifeform abilities and adds health to aliens.InfestationThe alien creep. Alien structures need it, it heals aliens' structures, and it slows marines and corrodes their buildings.SupplyA cap on how many support units and defensive structures each team can have at once.SpawningHow and how fast marines and aliens come back after dying.MovementSpeeds of every class, and movement tricks: wall jumping, bunny hopping, blinking, flying and sliding.Health and healingEvery way players and structures get health and armor back, and what stops healing.EnergyAlien abilities cost energy. How fast it comes back and what each ability costs.Vision and detectionWho sees what: line of sight, the minimap, parasite, scans, observatories, cloaking, Aura and alien vision.MaturityAlien structures grow tougher over time after they finish building.ScoringHow the scoreboard score is earned, including the build-time based construction score.Marine tech treeEvery marine structure, research and purchase with cost, time and requirements, read from the game's tech tree.Alien tech treeEvery alien structure, research, ability and upgrade with cost, time and requirements, read from the game's tech tree.Balance valuesEvery constant in the game's balance files, vanilla next to the live value with SBM. For number nerds.