How to stop being a camper.

Camping is part of playing humans right? Meh. Camping is great for newbies and people who can't dodge, but a team of campers isn't going to win very often. Sure it's good to have some defenders, but if your main contribution to your team is jettarding around near your base with a mass driver, you're really not helping your team all that much. The overmind isn't going to fall on its own. Camp when it's the only way to keep from feeding. Camp when your base is weak and needs defense. Camp when you need creds. But don't camp all game! If you want to stop camping and really contribute to your team, here's how.

1. Learn to play aliens! Seems like a bizarre suggestion, but it's the most important. Being an alien forces you to attack and get right up next to your enemy. The more you play dretch, the more you'll start to know where dretches like to hide. You'll also learn what human dodging techniques are effective. When a jumping human keeps your goon from being able to deliver a headbite, you'll better understand why and how you should jump when about to be chomped by a goon.

2. Cooperate with your teammates. Three chainsuits together form a terrifying sight for a tyrant. Small attack parties can gain ground quickly. Instead of running down a hall by yourself, coordinate a small group of attackers to come with you. Let chainsuits lead to protect a luci for base attacks. During S1, have one guy lure dretches out of hiding spots while two more fill him full of lead.

3. Hang out on your enemy's front door. The best place to kill dretches is right where they leave their base. Combine this tactic with number 2 above, and you have a quick trip to S2 and victory. If you can get two humans with decent aim standing in front of the alien front entrance in ATCS (or Karith or Transit etc.), you eliminate their ability to sneak up behind you. Plus, frustrated dretches often will keep charging straight toward you.

4. Learn to luci jump. A lone attacker with a luci can do massive damage against alien bases. On ATCS you can use that technique to jump from the alien front entrance to right in front of the OM. Mid jump, be charging the next shot, throw a grenade, and use your medi. A couple more shots and the OM is down. Luci jumping can get you to the window room in Niveus in no time. If the aliens use the escalator base on Transit, you can luci jump diagonally to the incline behind the OM where tyrants can't reach you. Finally, luci jumps can be used defensively. When I attempt Rambo-style luci attacks on ATCS, sometimes I run into a rant outside. A good tyrant should almost always beat a lone luci. I like to fire a couple shots at the tyrant's feet and then luci jump to the top of middle when the rant gets close. The splash from the luci does more damage, and if the tyrant decides to chase up the stairs, it's likely he has only half energy.

5. Watch great attackers do their thing. Instead of clicking furiously to get on the human team at the beginning of a game, spend five or ten minutes watching and learning. Do this regularly. No matter how good you get, there's always someone better, and you can always learn more.

6. Finally, attack when and from where they least expect it. At the beginning of the game on Niveus, almost all the dretches charge out the front of their base. If you run up all the stairs, you can often find the alien base empty except for a granger. Kill everything you can. When the dretches come for you, switch to tactic 3 above. Back away down the hallway and stand in the corner so that no dretch can attack you without you getting a few seconds of free shots first.