Runners: Why all the Hate?

[Alanoth]

Good to see that everyone has some kind of opinion on the matter, one way or the other.

[Grimcad]

Just to put in my two cents. I think that most of the actual Runner hate stems from over eager players trying to use them as front line fighters, which they are not. In small corridors lots of Runners try to run in first and wind up congesting the pathways for the larger, more effective fighters. Or worse, they crowd in just behind the better fighters and block off escape routs as they push forward. And both of those thing are extremely frustrating for alien players.

That and the fact that seemingly 75% to 90% of players go Runner and wind up evolving just as quick as Sentinels, which often leaves Sentinels unable to evolve. Which in turn is frustrating for both Sentinel and Drone players.

But as for "hate" when dying early, I think that most of it is exaggerated. Runners, especially young ones, die very quickly to very small mistakes. So you get a lot of Runner deaths. And now its gotten to the point where it is the "fun" thing to say something along the lines of "well there goes another one." But I think that generally its meant to be all in good fun.

[Alanoth]

That's an entirely plausible theory there, Grim

[Brommissar]

I don't imagine there is a lot of HATE for runners, more a sort of wry and chummy amusement when they eat shit. YOUNG RUNNER (9000) dying is basically the starting gun for most alien rounds. It's one of those small joys.

[Challenger]

It's the same stuff as hating alien races on other codebases, just some light-hearted bullying.

Really young runners are expected to die, I mean it'd be better if they matured and all but at least they're actually a combat caste. The real focus of our hate should be young sentinels, there's no reason for them to be at the front lines, slow, weak, and unable to even keep a dude stunlocked long enough to bring them to eggs or a nest with their shit plasma regen, capacity, and stun length.

[Alanoth]

You may be onto something Challenger...continue please

[Tidomann]

It's the same stuff as hating alien races on other codebases, just some light-hearted bullying.

Really young runners are expected to die, I mean it'd be better if they matured and all but at least they're actually a combat caste. The real focus of our hate should be young sentinels, there's no reason for them to be at the front lines, slow, weak, and unable to even keep a dude stunlocked long enough to bring them to eggs or a nest with their shit plasma regen, capacity, and stun length.

Memers want to tear up marines with an ancient runner.

Salt lords want to destroy the will to live of the entire marine force as ancient sentinel.

[Alanoth]

I see, good to know a moderator has some insight

[Zilenan91]

Runners are pretty poop. Their main function is to gather a bunch of hosts for the first 10-15 minutes and then they can't do combat or really anything unless they evolve.

[manezinho]

I don't get the runner hate. They seem fine for most things, combat they're pretty meh but they can assist hunters and distract gunfire. I mean, the pounces are salt inducing but oh well. A cold pepsi can help with that.

[RevealingFortune]

Players tend to be too narrow-minded to understand basic concepts. In a combat-focused game, people die. Marines die. Aliens die. It's the nature of how things are. Realities, like fodder units dying are inevitable at that. A runner can focus solely on scouting and they'll run over a mine and die. They'll get flanked by marines and die. They do what they play to do and fight and they die. Don't bash on them. Just accept it. Especially considering that in the long run, it doesn't actually effect the integrity of the round. It seems that the game is working as intended, and players are just finding things to be salty about.

[Alanoth]

Players tend to be too narrow-minded to understand basic concepts. In a combat-focused game, people die. Marines die. Aliens die. It's the nature of how things are. Realities, like fodder units dying are inevitable at that. A runner can focus solely on scouting and they'll run over a mine and die. They'll get flanked by marines and die. They do what they play to do and fight and they die. Don't bash on them. Just accept it. Especially considering that in the long run, it doesn't actually effect the integrity of the round. It seems that the game is working as intended, and players are just finding things to be salty about.

That's sure what it seemed like when I started this thread, I never tried being a runner because i already have Drone and hivelord down and dont want to mess that up by getting confused with a combat role xeno caste. All the salt that happens around here is incredible considering this is a medium rp server.

[Tidomann]

If Marines got a global broadcast whenever a Marine died, I'm sure there would be just as much hate on Rambo baldies

[Grimcad]

Can you imagine that? "Tidomann from Charlie squad has died." "Alanoth from Charlie squad has died." "Grimcad from Charlie squad has died."

[Kernir]

Runners are better than most people give them credit for, they can absolutely destroy marines in some situations. It's just that very often you can end up dead as the result of bad tackle RNG, a random mine... Runners really are just a highly demanding caste.

[Jackie Estegado]

Ehem, let the ay veteran speak:

Runners are PRETTY POWERFULL. HOWEVER their pounce is near useless when actually targeted against marines and due to the low health most players die with them way too fast. But when it gets into the hands of a competent player it can become saltfest for the marines especialy if there is 2-3 in a pack even if with other alien castes. Your main way for both killing and capturing will be disarm intent, you have the shortest click delay of anything on the server and if you get frenzy pheromones even from a young drone you will have a good chance of tackling and keeping them down (provided you waited to atleast upgrade to elite which takes a really short time). You are also the most effective offensive-guarding caste for how 'cheap' you are, if you have a competent aylien teammate then go and squad up with him, while he takes out marines you can run defense by simply running up to counter-attacking marines making them focus on you or even capture/kill if there is only 1-2 of them, plus you can even help against loners since you being there will prettymuch guarantee a capture or kill once they have been stunned.

[Heckenshutze]

Runners are scum.

So are the entire Xeno Alpha Hive.

[BenBattleSmith]

Everyone just wants to be a hunter or a crusher because they died to one last round, everyone then goes runner to become said hunter or crusher and thus a serious lack of drones appears which means there are a lack of hivelords and carriers and a lack of sentinels so then there becomes a lack of spitters, boilers, and praetorians and a bunch of runners who suck at combat, and a bunch of hunters who try to be stealthy boys and immediately get gunned down.

[CraayyZ]

Cause they always manage to get themselves killed in the stupidest fucking ways round start.

[Szunti]

Just play runner and don't be afraid to die a couple times. This is how you learn its limits. The haters are actually whiners because they can't evolve without enough T1s. If you really want to help the hive, just stay alive until the first round of evolutions and join the hate against the young T3s (often the former whiners) who die needlessly and really hurt the xenos unlike the runners. (And when you play T3 die stupidly, because we all do that sometimes, don't we?).

[misto]

runners are in a kinda poor place right now, easily the lowliest of the t1s. a drone can serve useful support role start to finish. a sentinel can usually effortlessly scratch a marine's face off, using harm intent to kill and neurotox to knock em back down to keep on scratchin, to say nothing of how well the neurotox synergizes with helping other xenos capture or kill targets. runners demand a lot of finesse in comparison. the speed, the hiding, the running over/under objects, the fast scratch attacks, all nice, but heavily heavily counterbalanced by the absolute frailty of the class. even when ancient they can get vaporized with ease. theres a reason they all wanna become hunters and never evolve past, its nearly the same class but with health worth half a damn

[Crab_Spider]

runners are in a kinda poor place right now, easily the lowliest of the t1s. a drone can serve useful support role start to finish. a sentinel can usually effortlessly scratch a marine's face off, using harm intent to kill and neurotox to knock em back down to keep on scratchin, to say nothing of how well the neurotox synergizes with helping other xenos capture or kill targets. runners demand a lot of finesse in comparison. the speed, the hiding, the running over/under objects, the fast scratch attacks, all nice, but heavily heavily counterbalanced by the absolute frailty of the class. even when ancient they can get vaporized with ease. theres a reason they all wanna become hunters and never evolve past, its nearly the same class but with health worth half a damn

They're fine. Case closed.

I should also make it worth noting that warrior castes are meant to be glass cannons.

[Gnorse]

1 Buckshot kills a runner.
A full Smartgun burst kills a runner.
A Full HPR burst kills a runner.
Three SMG bursts kill a runner.
Two M41A Bursts kill a runner.
Two High velocity Battle rifle bullets kill a runner.

Yeaaaaah.

[misto]

if warrior castes are meant to be glass cannons, well, at least runners live up to the glass part of the name. the others grow out of being glassy once they get a couple upgrades under their belt

[Crab_Spider]

if warrior castes are meant to be glass cannons, well, at least runners live up to the glass part of the name. the others grow out of being glassy once they get a couple upgrades under their belt

Misto. No. I've been on the receiving end of a runner attack multiple times, I've seen other people killed by an upgraded Runner multiple times. The only thing that keeps them alive is the fact they've been able to fight off the runner enough to make it flee.