Thoughts on unconventional FOBs (aka Not Nexus)

[Renomaki]

You know, after today, I realized that in order for marines to have FoBs anywhere but the norm, you are required to have a squad totally DEDICATED to holding LZ1 at all costs.

I had to partake in two rounds where aliens were able to take our landing zone with little resistance whatsoever, and after that, I'm not going to be as open to the idea of alternate FoBs unless I can convince a squad to hold the main LZ. Hell, one round we had a fully kitted out FoB in the south jungles that totally went to waste... Well, not entirely, it did see some action in the form of our field doctors getting attacked despite there being no clear way for xenos to get inside, so either someone forgot to lock the doors or it wasn't as strong as we imagined it to be.

[Rocco Ward]

Reno I disagree still. If xenos were going to take LZ1, I had a backup plan. Problem was, an IB squad was dispatched to the bridge and pretty much killed all of the officers, (myself included) so we were commandless. I was unable to execute the countermeasure that was meant for that specific situation.

[Feweh]

Reno I disagree still. If xenos were going to take LZ1, I had a backup plan. Problem was, an IB squad was dispatched to the bridge and pretty much killed all of the officers, (myself included) so we were commandless. I was unable to execute the countermeasure that was meant for that specific situation.

Uhhhh, not it wasnt.

LZ1 was already taken by the time IBs got to sulaco.

Everyround youve done these odd FOB things youve fucked the marines.

[Nubs]

It was depressing just how good that jungle base was yesterday, yet it saw 0 defensive use. One of the best fob i've seen, both aesthetically and practically, but aliens totally ignored it, as they were bound to do.

[Steelpoint]

Unless we magically get the ability to relocate the drop area for a Dropship/Drop Pod, then there never will be a very viable alt FoB location.

[Simo94]

please change LZ2 back to where it was or somewhere else viable for a good FOB so we haveVARIETYas I am sick and tired of Nexus, variety is good, with the new cave layout its perfect as xenos can be NE or NW and marines should be LZ1 or LZ2

[Renomaki]

Honestly people, you don't have to have Nexus as your main FoB all the time.. You just have to keep in mind that you need to ensure that LZ1 is prepared.

Having a couple sentries positioned and maybe some cameras as well, along with some mines scattered nearby can help, or if you really want to ensure it is secured. having a squad dedicated to securing LZ1 can help. The only downside is that you'll have to make an investment into it if you want to have an FoB located elsewhere.

And even then, you have to keep in mind possible routes. You can't just have an FoB in the middle of buckfuck nowhere.. But you don't wanna make meta-FoBs either. FoBs such as Cargo Storage and Fitness seem like great places for an FoB that aliens will have to cross paths with sooner or later. On Ice, I bet you could make an FoB at the Bar if you wanted, but you'd have to make sure that LZ1's northern path was secured first.

There is a reason why during CO rounds I spend time in my office. It isn't because I'm going AFK until briefing, after all, it is me planning things and thinking very carefully, both in an IC and OOC manner. You can't just spout nonsense and then expect it to go 100% according to plan. It takes understanding of the game to best prepare your game plan.

[KingKire]

Also. i havent heard this FOB suggestion yet, but how about people just build the FOB to the *east* side of lz 1. All the benefits of *unmeltable* light, anti-weed grass, Jungle walls, and rasp access....just 8 tiles to the east. seriously.

It even makes roleplay sense, with marines setting camp just outside the colony, without worrying about being compromised by whatever killed the colonists. First time commanders should really consider it as an option, and its easy to convince people to just walk 8 tiles to the right and sit there.

[Renomaki]

Also. i havent heard this FOB suggestion yet, but how about people just build the FOB to the *east* side of lz 1. All the benefits of *unmeltable* light, anti-weed grass, Jungle walls, and rasp access....just 8 tiles to the east. seriously.

It even makes roleplay sense, with marines setting camp just outside the colony, without worrying about being compromised by whatever killed the colonists. First time commanders should really consider it as an option, and its easy to convince people to just walk 8 tiles to the right and sit there.

Thing is, people tend to get comfortable with locations you can easily spot on a map.

I dunno if everyone will understand what the CO means by setting up camp to the east of LZ1... Maybe I might try it, who knows? It could work, or you'd just end up having a bunch of marines wandering all confused and stuff.

[Rocco Ward]

LZ1 was already taken by the time IBs got to sulaco.

After IBs stormed the bridge, a firefight ensued that resulted in mutually assured destruction. After everyone died the boarding alarm went off. I recall this because the rasp landed directly on the bridge gibbing all the dead bodies. Due to the rules of meta, marines are not allowed to take pre-emptive action until the alarm is sounded, there wasn't much I could do as I was dead when the event took place. The contingency plans I had ready were in vain.

Everyround youve done these odd FOB things youve fucked the marines.

??? I've only done a jungle FOB twice so far. (one time as XO, and another as CO) The first attempt nearly resulted in a mutiny from half of the marines running off and building in Nexus. The second attempt we did quite well until the marines got pushed back. We had the advantage of supplies, defenses, and terrain going for us. Rather than fight us at a disadvantage, Xenos obviously choose to target LZ1 as it was a vulnerable target. (which I am well aware of) This was also the same round where IB stormed the bridge from what I was referring to earlier.

My other two attempts at CO were pretty typical.

#1 - Ice Colony - build FOB at engineering, tried to do multi-pronged underground insertion but two squads couldn't follow orders (one of the SLs went rogue and got banned) to get to their destinations so I aborted. After they suffered causalities, I ordered a retreat to the LZ.

#2 - It was LV - I consulted with all the squad leaders and engineers and let them pick the FOB. The consensus was a standard FOB at Hydro and Medical. I told marines to secure a supply line from north nexus to hydro using grinders to fill in the jungle chokepoints. I didn't really wish for center Nexus or LZ1 to be the main FOB, as I wanted most of the supplies to be directed towards reinforcing the front lines.

I am curious to hear your advice on how to make one of these 'odd' FOBs practical Feweh. I've heard a lot of people complain about how the west side of the planet isn't being used in dchat many times, so I'm trying to see if I can do something to change that.

One last point I wanted to add. Many people have said that LZ1 should be guarded, yet playing many times as xeno, LZ1 is almost always undefended from the east side of the rasp. There is NOTHING to stop a queen from taking her xenos and bum rushing down the east jungle and boarding the rasp and bypassing Nexus/Hydro/Medical/LZ1 defense entirely EACH AND EVERY ROUND. I have done this on rare occasions, but I think it's very cheesy and cheap move. (although very effective!!!) I drew up an illustration to show you what I mean,

[Steelpoint]

The problem with non-standard FoBs is that most Marines won't listen to you.

One round as XO I tried to set up a slightly different FoB, which resulted in only one Marine squad listening to me and the rest fucking off to the Nexus.

Also I do agree that nexus FoB is not well set up but good luck convincing the Marines to fortify the east side. It kinda needs a redesign to put the LZ is a more central position.

[Rocco Ward]

I think having the LZ in the center of the map would be very interesting. You could literally swap atmos with the LZ1 location and it would be a quick tweak.

[Karmac]

I'd like to try out that East LZ1 FOB somebody mentioned...

[TheMaskedMan2]

I'm personally a fan of the underused cargo fob.

[Diggman88]

I am fine with any FOB placement. It's the supply lines that bother me, no one want to risk walking half the map for a crate of ammo.

[Jerkface00]

Movable Lz1 controls when? /endjoke

Ultimately that is the problem with any fob that isn't at Lz1 - you leave the Sulaco very open to attack. Any remedies that are attempted are just band-aids on a gaping wound that is the victory-crushing move that is xenos overtaking the Sulaco.

A strong FOB at the LZ, followed up by smaller hard-points elsewhere for marines to regroup and secure wounded is in my humble opinion, the single most sound strategy in terms of FOB placement and use of other locations, as well as the only one that has a real hope of standing up against the xeno bypass of defenses to board the Rasputin and thereby Sulaco.

[eternalnight264]

I really both dislike and like the nexus at the same time when it comes to FOBS. Everybody knows the layout and the best ways in, so it's easy to fall, and people can never seem to consistently set it up the same way. I suppose that's a good thing, but I really wish people put more effort into building it up. I find, sometimes, that when I am an Engie, it helps to have a little help here or there and I try to send marines around the nexus building to gather resources to shave some time off my reinforcing.

[Rocco Ward]

Ultimately that is the problem with any fob that isn't at Lz1 - you leave the Sulaco very open to attack

If I'm not mistaken, haven't admins shutdown LZ1 from marine use on multiple occasions? I don't recall the LZ ever being defended on some of those rounds but my memory is murky considering how rarely this happens. As I said in a previous thread though, you have several options when it comes to securing a location:

• Have marines guard it
• Wall/Grinder/Egrilles to seal it off
• Lay a minefield
• Sentries
• Orbital Beacons (make sure you ahelp this for approval)

[Karmac]

1. If marines can't use it neither can aliens, that question is irrelevant.

2. You shouldn't see those as options, you should be doing all of those things, that's what an FOB is, a constructed defense manned by marines and guarded by sentry guns and minefields.

3. OB's are a waste to use as defensive weapons, you should be playing offensively with them to get any use out of the weapon.

[driecg36]

Personally, the only time I've actually been the XO without a CO, I tried the cargo FOB, and I thought it was pretty good. We were doomed to lose that round since a squad got ambushed and destroyed, but the cargo FOB was quite solid and it held pretty well. Some idiots were wasting materials and time in the nexus, which kind of annoyed me, but the squad I assigned to build the FOB was very competent and actually listened to orders, which made me happy.

Cargo FOB makes a lot of sense to me. Lots of firing angles, covered by rasp turrets in the south, northward position that is easy to move out of, less vulnerabilities than nexus.

The problem isnt really that the nexus status quo is so well established, it's just that you're always gonna get people that have no idea how to follow a basic order, much less the actual want to.

[Skelton]

Robotics actually makes for a good FOB, the only problem is if you have a PO then he's basically fucking wasted because he doesn't get to pilot the Rasp beyond like three drops maybe and the pod has no guns to help defend.

Robotics is smaller, easier to defend and just as close to the LZ to keep an open supply line. Nexus ends up with the defences spread so thin that xenos just drip drip right into the back lines and cause havoc and then the defences get shredded by a larger force. This isn't a problem with the Nexus specifically, it's a Command/Squad issue. I played an XO round when I had Alpha hold LZ and wait for the squads to have pushed up or get ground down before they switched out and let a weaker squad hold inside the defences and let the stronger squad move up to help the push. By the time the fog had cleared and I went and had a look at the Alpha SL cam he was fighting into the caves getting his squad decimated while the main bulk force hadn't even cleared out Hydro.

However, that said, Rocco's constant demand to drop OB's in robotics while we set up retard FOBs in the southwest jungle (with zero secured supply lines for men or resources) definitely fucked the marines more than once.

[KingKire]

And just so this gets back in the light: you see ungabunga marines building in nexus while you said storage, you show them this map and say, hey....buddy, right here.

Storage FOB.png

[driecg36]

And just so this gets back in the light: you see ungabunga marines building in nexus while you said storage, you show them this map and say, hey....buddy, right here.

Storage FOB.png

Huh, that is pretty good. I'm gonna save that and use it shamelessly.

[OatzAndHoes]

I've found that Cargo pod FOBs to get flanked way too easily. Usually the engineers don't focus enough on reinforcing the weakpoint between LZ1 and the cargo pods, and aliens end up flanking through the nexus.
Nexus FOB is pretty tried and true, it works decently and isn't too difficult to set up.
Tcomms FOB used to be my favourite before the LZ2 switch and egrill nerf, now its not really any good.
SW jungle FOB and any of the LZ2 FOBs are pretty tight, but are way to easily flanked when xenos can just calls down the rasp and lock it now.

[Renomaki]

You know, maybe we should try a semi-Nexus FoB, in that instead of building in the center, we focus more on building only on the eastern hallway and LZ1. That way, you get a decent defensive position that protects LZ1, and you get a slightly better defensive position from which to defend from.

Normally when people build LZ1 FoBs, they neglect to build in the hallway of Nexus, which aliens quickly take over. A good FoB has layers, and LZ1 Fobs tend to be very small and easy to overwhelm. In a way, that is why the Nexus is a good FoB, because a good engineering team can make many layers of defense to delay the xenos for a good while... Provided they are smart. Smaller FoBs don't have that benefit, not without excessive expenses.