Where to go with this game?

[ThorneGarvin]

Hi, I'm a very new player (~25 rounds in) and I've read most of the literature on the wiki and the 'Guides' section of this forum. I've hugely enjoyed playing and RPing as a squad marine but I've gotten somewhat bored with it. Any ideas on other classes to learn or spice up my gameplay?

Also a completely unrelated question:
Who is Aoi Bell and why does he talk like a cheech and Chong skit all the time?

[taketheshot56]

Aoi Bell is "special" to the marines. If you want to get a good feel for a more laidback round try CT/SO. Even MT.

[Bronimin]

Play RO and experiment with gimmicks. Marines love RO gimmicks, I am the father of at least two that still get used sometimes. It's not all that stressful, but if you get CTs you have to let them run the shop while you give them orders or else they'll have nothing to do. Watch out for cargo technicians overruling you, though, and ask that they don't approve anything to order without your express permission or you quickly become irrelevant yourself.

Bags of ammo for attachments is mine, but my favourite gimmick is spending all round-start points on battle rifles and heavy pulse rifles. It can be a bit tricky to manage the points afterwards but as long as you tell the engineers that plasteel will not get resupplied beforehand, they'll usually be fine with just metal.

[taketheshot56]

but my favourite gimmick is spending all round-start points on battle rifles and heavy pulse rifles. It can be a bit tricky to manage the points afterwards but as long as you tell the engineers that plasteel will not get resupplied beforehand, they'll usually be fine with just metal.

Thats just a shitler think to do...

[PandaCG]

Play MP or CL, the RP is pretty endless and there's normally something spicy happening.

Assuming you have already and I'm just preaching to the choir, improvising your RP is fun too. When I want to do something different, I normally play on my Weeter character he's more sophisticated, keeps me >thinking and >invested. Honestly probably one of the most fun parts of this game is acting as someone else within the realism of the game itself.

I'm not saying play as if it's HeavyRP and every single thing you do is to be accompanied by a /me, but there's definitely a lot you miss out on by playing marine roles, vice versa for staff roles. Just do something that seems fun and have genuine fun with it. If the game you are playing isn't fun, why bother playing right?

[Bronimin]

Thats just a shitler think to do...

FOBs never hold anyway, unless it's big red. I'll usually only do that particular gimmick on LV or Ice, in the hopes the heavy guns will be able to kill enough stuff to be worth the investment. Even if they don't then hey, at least the marine got to play with a cool gun.

[Carnolus]

I’ve found that playing different characters and RPing them is very fun. I started out with a country hick who loved his shotgun “Bess” (Jack Wilks) then I went to a German who went absolutely crazy and loved death (Heinz Nuremberg) and now Taegan.
Role playing characters and mixing it up every so often keeps a standard marine interesting. If you’re really into the technical aspect you can try medic, but definitely have the wiki up as you play in case you get stuck. Plus it’s fun to RP as a medic and be sarcastic with the guy who freaks out “AHH GOD IT IS SO BAD! DOC FIX ME NOW!” And you exaggerate how about that burn on his leg actually was.
Just trying different weapon loadouts can help too, and being a smartgunner makes you a badass in its own right. Lots of stuff you can do to keep the game fresh

[Voldirs]

I would suggest trying out other squad roles and then try out SL.

Thats the MOST spicy role for marines.

[solidfury7]

Hi, I'm a very new player (~25 rounds in) and I've read most of the literature on the wiki and the 'Guides' section of this forum. I've hugely enjoyed playing and RPing as a squad marine but I've gotten somewhat bored with it. Any ideas on other classes to learn or spice up my gameplay?

Also a completely unrelated question:
Who is Aoi Bell and why does he talk like a cheech and Chong skit all the time?

You should try playing Staff Officer.

You get great roleplay, you get to watch marines from safety (showing you do's and don't's you'd miss otherwise) you get to learn the importance of logistics and it'll teach you the Command side of things.

So yeah, playing SO sets you up for nearly any other role.

[Blade2000Br]

Hi, I'm a very new player (~25 rounds in) and I've read most of the literature on the wiki and the 'Guides' section of this forum. I've hugely enjoyed playing and RPing as a squad marine but I've gotten somewhat bored with it. Any ideas on other classes to learn or spice up my gameplay?

Also a completely unrelated question:
Who is Aoi Bell and why does he talk like a cheech and Chong skit all the time?

try out new roles and get yourself familarized with. I will just give you a tip that the medical roles are the most stressful of most roles, since you are dealing with marines that might die under your care or not. so try play then by last, when you get a good grasp of the game!

Aoi Bell is a case of a marine that thinks is robust but in the end... mess up and get brigged.

[apophis775]

Who is Aoi Bell and why does he talk like a cheech and Chong skit all the time?

Aoi Bell is a player who can be a bit of a shitter and is current on their last chance before a Permaban. They don't represent the majority of our players.

[MeetraSurik]

But isn't the SO quite a vital role aswell? You do have to order an entire squad of marines or at least relay orders to the SL. I'm still new aswell and i want to try new things too but SO, SL and all these command roles seem quite hard to play.

[apophis775]

FOBs never hold anyway, unless it's big red. I'll usually only do that particular gimmick on LV or Ice, in the hopes the heavy guns will be able to kill enough stuff to be worth the investment. Even if they don't then hey, at least the marine got to play with a cool gun.

That's a powergamey thing to do. You shouldn't be planning for failure because "it never holds". That's how you get a job-ban from cargo as a powergamer and metagamer. Which, I won't lie, I'm slightly considering.

Expect at the minimum, people to pay more attention.

[Blade2000Br]

But isn't the SO quite a vital role aswell? You do have to order an entire squad of marines or at least relay orders to the SL. I'm still new aswell and i want to try new things too but SO, SL and all these command roles seem quite hard to play.

I will be honest and say most people think command roles are easy as hell, but tehy are indeed, midly to hard, depending on what you are doing.

but yeah, playing SO before SL is a good bet, since your impact on a squad death is not as big as one with a SL.

[MeetraSurik]

Well i think the opposite i think it's hard to command and not suck. But thats just me i'll take it to heart and try the SO sometimes after i'm done with the engineer. The PO is on my list too

[Bronimin]

That's a powergamey thing to do. You shouldn't be planning for failure because "it never holds". That's how you get a job-ban from cargo as a powergamer and metagamer. Which, I won't lie, I'm slightly considering.

Expect at the minimum, people to pay more attention.

I never plan for failure, what I was trying to say was that there is no appreciable difference between the /hold times/ of a FOB of 60 plasteel and 300 metal (~70 points worth+starting engineer supplies) and a FOB of 30 plasteel and 700 metal (~48 points worth+starting engineer supplies). Therefore, if I can help it then I won't be resupplying plasteel to the squad engineers because it is more efficient to supply an abundance of metal instead. If anything, the latter is superior to defending against infantry attack, it is when under bombardment from artillery or CAS that both will fall at about the same time-- that is, however long it takes to pierce the barricades in /one spot/, injure or kill everything inside or demoralize the defenders and rout them from their defenses.

That's not planning for failure, that's optimizing so that you can free up points to spend elsewhere. Usually, I'll save them and get a turret late-midgame but sometimes I order weapons crates or attachments near the start if I really want to put the hurt on whatever did bad things to the colony.

[Challenger]

People are recommending some very interesting roles and gimmicks here but I have to give out a word of warning. SS13 and Colonial Marines are very complex and very feature rich. Especially the Marine team of Colonial Marines works 1. in a ranked hierarchy, 2. together in systems of multiple people in multiple roles. Which means it's frustrating as hell when new people join roles they have no idea how to play, withour preparing themselves by reading the wiki and playing similar, easier roles beforehand. Just kinda halts RP as well, like if the highly-trained-leader SL suddenly doesn't even understand the basics of how medics and engineers can be useful.

So with that in mind, when I first started learning the roles in CM I tried to jump from similar role to similar role, slowly progressing up in difficulty and responsibility. Here's an outline of the different paths you can take to learn about the roles.

The medical malpractice path.
Marine -> Doctor/Researcher -> Medic -> CMO
The intent of this path here is to get you familiarized with the medical and triage system.
As the Squad Marine, try to focus a bit more on using your first aid pouches; helping others around you; carting wounded to the medic; using splints, using HF2 analyzers; following the medic a bit and observing how they treat people, and similarly observing how doctors treat people on the Almayer.

As a doctor/researcher (researchers currently don't really act too differently to doctors), you don't have to worry about combat, only medicine, and you're well stocked and equipped to handle any wounded coming your way. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the medicine system, you can optionally choose to do surgery as well but there's usually more doctors than ORs so you won't need to unless the medbay is understaffed.

As a squad medic, god have mercy on your soul. Even Commander is less stressful than your role. You better have learned everything you could while playing doctor, because you will be making nonstop life or death decisions with no resources, while having to fend off aliens and bald fucks jostling for your attention for a papercut alike.

As a CMO, you're now aware of how medics and doctors work together to complete the circle of life. Prevent medbay from becoming malpracticebay.

The FOBbit path.
Marine -> Maintenance Technician -> Squad Engineer -> Chief Engineer
As the squad marine, ask your engineer for the sandbags and entrenching tool, or take 'em from his FOB bag when he's not looking. Fill up some sandbags and go place 'em near the front lines and keep moving them around. Observe how your engineer sets up a FOB, mines, and sentry. Grab a toolbelt and welding mask and close and weld down some airlocks (and vents when you're aware aliens use them). Move various obstacles around with a wrench for portable cover. And so on. Learn what works and what doesn't in terms of defences.

As an MT, set up the reactors and do whatever bullshit your CE asks you to do, then fuck off into some dark corner of maint and experiment with building various barricades, hacking airlocks and vendors, removing a wall, etc., then put everything back the way it was. ESPECIALLY learn everything there is about APCs, and ESPECIALLY learn how to fix one being destroyed. Beg your CE to let you go down to the FOB to help maintain it. Build barricades and use your newfound knowledge when the Almayer gets boarded.

As a Squad Engineer, god have mercy on your sou actually you're gonna have a blast, this is usually a pretty laid back role even when you decide to be a bit more active on the front lines. Just make sure you learned, from being an MT, how to fix the telecomms APC, bolt and force open airlocks, hack vendors, etc., and now you'll have some time to learn how to set up a FOB and push bases. Don't mock the medics too much about their workload though, eventually the aliens are gonna start scraping and melting your barricades and sentries away and you'll be running around with your hair on fire trying to fix everything.

As a CE your job is to give your MTs bullshit tasks and try to stop them from fucking off into some dark corner of maint to experiment with things.

The big gun path.
Marine -> Squad Smartgunner -> Squad Specialist
As a marine, just get good at not shooting your team-mates in the back. Practice with slug shotguns to become a sniper. If you start to feel bad about how every time you miss even slightly, you completely fuck over a marine by caving his chest in, you now know what to avoid as a sniper spec, who causes much more damage with stronger rounds, as well as finds it harder to spot marines in his way due to being zoomed in. Practice using the underbarrel grenade launcher of an M41A to become a B18 spec.

As a smartgunner, you get a brief respite from FFing others and need to learn two things: how to manage a limited supply of special ammo, and how to help your team by resisting the urge to use your super weapons to run off and die early on.

As a specialist, try not to hit marines and to not waste ammo. Especially as a sniper/scout spec.

The guy no one listens to path.
Marine + Spec + Medic + Engi -> Squad Leader
As a marine/spec/medic/engi, learn the limitations of the squad system, and its advantages. Get a feel for how you can work together with others to achieve something greater. Shadow your SL and see what he's trying to do. Become acting SL when your SL calls an airstrike on himself.

As an SL, follow orders, use your tools, make sure everyone's supplied and working together, and remember: it's not about the kills you get, it's about the friends you make along the way... as your squad deserts you and leaves you alone to be facehugged and nested in the hive, and your LT sheepishly makes someone else SL while you scream your lungs out trying to get someone to come save you.

The Top Gun path.
Squad Leader + Maintenance Technician -> Pilot Officer
As a Squad Leader, learn when and where to lase, and what type of ordinance works and what doesn't. Don't be afraid to bully the PO around and experiment, in the current state of the game CAS is pretty underused and ineffective. Also, you have cockpit access, which is perfect for baiting the pilots out of the dropship by claiming there's a runner slashing one of their side turrets, then slamming the shutters closed as soon as they both leave and sending the dropship up to strand them.

As an MT, offer to help the POs out by using the powerloader to attach their weapons systems and load their weapons for them. Blow all their dropship fab points on spotlights while they're not looking.

As a PO, just do PO things. Transport, CAS. If you've played SL, you should now be aware of why your CAS has barely any impact.

The doomsday prepper path.
Cargo Technician -> Requisitions Officer
As a CT, bully your RO.

As an RO, bully your CTs.

The guy even less people listen to path.
Squad Leader + Requisitions Officer -> Staff Officer -> Executive Officer -> Commander (whitelisted)
As an SL, learn what the squad needs and how it can be used most effectively.

As an RO, learn where supplies really go and what they're needed for.

As an SO, yell at the SLs and RO for not doing their jobs. Keep the higher picture in mind and try to cooperate with the other CIC staff to complete the mission. If you're one of few LTs, practice juggling several squads - this is useful as an XO.

As an XO, juggle the squads and yell at LTs. Try to work very closely together with the CO. Take over as the acting CO when he's gone.

The too much time on their hands path.
Cargo Tech + Doctor + Maintenance Tech + Staff Officer -> Corporate Liaison
As CT/Doctor/MT/SO/etc shipside roles, you will often have bouts of free time. Make your opinions known. Eavesdrop and gossip. Escalate conflicts. Pay attention to things others are doing. Piece the mystery together. Rush to the CIC with the incriminating paper in hand. Get shot in the back and killed with a silenced pistol moments before you can make it inside.

As the CL, blow the smoke away from your silenced pistol. Call in that favor from the MT and get him to clean up the evidence. Set the paper on fire with your engraved lighter. Slick your grey hair back and walk into the CIC, setting forward innocuous-looking demands that the Commander must implement, or there'll be consequences...

Don't actually self antag as these roles if you don't have staff permission.

The hitler path.
Staff Officer -> MP -> Chief MP
As a staff officer, report marines for being insubordinate.

As an MP, arrest the insubordinate marines.

As a Chief MP, release the insubordinate marines on technicalities because you're pissed at the CO for whatever reason.

The don't play queen your first round as alien path.
Drone + Praetorian -> Queen
As a drone, help set up the queen's hive and get those alien errands done. Become the queen after the original one dies if no one else seems more competent than you.

As a praetorian, while you can't shape resin the way drones can, you're otherwise extremely similar to the queen in composition and abilities. Learn to survive against the arsenal of marine weapons.

As the queen, balance tending to your hive, shitposting in the hivemind, and RPing more than the average marine does with your psychic whisper.

[MeetraSurik]

-snip-

wow if I could give posts here likes, i would shower you with it. I really like the way you put it with some fairly helpfull tipps on what to do in that role. I'll take it to heart thank you!

[ThorneGarvin]

These are all awesome suggestions and I'll be sure to incorporate them. When I get home from work I'm thinking of playing Smartgunner/Spec/SO. Thanks so much.

[Carnolus]

Smartgunner is definitely a good choice if you’re looking to mix it up. It’s a smooth transition from standard

[Bigfoun]

Ah, I'm kind of in the same boat as you but, I'm content with being PFC 90% of the time. Tbh, staff officer actually isn't that hard and it offers good rp a lot of times. Just gotta read up on it and what not.

[Heckenshutze]

The perfect circle is starting as PFC, becoming a veteran in all roles and end playing only PFC again, or soft-paced roles, like most of the staff do. When you reach that end, you're done man, apply for staff and see the 'other side' of the game

[Thanteus]

The perfect circle is starting as PFC, becoming a veteran in all roles and end playing only PFC again, or soft-paced roles, like most of the staff do. When you reach that end, you're done man, apply for staff and see the 'other side' of the game

Or you can take the Dark-side evil path like I did, where you get sick of marines and become the very thing you sought to destroy:... the xeno menace!

[Heckenshutze]

Or you can take the Dark-side evil path like I did, where you get sick of marines and become the very thing you sought to destroy:... the xeno menace!

It was said you would heal Charlie not destroy it!

[MeetraSurik]

I tried Xenos already and boy oh boy do i suck being an xenos