There is a lot to be said on how to GIT GUD at Colonial Marines, so I am going to give my version of what works and doesn't work. This guide is divided into several sections, basically walking you through what I consider the tenants of battle.
- 1. Gearing Up
2. Squad Tactics
3. Assaulting the Hive
4. Knowing When to Retreat
5. Defensive Combat
6. Defending the Sulaco
8. Predators and Prey
9. Fighting Alone
GEARING UP
Whether you are a leader, a specialist, an engineer, a medic, or just a marine, there are a few things to keep in mind. One, there are specific guides written about these roles so I will not bother going over them in great detail. Instead, I will hit the highlights.
Know your role. If you are playing a specialist, pick a weapon and stick to it. If you are an engineer, keep in mind that another engie may want the mine box or plasteel. If you just want to build barricades, take all the necessary supplies for that. Try not to mix and match too much; being good at one thing is often more helpful than being marginally decent at a few things. Nobody cares for a combat medic who only carries enough medicine to treat himself, for instance.
Your backpack is an important tool. While it may be cool to carry your weapon on your back instead of the suit storage, it isn't entirely practical. Your backpack can hold a a lot of useful material, including flares, secondaries, building material, and anything else you can fit inside.
Light is everything to a marine. I will go into more detail later, but for now keep in mind that you should have at least two flares on your person. If you find an abandoned flashlight on the ground, pick it up and stash it in your pack. It's a flare that never goes out, and you will probably find it helpful later. I generally bring at least four light sources on any sortie--don't rely on the shoulder lamp, it will get you killed.
Ammunition is important, and you can run out, especially when assaulting hives. Your primary weapon will depend on your playstyle, attachments included, but I think the standard 10mm is perfectly acceptable in any and all circumstances. Go ahead and stash all the magazines for your primary you can fit in to your belt, as there is no reason not to. If you bring a secondary, it's actually more convenient to just carry another one in your pack instead of reloading.
If you can, attach a bayonet so you do not need to smack weeds with your knife. Purple sacs take several hits from the butt of your rifle to clear, and a bayonet greatly speeds up the process. You can conserve ammunition by destroying alien structures with the bayonet rather than the knife. In case you are attacked by a hostile while clearing out a resin door or some such, you can quickly fire off warning shots and radio for backup, or just blast the door to pieces and escape. A bayonet is also a potent melee weapon, and will serve you well if you are captured. It is a very versatile, tactical attachment, and I highly recommend it. You can make your own bayonet by combining some wires with a combat knife.
Tricord injectors are another thing I find very helpful for a standard marine. Other roles don't have the space for them, if fully loaded, but a standard can greatly benefit from a quick injection of tricord while moderately wounded. It may even prolong your life enough to get out of dodge and into safety, or continue fighting until proper medical attention is found. You can get tricord injectors from the white NanoMed machines scattered around the Sulaco. They are also present in the drop pod.
Tip: You have two empty slots in your armor.
SQUAD TACTICS
Squads operate on a simple principle: watch your buddies and they will watch you. Whether you are a leader or just a standard, you should always have an eye on friendlies. If you lose sight of them at any point, FIND THEM. And do it quickly. If someone is lagging behind, WAIT for them, or go see why they are delayed. A squad operates as a single unit, and that is what gives it strength. Lack of cohesion, disorder, and panic are death.
A good squad sets up the buddy system. Everyone in the squad has someone who is their BB--battle buddy--to essentially form the squad into pairs. When the combat gets thick, you stick with your BB. If your BB is dead or wounded, that's your fault. But don't feel bad, good teamwork usually means the other party isn't mad at you as you did everything you could to keep them alive.
A good squad has a pointman. This is the person responsible for moving ahead and reporting on enemy movement. Specialists with sniper rifles excel at this role, as do marines who throw flares before moving. If the pointman begins shooting, that usually means there is an enemy ahead. That does not mean begin wildly chasing the enemy. It is up to the pointman whether or not to pursue. If they start moving, the squad moves behind them. If they start running back, the squad moves back with them.
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Assaulting a hive is tricky business. Unlike the marines, xenomorphs have renewable resources, and they heal at an accelerated rate. The only real way to combat this is overwhelming firepower. One thing should not be overlooked: a supply line.
If the hive is a fair distance from the FOB, assuming one exists, one should have a forward base (or firebase) where the troops can resupply and get back into the fight. It does not need to be 100% secure, but it should have at least two people watching it at any point and reporting on any hostile sightings. If shit hits the fan, as the next section will explain, this is where the marines will need to retreat to. All supplies necessary for combat, such as ammo, helmets, meds, should be taken to the forward base.
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The queen is a very slow unit, but it can soak up a very, very large amount of damage and dish out the hurt if needs to. It is also immune to fire. Its main weapon is the screech, a 5 tile AOE stun that will absolutely annihilate marine ranks if the queen gets into position. One common queen tactic is to hide behind a resin door until a marine squad walks by, come out, screech, and have the other xenomorphs converge to infect all the poor humans. It is very important to destroy all resin doors in your immediate vicinity. The queen is fairly helpless without the screech, so it stands to reason that you want to run back as it is trying to get into position. Once the screech is wasted, it is time to counter attack or cover fire over those marines effected by the screech. If the aliens cannot get to the downed marines, you have effectively forced the queen to waste it. Advance. If you have a SADAR present in the assault team, have them fire as soon as the queen pops up, and the others should finish the job.
Tip: The alien queen is especially weak against melee attacks because it is slow. Once it screeches, and you have no other weapons, use a knife to lay in to it. You may just kill it.
Carriers are the bane of marines everywhere because they can throw huggers 4 tiles in any direction but they are especially good when defending the hive. A flanking carrier can force marines to retreat by infecting soldiers at a distance, while they are vulnerable. Pulling off a hugger from a marine twice breaks their face so that they can no longer fight effectively. If the hugger is left on, that usually means certain death. More often than not, however, a carrier will infect marines so that other aliens may converge and drag them into the hive, and because it carries up to 8 of those suckers, that equals out to around 3-4 marines infected per carrier re-supply. Carriers can effectively keep a squad at bay by area of denial, with the hugger throws, while other xenomorphs do their own thing. Try to lure the carrier into overextending, then focus combined firepower to knock it down.
tip: You can stop a thrown hugger with a hail of bullets. It is preferable to stay still and fire so that if a hugger lands next to you, you can smash it instead of it leaping for your face as you run for cover.
Crushers are described in DEFENSIVE COMBAT. They have a short-duration AOE stun, similar to the queen, and will often charge in, stun, hug a marine, then pull them back into the hive. The only counter to this is good visibility and a lot of firepower. Or an armor piercing SADAR to the face. Crushers take lesser damage from SADARs, so even that tactic may not be enough--not to mention it will not stun them. Be careful as crushers can and will snag marines with the SADAR.
Tip: Sniper rifles work well against crushers because they fire armor-piercing bullets and have a damage over time effect as an added bonus. A single bullet is enough to take a good portion of the crusher's health away.
If you lose your helmet to a hugger, BACK UP and let others take the front. The same goes for when you are injured. If you do not have a helm, try to reinforce the front line by helping people up.
Be wary of one tile entrances. Xenomorphs like to form small corridors for a number of reasons, but the most important one is that only a single soldier can typically fire through such a small enclosure. Marines work best with 2-3 tiles worth of space to shoot through. If the enemy is baiting you to use that one tile entrance, blow it to hell, then walk through the ashes. Or go around instead.
If you can make an alternative means of entrance, such as through tunneling to the caves, do so! An attack from an unexpected direction usually mean certain loss for the other force. Never underestimate the value of surprise. But do remember that aliens can see you when you can't see them.
One last word of advice. Individual marine lives do not matter--if you have to sacrifice yourself for the greater good, do so. One marine charging into alien ranks, momentarily disorienting them only to die moments later, can motivate everyone else to finish the fight. Don't suicide rush. Pick your moment to be a hero, otherwise fall in line and continue as described above.
KNOWING WHEN TO RETREAT
This is very difficult because not any one person can really have a full grasp of any battle. One useful indicator of the flow of the battle is the xenomorph death scream. If there is little screaming and death rattling, and the battle has been dragging on for a while, it likely means the marines are losing, have taken losses, and will need to retreat. Another good indicator is if the hostiles suddenly flank your squad--this is a very, very bad sign. Retreat immediately.
There is a difference between a full scale retreat to a tactical retreat. A tactical retreat is called when you just don't have the strength to finish off the enemy, but you have not taken many losses. The idea behind a tactical retreat is to regroup at a firebase and come back with greater numbers. Squad Leaders often make the mistake of charging in waves, sending their men to die in small groups. It is always best to go in a large group. So if you feel that the enemy is still too strong for you, regroup, re-arm, then return. The less men you lose to the enemy, the less reinforcements the enemy will have, and the more firepower YOU will have. Remember that.
A full retreat may be necessary when the enemy force is so overwhelming that casualties are popping left and right. If the enemy is overruning the FOB, has you surrounded in far greater number, completely destroyed the command structure, and so on, it is time to turn tail and run. If you have a forward base, return there first. You may still be able to regroup and fight defensively. If there is no forward base, and just the FOB, return there instead and request orders from command.
If you have to evac back to the Sulaco, prioritize slowing down the hostile advance over actively fighting. Build last-minute barricades, throw down cover fire, and basically suppress the enemy advance as much as possible. The idea is to have enough time to evacuate everyone still living; get the wounded on the shuttle first, followed by the injured, and then the healthy, fighting men. You are trying to prevent further losses, not actively destroy the enemy. If you can drag dead bodies on the shuttle, do it.
Don't forget the shutter button. Hit that, and the xenomorphs will have a slightly harder time forcing their way inside. And by the way, don't lock people outside with the shutters. It does not matter if there are advancing aliens. Xenomorphs cannot stop the shuttle departing, so long as someone is able to launch it, and will more than likely not come with you on a space adventure.
DEFENSIVE COMBAT
Xenomorphs are far more likely to succeed an assault than the marine side is likely to successfully repel the attack. This has a lot to do with the dynamics of the game--xenomorphs do not suffer any long-term consequences, and only the loss of the queen will really set them back. But there are a few important bits to remember.
HOLDING the line is the number one means of successfully repelling attacks. It is an understandable urge for marines to run when they see a carrier/ravager/crusher/queen coming, but you must fight the urge. Do not flee. Move back a little, find a good position, and fire. Do not stop. Reload and fire. Force the xenomorphs back. Only retreat if you do not have any marines nearby, and even then, judge the situation according to the threat present. If you can still effectively fight, HOLD. Abandoning defensive lines too early is often what causes heavy losses for the marine side. One experienced marine can hold off attacks if the enemy believes they have backup.
Watch your ammo. While it may appeal to some to fire wildly in to the darkness, it is a huge waste of a valuable resource: ammunition. Throw down some flares directly in front of you to keep visibility, and shoot to ward off attacks. Once you run out of ammo, it's over. If you are running low, find some more ammunition if possible--unless you are the only person holding the line, in which case only retreat if you have absolutely nothing left--and bring some back for the others.
Without an active queen the aliens cannot get eggs or replenish their numbers. This is a huge disadvantage because hugger stuns are a major part of a xenomorph arsenal. However, it should be noted that if the hive is sufficiently evolved and has a decent number of tier 3s, whether or not they have eggs is irrelevant. Ravagers and crushers are possibly the most dangerous foes when it comes to a defensive fight on the marine side, closely followed by boilers.
Ravagers excel at dealing damage, and that's all they are good for. They can hit and run, and they are immune to fire. Typically, a ravager will run in, charge a marine, then hide to heal. Keep your distance at first and then chase it down after a failed charge. Ravagers are more formidable than crushers if cornered and alone, and generally will wreck you if you are not careful. Fighting a lone ravager is a gamble, so try to have some backup if possible. A competent ravager can and will behead you with one tail swipe even if you are wearing a helmet, so stay at a distance when engaging this hostile.
Tip: If a ravager hits an obstacle with a charge, it will be stunned and prime for killing. An injured ravager will more likely panic than fight a marine in CQC. So if you have no other reliable means of chasing it down and killing it, get into CQC if you see this opportunity.
Crushers can soak an enormous amount of damage from the front, but they are vulnerable at the sides. They can also break defenses and barricades, and they are immune to most explosions, and they can stun marines with their stomp which leads to other xenos joining the fight. You can view the stomp radius in the picture below: it is a 2 tile range around the crusher forming a 5x5 box. These foes are highly, highly dangerous, and should be a top priority on the kill list. Unfortunately, unless the charger is careless, do not expect an easy kill. Chargers lose momentum after hitting an obstacle, so try to flank it from different sides as it retreats or slows down. Two marines shooting from different angles can effectively kill a crusher in one or two magazines. You can also block it off from escape by standing in front of it as it will be unable to push you away. Fighting a solo crusher is easier than a ravager, but if you are alone, and the crusher is competent, you will lose unless it was already wounded. Never, ever underestimate crushers. They are incredibly robust.
Tip: While not recommended, crushers cannot block melee damage like they can bullets. Using a knife may be more effective than a rifle, but only when you have no other choice, and keep in mind crushers can soak a lot of damage.
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As with the xenomorphs, marines can only fight defensively so long as there is ground to retreat to. Marines are also far worse than xenomorphs when it comes to lasting out the defense. The aliens will not rest nor will they give up so long as they have numbers. Your only hope is to kill enough of them to significantly weaken their offensive. Be ready to fight tooth and nail, and if your force is being pushed back, your only hope at victory is a counter offensive.
Not all is lost! Aliens excel in fighting from the darkness, and retreating when they are injured. I call this tactic baiting, and it is generally focused on removing marine barricades for a later assault. Ravagers and carriers are often found baiting, for different reasons. A ravager will attempt to bait a marine to leave their post and chase after it--or just waste ammunition firing in its direction--suddenly changing direction and then charging the pursuing marine, while a carrier will bait marines to approach closer so that it can close the distance and throw a hugger. Carriers will also close the distance to spread weeds. Fight baiting by coming out in force and chasing down the aggressors, especially if you coordinate with another group to flank the aggressors. These xenomorphs are typically acting alone or in small groups, and will not overcome a focused attack. That is all there is to it.
If the aliens are actively pushing on your defensive line, often made obvious by the presence of the queen, this is where things really take a turn. If you can lure the xenomorphs into an open area, as they are advancing their assault, already injured or careless, then immediately flank them, you can catch them completely by surprise. It may not totally destroy their offensive, but it WILL buy you time and force the aliens to rethink their approach. If the counter attack does not kill a significant number of the enemy, or force them into a retreat, it has failed, and you should take this time to hold and reinforce your defenses. Do not go running off hoping to kill every last alien! Chances are there are more of them than there are of you. If you have the numbers, however, PUSH PUSH PUSH!
This counter attack should be very quick, with enough sources of light present, and with at least 4-5 marines charging to provide a decent amount of firepower. Pick off the weaker aliens first, but try to take out the heavy hitters while you're at it.
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DEFENDING THE SULACO
Fighting on the Sulaco deserves a special mention, but I will not go into detail on what defenses to build where. This will serve as a practical go-to on how to defend the ship. First off, if the marines retreated to the Sulaco, make sure the POD and the the SHUTTLE are both in the hanger, not groundside.
The hanger is your first and last line of defense. If it falls, the aliens will succeed in over running the ship in 9 cases out of 10 (not a real statistic). So to make sure that doesn't happen, reinforce the hell out of the hanger when the time comes.
If you are low on marines, BLOCK OFF exits to the shuttle rather than placing barricades. And remember to have an entrance into the bird for when you need to finish off the remainder of the hostile force. A false wall is the way to go. Grenades are especially wonderful for defending the hanger because you can toss them to stun the aliens, then finish off the dying with combined firepower.
Tip: Sending the shuttle back with the aliens still on it is a good way to buy some time to fully reinforce the hanger.
Another effective strategy of defending the hanger is for when you just don't have the numbers to hold it. The ladder defense is then necessary. Basic idea is that once the queen calls for the shuttle, the marines quickly weld everything on the bottom deck down and begin constructing electric grilles to cover all four entry points on to the second deck, roughly in this order: cargo, main ladders, engineering, medical. Then it's just a matter of time of sitting around and shooting anything that pops up. Effective, but also ladder camping.
Tip: Emitters may be used to cover three ladders on the second deck, with only the main ladders requiring any sort of oversight.
If the xenomorphs take the bottom deck, Command should immediately call for an escape shuttle. There is no excuse not to do it, and it may save the marines who remain. Or some of them, at least. If Command does nothing...refer to the next section. If there is an escape shuttle coming, continue on, as the only thing standing between you and a horde of angry aliens is the men fighting side by side with you.
The Sulaco lockdown is a tempting thing for Command to use. It is, however, the best way to kill any and all marines who may still be fighting the aliens. There are only two reasons to use the lockdown, ever: 1) To trap the hostiles in a specific area of the ship. 2) To slow the hostiles down right before the escape shuttle departs. Hitting the lockdown for any other reason will just result in everyone dying because marines will not be able to retreat, resupply, or reinforce other marines. A marine cut off from his fellows is usually a dead marine.
The bridge is an awful location to defend from for a number of reasons. One reason is that it cuts one off from everything, including supplies and ground to retreat to. It is cramped, hard to move in, and it difficult to defend. The bridge is a good place for a last stand, because you should be expecting to die if you have to take shelter there. A lot of time commanding officers will announce it as a safe area, but this is a trap. Your chances of survival there are zero, so focus your energies somewhere else. Even if there is no escape shuttle coming, the cafeteria/briefing area is a far better battleground. Now for some useful defensible locations.
Tip: The only reason to ever hold the bridge is if Command has the authorization code for the nuke, and the nuke itself is hopefully on the bridge. If that is the case, defend with everything you have until the device is armed, primed, and ready to explode.
Medical is a decent location, and may be used as a temporary shelter provided doctors are around. Medical attention for wounded marines is important, and going back into the fight can be very helpful. Use the windows and grills of medical as makeshift barricades--weld anything you can. In case the aliens overrun medical, but not other parts of the ship, hitting the medical lockdown will slow them down enough to erect some barricades around the place. Again, remember, the more ground you lose, the less ground you have to retreat to. Don't abandon the entire western part of the second deck when only a handful of aliens made medical their home. Hold what you can as long as you can, especially medical. Take it back if you have the man power.
Briefing. This is the best location to hold on the second deck. It is spacious, highly defensible, and has a clear path to the cafeteria for when marines need to retreat. Briefing is your MAIN line of defense, and you should fall back here to hold off the xenomorph forces for as long as possible. Once briefing is gone, the rest of the ship will soon follow. There are several ways into briefing from the other areas, especially the sleeping quarters, and the best way to ward off against that is to set up defensive positions around the maintenance shafts--or in the shafts themselves, if you have a spare turret/plasteel.
Cafeteria. The fall back location, right next to the armory. This place is great as a supply point, storing supplies and ammo for the troops in briefing. Aliens will attempt to flank from cargo/engineering hallway, so it is always a good idea to have 3-4 people watching that side of the ship. If cargo/engineering ladders are safe, you are in excellent shape. Keep the front line, briefing, holding, and everyone will make it on to the pods without much of a problem. The reinforced tables in the cafe can be salvaged into barricades--otherwise they will just get in the way of the people fighting.
Sleeping quarters. This place is a death trap waiting to happen. Do NOT let the hostiles get in here unchecked as they will flank your forces and begin chipping away at your defenses in briefing and cafeteria. There is a single maintenance tunnel leading in to the sleeping quarters, and it should be guarded by 2-3 marines dug in with barricades. The aliens will have a hard time moving through the maintenance shaft given how it is only one tile, so light them on fire if they try.
Tip: Literally light them on fire if you have an incinerator. Watch them panic.
Armory. This is a bad place to fight the aliens. Limited visibility, limited space to move around, probably a lack of supplies to build barricades, and the list goes on. The worst of all, however, is that you will be cut off from the escape wing, and thus as good as dead.
Escape wing. The last stand. While it has a number of alternative ways to get inside, you can hold this area for three minutes. Weld doors, build girders, and do anything and everything possible to slow down the hostiles and buy your fellows time to safely leave the Sulaco.
Based on the information presented in this section, here is an overall plan for defending the Sulaco before evacuation:
- 1. Hold the bottom deck.
2. Retreat to briefing and secure the main ladders.
3. Secure cargo and engineering.
4. Secure medical.
5. Fall back to briefing.
6. Secure the sleeping quarters.
7. Fall back to the cafeteria.
8. Fall back to the escape wing.
9. Escape on the pods.
PREDATORS AND PREY
I think this section is necessary for the sake of completeness, but I will keep it brief so as not to spoil much of the tension of actually facing down a predator. Click to reveal the information if you are truly interested.
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So that's it. Your BB is dead. Your SL is dead. Aliens overran the Sulaco, and your favorite dog is still dead. Poor Mr. Muggles. It's time to suck it up and take as many carapaced fuckers with you. When fighting alone, don't expect anyone to watch your back. You will likely die, but HOW you die is for you to determine. The xenomorphs will expect you to be weak, they expect you to panic. If you have a plan, however, you can turn that assumption around.
Pick your battlefield. Marines are at a disadvantage on weeds. Get on grass, the shuttle landing, or anywhere else big and roomy. If it has lights, even better. Whatever the case is, have enough room to move and weave. Don't corner yourself into a tight space if you can avoid it--have some means of running away if at all possible, and potentially enough space to avoid attacks. If there is a significant hostile threat, and you are still alone after presumably killing your assailants, MOVE MOVE MOVE! The xenomorphs will be hunting for you, so find somewhere else to stay. The good thing is that you can usually choose the next battlefield before the hostiles find you, and you will likely face weak runners or slightly stronger hunters chasing after you. Run and gun, as they say in Call of Duty.
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Tip: Shoot BEHIND the foe if they are adjacent to you unless you have a bayonet or something like that. Point blank shots are not reliable, a hail of gunfire is. Toggle burst mode and laugh maniacally.
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Scavenge. Chances are you will be low on ammo when you are alone. And even if you aren't, you can find useful attachments on your fellow marines. They won't be needing them, so take anything and everything useful. Remember how I mentioned you should be carrying a backpack? This is where it really becomes a handy dandy tool. Mines are especially good if you can find some outside of the Sulaco. Set those suckers on your battlefield of choice, and exploit them for easy kills. The aliens will not be expecting them at all.
Be a ghost. This one is really self explanatory. If the xenomorphs are not aware of your existence, you do not exist. Find some place to hide out and hope there's a rescue coming. Or the shuttle leaves without anyone noticing that you were still groundside.
Go out on your own terms. If you have nothing else to live for, and you know about the chestbursters, put on harm intent, aim for the head and pull the trigger as many times as you can. Aiming at the mouth will automatically kill you, but it takes a few moments of standing completely still. It is far more convenient to just put a few shots through the cranium during a battle situation and then succumb. If you don't have a helmet, you will often blow your own head clean off. If you're already dying, just keep squeezing that trigger at anything that looks at you funny. Even if the alien bastard doesn't kill you, the bleeding will. So make the most of the time you have left. RP out your final moments, and make it interesting.
