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{{JobPageHeader
{{XenoPageHeader
|headerbgcolor = black
|headerbgcolor = black
|headerfontcolor = white
|headerfontcolor = white
|stafftype = Support
|tiertype = ALIEN- TIER 2
|imagebgcolor = #DDAADD
|imagebgcolor =  
|img = Alien-Hivelord.png
|img = Alien-Hivelord.png
|jobtitle = Hiverlord
|castetitle = Hivelord
|difficulty = Medium
|evolves_from = [[Drone]]
|superior = Queen
|evolves_to = N/A
|duties = Create the ultimate hive
|role = Shape the Hive to your will with a massive plasma reserve. Become one with weeds and sprint around weeded terrain like a Runner. Use pheromones to assist fellow Aliens.
|guides = [http://www.colonial-marines.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=4560 Hivelord Guide]
|guides = [http://cm-ss13.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=4560 Hivelord Guide], [http://cm-ss13.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=7675 My Badass Hive Guide], [[Hives|Guide to Hive Building]], [[Pheromones|Guide to Pheromones]]
}}
}}


====Playing a Hivelord====
----
The role of a Hivelord is nearly identical to that of a [[Drone]]. However, the Hivelord benefits from an increased Plasma cap, greatly increased Plasma regeneration, and a new unique ability, <code>Dig-Tunnel</code>. Unfortunately, these benefits are offset by an increase in size and a lumbering decrease in movement speed.
<br><br>
The Hivelord caste is a useless waste of space if they're not played properly.  If played well, they give the Xeno team an incredible advantage in offense and defense. Understand that you are a force multiplier. You make the existing Xenos say, twice as strong. The problem is, 2 times 0 is still 0. If the Xenos you're supporting are incompetent, you won't be able to help the Hive as much as playing a more combat oriented caste.
<br><br>
A Hive does not need more than one Hivelord who knows what they are doing. Every other Drone is more effective evolved into a [[Carrier]], a caste that is absolutely fantastic at all stages of the game. Good Carriers give marines nightmares, but even bad Carriers will destroy a few helmets and soften up a squad of marines. The Hive might only need two Hivelords if it has 30 Xenos who don't know how to transfer plasma effectively. Once a tunnel network is up, the first Hivelord's utility goes down significantly. The Hivelord is better in defense than attack. Two Hivelords should really only happen if the first doesn't know what to do.
<br><br>
The Hivelord's goals are:


# Build effective tunnels
== General Information ==
# Build an effective Hive
# Build supporting defenses in combat and use pheremones correctly
<br><br>


=====Building Tunnels=====
----
The primary purpose of a Hivelord is building a good tunnel network. This is almost certainly the most important ability of the Hivelord and can drastically change the course of a round. Any [[Drone]] can build the Hive. Drones also have acid to melt walls and weapons. A Hivelord who doesn't tunnel is just a slow, fat Drone with no acid.
<br><br>
Xenos never need anything resembling a "forward base" if they have good tunnels. Anything outside the caves can be hit with an orbital barrage, which is a good way to lose a lot of eggs, hosts, and your [[Queen]] in a single attack. Tunnels allow the Aliens to completely control movement on the planet and removes the need for the Queen and others to risk themselves establishing a forward base. Marines can't use the tunnels and all Aliens can move through tunnels straight back to the Hive. Instead, build deep in the caves and use tunnels for mobility. This gives you the best of both worlds. You have a lot of space to build the Hive out to frustrate any attacks and your most critical areas are immune to orbital barrage.
<br><br>
To dig a tunnel, choose a spot and use the <code>Dig-Tunnel</code> ability. This takes a bit of time, so be safe. Consider taking an escort with you. Even a tier 1 [[Runner]] is enough to distract Marines so you can escape. The first hole is useless without a second hole. Go to a spot where you want the other end of this tunnel and use <code>Dig-Tunnel</code> again. These two holes are automatically considered connected and can be used right away. A Hivelord can and should pre-build an entrance before they leave the Hive to place an exit, so they can use the newly built tunnel to travel back. Also, smaller Xenos go through tunnels much faster than bigger Xenos.
<br><br>
Tunnels must be dug on natural terrain, not inside domes or other buildings. The best place to put tunnel entrances is deep in the Hive and next to other tunnels. Consider creating a room in the Hive dedicated to most or all of your tunnel entrances and an arrangement that makes sense. Perhaps a 3x3 to 5x5 area, where the location of the tunnel entrance indicates where it exits. (As examples, a tunnel entrance in the top right of the tunnel room might exit in the far northeast corner of the map. A tunnel entrance in the bottom right of the tunnel room might exit close to LZ1.)
<br><br>
The best tunnel exits vary. Place exits in areas with minimal marine foot traffic and at least a full screen away from any fighting. Along the edge of the map tends to be good because there are plenty of areas to break line of sight. Coordinate with offensive castes to see where the fighting is, and drop a tunnel nearby. '''Under no circumstances should a tunnel exit be out in the open!''' This will just lead to xenos being killed.
<br><br>
When you build a tunnel, announce it in the Hivemind and specify the entrance and exit very clearly.
<br><br>
=====Hive Building=====
----
To understand what a good Hive looks like, let us first discuss the properties of a bad hive:


# Stacked doors - These provide minimal cover from bullets and slow down any Xeno passing through. Any Xeno under fire will almost certainly die if they need to pass through 2 or 3 doors. Don't do this.
The Hivelord, as its name implies, is the workhorse of the Hive. Where [[Drone]]s would be the humble workers, the Hivelord is capable of moving mountains, more or less literally. Enjoying an increased plasma reserve and a greatly increased plasma regeneration, it can build far more, far more often, far more efficiently, capable of easily creating a whole new Hive chamber where a Drone might have to take multiple breaks to recharge its plasma. The Hivelord's resin walls are also a lot stronger than the resin walls of her sisters, making him a high priority caste for building large nests and defensive works.
# Large open spaces - Marines are faster on foot than Xenos and have the advantage of powerful ranged attacks. Any large open spaces play heavily to their strengths and your weaknesses. Consider making no room larger than a queen's screech. If there are wide open spaces, break them up with a wall. Even a 2-3 tile wall will provide some cover and break line of sight in an emergency. Come back and fill it in later.
# Eggs/hosts close to the cave exit (or worse, outside the caves) - Put these as deep as possible. It's harder on Xenos to drag infected hosts deep into the Hive, but resist the temptation to build nests outside of a deep, well-protected Hive.
<br><br>
There can be multiple general strategies when it comes to hive building, each with their pros and cons. Generally speaking, the more walls and distance that marines need to cover, the more time you have to coordinate a defense/counterattack:


* Build a maze like Hive that will have marines getting lost and struggling to find areas of value.
 
PRO: Effective in misleading marines, sometimes all the way past the Hive; May be very efficient with plasma use
The Hivelord, however, trades this ability to shape the Hive with probably one of the weakest combat abilities in the entire Hive. It has a small health pool, a very weak attack, and a sluggish speed when caught off weeds. This all compounds into making the Hivelord a big, obvious target, meaning that any badly planned adventure out of the Hive, much less near Marine positions, will end very poorly.
CON: If robust marines are confused, Xeno players may also be confused and may struggle to drag hosts to nests
 
* Have a series of small rooms filled with sticky resin
 
PRO: Easy to navigate for Xenos; Marines hate fighting through sticky resin
Luckily, the Hivelord is not just a better Drone, and enjoys new, powerful abilities. Like the Drone, it has access to its trusty [[Pheromones]] but slightly more powerful than them. For its own uses, he also has access to the '''Resin Walker''' ability, allowing it to become one with the weeds and get a speed boost that would almost rival a [[Lurker]] as long as it walks the weeds.
CON: Very expensive use of plasma, time consuming to set up
 
<br><br>
== Playing as a Hivelord ==
=====Pheromones=====
 
----
 
Pheromones also affect the emitter! What does each pheromone do?
As a Hivelord, the vast majority of your time will be spent away from the frontlines, building up the Hives that your sisters will soon use as defensive positions. It is highly recommended to not step up into direct combat with tallhosts, even if assisted by stronger sisters, as you will probably take a major thrashing without much use and might even get killed on the spot. The Hivelord can however afford to stay in combat on terrain it controls, fully weeded and built up with resin to allow it to easily get out of dangerous encounters and use its '''Resin Walker''' ability to rapidly change positions.
* Recovery: Increases heath regeneration, plasma regeneration on weeds, reduces stun times of affected Xenos
 
* Guard: Reduces damage taken
 
* Frenzy: Improves movement speed, damage, and tackle chance.
'''Resin Walker''' should always be enabled when possible. While it will draw into your plasma regeneration, it is already massive enough to not be an issue. In exchange, you will gain a massive speed boost, allowing you to get around quickly as long as you stick to weeds. Of course, if the path you need to take does not have said weeds, you might want to expand your garden a little bit.
 
== Abilities ==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! style="background-color:#423042;" width=150|<span style="color:white;">Abilities:</span>
! style="background-color:#423042;" |<span style="color:white;">Description:</span>
|-
![[File:Xeno_Rest.png]]<br>Rest
|Used to rest and get up. Aliens heal faster when resting on weeds.
|-
![[File:Regurgitate.png]]<br>Regurgitate
|{{Devour}}
|-
![[File:Plant purple sac.png]]<br>Plant Resin Node
|Can't be planted if there is already a node on the tile.
 
 
Costs 75 plasma.
|-
![[File:Build select.png]]<br>Choose Resin Structure
|Click to choose what resin structure to make. .This opens up a menu of all buildable resin structures for you to choose from. The default structure is a Resin Wall.
 
 
{{Hivelord Buildable Structures}}
 
|-
![[File:Secrete Resin.png]]<br>Secrete Resin
|Secrete the chosen Resin Structure. Hivelord Resin Structures are significantly more durable than [[Drone]] or [[Queen]] structures. As a Hivelord, you secrete resin faster than the [[Drone]] you evolved from. You can also secrete resin into adjacent tiles by hovering your mouse over them while activating this ability and upgrade normal Resin Structure the same way. However, due to these advantages Hivelord Structure costs 33% more plasma to secrete.
 
 
Costs 100 plasma.
|-
![[File:Transfer plasma.png]]<br>Transfer Plasma
|Transfers 200 Plasma to ''any target you can see''. You have to stand still when transferring, but not for as long as when you were a [[Drone]].
|-
![[File:Corrosive acid.png]]<br>Corrosive Acid
|Vomit a glob of acid on item to dissolve it. Multiple items can be clicked at once as long as you are standing still. The cost of plasma is increased compared to the drone due to how the hivelord has stronger corrosive acid.
 
 
Costs 100 plasma.
|-
![[File:Emit pheromones.png]]<br>Emit Pheromones
|Emit one of the three [[Pheromones]]. It is advised to emit the pheromone that are not already being emitted, as pheromones don't stack except for Frenzy pheromone.
 
Costs 30 plasma to emit and then drains plasma while active.
|-
![[File:Resin_Walker.png]]<br>Resin Walker
|When activated increases the movement speed of the hivelord when on weeds.
 
 
Costs 50 plasma and then drains plasma while active.
{{Tail Stab}}
|}
 
== Attainable Strains ==
 
{| style="border: 2px solid black;
! style="background-color:#423042; text-align:center;"|'''Strain'''
|-
|style="width:125px; border: 2px solid black; border-bottom: 2px solid black; padding: 5px; text-align:center;" |
[[Strains|'''Resin Whisperer''']]
|}
 
=====Strain Abilities=====
<br>
====== Resin Whisperer ======
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! style="background-color:#423042;" width=150|<span style="color:white;">Abilities:</span>
! style="background-color:#423042;" |<span style="color:white;">Description:</span>
|-
![[File:Toggle_Long_Range_Sight.png]]<br>Toggle Long Range Sight
|Toggles long range sight in the direction you're facing.
<br>
Costs 50 plasma.
|-
![[File:Secrete_Resin.png]]<br>Coerce Resin
|Toggle the ability to remotely create the resin structure you've selected, The construction will be built faster or slower depending on the distance it is away from you.
<br>
<br>
If a Xeno is injured, use recovery. Also use recovery to keep the pressure up if there's a skirmish. If there's a big push or fighting on grass, use guard. Frenzy may be most useful during an attack, trying to contain escaped hosts, or moving around the map with high plasma.
Costs 150 plasma.
<br><br>
|}
=====Resin Walker=====
 
----
== Hivelord Tactics ==
Resin walker is an amazing ability that should be toggled on and off frequently. For long distance travel, frenzy and resin walker will make you hunter speed. A mature Hivelord can sustain frenzy and resin walker indefinitely.
 
<br><br>
 
====Hivelord Tips====
* Hivelords consume plasma quickly when building. To more effectively set up hive defenses at the beginning of the round, find a Drone to feed you plasma -- and between the two of you, you should be able to continue building nearly uninterrupted.
----
 
* A Hivelord creates structures faster than a [[Drone]] due to its higher Plasma regeneration. Use this to fortify the Hive, build nests, and cover the floors in sticky resin.
* Make sure to study your [[Hives|Hive Building theory]]. Knowing all the resin structures you can build and their uses in and out is a must, not a plus, as a Hivelord. A Hivelord that cannot build proper Hives is a waste of a Tier 2 slot and a major burden on the Hive as there will rarely be more than two, and probably just one.
 
* In combat, you should always be in the back line, fortifying and repairing damage while your sisters bring the fight to the tallhosts. In a siege, you can afford to be the frontline as you build and rebuild your main line of resin walls, but if you get shot you should fall back quickly. Despite your size, you are no tank and bullets will rapidly tear through your delicate chitin.
 
* If ever you are caught in direct combat, emit Frenzy pheromones, stick to weeds, and use your resin structures as cover. Running should always stay a solid option, a single mistake can cost you your life.


* Build [[Hives]] with narrow corridors and small rooms. The Marines are fast and have powerful ranged weapons, so force them to fight on your terms. Covering the floors of these areas with sticky resin further adds to your advantage.  
Hivelords can not '''Evolve''' any further.


* Nests are frequently built in a checkerboard fashion. Place a single door, and put four nests adjacent to it. (Above, Below, Left & Right). Then, surround those nests with doors. This allows [[Sentinel]] castes to guard all four nests when standing in that initial door.
== Hivelord Stats ==
{{XenoSkills
|meleelow=1
|meleehigh=2
|health=7
|plasmaregen=10
|plasma=10
|explosiveresist=1
|speed=2
}}
You can learn more about alien stats [[Xenomorph Stats|here]].


* When the assault begins, tag along at a distance unless you are needed to guard hosts. You are not a front line fighter. You will likely be needed to plant weeds, build defenses, secrete pheromones, and share Plasma. Try to be on the second row, building weeds and nests to support the advance. You can move up and around to build short, useful walls for cover.
[[Category:Alien Castes]]
<br><br>
====Sources and Reading====
----
[http://www.colonial-marines.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=4560 Hivelord Guide]

Latest revision as of 09:55, 9 September 2023

ALIEN- TIER 2
Alien-Hivelord.png
Hivelord
Evolves From: Drone
Evolves To: N/A
Role: Shape the Hive to your will with a massive plasma reserve. Become one with weeds and sprint around weeded terrain like a Runner. Use pheromones to assist fellow Aliens.
Guides: Hivelord Guide, My Badass Hive Guide, Guide to Hive Building, Guide to Pheromones


General Information

The Hivelord, as its name implies, is the workhorse of the Hive. Where Drones would be the humble workers, the Hivelord is capable of moving mountains, more or less literally. Enjoying an increased plasma reserve and a greatly increased plasma regeneration, it can build far more, far more often, far more efficiently, capable of easily creating a whole new Hive chamber where a Drone might have to take multiple breaks to recharge its plasma. The Hivelord's resin walls are also a lot stronger than the resin walls of her sisters, making him a high priority caste for building large nests and defensive works.


The Hivelord, however, trades this ability to shape the Hive with probably one of the weakest combat abilities in the entire Hive. It has a small health pool, a very weak attack, and a sluggish speed when caught off weeds. This all compounds into making the Hivelord a big, obvious target, meaning that any badly planned adventure out of the Hive, much less near Marine positions, will end very poorly.


Luckily, the Hivelord is not just a better Drone, and enjoys new, powerful abilities. Like the Drone, it has access to its trusty Pheromones but slightly more powerful than them. For its own uses, he also has access to the Resin Walker ability, allowing it to become one with the weeds and get a speed boost that would almost rival a Lurker as long as it walks the weeds.

Playing as a Hivelord

As a Hivelord, the vast majority of your time will be spent away from the frontlines, building up the Hives that your sisters will soon use as defensive positions. It is highly recommended to not step up into direct combat with tallhosts, even if assisted by stronger sisters, as you will probably take a major thrashing without much use and might even get killed on the spot. The Hivelord can however afford to stay in combat on terrain it controls, fully weeded and built up with resin to allow it to easily get out of dangerous encounters and use its Resin Walker ability to rapidly change positions.


Resin Walker should always be enabled when possible. While it will draw into your plasma regeneration, it is already massive enough to not be an issue. In exchange, you will gain a massive speed boost, allowing you to get around quickly as long as you stick to weeds. Of course, if the path you need to take does not have said weeds, you might want to expand your garden a little bit.

Abilities

Abilities: Description:
Xeno Rest.png
Rest
Used to rest and get up. Aliens heal faster when resting on weeds.
Regurgitate.png
Regurgitate
To devour, grab a host with Ctrl + Click or

Grab intent (3 in hotkey mode) then click yourself, standstill. To stop the host from getting up and running away, you can switch to an empty hand (X in hotkey mode) and keep tackling them using Disarm intent (2 in hotkey mode) when you are devouring them. Xenos with devoured humans inside them can not vent crawl but Xenos with devoured monkeys can. Hosts with boot knives can injure the Xenomorph they are inside if they are conscious. (Edit this template)

Plant purple sac.png
Plant Resin Node
Can't be planted if there is already a node on the tile.


Costs 75 plasma.

Build select.png
Choose Resin Structure
Click to choose what resin structure to make. .This opens up a menu of all buildable resin structures for you to choose from. The default structure is a Resin Wall.


Buildable Structures:
Structure: Description: Stats:

Thick Resinwall.png Thick Resin Wall

Weird slime solidified into a wall. The most basic hive structure available to construct. Much stronger than the drone version. Bullet resistant but won't do well against melee hits.. Health Points: 900


Melee Damage Multiplier: x 8.2

Thick Resinmembrane.png Thick Resin Membrane

Weird slime translucent enough to let light pass through. Allows non strain boilers to launch globs of acid over it. Much stronger than the drone version. Health Points: 600


Melee Damage Multiplier: x 8.2

Resin door.png Resin Door

A door specifically made to allow other friendly xenomorphs to pass through. Requires two walls on both sides to be able to build one. It's destroyed if nothing is supporting it on both sides. Stronger than the drone versions. Health Points: 900


Melee Damage Multiplier: x 8.2

Resin sticky.png Sticky Resin

A layer of disgusting sticky slime. Slows a host down that walks over it significantly. Health Points: 45

Resin fast.png Sticky Resin

A layer of disgusting sleek slime. Increases a friendly xenomorph's speed as they run over it. Does not slow down hosts. Health Points: 30

Reflective Resinwall.png Resin Reflective Wall

Weird hardened slime solidified into a fine, smooth wall. Reflects projectiles and even rockets back to the shooter. Health Points: 300


Melee Damage Multiplier: x 8.2

Resin spike.png Resin Spike

A small cluster of bone spikes. Ouch. Deals 8 damage to a random leg or foot when a host walks over it. Health Points: 45

Acid Pillar.png Acid Pillar

A resin pillar that is oozing with acid. Fires a lane of acid against targets within a 5 tile range and extinguishes xenomorphs on fire. Health Points: 300

Deals 41 burn damage.

Range of 5 tiles.

Extinguishes xenomorphs on fire.

Secrete Resin.png
Secrete Resin
Secrete the chosen Resin Structure. Hivelord Resin Structures are significantly more durable than Drone or Queen structures. As a Hivelord, you secrete resin faster than the Drone you evolved from. You can also secrete resin into adjacent tiles by hovering your mouse over them while activating this ability and upgrade normal Resin Structure the same way. However, due to these advantages Hivelord Structure costs 33% more plasma to secrete.


Costs 100 plasma.

Transfer plasma.png
Transfer Plasma
Transfers 200 Plasma to any target you can see. You have to stand still when transferring, but not for as long as when you were a Drone.
Corrosive acid.png
Corrosive Acid
Vomit a glob of acid on item to dissolve it. Multiple items can be clicked at once as long as you are standing still. The cost of plasma is increased compared to the drone due to how the hivelord has stronger corrosive acid.


Costs 100 plasma.

Emit pheromones.png
Emit Pheromones
Emit one of the three Pheromones. It is advised to emit the pheromone that are not already being emitted, as pheromones don't stack except for Frenzy pheromone.

Costs 30 plasma to emit and then drains plasma while active.

Resin Walker.png
Resin Walker
When activated increases the movement speed of the hivelord when on weeds.


Costs 50 plasma and then drains plasma while active.

Tail Stab64x64.png
Tail Stab
Activating tail stab will begin a windup of one second, and upon conclusion, will enable you to launch a two tile attack that deals 1.2 times your maximum melee damage. It requires a direct click on the targets sprite, however, if it is missed, it only incurs a standard slash delay. Additionally, it will always hit the targeted limb.


Unless otherwise stated, this is shared by all strains.


Cooldown: 10 seconds.

Attainable Strains

Strain

Resin Whisperer

Strain Abilities


Resin Whisperer
Abilities: Description:
Toggle Long Range Sight.png
Toggle Long Range Sight
Toggles long range sight in the direction you're facing.


Costs 50 plasma.

Secrete Resin.png
Coerce Resin
Toggle the ability to remotely create the resin structure you've selected, The construction will be built faster or slower depending on the distance it is away from you.


Costs 150 plasma.

Hivelord Tactics

  • Hivelords consume plasma quickly when building. To more effectively set up hive defenses at the beginning of the round, find a Drone to feed you plasma -- and between the two of you, you should be able to continue building nearly uninterrupted.
  • Make sure to study your Hive Building theory. Knowing all the resin structures you can build and their uses in and out is a must, not a plus, as a Hivelord. A Hivelord that cannot build proper Hives is a waste of a Tier 2 slot and a major burden on the Hive as there will rarely be more than two, and probably just one.
  • In combat, you should always be in the back line, fortifying and repairing damage while your sisters bring the fight to the tallhosts. In a siege, you can afford to be the frontline as you build and rebuild your main line of resin walls, but if you get shot you should fall back quickly. Despite your size, you are no tank and bullets will rapidly tear through your delicate chitin.
  • If ever you are caught in direct combat, emit Frenzy pheromones, stick to weeds, and use your resin structures as cover. Running should always stay a solid option, a single mistake can cost you your life.

Hivelords can not Evolve any further.

Hivelord Stats

Tier 16
Tier 15
Tier 14
Tier 13
Tier 12
Tier 11
Tier 10
Tier 9
Tier 8
Tier 7
Tier 6
Tier 5
Tier 4
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
Health Lower Melee Upper Melee Plasma Plasma Regeneration Armor Explosive Resistance Speed Evasion


You can learn more about alien stats here.