Hivelord

XENOMORPH - TIER 2
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. Create tunnels to bypass harsh terrain. Use pheromones to assist fellow Xenomorphs. 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 his 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 it can also Dig Tunnels, allowing it to transport castes from one end of the colony to another seamlessly. 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 or forward nests. 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.

Tunnels are perhaps your strongest ability, being unique to you to start with. Tunnels are an upgrade to potential existing vent networks, allowing all Xenomorphs to move from one point of the colony to another stealthily and near instantly, as long as neither entrance was found. It is highly recommended you conceal your tunnel as much as possible to prevent an ambush, preferably using natural cover and trying to plant them in rarely visited and remote parts of the colony. All that matters for the efficiency of a tunnel is that the Xenomorphs using it appear behind enemy lines, they don't have to be ten steps away from the main enemy position.

To dig a tunnel, you simply need to dig out both entrances in a row and they will connect. Tunnels must be dug on natural terrain, artificial flooring and water will prevent you from digging new entrances. As such, you will probably dig them either at the foot of rarely visited structures, or far away into the wilderness. You would do well to remind your Xenomorphs of when tunnels are ready to use and where they lead.

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:
Rest	Used to rest and get up. Xenos heal faster when resting on weeds.
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. Using this ability with a host devoured will regurgitate them back up, giving a moderate stun. (Edit this template)
Plant Purple Sac	Can't be planted if there is already a sac on the tile. Can be removed by one slash with harm intent for re-plant. Costs 75 plasma.
Choose Resin Structure	Click to choose what resin structure to make. The default structure is a Resin Wall.
Secrete Resin	Secrete the chosen Resin Structure on your tile. The cost of plasma is increased compared to other castes due to how the hivelord can create stronger constructs. Costs 100 plasma.
Transfer Plasma	Transfer 50 Plasma to the target. You have to stand still when transferring.
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 other castes due to how the hivelord has stronger corrosive acid. Costs 100 plasma.
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. Costs 30 plasma to emit and then drains plasma while active.
Dig Tunnel	Digs a tunnel which can then act as a quick travel point to get across the map quicker with multiple tunnels. Costs 200 plasma.
Resin Walker	When activated increases the movement speed of the hivelord when on weeds. Costs 50 plasma and then drains plasma while active.

Hivelord Tactics

• Hivelords can use their massive plasma reserve and impressive plasma regeneration to build rapidly, far faster than any Regeneration-boosted Drone may ever hope to. Never stop planting until it's all weeded, and never stop building until the tallhosts are defeated.

• 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.

• Tunnel Entrances are best built in a central "Hub" room of the Hive, generally in a five by five square, with entrances planned relative to their position in the colony. For example, that tunnel you made in the deep south east edge of the colony would go on the bottom right square, and that forward Hive right in front of the main Hive would go on the top center square. This way, you can easily let your fellow sisters know where your tunnels lead.

• Should your tunnels be discovered, they might be destroyed, but it is also likely that Marines will camp at the exit in the hopes of killing helpless sisters going through to do their business. If you are made aware of Marines camping at one of your tunnel exits, immediately inform the Hive and tell them what tunnel they should be looking for.

• 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.

Hivelord Evolution and Upgrades

Hivelords Upgrades, much like the Drone's upgrades, focus on making him better in general, along with making his plasma reserve and regeneration even better. An upgraded Hivelord is worth multiple Drones and will be of great help to a growing Hive. Quality is highly preferred over Quantity, since multiple Hivelords are usually a very risky strategy for a Hive, and likewise Drones do not scale too well in number.

Hivelords can not Evolve any further, as there is no Tier 3 castes available in the Drone succession.