Strains

Strains are variations of the xenomorph you play as, changing up their play style to something either slightly or completely different to the normal xenomorph. This allows you to change your play style to experiment with.

You can pick your strain from the get go if your caste has any strains available to them. When you evolve you will lose the strain you previously picked. Each Xeno can purchase one Strain available to their caste and they are permanent. Under the Alien tab you can buy strains for yourself with the Purchase Strains verb.

Strains

• Each Strain is permanent, will alter how you'll play the caste and can not be reverted.

DroneDefenderWarriorSentinelSpitterBurrowerHivelordCarrierPraetorianBoilerRavager Strain: Description: Healer Trade the ability to build resin structures for an ability to transfer health to other xenomorphs and enhanced pheromones. Applicable Caste(s): Drone Strain: Description: Steel Crest Trade the ability to tail sweep for the ability to use headbutt while your crest is lowered. Additionally, your headbutt does more damage, gains 1 tile extra range and you're able to move slowly while fortified. Applicable Caste(s): Defender Strain: Description: Boxer Trade the ability to fling and lunge for a lower cool down, increased damage and range on your punch ability. Punch loses the ability to immediately break bones. Gain a new ability, Jab: A stun ability that applies no damage but refreshes punch ability. Applicable Caste(s): Warrior Strain: Description: Scatter Spitter Exchange your standard neurotoxin spit, corrosive acid melting abilities and some speed to gain a bit of armor and a potent, shotgun-like neurotoxic spit. Applicable Caste(s): Sentinel Strain: Description: Vomiter Trade your spit abilities in exchange for an acid spray that is similar to the Boiler's acid spray, only that is weaker. Applicable Caste(s): Spitter Strain: Description: Tremor Trade the ability to make resin holes for a small AoE stun ability staggering everyone in range and tripping those closest to you. Applicable Caste(s): Burrower Strain: Description: Resin Whisperer Lose the ability to make thick resin, acid items and lose some plasma reserves. In exchange, you gain the ability to see farther as well as the ability to remotely create resin structures. Applicable Caste(s): Hivelord Strain: Description: Shaman Trade the ability to carry and throw facehuggers for multiple powerful support abilities that require a channeling period and a egg. Cannot be affected by pheromones. Applicable Caste(s): Carrier Strain: Description: Royal Guard Trade the ability to spit in exchange for increased pheromones, the ability to tail sweep (as Defender), a shorter wind-up on your acid spray, and the boiler's acid spray. Your screech now buffs the damage of your fellow Xenomorphs. Applicable Caste(s): Praetorian Dancer Trade the ability to spit/spray acid and a hefty chunk of your armor for greatly increased speed and two new abilities: Dance and Tail Attack. Dance is an active ability that greatly buffs your speed and evasion. Tail attack is also an active ability, and has two modes: Impale, and Abduct. Impale deals direct damage and abduct stuns, then drags the targeted marine back a few tiles after a long windup. Using either of these abilities while dance is active will remove the dance buffs but buff the effect of the ability. Your screech now buffs the move speed of other xenos as well as debuffing the accuracy of nearby marines. Applicable Caste(s): Praetorian Oppressor Trade most of your speed, the ability to spit, and the ability to spray acid for a ton of armor and the ability to toss a neurotoxin grenade, which extinguishes fire, that goes over barricades, as well as an empowered version of the punch the Warrior uses. Your screech now buffs the armor of other, nearby Xenomorphs. Applicable Caste(s): Praetorian Strain: Description: Railgun Trade the ability to bombard with gas clouds in exchange for a single acidic projectile that deals more damage against structures with perfect accuracy. The firing process of the railgun strain will be much quicker. Railgun projectiles can pass through barricades as well as cover, but it is possible to hit them if a boiler targets the cover manually. Applicable Caste(s): Boiler Shatter Blob Alter your acid cloud bombard for an acid bomb that spawns acid on the area of impact. Applicable Caste(s): Boiler Strain: Description: Veteran Trades the ability to embed shrapnel upon hit, the guaranteed tail stabbing, and armor for a charge attack that has the chance to delimb hostiles. Can also delimb hosts upon slashing them without the charge. Applicable Caste(s): Ravager Hedgehog Loses the ability to embed shrapnel upon hit and guaranteed tail stabbing. Gains two new abilities: Spin slash which spins you around damaging and knocking hostiles around you. Spike Spray, the ability that flings out shrapnel towards the aimed direction which does very little damage, but anyone hit is embedded with shrapnel and slowed for a short while. Applicable Caste(s): Ravager