The Alien (A.K.A. Xenomorph) is a moderately difficult antagonist role to play aboard the Colonial Marines server. The aliens' strength comes mostly from close-quarters combat. You'll have to maintain at least a noticeable level of role-play and avoid meta-gaming situations at all costs. Your job is to serve the queen of your hive. You do not feel remorse or compassion, no needs other than to propagate and protect your own kind. If you do well, then there will be little in your way to stop you.

Starting Out

In the beginning, you are spawned in with a group of aliens, ranging from a Drone, several Runners and many Larva, aboard the mysterious planet know as LV-642, the alien infested planet. The amount of starting aliens scales with the number of Marines that initially join at round-start. The original aliens should have full knowledge regarding the locations and areas of the planet and human settlement to assist them in their mission of repopulation.

Several locations on the planet are prime nesting grounds, complete with a few monkeys to help repopulate. You would be wise to establish your hive somewhere in the far northern cave network, nesting in the southern jungle is very risky.

First-timer tips:

Speak in Hivemind by using :a before your message.
- Example: Say ":aMy life for the Queen!"
You are a slave to the Queen's will. Follow her orders or die trying - unless it's against the server rules.
Grow the hive. Gather together any hosts and bring them to her chosen nest for repopulation.
Weeds weeds weeds. Plant weeds everywhere. While on weeds, aliens regenerate health and plasma very quickly.

Tier 1 Evolution

You have a choice of three castes of xenomorph: the Runner, the Sentinel, or the Drone. After that, advanced evolutions become available through the use of Royal Jelly secreted by the Queen. Each caste has its pros and cons.

Drone

A Drone is meant for utility: Building resin and using acid to dissolve weapons or walls so your sisters can continue forward. You are to stay at the Main Hive most of the time, as you are not (read: NOT) a combat alien. You should keep a eye on the hosts, but let the sentinels guard the hosts, It's what they are meant for. Spreading weeds, building resin structures and helping the Queen is your job. These are the basic Aliens that spawn at round start, one of the starting drones will evolve into a Queen and command the Hive. As a Starting drone you should be spreading weeds in the hallways and constructing the Hive. You should also be infecting the monkeys on board. (See:Monkey Diagram) As there are almost always ghosts waiting for a monkey to burst. Drones are tasked with building the Hive up. And vent crawling to Areas that need to be covered with weeds so the other troops can move forward and heal. Weeds are the life-force of the Aliens. If you don't plant any you will lose.

Sentinel

Sentinels are ranged defenders. Their Spit Neurotoxin ability allows them to instantly stun a potential host from a distance, but their relatively low speed make them more useful to a group of xenomorphs rather than working alone. Sentinels are built for defending the hive, the hosts, and most importantly the Queen herself. Sentinels, not the drones, should be guarding the hosts. Your skillset is made for taking down already infected prey as well as non-infected hosts. Sentinels are for the players that enjoy defence or ambush tactics. Currently you can use Shift+Click to spit on the tile you clicked.

Runner

Runners are melee attackers. They are the fastest of all alien castes, but also the weakest. They cannot pull objects or mobs, and a few well-aimed shots will bring down a Runner. However, even a single skilled runner using the Pounce ability and keeping a few Facehuggers with them at all times can bring down an unaware, untrained squad of Marines with careful planning and a little luck.

Tier 2 Evolution

Carrier

The Carrier evolves from a Drone, but no longer has the ability to build resin, spit acid, or plant weeds. Instead, it is able to carry up to 6 facehuggers and use its Throw Facehugger ability with extreme accuracy.

Spitter

The Spitter evolves from a Sentinel and has an upgraded corrosive acid and neurotoxin.

Warrior

The Warrior evolves from a Runner. It has reduced speed, but can take a little more punishment, can pull, and has a unique ability: Stealth. Though not 100% invisible, the Warrior can make an easy host of unsuspecting prey while standing still on weeds.

Tier 3 Evolution

Hivelord

The Hivelord can also evolve from a Drone, and is the ultimate utility-defense caste. With upgraded health, plasma, and a much stronger acid, its versatility is unmatched out of all other alien castes. However, it is slow and unwieldy, making any offensive actions less than ideal. The Hivelord is best served by supplying other aliens with plasma, spitting acid on host's weapons and armor within the hive, planting weeds everywhere, placing nests just behind the front lines for offensive castes to use for new hosts, and building resin around them to contain them.

Praetorian

The Praetorian evolves from a Spitter and has the strongest corrosive acid and neurotoxin out of all castes.

Ravager

The Ravager evolves from a Warrior and is the ultimate killing machine. It has double the reach of any other alien caste, allowing it to take down defenses and prey that might otherwise not be reachable. It also has a Charge ability, which can quickly close the distance needed to handle one or more terrified Marines.

The Queen

The final tier. Evolved from a Drone, the Queen is the mind of the hive. She is responsible for laying the many eggs that will aid her brood in victory. She is also a capable fighter when threatened. She has the highest health of all the aliens, making her very tough to kill. Furthermore, her Paralyzing Screech ability causes nearby Marines to drop what they're holding and be frozen in place long enough for assisting aliens to take down a small squad. She also has a strong corrosive acid that allows her to open new pathways or dissolve enemy weapons quickly. She is very slow, however, making her increased health a trivial encumbrance to a squad of Marines when caught in the open.

Tips

Plant Weeds often to spread weeds as far as possible. Plasma is the life force of the xenomorph.
Aliens do not need to breathe. You can traverse open (and oxygenated) space without permanent damage.
If you are injured, you will regenerate plasma at a much slower rate.
Aliens only heal when standing on weeds, and some castes will die slowly if they've been off of it for too long or knocked unconscious.
As a Queen, there is no greater advantage you can give your brood than to plant as many eggs as possible. Not only is it an excellent defence, but a powerful weapon when your sisters have access to facehuggers to immobilize their prey.
Remember you are in a hivemind, you have no free will.