"You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality. Is there room enough in space for us and it?" - Ash, Alien
The Alien (aka Xeno) is one the main opposing forces of the USCM Marines during rounds on CM-SS13. The Aliens are fearsome creatures, perfected for combat to the point of challenging the Marine force with fewer numbers.
You are part of the Hive, under the Queen. You are but a manifestation of her will, and your primary and only task is to expand and protect the Hive. You are reasonably intelligent and capable of quickly learning from the events during the infestation of the colony, yet you show no compassion or empathy. Your job will only be done when the Hive reigns over all that you can reach.
Evolution Diagram
Starting Out
If you are chosen as one of the first Aliens, you will spawn as a Larva inside the colony that has just days before been pillaged and demolished, allowing you to spread out of control and infect or slaughter the entire colonist population. While the colony is mostly safe aside from a handful of hardened Survivors stubbornly clinging to life, this may not hold true long.
The Hivemind has full knowledge of the colony on which you were born, and many of its facets, even the most complex; its entire layout, how power and lighting functions, and where particular locations are. The little of resistance the Hivemind met also granted you some knowledge on the weapons you may expect to be used against you, like guns, knives, and grenades.
One of the first tasks of the Hive is to find a nesting ground. Due to how vital this nest is and how disastrous it would be for Marines to find and destroy it, it is recommended to put it in the most secluded and secure location available. Nothing prevents you from making smaller nests closer to the action, but it could mean that the hosts manage to escape if the nesting area is pushed upon by the Marines.
If this is your first time as an Alien, check the Xeno Quickstart Guide. Here are additional tips:
Speak in Hivemind by using :q or ; before your message. Example: Say ":q My life for the Queen!" or "; My life for the Queen!" instead.
You are a manifestation of the Queen's will. Follow her orders or die trying. If the orders appear to break server rules, you should warn the admins.
Grow the Hive. Gather together any hosts (living monkeys and humans) and bring them to the nest to incubate more Larvae.
Weeds are paramount to you. While off weeds, your plasma will regenerate very slowly and you will not heal. If you do need to stray off weeds, remember this dearly, do not get caught exhausted and badly wounded far from weeds. Keep in mind that to heal at a fast, steady rate on weeds you need to be resting as if you stand while on weeds to heal you'll heal significantly slower.
Scurry and hide away from danger and evolve into a more suitable alien .
Stats:
Health: 100
Plasma: 0
Armor: 0
As soon as your Larva has matured, you will be able to choose between the four initial Alien castes: Drone, Runner, Defender, and Sentinel. Depending on which you choose, you will then be able to progress in their respective castes. Do not underestimate them. What they lack in special abilities or raw power, they make up in sheer quantity and potential to quickly replace their fallen sisters.
Build the Hive and expand it with new weed nodes. Support fellow Aliens with your pheromones. Occasionally plant weeds aggressively to support pushes. Use your acid to destroy equipment.
Fight on the frontlines. Take advantage of your armored crest to survive hails of gunfire, then disrupt Marines with your offensive abilities. Protect your backline sisters from flankers when necessary.
Stats:
Health: 500
Plasma: 100
Armor: 35
After a while as a Tier 1 Alien, you will build up evolution until you are finally able to advance. There, depending on the Hive's size and existing higher tier Aliens, you may be able to Evolve on the spot, or have to wait for another spot to free up, continuing to Upgrade in your current caste in the meantime. Whatever the case, you will no doubt see yourself becoming one of these castes should you stay alive long enough.
Lay the foundations for resin traps in strategic locations or the Hive's flanks. Flank your way around the map with the tunnel ability and dig tunnels to allow for quick transportation of fellow Aliens from the hive to the frontlines.
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.
Fight on the frontlines. Disable and capture lone prey. Punish reckless Marines by flinging them into Alien backlines. Act as one of the Hive's main line combatants.
Protect your fellow Aliens with a corrosive acid spit, allowing you to damage hosts from a distance and deny areas or lanes of fire to them. Use your strong acid to quickly destroy equipment.
Stats:
Health: 550
Plasma: 600
Armor: 15
While you can rapidly access Tier 3 by evolving again, it is certainly a serious responsibility. There will usually only be one or two of each of these castes in every Hive, and their loss can throw the Hive into disarray. If you do decide to Evolve, wield your new power carefully. Remember that even Tier 3 Aliens can quickly die if not being careful.
Bring the Hive's ranged combat castes to their maximum potential with long range acid bomb shots, allowing you to bombard and heavily damage areas after a bit of setup. Use your enhanced vision to locate targets without being seen and shot. Use your acid lance for close range defense. Use your incredibly strong acid to make short work of everything in your way.
Make use of your armoured crest and massive body to shield and tank bullets. Eat up explosions without flinching thanks to your thick hide. Charge your foes down and stomp on them to dislodge every single bone in their body.
Be a jack of all trades. Enjoy even stronger acid spits. Use the vast assortment of available strains to quickly fill in a role that your hive needs. Use your strong acid to quickly destroy equipment.
Bring death to all that face you. Use a powerful, short range leap to get into the action, then hit multiple targets with your scissor cut. Hit and run and frontal assaults are your bread and butter, get used to taking damage and dealing it. You don't need to hide anymore.
Stats:
Health: 650
Plasma: 300
Armor: 25
The Queen is in her own, informal category. Unlike all other Aliens, she will usually appear immediately at the start of a round, and her death will throw the Hive into disarray (if there is no Queen at the start of a round, a Drone will have to evolve into one). While she can be replaced, she is also unique, and should she go missing all other Aliens will be unable to evolve any further. If this goes on for too long, the Hive might very well rot away.
The Abomination is also in its own, informal category. Since the Abomination requires a successfully infected and burst Hunter, the odds of encountering one are rather low.
Lead your Hive to victory over the Marines. Use your powerful pheromones and your command abilities to organise the Hive. Lay eggs to create facehuggers and accumulate more Larvae. Use your screech to defend yourself and signal pushes. Use your strong acid to quickly destroy equipment.
Use hit and run tactics against opposing Hunters and Marines. Gain more strength for every kill you make. Be fear incarnate against both the Hunters hunting you and the Marines.
Stats:
Health: 650
Plasma: 300
Armor: 30
Maybe there are more than just the Aliens above... It'd be best to find out their purpose and their evolutions for yourself. You'll know about them... one day.
Event-Specific Alien Hives
For special events, Admins may spawn in Aliens of different hives that operate independently of the primary hive, with their own Queen and structure. This is like a Squad for Marines, but for Aliens. They are distinguished by name and color, with the names having prefixes like "Corrupted" "Alpha", "Beta", "Zeta", and so on. Depending on the event, they may be tasked with helping the original hive, be sided with the humans as enslaved Aliens, or act as a third faction hostile to both.
Their abilities are identical to normal Aliens and will function identically against humans. Most abilities, such as neurotoxin, will also affect other Aliens as well.
These Alien hives can appear in the normal play if they were able to be made through research or they must be spawned in by an Admin.
Rank
Rank or age is determined by time played. The time to reach each rank is as followed. Larva do not show maturation via playtime, instead differing on bloody larva to mature larva as they gain evolution points.
