Difficulty: Easy Duties: Weed the colony, build the hive, construct tunnels, and assemble resin hell maze. Guides: no separate guides Quote:"I spent 500 points of quickbuild drawing a bunch of sticky resin amogi on the map... what do you mean why? Isn't it obvious?"
You can evolve into defiler at this point, which can be a strong boon to the hive for pushes with its powerful slashes and strange gasses. You can also evolve into the Gorger, if you want to become a walking bullet sponge.
Slash is the melee damage when the xenomorph is in harm intent and slashing marine. In the code, it's melee_damage.
Melee, bullet, laser, energy, bomb, bio, rad, fire, and acid are soft armor values, not hard armor, which means that they reduce damage by a percentage rather than a flat value.
Speed is calculated inversely, meaning the lower speed value you have, the faster you are.
Pheromone Strength determines how powerful some activities will be, such as pheromones themselves, as well as using abilities that heal.
You are the Supreme Builder of the hive. Compare to the virgin combat drone, you are a chad, master of the robust resin. You construct in your infinite autism (or stupidity) to ensure that xenomorphs have map control over the marines.
Playing the Hivelord
As the Hivelord, your duties remain similar to those of a Drone:
Weeding areas like no tomorrow
Planting weed behind xenomorphs' push so that they can retreat faster
Healing wounded xenomorphs
Annoying marines by stinging them with larval accelerator
Cocooning marines for psychic points
Making resin walls far FOB to make marines cry when they can't gun-ho
Building resin walls near FOB to let xenomorphs rest
However, compared to a drone, your new profounded abilites to wrap the map to your design bring new expectations from you:
Avoiding being a bigger and faster combat drone
Placing jelly pods to soft-counter flamers
Extinguishing fire with acid wells
Putting acid turrets to deny areas for marines
Digging tunnels to flank marines and increasing QoL for xenomorphs
Decreasing firing lanes with resin walls that you can build IN FRONT OF YOU
Spitting weaker sticky resin to slow and anger marines that are chasing you
Protecting the spawning silos
Specifically making resin patterns that counter flamers (it's resin wall, resin door, resin wall)
You make the defense for the hive. To protect spawning pools and xenomorphs in the front line, you construct resin structures that limit marines' mobility and firing lanes.
You are the weed master. You and the hive rely on weed. If you're somewhere without weeds, you should plant them as efficiently as possible since due to your extreme movement speed slowdown off of weeds. Weeds spread from a resin sac to form a 7x7 square minus the 4 corner tiles. If you see any hint of a marine, and you aren't already on a substantial amount of weeds, run away while spitting sticky resin if you have to. You're too slow to do anything other than die when you're off them.
Resin walls are your friends. Use singular pillars of resin to provide the faster CQC caste,(Runner, Hunter, Ravager, Warrior, Defender) a place to not only protect themselves from Marine fire but also provide them with a place to draw them into melee. Remember to place jelly pods when able, they are a major asset to the hive in the form of fire protection, allowing runners and other melee classes to take it to the flame-thrower wielding specialist. Just keep in mind, if you do a "Killer Pillar" type of defense, your lowering the effectiveness of the Boiler, Crusher, And Bull, so keep that in mind while your building.
You are THE hive's healer. The Shrike and Hivemind have very fast heals on a very long cooldown, the Drone and Queen have weak heals with short cooldowns, and the Gorger can burn their blood resource to occasionally heal, but your psychic healing beam is the only ability that can heal sunder off of other xenos, and the increase to regeneration it gives is like having a Drone follow someone around to repeatedly use their acid salve. You can keep it active on two xenos at once.
Your thick resin walls are much stronger than the walls the queen or drone can build, and you are able to build in a 1 tile radius around you unlike the drone. Your Resin Walker ability lets you move quickly on weeds, allowing you to quickly move in and out of fire lines to build walls, pushing up on marine firing lines, or to slow down marine pushes.
Using your dig tunnel ability, you can create links to virtually any tile on the map that operate as fast travel points. Tunnels connect xenomorphs to endangered silos. All silos have tunnels, and when they are endangered, it is expected to reach the silos ASAP.
When marines are pushing into the hive, make sure to toggle your Hivelord Speed, and flank them to discourage rushing. You are integral in your ability to rebuild recently destroyed defenses, and sticky resin fields. The more you build, the more you destroy the marines morale.
Hivelord Abilities
Ability
Description
Plasma cost
Recharge
Toggle Bump Attacks
This ability allows you to toggle bump attacks on and off. If for some reason you want to avoid them, toggle this off. The red arrow means it's on, you attack; the green arrow means it's off, you push.
N/A
N/A
Rest
This ability is used to rest and get up, you will heal faster when resting on weeds.
N/A
N/A
Psy Drain
This ability is executed on dead marines. Every dead marines psyhic drained will give 60 psychic points (scaled from 30 to 90 on number of marines) and 1/8 of a larva.
100
N/A
Toggle Cocoon
Devour your victim to cocoon it in your belly, then expels the contents of your stomach onto the current tile. With the marine inside, they still have life force and able to be revived, but it will give psychic points for 5 minutes. Yields a minimum of 1 psychic point every 5 seconds, but increases to a maximum of 5 points with lower server population.
N/A
N/A
Corrosive Acid
Expells acid onto an object or wall, destroying it after a while. If used on wall, after some time a hole will appear. Small xeno can climb through, large xeno can break the wall with hole.
Depending on caste:
Drone and Sentinel have weakest acid. Takes 8 minutes for a regular wall. Cannot be used on reinforced walls.
Hivelord, Shrike, Spitter, and Praetorian have common acid. 3 minutes for a regular wall. Cannot be used on reinforced walls.
Boiler Boiler, Queen, and King have strongest acid. Any wall is taken down in about one and a half minute.
75
N/A
Place acid well
Place an acid well that can put out fires when a xenomorph steps on the acid well. You can refill it by clicking on the well. Careful, because they emit light, and even more as it's filled.
500
20 seconds
Plant Weeds
Plants a resin weed node, which will start growing resin in a 3-tile radius that allows xenomorphs to heal and restore plasma while on top of the tile. Plasma cost is also halved before the shutters have been opened.
Right-Clicking the ability icon will allow you to select different types of weeds to plant.
Weed Types:
Default, does nothing extraordinary. Costs 75 plasma.
Boosts health and plasma regeneration by 20%, and doubles sunder recovery. Costs 150 plasma.
Slows humans and vehicles a small amount, can stack with sticky resin. Costs 225 plasma.
Can only be placed on a tile that does not already have a resin sac, and cannot be placed on rock, grass, catwalks, or snow.
75-225
N/A
Secrete Resin
Builds structures, which can be chosen by clicking on the ability while it's active. More in Guide to resin construction
Resin Buildings:
Resin Walls regenerate their own health. Starting at 150 HP, they restore 3 HP every 5 seconds, with a maximum of 300. Also reduces incoming bullet damage by 60%. 75 Plasma
Sticky Resin slows down human and vehicle movement drastically, while also slightly blocking flamethrower flames. Has 36 HP. Slowness can stack with sticky weeds. 50 Plasma
Resin Doors block movement for non-xenomorph mobs. Has 100 HP. 150 Plasma
50-150
N/A
Emit Pheromones
Toggles to see your pheromones, allowing you to select recovery, warding, or frenzy. You may only emit one at a time, and you can see which pheromones you are effected by in the game tab. Each pheromone uses 5 plasma every regeneration tick. Strength of pheromones is tied to caste and maturity, and increases effect. More in Xenomorph Mechanics.
Transfers your plasma to a fellow xenomorph, giving them up to 200 plasma.
0-200
N/A
Create Resin Jelly
Places Resin Jelly in your active hand, which can be used on yourself or other xeno castes for a 15-second protection from fire.
100
45 sec
Healing Infusion
Quickly regenerates health and reduces sunder on a single target, even off of weeds. No upfront healing, but casts instantly, applying the buff for a fixed duration.
200
12.5 seconds
Dig Tunnel
This allows you to create a quick method of travel between two points on the map. This allows the hivelord to create a secondary hive escape point, or even quick routes to the front lines.
200
120 seconds
Resin Spit
Allows you to spit a sticky resin at range that places a thin sticky resin at the target
50
N/A
Place Resin Jelly pod
Place down a dispenser that allows xenos to retrieve fireproof jelly.
500
1 minute
Resin Walker
This allows you to move faster when on resin, allowing you to defend the hive more effectively.
50 per tile
N/A
Recycle
Deconstruct the body of a fellow fallen xenomorph to avoid marines from harvesting our sisters in arms.
750
N/A
Open Blessings Menu
Opens the Queen Mothers Blessings menu, where hive buildings and upgrades are bought.
N/A
N/A
Primordial Evolution
Once the hive has enough psychic points, your queen has the option to unlock powerful primordial evolutions for each strain. Primordial evolutions grant additional abilities for the relevant class.
For the Hivelord, this primordial ability is being a botanist.
The Hivelord is also granted strong acid.
Ability
Description
Plasma Cost
Cooldown
Sow
Upon reaching primordial, hivelords will be able to sow support plants for their team.
Fruits:
Life Fruit: Restores the xeno's health, scales with max health so it's much more efficient on bigger xenos
Hard Fruit: Restores the xeno's armor, again better on bigger xenos due to armor being more efficient the more max HP you have
Plasma Fruit: Restores 100% of the xeno's plasma and increases their plasma regeneration for the next 1 minutes
Night Shade : This is the only plant that isn't consumed upon interacting, when it reaches maturity it hides all nearby xeno-structure. On top of that xenos can interact with it to use its active effect Veil, which stealths all nearby xenos for 20 seconds,. Using veil puts it on a cooldown.
500
60 seconds
Hive Structures
Through the Queen Mother's Blessings menu , advanced construction castes have the ability to make powerful static structures which provide either defense, passive support, or offensive power to the hive. These require Psionic Points to construct, which can be gathered from dead marines.
Structure
Description
Psy Point Cost
Acid Turret
An independently targeting turret that fires highly caustic acid globs. Cannot be placed within 6 tiles of another turret, near shutters or fog.
100
Resin Turret
An independently targeting turret that fires sticky resin globs. Deals stamina damage to targets, as well as leaving sticky resin beneath their feet. Cannot be placed within 6 tiles of another turret, near shutters or fog.
50
Silo
A writhing spawning pod that slowly generates larva over time. Silos serve as anchor points for the xenomorph hivemind; without them, the network begins to collapse under strain. The hive will require a silo 15 minutes after the shutters drop, and will suffer an orphan hivemind failure if there is no silo for 5 minutes after this point.
800
Evolution Tower
A complex nerve tower that preemptively simulates evolution paths, preparing xenomorphs for their next evolution stage at an accelerated rate. Each tower increases the rate of evolution point gain by 1.25 times per tower, and can be repeated with multiple towers.
300
Maturity Tower
A complex biological tower that serves as a global growth enhancer, preparing xenomorphs for their next maturity stage at an accelerated rate. Each tower increases the rate of evolution point gain by 1.20 times per tower, and can be repeated with multiple towers.
300
Spawner
A spawning pod for the weak but numerous minion strains. The spawners will generate minions up to a point of half the total number of detected minds in local space. Each produces one minion every between 45 seconds and 3 minutes until this capacity is met.
600
Primo Tier X
Buy primordial abilities for a tier. Any xeno of selected tier now or in the future now can grow past ancient to primordial, gaining access to powerful abilities. Available for each tier 1-4.
600
Hivelord tips & tricks
You are the supreme hive builder. Ensure that you build appropriate defenses for the queen, then create tunnels to the front line, and a backup base.
Xenos operate best in narrow, enclosed spaces. Consequently, marines operate worst in narrow, enclosed spaces. Build accordingly.
You may be able to 1v1 a marine in a pinch, but it's best to leave the combat to the combat castes, you can help by flanking marines and distracting them before a charge from the ravagers, crushers, and other combat xenos.
A controversial tactic as hivelord/drone is to wall off certain areas of the map, or lanes of retreat with extremely thick resin wall fields, to force marines to give up on their attempts to break through. This maneuver is countered easily by plasma cutters and flamethrowers, but most often marines would rather find another way around..
If you hit a marine directly with your sticky spit. You will slow them down immediately. Use this to help you escape pursuit.
Multiple non fully-charged acid wells can help both slow down marine pushes, and provide fire suppression for your sisters.
Jelly pods can make or break sieges and pushes, make sure your fellow xenos know that jelly pods are available and where they are built.
Give plasma to castes that often run low, like Spitters and Carriers. Similarly, make sure you're always healing someone with your beam. The less combat castes have to fall back, the better.
