Basi in-game feedback.

[David]

I figured that as everyone else is making threads about what's wrong with the game, I should too.

When trying to improve in any game (or anything else), I assess how I'm currently doing in order to work out what works and what doesn't, so I can adapt to (hopefully) get better.
When running playing as a 'lisk, I generally sit there wondering if I'm having any real effect, or if I'd be better doing something else.  Did gassing/grabbing that human have any real effect?  Would they have been reduced to meaty chunks just as quickly were I not there, or would they have dodged and won?  Did the grab / gas even work?

Not knowing makes it frustrating to play, and I'll bet my team-mates are also wondering if I'm any use other than healing.


I'm not suggesting a fix, I don't have any ideas for that.  But it annoys me so hopefully if I throw this out there someone else will come up with a good idea or two.

[Saliva]

Most of the time having a basi around makes a difference.

1. If you grab a human and hold him for a dretch it's great for the team because then the dretch can evolve to something better. It's usually way better than the basi getting the evo for himself.

2. Even if the human dies just as quickly while you are grabbing him or not he probably shot you and the other alien making the kill. Distributing the damage between different aliens is a good thing because they can all regenerate then.

3. Making humans very easy to hit by grabbing most of the time reduces the time it takes to kill the human.

4. Sometimes it may not be obvious but perhaps by just distracting a human a bit you saved a teammates life.

I could go on longer but as you can see a basi is helpful. However if you are better as other aliens and especially if there are already other basis it's a good idea to evolve further if you have the evos.

[+ OPTIMUS +]

i think this problem is based on the contraversal solution of adding the healing to the 'lisk.

in 1.1, basilisks were useful hunting down lone humans who were out for destroying outposts (or building them), or coming from unusual directions to the alien base. they were basically acting alone, especially since they are vulnerable to teamkill.

now healing drags them into offensive groups of bigger aliens, where of course the opposiotion is the strongest too. aka humans are coming in groups (not good for basi), aliens are attacking in groups (not good for basi, and for blocked teammates too), turrets are prolly nearby (not good for basi).
for attacking humans in groups dretch is much better as it blocks less, damages more and automatically, more agile, harder to hit, and less of a pain if it dies. the health of the basi doesnt compensate it at all.

so you can still act as a lone basi, without taking care of teammates but fill the 1.1 role, or you can sit in a corner and wait for the teammates to come for healing. with basi+ of course, since the s1 one's healing is pathetic, even for himself's few hp. if i'm hurt as a dretch but got a bunch of evos, i rather evolve to basi+ then to mara+ and lose that points, to be able to counterattack rapidly.

of course excellent basilisks are excellent, but mine is not. against a group of humans, from Saliva's list, i can only sacrifice myself on the altar of teammates.

[Meisseli]

A short list of what a basi can do:

• heal
• grab and hold enemies
• gas to slow and disorient
• swipe

Don't be a basilisk if you don't have capable teammates. Basilisk is something that in the later stages isn't very good alone, but a real pain in the ass if you work with your team. I'm not sure many people even notice how valuable a basilisk can be when he grabs and gasses even multiple battlesuits. Stage 3 a basilisk or two can hold a base "on their own" against swarming chainsuits if there are just aliens or hives around to finish the poor guys a basilisk just immobilized. There are countless times when I've been virtually invincible as a stage three human near alien base and then one basilisk comes and changes the situation completely. A basilisk also costs just 1-2 evos, which is a big plus. Remember to work with your team and to not block and aliens will be very thrilled indeed to have you in your team.

I should really post a demo of some good basilisk/tyrant teamwork for example.

[Zordos]

So basically is you are going to be a basilisk you need to work in conjunction with a teammate to be effective.  If not, this increases your chance of being killed.

[Qrntz]

I should really post a demo of some good basilisk/tyrant teamwork for example.

Go ahead.

[baybal]

Basi is a suicide unit most of the time

[Khaoz]

No it's not....
Unless you can't lisk :/

[Anonymoose]

i usually skip basi and go straight to marauder, only time i ever use basi is to act as a rendezvous for a teammate, or to heal the few hp lost as a dretch and when full i will evolve to marauder or whatever.
but my under-use of basi is more due to the intense difficulty of trying to grapple with my Australian ping (as i mostly play on US1)

[Khaoz]

You should play at http://aussieassault.net/forum/ then :]

[Anonymoose]

You should play at http://aussieassault.net/forum/ then :]

yeah the day AA move to 1.2/gpp for good, i plan on doing so.

[Conzul]

The Basi has always been (for me) one of the most attractive quandaries of tremulous:

A) If you're skilled enough to use it well, you're better off helping your team by killwhoring with one of the bigger, badder alien classes.

B) If you suck at aliens in general, you shouldn't be playing basi because you'll just keep dying when you should be practicing/pwning with easier classes (dretch, goon).

Basi is the only alien class where I wouldn't notice a difference in gameplay if it were removed completely. Sure it heals, but rarely enough (in my opinion) to make a difference, especially with no score/evo rewards for doing so.
Heh.

[F50]

The Basi has always been (for me) one of the most attractive quandaries of tremulous:

A) If you're skilled enough to use it well, you're better off helping your team by killwhoring with one of the bigger, badder alien classes.

B) If you suck at aliens in general, you shouldn't be playing basi because you'll just keep dying when you should be practicing/pwning with easier classes (dretch, goon).

In general this dilemma is true, but I most certainly *would* notice a difference without our friend basi. Basically, aliens need it to sustain an attack against a fortified human base. Thus, at least one good players will have to go basi out of sheer need (unless they happen to be the mainstay of their team's defense/offense/staging up, in which case that usually should take precedence). And sometimes mediocre players can basi with some success, if they recognize that they are unlikely to attack effectively with it and knowingly take on the role of medic.

Just a little while ago, those guys were instrumental in a game on metro, where the humans got their near-invincible base. We managed to secure their doorstep for a significant portion of the game. Without this mobile healing support, we certainly wouldn't have gotten as far as we did. We eventually lost, but only after both the armory and overmind were down in SD.

Another map where I notice this regularly is nexus6, where basilisks outside of the main human entrance are semi-common.