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Hive
Cosmetic Variants:

Hive

Normal Hive

Abyss hive

Abyss Hive

Kodiak hive

Kodiak Hive

Nocturne hive

Nocturne Hive

Reaper hive

Reaper Hive

Shadow hive

Shadow Hive

Toxin hive

Toxin Hive

Unearthed hive

Unearthed Hive

"Our Hive is complete!"
Kharaa Kharaa
Team Resources
Marines res 40
Health
4000 (6000)
Armor
750 (1400)
Abilities and Upgrades
Abilities:
Heal, Spread Infestation, Hatch
Upgrades:
Biomass +1/2/3, Upgrade Gorge, Evolve Crag Hive, Evolve Shade Hive, Evolve Shift Hive
Miscellaneous
Tech Requirements:
Build on Tech Point
Unlocks:
Biomass +1
Build Time: (auto-build) 360 seconds, (Grow) 144 seconds
Builds From: Alien Commander
Buy From: Build Tab
Hotkey:
F
Maturation Time: 220 seconds


Introduction

The Hive is the Kharaa command structure, created and occupied by the Alien Commander. It is an enormous and squid-like alien organism which suspends itself in the air by attaching tentacles to the ceiling. The main body consists of a luminescent circular membrane on each side, masses of tentacles on the front, respiratory flaps on the back, and a vestigial ovipositor on the bottom.

The Hive is the main source of Eggs and Infestation that allow the Bacterium to grow into macroscopic multicellular organisms. It also provides nutrition to Cysts, allowing them to branch outward and spread the infestation beyond Hive boundaries. Due to the heavy concentration of Bacterium around a Hive, Kharaa lifeforms can quickly regenerate from critical conditions.

Any Kharaa player can enter an unoccupied Hive to act as the Alien Commander by interacting with the tentacles that hang down to the ground. The tentacles will retract to indicate that the Hive has a commander.

Passive Abilities

Healing Aura

Heal
Heal icon
Heals nearby wounded Kharaa lifeforms by a percentage of their maximum Health and Armor.
Healing 8% of max health/armor

but at least 10 HP

Radius 12.7
Interval 1 seconds
Targets Lifeforms
Requires Hive
The Hive will periodically heal all nearby wounded Alien lifeforms, allowing them to quickly return to defending or expanding territory. Healing at a hive will always be the fastest form of healing compared to a Gorge or Crag.

Spread Infestation

Spread Infestation
Cyst idle small
Grows Infestation onto nearby terrain to allow Kharaa structures to sprout from and stay nourished.
  • Infestation recedes quickly if the source is destroyed.
Radius 7 (Tunnel), 7.5 (Cyst), 20 (Hive)
Duration ∞ seconds
Targets Ground, Walls, Props
Requires Cyst, Hive, Tunnel

Auto Hatch

Auto Hatch
Egg icon
Creates Eggs on infestation near the Hive.
  • 2 Eggs for 6 or fewer players.
  • 3 Eggs for 7-9 players.
  • 4 Eggs for 10 or more players.
  • Is not disabled when Hive is burned by Flamethrower or on fire.
Range 11
Cooldown 8 seconds
Max Amount 2-4 Eggs per Hive
Targets Ground, Infestation
Requires Hive
The Hive will automatically produce Eggs on nearby Infestation. When lifeforms are dying too quickly, the Alien Commander can cause any Hive to instantly create 2-4 Eggs in response.

Active Abilities

Hatch

Hatch
Hatch icon
Creates Eggs on infestation near the Hive.
  • 2 Eggs for 8 or fewer players.
  • 3 Eggs for 9-11 players.
  • 4 Eggs for 12 or more players.
  • Ability cooldown is shared between all Hives.
  • Is not disabled when Hive is burned by Flamethrower or on fire.
Hotkey
A
TRes Icon team resource neutral 5
Range 11
Cooldown 4 seconds
Max Amount 20 Eggs per Hive
Targets Ground, Infestation
Requires Hive
The Alien Commander can cause any Hive to instantly create 2-4 Eggs in in exchange for Team Resources. The amount of Eggs created by this ability depends on the number of players on the team. The cooldown is shared between all Hives.

Upgrades

Evolve Hive

Evolve Hive
Crag hive iconShade hive iconShift hive icon
Permanently evolves the Hive into one of three specializations to unlock evolution structures, Drifter abilities, Cyst passive abilities and chamber abilities.
  • Each Hive type grants Drifters a passive and active ability.
  • Each Hive type grants Cysts a passive ability.
  • If a Hive type exists, new Hives cannot evolve to that type.
Hotkey
Z
(Crag),
X
(Shade),
C
(Shift)
Max Amount 1 type per Hive
Targets Hive
Requires No existing Hive type
The Hive can evolve into one of three variants to quickly adapt the Kharaa to the changing battlefield. The paths of defense, deception, and speed will unlock new Evolutions, Drifter abilities, and chamber abilities, driving the evolution of the Kharaa according to the Alien Commander's will.

Biomass +1/2/3

Biomass +1 / 2 / 3
Biomass1Biomass2Biomass3
Increases Biomass level by 1 per research, up to 3 times.
  • Biomass levels decrease if an upgraded Hive is destroyed.
  • New Hives must research Biomass 1/2/3 to regain lost levels.
Hotkey
S
TRes Icon team resource neutral 15 / 20 / 40
Research Time 25 / 40 / 60 seconds
Max Amount +3 levels per Hive
Targets Biomass
Each Hive can accumulate Biomass to unlock new lifeform and commander abilities, as well as strengthen all lifeforms' maximum health (not armor) Each hive by itself gives an inital Biomass level and can be upgraded to a total of 4 (with a team maximum of 12).

Research Life Form Abilities

Research Abilities
All lifeforms
Researches the Ability if the Biomass requirements
Hotkey
D
TRes Icon team resource neutral depending on research
Research Time Various time in seconds
Requires Certain Biomass upgrades for each research:

The Hive contains the genetic sequences to unlock Additional Abilities of all life forms, but only if enough Biomass has accumulated.

Attributes

Biomass +1

Biomass +1
Biomass1
Each active Hive will passively increase Biomass level by 1.
Max Amount 3 levels per Hive, 12 levels total
Targets Biomass
Requires Active Hive

Each Hive can accumulate Biomass to unlock new lifeform and commander abilities, as well as strengthen all lifeforms' maximum health.

Maturation

Maturation
Nutrient mist icon
Most Kharaa structures will mature over time, gaining extra maximum Health and Armor every second until fully matured.
  • Max health/armor and mature time vary between different structures.
  • Maturation can be sped up via Nutrient Mist or Heal Spray
Targets Structure

Variants

There are currently 8 variations of the Hive skin available for Alien Commanders.

Info Info:  • Not all variants are available for purchase.

          • Skins are purely cosmetic and offer no augmented or additional stats in-game.

Camouflage variants & availability
Variant Description Acquisition Notes
Normal Default camouflage. Provided with game. N/A
Abyss Blue highlights and glow. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Kodiak Green glow, jungle effect skin. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Nocturne Beige skin with purple highlights and a purple glow. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Reaper White skin, black features and yellow glow. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Shadow Dark blue/purple skin, red glow. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Toxin Black with green highlights, spots and glow. Requires Catalyst Pack DLC. Released with the Catalyst update (Build 324).
Unearthed Purple tint and glow, crystalline look for Hive and Harvester. Was rewarded for playing Unearthed upon its initial release. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the update (Build 327).


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