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Skulk
Cosmetic Variants:

Skulk
Normal Skulk

Shadow skulk
Shadow Skulk

Kodiak skulk
Kodiak Skulk

Reaper skulk
Reaper Skulk

Abyss skulk
Abyss Skulk

Nocturne skulk
Nocturne Skulk

Toxin skulk
Toxin Skulk

Kharaa Kharaa
Personal Resources
Icon personal resource neutral 0 (+0 per Evolution)
Health
75 (+3 per Biomass)
Armor
10 (15 + 1.00 per Biomass)
Energy
Icon resources energy neutral 100
Respawns In: 10 seconds
Respawns From: Egg
Base Field of View: 105°
Air Speed: 11 (Leap)
Ground Speed: 7.25 (7.75 / 8.25 / 8.75)
Crouch Speed: 4.3 (4.6 / 4.9 / 5.2)
Wall Speed: 7.25 (run), 8.0 to 14 (jump)
Abilities and Upgrades
Abilities:
Alien Vision, Evolve Menu, Hive Sight, Sneak, Wall Walking (Wall Jumping), Bite, Parasite, Leap, Xenocide
Evolutions:
Carapace, Regeneration, Vampirism,
Adrenaline, Celerity, Crush,
Camouflage, Aura, Focus
Upgrades:
Leap at biomass 4, Xenocide at biomass 9
Miscellaneous
Buy From: Evolve Menu
Purchase By: Player
Gestation Time: 3 seconds
Can attack with bite and track enemies with parasite. Can ambush enemies by climbing on walls and ceilings. Can evolve leap and xenocide.

In-game description.

Introduction

The Skulk is the default Alien lifeform that all Alien players will initially spawn as and respawn as after each death.

Background

The Skulk is a very agile yet delicate quadruped. It has the unique ability to walk on walls and ceilings, making it very effective for ambushing lone/unaware Marines.

Tactics

Though Skulks are considered expendable, they are a very versatile lifeform and can perform a myriad of roles.

An Early-game skulk should focus on tagging Marines with its Parasite ability and killing them wherever possible. Skulks should generally work as a pack of 2 or more and should always favour stealthy attacks over direct engagements.

Due to its speed and low-profile, the Skulk is able to traverse the map very quickly and should use this to its advantage to harass the Marine economy, by constantly destroying Extractors and this becomes its primary objective in the mid-to-late game, though a Skulk is more than capable of killing Marines throughout the full length of the game, even being able to engage a Marine with a Jetpack with Leap and being able to kill or damage large groups of Marines with Xenocide.

Tactical Summary - Skulk

  • Parasite Everything
  • Ambush Marines, don't fight them head-on.
  • Move erratically, use the walls and ceilings and avoid the floor!
  • If you struggle to kill Marines, kill Extractors instead.


 	LoMe's_Skulk_Tutorial_-Natural_Selection_2- 	 			  

Controls

Main article: Key Bindings
Skulk Player Controls
Skulk view
Movement Abilities Contextual
W
Forward
Mouse 1
Attack
E
Use
A
Left
Mouse 2
Leap
F
Alien Vision
S
Backward
1
Bite
B
Evolve Menu
D
Right
2
Parasite
C
Map
Space
Jump
3
Xenocide
X
Voice Overs Menu
Shift
Sneak
V
Last Weapon
Ctrl
Detach

Movement

Main article: Movement Techniques
Skulk Movement
Prevent slowing down Video
  • if you touch the wall too closely while Wall Walking you will attach yourself and lose some speed even if you press Forward
    W
    .
It is important to hold the detach button
CTRL
in order to maintain your speed better.
Even though you use the detach button
CTRL
you will still lose a bit of speed if you touch the wall to closely!
Strafing on the Ground
  • Try to utilize the strafe mechanics on the ground as well, even if they are minor.
They will make you a harder target to hit, it is especially effective against Shotguns.
Skulk-_Strafing_on_the_ground_and_dodging_(NS2_Movement)

Skulk- Strafing on the ground and dodging (NS2 Movement)

Upwards Jump
  • If you look upwards while jumping from a wall you will gain additional height for the tradeoff of some forward momentum.
Skulk-_Upwards_Jump_(NS2_Movement)

Skulk- Upwards Jump (NS2 Movement)

Ceiling Jump
  • If you press the detach button
    CTRL
    , Forward
    W
    , and the Jump button
    Space
    really quickly,
it is even possible to use the Wall Walk to jump along a relatively flat ceiling.
Skulk-_Ceiling_Jump_(NS2_Movement)

Skulk- Ceiling Jump (NS2 Movement)

Leap Jump
  • Don't use Leap from the ground without moving.
Always press Forward
W
and then Jump
Space
before using Leap
Mouse 2
in order to get the best speed bonus.

Abilities

Player Abilities

Alien Player Abilities

Alien Vision

Alien Vision
Aura icon
Toggle Alien Vision mode to highlight all units and structures in white, and the terrain in orange.
  • Brightness is affected by lighting in the room.
  • Red emergency lighting and complete darkness are considered as the same brightness level.
Hotkey
F
Targets Players, Units, Structures, Terrain
All Kharaa lifeforms possess hypersensitive retinas that allow Alien Vision (or Dark Vision), which changes the lifeform's perspective in order to distinguish between organisms, structures, and the terrain.

Evolve Menu

Evolve Menu
Evolve menu icon
Opens the Evolve Menu to purchase different Kharaa lifeforms and available Traits using Personal Resources.
Hotkey
B
Targets Lifeforms
Requires Valid ground to spawn player Egg
The Evolve Menu allows Kharaa players to select different lifeforms and unlocked Traits to evolve using Personal Resources. It contains information about each lifeform, such as name, cost, Health, Armor, abilities, effects of each Trait, and more.

Hive Sight

Hive Sight
Hive sight icon
Hive Sight highlights all players and structures in an orange glow. When nearby, Kharaa players can see each other through walls.
  • Parasited targets are visible through walls and glow more brightly.
Range 30
Targets Players, Units, Structures

Hive Sight is an innate passive ability for all Kharaa lifeforms. All nearby visible players, units and structures will be highlighted in an orange glow at all times. Friendly players will also be visible through walls, allowing players to coordinate and position themselves against incoming Frontiersmen forces.

Wall Walk

All Alien units have a movement mechanic that is unique to their class. The Skulk possesses the unique ability to Wall Walk.

  • When you are close to a Wall you can press Jump
    Space
    in order to gain speed.
    • If you touch the wall too closely you will attach yourself and lose some speed even if you press Forward
      W
      . It is recommended to hold the detach button
      CTRL
      in order to maintain your speed better
    • If you look upwards while jumping from a wall you will trade some horizontal momentum in favor of more vertical momentum.

You can Improve your Wall Walking skill in the Skulk Challenge and get a Skulk Challenge Badge based on how well you do.

Sneak

Sneak
Sneak slot
Hotkey
Shift
Speed 4.3 (with Celerity 5.2)
Targets Walls, Props, Structures
Moving silently as a Skulk.
Check green Tip: Marines can hear a Skulk from very far away. Keep that in mind when trying to set an ambush.

Bite

Bite
Icon bite
Hotkey
1
(slot),
Mouse1
(attack)
Energy Icon resources energy neutral 5.85
Damage 75
Type Normal
Range Melee
Fire Rate 0.45 seconds
Targets Marines, Robots, Structures
The Skulk's powerful Bite can rip through both flesh and metal with frightening speed.
Check green Tip: Before Armor 1 upgrade is finished, Marines die to 1 Parasite and 2 Bites

Parasite

Parasite
Icon parasite
Allows aliens to track the inflicted target
  • Parasite projectile travels in a straight line.
  • Parasited targets
    • will appear on the Map as icons.
    • can be seen through walls
Hotkey
2
(slot),
Mouse1
(attack)
Energy Icon resources energy neutral 30
Damage 10
Type Normal
Range 1000
Fire Rate 0.5 seconds
Duration 44 seconds
Targets Marines, Robots, Structures
Infects an enemy target with small Parasites, allowing all Kharaa players to track the target's position through walls using Hive Sight.
Check green Tip: You should try and Parasite every enemy you see, to give your teammates better awareness of the enemy forces!

Leap

Leap
Icon leap
Jump ability that even works mid-air
Hotkey
Mouse 2
TRes Icon team resource neutral 15 (research 40 seconds)
Energy Icon resources energy neutral 45
Speed Base speed + 4
Requires Biomass level 4, Research Leap (Hive)
Leaps toward the Skulk's current direction while on the ground or in mid-air. While leaping, the Skulk gains a move speed bonus.
Check green Tip: Don't use Leap from the ground without moving. Always press Forward
W
and Jump
Space
before using Leap
Mouse 2
in order to get the best speed bonus.

Xenocide

Xenocide
Icon xenocide
Self detonating ability. Does not cost Energy, but requires 30 Energy to activate.
  • Changes to Bite attack after activation.
  • Player will respawn in 6 seconds instead of default spawn time.
Hotkey
3
(slot),
Mouse1
(attack)
TRes Icon team resource neutral 25 to research
Research Time 60 seconds
Energy Icon resources energy neutral 30
Damage 200
Type Normal
Radius 14
Delay 2 seconds
Uses 1
Targets Marines, Robots, Structures, Self
Requires Biomass level 9,
Research Xenocide
Explodes the Skulk after a short delay to damage all nearby Frontiersmen units and structures.
Warning Warning: Xenocide cannot be cancelled once activated, unless the player hits the "Evolve Last Upgrade" button.

Variants

The following images show all the variations of Skulk camouflage (skins) that you may see in the game.

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
Shadow Red eyes, dark blue/purple skin, extrusions on exo-skeletal features. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Originally part of the Reinforcement Program for Shadow Tier & above, and completed with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Kodiak Green eyes, jungle effect skin. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Kodiak update, and completed with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Reaper Red eyes, white skin, black exo-skeletal features. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Reaper update, and completed with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Abyss Blue eyes, blue skin. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Was originally awarded for playing on Caged at its release. The set was completed with the Merry Gorgemas! update (Build 336).
Nocturne Purple eyes and tails. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Release with the Nocturne DLC as part of the NS2 5 year anniversary update (Build 319).
Toxin Green glowing eyes, green patches of skin and green belly. Can be bought in the Customization Screen in-game. Released with the Catalyst update (Build 324).


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