Skulk (Natural Selection 2)


Kharaa
Personal Resources 0 (+0 per Evolution)
Health 75 (+3 per Biomass)	Armor 10 (15 / 20 / 25)
Energy 100 (110 / 120 / 130)
Respawns In:	10 seconds
Respawns From:	Egg
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.

Controls

Main article: Options#Bindings

Skulk Player Controls

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

Abilities

Wall Walk

Sneak

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

Main article: Movement_techniques#Skulk

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)
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)
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)
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.

Sneak

Hotkey	Shift
Speed	4.3 (with Celerity 5.2)
Targets	Walls, Props, Structures

Moving silently as a Skulk.

Tip: Marines can hear a Skulk from very far away. Keep that in mind when trying to set an ambush.

Bite

Parasite

Bite

Hotkey	1 (slot), Mouse1 (attack)
Energy	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.

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	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.

Tip: You should try and Parasite every enemy you see, to give your teammates better awareness of the enemy forces!

Leap

Xenocide

Leap

Jump ability that even works mid-air
Hotkey	Mouse 2
TRes	15 (research 40 seconds)
Energy	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.

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

Self detonating ability Changes to Bite attack after activation. Player will respawn in 6 seconds instead of default spawn time.
Hotkey	3 (slot), Mouse1 (attack)
TRes	25 (research 60 seconds)
Energy	30
Damage	200
Type	Normal
Radius	14
Delay	2 seconds
Uses	1
Targets	Marines, Robots, Structures
Requires	Biomass level 9 Research Xenocide

Explodes the Skulk after a short delay to damage all nearby Frontiersmen units and structures.

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.

Skins

Kharaa

Lifeforms

Classes - Skulk • Gorge • Lerk • Fade • Onos
Mechanics - Alien Vision • Evolve Menu • Hive Sight

Abilities

Base Abilities - Skulk (Sneak • Wall Walking • Bite • Parasite) • Gorge (Belly Slide • Spit • Heal Spray • Build Menu) • Lerk (Flight • Roost • Poison Bite • Spikes) • Fade (Swipe • Blink) • Onos (Gore)

Unlockable Abilities - Sulk (Leap • Xenocide) • Gorge (Bile Bomb) • Lerk (Spores • Umbra) • Fade (Metabolize • Advanced Metabolize • Stab) • Onos (Stomp • Charge • Bone Shield)

Evolutions

Traits - Shift Hive (Adrenaline • Celerity • Crush) • Shade Hive ( Aura • Camouflage • Focus) • Crag Hive (Carapace • Regeneration • Vampirism)
Removed - Frenzy • Swarm • Phantom • Silence • Feign Death • Hyper-mutation

Commander

Mechanics - Alien Commander • Biomass • Infestation • Maturation • Consume • Resource Model
Abilities - Heal Wave • Ink • Echo • Nutrient Mist • Rupture • Bone Wall • Contamination • Enzyme Cloud • Hallucination Cloud • Mucous Membrane

Units / Structures

Gorge - Babbler • Hydra • Clog • Webs
Build - Cyst • Harvester • Drifter • Tunnel • Hive (Egg) • Pheromones
Advanced - Crag • Shade • Shift • Whip • Shell • Veil • Spur

Miscellaneous

Game Information - Options • Maps • Console Commands • Patches
In Game - Damage Types • Status Icons • Ranking System • Badges
Other - Skins • DLC • Mapping • Matched Play