Onos is a big and slow tank which can take a lot punishment without dieing, but due to slowness and big size it’s also a bullet magnet, so be careful. Onos is good against HA, for example if your hive is being sieged by HA squad, you can try to sneak from such direction that they wont notice you until its too late, and when you get close to one of the HA’s just devour him, or stomp and devour if you have 2 hives, and then just run away to somewhere where you can enjoy your meal peacefully. After you’re done and hungry again, do it again until the siegepoint is taken down. It’s all about stomp ‘n devour. JP’s are the most dangerous enemies to Onos since it is very slow and clumsy and can’t jump very high, unless of course the map is tight, with narrow corridors and there are hardly any large and high rooms.

Ns tanith is a typical ns map with a nice simple layout. These basics for a successful alien game can be adapted to most of the maps. First let’s start with the conditions needed to win as aliens.

1. Resource Towers (4-5 is enough, but the more the better)
2. Second hive (preferably drop it in 3-4minutes)

Lets say we start with sat com hive. Having decided we need these two conditions to win we look at the mini map. As we start on the right the middle hive is our best option. Now we need to ask how we can defend the middle hive. The mini map shows that there are only two routes to the middle hive available to the marines. If we can block these routes the middle hive will be secure. Obviously we want to block them where it is easy to defend and where it is difficult for marines to bypass the defences. The obvious locations are the entrance to cargo and chemical transport. This has the advantage of also securing sat com and 4 extra resource nodes, with the advantage that aliens only have to defend two places.

So if we defend the entrance to cargo and chemical transport our team will most probably win. It really is that simple. So now we are over the first hurdle, we looked at the map and identified vital locations that need to be defended.

If you’re not playing with retards, some of the players on your team will appreciate the importance of defending these spots. Here marines have a huge advantage because the commander can organize them into one group and launch a devastating assault on one of these two points. In order to successfully defend against this, almost the entire alien team will have to be defending that point when the blow falls.

Before alien players can attack they must ensure the defences will hold. Thus effective alien teams will build OC’s in these two spots. Once the chambers are up you don't need such a big covering force. Add a lerk and the defences become strong enough to allow many players to go on the attack. You need scouts watching both entrances to give advance warning of where the next attack is coming. The aliens can then get many players there to defend. Half of your team should still be involved in defending these two areas and doing nothing else. If one is undefended it’s your job, if you see marines coming call for backup. The other half of your team is now free to strike at the enemy, but only when you have adequate static defences.

Your most vulnerable moment comes in the first 30 seconds when many players are gorging. Assuming that all the skulks cover the two vital spots you still won't have enough to defend, unless the gorges getting the RT’s gorge and go back to skulk before the gorges getting OC’s gestate. There is nothing worse than an omelette.

If even a single skulk is not at cargo or chem you are far more likely to lose. Attacking and killing marines as soon as the game begins, instead of defending most probably means that you will lose. Ns is very different from combat. It doesn’t matter how many kills you get or even if your team has a far better K : D than the other, if you don't defend all those über skulks might as well be in the RR. Though you get some personal resources from every kill you get, as does marine team from you.