Tunnel Turf- Narrow tunnels tend to be alien territory, mainly because of alien mobility and access. However, aliens do not usually hold the advantage in tunnel warfare. The drone and the predalien can not pounce inside tunnels, unless you leave them crawling (press / ). Runners, though, can pounce either way because of their small size. Keep this in mind. A smart thing to do to when faced with tunnel-camping opponents is to backtrack in the face of danger and use superior alien mobility to come in from another entrance to the tunnel, so as to surprise the enemy.
Melee Preds- Predators armed with combisticks (spears), or even wristblades (claws), can rip you a new one as easily as if you were a tied-down watermelon. Do not use your claw attack or tail against these predators. Only use pounce. Back off from these preds when they charge you, aim, and pounce. Even if you have stunned them, back away from them and pounce them again. The reason is that they can keep on swinging these weapons even if they are stunned and immobile. This strategy applies to humans with flamethrowers, too, though you need greater distance.
Circling- After you have stunned an opponent with pounce or tail, you can still be killed, as they can still aim (slowly) and fire. So, after stunning enemies it is important to quickly strafe-circle and jump around them so that you are facing their back-side, and then to claw them to death. You can get in the habit of circling after stunning, which results in your death if you have stunned your opponent safely from behind and then proceed to waltz into his line-of-fire. So, use self-control to stop yourself before you do that.
Tail Whip- Queens are often at a disadvantage when enemies hide in small tunnels or other places where the queen can’t enter. When they try and take a pot-shot at you, use your tail attack next to the entrance to reach into the tunnel. The queen’s tail has a surprising amount of reach and power.
Follow the Queen- There’s nothing scarier than a huge, roaring queen alien barging down on a player, unless it’s a queen armed with a retinue of speedy alien grunts. Follow queens, and while she takes the worst of the damage, overwhelm distracted opponents and save the queen by attacking enemies in places she can’t reach.
Patience, Patience- When you sight an enemy emerging from a tunnel or entering the room you are in, you may get into the situation where they back off and wait for you to show your ugly face so they can shoot it. Instead of walking into their line-of-fire, or just standing there waiting for them to enter, use your wall-walking ability to get on the threshold above the entrance, and then wait. If your opponent walks in, simply fall on them and attack from behind.
Skip to My- Praetorians and queens can not pounce. To make up for this, jump often as you charge enemies. This helps avoid enemy fire. Also, weapons with particular firing patterns, such as the slow-shot rocket-launcher, are easier to avoid damage from, if you keep track of the firing pattern and know when to jump.
Predalien Crouch- The predalien is too large to move around easily on many maps, and makes an easy target. Leaving the predalien crouching is often the best way to improve mobility, and it also surprises enemies when they're being attacked low. (Note: As a drone, I also prefer leaving it crouching throughout the game.)
Survivor- In human/prey and alien/mutant Survivor games, the humans will often camp together. This gets to be very, very annoying when large numbers of them do this in dm_quarantine and dm_leadworks. In dm_quarantine, they will hide in the basement chamber, slaughtering anything that gets near the one entrance, and in dm_leadworks, they will do this in the one-way spawn tunnel in the lower level. The only way to beat this lame strategy is to message any other aliens in the game and to gather outside the entrances to these to areas. Watch out for humans who will catch on and try to take potshots and chuck grenades at you. However, once enough aliens have gathered, coordinate the charge and attack at the same time. It is very satisfying to break up the campers- from each other and their heads- this way. In dm_verloc, humans will hide underneath the stairs, in a small enclosure with a small entrance. Make sure your alien is crouching, and then get on the level section beneath and in front of the entrance, and pounce directly into the enclosure. Most players don't know how easy it is to get into the stairway camping area as an alien. In dm_depot, humans will also camp en masse in the underground room with two entrances. Avoid the main, sloping tunnel entrance, and attack through the flooded sewer tunnel entrance. You can either pounce straight from the water all the way to the dry area where the humans are, or, if there are grenades in the water, wall-walk sideways all the way to where the humans are. When you do this, strafe sideways back and forth as you approach, or hide behind the hanging rails, so they won't get a clear shot on you.
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s an Alien!- In wide open maps like dm_alesserfate and dm_compound, it is even more important as an alien for you to not stay still. If you move slowly, you are at a tremendous disadvantage against long-ranged opponents, so make up for this by using pounce at 45-degree angles to move from one side of the map to the other over and over, landing by enemies, killing them, and moving on as you do so.
Rail Shield- In maps like dm_verloc and dm_auriga, there are many rails on the top parts of the level. Use crouch (hold ctrl or press / ) to hide behind these rails as you approach enemies. If you don’t do this, their fire will be soaked up by your head instead of the rails.
dm_alesserfate- Although the best way to not get killed when you are AFK or “away from keyboard,” is to die and stay in camera mode, you can still stay alive by using wall-walk to hide in the two large vertical shafts in the center building of the map. This is good for when you have to message others, too, whether it’s to chat with the chicky in the game or to tell the SKer he’s an asswipe.
dm_auriga- The outside chamber with the idle ship is the best place to get a drop on opponents. On the high wall, right above the two entrances is a great place to wait and fall behind opponents who are coming out and looking toward the ship for enemies. You can also try for death from above by falling on them while they think they are safely camping on the ship. A good thing to do every time you enter this chamber is to immediately wall-walk to the ceiling, and then to get your bearings on the enemy. If you become a queen, avoid the inside areas of this map, as mobility is highly limited by the queen’s size, and stay by the ladder outside. Stay near the wall, wait for enemies to walk out either entrance, and rack up the kills.
dm_depot- This one’s just for fun. There are two large towers in this map, and they are great for bungee-style jumping. Once you get to the highest part of the side of a tower, you can pounce from one to the other by having your back to the other tower and pouncing up and back, or pounce high into the air and spin around while you fall. It’s extremely fun, and worth trying. Just don’t reach the very top of the towers, because they are electrified and you’ll fry.
dm_stronghold- The central building is surrounded by a narrow courtyard in this map. Instead of walking in the courtyard like the human and predator chumps, wall-walk to the top of the building when you are outside. You get an excellent bird’s-eye view and can then pounce or jump on opponents you spot below you and surprise them from behind. Other races can’t reach this area.
dm_verloc- The narrow hallways that surround this map are excellent for aliens to hide in. All you have to do is walk on the ceiling, and the combination of darkness, inclination, and narrow spacing will make opponents easily miss your presence and enable head-bites and ambushes.
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