Parasite is an alien scouting ability, available to all Skulks. It takes the form of a needle-like projectile that skulks spit at their foes to "mark" or "tag" them with small insect parasites.
When marines are tagged they glow yellow, every alien can see them on the map, and they can spot them through the walls.

Hotkey: 2 (slot)
Energy Cost: 30 (3 consecutive attacks, or 4 with adrenaline, so don't spam it)
Damage: 10
Tag duration: 44sec of wallhack / maphack

Marines can see that they're parasited, and everyone in the Marine team can see when their mates are parasited as well, including the commander. Their names are highlighted yellow and they're yellow on the map as well.

1 – Scouting and strategical advantage

When a marine is parasited, you can see him on your map. This gives you and your team precious intel to the position of one particular strong marine, the position of a group, or the intentions of your foes. By spying on their movement, you can predict their actions, and react accordingly.
You can ask other teammates for reinforcement on a particular position; you can set up an ambush; you can delay the drop of a Hive; or you can sneak behind enemy lines unnoticed.
Intel is a very strong asset in this game, and parasite gives exactly that. It gives you this strategical extra edge. That is why it's important to parasite marines, even if you don't fight them. For example, you can parasite them, do something else, and then decide to come back and gang up on a group of humans with your lifeformes when they start to threaten your territory.

I'll give you an example of why you shouldn't underestimate Parasite and why it's important.
In 6v6 NS2 competitive play, in mid game, aliens have higher lifeforms (usually 2 lerks and 2 fades, plus 1 gorge or 1 skulk). Because of that, the Khaaras can't parasite efficiently anymore. Well sometimes, alien players start to freak out because they can't see any enemy moving on their minimap, so they need to actually go scout themselves which puts their lifeforms in danger. Also, they can't predict marines' moves so it's harder to react properly, and finally it's dangerous because lifeforms can get trapped by sneaky marines.
So, if pros trust, use, and rely on Parasite a lot, that's a good reason to use it yourself, don't you think?

2 – Early game EZ-Kill

When marines are on Armor 0, they can take 160 damage before biting the dust. One bite is 75, and one parasite is 10, so you can actually take down a marine with 2 bites and 1 parasite (75+75+10=160). That is the fastest and easiest way to kill marines in the first 2 mins of the game. This is why most marine commanders rush Armor 1. And if they don't, lucky you !
As a result, it is IMPERATIVE that you parasite every marine you see in the two to three first minutes of the game. It gives you an extra edge !
PROTIP: the Skulks' Bite attack has a fire rate of 0.45sec. So, if you wanna look pro, you can bite a marine, quickly switch to Parasite and land one on him, then switch back to Bite within 0.45sec to land your second bite. Then all your friends will be amazed at how fast you killed that guy ! Good job, skulk !

3 – Destroying Mines

Parasite is one easy way to deal with mines. If you spot some badly placed mines from a distance, or if you spot one while you're scouting, you can parasite the mine from afar several times until it explodes. Be sure to stay a safe distance from it, otherwise you will be caught in the explosion radius !

The next part is more focused on 1v1 situations and the like.

4 – Tactical advantage

To tag a marine with Parasite provides a tactical advantage, because it sets you in for the kill. It gives you an extra edge. It gives you a wallhack. If you are fighting a marine 1v1, when you parasite you get an advantage on him because you know where the enemy is (regardless of your own position) and he doesn't know where you are. You don't always need to rush at a marine head on, you can sneak your way around and set up an ambush at the exit of the next room, where you'll be fighting in your own terms, on your own terrain. If it's not advantageous for you to take the fight, let's say the marine is in a corridor or a large open room, just parasite him and wait for him at the next corner, where he needs to close the distance on you, and he has less time to shoot at you. It's all about closing the distance. Basically, if you can't take a fight which is in your favour, I recommend you don't take it at all. Use Parasite, keep an eye on this one marine, and postpone your attack to a more advantageous moment for you and your mates.
Fight on your own terms !

5 – Mind Games

This is true especially for 1v1 situations.
When you Parasite a marine, you put the player under stress, because HE KNOWS he is parasited, he knows you're here, and more importantly... he knows he's hunted. You're the hunter, he is the prey. He's the rabbit, you're the wolf. A rabbit with a rifle, but still.
Now is a perfect time to play with your food.
You can make all kinds of fakes moves, run around pillars and evade him while knowing his position with your wallhack, you can bait some shots and when you can see him reloading... GO IN FOR THE KILL!

Moreover, I would like to highlight that a marine who has been parasited usually changes his behaviour for 45sec.

He can become more cautious and take some time to check his corners better, or look for you (fortunately you can evade him easily by sneaking around). All this takes time, and by parasiting a guy, you make him WASTE HIS TIME. This is crucial because time is a valuable thing in NS2. Only by parasiting one guy, you can make him doubt, slow down and lose his momentum. That's huge.
Some marines even are scared and run back ! You caused this from a distance with your parasite, and imagine this: he is looking for you, cautiously, wasting time... while you're not even there anymore ! You basically shut down this guy for 30sec while not even being in the room with him. It's all happening in his head. You can virtually be at two places at the same time with that trick !

Parasite is effectively useful to waste marines' time, and save reaction time for your time. Double the benefice.

6 – Resbite Mind Games

Parasite can be your best tool when biting marines' extractors.
Basically, what you want to do, is bite the resource tower 5 to 10 times, then pause for 1 second and listen for footsteps. This allows you to regenerate energy, and also to know if someone comes to defend the extractor. In the case you spot someone, parasite them and bail if you can, instead of getting killed. Then go bite another extractor.
From this moment on, two things can happen:
1) The marine decides to weld the first extractor or not chase you. Perfect, you can destroy the second extractor and come back for the first one later.
2) They decide to go after you.
Since you're faster than humans, you can circle around 2 rooms and bite each extractors little by little, wearing them both down while evading the defender. He's going to waste his time running between the two rooms, only to find them empty each times he enters, you being already gone to the other room. Eventually after a few moments of this dance, you'll manage to destroy bother extractors. Good job !
Since you have a wallhack thanks to Parasite, you know exactly where they are and what they're doing, so you can bail BEFORE the defender becomes a threat to you.
Doing this little hit and run tactics is valuable because it wastes manpower: this marine chasing you in vain is one less marine that is attacking your hive, one less threat. He is achieving nothing, and you're achieving your goal, slowly but surely.
Remember to refresh the parasite from time to time because it only lasts 44sec. So at some point you want to wait for the marine you're dancing with at a corner, and spit at him again.

Here is a little example that is very common: biting Skylights and Overlook extractors on ns2_veil (Paint proskills).


Basically what you want to do is bite Skylights, wait for a marine to show up in the corridor, parasite him quickly then go through the vent to Overlook and attack that extractor. When the marine comes after you, just go back in the vent towards skylights before he can see you. He then has to run all the way back with his inferior speed, while you're wearing down his resource tower.
Use the wallhack to your advantage !

Using Parasite is pretty straightforward. Just aim at the marine and spit!
No, for real, if you're scouting or setting up an ambush, you should not stand in the middle of an empty room. You need to take long lines from which you can easily disappear behind a wall, a cover, or a prop. It's ok to stand on the ground as long as you get the jump on the marine, parasite him, then strafe behind a wall right after.
If you're not particularly scouting, I still recommend to try to parasite the marine you're going to attack when you're wall-jumping to get closer. If you can't kill him, at least you'll know where he's going and you can track him down on your map while you respawn.
Just quickswitch back to Bite before you engage in melee. For example, I always keep Parasite on when I move around, in case I spot someone in the distance, I can just spit at them then stop my motion and hide, or evade and go somewhere else.

Otherwise, if you're setting up for parasite, aim at corners from where marine will appear, and position yourself where they're not looking first. That's a good rule of thumb.

Examples of lines you can take (click on the pictures):

Contact line, right at the start of the game before the first fights. Just like using an AWP in Counter-Strike !
Hidden Line. Parasite from a safe spot, unnoticed, and go behind cover quickly.
Vent Line (be careful because skilled marines will pre-aim or pre-shoot these spots, so you need to parasite quickly and then go away).


If you played Counter-Strike, using Parasite is similar to using an AWP. Take a line, shoot once, then go away. You can also pre-aim some corners or some positions and jiggle-peek, or just pre-aim the marines through the wall if you want to refresh your para.

It's ok to be parasited. It's annoying, but there are some ways to react about it, and sometimes trick aliens.

1 - Wait and defend, or hold lanes (solo)

So, you're parasited, you're scared to move forward and attack... Well, ok then, defend. All you need to do is to set up camp for the next 40sec in an advantageous position, for example a long corridor where it's easy to shoot skulks, and wait. While you're here, the aliens know it, and by your mere presence you might deter them from going where you stand watch and attack what's behind you.
Otherwise you could redeploy to block a lane or a path leading to your backline and just stand watch there. Let the other teammates do their job attacking stuff, you're out, you're on defense duty.

2 - Trick: bait corner attacks (solo)

One thing you can do if you saw the skulk who parasited you, is to go where he's ambushing, pretend to pass that corner, but at the last moment you strafe-jump backwards. This way the skulk will probably get out of his hiding spot, thinking he's got the jump on you, but you threw his aim off at the last moment and now you have a chance at a fair, close-range fight against him.

3 - Trick: fake extractor dance (solo)

This one is a trick for recappers and people who defend extractors.
When you need to defend an extratcor but the skulk is hiding behind, he sees you through it, and he's trying to dance around the extractor to avoid you, do this trick.
Approach the extractor running, go straight for the right (or left) side of the extractor. Before you pass it, at the last moment, strafe on the opposite side and attack from this one side ! The skulk will see you going into one direction and will predict your movement, ready to evade you on the other side like your little brother behind the kitchen table when he stole the last functionning PS4 controller from you and he doesn't want to give it back. But instead of both running around in circles, you will get closer to the skulk and you can preshoot him.
This trick usually works quite well.

4 - Aggro Bait (group)

Remember guys: it's easier to shoot the skulks attacking your teammates than the skulks attacking you. So what you could do if you're tagged, is set up with your team mates: they cover you while you go first in a room to bait the aggro. The skulks will see you and focus you if you enter alone because you're a big yellow light, while other marines will shoot down all the skulks attacking you from a safe distance. Your only job is to make sure you remain in their line of sight. You may die in the process, but it's gonna be much easier for your team to clear the room.

4.1 Commander Medpack bait

A little note derived from that precedent paragraph. If you're a marine commander and a guy does bait the aggro, medpack this guy! If you're giving medpacks during a fight, pay as much attention as you can to the guy who is parasited, because he's likely to be focused. So it's very easy to keep one guy alive long enough for his mates to help him ! It's also less people to give medpacks to, making the whole thing much simpler. I often use this in 6v6, even if the guy is not parasited, I usually give most medpacks to the first guy who takes the aggro so the guy behind him can have easy kills because his "decoy" friend is still alive.

5 - Fake decoy entry (duo)

This trick is the reverse of the aggro bait. Basically, to pull it off, you need one "cautious" parasited marine, and one other non-parasited marine. The non-parasited marines enters first with the intent to kill the ambushing skulks above him while his mate covers him. What happens is that if skulks see one parasited marine, they'll set up an ambush above the entrance to the room. Their attention is focused on the yellow guy through the wall, so when the normal marine enters the room first, they're caught by surprise.

6 - Group up (group)

In order to stay safe when you're parasited, go group up with more team mates. Look on the map where the biggest group of marines is located, and make your way there. Chances are that this big group of marines is spotted anyway, so one more tagged guy won't change a thing and won't give aliens this little extra edge.

7 - Bait for lifeforms response (solo Kamikaze attack)

When you're tagged, all aliens see you. If you act threateningly, it will trigger a response from the alien team, and you can use this behaviour to buy some time for your other friendlies to push another position with more ease.
What you want to do is move up fast in alien territory (while still checking your corners, ofc), for example to a harvester location, and start breaking cysts chains and shooting resource towers to make them flash. The deeper you go, the better. Most likely you will attract 2 or 3 skulks or lerks that will come crush you. Your attack had no chance to succeed, but the point was to make some aliens run back into their territory to create room for your friendlies to move forward unharmed. Of course, don't do that if you have expensive gear on you (a jetpack, a weapon, or a welder).
Good job soldier, you took one for the team. Now respawn and get through that phase gate !

8 - Bait for jiggle-peeks from skulks (solo)
Sometimes, some skulks stay on the ground and try to chain-parasite you. They tag you, hide behind a wall, then try to deter you from attacking by pre-aiming you and jiggle-peeking behind their cover to para you again. It's fine. If they do that, they waste their time. What you can do in that case is hold your lane, find a cover yourself, and play their little game. Pre-aim where they're jiggle-peeking from, and shoot at them with your gun, or unload a full clip of pistol as fast as you can (because it's very precise, you can do insane ammounts of damage in a short time if you click fast enough, if you know exactly where the alien is, and if he's standing still).
Guess what, they can't kill you with parasite, but you can kill them with guns. You have the upper hand at that game.

Thanks for reading this guide. I hope it helped you. I made it in order to entice more people in public plays to parasite more, as it provides invaluable intel to you and your team. It's a very powerful and somewhat underrated tool (only because it's not deadly) that needs to be used as often as possible.

Cheers, and keep on spitting at marines, guys !

PS: if you have anything to say in order to improve this guide, leave a comment or contact me via steam. I may edit some things after your feedback.



V1.0
05/12/2018