Dretch detailed guide [DRAFT - Any help/suggestions appreciated]

Tremulous Tactics & Tutorials
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#[color=#DD0000]~[/color] The Dretch - Overview

The dretch is the smallest alien, and the offensive evo-free spawn option. It has the ability to walk on walls, and bites automatically when in range.

It is the humans’ main income/kill source, sadly, not only because a lot of people misuse it, but especially because it is incredibly fragile. First, any splash weapon (lucifer cannon, flamethrower) will either kill or severely damage them. The mass driver will be able to one-shot kill it from almost any range. Shotguns will one-shot kill them most of the time. Decent/good rifles will close to instantly get rid of it with 1/6th of their clip (5 bullets, 0.45 secs if all 5 hit directly). The lasgun kills it in 3 shots (0.6 seconds if no miss). The painsaw will kill it on contact. Teslas will either kill it instantly or throw them far away.

The main issue with the dretch is that close to everyone nowadays has no clue how to play it, or will carelessly throw themselves at human groups to only hope getting a bite/kill out of their action. A lot of people will stay on the floor and block bigger aliens (on top of making themselves an instant kill). The dretch currently will also get bumped all over the place by charging (even walking!) rants, pouncing dragoons, or simply even any alien’s missed (on humans) hits, which can be extremely handicapping or even a direct cause of death.

However, when used right and in specific situations, the dretch can be extremely frustrating to the opponents and a more than worthy asset to the alien team.

#[color=#DD0000]~[/color] Statistics

  • Health: 25
  • Speed: 1.3
  • Regen: 1 per second
  • Bite damage: 48 [color=fuchsia][Armour/body parts maths needed][/color]
  • Bite repeat rate: 500 ms
  • Bite range: 64 quake units
  • Price: free
  • Credits on death: 175

[color=fuchsia]Comparisons needed[/color]

#[color=#DD0000]~[/color] Usage tips, tricks and things to know

  • Target priority varies, first, lock in a single target, preferably a low HP one (anything that isn’t in a battlesuit, unless close to death). Second, you should only change if it allows you to save a teammate, if target gets out of range or dies, if your base is threatened (spawns, overmind) or if there is a weak human close to you trying to escape. In groups, you can decide to bully or deny humans in the backline that aren’t directly fighting bigger aliens, or you can decide to help dragoons to take down a threatening target faster (wallwalk is FRIEND).

  • Waiting for the right situation to show up before engaging is recommended. This includes waiting for humans’ reload before jumping in. Better dretches may be able to waste human ammo by themselves before attacking.

  • Avoid just throwing yourself in a long, straight hall without covers (such as ATCS mid-hall). It will often result in an instant death. Instead, be patient, ambush the humans in advantageous spots, or wait for your team to join you.

  • The dretch has very low HP but a very good speed, and small size. Use this to your advantage and DODGE. There are many ways of doing so. Big circular movements, wiggling, left-rights, strafe jumps, wall-to-floor-to-wall jumps,… Anything can work if you are doing big movements and are unpredictable and fast enough.

  • Use wallwalk as much as you can. It improves your chances of succesfully dodging very highly, gives access to more potential headbites, and prevents most blocking from happening.

  • Use the map’s obstacles to your advantage. This includes but is not limited to: crates, pillars, grates, glass, wall support, holes, pipes (if mapped properly, so that it is easy to wallwalk over)…

  • A dretch can take out one or two rets by itself if they are isolated or crossing eachother’s line of sight. Simply orbit around them and bite each time you go by either of them.

  • An evasive dretch hitting a few headbites in low amounts of time will shred helmetted humans badly, and provide excellent opening for bigger aliens. It should alarm them and change their target priority to focus the dretch, and hinder their organization/positioning, which will result in the engaging goons or tyrants helplessly killing them.

  • Various movement techniques such as strafe or directional jumping used right will greatly benefit a dretch.

  • If a mass driver isn’t threatening your base directly and is camping an entrance, you may (and should) ignore him or wait for a bigger alien to engage before going in. Not doing so may result in an impressive feeding fest.

  • In HS1, the sounds will often be a cause of an easy death. Avoid using taunt and jumping too much especially if you are trying to hide.

  • Hiding in bigger aliens’ corpses may allow you to surprise and kill less experienced players. Better players rarely get fooled by this.

  • You can boost granger up higher inaccessible places at stage 1 by letting them jump continually on top of you, using wallwalk. Simply go straight up as they keep jumping on top of you.

  • Setting wallwalking speed to Fast or Instant (cvar: cg_wwSmooth from 0 (instant) to 125 (fast) (in ms)) is a lot less confusing and makes the transition between surfaces smoother. This is located in the options → game tab.

  • The dretch costing no evoes isn’t a reason to purposely/carelessly feed when using it.

#[color=#DD0000]~[/color] Synergies

In teamfights, the dretch is best used in combination with dragoons, and more rarely, with decent or good basilisks/marauders. It can be a great asset to any alien in the team if used properly, aside from rants who will usually make it close to useless. Obviously that doesn’t mean you should just avoid playing dretch if you have no evoes and rants all over the place.

[color=40FF00]Dragoons:[/color] During teamfights, good wall/ceiling dretches not only won’t block dragoons at all, but also will easily chunk humans down while they focus the goon. If the dragoon is unable to finish the human off, the dretches will often chase and take them down rather easily. If the humans decide to target the dretch instead, there are great chances they will regret it.

[color=40FF00]Basilisks/Marauders:[/color] Also known as priority hell, if the human focuses the dretches, they will get grabbed by basis or clawed down by good maras. If the human focuses the other aliens, a good dretch will seriously damage them or even kill them. Being all small/medium aliens with great mobility means blocking shouldn’t be often a problem. The dretch is usually a very welcomed damage dealer for those aliens. Some basilisk players might hand you their grabbed kills. Be careful, stealing basilisk kills is only ok if you really need evoes (eg. if you have 5 evoes, avoid doing it) and people might get pissed at you for doing it.
Note that good basilisks/marauders are rare these days and you might not be able to play it out the way you wanted. Also note that this combination loses in strength with S3 and bigger packs of humans.

[color=CDFF00]Other dretches:[/color] Basically, every dretch in your group rushes the humans at once. The point is to completely swarm and overwhelm them numerically. This is often referred to as dretch storm (not to mistake with the old clan/server named after this). This may often lead to massive feeding, but is powerful when done right. Other than this tactic in particular, don’t expect much.

[color=FF2200]Tyrants:[/color] Worst combo you could think of as aliens (and, very likely, in the entire game!). The tyrants usually won’t need any help from the dretches, which will also often block the tyrant’s movement or hits, which means the dretches will get bumped around badly, which also means they get thrown into luci splashes (since people fighting rants will very often be lucis) and other hazardous/unwanted situations. They will also make humans wear battlesuits and/or jetpacks, or just generally camp in base, resulting in a deep efficiency pit for dretches.
Really, the only benefit is that dretches might be able to chase weakened (eg. 20 hps) targets in heated up places before getting rolled over. Or, baits.

#[color=#DD0000]~[/color] Suggested roles and positions in groups

The dretch is an excellent chaser due to its speed and small size, allowing it to sneak into any place. Weakened targets are also a big priority for them. Outside of chasing situations and teamfights, ambushing is often the better idea. The dretch can make an excellent bait, and is also exceedingly good at distracting humans when used properly. In the right hands, it can even be used as an efficient engaging tool.

  • [color=#FFAAAA]General positioning[/color]

You should use the ceiling or upper part of a wall as much as possible, especially with bigger aliens around. That includes moving from alien base to the battlefield, etc.

When grouped, stay over a dragoon, or a tyrant’s head, using wallwalk. On the lower part of a ramp behind bigger aliens is also acceptable, but may block them if they fail to walk over you or bump their head in the ceiling. Generally, behind corners (often a bit back or on top of the wall to prevent blocking), or hidden in sneaky spots.

Upon engagement of bigger aliens in a fight, try to get behind or over the fighting humans so you get out of their sight (you can also try blocking their dances), and avoid blocking other aliens. What happens next is dependent on how much threat you’ll output:

  • If very threatening (as in, more than the big aliens themselves, so a lot of headbites in a small amount of time), you may completely delete any form of organization in the humans’ group and make them panick from pressure damage. Getting focused is likely to happen, given they don’t die instantly.
  • If mildly threatening, just getting a few bites here and there, or slightly out of range, chances are only the people in charge of dretch removal will attempt to eliminate you (mass drivers, rifles, backline shotties,…).
  • If not threatening at all, barely outputting any damage, or completely out of range, chances are humans won’t even pay any attention to you. If that is the case and you fail to apply damage, you should get ready to chase any human that’ll try chasing weak aliens, running away or seek cover to regenerate.

If you are a few meters behind a fight and doubt you can make it there in time, you can attempt to catch any chaser trying to kill a running alien. Try to hinder their movement to save the other alien if necessary.

#[color=#DD0000]~[/color] Suggested strategies & tactics

[color=FFFF00]Yellow[/color] cross is a dretch.
[color=blue]Blue[/color] dots are humans.
[color=cyan]Cyan[/color] dots are human turrets.
[color=red]Red[/color] dots are aliens.
Lines are lines of sight. Arrows describe a movement.

  • [color=FFAAAA]Cheap bait[/color]

The dretch costs nothing, and is also the main human income from how fragile it is. We can use these assets to bait.
Briefly show yourself if the threat is not too great and make a lot of noise. Abuse of jump (if hidden) and taunt. Everytime the humans advance, make sure you never get in their line of sight for more than half a second. Keep taunting and run back to the bigger aliens waiting for them in a corner or blind spot.
Note, this doesn’t work if the hidden aliens are making any noise.

Humans know the dretch is there but it protects itself well and drags them to a rant.

  • [color=FFAAAA]Bullying/denying backlines[/color]

Situation: Your team engages the humans, but, a few meters behind them, 2 rifles are threatening to completely change the outcome of the fight. You can decide to go past the main fight, and target the backlining rifles instead. The point is to completely grab their attention, so you must be threatening: Wallwalk around their faces, constantly try to be close to them and bite them. Use your taunt as much as you can to show them you exist. This requires being really evasive but is a radical solution.

Good example of a dretch applying this tactic.

  • [color=FFAAAA]Interception[/color]

Simply run in front of the chasing/running human’s legs. Start dodging immediately and use the surprise factor to bite him down. If you don’t instantly die while intercepting a chasing human, and/or manage to deal good damage to him, the running alien may choose to fight back. Being succesful at this requires fast reflexes and decent experience with the dretch’s gameplay.

Chase interception.

Looks like our running friend has stumbled upon a serious problem.

Other examples. Trickier if you choose the jump option since you will be exposed.

  • [color=FFAAAA]Turret distraction[/color]

Simply spin the turrets around. This will give bigger aliens a breach to exploit in the enemy defense before/during a rush. Try to jump in from an angle that isn’t covered by the rets: they will be slow to rotate before shooting you. “Surfing” the turrets (running on top of them) also works great. If you manage to do it right, you can make them kill you in the totally opposite direction to base entrance.

In this example, most of the rets will turn around.

  • [color=FFAAAA]Suicide turret chase/dive[/color]

First off, avoid doing this if there is any tesla around. Second, use only on VERY weak humans.
Basically, intercept the human right before it is on the medipad. If a naked human got bled in their base (common), this can also be applied. Jumping on top of the armoury may make the turrets unable to shoot you in most bases, which can be an interesting asset to use.
This requires a combination of speed, anticipation, good control of the dretch, and good knowledge about turrets in general.
This can be useful to master but is very tricky and difficult to achieve.

Examples with ATCS’ human default base location:

The turrets are optimized to shoot in the dretch’s direction. Unlikely to work.

Surfing them from the side will make them have to rotate up before shooting. Good.

THIS IS A DRAFT. FEEL FREE TO CONTRIBUTE OR CRITICIZE. KTHX.

Also, feel free to suggest what weapon/class/other (grenade, building) guide you wish to see next.

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Yes 1/s

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Also tell me if the yellow in these images is hard to see or makes your eyes bleed.

Actually - Did the transparency wrong so I’ll reupload those in a bit.

Edit: fixed.

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You forgot Lasergun, which is able to kill many of them easily

You’re joking right? :joy:

You should add that the best option for wallwalking is “Fast” or “Instant”. (Menù → Option → etc.), explaining why.

Strafe Jumps:
Video from Kaitoss (best dretch evah)

Video from One.Ira ( (eVo)Dima’s brother ) some strafe on ATCS

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Good catch, I meant to write ceiling.

Adding both in, although the lasgun isn’t that efficient at killing dretches (less than the rifle, MD, and shotty atleast) - I’ll add a note about it.

Setting wallwalking speed to Fast or Instant is less confusing [color=fuchsia][and speeds up transition between walls? confirmation needed][/color]. This is located in the options → game tab.

I doubt they would make this a gameplay changing feature, but you never know with quake/tremulous anyway.

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Nope. Lasergun is the best arm against dretches.
The fact that nobody know that when there are many dretches rushing at you you have to shoot with the “zig zag” method (and therefore cover a large area of fire, - only chain and lasergun are able to do it -) rather than aim for one only is another question.

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In situations of immediate threat, the lasgun can take a few seconds to get rid of a dodging dretch where the rifle or the shotty would shred it to pieces almost instantly. Generally with multiple dretches being dangerously close the lasgun gets fucked.

Especially because of the 200ms repeat rate, missing 2 shots makes it a 1 sec kill already. Missing 2 or 3 shots with the rifle (90ms) is barely over half a second (0.63 or 0.72 for 3), and the more you add missed shots to those maths the bigger the gap becomes.

If we are talking longer range then yes, you can just sit there and spam all day long.

Don’t worry tho bby, the lasgun is amazing for a lot of other things than dretches.

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Well except for the shotgun (that it still has 8 bullets and an eternal reload), all human weapons work as well. Only experienced players can combine different abilities coming out from situations generally dramatic, but unless you have a lucifer in hand you are always dead if are raining dretches from all sides.

If you miss 2-3 shots with a massdrivers against 4 dretches, you’re dead (even if you have an helmet)

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MD is better than rifle to take out far away/mid range dretches and suffers in close range.
Rifle is better and more forgiving in close/medium range but suffers against small aliens in long range.
Lasgun has no reload, is good in mid/long range and works similar to the rifle, suffers but remains relatively viable in close range. The fact that the rifle outclasses it in mid/close range, that the MD outclasses it for dretches and how often the MD is played suggests finding other main uses for it than prioritizing dretches (and, it actually does have a good bunch of niche uses on smaller maps).

Which probably explains why the lasgun is underplayed (because the maps most played are mostly CQC/medium range, and because poking isn’t really needed when everyone is constantly rolling their faces on the keyboard and instantly pouncing at whatever they see). Oh also because it is one of the least efficient weapons against the fucking tyrants who r everywhere.

Back when people played larger maps all of the time, and used strategy over faceplanting their mice, you would see lasguns every-fucking-where.

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Because everyone think that MD is only for pros.

Anyway I think you should add some video explanation (maybe a 1:00 minute video for every arm and class, taken from a random (good) player during a PUB match).

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Actually my graphic card is dead , but I would like to do that when I will get it back :D[quote=“Blizz, post:10, topic:2339”]
Anyway I think you should add some video explanation (maybe a 1:00 minute video for every arm and class, taken from a random (good) player during a PUB match).
[/quote]

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Lasgun is deadly when put in the right hands, it’s just that nobody uses their hands to play anymore. (re: faceplanting the keyboard and jacking off at the same time)

Tremulous needs more real youtube channels in general.

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Graphic card ready!
I can record when you want to!

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You should talk with @MaeJong

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Thx !

Btw, only 3 week left for me, then I will have to come back to school and study hard, so no time for tremulous.

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The option simply changes the value of the cvar cg_wwSmooth, which dictates how many milliseconds it takes for an alien’s view to fully adjust when switching surfaces. It doesn’t affect the game play of which surface you’re on, it just makes your view adjust slower/faster. Instant is 0ms, fast is something like 50 or 100 or 125ms, and idk about the other options but you could test them and find out by checking cg_wwSmooth in console.

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= difficult to strafe when you have a slow wiev

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Thanks for the clarification. Adjusted.

Tbh, no idea.

You guys didn’t tell me what guide you wanted up next. I believe Blizz probably wants it to be the lasgun, I was going for the painsaw originally (which should be a lot of fun to write).

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Psaw for the victory

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The videos would require some organization, who would be the commentator, what things should be captured on video specifically, video editing, where would it be hosted (likely youtube),…

Not particularly fond of the existing eighteenth-world quality tier videos of Tremulous on youtube (most of them).

We need to provide quality content so people take us and the game seriously (and emphasize the competitive side of the game, competitivity might just be what could save Tremulous from the death).