Bug hives : any real hope to take them out?

[mumblemumble]

So, alpha 13 is pretty damn cool, but big hives are... Well, they seem a bit much. Its one thing if you have power armor, miniguns, a few pet cougars, and a dozen man militia, but if you get them when all you have is pistols, shotguns and rifles, it won't go well. They are also territorial, but not aggressive too, which causes a real problem, you cant really wait for them to attack and be defensive, you have to be offensive, against creatures which shrug off bullets, come in hoards, and absolutely cannot be ignored.

I gathered everyone I could, with melee in front, guns in back, and they cut me down in seconds... Really want to know if its just me, them being way too overwhelming, or am I missing an incredibly obvious tactic

It doesn't help that they can spawn pretty much anywhere in a mountain, so even in the mines, it can be a bad place if right by a wall but with no long firing zones..

[Joshims]

I deal with them the same way I deal with Man Eater Packs that show before I have the firepower to deal with them. Restrict my colonists to a safe part of my base, then use the fact that they don't attack the doors to protect my shooter. Usually with a high fire rate, no slower than an assault rifle. Put the pawn in the doorway and when they come for him step back, rinse and repeat until the insects/Man Eaters have bleed or been shot to death.

[Juan el Demgrafo]

Generally the same as Joshims'. I've found that grenades, once gotten, are an excellent way to deal with these; the only problem is if they are in an expensive area that isn't wide open for gunners. If it starts in a tight dorm area, then you'll likely just have to break the doors from ranged area.

[Kluge]

Turrets can help depending on the location. I like to hide a colonist with survival rifle and let the turret aggro, then pop out from behind and hopefully finish the megascarab before it destroys the turret (or at least cause enough bleeding that he goes "in shock" or dies before the hive clones).

Location matters quite a bit for strategy. If you've been strip mining deep into the mountain and far from base, they can be a real pain (if only for death by lag once hives max out if you decide to ignore them). Once you get to 3 hives - if you're still in early game without a cheesy plan of action, you're probably better off restarting. Interestingly, I haven't had any infestation events on Rough Cassandra three years between two colonies... it's possible they're much more common in temperate vs. shrubland or rainforest.

[Jorlem]

I've found that Molotov cocktails thrown from around corners or doorways work wonders.  Set your gunners back a bit, and start throwing the molotovs, and if any insects move to attack you, run for the main force.  You just need to be careful of colonists undrafting themselves and wandering into insect territory to fight fires.

[Dspendragon]

Read the book starship troopers, it'll help ya with way to battle the hordes of bug.

Warning: Using tactics from starship troopers may cause large amounts of deaths and Federation is not responsible for the deaths. Have a nice day    

[Thane]

When you mine tunnels put sections in it like this:

X OOO X
XX O XX
X OOO X
XX O XX

O=the tunnel and X=the wall

This allows you to stack 7 colonists in that mine shaft and rain unholy hellfire down that one lane of approach. I suggest 2-3 shotguns in front and assault rifles, or similar, in behind.

[DeMatt]

I find that the best weapon to use against an (initial) infestation is one Molotov cocktail.  Just one.

If you're like me, you don't mine out gigantic hunks of the mountains, so when the hives spawn, they're all crammed up into a small, unventilated room.  Have a colonist poke his nose in the door, lob in a Molotov (preferably at something flammable like, oh, wooden furniture), and pull back.  Then wait for the room to turn into a crematorium.

Bonus points for (almost) being a tactic from Starship Troopers - the gas grenades mentioned in chapter 11. 

[Aarkreinsil]

You're right in that pistols and slow, long-range weapons like survival/sniper rifles are crap indoors and when kiting.
Try assault rifles or other low-warmup weapons, so you can kite the bugs more easily.

Other than that, using turrets as some kind of land-mine is a good strategy IF you have the resources. The bugs will kill the turrets and won't run away from the resulting explosion.

Now the biggest problem is, if your bugs spawn right around your colonists, in a hospital or a bedroom, and immediately incap one of your guys. That makes using grenades and fire almost impossible if you don't wanna kill the guy/gal in question.

Just remember that you don't need cover when fighting bugs, since they wont shoot back. Just hold open all doors and try luring them outside with one guy who pulls their aggro. Outside you can also use your long-range weapons more effectively. Then kite and destroy them. It's incredibly micromanagement-heavy, but since bugs don't finish off your downed people, they're usually not that dangerous.

Also beware that they can and will break walls and doors sometimes, so don't count on them staying where they are.

[Rock5]

I think I had 3 infestations in my last game, which was my first A13 game.

The first one appeared close to my base so I rushed in to destroy them as soon as possible. It was my first so I didn't know what to expect. It was pretty brutal but I survived.

The second one I was lucky that they appeared at the end of a distant mine shaft. There was power near by going to a distant Geothermal Generator. So I walled them in, with a few air conditioners and they froze to death. It also destroyed the hive. I believe it has to go below 50c to kill them although there were only small ones in this hive. I don't know if the big ones would be harder to freeze.

The third appeared in a separate mined out hill. It was too honeycombed and there was no clear approaches and there were too many tunnels to wall them in and freeze them. So I left them, not sure what I was going to do about them. A little later I get a message saying a neighboring tribe were visiting and a few moments later a message saying they were moving in to intercept. There were about 6 of them. At first I didn't know who they were intercepting because I'd nearly forgot about the bugs but at the last minute I tried to follow them in and use them as a meat shield but they were wiped out long before I could get there. Within moments in fact. They were tribesmen with melee weapons after all. They sent another group with the same quick death. I wasn't sure how they thought they could help. The third time I decided I would follow with a couple of guys with charged rifles, or whatever they are called, and try and do some damage before the tribesmen die and then make a hasty retreat. They only sent one but I still went ahead. With us firing from a distance he took the first bug out pretty quick. There was a bit of maneuvering and chasing of the second bug but we took that out too but unfortunately the tribesman died.  Feeling emboldened we took on the last big bug by ourselves. Drawing it out and firing at it as be backed up we took it out with no problem.

In the end I was surprised there were only the 3 large bugs. I'm not sure if the first 2 waves of tribesmen took some out or not and maybe those 3 bugs were wounded from the previous fights. I guess it pays to have good relations with your neighbors.

[zenwolf]

A hive once spawned in my refrigerating vault. So I have a colonist throw in a Molotov, then set cooler's temperature to 200 degree. The bugs eventually die out because of heatstroke. But the indoor was so hot I have to deconstruct the door to equalize the temperature with outdoor. Burned some stocks but I was so satisfied.

[Shurp]

I got attacked by my first bug hive today.  I was surprised by it -- I wasn't expecting the "ship open" surprise attack against the lone colonist who poked his nose in.  He got taken down quickly.  But then I cut a hole in my base to lure the bugs outside where my turrets made quick work of them.  You just need someone who can run fast and let the machineguns do the rest.

[Barley]

Do what Thane does but build a door in front of the firing line. Shoot by moving a colonist into the door square. This will open the door and let all the colonists fire through.

If bugs get too close, retreat the front colonist. This will close the door, and the bug will wonder off. When the bug is far enough away (6-10 squares) open the door again.

[newcadence]

Ladies and gentlemen, I have found the number one way of taking out mineshaft-inhabiting bugs with no citizen casualties.

Use coolers to freeze an enclosed shaft so that the bug hives are destroyed.

No hives = No jelly = No bugs

[mumblemumble]

Actually with a bit of experimenting,  i use the opposite.... Toss in a few dozen molotovs till they cook. Burns the bodies of course,  possibly the jelly,  but is very reliable,  just keep going till the temp hits 500. If you have the colonist standing in s door too,  it keeps them safe (enough)  from cooking,  as the doorway should only hit around 200 once you hit 500 in the room.... That is enough for heatstroke,   but not enough to burn.

Still,  i want to say i think bugs should be an event that can't happen in the first 2 seasons or something,  facing it with 5 dudes using the starting weapons and little else is absolutely bullshit.