Changes: Alpha Skag

Revision as of 17:39, 18 May 2020

Alpha Skags are some of the largest and most powerful skags on Pandora encountered in Borderlands and Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3. They are covered in very thick and durable armor, which can even render the damage dealt by sustained sprays of combat rifle or shotgun fire to nearly nothing. Like most skags, Alpha Skags can leap an incredible distance, and though they sometimes employ a strong tongue-whip attack, they are more fond of charging at their enemies for heavy damage and substantial knock back. They will also stalk forward and swipe at enemies with their claws which are also exceptionally deadly. Because of these two factors, special tactics are needed to effectively deal with these beasts.

Appearances

Strategy

See also: Skag#General Strategy

Shooting an Alpha Skag around the shoulders and back is an utter waste of ammo; if one is stalking forward instead aim for the head with heavy sustained weapons fire, which might cause the Alpha to flinch and then roar. When beginning a charge, the Alpha Skag will retreat away from their target to increase the charge distance. This provides the opportune moment to attack the skag. Following it and shooting at the lightly-armored hind legs while it retreats will cause it to stumble as it tries to regain its footing, rendering the skag largely harmless for a brief period. Repetitive shots to the hind legs using an assault rifle or a submachine gun will take out the skag while keeping it in this staggered state. This “kicking it while it is down” tactic is an effective method of taking down the Alpha Skag with little effort.

Another tactic that can be used is to face the Alpha head-on to counter their charge. Because Alphas move very quickly while charging, running away or jumping to the side will often not be enough to evade the attack. Instead, a player can stand his ground and open fire as it charges, then run forward and jump as it nears. This will cause the character to land on top of the Alpha. As the Alpha is moving, the character will end up dropping off its back, providing opportunities to shoot or melee it from the flank. Having missed with its charge, the Alpha will continue running away. Because it takes time and space to turn around, a player can fire at the maneuvering Alpha while getting ready to meet its next charge. This method can also be used against Badass Alpha Skags.

Alpha Skags are also quite vulnerable to the more powerful fire-based Maliwan weapons. Hosing an Alpha Skag with incendiary damage can completely immerse it in fire, sometimes causing it to become disoriented and unable to track targets and allowing players to find cover. This can be particularly effective when encountering Alpha Skags in large groups such as in the Lost Cave.

Notes

Their names are adjusted for each difficulty level:
- In Borderlands:
  - Playthrough 1: Alpha Skag
  - Playthrough 2: Hardened Alpha Skag
  - Playthrough 2.5: Armored Alpha Skag
- In Borderlands 2:
  - Normal Mode: Alpha Skag
  - True Vault Hunter Mode: Elder Alpha Skag
  - Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode: Fossil Skag
- In Borderlands 3:
  - Normal Mode: Alpha Skag
  - True Vault Hunter Mode: Behemoth Skag

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Character
-{{Infobox character
-|name     = {{PAGENAME}}
+|Box Title          =
-|image    = File:Peter.jpg|200px
+|Image              = Peter.jpg
-|caption  =
+|Caption            =
-|title    = Alpha
+|Character Type     = Enemy
+|Type Clarifier     =
-|faction  = Creature
-|gender   =
+|Character Type2    =
-|race     = [[Skag]]
+|Type2 Clarifier    =
+|Gender             =
-|location =
-|game     = [[Borderlands]]
+|Race               = [[Skag]]
+|Group Affiliations = Creatures
-|appearances = [[Borderlands]] and [[Borderlands 2]]
+|Game               = Borderlands
-|played by =
+|Game2              = Borderlands 2
-}}
+|Game3              =
+|Voice Actor        =
+|Intro              = '''Alpha Skags''' are some of the largest and most powerful [[skag]]s on [[Pandora]] encountered in ''[[Borderlands]]'' and ''[[Borderlands 2]]'' and ''[[Borderlands 3]]''. They are covered in very thick and durable armor, which can even render the damage dealt by sustained sprays of [[Combat Rifle|combat rifle]] or [[shotgun]] fire to nearly nothing. Like most skags, Alpha Skags can leap an incredible distance, and though they sometimes employ a strong tongue-whip attack, they are more fond of charging at their enemies for heavy damage and substantial knock back. They will also stalk forward and swipe at enemies with their claws which are also exceptionally deadly. Because of these two factors, special tactics are needed to effectively deal with these beasts.
-'''Alpha Skags''' are large [[skags]] encountered on [[Pandora]].
+|Background         =
-==Information==
+|Involvement        =
-'''Alpha Skags''' are some of the largest and most powerful [[skag]]s encountered in [[Borderlands]]. They are covered in very thick and durable armor, which can even render the damage dealt by sustained sprays of [[Combat Rifle]] or [[Shotgun]] fire to nearly nothing. Like most skags, Alpha Skags can leap an incredible distance, and though they sometimes employ a strong tongue-whip attack, they are more fond of charging at their enemies for heavy damage and substantial knock back. They will also stalk forward and swipe at enemies with their claws which are also exceptionally deadly. Because of these two factors, special tactics are needed to effectively deal with these beasts.
+|Custom Header      =
+|Custom Data        =
+|Appearances        = *[[Borderlands]]
+*[[Borderlands 2]]
+*[[Borderlands 3]]
+|Strategy           = {{See also|Skag#General Strategy}}
-==Strategy==
+Shooting an Alpha Skag around the shoulders and back is an utter waste of ammo; if one is stalking forward instead aim for the head with heavy sustained weapons fire, which '''might''' cause the Alpha to flinch and then roar. When beginning a charge, the Alpha Skag will retreat away from their target to increase the charge distance. This provides the opportune moment to attack the skag. Following it and shooting at the lightly-armored hind legs while it retreats will cause it to stumble as it tries to regain its footing, rendering the skag largely harmless for a brief period. Repetitive shots to the hind legs using an assault rifle or a submachine gun will take out the skag while keeping it in this staggered state. This “kicking it while it is down” tactic is an effective method of taking down the Alpha Skag with little effort.
-{{See also|Skag#General_Strategy}}
+Another tactic that can be used is to face the Alpha head-on to counter their charge. Because Alphas move very quickly while charging, running away or jumping to the side will often not be enough to evade the attack. Instead, a player can stand his ground and open fire as it charges, then run forward and jump as it nears. This will cause the character to land on top of the Alpha. As the Alpha is moving, the character will end up dropping off its back, providing opportunities to shoot or melee it from the flank. Having missed with its charge, the Alpha will continue running away. Because it takes time and space to turn around, a player can fire at the maneuvering Alpha while getting ready to meet its next charge. This method can also be used against Badass Alpha Skags.
-Shooting an Alpha Skag around the shoulders and back is an utter waste of ammo; if one is stalking forward instead aim for the head with heavy sustained weapons fire, which '''might''' cause the Alpha to flinch and then roar. Another tactic is to continuously back away and strafe from the Alpha, jumping sideways when it charges, or backwards when it tries to use its claws, while keeping too close for it to leap while taking strafing runs at its soft flank behind the shoulder. The latter tactic is best used when going up against an Alpha when its not alone, or multiple Alpha Skags, with the only variation being that a player '''must''' keep the weapons fire on a single target at a time, taking one Alpha Skag down as quickly as possible before moving on to another. Unlike other varieties of Skag, Corrosive & Incendiary weapons are moderately effective against Alphas in prolonged fights.
+Alpha Skags are also quite vulnerable to the more powerful fire-based [[Maliwan]] weapons. Hosing an Alpha Skag with {{colored link|incendiary}} damage can completely immerse it in fire, sometimes causing it to become disoriented and unable to track targets and allowing players to find cover. This can be particularly effective when encountering Alpha Skags in large groups such as in the [[Lost Cave]].
-Especially if fighting one of these beasts at close range and you are struggling, the safest place to be is behind them. Dodge as it charges you, they are generally slow in turning around, and run right up behind them while firing and keep adjusting your position so you stay behind them and you will find dispatching them a lot easier as they "flinch" taking full damage on the unarmored sections of their bodies.
-==Nomenclature==
-:Playthrough 1: Alpha Skag
-:Playthrough 2: Hardened Alpha Skag
-:Playthrough 2.5: Armored Alpha Skag
-==Notes==
-*Their armored sections reduce all bullet and melee damage by 80%, but they are highly vulnerable to [[Corrosive]] and [[Incendiary]] damage.
-==Trivia==
-*In animal groups, the ''alpha male'' acts as the leader, implying that skags have a sense of leadership/community, with the Alpha Skags being the monarchs.
-== Locations ==
-In Borderlands:
-*[[The Arid Badlands]]
-*[[Skag Gully]]
-*[[Lost Cave]]
-*[[Arid Hills]]
-*[[Earl's Scrapyard]]
-In Borderlands 2:
-* [[Three Horns - Valley]]
-* [[Wildlife Exploitation Preserve]]
-* [[Arid Nexus - Boneyard]]
-* [[Arid Nexus - Badlands]]
+|Mission            =
+|Quotes             =
+|Notes              = *Their names are adjusted for each difficulty level:
+**In ''Borderlands'':
+***Playthrough 1: ''Alpha Skag''
+***Playthrough 2: ''Hardened Alpha Skag''
+***Playthrough 2.5: ''Armored Alpha Skag''
+**In ''Borderlands 2'':
+***Normal Mode: ''Alpha Skag''
+***[[True Vault Hunter Mode]]: ''Elder Alpha Skag''
+***[[Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode]]: ''Fossil Skag''
+**In ''Borderlands 3'':
+***Normal Mode: ''Alpha Skag''
+***True Vault Hunter Mode: ''Behemoth Skag''
+|Trivia             =
+|See Also           =
+|External Links     =
+|Nav                = {{Enemies}} {{Navigate enemies bl2}} {{Navigate enemies bl3}}
+}}
+[[ru:Альфа-самец]]
-{{Enemies}}
 [[Category:Enemies]]