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Pladdicus posted:I have one question: It refers to Meld and story events that happen later on.
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Feb 5, 2014 21:44
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Pyroi posted:I don't really think X-COM is that much of a secret. When aliens attack, a big metal thing flies through the city and drops off a group of 4-6 superhumans who take out the aliens. That's ignoring the (assumed) cleanup crews who collect the alien corpses, weapon fragments, UFO pieces, and assorted baskets of space candy, since the Skyranger can hold 6 soldiers at most. Unless the countries are somehow managing to cover the whole invasion up as an international group of roving cosplayers, I would think that letting the public know of the existence of X-COM would probably help calm them down in the face of imminent destruction by small gray men. If you stay in the situation room long enough you'll see news tickers talking about how some weird military organization is apparently really good (or not) at saving cities from aliens and look, another sighting in Russia of these guys in strange armor fighting back the alien menace. Plus, the capital cities of the council nations are routinely attacked by ufos with the goal of spreading terror, and XCOM only even found out about it because someone turned on the news. Plus there's that whole thing where XCOM decides that the perfect equipment to bring on a covert op are grenades, rocket launchers, and giant robot men with flamethrowers for arms. What's going on is no secret after all that. RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Feb 6, 2014 |
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Feb 6, 2014 06:37
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Brainamp posted:Nope. If you want slightly faster research sure, but they are like the least useful building in the game. I've found that with Enemy Within you should grab at least one or two and stick them next to your genetics lab if you want to research mid to late level stuff within a month. They were completely useless in EU though. e: Always pick rocketeer always pick shredders, roll with two heavies and a mec and carpet bomb everything. RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Feb 7, 2014 |
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Feb 7, 2014 03:57
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How are you guys finding the meld to field more than one mec and have gene mods on more than a few soldiers anyway? I usually get at least one container of it a map and end up with a single fully tricked out mec, a gene soldier with most or all (doesn't really matter, a lot suck) mods, and a couple more with mimetic skin.
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Feb 7, 2014 07:03
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Sloober posted:Usually it's pretty easy to think up a specific instance a skill might be useful but I can't say I've ever been able to do that with covering fire. The only time I can think of is when an alien moves exactly one square into the support's line of sight so the overwatch doesn't trigger, then fires, allowing a covering fire overwatch to trigger.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:37
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Brainamp posted:By this logic, will is even easier to boost. Slap a mind shield on somebody and that's a flat +30 to their will. Aim has more use to a soldier all throughout the game. At the end of the game, versus scopes being one of the first items you get. Will's more useful in my experience because it means less panic earlier.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:02
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Isn't ITZ kind of crap for a squadsight sniper? Who's it going to flank? I usually have squadsight/double tap and if I take it, snapshot/ITZ.ReturnOfFable posted:I live in Florida, probably one of the craziest places in the south and I have never in my life seen a drive-through daiquiri place. I'm not going to consider my life complete until I do now.
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Feb 11, 2014 18:37
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Brainamp posted:Sounds like you don't use enough explosives. True, but I'd probably just finish those guys off with my mec or assault anyway. With snapshot/ITZ you only need to use one soldier to knock the group out, instead of two (assuming you don't miss). quote:There are plenty of enemies that don't care about cover, and being out of cover counts toward ITZ as well. Those enemies get more common as time goes on. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are mechtoids, seekers, and sectopods. Even floaters and drones can count as in half-cover at the least.
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Feb 11, 2014 18:47
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Jade Star posted:No they don't. They count as Flying, which gets them 20 defense. They still work just fine for ITZ. Right, but if you've just triggered them, how likely are they to be flying as opposed to in cover (can cyberdiscs take cover at all)? Forgot about berserkers and chryssalids and had no idea about ethereals though, so that's better. I suppose with collateral damage it's more of a sure thing, too.
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Feb 11, 2014 19:00
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Brainamp posted:You're missing the point. You don't need to flank, the enemy just needs to not have cover. Grenades, rockets, and collateral damage all provide set ups that don't require a sniper to move in. I know, but that still requires the sniper plus at least one other unit to take that cover out, potentially more if it doesn't break the cover the first time, if it can even be damaged. With snapshot the sniper can just move and shoot, leaving the other members to clean up if the sniper misses or doesn't do enough damage to kill, and ITZ only triggers if you actually get the kill. With double tap it's a guaranteed two shots. The difference to me is that double tap is guaranteed, but its best will always be less than the best you can potentially get out of ITZ. Since I usually keep my sniper in a static position with squadsight, I usually get more mileage out of double tap on them.
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Feb 11, 2014 19:24
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Felinoid posted:
This explains a lot about my EW heavies. I still like having NCE, TR, and HP on at once though, it's more fun to have a crapshoot of units. Though, it seems like NCE trends more towards lovely rookies than better ones.
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Feb 12, 2014 00:40
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Actually, Hidden Potential just straight up fucks Heavies' Aim, since regular Heavy Aim Growth is 2 points per rank (provided they didn't change that with EW). Obviously Hidden Potential's Heavy Aim Growth at 0-2 points per rank does not compare favorably.
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You only get one shot at Progeny.
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Feb 12, 2014 13:58
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Jade Star posted:Oh god. I'm trying... I'm trying... But it's just so foreign! I hope Nittien gets a promotion quickly and gets a nickname I can pronounce. Nittien "Huscarl" Stomperud.
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Feb 12, 2014 19:35
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I'm still a little disappointed we didn't get the obvious partner to the Mechtoid: the Thin Mec.
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Feb 12, 2014 23:03
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The Mighty Biscuit posted:You forgot one little thing about Battle Scanner. Everything it does can be done by Gene Mods. Bio-electric skin has that long a range? I've never used it. quote:I find them to be a pretty big disappointment, honestly. They're there to try and cost you a bit of meld because your first instinct is to overwatch everyone so no one triggers anything else, that's about it.
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Feb 17, 2014 04:59
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I always enjoy it when the sniper lands the shot long after everyone else has killed the alien. Good job guy, you did it! 
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Feb 17, 2014 17:08
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Feinne posted:By the way if anyone wants to injure themselves this is a video of the antithesis of this thread. "Looks like we're going back seven minutes!"
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Feb 17, 2014 20:22
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quote:But then you get floaters, mutons, heavy mutons and berzerkers - all of which are pretty much the same species with various bits chopped of and given differing armor sets. It makes more sense in Enemy Within than Unknown because everyone's "oh my god look what those guys did to that floating dude" then five days later wonder if that squaddie really needs all four of his limbs. I love the thin man design though, especially the animation where instead of turning around startled like everyone else they just slowly stand up and glare at you from behind their sunglasses.
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Feb 20, 2014 15:26
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"Doomed"
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Feb 21, 2014 00:23
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"DarkSydePhil" Make this one the worst rookie in the barracks though.
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Feb 21, 2014 00:45
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Flamethrowers seem like they'd be better than the KSM early game, then become immediately redundant once you get grenade launchers, and super-redundant if you take the proximity mine launcher over the electro-pulse. Unless you're building the MEC as mid/long-range support and go with restorative mist, I guess, but it's not like snipers and supports don't cover that already. Also: Mec mec mec mec mec Mec mec mec mec mec mec mec Mec mec mec mec mec 
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Feb 22, 2014 19:24
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Zurai posted:Nah, the grenade launcher doesn't make the flamethrower redundant. Flamethrowers do more damage and force the enemy to move, during which time they'll never enter cover. They cover completely different roles, really. The flamethrower is great for anti-melee purposes and for flushing a bunch of enemies out of cover, while the grenade launcher is good for finishing off weak enemies or chipping away at strong ones at long range. The grenade launcher can do 4 damage, 5 as soon as you research alien grenades, and will probably destroy their cover, the flamethrower by default does 6 and upgrades to 9 once you research elerium and finish jellied elerium, and it's really easy to get level 2 Mecs really quickly. On classic that means the grenade launcher is killing sectoids, floaters, and thin men in one shot at longer range than the flamethrower, which can do the same. Proximity mines do 8. Given how incredibly good mecs are at obliterating cover, I don't see the need to make things leave it instead, especially since with overdrive you can take a shot then launch a grenade, and take expanded storage to do it more often. It would be more useful on impossible, though, because of the increased enemy health preventing the grenade launcher from being able to kill immediately straight away. The thing is, no matter what you do mecs are super good at destroying cover and taking down melee enemies, so you're deciding between killing more tiny enemies, or killing more big enemies. quote:The Prox-mine launcher is the worst goddamned thing and I don't know how anyone can stand that obnoxious beeping long enough to make it worth using. I only ever take the electro-pulse because gently caress sectopods, I'm just saying it's an option.
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Feb 22, 2014 19:50
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The first terror mission that comes up in EW seems to me to be way easier than in EU. Did they change it somehow? Two packs of floaters and one pack of chryssalids isn't that hard to handle.
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Feb 24, 2014 02:44
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ulmont posted:You really need to do some Training Roulette runs at the end of this, because you'll find yourself using things like Flush and Executioner. When they are up against items more like Revive (with one medikit use) and Holo-Targeting, you might take them a bit more. I had a situation with TR where I could choose between Flush and some other skill and I chose Flush on my support. She flushed an alien backwards out of line of sight, into another pack of aliens I didn't know was there, and triggered when I moved in for the kill. gently caress Flush.
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Feb 26, 2014 06:12
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TheCosmicMuffet posted:Mine were great this time around. I think it's just the typical random crap. They're scripted to have the same names, nationalities, and faces every time.
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Feb 27, 2014 01:35
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Vengeful Vengeance is always a good one.
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Feb 28, 2014 00:26
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SovietPotatoe posted:It only plays after either equipping or building a laser rifle, not sure which but definitely not on researching it, nor is it affected by Beginner VO. I haven't seen any of them since turning off beginner VO.
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Mar 3, 2014 08:48
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I think I've only seen an ethereal last more than one turn once. By the time you see them you can blow them away so easily they never get a chance to do anything but reflect your attacks.
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Mar 4, 2014 15:59
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quote:The interface will show you as affecting units you don't end up doing any damage to, which breaks the precedent with all the other aoes, which will very clearly show you what they'll hurt. Actually that's not unique to flamethrowers. Collateral Damage, grenades, and rockets are bugged and will also sometimes just not hurt enemies it says it should, even if the blast radius is directly centered on them. I had a rocket hurt a thin man but not the thin man three squares away, whose cover blew up, for example. Kinetic Strike will always be better even if it weren't bugged though because taking a sectopod from 25 hp to 2 and ensuring it can't do anything to anyone else with electro-pulse and two punches trivializes them. It turns the one endgame enemy that is a serious threat into a non-issue. And all it takes is a disabling shot or lightning reflexes if you're concerned about the mec getting shot up. RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Mar 4, 2014 |
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Mar 4, 2014 19:15
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quote:Easier and safer to just sit back, disable its weapon if needed, and bombard away. Disabling shot won't disable its secondary artillery weapon or stop it from gunning you down on the alien's turn, but it will stop the sectopod from taking a shot at your mec as it runs up (though if you're concerned about it anyway, take Damage Control, which forces any damage done to the mec to be reduced to a third or less of its total health). Electro-pulse, however, shuts the sectopod down until its next turn, giving you plenty of time to take it out and with its effective 50 health it's not likely you can always finish it in one go. Revealing more aliens is a possibility, but if you have a mimetic skin scout that's unlikely, not to mention the usual precautions for assaults like Felinoid said. Since EW came out I don't think a sectopod has done a single thing to any of my units, even when things went awry and a second one wandered into the battlefield. RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Mar 4, 2014 |
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Mar 4, 2014 20:16
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Having just finished another game on classic, I stand by giving squadsight snipers Double Tap over ITZ. Especially on larger UFOs and other maps, it's easier and more effective to just straight out kill the aliens instead of using several soldiers to set up for the sniper to kill them off, and you're hosed if the sniper manages to miss or not finish the target off (which almost ruined my day against EXALT when my mimetic skin sniper got a flank on some of them and messed it up, but, being EXALT, they decided to not do anything in response). You can't really go wrong with either though, snipers are brutal in XCOM once they get going. Also yes snipers with HEAT ammo are amazingly powerful.
RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 21:27
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It's really weird to me how ATA's defense bonus doesn't apply through the entire turn the MEC overwatches.
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Mar 9, 2014 04:12
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Doctor_Blueninja posted:I'm going to second the hate for Anna Singh as well. Holy Mother of God, why did the only survivor of the escapee from the alien's abductions have to be so obnoxiously annoying?! In five playthroughs and watching loads of others I have never seen this npc. Is it just a target escort mission?
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Mar 15, 2014 02:50
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quote:- Grapple can bug out sometimes and return you to the square you started from while still deducting 1 action You'll also sometimes fire the grapple out and send your soldier flying across the map. Sometimes out of it, too. You should probably quicksave before using it if you're not playing on ironman.
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Mar 17, 2014 06:16
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quote:What is the appeal of that option anyways? It spices things up after the Nth game of choosing the same skillsets for all your soldiers. Sure you might get some duds, but it's more fun to roll with it.
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Mar 18, 2014 05:17
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The thing with MECs is they're really fast, really strong, but really fragile, despite their mountain of health. Send them up alone and they're doomed. Any support from anything at all and they're a powerhouse.
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Mar 23, 2014 01:49
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quote:Also I disagree about regen, jumpylegs are great in urban environments and on snipers, but regen is equally good everywhere, and moreover, it means that you can literally just get shot a bunch. No it doesn't. You regen 2 hp a turn up to their max health minus armor bonuses. In the early game this means almost their full amount (body armor provides +1 hp, so they'll never recover to full), so another shot will still take you out, late game it can mean a decent amount depending on if their health increased nearly every level, but due to alien progression you're still probably dead in another shot. The drastically reduced time in medbay is the primary advantage. Not everything needs the jumpylegs though, I usually only give it to assaults and snipers. The other thing about MECs is they can make poo poo heavies good or spare snipers great, because of their stat gains. My last game had a laser-accurate MEC due to a squaddie sniper. RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Mar 23, 2014 |
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Mar 23, 2014 03:06
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Felinoid posted:Is that something that got changed? I thought that was a major benefit for choosing Shredder and Rocketeer on the same Heavy. No, it never did that. Rocketeer only ever gave you a second standard rocket, just in case there was somehow something that managed to avoid being blown up. Between my heavies and mecs I don't leave a lot of the map intact.
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Mar 23, 2014 07:29
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OwlFancier posted:Wow, that's... pretty great actually. Might get SHIVs then. I usually ended up getting them for disposability but I never really bothered with them seriously. The Sentinel Drone also gives SHIVs reaction shots against anything that moves within four tiles of them, same as assaults, but they lose the health regen and reaction shots for that mission after the first critical hit they take. SHIVs are great. Next game I do I'm thinking it's going to be nothing but mecs, shivs, and heavies.
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Mar 24, 2014 17:43
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Alkydere posted:It's an utterly magical edge case that can leave you laughing and grinning like an idiot all night though. Making a unit that is also cover is an obvious point for things to just go wrong in the game engine. Will they try and do the same to a mec that's using All For One to become cover? Could you fake out a thin man trying to take a potshot and have him walk into your fist?
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Mar 25, 2014 04:26
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