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teethgrinder posted:You still get thin men during council missions (by when they'll be laughable), but you won't get any more corpses to sell from the rest. You'll occasionally see Sectoids in council missions, at least. I usually get about one late-game council mission with sectoids every two games or so.
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Feb 19, 2013 04:23
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I believe landed abductors always have a group of sectoids.
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Feb 19, 2013 04:28
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oogs posted:Well then. On my second playthrough, in classic w/ some second wave stuff on, I find that I'm getting quite a few wounded. I think I need better armor and to not aggro the entire map every other mission... also, that sniper up top of the list is an awesome panic soldier. She has 114 base aim, and after a crit on a berserker for 19 damage, she panicked and headshot a regular muton. Best fake double tap ever. You'd think that better armor what you need, but better weapons is actually the key. Carapace armor will let you take an extra hit or two, but if you're one-shotting Thin Men, Floaters and Sectoids with laster rifles, you don't need to take any hits whatsoever. Later on, though, Stealth Armor is essentially a permanent half cover with additional "oh poo poo!" button. The Casualty posted:edit: Also I have a question. As you progress, do the weak enemies disappear completely? I keep getting requests for corpses of all these low level aliens like Sectoids and Thin Men and I haven't seen any of these guys in forever. Even Sectoid Commanders never show up anymore, it's all Etherials. I keep wondering why there's small scouts and Supply Ships with an Etherial or two inside, are these assholes so plentiful that the Hive Mind can throw them on even the mundane missions? They're not entirely replaced, but the early enemies will be quite rare. I still run into random packs of regular Floaters on end game terror missions, etc.
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Feb 19, 2013 04:43
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Cythereal posted:You'll occasionally see Sectoids in council missions, at least. I usually get about one late-game council mission with sectoids every two games or so. Yeah, I had an "asset recovery" mission right before the temple ship (Classic), and it was all sectoids.
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Feb 19, 2013 05:05
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Finished my first normal game in a heartbreaking way. My survivor from the tutorial, Colonel 'Buster' Flores, had made it all the way to the final assault on the Uber Etheral. He and a few others were in the room with the bastard, with a few snipers covering outside and an assault who was ready to bust in. It was a pretty crap attack pattern, but it's what I wound up with. Poor Flores had been critically wounded so many times after being a staple of my A-Team the whole game that his Will wasn't great, and he'd already been mind-controlled a few times. I'd prepared him by giving him a mind shield for this mission, though it wasn't enough and he was soon taken over yet again. His first move was to sprint back out the door towards the snipers, triggering a ton of overwatches in the process and going down in a scream of pain and fury, gunned down by his own team. My snipers peg the Uber next round, and we're done. Flores was the only casualty of the mission (well, in-game at least). Crazy sonofabitch nearly made it the whole way through.
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Feb 19, 2013 05:34
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Doing a Ironman Classic and am basically waiting to build the gallop chamber. Figured out a nice trick with ghost armor and alloy cannon equipped assault guys. I was low on trained dudes cause guys were in the psichamber and I needed more ranked up guys to send back in. Sent in a rookie/sergeant/major Assault with that setup, backed them up with a Col. Support, Sniper, Heavy. Overseer mission, it pretty much went like this: Spot sectopods or whatever dudes, run and gun in the assaults and abuse the poo poo out of that 100% critical to do at least 15 damage to each sectopod. We killed both of them in a turn without a sweat. Once I got around to the room with the ethereals, rocketed the room, threw in a alien grenade to soften guys up and did the same thing to drop the ethereal down enough to get stunned next turn. Between that and the in the zone sniper catching everyone in the open cause heh the rocket took out their cover, it was just the ethereal left. I think I got a new a team for this. 2 Assaults, 2 Supports, Heavy/Sniper or potentially 2 heavies and a support. Its working out pretty drat good.
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Feb 19, 2013 05:45
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Beaglerush is dead isnt he? 
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Feb 19, 2013 05:46
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SynthOrange posted:Beaglerush is dead isnt he? He's posting other videos but he's quit his Ironman Impossible run until the teleporting issues get fixed. Which is a real shame because that's one of the best LPs I've ever seen.
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Feb 19, 2013 05:53
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Hellburger99 posted:Has anyone else noticed that since the last patch panic seems to cause a lot less friendly fire? It could just be my pattern-recognizing monkey brain, but it sure feels like my panicked troops are more likely to either take another shot at whatever hit them or duck and cover than they are to shoot at their comrades for no real reason. If it matters at all, I'm playing on Classic and I can't think of any 2nd Wave modifiers that could account for this. It might be how you play it too. I believe that panicked soldiers always try to shoot at aliens first, and only shoot at friends if they don't have LOS on any aliens.
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Feb 19, 2013 06:10
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Beaglerush's LP really is fantastic. He's tremendously entertaining and informative. I wish I could do Ironman Impossible. The furthest I've ever gotten is the terror mission in month 2. Beat it, but with just 2 supports left standing and that's not enough to deal with the Mutons that come in month 3. The teleport bug doesn't help, though. Neither, perhaps, does playing with randomized stats and randomized level-ups. When I get an 85 aim soldier, they have 20 will and poo poo themselves at the sight of an alien. Then they use their 85 aim to drill their own guys in the head.
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Feb 19, 2013 06:11
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CisMaleTheSensitiv posted:Doing a Ironman Classic and am basically waiting to build the gallop chamber. Figured out a nice trick with ghost armor and alloy cannon equipped assault guys. I was low on trained dudes cause guys were in the psichamber and I needed more ranked up guys to send back in. Sent in a rookie/sergeant/major Assault with that setup, backed them up with a Col. Support, Sniper, Heavy. Overseer mission, it pretty much went like this: Spot sectopods or whatever dudes, run and gun in the assaults and abuse the poo poo out of that 100% critical to do at least 15 damage to each sectopod. We killed both of them in a turn without a sweat. Once I got around to the room with the ethereals, rocketed the room, threw in a alien grenade to soften guys up and did the same thing to drop the ethereal down enough to get stunned next turn. Between that and the in the zone sniper catching everyone in the open cause heh the rocket took out their cover, it was just the ethereal left. In The Zone is my favorite ability, hands down. My best sniper, a Colonel, actually doesn't have Squadsight, but his accuracy is 120 or something ridiculous like that, without a scope. He's also got really high will so he never panics or gets mind controlled. Unless the alien is in full cover he's basically shooting on an 85% or higher. Because he doesn't have Squadsight, he has that other ability that lets him fire after moving. I'll routinely have turns where he gets a double kill on a couple guys, runs to new cover, and gets one more kill. But the best part of ITZ is that he can kill until he runs out of ammo, reload (not sure if that's a bug or a feature, but if I don't move before I shoot, and ITZ activates, he can reload for free), and go back into Overwatch. After I got him the Plasma Sniper Rifle he basically started mowing down half the aliens by himself. The only time he's ever really in trouble is at point blank range, since I never really bothered with the pistol upgrades beyond Pistol I. Of course, the other problem is he's running out of ammo constantly, but his body count justifies having to sit a round out more often than the others.
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Feb 19, 2013 12:20
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Muscle Tracer posted:You'd think that better armor what you need, but better weapons is actually the key. Carapace armor will let you take an extra hit or two, but if you're one-shotting Thin Men, Floaters and Sectoids with laster rifles, you don't need to take any hits whatsoever. Later on, though, Stealth Armor is essentially a permanent half cover with additional "oh poo poo!" button. Yeah, I'm working my way there. I am getting archangel armor for my snipers so I can have them chill in the back, hovering, and headshot everything.
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Feb 19, 2013 14:16
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I'm thinking of using all ghost armor. Usually it's Titan armor with one flying sniper and one ghost assault. Seems like that might make the team far more injury prone, though.
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Feb 19, 2013 21:34
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Ghost armor is amazing and ghosting more than makes up for the lost health. 100% crit is basically bullshit.
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Feb 19, 2013 21:36
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Deuce posted:I'm thinking of using all ghost armor. Usually it's Titan armor with one flying sniper and one ghost assault. Seems like that might make the team far more injury prone, though. Ghost armor's +20 defense is essentially light cover even in the open, and will make light cover equivalent to heavy, heavy equivalent to hunker down (except for the crit immunity). That defense, in my eyes, more than makes up for the comparatively reduced health, especially for Assaults.
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Feb 19, 2013 21:49
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I just started a new game on classic after a playthrough a few months ago on normal. Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm not the most cautious player, but holy poo poo, it's a meat grinder. most missions end with 2-3 casualties and another 2-3 wounded. I love it. I hope that one of the future DLC's includes the ability to up the squad size more (maybe to 8 or 10) just so that I can solve more problems by throwing rookies into kill zones. Also wouldn't mind a map pack which increases the variety of maps in missions.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:04
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Here is a quick and dirty analysis for Ghost vs Titan: Presume 3 shots from an Elite Muton (105 Aim) with a Heavy Plasma (12 damage). Presume the XCOM agent is in high cover. This is a small enough number to actually happen during a mission. With Titan armor: Hit chance: 105 aim - 40 cover = 65% chance to hit. Implies 3 * .65 = 1.95 (rounded to 2 for simplicity) hits. 2*12 = 24 damage received. With Ghost armor: Hit chance: 105 aim - 40 cover - 20 Defence = 45% chance to hit. Implies 1.35 hits. 1.35 * 12 = 16.2 (16) damage received. This would imply that Titan armor would have to give in the ballpark of 8 extra HP to be "worth it". "But you didn't account for-" I KNOW. I did this in 2 minutes, it is not meant to be exhaustive. It does illustrate some considerations though.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:10
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Coolguye posted:Here is a quick and dirty analysis for Ghost vs Titan: Actually, this likely understates the defensive impact of Ghost, if anything. And it leaves aside the fact that for any attack you could ghost before the enemy turn and reduce the enemy hit chance to zero. Bottom line: the only time Titan is good in this game is right after you get it, and before you can afford other armors. Even then I find myself missing the defense and grappling hook from Skeleton. If you rush it quickly enough Titan basically gives you immunity to Council Missions, which is neat. amanasleep fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 19, 2013 22:28
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I just got my fist Psi soldier a couple missions ago and I'm working on leveling her up (first play through on normal)and I just unlocked panic. Is there a tactical use for this? Anytime I panic an enemy all he does is pop out of cover and shoot at my Psi soldier. I know on the last page it was discussed about panicked soldier causing less mayhem, is the effect the same on panicked aliens? Seems like I hosed up and should have unlocked the other one (remove mind flay or something) rather than give the enemies a free shot.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:55
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Both of those psi abilities are basically useless, so I wouldn't worry about it. When you get mind control is when your psi soldiers really start whupping rear end.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:59
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Psi Inspiration is a good choice for rapidly leveling up your Psi-dudes though. Just gather everyone together, pop it off and you'll have a psi promotion at the end of the mission.
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Feb 19, 2013 23:01
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Blast Fantasto posted:Both of those psi abilities are basically useless, so I wouldn't worry about it. When you get mind control is when your psi soldiers really start whupping rear end. This is truth. At level 2, you basically want to go with Inspiration. Panic is worthless, Inspiration can at least give you a Will buff for a bit. (AFAIK, Inspiration is also easier to level up to PSI 3 with since you don't need enemies around to use it) Also if you go with Mind Control and the enemy you're controlling dies, everybody gets a Will penalty for seeing an ally die. Inspiration also removes this penalty. edit: also if you have multiple psychics then a preemptive inspiration will make mind control the easiest and funniest thing ever Spiffo fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 19, 2013 23:03
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Coolguye posted:Here is a quick and dirty analysis for Ghost vs Titan: I also run all ghost armor. However, here's something else to think about. Top rank XCOM soliders have 9hp (snipers have one less). So 19HP with titan, 15HP with ghost. This means that, for example, a solider wearing titan would always survive an alien grenade + a heavy plasma crit, while a solider with ghost would not. Except that a solider with ghost would be invisible, and then crit kill the enemy. Whatever. But for pure damage mitigation, it is sometimes much better to have guaranteed survivability over long-term damage reduction. In particular if your combat rounds are extremely short, you run multiple medics, or you only lose soliders when things go really wrong. So IMHO, ghost's -20% is better when you're in heavy cover exchanging fire, and titan is better when you get flanked. Except that ghost has the grapple, the move, and the ghosting so it's not even a contest.
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Feb 19, 2013 23:29
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Hey guys, I just got a new rush of x-com fever and started streaming my games. Here is a clip during my 2nd mission on Classic, I had all rookies because I came out of the first mission with one survivor who is in the sickbay for 30 days. Oh did I mention marathon mode is crazy? I wouldn't say it's any easier or harder, but on your first time through it can really screw you up because getting satellites up is so much harder. You do have more time to build up before getting rushed by mutons, but it also makes it harder to tell when you've screwed up your priorities because everything takes so much longer. Anyway, I put it up in case people like watching that sort of stuff, in which case I may post more as highlights come up. Otherwise I will get the hint. Next time the video will probably be a lot sharper.
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Feb 20, 2013 03:22
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Regarding this strategy -ulmont posted:
This is a great opener, I've never had an easier time with the first two months. I pulled off a riskier variation on Classic after a few failures. If the first UFO comes early (25-26 days before the council report) and you ignore it, the second, larger UFO may show up before 21 days to the report. If it doesn't, you have to restart, but if it does, all the loot guarantees you four satellites and a nexus with or without a fourth mission.
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Feb 20, 2013 04:05
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Also, a pro tip for rookies like me: my tactical play got way, way better when I turned the sound off. I think the music and sound effects in this game are incredible, but - and I don't know if everyone reacts this way - part of why they're so good is that they're designed to set you on edge then startle you and throw off your concentration at critical moments. I also turned off the action camera; now if only I could turn off the dramatic camera zoom every time a new alien pack gets tagged or anybody shoots their gun. While I'm at it, I'd also like an option to kill the cutscenes and shut up Professor Buzzkill and Doctor Obvious.
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Feb 20, 2013 06:29
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straw man posted:Also, a pro tip for rookies like me: my tactical play got way, way better when I turned the sound off. I think the music and sound effects in this game are incredible, but - and I don't know if everyone reacts this way - part of why they're so good is that they're designed to set you on edge then startle you and throw off your concentration at critical moments. I also turned off the action camera; now if only I could turn off the dramatic camera zoom every time a new alien pack gets tagged or anybody shoots their gun. But they worked so hard to add a story, why can't you just sit there and enjoy it on the fifteenth go around? Really though, that drat action cam and inane "story" pretty much turned me off of repeated playthroughs, as fun as my first was.
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Feb 20, 2013 07:04
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Keeshhound posted:But they worked so hard to add a story, why can't you just sit there and enjoy it on the fifteenth go around? Unskippable story and sheer repetition is the same thing that killed Diablo III for me. Its obvious that players would want to play the game again, not make so many dumb mistakes the second time around but a story that cannot be turned off ever is a bit annoying after a while. Most of what I liked about the original Xcom was how the player was forced to make their own story in a way. Granted, we had dissection reports already written and a major event or two that had to be done but most of the game we were on our own. Action cam was awesome for the first 3-4 missions and really put me in the mood. Now it's just irritating that I get the same 'creepy' sound byte every time a muton hobbles into vision and then hides again in the fog of war.
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Feb 20, 2013 07:09
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Keeshhound posted:But they worked so hard to add a story, why can't you just sit there and enjoy it on the fifteenth go around? At least the gameplay is fun, but the story gives me Diablo 3 flashbacks. Every time I start a new game, I grenade the first mind-linker, and Professor Prudence tells me I'm ruining her research. Then I shoot the third sectoid in the pack, and she tells me, astonished, that she can research the weapon fragments they drop!
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Feb 20, 2013 07:16
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straw man posted:Also, a pro tip for rookies like me: my tactical play got way, way better when I turned the sound off. I think the music and sound effects in this game are incredible, but - and I don't know if everyone reacts this way - part of why they're so good is that they're designed to set you on edge then startle you and throw off your concentration at critical moments. I also turned off the action camera; now if only I could turn off the dramatic camera zoom every time a new alien pack gets tagged or anybody shoots their gun. You can turn off the dramatic camera zoom with ToolBoks, although I like to keep it on so I know for certain (or as certain as you can get) whether an enemy pack is activated or not. No idea about turning off all the "OH LOOK AN ETHEREAL, LET ME DISCUSS--OH, AND THAT PURPLE THING LOOKS INTERESTING!!!" I certainly wish I knew how.
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Feb 20, 2013 07:18
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I'd just be happy with shutting up Dr. Nofun and Professor Dickhead in the base. I don't care whether or not you've put the new recruits to work in the lab or if the boys in the foundry are busy every time I stop by. Just do your damned jobs, I got bigger things to worry about.
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Feb 20, 2013 07:36
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Deuce posted:I'm thinking of using all ghost armor. Usually it's Titan armor with one flying sniper and one ghost assault. Seems like that might make the team far more injury prone, though. I would have done this if I could have afforded it, ran out of money way before getting 5 ghosts (1 archangel for the sniper)
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Feb 20, 2013 08:22
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Spiffo posted:Also if you go with Mind Control and the enemy you're controlling dies, everybody gets a Will penalty for seeing an ally die. Although it happened to me in my first normal run through, recently when I finished my classic I noticed this wasn't happening. I didn't get the debuff symbol at least, I didn't take the time to compare before/after will numbers (plus was ironman so not so easy to do that anyway). Can anyone else confirm/debunk this? It's possible it was addressed in the last patch, as I never got the impression that was an intended effect.
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Feb 20, 2013 12:12
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XeeD posted:I'd just be happy with shutting up Dr. Nofun and Professor Dickhead in the base. I don't care whether or not you've put the new recruits to work in the lab or if the boys in the foundry are busy every time I stop by. Just do your damned jobs, I got bigger things to worry about. See, at least I can keep doing other stuff while they're talking then. But when you're encountering a being of ALMOST PURE ENERGY, you're gonna hear about how pure it is, God drat it!
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Feb 20, 2013 13:11
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Well, at least they're not playing.. ... Computer games.
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Feb 20, 2013 14:52
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Blast Fantasto posted:Well, at least they're not playing.. My best friend thought this pun was so lame when he first heard it, he ragequit and stopped playing XCOM for an entire week. He still hates it when I whisper it while we play some game.
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Feb 20, 2013 15:10
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Spiffo posted:
They still haven't patched this!? What's the point of mind control if you can't make a muton suicide bomb his squad?
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Feb 20, 2013 15:17
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DrManiac posted:They still haven't patched this!? Console patch approval hell.
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Feb 20, 2013 15:18
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Mordaedil posted:Console patch approval hell. And some people are wondering why I hate consoles...
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Feb 20, 2013 15:34
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Is console patch hell a contractual obligation? Which is to say, is that why they don't just release Steam patches ASAP, and let the consoles wait until their gods deign to allow the patch through?
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Feb 20, 2013 15:36
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