The New X-Com by Firaxis Hype Thread

[Madame Adequate]

You're meant to be trying to fight a fire that you can't actually put out though.

I had a hilarious panic spiral happen earlier, fortunately all but one of my guys made it out safely. Panic spirals were always issues in the original, but the smaller squad sizes make it much more serious when it occurs.

[Skyblade]

Panic control seems to become fairly easy to manage if you can get full sat coverage of the globe. It lets you stop/slow the "pick one of three" abduction missions, which are the main things that mess up your panic ratings.

[Slothy]

Panic control seems to become fairly easy to manage if you can get full sat coverage of the globe. It lets you stop/slow the "pick one of three" abduction missions, which are the main things that mess up your panic ratings.

I've been playing on normal and either I did something very stupid early on which made things harder than they need to be or this is incredibly difficult to accomplish. I just got my third satellite up with a fourth on the way. And I'm about to assault the alien base whenever I get off my butt and do it.

Mind you, next play through I'll be going in with a much better understanding of what research may be more beneficial earlier.

[Skyblade]

I focused entirely strategic, building new satellite relays and such immediately. Capture and interrogate early for the bonuses. I skipped Lasers entirely (good luck doing that on Classic or above), and went straight for Plasma.

I still haven't invaded the alien base (waiting for two more research projects), yet I've outfitted my team to the neck with stuff. Everyone with Plasma weaponry, some flying armor. All three SHIV types. And I just learned Blaster Bombs.

If you can get through the basic missions without the goodies, holding off on them until your economy stabilizes lets you rule the game.

Also, one Firestorm with an EMP cannon can take out a Battleship by itself.

[Slothy]

What bonuses do you get for capturing? I captured the aliens that I was required to to advance plot missions but not much besides that. Honestly, aside from global panic being an issue and losing two countries, I haven't had too much issue so far.

[Skyblade]

Each alien you interrogate provides a permanent, passive reduction to research time of all projects within a branch of the tech tree.

Example (first three):
(SPOILER)Sectoids reduce research of lasers by 50%.
Floaters reduce research of basic armor by 50%.
Thin Men reduce research of UFO tech (Satellite Nexus, Elerium generators, etcetera) by 50%.

I'll let you discover the rest.



My ProgressOh, yeah. I've finished all availible research. I have a Firestorm with an EMP cannon in every territory. I have no panic anywhere on the globe. I have a squad of full Colonels and all Plasma weaponry and Titan armor. I have a squad with 6 Plasma Shivs, 2 Hover, 2 Alloy. I have a Blaster Launcher for my Heavy. I have satellite coverage over the entire world. I have over 6,000 credits, and over a hundred engineers and researchers. I have interrogated and autopsied every species in the game that I can thus far. I have my base totally dug out, with most facilities set up (save some space in case I get later ones).

I think it's time to pay the alien base a visit.

[Jiro]

holy smurf this game is hard. the normal difficulty says "challenging but fair." What a load of bollocks. It's smurfing mental and I've never had so much fun

[Slothy]

holy smurf this game is hard. the normal difficulty says "challenging but fair." What a load of bollocks. It's smurfing mental and I've never had so much fun

I don't know, I haven't found normal too bad. Lost one soldier this whole play through and it was on my third mission. Went something like this:
"Some of my guys are injured? Guess I need to add a new one. Oh look, I have a Canadian."
*does mission and squaddie gets hit once*
RIP Squaddie Chris West.

[Jiro]

I've have long stretches where 80+% shots have missed, leaving my dudes completely smurfed over by the enemy and then in a last ditch effort my rookie will attack with like a 45% chance to hit and make it but not do full damage so they die anyway. smurf. It's glorious though.

[Madame Adequate]

Oh hello I heard there were some small-timers in this thread so I figured I'd drop by and see for myself and welp

[Loony BoB]

Have been playing this game all weekend. I don't know if I'm in Ironman mode as I don't know what that means (if it means that you only have one save slot and it auto-saves, then I'm not doing that - I have multiple saves). It's my first attempt in years but I'm doing pretty damned well. I did lose a fair number of countries, though - China, Australia, India, Mexico, Brazil and France, I think - but have satellitees up on the rest and have raided the first base already. Also got the next main story task out of the way and have tested all my soldiers (only a couple of my nine colonels got it). Lost two colonels doing that one, though. I kind of ran into a large number of very aggressive robots all attacking me at once after blowing a hole in the side of a room with a rocket. Oops. But one of those colonels was always in a panic in recent times so I don't miss her much. The other guy was okay, but not one of my best. My two snipers are kings, taking out four enemies per turn if they can.

I'm sure I'm playing on easy street if I'm not playing on Ironman... I'm guessing I'm not playing on Ironman, because I've found it fairly easy going overall and have only lost low rank soldiers early on (aside from that one mission where I lost two colonels). It was horrible at the start, but it seems to be getting easier as the game moves forward, especially once the satellites are up. And, you know, the snipers have Double Tap. Which overpowers them like bloody crazy. xD

EDIT: Finished a non-Ironman run and found it really fun. Oh, man, I really failed hard on Ironman. So hard. xD I'm thinking on my next run that I might just let South America and Africa burn, and focus on keeping the other three continents alive. I just can't keep everyone happy and all my better soldiers got slaughtered on a terror mission. Which reminds me - next time the first terror mission pops up, I may just ignore it. Or send really rookie soldiers named after The Expendables.

MILF, teach me how to win Ironman. x_x

[Jiro]

I only lost Egypt so far and one stupid smurfing Swedish new recruit who got critical hit by a smurfing sectoid

[Skyblade]

My favorite Sniper build:
Headshot
Squad Sight
Damn Good Ground
Battle Scanner
Opportunist
Low Profile
Either Colonel perk, they both rock, just in different circumstances.

Psi Powers:
Mind Fray
Psi Inspiration
Telekinetic Field

Armor: Ghost or Archangel
Weapon: Plasma Sniper Rifle
Item: S.C.O.P.E. (with Foundry upgrade)

Explanation:
Squad Sight is incredibly powerful, greatly extending the Sniper's range, keeping them out of harm's way.

Damn Good Ground is one I take for a few reasons. First, while it is a minor boost, it boosts The Sniper's main focus, rather than their off weapons. Second, once I get a Psi Sniper, I usually replace pistols with Mind Fray, which rocks.

Battle Scanner I pick up, only because Disabling Shot is relatively useless. Personally, I think making a weaker utility shot less accurate than a regular attack just kills it, especially since it buys you a turn, at most, and doesn't work on Berserkers, who, besides Sectopods, are the only enemy Snipers can't one-shot if they get a good crit.

Opportunist is awesome. Since a Colonel Sniper with a S.C.O.P.E. has better than 100 Aim, this makes their Overwatch shots (always taken against enemies out of cover, since they're moving) always hit, unless they have a dodge buff (fliers, mostly), and even then, at least 85% hit. Since it works with Squad Sight, this makes it a way to basically instantly kill or cripple a member of an alien squad that patrols into you. This FAR outweighs the 10% Aim boost on hurt targets, IMHO.

As for the Colonel perks, it depends on how you play. If you eliminate an enemy group's cover with explosives, In the Zone let's them finish everything off and still have time to move and reload. It is also absolute death to Chryssalids. And it does have some psynergy (synergy, dangit, too much Golden Sun) with Overwatch, as you will usually get an extra turn (3 moves) on the turn after you Overwatch kill something due to In The Zone refunding a move when it triggers. Slightly buggy, but useful. Double Tap is a better stand alone, more reliable ability that requires less setup, but is also less powerful.

Mind Fray is your first Psi power, and it rocks. On a Sniper with good Will, this should replace your pistol. 5 damage, plus a mobility, Aim, and Will penalty? Yes, please.

Psi Inspiration blows Psi Panic away. It buffs your Will, and removes Mindfray from your team while it's at it. Panic is unreliable, and can cause the enemy to get a free, high accuracy shot.

Telekinetic Field is a HUGE defensive buff. If your Sniper has nothing to do, you can put you entire team in the equivalent of High Cover, or Hunker Down those already in cover. This ability is AWESOME. Not as flashy as Mind Control, but, again, more reliable. It can save your butt in bad situations, doesn't require high Will, and doesn't have the negative impact of Mind Control. Plus, since Snipers are in the back, and Mind Control doesn't work with Squad Sight, Snipers are in the best position to drop a TK Field on your team without buffing the enemies too.

Archangel versus Ghost armor. Both are awesome. Archangel is more vulnerable, but you do get extra defense from Damn Good Ground, since you're flying. Ghost gives you fast movement, passive defense that stacks with cover, a grapple of limited utility that is great when you can use it, and four charges of a +100% Crit chance ability (bonus for cloaked units). Psi Armor is not horrible, but since Mind Fray is the only offensive Psi Ability my Snipers get, I tend to focus on other strengths.

Plasma Sniper Rifle is the best one in the game, obviously. Use it, love it.

The S.C.O.P.E. gives you +10 Aim and +10 Crit chance (once upgraded). Almost every other item is defensive or explosive, and Snipers are rarely in a position to use either. Go with the offensive buffs.

[Skyblade]

Forgive the sequential post, but I felt I had to share.

Yahtzee over at Zero Punctuation has reviewed XCOM. And is positive about it.

I was rather flabbergasted by this. He's one of the biggest critics of turn based gaming I know, and I expected him to destroy the game just for that.

[Loony BoB]

Genuinely looking forward to checking that out when I get home. Hope I remember.