Skyblade's Eyes on XCOM Signups

[Madame Adequate]

No rush man, just make sure the A-Team gets melted horribly and I'll happily step in to replace them!

[Loony BoB]

Sigma: Personally for Support I would take Saviour over Sentinel, given that Support players are usually in a squad almost purely because they can heal other players. Oversights often miss anyway.

OK, then. I changed it accordingly. How much do medikits heal normally, anyway?

At the start: +4
After research: +2
After Saviour: +4

Totalling +10 HP for a heal if you survive long enough.

[Iceglow]

Since the trooper you set up initially for me became a sniper not an assault as we were looking for if you feel the urge you can change my gender over to female and set me up on the female soldier you've got Sky. If yes then I'll post my tree options for you.

[Jiro]

Realised that I should've taken Squad Sight to get the most out of the battle scanner but I don't know how useful disabling shot it. I never used it as it has a horrendous chance to hit and I can usually just kill the enemies first anyway.

Sergeant:
- Damn Good Ground: You get +10 Aim and +10 Defense (dodge chance) to all enemies lower than you, in addition to regular height bonuses.

Lieutenant:
- Battle Scanner: Throw a scanning device that grants visibility of an area for 2 turns. Can allow the use of Squad Sight shots, does not alert enemies. 2 Battle Scanners per mission.

Captain:
- Executioner: +10 Aim to all targets with less than half health.

Major (no choice):
- Low Profile: Half cover becomes full cover for you.

Colonel:
- Double tap: Every other turn you can fire twice, as long as you don't move first.

[Aulayna]

If I'm not too late!

Character name: Charlotte Burkle
Character nickname: Nightsparrow
Class: Sniper
Gender: Female
Customization: Blue eyes, paleish skin, dark blonde/brown hair, all black/grey armor (think Starcraft Ghosts)
Equipment: Sniper Rifle + Whatever you want
Perks: Stuff that makes things die

[Skyblade]

-Operation Severed Crone-
Melbourne, Australia

Simple Abduction Mission in Australia. The AO was dominated by a single large office building. Our forces, consisting of MacLeod, BoB, Coleman, and 22 took up positions among the vehicles and alien pods scattered around the landing site.

Our first encounter was with yet another new alien type. A deformed creature, heavily modified with cybernetics to include an aerial propulsion system. Three of them were visible. Vivi 22 immediately deleted one, while Ronnie ran up and eliminated another. MacLeod also decided this was a fine time for a shot, and blew through the third.

The next encounter was a couple of Sectoids approaching from our rear. Loony BoB Run and Gunned up to one, popping its head like a balloon with his Shotgun (forgot to reequip a rifle). Vivi lined up to eliminate the other, but failed. The second Sectoid took a brief jab at BoB, barely wounding him, but enough to send him to the hospital for a week after the mission. Plasma burns are nasty. Vivi then took out the foe to make up for his earlier missed shot.

Our final group was one of two Floaters who came charging out of the building. One took up cover behind a car, where MacLeod easily eliminated it with a simple flank, while the other hid behind a desk. Ronnie Run and Gunned to this one, hiding directly on the other side of the desk. His shot tore into the Floater, but didn't manage to kill it. However, while it may be able to fly, it couldn't Aim worth a dang, and its shots flew over the head of a soldier cowering behind a small table (with no siding) not a foot away from it. Ronnie then reintroduced the beast to his shotgun, ending the mission.

Boring, boring stuff. Didn't even make it inside the building (except for Ronnie, who was one square inside) before it was over.

MVP: Ronnie. For his face off with the Floater across the desk. Really, this mission was so uneventful, one of the least interesting I've played. Was tempted to say no MVP, but the last exchange was amusing, so Ronnie gets it.

For the next mission... Our first ever TERROR ATTACK!

-Operation Twisted Mountain-
Munich, Germany
2:02 AM

This mission went down the drain right from the beginning. Nothing spawned near us, forcing us to trek halfway across the map to both rescue civilians and engage the enemies.

As a result, we lost 9 Civilians (the worst I've ever performed on a Terror Mission), 5 of which we lost before we could even engage the enemies.

Our troops were Jiro, Psi, Ronnie, MacLeod, and Vivi. Yay, 5 man team finally!

This mission introduced us to the lovely little critter called the Chryssalid. And man, oh man, do I hate these things. They may not be as cheap as the original incarnation, but these things still suck.


Anyway, the synopsis.

Our mission began in Munich in the early hours of the day. A German military installation was under attack, and there were a large number of civilians on site. Our soldiers, dropped well beyond the effective engagement range by our cowardly pilot, had to start sprinting to catch up to the aliens, who were busy slaughtering the civilians we were sent to rescue.

Our first encounter was with a group of Floaters, coming out from behind a tank. The first one got shredded in midair by the combined reaction fire of four soldiers, with no one quite being sure who got the kill, nor really caring.

Jiro and Vivi were engaged in a competition to see who was the better Sniper (literally, they were right next to each other, behind the same piece of cover, taking shots). Jiro's shot missed, and Vivi eliminated his target with a smug look.

Ronnie Coleman, meanwhile, suicidal ne'er do well that he is, rushed forward and unloaded a hail of lead into the third Floater, eliminating it.

Unfortunately, from then on, things went to hell. Our troops then spotted two new foes. Gangly, insectoid creatures. These terrifying new creatures rushed out, covering huge distance in a terribly short time. The first sprinted towards our troops, while the second approached and attacked a nearby civilian hiding behind a tank.

Meanwhile, Psi noticed a civilian we'd left behind drop dead. Fearing we were outflanked, he rushed back to cover our rear.

Vivi wounded the nearer one, and Coleman finished it off. Jiro and MacLeod went to attack the second. Jiro's shot tore into it, but left it alive. With little choice, MacLeod rushed into its face and unleashed a hail of gunfire, dropping the horrible little thing where it stood. Unfortunately, the dead civilian directly beneath him arose, a twisted zombie all that remained of the once pretty young lass the Chryssalid had attacked. With one heavy swoop of its arm, the creature dropped MacLeod. The immortal had died yet again. Jiro, not being phased enough to lose his poise, unleashed a shot into the zombie, yet it still moved. Ronnie sprinted up to take our fallen highlander's place, inflicting greivous damage to the zombie, yet it still came on. Another heavy strike took Ronnie apart. His shoulder dislocated, his leg broken, and his companion dead beneath him, Ronnie raised his shotgun and ended the zombie threat once and for all. But not the mission.

Psi, having determined that the civilian behind us had died of malaria, rather than an alien attack, rushed back, hoping to make it in time to salvage the rest of the mission. Jiro, Vivi, and Ronnie pressed on, hoping to find and eliminate the remaining threat before a zombie army was upon us.

Fortunately, our last group was a few floaters. Jiro eliminated one from a distance, while Vivi took out the second. Ronnie, not wanting to press his luck too much, hid behind our Snipers while awaiting his chance. When the return fire from the last one missed, he rushed forward and blasted it with his shotgun, ending the attack, before collapsing and asking the Snipers to carry him back to the Skyranger.

This mission sucked. I was seriously, seriously upset with how far away everything was from us. I just watched the counter tick as civilian after civilian died and we hadn't even made contact.

As to Psi's dead civilian, poking around has apparently revealed a mechanic on terror missions. If the aliens are all inactive (undiscovered and such), random civilians in the fog of war can be killed during the alien phase. There is a chance (0% on normal and easy, 50% on Classic, and 100% on Impossible) that civilians killed by this mechanic will rise as zombies and eventually become new Chryssalids. This is apparently done to spur you on to rescue them, without waking inactive aliens unfairly.

Unfortunately, since the map scrolls over dying civilians, it left me thinking there were aliens behind me (who should definitely have been safe, they were behind a wall and there was no way past without going through my whole squad, and I didn't want to waste the turns to save them when there were so many dying up ahead). So I wasted Psi in this fight responding to threats that weren't there. That, in turn, left me with little choice than to sacrifice MacLeod to end that Chryssalid, as awake and active it would have been a nightmare, those things are very prone to running off and killing a dozen civilians rather than attacking you.

MVP: Ronnie. Impressive kill rate, and once again willing to soak up fire so the rest of the team doesn't have to. 1 HP remaining. Good job, buddy.

KIA: Connor MacLeod. Again.


Promotions will be gone over next post, I'm tired and have work in eight hours. There will also be a new team picture, featuring the 5 man squad, including the dead MacLeod, but I need to convert the filetype, and, again, too tired for that.

And don't worry, Aulayna. You're not too late. It's nice to finally have a female on the team, especially given how many I have in backstock.

[DK]

Man the enemy really does not like our support soldier. Poor smurfer. Would be good if another one signed up really, just so somebody else could spare MacLeod from being killed every time he steps out.

Mind you, Ronnie's been crippled now as well xD What other kinds of injuries/damage can you recieve? I want to collect the whole set before this is over. What a hero. I do like how we went from one mundane and simple mission to a total abortion. That'll teach us to get complacent!

[Psychotic]

Sorry for not replying sooner!

Bullet Swarm
Shredder Rocket
Rapid Reaction
Danger Zone
Mayhem

[Jiro]

Poor MacLeod I feel like a failure, but it was probably just my unease; you didn't send me on the Australia mission and clearly that made me nervous about what actually went down in my home nation. Good to have a sniper partner though!

[Skyblade]

-Operation Spectral Flame-
United States
9:32 PM

This mission was a UFO crash in the United States. It was a larger UFO than any we'd previously encountered, and of an unknown type. With MacLeod dead, and Ronnie and BoB still in the hospital, our forces were thinned as we prepared for this new mission. Jiro, Vivi, Psy, and two of their lady friends from base (including our old Assault) prepared to storm the UFO.

Psy's first steps forward immediately encountered two Floaters, and, for once, his casual retaliation didn't land, nor did Vivi's first shot. Jiro, however, successfully brought it down to Earth. This left us with two soldiers against the second Floater, and two Snipers left out of cover who had to be protected. With a shotgun by her side, our old friend couldn't get close enough to get a reliable hit (yeah, not taking a 2% chance, thanks). However, our new Rookie stepped up to the plate and calmly ended the Floater's miserable existence. So far, so good.

Our soldiers followed the skittering sounds they were hearing around the UFO, constantly chasing their foes, but never catching them. Eventually, our old Assault friend got bored and decided to rush them. However, even her dash didn't catch up. Thinking things were safe for faster advancement, Psy rushed up as well. It was then that Psy spotted the foes they'd been chasing. Three Sectoids that had been running as though the very whips of their masters were behind them. Vivi, who had been leaning behind a tree as he followed in the rear, casually scoped around and popped the first one between the eyes, while our other troops moved forward to get better positions. The aliens Mind Melded, and then attempted to attack our young Rookie, however, she was too far away, and the shots only shredded the tree she was hiding behind. She then moved up and took a low percentage shot at the Sectoid that had initiated the merge. And killed it. Beginner's Luck.

With that threat eliminated, our forces turned toward the UFO itself...

Shoot, time for work. Will finish the update when I get back.

[Loony BoB]

Suspense!

[Skyblade]

Wasted suspense, unfortunately.

The UFO soon came into sight. It looked much like the former UFO we had shot down, only larger. Its interior was slightly more labyrinthine than the other. Our forces continually heard a slight hum coming from within. As we entered, they spotted a rare prize. What appeared to be an intact version of the alien flight console, similar to the one we had destroyed when we shot down the last UFO. Who knows what we could obtain if we could study that.

But first, we had to clear the remaining foes. As we neared the innermost room, our soldiers positioned carefully near the doors. The door opened, and another orange crystal formed into one of the Outsiders we had seen before. Vivi lined up a shot on the creature, Psy ran into the room, put his gun to its head, and blew it away. The alien forces eliminated, our troops set to work returning home, with goodies in tow.

Psy, Vivi, and our Rookie who killed half of the aliens on the map all levelled up.

The female Rookie is unfortunately our MVP. She had a lot of luck in this mission, but did well. She also became an Assault soldier, so if you did want to grab a female assault, Iceglow, feel free. I'm a bit anxious about hiring more soldiers due to the very tight money/time crunch as I establish sat coverage, unfortunately.

S.C.O.P.E.s, Medkits, and Nanofiber Vests are currently availible for outfitting, to replace the standard grenades.

Base value: S.C.O.P.E.s give +10 Aim, Nanofiber Vests give +1 Health, and Medkits restore 4 Health.

[Skyblade]

-Operation Empty Priest-
Mumbai, India
9:06 PM

Psi, Vivi, BoB, Jiro, and our new lady Assault friend.

The abduction mission started as usual. Our forces moved into an Indian roadway partially under construction. Or perhaps being reconstructed after an alien attack?

Either way, we had a threat to eliminate. Fanning out, our troops pushed forward. Loony BoB quickly found two Floaters to our left. Loosing a tight burst of assault rifle fire, he badly wounded it, but didn't kill it. Vivi, having been holding his ground behind an excavator, swivelled around and blew through the second Floater with a single shot. Our female friend ran up and finished off BoB's Floater, letting Psy and Jiro prepare for any new threats.

No new threats came, however, so our forces began to advance once again. And, very soon, we spotted two more Floaters. As these tore towards our squad, they were met with a hail of reaction fire from all around. All of which missed, the glare from the construction lights nearly blinding our soldiers, and keeping the squad from eliminating the threat immediately.

Not to be dettered, however, Loony BoB quickly rushed one and tore into its flight engines with his assault rifle, tearing it from the sky and crushing it under the weight of its own broken and burning engines. Vivi went for the more merciful kill, opting to simply put a bullet into its augmented eye.

With the Floaters down, our forces moved forward yet again, this time encountering a couple of Sectoids. The two of them quickly found cover, one inside a bus, the other beside it. Our lady friend loosed a max range shotgun blast, barely likely to hit anything, but the ball of fragmented metal tore straight through the Sectoid before it could possibly know what hit it. Vivi, not one to let a Sectoid harass citizens on public transport, shot the would-be bus driver through the neck.

Sensing we were nearing the end, our forces regrouped a bit. Jiro spotted our next foes, two more Sectoids who were scuttling around an eighteen wheeler. His shot at them missed, however. Vivi finally realized he'd have to use his legs and climbed atop a nearby delivery truck and reloaded. Psy sought to get a good angle while staying in cover, getting on top of the vehicle's flatbed and rushing towards their position. Loony BoB rushed to the left side, hoping to flank them when he next got the chance.

That chance never came however. The two aliens Mind Merged, and loosed a long distance shot at Loony BoB. That missed completely. Vivi, not wanting to waste his high ground, drew a bead on the Merging foe, and tore into his precious brain, shattering the link and killing both foes, ending the mission.

MVP goes to Vivi. Like, hands down. 5 kills out of 8 aliens. He was just chain lightning. He had a shot on every alien group we saw, and every one hit. It was awesome. Good job, Vivi. Pat yourself on the back.

It's worth noting that this female Assault soldier is one of the luckiest I've had, when it comes to long distance shots. Between her lucky low percentage shots as a Rookie, and the 40% and 20% kills she's gotten as a Squaddie, she is quite, quite good with weapons that shouldn't be that accurate.

Jiro got unlucky with placement (he was on the right flank, enemies were all on the left), and Psy had bad luck with his accuracy. Sorry, guys.

Loony BoB levelled up (levels take more Exp the higher they go, otherwise Vivi would definitely have gotten one), as did our Assault friend, giving us two Corporal Assault Soldiers who will be joining Ronnie when he gets out of the hospital in two days.

Our reward was a Male Sergeant Support Trooper, so let's all give Connor MacLeod a big "Welcome Back", as well as some best wishes for staying alive this time.

And I am hiring more troops, just one at a time. And my last two were girls.

Oh, and new squad pic (decided not to bother with the old one).EOFF Squad.jpg

Our next mission: Operation Final Throne, in France. One of our sattellites spotted a UFO touched down in France. Our troops don't care why, they're just going in to kill stuff and steal all the goodies they can get their hands on.

[Madame Adequate]

Operation Final Throne, in France.

Jacobin detected.

[Iceglow]

Might as well go ahead and swap my gender to female considering if I don't my chances of being brought in to a mission are effectively zero.

Skill tree level ups:

Squaddie (no choice):
Run & Gun: You can Dash (move twice as far) and still fire your weapon in the same turn. You cannot Dash and use items though. 2 turn cooldown.

Corporal:
- Aggression: You gain +10% Crit chance for every enemy you can see, up to a max of +30%.

Sergeant:
- Lightning Reflexes: The first reaction shot (enemy Overwatch shot) made against you each turn automatically misses.

Lieutenant:
- Rapid Fire: Take two shots at a single target. Each shot has a 15% penalty to accuracy. 2 turn cooldown.

Captain:
- Close Combat Specialist: Shoot at anything that moves within 4 tiles of you. You don't have to be in Overwatch (Overwatch will just get you an extra shot), and can shoot once at everything that moves that close to you per turn, as long as your weapon has ammo.

Major (no choice):
- Extra Conditioning: You get extra health for wearing armor. The heavier the armor, the more health. +1 health for basic armor, +2 for light armors, +4 for heavy armors.

Colonel:
- Resilience: Passive immunity to critical hits.


I figure these options will put me in a place to deal a fair amount of damage whilst allowing me to act as a relatively good bullet soak.