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ThirdEmperor posted:So, is Impossible just bullshit? I've tried a ton of runthroughs and I always lose at least three countries and get locked out of as many bonuses, even if I rush and build a ton of satellites ASAP. Getting one-shotted behind full cover happens way too often and lone sectoids regularly dodge fire from my entire squad. I don't think I'd call it 'fake difficulty' though. The AI doesn't cheat or ignore game mechanics or anything, the enemies are just stronger. And there are more of them.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:23
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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jfjnpxmy posted:If it's any consolation, I just had a good-ish Ironman run grind to a halt when a pack of Mutons teleported onto a flank and maimed a buncha soldiers. See, If it were JUST this one issue, I'd probably just grit my teeth and restart, but I'm plagued with crashes, and just general bugginess. It's been that way since the beginning.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:24
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Hellburger99 posted:I see them like Cerberus from Mass Effect: They're confident that they can repel/join/subjugate the alien invaders on their own, so better to knock XCOM out of the picture early before XCOM develops tech that could rival Exalts' own. Their appearance does hint that they're The Bureau, cut off, de-funded, classified/buried and left to their own devices with a variety of alien technology. When the new alien war breaks out, they're ahead in the technology race, but are worse off in just about every other respect.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:25
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I did not realize that the kinetic strike upgrade let you punch 2x a turn  . I'm now a convert to the church of punchies.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:26
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Meow Tse-tung posted:I did not realize that the kinetic strike upgrade let you punch 2x a turn I think it's the faux-bulletstorm upgrade that lets you do that, so long as you don't move.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:34
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Meow Tse-tung posted:I did not realize that the kinetic strike upgrade let you punch 2x a turn Wait, what? Is this true? Are you sure that it's not just Overdrive (Bullet Swarm for MECs)?
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Nov 20, 2013 20:35
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amanasleep posted:Wait, what? Is this true? Are you sure that it's not just Overdrive (Bullet Swarm for MECs)? Yep, thats probably it. I just got two punches in on a sectopod and assumed that was it. I didn't think I was able to do the same on my flamethrower, though. Maybe because its an item? Or I just haven't been paying attention.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:39
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Hellburger99 posted:I'm more disappointed that Vahlen says something along the lines of "We would never push this sort of genetic manipulation on our troops", but the elite Exalts didn't seem all that inhuman. I was hoping for some sort of Exalt and berserker or chrysalid hybrid. I'm telling you, an assault on Exalt's secret lab to look at all their dirty little secrets would have been sweet (as would have been all that meld they must be stockpiling.) But yeah, Exalt's Elites are disappointing. As it stands I have much more trouble imagining what it must be like living with something like Adrenal Neurosympathy or Bioelectric Skin than Regen Pheromones or... Whatever it was the other Elites had. Dominic White posted:Their appearance does hint that they're The Bureau, cut off, de-funded, classified/buried and left to their own devices with a variety of alien technology. When the new alien war breaks out, they're ahead in the technology race, but are worse off in just about every other respect. Besides the visual similarity (and professional attire is often used because it's so widespread and ubiquitous) what hints at this? I don't recall anything. The one guy you take captive? They don't have much dialogue or character that isn't directly told to us, which is another thing I find disappointing about them.
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Nov 20, 2013 20:42
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HaitianDivorce posted:I'm telling you, an assault on Exalt's secret lab to look at all their dirty little secrets would have been sweet (as would have been all that meld they must be stockpiling.) Didn't someone from firaxis nix that connection by outright stating they have no relation to the bureau?
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Nov 20, 2013 20:45
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Okay, so I just learned the hard way why you don't a) toss all your colonels into the psi/gene labs after the base assault and b) leave your b-team wearing vanilla gear. On impossible. Four motherfucking cyberdisks, holy poo poo You can restart on failure but I think I would spend less time winning the lottery.
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Nov 20, 2013 21:19
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Sloober posted:Didn't someone from firaxis nix that connection by outright stating they have no relation to the bureau? The opposite. They heavily implied in promo stuff Exalt was the Bureau.
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Nov 20, 2013 21:36
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Is it possible to delay the Gangplank council mission? (assaulting the downed battleship after the train mission) My MEC is wounded  edit: poo poo... thanks for replying. Playing Iron Man too... luckily I had money to equip my squad with laser rifles and carapace armor. Here we go. PirateBob fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Nov 20, 2013 |
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Nov 20, 2013 21:45
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PirateBob posted:Is it possible to delay the Gangplank council mission? (assaulting the downed battleship after the train mission) If you delay it the mission disappers and you never get another chance to do it.
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Nov 20, 2013 21:51
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Zore posted:The opposite. They heavily implied in promo stuff Exalt was the Bureau. [citation needed] The most damning proof that The Bureau isn't EXALT: You can give XCOM operatives trilbies/fedoras. Clearly, because XCOM has access to a common part of 1960's apparel, they must have direct ties to this organization from an different game. I mean, the proof is pretty undeniable. If you look at Civ2's SETI Wonder video, you can clearly see Sectoids! Therefore, XCOM:EU must be a direct sequel to Civ2. And who could ignore the UFO disaster from Transport Tycoon?  Clearly, this game is a vital part of the XCOM storyline, because the concept of "homage" does not exist in any media. At all.
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Nov 20, 2013 21:55
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amanasleep posted:Wait, what? Is this true? Are you sure that it's not just Overdrive (Bullet Swarm for MECs)? It's true. It increases damage and lets you punch twice. If you look in the suit description, under the kinetic strike module, it should tell you this.
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Nov 20, 2013 22:24
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First question: if I have both Progeny and Slingshot active (I played my first run without either of them), will they alternate council missions? Or will one hog the first few, and the other the next? Second question: how do you guys go about Arc Throwing now that pinning doesn't work? I've made the mistake of suppressing low-health enemies only to have them fly away to their deaths. Just get lucky on the ambush? Equip ATs to ever dude? Additional comment: holy poo poo the Mec's AOE electric attack is a loving life-saver. Snagging three Mectoids and a Sectopod in one blast while the rest of my team retreats and regroups, then sprinting away far out of their range on the next turn? Hell yeah.
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Nov 20, 2013 22:32
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Fintilgin posted:I think it would have been better story wise if EXALT had just been alien cultists/experiements. Like early on they're cultists/collaborators, and then later with elite units you see what the aliens are trying to do turning humans into mutated slave soldiers. Then they could show up with aliens now and then too. I'm not sure why they went with what they did. You've got so many more options if EXALT are basically Shocker. More mission types (with less binary victory conditions): -GET TO DA MELD!: The aliens have air dropped meld canisters in an urban/rural area, we've picked up EXALT transmissions nearby so we suspect this is a supply drop. Get in there! -Capture the VIP: EXALT operatives have kidnapped a prominent scientist/politician, our intel has pinpointed the area where they're currently holding the VIP, but they're preparing to move again, and wont give them up without a fight. -IT'S A TRAP!: Our intel was bad! This abduction site is actually an EXALT trap and they've sabotaged the Skyranger! You've got to hold out until it's working again! More variants on existing mission types: -EXALT terror missions: EXALT is raiding an urban center! -EXALT abductions: EXALT forces have green-gassed an area and are preparing to abduct civilians! -Crashed/landed aircraft!!!: We've picked up a landed EXALT VTOL/SST/we've downed an EXALT VTOL/SST. Better pacing!: -Early on EXALT are secondary to the aliens, you mostly encounter them on Meld races, and they don't try to sabotage you. -Mid-game (as defined as being post alien base) EXALT become the main enemy you face as it's implied that the majority of the actual alien forces currently on Earth were taken out or left in complete disarray. They make the assault on X-Com HQ possible, they start sabotaging you, they take the place of most of the aliens on most missions until you take out the EXALT base (which you need to do to get the right hyperwave frequency to pick up alien transponder signals), and they actually get MECs/plasma/actually visually distinct gene mods. -Late-game (post EXALT base) EXALT still exist, but they take a back seat to the aliens again. They're sad mook remnant squads, or top tier elites who were handed over to the aliens for even more extensive gene/cyber modding. Also, non-monstrous EXALT mooks really should have the same range of skin-tone/gender/hair options that your own troops have, and your own gene-modded troops should have a similar Mad Men-ish outfit as a deco option. Granted, some of that stuff would've required more art/voice assets, but hey! Firaxis likely has at least one more expansion left in store for X-Com so there's that at least.
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Nov 20, 2013 22:42
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I'm at the point where I'm equipping my soldiers with laser weapons and of the 17 in my barracks the vast majority are heavies. I'm thinking of rolling with it. Every mission may end up turning into a smoldering crater after I unload all the rockets, shredder rockets and multiple grenades from having heavies with deep pocket and grenadier talents. Then my three MECs roll in with grenade launchers and rocket punches and flame throwers. (this will end in disaster)
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Nov 20, 2013 22:45
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Mr. Pumroy posted:I'm at the point where I'm equipping my soldiers with laser weapons and of the 17 in my barracks the vast majority are heavies. I'm thinking of rolling with it. Every mission may end up turning into a smoldering crater after I unload all the rockets, shredder rockets and multiple grenades from having heavies with deep pocket and grenadier talents. Then my three MECs roll in with grenade launchers and rocket punches and flame throwers. (this will end in disaster) psh, gimmick "all one class" styled runs are some of the most fun in the game, especially with heavies(Or just explosive focused in your case). You'd think the loss of weapon frags would hurt, but you get to skip over half the weapon researches to counter that.
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Nov 20, 2013 22:50
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Regarding Arc Throwing now: same basic idea still works. The soft panic that AIs display when they are the last member left alive still happens, but they're even more erratic and panicky now. Keeping on the bastards and clapping Overwatch on them while they're panicked will encourage them to hunker down instead of run. I've had zero problems capturing aliens, aside from a few 80% fails that made me sad.
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Nov 20, 2013 23:04
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Snapshot sniper with 123 aim before scope, medals and genemods. With Low Profile, Lightning Reflexes and In The Zone.  Now if only the Outsiders would stop resisting my stuns. Cstar fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Nov 20, 2013 |
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Nov 20, 2013 23:25
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On my second classic run, have decided that any time I want to save-scum I'm only allowed to do it by restarting the entire mission. It keeps me from save-scumming extensively. That said, I was completely hosed for the Portent mission and had to let it go. It makes me sad because I know this means I'm missing out on some stuff later in the game. I'll have to complete it on my next campaign.
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Nov 20, 2013 23:44
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Hulk Krogan posted:I think somebody addressed this way earlier in the thread, but I cant' find it. You should do the meld tutorial every game because you get to keep that extra 20 meld, right? Not only do you get the extra meld, but it appears that all 4 of your starters get a guaranteed upgrade to Squaddie, even if they didn't kill anyone. And it looks like there are fewer enemies than the normal starting mission. And you can start researching Meld from day 1. Basically, always do the Meld tutorial, but the regular tutorial is poo poo, because it guarantees you 3 dead guys.
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Nov 20, 2013 23:45
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Brainamp posted:It's true. It increases damage and lets you punch twice. If you look in the suit description, under the kinetic strike module, it should tell you this. Yep, just double checked. It's "Close combat MEC: Does 50% damage on punches and punching no longer ends a units turn"  . Overdrive is the bullet-storm clone.
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Nov 20, 2013 23:49
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Meow Tse-tung posted:Yep, just double checked. It's "Close combat MEC: Does 50% damage on punches and punching no longer ends a units turn" edit: vvvvv You need to research SHIV production and you'll see the MEC Close Combat Foundry project. Ravenfood fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 20, 2013 23:51
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How the hell do you get that kinetic strike upgrade anyways? I just wrapped up a c/I run without ever seeing it. Really would have helped against those buffed sectopods.
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Nov 20, 2013 23:58
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ParanoidInc posted:How the hell do you get that kinetic strike upgrade anyways? I just wrapped up a c/I run without ever seeing it. Really would have helped against those buffed sectopods. If I remember correctly it and the flamethrower foundry projects come from researching elerium?
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Nov 21, 2013 00:00
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Oh man, such a good start. Mid April on my Ironman Impossible (no slingshot/portent), Not created equal, hidden potential, training roulette and no god drat Alt-F4 shenanigans. Nobody on the memorial wall so far. I've got two mec suits up and running, and I'm on track to have five sats in the air at the end of april. Had to cut up my best heavy for the second mec, which was kind of unplanned but holy poo poo no way I can let my highest ranking soldier be in the hospital for 18 days. Sorry bud, them limbs need to be removed... for healing! Currently saving for OTS, I might be screwed due to letting the medium UFO escape cause a god drat pilot can't hit with a single missile. Anyone got advice for rushing laser/carapace for IMP EW? Lasers seem super important, but I kind of feel like the mecs can throw down so much damage that I don't quite need the laser rifle so quick. Thinking about doing crapace asap for survivability, any thoughts?
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Nov 21, 2013 00:01
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Odd. Might have been bugged for me then.
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Nov 21, 2013 00:04
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What's the explosion radius for Sectopod death? At least two squares? Really annoying to deal with anyways.
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Nov 21, 2013 00:05
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Whoa. The Gangplank mission was tough as hell but it really pays off. 5 UFO Power Sources, 6 flight computers, 2 Fusion Cores, hundreds of alloys/elirium?
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Nov 21, 2013 00:06
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ParanoidInc posted:How the hell do you get that kinetic strike upgrade anyways? I just wrapped up a c/I run without ever seeing it. Really would have helped against those buffed sectopods. Confusingly, you have to research SHIVs to unlock the option. I didn't know about it until someone posted about in the thread either.
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Nov 21, 2013 00:08
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So, uh, yeah. Implassic is kicking my rear end and I don't know why. My tactics from basic Classic haven't really changed much, and aside from a few deaths I had a reasonably smooth time of it. However with Implassic it seems a third Sectoid being there seems to bring the entire world crashing down on my head. Cover suddenly becomes worthless, the enemy is getting a lot of criticals and no longer can I seem to bait enemies out of cover by running back - they seem to set up Overwatch traps of their own. At this point I'm absolutely convinced I've botched my Implassic install and am actually running on Impossible, haha. e; Sectoids only three health. Oh man, I think I just lucked out on my first campaign. poptart_fairy fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 21, 2013 00:19
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So is it time to bitch about Portent again? Because gently caress Portent.  Classic Ironman with a bunch of SW options. My assault star was wounded so I has to go with a recently acquired Sniper Sgt (squadsight and sentinel), a Sq. Support, and 2 Heavies (one Sq. And one Cpl. With CCS, this will be very important). Anyways I start as I usually do and move 2 to the high roof and and 2 to make the pickup. Everything is going ok until my 2nd heavy (en route to pickup) spots the last Thin Man hiding by a car when he makes his move (so no rocket). My heavy's on the roof of the pub so he has a clear shot, around 70%. My sniper also has a shot from afar, 69%. I opt to try the sniper first to play it safe. He misses. Ok so I either pull back or take the shot. I stupidly take the shot but it connect! For 3 damage. Thin Man retaliates with a crit. Heavy dead. Support (also on the roof) finishes the Thin Man. Combat music stop I can start setting up for the rescue. I move my Support closer to the VIP... And trigger what's actually the last thin man. I had dashed (short movement!) and my back 2 were too far away. Another crit, another death. I have no choice now but to abandon the high ground. I take my last 2 survivors and finish the thin man and get ready for the rescue. I keep my sniper on the roof, my heavy makes the contact. First thin man drops, overwatch kills him. Second drops, heavy connects. I make it to the road halfway. Sectoid and thin man on my way in the high rooftop and one spawned way in the back. I deal with the first two and prepare for the latter. I'm assuming he'll be jumping to the roof and coming to me. I assumed wrong. He went under me right up to where I was and jumps right on top of the VIP. Both soldier overwatch trigger. Heavy hits. 3 damage. Sniper aims, if he hits VIP will be poisoned but should live. He misses. Twice. The Thin Man thanks him with a crit to the face. Down to one heavy. I send the VIP running to the extraction point and flank the Thin Man, 89% chance. I fire. I miss. gently caress YOU, GAME. The Thin Man rushes me... And triggers CCS. It connects and dies. Ok that was lucky. One more thin man spawns by the extraction point. I position myself and the VIP by the garage door on the big building. After a round of no activity I open the door to take a peek. Over watched Thin Man ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL I HAVE MY VIP. But I have him flanked! You're going to get poisoned but you'll live, guy. Heavy takes the aim and fires... And loving misses. Thin Man makes his move and CCS triggers! Again! And it kills him! Holy poo poo!! Poisoned VIP panics and the last spawning Thin Man eats a rocket but mission successful!
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Nov 21, 2013 00:42
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Bunleigh posted:I've seen it asked before but if it was answered I missed it: what do you even get for winning the Newfoundland mission? It's just a one-off and you don't get any corpses from it, so just the experience (the horrible, nightmare-inducing experience) I guess? Lots of near risk-free experience for your guys if you get the mission later on. Got it when I was able to bring two MEC-2s, two squadsight snipers and everyone with carapace and lasers and the whole thing turned into a shooting gallery. The spawns from the whale are actually limited and will stop eventually, then pick up again about two turns after you activated the transponder. I set up an overwatch shooting line outside the ship, had a MEC spot the whale and then spent about a dozen turns racking up the killcount. All sharks got destroyed via Collateral Damage, then a MEC with Kinetic Strike Module and rocket boots hit the transponder and everyone legged it. The first 'lid to actually catch up did so one turn before everyone had reached the evac zone and got to be kill #28 for the mision. Everyone got out unharmed.
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Nov 21, 2013 01:02
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Of course Portent pops up when my MEC/Heavy/Assault are wounded and I have to go with 3 rookies. 
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Nov 21, 2013 01:14
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Coolguye posted:Regarding Arc Throwing now: same basic idea still works. The soft panic that AIs display when they are the last member left alive still happens, but they're even more erratic and panicky now. Keeping on the bastards and clapping Overwatch on them while they're panicked will encourage them to hunker down instead of run. I've had zero problems capturing aliens, aside from a few 80% fails that made me sad.
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Nov 21, 2013 01:20
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VisAbsoluta posted:Of course Portent pops up when my MEC/Heavy/Assault are wounded and I have to go with 3 rookies. I disabled Progeny and Slingshot for my Marathon campaign. I feel like I'm cheating now.
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Nov 21, 2013 01:23
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Kind of a dick move to have one of EXALT's spawn patterns be four heavies in a circle around whatever transmitter the operative just used. Bigger dick move to have them see through mimetic skin at all times for no apparent reason though. e: They won't shoot at him (or anyone) or anything, but it's still a dick move. e: Now EXALT is floating and invisible unless you are floating in the same tile they are. I only know this because the MEC can jump up there for half a second. 
RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 21, 2013 01:27
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So I did the first Progeny mission as my first Council Mission. Five months went by. Already defeated Exalt and the Alien Base. What the hell happened to the other Progeny missions.
Azran fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Nov 21, 2013 |
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Nov 21, 2013 01:28
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