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S.J. posted:What do reaper rounds even do? I've never used them. They add +20% crit chance while doubling your range penalties. The issue with them is that a scope is probably better for snipers and by the time you get tactical mesh you probably have lasers. Although maybe they're more useful if you try to skip straight to plasma. Maybe they can find some use in that short period where you have laser rifles but not heavy lasers/laser snipers/scatter lasers. I've only ever used reaper rounds a couple times. They pretty much guarantee crits from close flanked shotgun shots. They work strangely with sniper rifles because the sniper rifle's range penalties are for using it close up, not a long ways off. I find using them with heavies is problematic because I would rather have a grenade or scope and supports of course have the med pack.
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Dec 23, 2013 20:19
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 16:50 |
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So: flying aliens are assholes; kill them before they kill us; no low cover (never?); don't overwatch, hunker down. That it? I've probably been playing too aggressively, then. I move fast and spread out my guys, trying to cover every angle so I don't get flanked, but that usually means they're outnumbered for a turn or two. I'll try sending everyone together.
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Dec 23, 2013 20:27
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seravid posted:So: flying aliens are assholes; kill them before they kill us; no low cover (never?); don't overwatch, hunker down. That it? I've probably been playing too aggressively, then. I move fast and spread out my guys, trying to cover every angle so I don't get flanked, but that usually means they're outnumbered for a turn or two. I'll try sending everyone together.
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Dec 23, 2013 20:34
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Amazon has a package with Enemy Unknown & Enemy Within for $19.99 right now. I think the price is just for today or part of today, but holy crap.
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Dec 23, 2013 21:48
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So I'm hearing +10 and +20 percent on reaper rounds. Someone get into an angry nerd fight for my amusement so that I may discern the truth.
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Dec 23, 2013 21:54
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It's 15%.
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Dec 23, 2013 21:55
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Pretty sure its +20% crit chance, but I'm not at a place I can check.
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Dec 23, 2013 21:56
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Looks like 20% if the Wiki is correct. Only against organic targets though.
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Dec 23, 2013 21:56
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S.J. posted:So I'm hearing +10 and +20 percent on reaper rounds. Someone get into an angry nerd fight for my amusement so that I may discern the truth. It's +20%. /nerdfight
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Dec 23, 2013 21:57
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Nice. Now I have to remember to actually build the god drat foundry earlier. I guess Shiv's are a little more reasonable now though.
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Dec 23, 2013 22:06
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I just loaded up that abduction mission where the floaters first appeared and everything went to poo poo, but this time - following the goony rules of engagement - I managed to capture one alive, killed all the rest and didn't lose a soul  Overwatch only when no enemy is in sight worked great and, by keeping the team together, each bogey triggered multiple reaction shots. Letting the enemy come to me instead of venturing out there was key. Good times; thanks, guys. Though I'm sure I'll be back soon enough with a new tragic story of death.
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Dec 23, 2013 22:32
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Overwatching an enemy you have LOS against is almost never a good idea. If the alien moves then you're taking a potshot at them with no crit chance and reduced aim, which probably isn't worth catching them outside cover for. If they don't move then you've just wasted a turn, and since the aliens have better aim and damage than you the last thing you want to be doing is standing still and trading fire with them. Suppression is a better alternative if you have it; the AI fears reaction fire more than it should, although it's got smarter in this regard with EW. If you have a good shot, shoot. If not, retreat to a location where you have better positional advantage. Seriously, the two strategies you really need to learn in order to survive on high difficulties is to advance conservatively and to actually fall back occasionally. If the aliens have set up overwatch on you or there's no useful cover nearby then hunker down. If you need to move through low cover to get to a better position then hunker down as you go to turn it into high cover (and more importantly make yourself crit-proof so that you don't get one-shotted by a bad roll). Gradually set up flanks where possible but for heaven's sake don't Run & Gun right up into their face because then you'll just wake up another group flanking your Assault at his destination and he's going to get murdered. You're outnumbered and outgunned. Act like it and don't play Rambo. and yeah SHIVs are ridiculous in EW from about the mid-game onwards. Unlimited regeneration is a hell of a thing.
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Dec 23, 2013 23:21
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The base defense mission really took me off guard... So many Mechtoids and Cyberdisks, it's a miracle I managed to survive it without laser weapons. Lost a lot of units too... Afterwards I get the Slingshot council mission on the train. Should I do it?
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Dec 23, 2013 23:48
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So then... Mechs, how do you keep them alive? Every time I've ever felt like bothering with SHIVs they just get focus fired to poo poo, and rarely last more than one battle. Now that I've finally picked up Enemy Within on the cheap, I'm not sure what else can be done besides hiding them out of sight which kind of defeats the point of bigass robot armour. It's especially annoying since they can survive one Light Plasma hit then that's it.
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Dec 24, 2013 02:07
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Reaper rounds are handy for Assault/Sniper if you happen to get the Newfoundland mission pre-lasers. Doubling the range penalty for a sniper shot or a point blank shotgun shot does nothing, as the range penalty is at zero before being doubled. Having a sniper crit a crysalid is the difference between a kill and leaving it standing most of the time. Missing out on the scope is also no big thing for Newfoundland since they don't use cover. Speaking of that mission, can anyone else not break the habit of moving between cover spots only? I find myself halfway through the mission before I realize cover doesn't mean dick and stop doing it.
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Dec 24, 2013 02:55
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Are people able to research every single item in the game eventually? I've run out of weapon fragments and it's annoying that THAT'S the most important resource to me right now.
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Dec 24, 2013 03:46
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Humphrey Vasel posted:Are people able to research every single item in the game eventually? I've run out of weapon fragments and it's annoying that THAT'S the most important resource to me right now. Weapon fragments always were a bottleneck for late-game weapon tech, even if you skip SHIV lasers or aircraft plasma cannons or whatever.
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Dec 24, 2013 04:16
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fargom posted:Reaper rounds are handy for Assault/Sniper if you happen to get the Newfoundland mission pre-lasers. Doubling the range penalty for a sniper shot or a point blank shotgun shot does nothing, as the range penalty is at zero before being doubled. Having a sniper crit a crysalid is the difference between a kill and leaving it standing most of the time. Missing out on the scope is also no big thing for Newfoundland since they don't use cover. Yeah on my second playthrough I pretty muh realized aggressive tactics work better than creeping slowly forward with overwatch or being overly dependent on cover to keep your squad alive.
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Dec 24, 2013 04:23
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Dr Christmas posted:Weapon fragments always were a bottleneck for late-game weapon tech, even if you skip SHIV lasers or aircraft plasma cannons or whatever. "I need you to blow up that Laser Rifle, Shen. We need it in pieces to build this Fusion Lancer." "But Commandeeeeeeeeeeeeerrr  "
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Dec 24, 2013 04:25
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Is my MEC trooper a terrible shot because I built her out of a Heavy, or are they all that bad? I can't give the daffy bitch a SCOPE and I've practically got to put her in point blank range to get anything above 60%.
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Dec 24, 2013 04:34
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CapnAndy posted:Is my MEC trooper a terrible shot because I built her out of a Heavy, or are they all that bad? I can't give the daffy bitch a SCOPE and I've practically got to put her in point blank range to get anything above 60%. MECs have the same aim growth as Heavies. Taking a promoted unit keeps their stats though, so a Colonel Sniper MEC will still have 110+ aim olif you convert at a high promotion. You can use medals to make up for the aim deficiency. I usually make my first MEC a Heavy and my second one a highly promotes Sniper. MECs also have a ton of options besides shooting.
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Dec 24, 2013 04:38
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Zore posted:MECs have the same aim growth as Heavies. Taking a promoted unit keeps their stats though, so a Colonel Sniper MEC will still have 110+ aim olif you convert at a high promotion. Time to train up a Sniper and then rip their arms and legs off, I guess.
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Dec 24, 2013 04:48
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CapnAndy posted:Ah, I made this one out of a squaddie Heavy. No wonder she can't hit a goddamn thing. I made mine out of Squaddie snipers and had no problem hitting things at any point.
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Dec 24, 2013 04:50
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CapnAndy posted:Ah, I made this one out of a squaddie Heavy. No wonder she can't hit a goddamn thing. Actually, a squaddie heavy turned MEC apparently has better stat growth then a regular heavy. For all other classes though it's best to MEC them after they've leveled up to Colonel, as their stat progression is better than their MEC stat progression.
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Dec 24, 2013 05:26
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bobfather posted:Actually, a squaddie heavy turned MEC apparently has better stat growth then a regular heavy. For all other classes though it's best to MEC them after they've leveled up to Colonel, as their stat progression is better than their MEC stat progression. This is only true if you're using Hidden Potential, but yeah. Heavies get MEC suits as enlistment bonuses; everyone else gets them as retention incentives.
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Dec 24, 2013 05:32
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S.J. posted:I made mine out of Squaddie snipers and had no problem hitting things at any point. Humphrey Vasel posted:Are people able to research every single item in the game eventually? I've run out of weapon fragments and it's annoying that THAT'S the most important resource to me right now. quote:Reaper Rounds What I'm not sure, is how much damage a Reaper round Headshot can potentially deal. According to the wiki page on damage Headshot adds 2/4/6 damage based on tech level, but I'm not sure if that's to the base damage (4+2 x 1.5 = 9) or the critical hit damage (4*1.5 + 2 = 8).
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Dec 24, 2013 05:41
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40 Proof Listerine posted:Same here, the Sniper MEC bonus is pretty handy for making up the difference on shots, and getting a good vantage point with jet boots helps a ton too. If you have a punch MEC, you can also use the mobility to close up to point blank range since there's no point in being in cover. Reaper rounds make no difference in Headshot damage. A regular Sniper Rifle Headshot Crit always does either 9 or 10 damage.
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Dec 24, 2013 06:20
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so where's the bathroom in the Xcom base?
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Dec 24, 2013 06:22
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Super Slash posted:So then... Mechs, how do you keep them alive? MECs are incredibly mobile and can take some level of fire, but their primary defense is balls to the wall offense. Basically, you're going to be using them as a mobile reserve, taking advantage of their ability to deal massive damage and/or remove cover an infinite amount of times to set up kills. Their durability is something that's more useful if you're controlling when and how they're taking hits. Basically, a MEC is something you want to use very deliberately, possibly even more than regular soldiers, because they're very expensive and have a ton of firepower. Ideally what you're going to be doing with a MEC is one of two things: 1. Using them to get guaranteed takedowns on targets via cover removal, grenades, flamethrowers, or close range rocket fistings. In this case, their giant pile of health is mostly going to be useful to allow them to safely charge through an overwatch to get into range of their guaranteed kill/incapacitate attacks (Flamethrower/Kinetic Strike) 2. Using healthy ones to draw fire when you've got only 1 living alien, because aliens generally will prioritize the most easily hit target, and a MEC is almost always going to be exactly that. A MEC built for basically 100% defense is actually quite capable of tanking hits. Remember, Commander, there has not yet been a recorded case of an alien being able to shoot back while dead. That, not their health or resistance to critical hits, is actually the MEC's primary defense.
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Dec 24, 2013 06:43
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Holy poo poo the mission with the whale and the infinite crystalids is a million kinds of bullshit. I have 6 captains, and all but one died i know, but still, hey, lets make you run across the map, then back again, while fighting the one of the toughest mid game enemies that keep coming in 3s and 4s. I can only think this mission was setup by the control guy because he really hates the field agents and wanted to see them dead.
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Dec 24, 2013 07:12
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Chrysallids have a tougness progression for me of OH GOD IT'S THE APOCALYPSE ON SKITTERING ALIEN BUG CLAWS --> I get laser weapons and carapace --> Still kinda a threat --> I have plasma weaponry and/or an assault with rapid fire and close combat specialist --> hahaha, thank you for not sending something that's actually a threat, aliens
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Dec 24, 2013 08:52
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Started a new game with not created equal activated, amongst other things. One of my starting soldiers is a Russian guy named Vasily Zaytsev. He has 59 will and 80 aim as a rookie. After the mission is over, he promotes to a sniper. 
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Dec 24, 2013 10:39
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I spent like an hour on the game's final mission, only to have one of the final enemies take control of my shotgun-guy and kill that person you're supposed to protect in a single shot. I haven't bothered to go back and beat it, mainly because of the whole spending an hour to do so bit, but partially because all of my save files have since been deleted due to my 7 year old PS3 breaking half a dozen times.
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Dec 24, 2013 10:40
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twistedmentat posted:Holy poo poo the mission with the whale and the infinite crystalids is a million kinds of bullshit. I have 6 captains, and all but one died Its not that bad, I don't think they start spawning until you reveal the whale, so make sure your guys are where you want them before hand. Assaults with close combat are worth their weight in gold, at least one sprinter support is useful since you can move into the wheelhouse, hit the button, and move back from about halfway along the cargo hatch. Leave a couple assaults there to cover your support after their run and then leave.
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Dec 24, 2013 11:09
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Is the best tactic not to just run away as far as possible each turn? If you dash as far as possible each time I don't think they can reach you and still attack, no?
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Dec 24, 2013 11:44
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They'll still pop out of the sharks and tuna along the way back.
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Dec 24, 2013 11:51
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Angry Walrus posted:They'll still pop out of the sharks and tuna along the way back. So? They spawn to the side and you can also avoid those by just running.
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Dec 24, 2013 12:23
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uXs posted:So? They spawn to the side and you can also avoid those by just running. Or you can have a MEC pop the sharks and tuna on the way in. Makes for a cleaner evacuation.
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Dec 24, 2013 12:37
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chiasaur11 posted:Or you can have a MEC pop the sharks and tuna on the way in. Makes for a cleaner evacuation. I went in completely blind the first time and had my Kinetic Fist MEC right next to the whale before the button press. I like to imagine everyone in front of the ship heard Chryssalid shrieks and rocket punches for fifteen seconds before the MEC ran outside and past them while screaming "RUN!"
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Dec 24, 2013 12:47
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 16:50 |
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The initial rush of Chrysalids before you activate the beacon also eventually stops, allowing you to destroy all the hanging sharks and tuna in the ship, which helps control numbers for the evacuation phase of the mission. If you just rocket your way in through the side of the boat you'll destroy the front row of hanging fish and open up line of sight to the back row, which you can then blast to cut off the additional reinforcements spawning from them during that first rush as well. Really, in all its incarnations XCOM has had an institutional policy of high explosives being the solution to most unknown situations, for good reason. The hive in the whale is also destroyable, but this doesn't curtail the Chrysalid spawns any as far as I can tell.
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Dec 24, 2013 12:49
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