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That was a really fun update. I'd completely forgot about most of those people.
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Feb 15, 2015 17:31
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legoman727 posted:Peter Van Doorn: Hero of earth once more. Peter Van Doorn is the 12th Defender of Earth, obviously.
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Feb 15, 2015 17:48
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I have to say, (though this is a long way off) I can't wait to see how Speedball characterizes (and chooses) the person who does An Endgame Thing I'm Sure You All Know What I Mean. I mean, the person could be Zhang, it could be someone we don't have yet, it could even be a Van Dorn (which would be hilarious/epic).
I can have moments of... eccentricity and sometimes be quite curious about things. Please forgive me if I do something foolish or rude.
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Feb 15, 2015 17:53
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That's a pretty good Van Doorn, not gonna lie. And funny, I really like that!
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Feb 15, 2015 19:00
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Speedball posted:
Van Doorn in a nutshell for sure. What an adorable psycho.
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Feb 15, 2015 19:46
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ViggyNash posted:That was a really fun update. I'd completely forgot about most of those people. I wasn't sure if I should even have a segment devoted to the final three rejects on the list out of all my original XCOM members, but then I thought, "why not, have fun with it." Next time we'll see the rest of the six newbies in the roster, even if I don't actually get around to using them. Surprisingly most of them don't suck too bad. They just don't have 81 Aim out of the starting gates. They're also all women. AGAIN. The new all-female Ghostbusters is clearly ripping US off.
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Feb 15, 2015 21:28
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Speedball posted:They're also all women. AGAIN. We can... fix that.
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Feb 15, 2015 21:36
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Stephen9001 posted:I have to say, (though this is a long way off) I can't wait to see how Speedball characterizes (and chooses) the person who does An Endgame Thing I'm Sure You All Know What I Mean. I mean, the person could be Zhang, it could be someone we don't have yet, it could even be a Van Dorn (which would be hilarious/epic). Please let it be Zinchenko. You all know why, in your hearts.
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Feb 16, 2015 00:13
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LEGO Genetics posted:We can... fix that. Oh, come on! We can't just swap out traits at will! For that we'd need genetics to work like Legos! Veloxyll posted:Please let it be Zinchenko. You all know why, in your hearts. Mua ha ha ha ha. Keep wondering!
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Feb 16, 2015 08:21
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Speedball posted:(Sorry if this one was a little long, I wasn't sure where to break it up) I fail to see how more content is something that you should apologize for.
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Feb 16, 2015 09:46
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Oh, yeah, NEW POLL. With regards to gene mods, do you like to load up as many as possible on your best soldier or soldiers, or do you like to spread them out a little as we've been doing in this LP?
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Feb 16, 2015 20:20
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Most of my meld is usually reserved for MECing as many troops as possible  That being said, spread it around seems to increase the overall effectiveness of the squad more than dumping it all onto one soldier. The logic being that no matter how awesome that one dude is, they still only get two actions per turn. If the whole squad has abilities to use, that means you're able to put more control over a larger area of the battlefield, rather than having one powerful (but still vulnerable) unit who the rest of the squad plays backup for. Plus it makes me nervous putting all my glowing orange eggs in one basket.
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Feb 16, 2015 20:28
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Speedball posted:Oh, yeah, NEW POLL. Just a modded/MEC'd to the gills A-team and if I can afford it, a B-team for when they go down and have to heal/die.
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Feb 16, 2015 20:28
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Spread around. I figure if I load it all onto one person, and gently caress up hard til they die, I've lost everything. Since I play Ironman, that's kinda not good.
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Feb 16, 2015 20:43
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I made a sniper with jumpylegs and better aim from high places, his next two missions were both on totally flat ground and then he got killed by a Cyberdisk.  I've been spending most of my meld on MECs since then.
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Feb 16, 2015 20:44
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Speedball posted:Oh, yeah, NEW POLL. Meld is quite a limited resource, so in theory you should concentrate on the A-team. In practice, the mutations are fairly niche abilities and noone needs all of them, so in practice spreading them out is what you end up doing anyway. Be sure to upgrade the mech suits, though.
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Feb 16, 2015 21:02
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Spread it around. Despite your track record, even the most augmented soldier can fall victim to  It will also help you keep from relying on the same supersoldiers constantly, and then realizing like now you do not have much in the way of B team options. If somebody is clearly pulling more than their weight, they deserve some extra toys. But when I play I tend to rotate my roster a lot more outside of Ace Pro assaults or "I keep using these guys because every time I try to get X class anywhere past squaddie, Cyberdisk or assorted tragedy happens".
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Feb 16, 2015 21:07
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My general approach is to bring one or maybe two low-ranked soldiers along on every mission, and if the opportunity comes up, feed them a kill or two. They also make good taser wielders. Too bad capturing enemies doesn't seem to give any experience.
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Feb 16, 2015 21:22
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Oh, right, I forgot to mention: Hugo I had selected to be the Brain Spikes guy ever since LONG ago because he has an outstandingly high Will score. The damage you do with Brain Spikes is proportional to your will score (about 1 damage per 10 will, rounded up) so anything attempting to mindfray or control him is very likely to have their heads completely explode. There is one character, though, who will be getting the OTHER brain enhancement. Heh heh.
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Feb 16, 2015 21:37
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You probably have an A and B team in mind, 8-12 characters who will be getting most of the missions. If I were you, I'd be giving them all the mods, but spreading them around relatively fairly. Zinchenko gets nothing.
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Feb 16, 2015 21:45
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JT Jag posted:You probably have an A and B team in mind, 8-12 characters who will be getting most of the missions. If I were you, I'd be giving them all the mods, but spreading them around relatively fairly. Nah, Zhang gets to be the normal one. Zinchenko gets the mods that let him kill things without a sniper rifle.
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Feb 16, 2015 21:49
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Nah, Zhang gets to be the normal one. Zinchenko gets the mods that let him kill things without a sniper rifle. And those are? I can have moments of... eccentricity and sometimes be quite curious about things. Please forgive me if I do something foolish or rude.
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Feb 16, 2015 23:05
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Stephen9001 posted:And those are? We... fix him. One mod at a time.
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Feb 16, 2015 23:11
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Stephen9001 posted:And those are? Neural Feedback, obviously, and then Secondary Heart and Adaptive Bone Marrow for survivability, Mimetic Skin to sneak around to good grenade-tossing locations, and Hyper Reactive Pupils to compensate for when his first pistol shot inevitably goes wide.
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Feb 16, 2015 23:55
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Speedball posted:Oh, right, I forgot to mention: Hugo I had selected to be the Brain Spikes guy ever since LONG ago because he has an outstandingly high Will score. The damage you do with Brain Spikes is proportional to your will score (about 1 damage per 10 will, rounded up) so anything attempting to mindfray or control him is very likely to have their heads completely explode. I just finished a game where my volunteer had 183 will with buffs. So with Lead By Example, I had a team that passively killed every psionic alien that looked at them, and then they could turn around and mind control the remaining Ethereals with a 96% hit chance. Radio fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Feb 17, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 00:31
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I generally spread it among my a and B team. Tend to play more long range slow and steady game so I never thought the brain spikes would be useful. Boy am I wrong.
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Feb 17, 2015 00:52
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Really, I tend to do both. I'll load up one or two everyone, and then mod the poo poo out of my lead soldiers. Even though having a bunch of good soldiers is better than having a few above average and one or two awesome ones. But that's just how I do it.
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Feb 17, 2015 01:35
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Speedball posted:Oh, yeah, NEW POLL. Trickle down. I give as much as possible to the team always out in the field [Not all at once because you might get a mission and then have to deal with using bad units] and then start sending more to other units.
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Feb 17, 2015 02:26
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Mission 29: EXALT, ATTACK! So, what’s up with the white girl who thinks she’s Japanese? Her situation is more complex than I initially imagined. And I’ve tested her surreptitiously. She’s not faking. Japan and Belgium have a million tiny differences, like what days children go to school to snack brands. The investigation is ongoing, but we can definitely trust her in battle; she’s no Hogan. Right. So how are the other new recruits, Commander? Mixed. Amy Taylor of South Africa, decent amount of willpower but the last time we tested her she just held down the trigger on her machine gun until the entire firing range was peppered with bullets. I should just fire her right now and save us the trouble. Emma White of England, however, is pretty amazing. We should definitely take her out for a test run sooner or later. Lisa Murphy of America… kind of sub-par for a sniper, to be honest, but her mind’s very tough. Helen Jackson’s just kind of a watered-down Lisa Murphy, we don’t really need to keep her around. But they’re both outclassed by Tatyana Ilyushina. And Hoda Mufaddal of Yemen could have been a sniper but instead chose a support role, possibly due to the fact that she’s still apprehensive about taking life, even alien life. Well, it’s nice knowing we have better people warming our bench than the frickin’ chimpanzee.  All women, again? I mean, I’m so totally not complaining, but this is just like flipping a coin seven times and it keeps coming up heads. That’s, what, a one in seventy-two chance? Hey, you heard the new Ghostbusters movie is gonna have all women in it too, right? They’re totally ripping us off. Huh? An all-female revival of a decades-old paranormal enforcement team armed with energy weapons. Ha ha!  Dr. Gomez has finished her mission, sir, but she needs extraction. EXALT is hot on her trail! Right! B-team, move out! quote:** Hidden Camera Footage from May 27, 2015 **  Dr. Gomez needs to be extracted, but she’s not done transmitting all the data she’s siphoned from their server farm. Our mission is to guard the transmitter, and the encoder masking its location, while destroying all the pursuing EXALT. Ohhhh, this is gonna be sweet. Usually human-on-human combat is such a grey area, but we’re going to fight an unambiguously evil enemy to defend the earth. Everybody ready? You got it, ma’am! If I don’t redeem myself I’m gonna hang up my guns forever. All systems go on the SHIV! Ready. I’ll do anything as long as XCOM keeps helping me.  We’re here! Dammit, another day mission. …most people like day missions. Yeah, well, this skin burns up like crazy in the sun. I was red and sore after only thirty minutes last mission. Well, I do have some sunscreen in this medkit… Later! The enemy’s coming! The transmitter we need to guard is north, and the encoder cloaking the position of the transmitter is north-west, hidden inside a garage. The transmitter is camouflaged as another piece of equipment, but they’ll home in on it fast if they get to the encoder. Hello, XCOM! I can’t leave, not until the last of the data downloads. But I won’t be dead weight, either. You’ve just got a pistol, Gomez! True, but I am also armed with information! EXALT has several communication relays of their own nearby. I’ve got the encryption keys, if I can get to one I’ll show you a neat trick. Here! This will only work once per relay, but I can jam all their weapons. What? You can’t hack a gun! EXALT uses a similar biometric lock system on their guns as we do, but its security is inferior. All I have to do is make the locks reset and they’ll have to spend a few seconds clearing their guns again. Ha! Awesome. Now, quick, everyone, run to that encoder and secure it, pronto!  They’re here! Take cover! What fascinating gene mods they appear to be using…  Wait a minute, these guys aren’t the ones we were briefed on! What the hell, Joe? Shut up! No names! Zinchenko, see if you can blast that one! Yes, ma’am, Captain Watkins! Watkins?! OWWW! poo poo! No, seriously, you’re Watkins? How many faces do you have!? I’m gonna have to update so much paperwork… I’m not Cam, you idiot! They didn’t say she had a sister. Hah. Flattering. I’m Cam’s MOM. Oh, gently caress. Mama bear alert! Mua ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Peter, NOW! Gauuggh… Ha haaaa! YES! YESSS! Here, this’ll give us some cover till we get to the encoder. Heading through the garage!  Abandon stealth procedures, my troops! Full frontal assault! ATAAAAACK! Holy frijoles, we got ourselves a target-rich environment! Aaaaand now all their guns are useless for the next thirty seconds. Hit them while you can! Blargh! That’s two for me! Good evening, gentlemen. You seem to be using that computer wrong. Let me help you. Ah, why thank you. …wait a minute! Kill this fool! *click click click click click* Aaaah hell! loving gun! Got one more! WOO! Everyone feelin’ it yet? I’m feeling it! I’m feeling it too! Alright, everyone finished resetting their guns? We’ve still got the advantage of terrain and numbers here. On three, pick a target and— Hacked their guns again, Commander! FUUUUCK! Another! Haha! This one’s down. That one’s down too! Jesus, Mary, Joseph! What the hell are you people?! As Watkins said to me, we are the losers who are also winners. Angle’s bad, but I’m feeling lucky… Feeling VERY lucky! Running to the next comm array! Sir! Send in the other reinforcements! I’m the only one left! They are all on their way. Drown XCOM in your blood if you must, my troops! Disable that encoder, NOW! What?! Three more guys, that’s all you’ve got?! SILENCE! Of course there’s more! You just have to wait, minion! Awww, gently caress me! They said I’d be rich and superhuman when I took this job! Hacking the next comm array! SWEET MERCIFUL BUDDHA! STOP DOING THAT! Ha ha! Freeze, XCOM! I’ve got her at point-blank range! Everyone, drop your weapons or the little Belgian girl dies! JAPANESE! Shut up. Do as I say, XCOM! Don’t worry. I’m a trained hostage negotiator. We can give you what you need. Ha ha. Now, first I want— DUCK! Guuggh! Nice shot, ma’am! Now, Mr. EXALT team leader, you’re coming with us. You’re gonna tell us everything you know. No. He’s injecting himself! Stop him! Too late. drat! The new dawn shall…rise…upon…you! Hail…EXALT! Hugo, above you! I’ll take him out! Whew. Nice shot, Yoko. Thanks. Ha! You can’t hit me from here, Zhang! Not with direct weapons fire, no. But I have a rocket. …MOMMMY!  Five more. I think this is the last of them. Their helicopter’s pulling out. Then let’s make this good! AUGH! …I… I think I’m alright…but I was careless. One more down! You’re clear. YAAA! Aaah, poo poo! No-scoped! Heh heh. He tried running, but I got an itchy trigger finger. I got the other one. Hot drat! I’m back! Hee hee ha ha! YES! Excellent work, team. All enemies dead, the data’s secure. Pull out. And someone get the stretcher for Gomez, she’s hurt worse than she looks! Not a scratch on any of you. Good work! Uggh…huuuh… Easy, there, Dr. Gomez! Easy! You’re gonna be alright! Sir, I… ugh. I’m getting really tired… so I’ve been thinking. I want to be the next cyborg, as soon as you can afford it. I’m kind of redundant to the team as-is, anyway… Hmm… I’ll consider it. If you’re absolutely sure. Well, there’s a lot of obscure data in this feed, but one thing we’ve been able to determine from all of it is that EXALT is definitely not hiding in Brazil. We know they have a mole in at least one of our funding nations, though. Best not to point any fingers yet. One more thing. It’s about Yoko Tachibana. I’ve been briefed. The reason nobody else believed her story… is because there’s already a Yoko Tachibana. Uh-oh… I think I know what this means…To Be Continued! Speedball fucked around with this message at 08:16 on Feb 17, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 08:05
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I will be forever hearing everything EXALT in Cobra Commander's voice.
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Feb 17, 2015 08:25
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Ah yes, got to love how useful the EXALT data always turns out to be. I got so sick of having "They aren't in Europe" messages that always showed up after the UK, Germany, and France had already been eliminated that I eventually save-scummed to find the drat base once there were three options remaining.
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Feb 17, 2015 08:41
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Yeah, Exalt missions are always such a glorious clusterfuck of bodies. "Hah, all they got are laser weapons. This will be fine-oh my goodness."
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Feb 17, 2015 08:48
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Speedball posted:
EXALT can be nasty when they all got lasers. Especially if they upgrade to lasers before you have it on everyone. But they never move beyond lasers, so once you eclipse them in tech level they become a pushover. My latest run I've kept them around deliberately, farming them for XP while I wait for Training Roulette to spit out the most amazing possible team members to do the final mission with. And grinding up EXALT dudes with your new squaddies is both safer and less tedious than just sweeping UFOs for five years.
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Feb 17, 2015 11:59
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I like your interpretation of Zhang. A calm smartass is good material.
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Feb 17, 2015 13:30
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Speedball posted:
Exalted_missions.txt Don't play in the big leagues if you can't keep up boys.
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Feb 17, 2015 13:59
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That was the cheesiest update, the Exalt guys are real silly fun.
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Feb 17, 2015 16:37
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Groetgaffel posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpsYJrGb_yI On the other hand, I have a sneaking suspicion that doing EXALT missions causes you to get fewer alien missions (the game trying to keep more or less a constant density of overall missions regardless of type). Thus I'm currently stuck unable to progress my research because I don't have enough weapon fragments, because the only loot you get from EXALT missions is their knock-off weapons. Plus if you don't keep sweeping after them, then they'll do annoying crap like increase panic in a country or steal funds. Question for Speedball: are we going to see the Annette mission line?
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Feb 17, 2015 16:52
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Now we know the secret: Van Doorn is used to killing men. Give him humans to kill and they will die. He is still adjusting to xenos.
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Feb 17, 2015 17:03
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We should, but the next parts are only going to come later.
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Feb 17, 2015 17:10
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:On the other hand, I have a sneaking suspicion that doing EXALT missions causes you to get fewer alien missions (the game trying to keep more or less a constant density of overall missions regardless of type). Thus I'm currently stuck unable to progress my research because I don't have enough weapon fragments, because the only loot you get from EXALT missions is their knock-off weapons. As I said, I'm just doing it since I want a perfect team for the final mission. The Temple Ship has been sitting in the sky chilling for over a year already, and I'm just happy not to have to deal with loving Sectopods every single mission.
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Feb 17, 2015 17:13
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