MadHat posted:I generally do Tower once I have 5 man Squad, still ballistics on legendary, but I have done it enough times that i have a set strategy to minimize losses. Ruler is more about how soon I can pull enough DoT effects out, like my current run I have just ignored it till almost endgame. I just started with all the DLC and definitely don't have an A team on that mission. I'll definitely reload and wait. I went into the nest on my, like, third mission and got totally dominated and the snake just ran away at like 3/4 health. It was fun when it showed up on the turn limited missions forever after.
|
|
# ? Dec 17, 2016 18:07 |
|
|
# ? May 26, 2024 09:11 |
|
So I blew through the game on Veteran with the Long War mods easily enough that I figured I'd do something to change the difficulty up without just upping the difficulty to Commander. Jesus Christ, ABA2 makes this game so frustrating and unenjoyable I can't even figure out what the gently caress to do anymore. Nobody can hit anything and I don't know why. I'm only on Veteran in this game, so it's not like the game is secretly taking each of my shot rolls out back and molesting them or anything. Is early game A Better ADVENT 2 supposed to be this impossibly frustrating and terrible?
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 04:15 |
|
Apoplexy posted:So I blew through the game on Veteran with the Long War mods easily enough that I figured I'd do something to change the difficulty up without just upping the difficulty to Commander. Jesus Christ, ABA2 makes this game so frustrating and unenjoyable I can't even figure out what the gently caress to do anymore. Nobody can hit anything and I don't know why. I'm only on Veteran in this game, so it's not like the game is secretly taking each of my shot rolls out back and molesting them or anything. Is early game A Better ADVENT 2 supposed to be this impossibly frustrating and terrible? ABA2 also includes AI improvements, they are probably taking cover better and taking less risky moves compared to what you are used too. On top of that its designed to be played with a larger squadsize so I hope you are using Toolbox to do that. In general though, yes. ABA2 is supposed to make the game more difficult. So if this is more difficult than you are comfortable with I suggest you uninstall it or drop the game dificulty down a level.
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 13:24 |
|
Yeah, no matter what I do, I can't make ABA2 even remotely enjoyable. There's difficulty, and then there's complete loving retardation. This is the latter. There's absolutely no reason to have pods of 4 minimum at the start of the game. Christ, the only way to make this even remotely balanced is to set the base squad size to 10.
Apoplexy fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Dec 18, 2016 |
# ? Dec 18, 2016 15:59 |
|
I finally buckled down and plowed through EW Impossible. I don't recommend it. Unless you feel like losing two countries the first month, you NEED to play with Second Wave "High Stakes" on, and the first abduction reward NEEDS to be six engineers. Then you NEED to sell everything in XCOM HQ that isn't bolted down to buy four satellites and an extra uplink. Pretty much all my money had to go towards satellites, power and workshops the first three months so, so I barely got lasers and the OTS before Confounding Light. Once I had full satellite coverage and could catch up on research I started snowballing, but by september every mission had two sectopods and really, screw that. RIP in pieces, "Twitch" Sokolova and "Chilong" Zhang, taken out by the Uber Ethereal on the very last turn. That's uh, that's "Twitch" on the right there
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 16:31 |
|
Actually, scratch the bitching. I just had to get a level or two in some of those ShadowOpsLW classes. And I was on a nearly impossible map where two pods would constantly set each other off and were on a raised plateau.
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 16:35 |
|
Is anyone else experiencing glitchy bullshit since that last patch came in? I just lost a captain because somehow now you're not allowed to use revival protocol on stunned soldiers, despite it being right there in the ability description. They were pretty much right next to the stunned unit, too, so it's not like line of sight shenanigans hosed me.
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 19:11 |
|
I don't play ironman but I normally don't reload if I gently caress up, ever. I finished the game on veteran when it came out and am playing it again now. Is the game easier than it was when it was released? I remember getting almost full squad wiped on my first mission and tons of failed runs when I played it the first time, and when I attempted to play it again a few months ago and just got wiped a lot. Did the patches nerf the bad guys or something?
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 23:20 |
|
i'm playing my first playthrough ever with ABA2 and while it's definately hard i don't really see how it's impossible. Just keep on cover, use grenades and flank things. Just make sure you get the mod that ups you to six peeps at the start and 8 total because otherwise you're toast.
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 23:32 |
|
Duuk posted:Finished my first playthrough some time back. The game (still) has an absolutely shocking amount of bugs, though when it works it's a worthy sequel to the original. Not quite AS good as the 2012 game, in my opinion, but still good. There were some workshop items that give SPARK units classes, I really felt like having an Optimus Prime voiced pugilist with explosive punches that destroyed cover behind them (so I could knock people into cars and explode them) really gave those units some much need oomph.
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 23:40 |
|
Apoplexy posted:Actually, scratch the bitching. I just had to get a level or two in some of those ShadowOpsLW classes. And I was on a nearly impossible map where two pods would constantly set each other off and were on a raised plateau. Shadow Ops classes don't mesh too well with ABA2 I find. They're deliberately balanced to be defensive and weaker than the regular classes and that doesn't help when ABA basically just gives aliens a million ways to invalidate your defenses (grenades on everything, throwing stupidly huge swarms of 'lids at you etc). Like all those classes have absolutely idiotic good support abilities (especially the Dragoon) but really lack killing power which becomes a huge loving issue quick.
|
# ? Dec 18, 2016 23:41 |
|
TomViolence posted:Is anyone else experiencing glitchy bullshit since that last patch came in? I just lost a captain because somehow now you're not allowed to use revival protocol on stunned soldiers, despite it being right there in the ability description. They were pretty much right next to the stunned unit, too, so it's not like line of sight shenanigans hosed me. The Revival Protocol's bug (though it's more like Firaxis forgot to add in stun reversal to the revival protocol effect and condition ) been in for a while now. fake edit: Actually it's been in since launch, I guess that's how so few people use revival protocol. actual edit: In other news, Mutons could have been far more dick-ish than they are now, they had their own variant of the Mark ability that if you failed to kill the Muton in time, would've allowed them to put a soldier into the bleed out state no matter how much HP they previously had. Exposure fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Dec 19, 2016 |
# ? Dec 18, 2016 23:49 |
|
Exposure posted:The Revival Protocol's bug (though it's more like Firaxis forgot to add in stun reversal to the revival protocol effect and condition ) been in for a while now. That Muton poo poo sounds like complete and absolute fuckery that I wouldn't think Jake was capable of. Where'd you find that out?
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 00:53 |
|
SmallpoxJenkins posted:That Muton poo poo sounds like complete and absolute fuckery that I wouldn't think Jake was capable of. The abilities are coded in for them, the Mutons simply don't have access to it (nor do they have the AI code to actually use it, but that would be something relatively easy to fix.)
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 01:25 |
|
Exposure posted:The abilities are coded in for them, the Mutons simply don't have access to it (nor do they have the AI code to actually use it, but that would be something relatively easy to fix.) Oh that would make them so much more of a threat. Was it triggered my melee or just a regular action/ability?
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 01:41 |
|
redreader posted:I don't play ironman but I normally don't reload if I gently caress up, ever. I finished the game on veteran when it came out and am playing it again now. Sounds like you just got better.
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 01:42 |
|
SmallpoxJenkins posted:Oh that would make them so much more of a threat. Regular ability that required the target was impaired (so I presume the original design intent was that Muton would bayonet, mark target for execute, and if you didn't kill the Muton in your turn, you now have a soldier who's now bleeding all over the pavement after being curbstomped repeatedly.)
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 01:47 |
|
After beating the game twice on Veteran I moved to Commander and I really like it. The tactical combat is not much harder I find; thanks Beagle for the videos, learned a lot from those, especially the scouting part and how to move the squad around just one tile before reveal so the pods usually walk into my overwatch traps. But the missions I'm having the most troubles are the Retaliation ones. Not tactically really but I just can't seem to move fast enough and I failed two of those missions by one civ. Each time I've seen aliens prefer to shoot civilians, even if I have engaged the pod, rather than my guys. On the last mission, just before I could finish him, the last Muton of the last pack killed the last civ I could save.
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 10:31 |
|
So what are the DLCs and which are worth getting? Also what mods are good? Was kinda hoping the OP would be updated after a year!
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 14:18 |
|
Yeah I need to do that, thanks for reminding me
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 15:40 |
|
Affi posted:So what are the DLCs and which are worth getting? Also what mods are good? I'm at work with no access to Steam but from the top of my head you might want Flanking Preview and Free Camera Rotation at the very least because they really improve the game's user experience. Note that Free Camera Rotation was loving my key bindings up (they'd reset when I restarted the game, sometimes even while I was playing) so if you have a non US QWERTY keyboard or use custom bindings be careful. Then you have all sorts of graphical things like Capnbugs accessory pack, armors from other games like Halo, Titanfall, Mass Effect, etc.. so it's up to you to decide. Honestly if you browse the first few pages of the most Subscribed mods you should find what you need. E: Also, Numeric Health Display because counting tiny squares is ridiculous. Furism fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Dec 19, 2016 |
# ? Dec 19, 2016 15:53 |
|
Wish there was mod support on consoles. I can never seem to get a flank right no matter what I do, and it sounds like that Flanking Preview just might be the thing for me.
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 16:56 |
|
Affi posted:So what are the DLCs and which are worth getting? Also what mods are good? Some mods from my list: -Show Health Values: adds a little, easy to read x/y to every health bar, loving needed since the bars just aren't readable mid-late game. There's also a competing mod called Numeric Health Display or something like that which completely redesigns the health bar. Chose your favorite. -Hack Plus: Every time you hack you gain a reward of hack skill. Means your supports get good mid-game instead of late-game (they do become godly late-game though if you feel guilty about that stuff). +1 for a fail +3 for easy win +5 for big win. Grimy's Loot Mod (and the Mod Everything its dependent on): Feel your weapons and their mods are balanced, reasonable, serve a variety of situations...but boring? Get the loot mod! Now you can find some ultra-rare ultra-crazy weapon mods! And mods for your secondaries! And pre-modded weapons with crazy mods! Favorite is getting poo poo like a sniper rifle with "large caliber" (more damage, less ammo) and a front-loaded magazine (bonus aim/crit for the first shot, reduces from there) so every bullet counts as the first. EVAC ALL: EVAC ALL Retroactive AWC: Why the AWC was not retroactive is a balance decision I don't understand. And at this point of not being fixed it's a not a bug, its balance. Every map pack I can get my hands on: the more map wrappers and objects to put in the wrappers, the more variety the missions have, which is good for me. Flamethrower Panic Fix Long War Toolbox (lets you set some of the mutators from EU/EW like random soldier stat start/growth) Expanded Mission Names Metal Over Flesh: Upgradeable Sparks: Sparks are obviously 2's MECs only without nearly the punch. One of the big issues is that the MECs had a series of foundry projects to buff them over the game. This gives Sparks a series of Proving Ground projects which does a lot to make them awesome (for a price). Nicknames Extended EU Aim Rolls: Turns out the game rolls a single die on aim rolls for hit, miss, crit and dodge. This works most of the time but can lead to some bizarre behavior. EU Aim Rolls fixes this by returning to a system more like the previous game. Patrol When Revealed: AI will continue to patrol once revealed instead of just sitting in place. Bigger Spark Punches: Adds more phyzix to the Spark Punch so that corpses go flying reminiscent of the time you killed three Thin Men with one MEC punch by launching one's corpse into the car two other were using as cover.
|
# ? Dec 19, 2016 18:03 |
|
Goon Squad going to work in my Commander run! Coolguye in the front. He was in my Gatecrasher group and hasn't been injured once even though he's a Combat Engineer and I put him out front all the time. I realized it was ABA2 I wasn't really feeling since I also use Scanning Sites Plus. The combination was making every mission a tedious 5 pod slog and I'd rather have more missions per month. e: When I played on Veteran I only really bothered to destroy cover as a fun gimmick but holy poo poo is it necessary on Commander. FadedReality fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Dec 20, 2016 |
# ? Dec 19, 2016 23:48 |
|
considering your most under fire is nobody in that mission i'd say my lack of injuries in front has very little to do with my fortune and more to do with your competent leadership 👍 also haha good work covering up my bald
|
# ? Dec 20, 2016 00:32 |
Welp, I've got that virtual thingy crash at the end of every mission now. Tried increasing my page file size and stuff, which fixed one mission, but now it's back. Any hot tips?
|
|
# ? Dec 20, 2016 07:15 |
|
Affi posted:So what are the DLCs and which are worth getting? Since nobody has answered the DLCs question yet - Anarchy's Children - purely cosmetic, you can pretty safely ignore this one (though some of the cosmetic DLCs may rely on this one.) Shen's Last Gift - robots that level up so a mix between MECs and SHIVs. The mission is kind of fun. Robots can kind of get underpowered in the end game though unless you spend a ton of resources to upgrade them. Alien Hunters - alien bosses with lots of HP + armor, and also they take a turn after each of your soldier's actions (not the squad, each soldier) so they can quickly wreck your poo poo. The included mission is kind of meh. You do get cool unique weapons out of it. Really get what appeals to you. Shen's Last Gift is probably the best one.
|
# ? Dec 20, 2016 07:33 |
|
The Viper Armor saying 'We aren't sure how much is just the corpse and how much is stuff Shen added' is hilarious when you get to the Berserker Armor where you literally have toesies on your skinsuit armor.
|
# ? Dec 20, 2016 08:22 |
|
Alkydere posted:Some mods from my list: You rule. I didn't know about some of those, like Scanning Sites Plus. Which is absolutely something I wanted and didn't know existed until now! As an aside, Commander + ABA2 + LW Perks plus a squad size of 8 upg. to 10? Owns.
|
# ? Dec 20, 2016 08:46 |
|
A berserker got knocked unconscious by another berserker and I guess that means he's never getting up. He's been down for many many turns. It's the final mission, so I don't want to waste a grenade on him if he's going to be down forever, but it's a little annoying not being able to finish him off. Oh I just now realized I have void rift. Ok, that works. Also gotta say Commander + ABA2 + LW is awesome. The only total bullshit I had to put up with is a rescue VIP mission during some dark event that halves the turns available. Even with the true concealment mod it was a pain in the rear end. I just had to sneak around the edge of the map to the pick-up zone and forget about the VIP. I ended up losing one dude because the patrolling AI stopped patrolling when they got close enough to his hidey spot that he couldn't move without revealing. It felt awful, but the rest of the squad just had to keep moving. If they would have been revealed there literally would not have been enough turns to get anyone out. Once everyone else was on the pad, he made a run for it. But a snake bound him and that was that. Might not have mattered with a sectopod between him and the zone though.
|
# ? Dec 21, 2016 05:10 |
|
Yeah, some of the status effects were never designed to work on enemies and don't play well with them. I actually managed to knock a turret 'unconscious' once, which got glitchy pretty fast.
|
# ? Dec 21, 2016 17:48 |
|
After finishing Veteran ironman twice now, I thought I'd give Legendary a try, but man is it obnoxious. Just unlucky I guess, having rookies constantly blown away behind full cover. Is there a mod that drops your hp to 1 if you're critted at full hp & behind full cover? I think that would remove 90% frustration without abusing difficulty too much. I want more difficulty than Veteran, which is kinda easy now, but not so much that I need to hunker down constantly, or setup fall-back overwatch traps for every single encounter
|
# ? Dec 22, 2016 00:30 |
|
Okay, I'm officially in love with tweaking the outfits for each and every one of my soldiers. The only problem is that I don't know which mod to use that will let me use kevlar appearance in higher tiers. Anyone?
|
# ? Dec 22, 2016 00:39 |
|
dud root posted:After finishing Veteran ironman twice now, I thought I'd give Legendary a try, but man is it obnoxious. Just unlucky I guess, having rookies constantly blown away behind full cover. I believe this mod will achieve a similar effect to what you want. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=624799134
|
# ? Dec 22, 2016 04:36 |
|
Captain Beans posted:I believe this mod will achieve a similar effect to what you want. I'm already using that, and it doesn't mess with damage output. It just makes separate rolls for Hit & Crit, rather than having them combined (eg if Crit% is > Hit%, a hit will definitely cause a crit). Maybe what I need is an 'always bleed out' mod, but it only gets enabled when you are behind full cover etc
|
# ? Dec 22, 2016 05:05 |
|
What he's saying is that it probably solves your "constantly getting crit out of full cover" problem, in a generally more reasonable way.
|
# ? Dec 22, 2016 08:48 |
|
Ohh I get it now You're right, with that mod getting critted behind full cover would be much less likely
|
# ? Dec 23, 2016 02:23 |
|
There is also one just called BleedOut Mod that gives even rookies an actual chance to go to bleedout instead of dying outright. In vanilla the chance is pretty much zero until like Sergeant.
|
# ? Dec 23, 2016 19:43 |
|
I also use a mod that gives a point or two of dr if you are popped in cover. Works for you and enemies.
|
# ? Dec 24, 2016 02:38 |
|
|
# ? May 26, 2024 09:11 |
|
Just finished the game and wow, Jake must have been offended that nobody like the Uber Ethereal as a boss fight so instead he made something so, so much worse. I don't normally save scum to much but i think i'm justified when it comes to this "boss fight" because i don't see how you could ever walk into that and have a vague idea of what you're getting yourself into. Why yes Jake you certainly fixed the problem of sitting a sniper in the back and critting the Ethereal before he's a chance to do anything. But you also Made 3 seperate bosses who teleport to wherever the gently caress they want,regen health,have psy powers so they mind control your dudes and generally gently caress your day up with Rift. Have constant reinforcements that you need to deal with because the Avatars come in with them AND having terrible site lines in a room that's way to big and open for you to do anything but sit by the entrances and hold up until you get a shot at the Avatars Really the ending wasen't as good as the first game either.It was much more fitting that The Volunteer sacrifices themselves to save their buddies and the whole drat world. Plus the most psychic intensive thing they do is force push everybody of the room and bring the Temple Ship down. Was the psychic laser beam struggle really nessecery plus the Commander is a-okay in the end so meh? You're faceless and voiceless anyway so it's not like they coulden't just have another Commander and have it be exactly the same for the sequel they are obvoiusly doing. I suppose overall though the game was good,the last level was terrible so pretty much like last time
|
# ? Dec 24, 2016 14:41 |