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Verviticus posted:all of the facility/blacksite stuff can be soloed by a reaper if you're really desperate. facility missions in particular are as free as it gets - end turn on the star, hit the button, double move to the evac that you drop in their range and gtfo. you can be vulnerable to enemies for literally zero turns The reaper is amazing, and is single-handedly responsible for a couple of flawless missions on my run so far. Remote starting hordes of lost into Advent patrols is a really powerful thing to do. Your entire squad maintains concealment while they fight, and you can then break and mop up whatever's left at the end. Ersatz fucked around with this message at 13:26 on Sep 4, 2017 |
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Sep 4, 2017 13:19
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darnon posted:Low profile sitreps (no squad members higher than sgt on mission) are some bullshit at midgame if you aren't keeping a bunch of low level dudes around. Extra fun when that means you have 4 dudes on a train supply raid, bugged perma-Lost World, and, oh btw, there's the serpent king here, too. Much savescumming was required to overcome that one. There's a mod to fix lost world now too: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1127790621 not sure if it helps if you already have it stuck on, but can't hurt to try.
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Sep 4, 2017 13:21
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Yeah, I saw that but won't be able to test it out until I get home. The Lost weren't really the big hassle in that mission and I've grown used to them dropping by for a zombie interlude most missions. Probably going to swap into Between the Eyes since their health pools are reaching the point it can take multiple shots to kill until plasma unlocks.
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Sep 4, 2017 13:32
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The Hunter definitely has the best dialogue, it's actually the only one I think is enjoyable to listen to. On the other hand I really wish Bradford would SHUT THE gently caress UP. Explaining the objectives and the enemies progress is suitable the first time you do a mission not every drat time. It's twice as bad when he seizes control of the camera and points it at the same obvious objectives I've played a hundred times now which forces you to sit there and listen to him drone on.
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Sep 4, 2017 13:34
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tithin posted:Ooooooh, it's coming back to me now. Avatars, right? This is actually a thing I'm not sure about - the 'main' plot is now completely irrelevant next to the titular 'war of the chosen'. Their progression bars are scary whereas the Avatar project is so easily manageable that so long as you hit facilities when they pop up there's no sense of urgency whatsoever to get a skulljack and head down the main objectives. Research progression has been slowed down so much that Shadow Chamber projects are a definite no-no until you've hit the end of the tech tree. After you've taken down the Chosen you are at that XCOM-endgame point where mopping up the rest of the plot-critical missions is trivial. All in all I'm really enjoying it (although I don't like how they've moved from the cartoony bright colours of XCOM - itself a homage to the cartoony bright colours of the original) but it feels like a perfectly good standalone game that's been squeezed into an expansion box it's a bit too big for and tethered to a base game it wants to break free from.
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Sep 4, 2017 13:45
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Axetrain posted:The Hunter definitely has the best dialogue, it's actually the only one I think is enjoyable to listen to. On the other hand I really wish Bradford would SHUT THE gently caress UP. Explaining the objectives and the enemies progress is suitable the first time you do a mission not every drat time. It's twice as bad when he seizes control of the camera and points it at the same obvious objectives I've played a hundred times now which forces you to sit there and listen to him drone on. Firaxis never learn, EU was full of the same annoying repeated basic instructions. Remember Bomb missions where Shen would explain the concept of delaying the explosion with the nodes every loving time? It's like half the team wanted to make an AAA play once cinematic experience and the other half wanted to make a semi-randomized heavily replayable game and then they just threw up thier hands, jammed the two parts together, and called it a day without testing anything. Darkrenown fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Sep 4, 2017 |
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Sep 4, 2017 13:49
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Alchenar posted:This is actually a thing I'm not sure about - the 'main' plot is now completely irrelevant next to the titular 'war of the chosen'. I haven't even left my starting continent yet. I haven't needed to. Also my continent bonuses suck rear end this time.  I was thinking about it and actually I don't think the workshop is even worth it now. You could I guess if you're suffering in the endgame but before then it's not really necessary like it was. Resistance Comms is optional too depending on the orders you get. RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Sep 4, 2017 |
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Sep 4, 2017 13:54
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Alchenar posted:This is actually a thing I'm not sure about - the 'main' plot is now completely irrelevant next to the titular 'war of the chosen'. Well, the Avatar project has always been a bit of a red herring. Newbies playing their first game stress over it until they're told not to, since it's all bark and no bite. Unless WotC actively rewrites how Avatar works, which they opted not to, no amount of new content will make the DoomClock scary. Same with Shadow Chamber projects. About flashy colors: I actually still really prefer the first XCOM and the grunty kevlar/titan armours etc, more of a cartoony-yet-serious vibe. To each their own smell opinion, but only an utter grognard would look at the XCOM reboots and call them less than great games in all regards.
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Sep 4, 2017 14:03
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Verviticus posted:do mimic beacons do anything now? i havent actually had enemies kill one, they just run past it Yeah, working fine for me. I've had enemies skip them once or twice, but I am trying to throw them close to the aliens in vulnerable positions to make them appealing targets on their own.
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Sep 4, 2017 14:15
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Apparently thrown weapons count as melee for the Chosen's immune to melee perk. They're invulnerable to everything the axes can do, for example.
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Sep 4, 2017 14:33
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maev posted:Some of the new mechanics that "force a reload" end ironman games, meaning I just couldn't bring myself to blind ironman until all the lessons were learned. Introducing Mox's justice ability then having the literal first enemy as a loving flamethrower dude that explodes is one of the biggest trolls I've seen in gaming.
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Sep 4, 2017 14:39
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I loaded up legendary ironman first thing and I'm on campaign 32. This expansion rocks.
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Sep 4, 2017 14:43
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Serephina posted:Well, the Avatar project has always been a bit of a red herring. Newbies playing their first game stress over it until they're told not to, since it's all bark and no bite. Unless WotC actively rewrites how Avatar works, which they opted not to, no amount of new content will make the DoomClock scary. Same with Shadow Chamber projects. I played through WotC on commander, didn't even bother progressing plot by researching shadow chamber projects until December, after contacting whole world, permakilling all chosen and alien rulers and Avatar was knocked back down to 1 square at that point. With covert ops of WotC it's even easier to manage it.
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Sep 4, 2017 14:52
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Pyromancer posted:I played through WotC on commander, didn't even bother progressing plot by researching shadow chamber projects until December, after contacting whole world, permakilling all chosen and alien rulers and Avatar was knocked back down to 1 square at that point. With covert ops of WotC it's even easier to manage it.
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Sep 4, 2017 14:57
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Pyromancer posted:I played through WotC on commander, didn't even bother progressing plot by researching shadow chamber projects until December, after contacting whole world, permakilling all chosen and alien rulers and Avatar was knocked back down to 1 square at that point. With covert ops of WotC it's even easier to manage it. Yeah, just always take the avatar progress and facility leads as they come up and you're good. I just wish the leads would stop giving me the closest one.  With how long the game is now I kind of wish they did just make this XCOM 3. RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Sep 4, 2017 |
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Sep 4, 2017 14:57
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Whew I was rocking plasma weapons before i ever got preaditor armor. Made some battles mighty sketchy
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Sep 4, 2017 14:59
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Norns posted:Whew I was rocking plasma weapons before i ever got preaditor armor. Made some battles mighty sketchy
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Sep 4, 2017 15:01
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Darkrenown posted:Firaxis never learn, EU was full of the same annoying repeated basic instructions. Remember Bomb missions where Shen would explain the concept of delaying the explosion with the nodes every loving time? It's like half the team wanted to make an AAA play once cinematic experience and the other half wanted to make a semi-randomized heavily replayable game and then they just threw up thier hands, jammed the two parts together, and called it a day without testing anything. which one is worse WITH AN EVEN GREATER PSIONIC POTENTIAL or EXERCISE RESTRAINT WHEN USING EXPLOSIVES
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Sep 4, 2017 15:02
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babypolis posted:which one is worse Hey man Vahlen was cool, and I miss her German accented nagging.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:04
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Norns posted:Whew I was rocking plasma weapons before i ever got preaditor armor. Made some battles mighty sketchy Someone sold too many trooper corpses!
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Sep 4, 2017 15:06
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Anyone else have a bug where the Chosen's sarcophagus doesn't register damage? I had to wait for the assassin to respawn 3 times before it started taking damage, and by that time my soldiers were too worn down to complete the mission. Any fixes for this?
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Sep 4, 2017 15:10
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Pungent Mammy posted:Anyone else have a bug where the Chosen's sarcophagus doesn't register damage? I had to wait for the assassin to respawn 3 times before it started taking damage, and by that time my soldiers were too worn down to complete the mission. Any fixes for this? Someone said earlier that quitting and reloading fixed it.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:13
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My only casualty so far has been a spark. And it still hurts. Next game I'm using that ini edit so the spark can bond.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:14
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How good are sparks now, and how serious are the resource requirements to build them? The little robots saved my rear end in EW when I was low on soldiers, and I'm wondering if I could run Shen's Last Gift and pull the same trick here.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:20
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Ersatz posted:How good are sparks now, and how serious are the resource requirements to build them? The little robots saved my rear end in EW when I was low on soldiers, and I'm wondering if I could run Shen's Last Gift and pull the same trick here. They're basically Enemy Within MEC Troopers. They're extremely strong.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:21
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My spark was really solid. I hosed up and got extremely late armor upgrades for it and my crew. I was using it for pin down and as mobile cover. The flamethrower and mech shotgun thing are both very useful and fun.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:23
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Ersatz posted:How good are sparks now, and how serious are the resource requirements to build them? The little robots saved my rear end in EW when I was low on soldiers, and I'm wondering if I could run Shen's Last Gift and pull the same trick here. They suck until you put weapon mods on then become lifesavers. God knows when I'm going to buy a second and then upgrade the drat things though. That's 300 supplies and 2 cores right there.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:23
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Anyone have a weird intermittent performance issue with this game? I have a 1080ti and a 100hz G-Sync monitor, so most of the time things are buttery smooth. But sometimes I start the game and it runs as a stuttery mess, even the UI actually slows down. (like edge scrolling gets slower) but only while the window is the active one. Click into my web browser and I can immediately see the game go smooth again (and edge scrolling back to normal speed). The only way to fix this is to reboot.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:35
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My spark was poo poo from the moment I got him on the mission and consistently missed 80+ shots. I was not sad when he got fragged. That said, the game did a good job of making me want to hunt down the assassin after she attacked the avenger. Lost a few good folks that time, mostly because of panic cascades. Also I managed to trigger two sectopods at the same time, but then my baller sharpshooter fanned one down. Felt very good.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:49
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How am I supposed to use sharpshooters properly? They're damage seems really underwhelming and I kinda just wish I had a third ranger most of the time. (gunslinger spec anyway)
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Sep 4, 2017 16:02
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Dr. Carwash posted:How am I supposed to use sharpshooters properly? They're damage seems really underwhelming and I kinda just wish I had a third ranger most of the time. (gunslinger spec anyway) Go full pistoleer, equip blue screen rounds, and one can kill a sectopod with moves to spare. Pair with a salvo grenadier and no pods will survive the alpha strike. You can use lightning hands, fanfire, and faceoff in one turn.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:06
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Ersatz posted:How good are sparks now, and how serious are the resource requirements to build them? The little robots saved my rear end in EW when I was low on soldiers, and I'm wondering if I could run Shen's Last Gift and pull the same trick here. They're extremely powerful if you give them a scope and an auto-loader or extended magazine, and they never get tired so they can be helpful roster filler. The major downside is that they're extremely expensive to get off the ground; excluding the free one(which you don't get if you're running integrated DLC), you're looking at 200 supplies, 2(!) cores, and a boatload of alloys/elerium for each one. Then you need to factor in having to build massively expensive armor and weapon tier upgrades that only apply to SPARKs and it quickly becomes ludicrous to bother with them unless you're planning to build at least two or three of them. The part that hurts the most is the cores. Cores are still so loving hellaciously rare and valuable that despite loving SPARKs I have to think very hard if that SPARK is worth not building two more special grenades/special ammo/heavy weapons/WAR suits. They also tend to take a very long time to "heal" if they get banged up, since their repairs don't benefit from the infirmary bonus recovery speed that makes injuries on normal soldiers trivial. I think they're worth it if you're willing to commit to them, though.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:06
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Gunslingers are for cleaning up multiple weakened enemies in a single turn. Or applying a debuff to multiple enemies, if you have the appropriate experimental ammo. The single-target damage is kinda underwhelming (especially against armoured targets), but of course you gotta remember that there's no rule banning them from using the sniper rifle when the situation calls for it.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:07
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Snipers are decent with Reapers at easily setting up overwatch hell via Squadsight. Then you kill the Hunter chosen and now they're a god.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:10
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I always go two routes..gun singer pistol dudes with special rounds. Or high ground snipers with squadsight and all that.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:10
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Kanos posted:They're extremely powerful if you give them a scope and an auto-loader or extended magazine, and they never get tired so they can be helpful roster filler. The major downside is that they're extremely expensive to get off the ground; excluding the free one(which you don't get if you're running integrated DLC), you're looking at 200 supplies, 2(!) cores, and a boatload of alloys/elerium for each one. Then you need to factor in having to build massively expensive armor and weapon tier upgrades that only apply to SPARKs and it quickly becomes ludicrous to bother with them unless you're planning to build at least two or three of them. The part that hurts the most is the cores. Cores are still so loving hellaciously rare and valuable that despite loving SPARKs I have to think very hard if that SPARK is worth not building two more special grenades/special ammo/heavy weapons/WAR suits. They also tend to take a very long time to "heal" if they get banged up, since their repairs don't benefit from the infirmary bonus recovery speed that makes injuries on normal soldiers trivial. The assassin sabotaged the avenger not too long ago, injuring one my three engineers for a month (!) and stealing two cores. The cores only annoyed me at the time since I didn't have a proving ground up yet, but it sucks even worse now that I know that I'll need them for sparks.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:15
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My runthrough I was absolutely swimming in elerium cores and the enemy basically never dropped weapon upgrades. Also, the "alien loot" covert ops seems to always be two elerium cores.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:21
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How are people so low on cores? I've gotten like 20 of the drat things so far and all my abortive attempts have had a ton. Are you just not prioritizing loot or blowing everything up?
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Sep 4, 2017 16:21
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Zore posted:How are people so low on cores? I've gotten like 20 of the drat things so far and all my abortive attempts have had a ton.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:24
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Sniper sharpshooters suck early on IMO. Not being able to move and shoot your rifle is extremely hampering. Its a chore to drag them through missions just to level them up. End game they do become pretty fantastic, especially with the Hunters Darklance, that thing is nuts.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:29
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