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Saw XCOM2: The Collection is available and saw a tweet somewhere saying it was 50% off (which I assumed to mean 30 bucks). Checked Steam. Collection is 99 dollars. WTF.
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Feb 5, 2018 05:00
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 14:47 |
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You know, I've been holding off on buying the dlc and xpack for this reason, waiting for the Gold/GOTY/Bundle whatever, but holy cow that's taking the piss.
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Feb 5, 2018 05:18
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strategery posted:Saw XCOM2: The Collection is available and saw a tweet somewhere saying it was 50% off (which I assumed to mean 30 bucks). Checked Steam. Collection is 99 dollars. WTF. The one I see for 90 comes with a controller.
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Feb 5, 2018 14:13
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Feb 6, 2018 05:19
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RBA Starblade posted:The one I see for 90 comes with a controller. $60 base. $100 for the collection - "The XCOM® 2 Collection includes the award-winning strategy game XCOM 2, the War of the Chosen expansion, and four DLC packs (Resistance Warrior Pack, Anarchy’s Children, Alien Hunters, Shen’s Last Gift) for a bundled discount." The expansion is $40, then for these packs $5, $5, $10, $10, so base price total would be $130. Basically they threw in the older DLC. $90 for XCOM 2 and a controller. http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/XCOM_2/
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Feb 7, 2018 19:30
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How tough are alien facilities compared to Chosen strongholds? When do you go on the offensive?
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Feb 8, 2018 18:47
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Facilities are much easier than Chosen Strongholds - they designed the latter to be more risky, such that (iirc) you are unable to evac once you get to the Chosen fight. The caveat is that if you’ve got Alien Hunters installed, you’re pretty likely to unlock a special alien who can gently caress you up spectacularly, escape without being killed, and hit and run you on subsequent missions until you take it down (when you do, they drop some of the most powerful kit in the game). The game will warn you when a facility has one, though. You’ll want to be at least at plate armor and magnetic guns when you face them for the first time.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:04
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If you don't have Alien Rulers, Facilities are 100% optional and only need to be taken out if you've got critically high Avatar progress and no other way of mitigating it. They also aren't too hard.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:07
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Thanks. I turned off the Alien Rulers DLC because I don’t like them, but I was nervous about going after the alien facilities because I had a lot of trouble with the Chosen strongholds. I lost my second campaign last night. Takeaways are: -Get more aggressive on the geoscape campaign -Prioritize infirmary -SPARKs are, tragically, a waste of time, xp and resources -Continents have set bonuses for unlocking them! -Psych soldiers own, and their non-traditional leveling mechanic is hugely beneficial -I know what UI element indicates turn ending actions now. (Anyone know if there’s a UI element that describes status effects?)
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Feb 8, 2018 19:12
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The best thing is to solo a facility with a concealment ranger that can walk through walls
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Feb 8, 2018 19:17
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Uh oh. "Turned off" as in uninstalled, or turned off as in didn't integrate them into Wotc? Those are two different things.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:18
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SPARKs are more a priority for the middle game after you've carved a niche for yourself than a straight waste. i wouldn't recommend hitting them up before you're rocking at least plasma rifles, though, yeah.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:19
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Bogart posted:Uh oh. "Turned off" as in uninstalled, or turned off as in didn't integrate them into Wotc? Those are two different things. Turned off in the Steam menu.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:23
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Anonymous Robot posted:-I know what UI element indicates turn ending actions now. (Anyone know if there’s a UI element that describes status effects?) get the cost-based ability colors mod!
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Feb 8, 2018 19:29
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quote:-SPARKs are, tragically, a waste of time, xp and resources I used to think this until I deployed two together on Legendary and they carried me for like six months. Early rocket launchers and heavy cover anywhere goes a long way. RIP Julian, the only thing that could take you down was two early sectopods who walked into gently caress Valley after half the map revealed. Luckily I got two orders that reduced the price of PG projects so your replacement was cheap as poo poo
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Feb 8, 2018 19:30
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Coolguye posted:SPARKs are more a priority for the middle game after you've carved a niche for yourself than a straight waste. i wouldn't recommend hitting them up before you're rocking at least plasma rifles, though, yeah. I love robots and think their skill tree is cool, but I ran three SPARKs now between two campaigns. One had rocket and one had flamer and both of those were lackluster. The armor shredding cannon is ill, but you’re rolling the proving grounds dice to get it. Overdrive is a great skill but not good enough to justify em. Plus, their armor points try to position them as tanks, but “tanking” is a strategy that works for the enemy and not for you based on the campaign nature of the game. They can’t use cover, right? It’s not just that they don’t show the cover indicator for them. To note, I was only using them before getting plasma rifles, the last one was just after getting warden armor.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:30
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Yeah, SPARKs work best if you rush them. They can pretty much carry you for a long time since rainmaker turns their Rocket Launchers into hilarious 'delete any given pod' things. And since they don't have to deal with fatigue they let you concentrate your exp across fewer soldiers which lets you power rank dudes up. I find them invaluable on Legendary.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:35
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yeah, sparks end up filling a generalist role in a game that really wants you to specialize. they're fantastic for filling in gaps in the roster and are easier to keep in the fight than humans are. everything you posted is very legit and doesn't change, the thing that SPARKs bring to the table is staying power both in the battle and between battles. i look at them the same way i look at the 3rd party soldiers. one or two is all the more you will ever even want.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:38
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Anonymous Robot posted:Thanks. I turned off the Alien Rulers DLC because I don’t like them, but I was nervous about going after the alien facilities because I had a lot of trouble with the Chosen strongholds. You nailed it. SPARKs aren't bad, but they aren't dramatically better than normal human soldiers while requiring a much, much greater investment. And Psi Ops are just ludicrously powerful, with their only real limitation being that they can't be acquired early unless you rush them like crazy (to the exclusion of nearly all else.) War of the Chosen arguably makes them even better, since the Wetworks upgrade being removed from the Guerilla Training School and the fatigue mechanic both make levelling up conventionally much harder than before; Psi Ops level just as quickly and easily as ever, and don't even require you to field inexperienced troops in the beginning unless you want to.
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Feb 8, 2018 19:44
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Yeah, I don’t think they’re especially bad on the field, it’s just that I don’t think they’re worth the investment of R&D resources to fund separate upgrade trees for all their gear. I can see how that sunk cost would be better spent if you’re fielding two, though. Their inability to take cover also keeps getting mine prioritized and shredded by the enemy (I had one on its last tick of health, so I had it hang back in an cleared room in a Chosen HQ, and a codex still decided to teleport into that distant room and kill it at the expense of engaging units actually in the combat!)
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Feb 8, 2018 19:47
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Yeah, I did not like using SPARKs and would rather field a deep bench of soldiers who benefit even more from the WOTC additions (Covert Ops and upgrading from pool points)
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Feb 8, 2018 19:57
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SPARKS own, esp when you use the mod that lets you modify their weapons.
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Feb 8, 2018 20:23
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Basic Chunnel posted:SPARKS own, esp when you use the mod that lets you modify their weapons. Thats built in to WotC. The only SPARK mod i run is the one that lets them bond with other soldiers.
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Feb 8, 2018 20:36
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Zore posted:Thats built in to WotC. Yeah, not having robot friends in base WotC makes me sad E: as well as robots being friends with other robots
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Feb 8, 2018 20:38
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I finished my first campaign of XCom 2, it was with the War of the Chosen expansion enabled too. Such an amazing game. I really wish I had bought this when it first came out. XCom 2 is incredible.
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Feb 10, 2018 04:28
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I started a new campaign tonight, I got to the Advent Black Site mission and the game keeps crashing to desktop now once I grab the vial. 
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Feb 10, 2018 07:20
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Sparks have one major advantage over humans -- they don't get tired. No mind spins, no burnout, no cracking under pressure. If you want a gunner/grenadier who can clutch when it matters, get a Spark. The initial buyin isn't too bad and unless you're lousy, it'll return the investment by saving you an Exi Suit / infirmary time / a soldier's life.
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Feb 10, 2018 09:05
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Bogart posted:Sparks have one major advantage over humans -- they don't get tired. No mind spins, no burnout, no cracking under pressure. If you want a gunner/grenadier who can clutch when it matters, get a Spark. The initial buyin isn't too bad and unless you're lousy, it'll return the investment by saving you an Exi Suit / infirmary time / a soldier's life. They're great if you can get one but too often I find I don't have enough resources to get one, lest I lose out on a vital weapon upgrade (although this may be because I try to make use of all three faction units)
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Feb 10, 2018 18:51
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I said come in! posted:I started a new campaign tonight, I got to the Advent Black Site mission and the game keeps crashing to desktop now once I grab the vial. Do you have any mods installed?
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Feb 10, 2018 22:37
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The Biggest Jerk posted:They're great if you can get one but too often I find I don't have enough resources to get one, lest I lose out on a vital weapon upgrade (although this may be because I try to make use of all three faction units) Is conventional wisdom against this? Skirmisher is a little single-utility, but I quite like the grapple hook for moving around. Also, being able to recruit a major right off the bat via cover op (if your unit was a major when it died, for example) is a huge benefit to keep you off the ropes after a wipe.
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Feb 10, 2018 23:03
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raverrn posted:Do you have any mods installed? No mods, just vanilla XCom 2.
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Feb 10, 2018 23:16
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Sparks are fantastic but I keep losing mine because advent focuses on them
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Feb 11, 2018 02:30
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Anonymous Robot posted:Is conventional wisdom against this? Skirmisher is a little single-utility, but I quite like the grapple hook for moving around. Also, being able to recruit a major right off the bat via cover op (if your unit was a major when it died, for example) is a huge benefit to keep you off the ropes after a wipe. I don't think it's against conventional wisdom, but can't tell you the amount of times I've gone into a mission without the latest armor or plasma just cause I decided to get a better ripjack weeks back. Skrimisher and Templars are so fun to play around, but on Legendary and sometimes commander it might be better to skip one faction's upgrades if your not swimming in resources
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Feb 11, 2018 06:31
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The Biggest Jerk posted:I don't think it's against conventional wisdom, but can't tell you the amount of times I've gone into a mission without the latest armor or plasma just cause I decided to get a better ripjack weeks back. Skrimisher and Templars are so fun to play around, but on Legendary and sometimes commander it might be better to skip one faction's upgrades if your not swimming in resources Your best bet is skipping Reaper upgrades in that case tbh. Vector Rifles only get one point of damage per tier compared to two for literally every other weapon type, and Reapers have a bunch of ways to deal damage without it with their claymore and remote start. Meanwhile Templar and Skirmishers are heavily dependent on equipment to stay relevant in the mid and end game.
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Feb 11, 2018 06:47
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Personally, I probably won’t bother with Templars in my next campaign. I don’t really like the stealth mechanic, though I have been underutilizing scouting and visibility to detect pods and in general (I haven’t used mimic beacons or battle scanners yet either.) Detection/concealment seems too cludgy to depend on as a combat mechanic, and only having one charge of Shadow makes me far less liable to use it. I’m one of those “what if I need this potion later!!” types.
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Feb 11, 2018 18:55
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You start with Shadow activated, though, and a fair amount of Reaper abilities explicitly don't break it. Having a dedicated scout with excellent terrain deformation is great on its own, getting another charge of Shadow just makes it better. It's like having a sniper/ranger but better. The game isn't about stealth, it's about hustling through an environment and trying to take on favorable engagements when possible, and a Reaper makes that much smoother. But if it's not for you, it's not for you.
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Feb 11, 2018 19:41
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Well I'm about to lose my first attempt at the chosen campaign. I stalled early on and didn't build a comm center feat enough to continue contacting countries. It felt very overwhelming trying to manage everything on the map, but I think I'll have a better go next time. Does chosen affecting resource income go away if you kill the chosen? I only made it to stage two of hunting them so I didn't get very far.
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Feb 12, 2018 19:49
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I don't think it does but if you do well enough on terror missions / fulton supply raids, you can easily make up for Chosen income crackdowns over the medium-long term, even while they're still kicking.
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Feb 12, 2018 21:30
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So XCOM 2 and the expansion are on sale via the PSN store this week. I was thinking of getting them since I enjoyed vanilla XCOM 2 on my PC  does the expack still make the PS4 performance take a poo poo and die?
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Feb 13, 2018 20:39
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I haven't noticed much difference overall between vanilla and the xpack on PS4, except it's more likely to poo poo the bed on the new avenger defense mission.
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Feb 13, 2018 21:15
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