Jobbo_Fett posted:

sniper4625 posted:

A rousing start for ol Keraf, a rousing start indeed!

Natural 20 posted:

In our defence it is tremendously unclear that there's a active mission available from the UI, or at the very least when they are going to fail. I think one of the biggest failings I have with XCOM is how unfriendly it is to people just dipping in to do one mission and stopping after that.

Bremen posted:

You also seem to feel that there's too much going on, which I would say is a deliberate design choice. I've always felt a lot of Tactical strategy games feel like they're "on rails" in the strategic layer - basically you go from mission to mission with maybe a few choices between them that might give you bonuses in the tactical missions but you always end up in the same place. XCom 2 tries to change that up, and has major decisions to make on both the strategic and tactical level. Like the current situation where you have a lot of choices over what to do next.

Natural 20 posted:

https://youtu.be/3tHlW5Ofp-o

Sorry I'm out but this is the episode

madmac posted:

You're not wrong, the medic path is very good.

In general, it's rarely a bad idea to give difference characters different specializations to increase your overall mission flexibility. X-Com 1 had really unbalanced skill paths with obvious winners but X-Com 2 is comparatively pretty balanced in that respect. As far as I remember anyway, haven't actually played in ages.

Affi posted:

Very well played mission overall! You are way better then me when I played xcom for the first time.

Loving how you’re reasoning about what to build and what promotions are good. Can’t wait for the later parts of the game and am kinda sad you’re not playing war of the chosen for all its bullshitty bullshit

Re facilities : Id never get anything except the guerilla tactics school for the increased group. More action economy and more dudes levelling up

Natural 20 posted:

Commander Keene posted:

I feel like the Psionics research (and other long-term research projects like it) is probably supposed to be saved until you have more than one scientist and can either double down to save time, or have it running on the back-burner while you do other things.

Nordick posted:

No it is not.

EDIT: I mean obviously it isn't everyone's cup of tea. You don't have to try and validate your own preference by claiming the thing you don't like is objectively bad.

Bremen posted:

I believe the Codex is hard coded to use the weapon disabling ability as its first action, which does no immediate damage (note that it didn't fire despite having an easy flank shot to take), so pretty much a way to teach the player, yeah. Even if you activate it as your last action it normally wouldn't do anything but leave you in a more difficult spot on the next turn.

Bremen posted:

Well, I mean, if you hate surprises ruining your day there's plenty more ahead of us that would meet your criteria. Some enemy types have pretty nasty tricks that you'll generally only find out about from getting burned by them (or reading a guide). This last mission just ended up going much worse than it (usually) does.

Bifauxnen posted:

Getting sentimental over your soldiers even when you know you shouldn't is one of the best things about XCOM.

I once got attached to an NPC rookie from a special scenario in XCOM1, who never would have joined the party even if he'd lived. He was just one of a few throwaway NPCs the game gives you in that mission for a little extra firepower, but goddamn he was the Rookie of Steel. One turn, I expected him to die but he just stared down a charging chryssalid, and killed it with his overwatch shot.

He managed to kill something else along the way too, and was the last of the NPC rookies standing, but he couldn't last to the end. I was very sad when he died.

Znorelag posted:

Lightning Hands all the way. You never know when you have to enter a building, get a sewer map or get snuck up on by enemies. A free shot is too good to pass.

MonsterEnvy posted:

Should you give the skulljack to Shanty. He seems like he would be able to use it better.

sniper4625 posted:

Yes also change my nickname to Kerath please I have many regrets.

Natural 20 posted:

Severa is going to be recruited.

First person to reply may pick another soldier who will likely also be recruited.

Affi posted:

Mimic tricks every activated enemy to shoot at it for one turn. It saves your life if you activate the wrong pod or you need to run away or if you just want to not take damage for a round. And it has enough health to take at least 2-3 shots no matter the enemy type.

But you’re right kill confirm items are awesome and so is the next level or armor that gives you one extra slot.

Bifauxnen posted:

The injury system is cruel but hardly arbitrary, you get hit, you go on the bench, you get hit harder, you're benched longer! If you heal someone up in the field, getting their hp back up will help protect them from getting picked off now at low hp in the short term. But in the long term, the damage has still been done and it doesn't actually undo the recovery time required after the mission.

Qrr posted:

(though I think its description actually does say that it doesn't go through cover, and the guy and cover weren't highlighted in red).

jng2058 posted:

I gotta admit, it's pretty amusing to watch you guys logic out some of these things. ...even if you end up making the wrong choice because of a lack of relevant data. In this case Bladestorm is by far the better choice, because it lets you use forward placed Rangers to massacre Chryssalids, who are too fast and too dodgy to reliably take out with overwatch. But they don't know that since the death bugs haven't deigned to show themselves yet!

It'll be fun seeing how that plays out down the line!