Fighting Fascism and Xenophobia wherever it lurks, Let's Play XCOM: Chimera Squad

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Fighting Fascism and Xenophobia wherever it lurks, Let's Play XCOM: Chimera Squad

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Danaru: Jun 5, 2012; 何 ??

New Episode!

Let's Play XCOM Chimera Squad Episode 13 - Hope You Like Hell

Fun fact: while researching about this mission between recording sessions to see if I was missing something, I found out a ton of people consider this the hardest mission in the game, even when played with top rank agents with maxed out equipment!

Also the best advice most websites have for beating this mission when you do Sacred Coil first is "Don't do Sacred Coil First"

:negative:

# ? Oct 11, 2020 10:13

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# ? May 22, 2024 14:01

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

Danaru posted:

New Episode!

Let's Play XCOM Chimera Squad Episode 13 - Hope You Like Hell

Fun fact: while researching about this mission between recording sessions to see if I was missing something, I found out a ton of people consider this the hardest mission in the game, even when played with top rank agents with maxed out equipment!

Also the best advice most websites have for beating this mission when you do Sacred Coil first is "Don't do Sacred Coil First"

# ? Oct 11, 2020 10:17

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

starbucks hermit posted:

I think there should be a rule where you take a break if you actually fail a mission due to losing your squad, since everyone's ranks are so high now

# ? Oct 11, 2020 12:04

ulmont: Sep 15, 2010; IF I EVER MISS VOTING IN AN ELECTION (EVEN AMERICAN IDOL) ,OR HAVE UNPAID PARKING TICKETS, PLEASE TAKE AWAY MY FRANCHISE

Danaru posted:

Also the best advice most websites have for beating this mission when you do Sacred Coil first is "Don't do Sacred Coil First"

Second best has to be Patchwork, right?

# ? Oct 11, 2020 14:11

W.T. Fits: Apr 21, 2010; Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

Danaru posted:

Also the best advice most websites have for beating this mission when you do Sacred Coil first is "Don't do Sacred Coil First"

Eh, close, but not quite.

The best advice for beating this mission when you do Sacred Coil first is "Don't do Sacred Coil first until your second or third playthrough when you're more familiar with the game." :eng101:

# ? Oct 11, 2020 17:15

Kinfolk910: Nov 5, 2010

That said isn't this their second or third play through? I could have sworn they said they finished this game before.

Then again they are playing sub-optimally under some very bad personal modifiers. IE: Being drunk off their gourd.

# ? Oct 11, 2020 21:16

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

Kinfolk910 posted:

That said isn't this their second or third play through? I could have sworn they said they finished this game before.

Then again they are playing sub-optimally under some very bad personal modifiers. IE: Being drunk off their gourd.

I think it's just part of one campaign (Sacred Coil) before deciding that this was so good that a blind(ish) LP was the way to go.

# ? Oct 11, 2020 23:23

Danaru: Jun 5, 2012; 何 ??

Yeah I played up to right around this mission before realizing I horribly underleveled my dudes by rushing timer missions :frogdunce:

I also didnt have patchwork so the whole Oops All Robots thing was horrible. Instead of restarting, I decided to wait and LP blind instead since as this LP has proven, I only make good decisions

# ? Oct 11, 2020 23:33

Section Z: Oct 1, 2008; Wait, this is the Moon.
How did I even get here?; Pillbug

To the outside observer, your choices in order are-
1: Oops all psychics.
2: Bootleg X-Com gone bad?
3: The guys mad you already beat them in the last game.

So I can't blame people for thinking the third one would be the least painful instead of the MOST painful. At least, I know I would have thought that :downs:

Were they trying for some "There is no WRONG choices, scaling difficulty will make it all the same in the end!" and then hosed it up?

# ? Oct 12, 2020 01:13

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

Section Z posted:

Were they trying for some "There is no WRONG choices, scaling difficulty will make it all the same in the end!" and then hosed it up?

I think it was this one. You'll note that Bellus Mar's health scales and they actually dealt with his bullshit pretty handily. I can't tell if the Gatekeeper's does, but at the end of the day, it's a goddamn Gatekeeper, and unless the player has found AP ammo and is prepared to manipulate its AI into Gatewaying the bad guys, that's a tall order for this point in the game.

It appears really only one viable strategy for the last encounter as well, (barring various Level 5 Agent powers they don't have access to) which is to commit to a breach of both doors so that you can get an agent to each generator and use one of your various initiative manipulation shenanigans to make sure they can overload them in order before the reinforcements show up. I don't know if the reinforcements are random, but a pod that heavy on top of the Gatekeeper is nearly impossible to deal with.

# ? Oct 12, 2020 02:01

Chuu: Sep 11, 2004; Grimey Drawer

So people who are actually good at this game (i.e. not me), is it actually possible to beat this missing given the research/training/purchase decisions that we're locked into?

# ? Oct 12, 2020 05:20

Clarste: Apr 15, 2013; Just how many mistakes have you suffered on the way here?

An uncountable number, to be sure.

My understanding of this mission is that the Gatekeeper is technically a 3rd party and therefore adding it to the battle is supposed to make things easier since it'll draw enemy fire and possibly kill them, but this was incredibly poorly handled by the game design so it doesn't work like that at all.

# ? Oct 12, 2020 09:45

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

Clarste posted:

My understanding of this mission is that the Gatekeeper is technically a 3rd party and therefore adding it to the battle is supposed to make things easier since it'll draw enemy fire and possibly kill them, but this was incredibly poorly handled by the game design so it doesn't work like that at all.

As we saw in the gameplay, sometimes the Gatekeeper will attack the Sacred Coil members.

I don't really know of a reliable way to get it to keep attacking the enemy though. Maybe it will go after the largest number of bunched up units? Maybe it wants to kill weaker people as soon as possible to raise psi zombies?

I just cross my fingers and hope for the best

# ? Oct 12, 2020 10:26

Mikl: Nov 8, 2009; Vote shit sandwich or the shit sandwich gets it!

(Later, after the mission)

So tell me again what happened.

It was the weirdest thing. We thought we were done for, and then...

...And then?

And then someone crashed through the door. We have no idea who it was, they were wearing a hockey mask and some kind of... Snake suit? I'm not sure, it happened so fast.

What did they do?

That maniac spidermanned across the room, stabbed Bellus Mar in the face, destroyed the Gatekeeper with a single shotgun blast...

And the generators, don't forget the generators.

Oh yeah, they destroyed both generators with some weird weapon strapped to their wirst, plasma probably, it made a hella loud noise and the generators were just... Gone.

And then they fwipp-ed across the room again and ran away without saying a single word.

Hm, you're right, that is weird. Director, do you have any idea who that could've been?

(Hastily stuffs a half-open duffel bag with a plasma sword sticking partway out of it under her desk)

Director?

Huh? What? Oh, no, I'm sorry, I've never heard about someone like that before.

# ? Oct 12, 2020 12:40

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

starbucks hermit posted:

I don't really know of a reliable way to get it to keep attacking the enemy though. Maybe it will go after the largest number of bunched up units? Maybe it wants to kill weaker people as soon as possible to raise psi zombies?

Unless they've changed the Gatekeeper AI (and every indication is that they haven't,) Gatekeepers will almost always open by dropping Gateway on the largest number of bodies, friendly or enemy, alive or dead. You can bait them into going after their allies by avoiding bunching your agents up, but I don't know how the designers expected players who hadn't mastered XCOM 2 to know that. I think their intent with this mission was that the Gatekeeper would blast the overwhelming number of Coil enemies and Chimera squad could clean up the chaos, but in practice it doesn't really work.

Clarste posted:

My understanding of this mission is that the Gatekeeper is technically a 3rd party and therefore adding it to the battle is supposed to make things easier since it'll draw enemy fire and possibly kill them, but this was incredibly poorly handled by the game design so it doesn't work like that at all.

I think you're right. In the various iterations of this mission I've played, Mar's dialog indicates that the Gatekeeper isn't doing what he wants it to do. But I can't ever recall seeing it target Coil members (aside from the initial Gateway) or seeing Coil members target it. Although on one of my runs I brought the rifle that gives you Banish and used it to nuke the Gatekeeper turn 1. Always buy Impetuous Spire the instant you see it.

Chuu posted:

So people who are actually good at this game (i.e. not me), is it actually possible to beat this missing given the research/training/purchase decisions that we're locked into?

I wouldn't say I'm great at this game, but this looks doable. I wouldn't want to try it half in the bag though. Multi-encounter missions are a damage marathon. Going into a boss with agents at half health is a recipe for a squad wipe, so your goal is to get through the first two encounters with most of your HP and one use items intact. The way I handled this and a similarly brutal Emergency mission was to bring Terminal and Cherub. After breach, I basically didn't move them: they used their first action to either Safeguard the person who got shot last turn, or bubble shield whoever was going to get attacked this turn, and then shot whoever they could with their second action. The overall goal is to minimize the amount of damage being hung on your agents while you decrement badguys' health bars to zero. You have to be very efficient with your action economy, never ending a turn early if you can do something with your other action. For the final breach, set up so you can pop a cease fire bomb off of your 2nd person, and deploy any holo-targeting or other once-per-mission gimmicks.

# ? Oct 12, 2020 16:53

Danaru: Jun 5, 2012; 何 ??

New Episode!

Let's Play XCOM Chimera Squad Episode 14 - Andrea's Big Day

Posting this early since we're hopefully playing more on friday and I want to whittle down the backlog a bit.

also because :smugbert:

# ? Oct 12, 2020 17:15

Kinfolk910: Nov 5, 2010

As for the explanation on the oddities of the android this technically applies for anyone you control on an objective marker. Whether it be a device or more importantly an evacuation point. You DON'T have to evacuate/operate at the very first moment. You can pass the turn and the option appears, I think, on ANY available agents turn. Not just the person who can press the button. Useful if you want to have something eat an additional shot before you hit the bug out button while still being able to exit before it's turn.

As for solving that battle in particular... I guess you figured it out. Just not the way I thought. IE save scum. I was going to say you should have noticed that grenades strip armor just like the original series. Hence packing a tasty supply of armor stripping goodness would have been very useful.

Finally I'm fairly certain subdue damage goes through armor pips/diamonds. The 2-3 damage is the actual limiter compared to, you know, shooting things.

# ? Oct 12, 2020 19:29

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

Great job, Dan. Getting into the final fight with most of your HP intact makes a huge difference

# ? Oct 12, 2020 20:05

Mikl: Nov 8, 2009; Vote shit sandwich or the shit sandwich gets it!

Congrats 🎉🎉🎊👏 :toot:

Also I love Punch Lady already :allears:

# ? Oct 12, 2020 20:30

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

Mikl posted:

Congrats 🎉🎉🎊👏

Also I love Punch Lady already

Zephyr is probably the best choice for the liver. And the punches are so satisfying to watch.

actually, she does kicks

# ? Oct 12, 2020 20:59

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

Zephyr is one of the, if not *the* best agent for the first two investigations. But her punches kill people unless you take the right-hand side of her upgrade tree that locks you out of her best and most useful abilities :ohdear:

# ? Oct 12, 2020 21:31

Torrannor: Apr 27, 2013; ---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE

I just want to say that Dan is indeed a good boy :3:

Great job, this is such an enjoyable LP to watch.

# ? Oct 12, 2020 22:31

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Dead Reckoning posted:

Zephyr is one of the, if not *the* best agent for the first two investigations. But her punches kill people unless you take the right-hand side of her upgrade tree that locks you out of her best and most useful abilities

She also really drops off in usefulness lategame since there's no damage upgrades for her. Which is a drat shame because she's probably the most fun agent you get.

# ? Oct 13, 2020 00:36

W.T. Fits: Apr 21, 2010; Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

anilEhilated posted:

She also really drops off in usefulness lategame since there's no damage upgrades for her. Which is a drat shame because she's probably the most fun agent you get.

She doesn't get a direct damage upgrade, but one of her promotions does give her the ability to just straight up ignore enemy armor, which can help offset the difference somewhat.

# ? Oct 13, 2020 00:51

Section Z: Oct 1, 2008; Wait, this is the Moon.
How did I even get here?; Pillbug

Axiom has a big future in interior decorating.

He can list it on his resume next to internal organ punching.

# ? Oct 13, 2020 03:40

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

W.T. Fits posted:

She doesn't get a direct damage upgrade, but one of her promotions does give her the ability to just straight up ignore enemy armor, which can help offset the difference somewhat.

Her nonlethal upgrade adds +1 damage, and I think she also gets an automatic buff at level 3. But taking the level 2 damage boost and level 4 armor pierce means she's *almost* as good as your firearm-toting heavy hitters during the 3rd investigation, at the expense of her area control abilities that are the main reason to take her over another agent during the first two.

Her level 5 ability is pretty good, but there is equipment that can sub in for it, and it honestly pales in comparison to some of the absolutely insane and game-breaking abilities others get at level 5.

Dead Reckoning fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Oct 13, 2020

# ? Oct 13, 2020 06:03

some plague rats: Jun 5, 2012; by Fluffdaddy

Zephyr is great if install the mod that lets her breach attack counter aggressive enemies

If you take her Lockdown level up you can rush some nerd when you breach and hit him, hit him again when he goes to move, use your turn to hit a different nerd, and then use the momentum move to stand next to someone else and hit them when they move, and all of those hits will apply status effects

# ? Oct 13, 2020 08:06

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

The second half of your post is why I don't think Zephyr needs any buffs on her breach ability. Being able to turn off Aggressive is incredibly powerful, and giving her that on top of damage would make her breach ability objectively better than both Cherub's and Verge's.

# ? Oct 14, 2020 01:12

Danaru: Jun 5, 2012; 何 ??

I dunno what you guys are talking about but I guarantee I'll pick all the wrong options and go "haha big lady go kick" while selecting them

I'm not saying the current conversation is bad, just warning you all that I will NOT remember any of it when I need to :v:

# ? Oct 14, 2020 01:21

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

Danaru posted:

I dunno what you guys are talking about but I guarantee I'll pick all the wrong options and go "haha big lady go kick" while selecting them

I'm not saying the current conversation is bad, just warning you all that I will NOT remember any of it when I need to

Thank you for playing the game to amuse the thread, which does not necessarily involve speedrunning or minmaxing the tactics

# ? Oct 14, 2020 04:05

Crazy Achmed: Mar 13, 2001

Congrats on beating that pile of bullshit. I'm probably full of poo poo as well, but it feels like always, always killing the guardian during a breach is a good idea. gently caress those guys.

# ? Oct 14, 2020 11:10

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

Crazy Achmed posted:

Congrats on beating that pile of bullshit. I'm probably full of poo poo as well, but it feels like always, always killing the guardian during a breach is a good idea. gently caress those guys.

# ? Oct 14, 2020 11:43

Qtotonibudinibudet: Nov 7, 2011; Omich poluyobok, skazhi ty narkoman? ya prosto tozhe gde to tam zhivu, mogli by vmeste uyobyvat' narkotiki

Danaru posted:

Also the best advice most websites have for beating this mission when you do Sacred Coil first is "Don't do Sacred Coil First"

i did sacred coil first on a whim, didn't get patchwork, and remember it going okay.

however im pretty sure it bugged the gently caress out, and neither the gatekeeper nor the faction leader put up the fight they were supposed to. whoops.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 10:13

Danaru: Jun 5, 2012; 何 ??

New Episode!

Let's Play XCOM Chimera Squad Episode 15 - She Said Spated

Get used to me giggling every time Zephyr kicks someone in the head because I loving love that animation

# ? Oct 16, 2020 15:00

some plague rats: Jun 5, 2012; by Fluffdaddy

Danaru posted:

New Episode!

Let's Play XCOM Chimera Squad Episode 15 - She Said Spated

Get used to me giggling every time Zephyr kicks someone in the head because I loving love that animation

This is the real reason to take zephyr, so you can kick people so hard they land outside the level

# ? Oct 16, 2020 20:17

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

Zephyr is a strong, Australian woman who just wants to kick snakes in the head, and nothing makes her angrier than living in a world of doors and windows between her and snakes.

Also, Cherub's pistol is just a sideshow for his real job of providing invulnerability and area-of-effect shield slaps.

# ? Oct 16, 2020 20:22

W.T. Fits: Apr 21, 2010; Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

Hey, forgot the spoiler policy, sorry about that, feel free to ignore this post.

W.T. Fits fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Oct 16, 2020

# ? Oct 16, 2020 20:29

sb hermit: Dec 13, 2016

You're doing great, but don't forget showing off the field teams between missions.

Also, I'm kinda thinking about picking up the oyster stout.

# ? Oct 17, 2020 00:37

Section Z: Oct 1, 2008; Wait, this is the Moon.
How did I even get here?; Pillbug

Didn't the better medkits in the new X-com games get made by juicing the corpses of snake people? So uh... They probably don't smell great without added air freshener.

# ? Oct 17, 2020 02:09

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# ? May 22, 2024 14:01

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

A surprising number of medicines are derived from animal or other biological sources. None of them are that offensive once refined. Though XCOM just handing out aerosol cans of liquefied Viper alien would be extremely on-brand for the organization whose idea of armor development is, "skin the biggest, baddest alien you can find, then wear it into battle."

The portrait of the fat man is what Central ended up looking like once he let himself go.

Also, just casually taking a pass on Untouchable, the power that makes you invulnerable :stare:

# ? Oct 17, 2020 08:28

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Fighting Fascism and Xenophobia wherever it lurks, Let's Play XCOM: Chimera Squad

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