Welp. That's four consecutive Classic runs where my initial Heavy was the first to die, I got zero Heavies in the next wave of rookies, and the game was unsalvageable by the middle of month 3. Maybe it's time I just gave up.
EDIT: On the fifth run the heavy whiffed his rocket by a million miles on the second mission, blowing up a Meld canister, and then was immediately crit through cover by an unbuffed Sectoid.
...This is why I personally stopped using Heavies (that, and because I prefer them as a MEC chassis). Even at 90%, the rockets are just too unreliable.
There's been some discussions on Xcom2 being easier than Xcom:EW. I would just love it if the early game was made easier as it was problematical in Xcom:EW (early game was insanely hard on Impossible compared to mid game), and it turns out you get smacked into the dirt later on Legendary. Like if everything we've seen so far has been the kid gloves.
Welp. That's four consecutive Classic runs where my initial Heavy was the first to die, I got zero Heavies in the next wave of rookies, and the game was unsalvageable by the middle of month 3. Maybe it's time I just gave up.
EDIT: On the fifth run the heavy whiffed his rocket by a million miles on the second mission, blowing up a Meld canister, and then was immediately crit through cover by an unbuffed Sectoid.
Half cover doesn't save you at all. You're rolling the dice big time every time you take an unhunkered shot at half cover, and even then you could be damaged. If I were to make an uneducated wild guess I'd say most newer players make fights way too much like a shootout. You want them onesided as fuck, as in you shooting flanks and them shooting ridiculous cover (or not at all).
Full cover doesn't save you either but you'll be forced to take those kinds of shots. If you don't have any real opportunities for the round anyway take the shots at full cover hunkered down and you'll be fine against sectoids unless they blow your cover up.
Not getting shot at is ideal and the golden standard of making it from classic to impossible. Overwhelming force, or hunker down if you can't bring overwhelming force, is key.
Don't be discouraged though, losing four runs isn't really that much. God knows I lost tons of classic ironman when the game came out but I eventually beat I/I. There really is skill and depth to the game even if you feel like you're just getting screwed. Except rocket misses or early panic spirals because screw those. (you can't really play to mitigate those)
There WAS no full cover on that fucking map. And you can only stall for so long before the enemy starts setting up overwatch traps everywhere or lucks out and just shoots you through hunker anyway.
There's full cover on every map. Unless there's stuff in EW I didn't see or something. I'm at the point in my EW game I need to stop using grenades so I can stop blowing up all the damn alloys.
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Zxerolfor the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't doso i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered Userregular
There's been some discussions on Xcom2 being easier than Xcom:EW. I would just love it if the early game was made easier as it was problematical in Xcom:EW (early game was insanely hard on Impossible compared to mid game), and it turns out you get smacked into the dirt later on Legendary. Like if everything we've seen so far has been the kid gloves.
I don't think it's fair to say whether or not the game is easier right now since the builds available ends at the third month, so you don't know what later-game pressure is like. Legendary itself is supposed to be 1.5-2x as long as the other difficulties because of how everything is lengthened on the strategic game.
FWIW, Firaxis has said that the game has said the game is harder than EU and that there's a more ways to fail because of more random the game is. XCOM killers like Beagle have no problem stomping it, but a common sentiment for other, less hardcore previewers suggested the game is more ruthless than the last one. We'll see, though.
They're still rebalancing legend difficulty. When Jake was showing the Psi Op mission off last week, enemies were a lot harder than the same ones Beagle was running into.
They're still rebalancing legend difficulty. When Jake was showing the Psi Op mission off last week, enemies were a lot harder than the same ones Beagle was running into.
Yay?
... Is it 5th yet?
I'm gonna be so depressed on release because it's in the middle of a big work weekend for me. Depressed or sleep deprived.
There's been some discussions on Xcom2 being easier than Xcom:EW. I would just love it if the early game was made easier as it was problematical in Xcom:EW (early game was insanely hard on Impossible compared to mid game), and it turns out you get smacked into the dirt later on Legendary. Like if everything we've seen so far has been the kid gloves.
I don't think it's fair to say whether or not the game is easier right now since the builds available ends at the third month, so you don't know what later-game pressure is like. Legendary itself is supposed to be 1.5-2x as long as the other difficulties because of how everything is lengthened on the strategic game.
FWIW, Firaxis has said that the game has said the game is harder than EU and that there's a more ways to fail because of more random the game is. XCOM killers like Beagle have no problem stomping it, but a common sentiment for other, less hardcore previewers suggested the game is more ruthless than the last one. We'll see, though.
I really hope Legendary is basically an attempt to have a 'Long War' mode, rather than just thinning the margin for error of lower difficulties. In EU/EW, the major strategic challenge on Impossible was brought down to simple timing differences to Classic and lower difficulties. After a couple of restarts, and taking notes of the Satellite and Nexus build times, the strategic part could be timed out and worked out to avoid loss. The challenge was then down to the tactical side.
Long War did a lot more for the strategic level than narrow the margins of error.
So I'd like Legendary to do more than 'Instead of 2 contacts in month 1, you can only do 1, because build times!'
Tons of stuff seems crazy and OP in xcom2 too. Which is amazing as long as the enemy is just as challenging, I mean all the classes in Xcom2 just seem really cool and useful.
This whole video is amazing. Beagle has been arguing this particular point on stream a fair bit, ... I don't understand how people can think getting to shoot/act twice before the enemy can isn't the best way to go about ambushes, but apparently some people do.
It is definitely the best way, but I kinda wish it wasn't because it takes forever to do sometimes. It makes me wish there was an overwatch (break concealment) option, rather than only triggering if the enemies break the concealment for you.
The forever part is what makes me a bit leery about doing it 100% of the time. For missions like the Blacksite where there is no timer, absolutely, no questions, but on any mission where you have X turns to get somewhere, I think in that situation you can argue pros/cons on whether it's worth taking the time trying to get a pod to break concealment on your turn, which might mean wasting a turn if they fail to spot the bait, or take your chances on your own turn to try and get to the objective that much faster.
Just wanted to add, wouldn't it be hilarious if, after watching all these preview vids of people baiting aliens to break concealment on their turn, if Fraxis added some Day1 patch that gives a chance that the aliens just stand and shoot the soldier playing bait when they spot them on their turn, ala Itchy Trigger Tentacle?
There's full cover on every map. Unless there's stuff in EW I didn't see or something. I'm at the point in my EW game I need to stop using grenades so I can stop blowing up all the damn alloys.
Full cover, is not always easily accessible. There's frequently stretches where there's only half cover in the range of a blue move. That and enemy plasma tends to burn up whatever you're hiding behind. There's not a whole lot of full cover that won't get burned away or turned into half cover by plasma.
How do you shoot and use Hunker Down? I thought it used the entire turn's actions.
Well, some units can shoot and hunker in the same turn, but that tends to come with abilities clutch enough to clean out the mob as soon as they show.
I'll admit I didn't hunker that much on classic. If I hadn't made contact, overwatch meant I could at least do something when the pods showed up, and if I had then my efforts were best spent clearing up every xeno that was aware of me to ensure they couldn't take a shot. The safest position is one with every xeno dead. But hunkering can be quite useful when you need it.
Welp so much for my really great ironman classic run. Was doing fantastic, just entered the third month with full squads, lots of promoted characters, carapace armor, laser rifles, gene mods, and only like 3 casualties. No failed missions, 2 sats up and 2 more about to go online, ect.
Then Operation Confounding Light went all to shit. I forgot how you can get flanked so easily and by turn 3 half my squad was dead. I somehow managed to take fools out and fight all the way to the end of the train, with 1 turn left in the mission and my guy right there to finish it. Hilariously the soldier is this one guy I thought looked like Fin from the new Star Wars movie, so I named him FN- 2187 and put him in white armor with a storm trooper lookin helmet. I manage to survive the like 3 overwatched thinmen shots and get into the victory zone! Yay!! Wait nothing is happening...I can't click on the train controls at all even though I got there with an action to spare.
I lose the mission to a bug.
Guess I will be restarting.
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chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
Welp so much for my really great ironman classic run. Was doing fantastic, just entered the third month with full squads, lots of promoted characters, carapace armor, laser rifles, gene mods, and only like 3 casualties. No failed missions, 2 sats up and 2 more about to go online, ect.
Then Operation Confounding Light went all to shit. I forgot how you can get flanked so easily and by turn 3 half my squad was dead. I somehow managed to take fools out and fight all the way to the end of the train, with 1 turn left in the mission and my guy right there to finish it. Hilariously the soldier is this one guy I thought looked like Fin from the new Star Wars movie, so I named him FN- 2187 and put him in white armor with a storm trooper lookin helmet. I manage to survive the like 3 overwatched thinmen shots and get into the victory zone! Yay!! Wait nothing is happening...I can't click on the train controls at all even though I got there with an action to spare.
I lose the mission to a bug.
Guess I will be restarting.
You don't click on the train controls. You end turn with a guy in the zone.
It's different from other mission objectives, but it's not a bug.
I found this thing. Its now in a tab on my home computer, work computer, laptop and I'm considering opening a tab on my phone too so that I can check it on the move as well.
Welp so much for my really great ironman classic run. Was doing fantastic, just entered the third month with full squads, lots of promoted characters, carapace armor, laser rifles, gene mods, and only like 3 casualties. No failed missions, 2 sats up and 2 more about to go online, ect.
Then Operation Confounding Light went all to shit. I forgot how you can get flanked so easily and by turn 3 half my squad was dead. I somehow managed to take fools out and fight all the way to the end of the train, with 1 turn left in the mission and my guy right there to finish it. Hilariously the soldier is this one guy I thought looked like Fin from the new Star Wars movie, so I named him FN- 2187 and put him in white armor with a storm trooper lookin helmet. I manage to survive the like 3 overwatched thinmen shots and get into the victory zone! Yay!! Wait nothing is happening...I can't click on the train controls at all even though I got there with an action to spare.
I lose the mission to a bug.
Guess I will be restarting.
If I do another playthrough before XCOM 2 comes out, I'm seriously considering disabling the Slingshot DLC. I mean, Shilong might be amazing as a Heavy that can hit things, and they're no denying the boon of having a Battleship worth of loot so early in the game (especially the Fusion cores) but god that second mission is such a pain, I don't thing I've ever done it without being down to the last two soldiers in a squad of five or six.
I'm finally watching Beaglerush's XCOM 2 previews. Definitive enemy sight ranges and patrols, combined with their loss of their bullshit initiative dash make me very very happy.
I swear to God, the final fight in EW is just the greatest thing for it's sheer hilarity potential.
Last run, I crit the boss and brought him down to 3 HP, then crit another Etherereal and brought him down to sub-5 health. Ethereal acts first; he moves beside his boss, then attempts to MC one of my guys. Feedback kills him. He explodes, killing his boss. GG.
This run, which I just finished: shoot boss, shoot Ethereal, cast Rift. Boss is at exactly 4 HP, Ethereal still has about half of his HP left. No chance for hilarity this time, I guess?
Ethereal acts first. Siphons exactly the last remaining 4 HP from his boss. GG.
Wow the squadsight sniper build got the nerf hammer in Xcom2. Shooting from squadsight has an aim penalty, that goes up to at least -75% chance to hit and there's not really much else in their build that makes up for it. And their Headshot equivalent has an -25% aim penalty too. It seems like they're really focused around utility now instead of dealing high damage on single targets.
Yeah; alas, Squadsight has been reduced to more or less pure garbage in XCOM 2. On top of the accuracy hit & the fact that you have to waste an entire pick to get sqaudsight overwatch, there is no opportunist, which is an incredibly harsh nerf.
...Like, I'm pretty sure the only Sniper skill that is you'd want to lock-in is In the Zone On Steroids Holy Shit What Are They Thinking Serial; every other pick is decided stronger on the Gunslinger end.
With Love and Courage
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DuriniaEvolved from Space PotatoesRegistered Userregular
I found this thing. Its now in a tab on my home computer, work computer, laptop and I'm considering opening a tab on my phone too so that I can check it on the move as well.
For business reasons, I must preserve the outward sign of sanity.
--Mark Twain
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
edited January 2016
Between the Sharpshooters stat growth, aim weapon and pcs upgrades the aim penalty apparently isn't as big as a deal as it appears. Gunslingers do a large number of low damage attacks, which isn't so useful against say a single tough armoured target. The single big damage attack of the traditional Sniper has a valuable role to play, according to Beagle anyway.
The thing that concerns me though is that on a lot of mission types you want to keep moving, which limits the usefulness of a can't-move-and-shoot Sniper.
Had anyone else had any luck getting a refund on XCOM2 so they can get the digital deluxe edition instead? Put in a request yesterday and haven't heard anything. I'm way over the 14 day limit.
Slingshot is just straight-up dumb. The first mission always has a new alien in the progression, sometimes before you're ready for it, and the best way to do the mission is to slowly and tediously crawl on the sides of the graveyard with the VIP. The second mission is buggy and high ground overwatch aliens teleporting in is BS. The last mission has a pre-activated cyberdisc that is almost guaranteed a kill if you're not ready for it.
Furthermore, the material rewards from the last mission steal any urgency from the rest of the game. You're basically set for life, practically.
I swear to God, the final fight in EW is just the greatest thing for it's sheer hilarity potential.
Last run, I crit the boss and brought him down to 3 HP, then crit another Etherereal and brought him down to sub-5 health. Ethereal acts first; he moves beside his boss, then attempts to MC one of my guys. Feedback kills him. He explodes, killing his boss. GG.
This run, which I just finished: shoot boss, shoot Ethereal, cast Rift. Boss is at exactly 4 HP, Ethereal still has about half of his HP left. No chance for hilarity this time, I guess?
Ethereal acts first. Siphons exactly the last remaining 4 HP from his boss. GG.
Firaxis AI, you are best.
The final mission was never more than a victory lap anyway. You can one-shot snipe the boss from the previous room if you really want to. Don't even need to let him say his dire warning or whatever.
Posts
...This is why I personally stopped using Heavies (that, and because I prefer them as a MEC chassis). Even at 90%, the rockets are just too unreliable.
There WAS no full cover on that fucking map. And you can only stall for so long before the enemy starts setting up overwatch traps everywhere or lucks out and just shoots you through hunker anyway.
I don't think it's fair to say whether or not the game is easier right now since the builds available ends at the third month, so you don't know what later-game pressure is like. Legendary itself is supposed to be 1.5-2x as long as the other difficulties because of how everything is lengthened on the strategic game.
FWIW, Firaxis has said that the game has said the game is harder than EU and that there's a more ways to fail because of more random the game is. XCOM killers like Beagle have no problem stomping it, but a common sentiment for other, less hardcore previewers suggested the game is more ruthless than the last one. We'll see, though.
Yay?
... Is it 5th yet?
I'm gonna be so depressed on release because it's in the middle of a big work weekend for me. Depressed or sleep deprived.
I really hope Legendary is basically an attempt to have a 'Long War' mode, rather than just thinning the margin for error of lower difficulties. In EU/EW, the major strategic challenge on Impossible was brought down to simple timing differences to Classic and lower difficulties. After a couple of restarts, and taking notes of the Satellite and Nexus build times, the strategic part could be timed out and worked out to avoid loss. The challenge was then down to the tactical side.
Long War did a lot more for the strategic level than narrow the margins of error.
So I'd like Legendary to do more than 'Instead of 2 contacts in month 1, you can only do 1, because build times!'
Just wanted to add, wouldn't it be hilarious if, after watching all these preview vids of people baiting aliens to break concealment on their turn, if Fraxis added some Day1 patch that gives a chance that the aliens just stand and shoot the soldier playing bait when they spot them on their turn, ala Itchy Trigger Tentacle?
Full cover, is not always easily accessible. There's frequently stretches where there's only half cover in the range of a blue move. That and enemy plasma tends to burn up whatever you're hiding behind. There's not a whole lot of full cover that won't get burned away or turned into half cover by plasma.
Xcom and crusader kings players should have a "I hate myself"-off
... And I play both constantly. Welp.
Well, some units can shoot and hunker in the same turn, but that tends to come with abilities clutch enough to clean out the mob as soon as they show.
I'll admit I didn't hunker that much on classic. If I hadn't made contact, overwatch meant I could at least do something when the pods showed up, and if I had then my efforts were best spent clearing up every xeno that was aware of me to ensure they couldn't take a shot. The safest position is one with every xeno dead. But hunkering can be quite useful when you need it.
Why I fear the ocean.
Top 2 games on my Steam account. By a lot...
--Mark Twain
It can sometimes give you pretty odd milquetoast combos.
But occasionally, you'll get some kind of HEAT ammo rapid fire double-tap sniper and evil laugh all the way to the temple ship.
--Mark Twain
Then Operation Confounding Light went all to shit. I forgot how you can get flanked so easily and by turn 3 half my squad was dead. I somehow managed to take fools out and fight all the way to the end of the train, with 1 turn left in the mission and my guy right there to finish it. Hilariously the soldier is this one guy I thought looked like Fin from the new Star Wars movie, so I named him FN- 2187 and put him in white armor with a storm trooper lookin helmet. I manage to survive the like 3 overwatched thinmen shots and get into the victory zone! Yay!! Wait nothing is happening...I can't click on the train controls at all even though I got there with an action to spare.
I lose the mission to a bug.
Guess I will be restarting.
You don't click on the train controls. You end turn with a guy in the zone.
It's different from other mission objectives, but it's not a bug.
Why I fear the ocean.
S'up with that? (And no, the rocket didn't end up hitting them. I have another screenshot of the aftermath too.)
Ah, the last turn thing.
That is a bug. Sorry to hear about it.
Why I fear the ocean.
Too late now, but:
That bug will usually sort itself out if you reload.
No seriously though. It's a bug. A bug in a buggy mess of a game.
(...In fairness, Civ V's final incarnation was mostly bug free)
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/to?msg=XCOM 2 Release&p0=263&year=2016&month=2&day=5&hour=0&min=0&sec=0&fromtheme=generic
Please help.
If I do another playthrough before XCOM 2 comes out, I'm seriously considering disabling the Slingshot DLC. I mean, Shilong might be amazing as a Heavy that can hit things, and they're no denying the boon of having a Battleship worth of loot so early in the game (especially the Fusion cores) but god that second mission is such a pain, I don't thing I've ever done it without being down to the last two soldiers in a squad of five or six.
Last run, I crit the boss and brought him down to 3 HP, then crit another Etherereal and brought him down to sub-5 health. Ethereal acts first; he moves beside his boss, then attempts to MC one of my guys. Feedback kills him. He explodes, killing his boss. GG.
This run, which I just finished: shoot boss, shoot Ethereal, cast Rift. Boss is at exactly 4 HP, Ethereal still has about half of his HP left. No chance for hilarity this time, I guess?
Ethereal acts first. Siphons exactly the last remaining 4 HP from his boss. GG.
Firaxis AI, you are best.
Gunslinger is the new hotness.
...Like, I'm pretty sure the only Sniper skill that is you'd want to lock-in is In the Zone On Steroids Holy Shit What Are They Thinking Serial; every other pick is decided stronger on the Gunslinger end.
Here, I'll help:
(in the OP)
--Mark Twain
The thing that concerns me though is that on a lot of mission types you want to keep moving, which limits the usefulness of a can't-move-and-shoot Sniper.
Had anyone else had any luck getting a refund on XCOM2 so they can get the digital deluxe edition instead? Put in a request yesterday and haven't heard anything. I'm way over the 14 day limit.
Furthermore, the material rewards from the last mission steal any urgency from the rest of the game. You're basically set for life, practically.
I don't blame anyone who turns it the hell off.
The final mission was never more than a victory lap anyway. You can one-shot snipe the boss from the previous room if you really want to. Don't even need to let him say his dire warning or whatever.