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Vallen Chaos Valiant · 2012-10-21, 03:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skane

People generally start in America first, for the additional $110 at the start. Then cover Africa before the end of the first month for maximum earnings. There are a couple of threads detailing the method on the official forums. This applies to Classic and Impossible.

Cheers.

Ah, thanks. The site has interesting info.

I already finished the game in Asia Normal so restarting on NA as a Classic seem to be a good idea anyway. The concept of "just selling everything on grey market" to get 3 satellites by the end of the 1st month seems like a task for a savescummer like me.

Wandering_Youth · 2012-10-21, 04:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skane

People generally start in America first, for the additional $110 at the start. Then cover Africa before the end of the first month for maximum earnings. There are a couple of threads detailing the method on the official forums. This applies to Classic and Impossible.

Cheers.

What weapons and ranks are your best soldiers?

There are multiple ways to engage a Sectopod depending on what kind of squad you bring.

- If you have a sniper with squadsight I suggest having him be the damage dealer against the Sectopod. Move your entire squad back out of LOS while only having one unit spot for you each turn till you kill it. Make sure to move your spotter in and out of sight each turn. If you have disabling shot, I highly suggest you use it as it negates any firing action on the target for 1 turn giving you the chance to unload everything you got at it.

- Heavies work really against Sectopods if you got the right abilities. Supressing the target helps increase team survivability and if you have two heavies the negative Aim effects stacks on the Sectopod (-60 Aim hehe). If you got heat ammo it'll increase all damage done on mech units by 33% which is quite big. I had heavies with do 15-30 damage on Cyberdisk and Sectopods. Kills Cyberdisk in 1-2 hits and 2-3 on Sectopods.

- Using Assaults are risky if you don't them backup against a Sectopod. As you already know Assaults do more damage the closer they are to the target which means you got to get to it first. This itself is rather danagerous as Sectopods have infinite (I think..) reaction shots. If you try to charge the target from longest distances you'll likely be shot to death before you reach it. I recommend sneaking up to out while out of sight or close in on it if you had a sniper disable it for the turn. Rapid fire ability will most definitely be useful if you get real close to the target.

- If you got a Support unit with the dense smoke ability it'll give your units +40 defense in additional to whatever cover your behind.

If you're out in the open against the Sectopod with little cover I suggest using snipers and heavies, but if you're in close quarter situations then I suggest heavies, assaults support. Remember to try not to bunch up when fighting Sectopods as their main weapon can damage adjacent things. It'll hurt fellow soldiers and destroy your cover.

Dragonkid11 · 2012-10-21, 04:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myssa Rei

For reference. Ui's been inside the Infirmary since the fourth MONTH of my playthrough. I've already survived almost one year in the project.

Realistically,it would take a person far more longer to heal from a plasma burn

So much for the "Backup"

Vallen Chaos Valiant · 2012-10-21, 05:50

I find t interesting to hear that if you give Suppression, HEAT Ammo, Danger Zone and Mayhem to a Heavy, she can Suppress a Cyberdisc or Sectopod from maximum range and still inflict guaranteed 6 points damage to it and OHKO the drones near it.

The guaranteed 6 damage against robots is what interests me. It might be what makes the difference when the Heavy can't get close enough and couldn't fire a rocket.

*And the guaranteed 3 damage for other enemy units would be good for capturing aliens.

Wandering_Youth · 2012-10-21, 07:17

Yeah, I love suppression especially on classic mode where the enemy has "unfair" accuracy. It's a great backup ability if you failed to kill the alien on your turn and it definitely great for reducing the target's it's threat level so you can capture it more easily.

SaintessHeart · 2012-10-21, 07:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonkid11

Realistically,it would take a person far more longer to heal from a plasma burn

So much for the "Backup"

I thought when a plasma starts to cool, it has to pass through 3 viscous states - literally meaning that it has enough time to melt through an entire limb.

Shouldn't the soldier be already dead or driven nuts by the pain?

Vallen Chaos Valiant · 2012-10-21, 09:11

Trying the 3 Satellite Rush in Classic. To get enough money for 2nd uplink before March 17th, I needed to sell an intact energy core from the first UFO mission. Pity I don't have easy steam access.

Amusing that this is easy on Normal, but still possible on Classic. There is JUST enough power in Classic (30) to have two uplinks and a workshop. Normal give you 37 power would is more than enough.

To explain: Start in America, excavate to the right of the elevator immediately if it isn't open. Don't spend or buy anything and just fast forward to first abduction mission. It needs to happen by the 10th or you can't do this trick.

Pick Engineers as reward (If you savescum, try to get at least moderate difficulty as well if not Hard, to get more loot.). Do not blow up any loot. After mission, build Workshop in excavated space.

Then sell anything and everything in the Grey Market to get $231 total. Use that money to build three satellites.

By March 16th you should have had a UFO mission. On Classic you really should savescum until the UFO had an intact power core. Sell everything and anything to get $150, so you can build a 2nd Satellite Uplink next to the one you already got.

If you manage this, you would be able to have three Satellites ready to be deployed on the final day of the month, just before payday. You can use them to grab all of Africa if no one is in the red. Or otherwise use the three satellites to save yourself. Just remember to launch them all before payday so you would swim in cash.

SoldierOfDarkness · 2012-10-21, 16:47

Wouldn't it be easier to start in Asia or Africa instead?

I mean with NA I found that aircraft aren't really that expensive to begin with.

Skane · 2012-10-21, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoldierOfDarkness

Wouldn't it be easier to start in Asia or Africa instead?

I mean with NA I found that aircraft aren't really that expensive to begin with.

The "trick" here is that you have a higher starting income, which enables you to fast-track build 3 satellites, which if all goes to plan, you can use to "capture" Africa to further boost your income.

Satellites snowball.

Cheers.

Myssa Rei · 2012-10-21, 23:26

Just a quick question for fellow players: when do you screen your soldiers for Psi-competency? When I first got the Psi-lab, it was obvious how the higher-rankers went first, but these days I usually screen them when I get them... Which means that the results I get are kind of a mixed bag, especially considering the low Will every squaddie starts out with (around 50 or so). Now given some save-load abuse, I can get squaddies with talents off the bat, but recently I've been getting zilch (been trying to get another Psi-sniper).

hakkafusion · 2012-10-22, 01:11

Hello fellow xcom fanatics!
Thanks for all the great info, got a question
Give the following situation, which of the 3 country would you send your team on?
Keep in mind, I will have all 10 satellites by end of the month, so I do have a slight flexibility.
i'm thinking of doing the UK mission, and send the 6 satellites to fully cover africa and asia by end of the month, and i will have 1 more for flexibility, but I want to know your expert opinions =)

Vallen Chaos Valiant · 2012-10-22, 01:39

What is your game difficulty?

In general one always choose the abduction mission in Asia or Europe because it affects the most number of nations.

In your situation I would pick India because it has a greater overall panic reduction effect than UK. Then at the end of the month completely cover Africa (for the bonus) and use the left over satellites on the nations going Red in Europe and anywhere else.

Nations that go into red can't leave until the start of the new month (Just don't reject a terror mission outright), so you can delay any satellites until then.

Once you survive this month with ten satellites up, you pretty much won the game. Try to give as many Continents full coverage as you can next month, leaving Asia last because you already got their bonus.

SoldierOfDarkness · 2012-10-22, 09:29

Playing through Classic in the first month I lost India as I instead sent a sat over Canada as it was in the red...

So far I'm holding ok but we'll see as the months go by.

hakkafusion · 2012-10-22, 10:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

What is your game difficulty?

In general one always choose the abduction mission in Asia or Europe because it affects the most number of nations.

In your situation I would pick India because it has a greater overall panic reduction effect than UK. Then at the end of the month completely cover Africa (for the bonus) and use the left over satellites on the nations going Red in Europe and anywhere else.

Thanks for the reply. I'm on normal mode, so it's not too difficult, though my last (first) playthrough was definitely easier, this one the panic level just seem through the roof.
You make a good point, reducing panic in India would help more than others, I'll try that. Also got the alien base reduction I can utilize anytime, so always keep that in mind for any of your games.

Blaat · 2012-10-22, 10:50

So apparently on lower difficulties (easy and normal) the game cheats for the player increasing chances to hit for your squadies when they're down to 4 man or lower.

LoweGear · 2012-10-22, 11:03

Finally, after 4 aborted tries and much blood, sweat and tears later, I finally finished Classic Ironman!

This is how the final assault was won:

Also, a random moment from earlier in that playthrough. On a Supply Ship, I had gotten my team into position in front of a door for breaching. I open it, and this popped up:

The best thing about this Classic Ironman playthrough though? I only lost 3 guys in the entire campaign: two no-kill Rookies, and my top Support guy named Auguri Buonano, who got killed after capturing a Berserker because his partner panicked and couldn't bail him out of a flanking Muton. Not losing men on Classic is actually quite easy once you've nailed down the essential tactics necessary to do so.

Well, that was after my 4 previous attempts ended up in an all injured Barracks roster and inevitable defeat on the horizon.

SoldierOfDarkness · 2012-10-22, 11:55

I learned that you need to keep your squad together but not too close. Especially in ship to ship combat.

On Classic where the enemy has nearly 100% accuracy it's better to fall back after seeing the aliens and setting up a defensive position. This forces the aliens to engage you on your own terms and you stand a better chance.

BTW Lowe are your guys all using Titan armour?

LoweGear · 2012-10-22, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoldierOfDarkness

I learned that you need to keep your squad together but not too close. Especially in ship to ship combat.

On Classic where the enemy has nearly 100% accuracy it's better to fall back after seeing the aliens and setting up a defensive position. This forces the aliens to engage you on your own terms and you stand a better chance.

This. Over-extending your men and letting the enemy get through the gaps is the quickest way to lose a mission. Always make sure to engage the enemy according to your movements, not according to theirs. If there are too many enemies, either pull back and let them come to you or ensure that you have a rocket or grenade available. The important thing is to ensure that your entire team can bear down their firepower on an enemy whenever possible, and having backup plans just in case a shot fails. And no matter how much Dr. Vahlen protests, explosives are your best friend in the early game since they're powerful enough to kill Sectoids and almost never miss (rockets sometimes do), and even against tougher enemies explosives can be used to clear cover to raise your hit chances against them.

Also, nearly 100% accuracy is an exaggeration. Sure they're accurate, but that's the nature of probability. I've had flanking shots against me miss before, though I never count on that happening in my tactics.

Quote:

BTW Lowe are your guys all using Titan armour?

Titan Armor is standard, but not all of them. I use Ghost Armor for my Supports, and Archangels for my Squad Sight Snipers.

SoldierOfDarkness · 2012-10-22, 13:36

Hey if you lose a squadmate do you lose the equipment he's carrying? I use saves a lot so I haven't seen it

LoweGear · 2012-10-22, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoldierOfDarkness

Hey if you lose a squadmate do you lose the equipment he's carrying? I use saves a lot so I haven't seen it

You don't lose equipment if your squadmate only gets killed. On the other hand, I heard it's possible to lose equipment if your men gets killed and you lose the mission. Hadn't tested that one though.

Edit: Just did a quick test, and no, it appears that not even a complete squad wipe will make you lose equipment.

2012-10-21, 05:50	Link #344
Vallen Chaos Valiant Logician and Romantic Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Within my mind Age: 43	I find t interesting to hear that if you give Suppression, HEAT Ammo, Danger Zone and Mayhem to a Heavy, she can Suppress a Cyberdisc or Sectopod from maximum range and still inflict guaranteed 6 points damage to it and OHKO the drones near it. The guaranteed 6 damage against robots is what interests me. It might be what makes the difference when the Heavy can't get close enough and couldn't fire a rocket. And the guaranteed 3 damage for other enemy units would be good for capturing aliens. __________________ Last edited by Vallen Chaos Valiant; 2012-10-21 at 06:04.*

2012-10-21, 07:17	Link #345
Wandering_Youth lost in wonder forever... Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: edge of my dream in the land of twilight...ZzzZzZ	Yeah, I love suppression especially on classic mode where the enemy has "unfair" accuracy. It's a great backup ability if you failed to kill the alien on your turn and it definitely great for reducing the target's it's threat level so you can capture it more easily. __________________

2012-10-21, 09:11	Link #347
Vallen Chaos Valiant Logician and Romantic Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Within my mind Age: 43	Trying the 3 Satellite Rush in Classic. To get enough money for 2nd uplink before March 17th, I needed to sell an intact energy core from the first UFO mission. Pity I don't have easy steam access. Amusing that this is easy on Normal, but still possible on Classic. There is JUST enough power in Classic (30) to have two uplinks and a workshop. Normal give you 37 power would is more than enough. To explain: Start in America, excavate to the right of the elevator immediately if it isn't open. Don't spend or buy anything and just fast forward to first abduction mission. It needs to happen by the 10th or you can't do this trick. Pick Engineers as reward (If you savescum, try to get at least moderate difficulty as well if not Hard, to get more loot.). Do not blow up any loot. After mission, build Workshop in excavated space. Then sell anything and everything in the Grey Market to get $231 total. Use that money to build three satellites. By March 16th you should have had a UFO mission. On Classic you really should savescum until the UFO had an intact power core. Sell everything and anything to get $150, so you can build a 2nd Satellite Uplink next to the one you already got. If you manage this, you would be able to have three Satellites ready to be deployed on the final day of the month, just before payday. You can use them to grab all of Africa if no one is in the red. Or otherwise use the three satellites to save yourself. Just remember to launch them all before payday so you would swim in cash. __________________ Last edited by Vallen Chaos Valiant; 2012-10-21 at 10:41.

2012-10-21, 23:26	Link #350
Myssa Rei Moderate Haruhiist Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Metro Manila, Philippines Age: 42	Just a quick question for fellow players: when do you screen your soldiers for Psi-competency? When I first got the Psi-lab, it was obvious how the higher-rankers went first, but these days I usually screen them when I get them... Which means that the results I get are kind of a mixed bag, especially considering the low Will every squaddie starts out with (around 50 or so). Now given some save-load abuse, I can get squaddies with talents off the bat, but recently I've been getting zilch (been trying to get another Psi-sniper). __________________

2012-10-22, 01:39	Link #352
Vallen Chaos Valiant Logician and Romantic Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Within my mind Age: 43	What is your game difficulty? In general one always choose the abduction mission in Asia or Europe because it affects the most number of nations. In your situation I would pick India because it has a greater overall panic reduction effect than UK. Then at the end of the month completely cover Africa (for the bonus) and use the left over satellites on the nations going Red in Europe and anywhere else. Nations that go into red can't leave until the start of the new month (Just don't reject a terror mission outright), so you can delay any satellites until then. Once you survive this month with ten satellites up, you pretty much won the game. Try to give as many Continents full coverage as you can next month, leaving Asia last because you already got their bonus. __________________

2012-10-21, 16:47	Link #348
SoldierOfDarkness The Dark Knight Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: From the deepest abyss in the world, where you think? Age: 38	Wouldn't it be easier to start in Asia or Africa instead? I mean with NA I found that aircraft aren't really that expensive to begin with.

2012-10-22, 01:11	Link #351
hakkafusion Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2012	Hello fellow xcom fanatics! Thanks for all the great info, got a question Give the following situation, which of the 3 country would you send your team on? Keep in mind, I will have all 10 satellites by end of the month, so I do have a slight flexibility. i'm thinking of doing the UK mission, and send the 6 satellites to fully cover africa and asia by end of the month, and i will have 1 more for flexibility, but I want to know your expert opinions =)

2012-10-22, 09:29	Link #353
SoldierOfDarkness The Dark Knight Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: From the deepest abyss in the world, where you think? Age: 38	Playing through Classic in the first month I lost India as I instead sent a sat over Canada as it was in the red... So far I'm holding ok but we'll see as the months go by.

2012-10-22, 10:50	Link #355
Blaat Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004	So apparently on lower difficulties (easy and normal) the game cheats for the player increasing chances to hit for your squadies when they're down to 4 man or lower. __________________ MyAnimeList

2012-10-22, 11:03	Link #356
LoweGear Secret Society BLANKET Graphic Designer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 3 times the passion of normal flamenco	Finally, after 4 aborted tries and much blood, sweat and tears later, I finally finished Classic Ironman! This is how the final assault was won: Also, a random moment from earlier in that playthrough. On a Supply Ship, I had gotten my team into position in front of a door for breaching. I open it, and this popped up: The best thing about this Classic Ironman playthrough though? I only lost 3 guys in the entire campaign: two no-kill Rookies, and my top Support guy named Auguri Buonano, who got killed after capturing a Berserker because his partner panicked and couldn't bail him out of a flanking Muton. Not losing men on Classic is actually quite easy once you've nailed down the essential tactics necessary to do so. Well, that was after my 4 previous attempts ended up in an all injured Barracks roster and inevitable defeat on the horizon. __________________ Against all the evil that hell can conjure, all wickedness that mankind can produce... We will send unto them, only you.

2012-10-22, 11:55	Link #357
SoldierOfDarkness The Dark Knight Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: From the deepest abyss in the world, where you think? Age: 38	I learned that you need to keep your squad together but not too close. Especially in ship to ship combat. On Classic where the enemy has nearly 100% accuracy it's better to fall back after seeing the aliens and setting up a defensive position. This forces the aliens to engage you on your own terms and you stand a better chance. BTW Lowe are your guys all using Titan armour?

2012-10-22, 13:36	Link #359
SoldierOfDarkness The Dark Knight Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: From the deepest abyss in the world, where you think? Age: 38	Hey if you lose a squadmate do you lose the equipment he's carrying? I use saves a lot so I haven't seen it