The FAA trumps Advent when it comes to drone regulation. Advent simply has no idea the things are being used for black ops and not delivering Amazon packages.blackjack wrote:I do wonder sometimes why the aliens wouldn't see them and react to them. I guess they're Stealth Gremlins?
X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Moderators: LawBeefaroni, Arcanis, $iljanus
- Paingod
- Posts: 13135
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- baelthazar
- Posts: 4380
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:12 am
- Location: Indiana
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Bless me father, for I have sinned. It has been 13,140 days since my last confession. I know that it is a sin, but I am a save scummer. Please forgive me.
Of course, I have been a save scummer ever since the first XCOM (and I refuse to play Europa Universalis or Crusader Kings without it - basically anything where a RNG can totally ruin all of your preparation). That being said, I am not finding the Veteran level all that difficult. Sure, the damage levels are certainly high and you almost ALWAYS come back with wounded (sometimes, the entire squad), but I have managed to avoid deaths fairly well. Now, I am worried about the DOOM CLOCK, as it is sitting at the 50% mark and I still have to unlock two regions to find facilities and lower it (and my intel is sitting at 25, when I need something like 60-70). Intel appears to be a bottleneck on expansion for the game, I find it very hard to acquire and spend it incredibly fast.
One thing I did was rush getting the extra squaddie. That certainly is helpful. I also tried to get the armor as soon as possible, and that increases survivability by a huge margin (particularly when you get to tier three). I have found that, as soon as you research weapons that will make you dominate the current set of enemies, a new set of enemies drops in to balance the scales (I now have tier three weapons and the enemies are all covered in armor and have giant health bars, it is rare to get a one-hit kill). It feels a little "gamey" but I see why this happens, as it would get very boring if you did not have a challenge.
Some things I have noticed:
Haywire protocol is almost a necessary skill. They stack it up against a skill that allows you to remove negative conditions, which just seems really weak in comparison. Since the mechanized enemies are often the hardest to kill and the heaviest damage dealers, not having Haywire protocol is basically shooting yourself in the foot.
Psi-Ops are amazing. My lady not only has all sorts of skills, she rarely gets hit, is immune to lots of stuff, and seems to be a crack shot. I need to train up a second one, just to have more options.
Rangers. Win. The. Game. As you guys described above, the Rangers do so many cool things. Later, the melee damage output shrinks a bit, but otherwise that shotgun is just pure heaven (and the melee hits seems to have a higher "to hit" rating that shots). That said:
My character turned out to be a Sharpshooter, and I specc'ed him as a full Gunslinger. I may need to retrain that Hunker Down skill (I almost never hunker down) but otherwise the Gunsliger pistol skills are just awesome. Also, I gave him the sim that boosts Aim, so he has an almost 90% hit every time.
Although the performance is still a little jerky in cutscenes and the world map, my missions seem smooth. I do notice some texture popping, but that seems to be a problem with almost every Firaxis game (the new Civs are especially bad with texture popping). I'll admit, I think XCOM2 might not only be my GOTY, it may be at the top of the best games I have played (at least in the last decade - right above Metal Gear Solid V). I love the change to being a resistance, it makes the game feel more interesting and changes things up from the "defense of earth" paradigm. I am also watching the show Colony, and it goes super well with a night of playing XCOM2 (it is on USA, I suggest you guys check it out, it reminds me of Alien Nation meets XCOM2 meets V). Actually, XCOM2 feels a little like playing V... which might explain the sense of familiarity and draw.
Lastly, for Jztemple:
Of course, I have been a save scummer ever since the first XCOM (and I refuse to play Europa Universalis or Crusader Kings without it - basically anything where a RNG can totally ruin all of your preparation). That being said, I am not finding the Veteran level all that difficult. Sure, the damage levels are certainly high and you almost ALWAYS come back with wounded (sometimes, the entire squad), but I have managed to avoid deaths fairly well. Now, I am worried about the DOOM CLOCK, as it is sitting at the 50% mark and I still have to unlock two regions to find facilities and lower it (and my intel is sitting at 25, when I need something like 60-70). Intel appears to be a bottleneck on expansion for the game, I find it very hard to acquire and spend it incredibly fast.
One thing I did was rush getting the extra squaddie. That certainly is helpful. I also tried to get the armor as soon as possible, and that increases survivability by a huge margin (particularly when you get to tier three). I have found that, as soon as you research weapons that will make you dominate the current set of enemies, a new set of enemies drops in to balance the scales (I now have tier three weapons and the enemies are all covered in armor and have giant health bars, it is rare to get a one-hit kill). It feels a little "gamey" but I see why this happens, as it would get very boring if you did not have a challenge.
Some things I have noticed:
Haywire protocol is almost a necessary skill. They stack it up against a skill that allows you to remove negative conditions, which just seems really weak in comparison. Since the mechanized enemies are often the hardest to kill and the heaviest damage dealers, not having Haywire protocol is basically shooting yourself in the foot.
Psi-Ops are amazing. My lady not only has all sorts of skills, she rarely gets hit, is immune to lots of stuff, and seems to be a crack shot. I need to train up a second one, just to have more options.
Rangers. Win. The. Game. As you guys described above, the Rangers do so many cool things. Later, the melee damage output shrinks a bit, but otherwise that shotgun is just pure heaven (and the melee hits seems to have a higher "to hit" rating that shots). That said:
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
Although the performance is still a little jerky in cutscenes and the world map, my missions seem smooth. I do notice some texture popping, but that seems to be a problem with almost every Firaxis game (the new Civs are especially bad with texture popping). I'll admit, I think XCOM2 might not only be my GOTY, it may be at the top of the best games I have played (at least in the last decade - right above Metal Gear Solid V). I love the change to being a resistance, it makes the game feel more interesting and changes things up from the "defense of earth" paradigm. I am also watching the show Colony, and it goes super well with a night of playing XCOM2 (it is on USA, I suggest you guys check it out, it reminds me of Alien Nation meets XCOM2 meets V). Actually, XCOM2 feels a little like playing V... which might explain the sense of familiarity and draw.
Lastly, for Jztemple:
Spoiler:
My Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CythUulu/videos
- jztemple2
- Posts: 11599
- Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
- Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Hey, anyone doing actual Skullmining, after the one mandatory Skulljacking you have to do? I've gotten so adverse to letting any ADVENT soldiers stay alive anywhere near me that I always take them out fast. In my current mission in fact is the first time one has actually been near my troops and damn if I didn't forget to bring a Skulljack with me . So, is it worth it to Skullmine?
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
- Sepiche
- Posts: 8112
- Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 12:00 pm
- Location: Olathe, KS
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
From what I've read, yes. It gives you sweet, sweet intel and is the only way to actually stop all the dark projects before they happen.jztemple2 wrote:Hey, anyone doing actual Skullmining, after the one mandatory Skulljacking you have to do? I've gotten so adverse to letting any ADVENT soldiers stay alive anywhere near me that I always take them out fast. In my current mission in fact is the first time one has actually been near my troops and damn if I didn't forget to bring a Skulljack with me . So, is it worth it to Skullmine?
- Newcastle
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:22 am
- Location: reading over a shoulder near you
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
FYI - you have to research the two skulls (mining & jack) to get that to work; took me a few to figure it out.
I've tried it a few times, but no strong results. It's like hacking and gives you a small % chance at various rewards; the one's i've been after (uncovering bases) are around 2-5% and never seem to get that. I've tried it about 3 times now, no sucess at getting the bases. I'm still gonna play with it, and try it with a high hacking specialist to see if that works.
I've tried it a few times, but no strong results. It's like hacking and gives you a small % chance at various rewards; the one's i've been after (uncovering bases) are around 2-5% and never seem to get that. I've tried it about 3 times now, no sucess at getting the bases. I'm still gonna play with it, and try it with a high hacking specialist to see if that works.
Bayraktar!!!!
Trump and the GOP; putting the banana in our Republic.
Trump and the GOP; putting the banana in our Republic.
- Brian
- Posts: 12565
- Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 8:51 am
- Location: South of Heaven
- Contact:
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I actually carried a Skulljack for a few missions after using it the first time but the option to use it remained grayed out despite there being Advent officers within distance of my Ranger.
The XCom2 wikia has this to say: "It seems that this option is later disabled in missions."
I haven't yet built a Skullmine so can't comment on that.
Edit: So it seems you use the Skulljack once and then have to upgrade to the Skullmine to use it afterwards.
The XCom2 wikia has this to say: "It seems that this option is later disabled in missions."
I haven't yet built a Skullmine so can't comment on that.
Edit: So it seems you use the Skulljack once and then have to upgrade to the Skullmine to use it afterwards.
"Don't believe everything you read on the internet." - Abraham Lincoln
- jztemple2
- Posts: 11599
- Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
- Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I think that you have to build the Skullmine to do any Skulling later in the game. OK, I'll start making sure I've got a couple with my Rangers again. I've been fitting them out with Mindshield but of course now that I have, I don't see any more SectoidsBrian wrote:I actually carried a Skulljack for a few missions after using it the first time but the option to use it remained grayed out despite there being Advent officers within distance of my Ranger.
The XCom2 wikia has this to say: "It seems that this option is later disabled in missions."
I haven't yet built a Skullmine so can't comment on that.
Edit: So it seems you use the Skulljack once and then have to upgrade to the Skullmine to use it afterwards.
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
- coopasonic
- Posts: 20980
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Note that the skull jack gives +25 hacking. I carry it on my haywire specialist to hack the biggest robots.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- Sudy
- Posts: 8277
- Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 3:11 am
- Location: Ontario, Canada
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Finally got around to playing the first post-tutorial mission. Brian and myself came up as mandatory selections. He wound up as the hero of the day, completing the objective and taking out four enemies including the finishing blow. He was gravely wounded however, suffering reduced will.
There's one thing that annoys me incredibly just as it did in the original XCOM though, and that's pathing. There's no indication of what route a unit will take, other than presumably the most direct. This blew my concealment before it was desired in this mission, and wound up poisoning my units many times unnecessarily in the last game.
There's one thing that annoys me incredibly just as it did in the original XCOM though, and that's pathing. There's no indication of what route a unit will take, other than presumably the most direct. This blew my concealment before it was desired in this mission, and wound up poisoning my units many times unnecessarily in the last game.
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
- Stuie
- Posts: 698
- Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:50 pm
- Location: Upper Gwynedd, PA
- Contact:
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
That should not be the case. It should show the path that your soldier will take, and even displays a red icon at the destination if you will blow cover. This assumes that you will be passing through an area that you know is observed; if you wander into an area that only becomes observed as the fog is rolled back... well that's a different story.Sudy Nym wrote:There's one thing that annoys me incredibly just as it did in the original XCOM though, and that's pathing. There's no indication of what route a unit will take, other than presumably the most direct. This blew my concealment before it was desired in this mission, and wound up poisoning my units many times unnecessarily in the last game.
- jztemple2
- Posts: 11599
- Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
- Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
My grenadier jztemple mugs for the camera on the shuttle as he is noted as "Most Under Fire". Oddly, he sees this as a good thing:
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
- AWS260
- Posts: 12681
- Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:51 pm
- Location: Brooklyn
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I'm surprised it's taken so long for someone to translate the alien language spoken by ADVENT soldiers. It's impossible to know for sure, but it sounds accurate to me.
- Sudy
- Posts: 8277
- Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 3:11 am
- Location: Ontario, Canada
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
You may be correct, it may have been the latter. I think it annoyed me because the destination was still in a concealed area. That said, I'd still love the ability to control routes fully. But I appreciate that may not be in keeping with Firaxis's streamlined design philosophy.Stuie wrote:That should not be the case. It should show the path that your soldier will take, and even displays a red icon at the destination if you will blow cover. This assumes that you will be passing through an area that you know is observed; if you wander into an area that only becomes observed as the fog is rolled back... well that's a different story.Sudy Nym wrote:There's one thing that annoys me incredibly just as it did in the original XCOM though, and that's pathing. There's no indication of what route a unit will take, other than presumably the most direct. This blew my concealment before it was desired in this mission, and wound up poisoning my units many times unnecessarily in the last game.
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
- AWS260
- Posts: 12681
- Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:51 pm
- Location: Brooklyn
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I believe that control-right click lets you set waypoints.Sudy Nym wrote:I'd still love the ability to control routes fully.
- jztemple2
- Posts: 11599
- Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
- Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Well, the Skullmining wasn't very impressive. Had two opportunities on one mission and to get the info on an alien facility was only a 3% chance. I'd rather not risk getting a soldier killed trying to get so close. So I'm assuming I'll uncover the rest of the facilities the normal way, by making contact with new areas.
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
- Brian
- Posts: 12565
- Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 8:51 am
- Location: South of Heaven
- Contact:
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
It's like an XCom version of Bad Lip Reading.AWS260 wrote:I'm surprised it's taken so long for someone to translate the alien language spoken by ADVENT soldiers. It's impossible to know for sure, but it sounds accurate to me.
"Don't believe everything you read on the internet." - Abraham Lincoln
- jztemple2
- Posts: 11599
- Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
- Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I'm hitting the sack, but a quick update on my second campaign. I'm at 43 hours all told in Steam. My first campaign used 18 of those hours, so I'm 25 hours in on my second one. I thought I was doing well and getting ahead, but I just got back from a couple of brutal missions that introduced aliens I hadn't seen before. I've been spending supplies like crazy to upgrade my guns and I think right now my rifles and shotguns are topped out, just waiting for more money for upgrading the sniper guns. So of course I'm now faced with yet another facility mission, but before that I just got one of those mission calls that if you blow it off you lose contact with an area, so I can't skip it. So two tough missions in a row, no supplies... and I know I'm going to be seeing that damn Avenger Defense mission soon too. Damn, I had hopes it would get easier as I upgraded, it seems to be getting tougher
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
- Victoria Raverna
- Posts: 5077
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:23 am
- Location: Jakarta
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
You can use waypoints to move your soldiers.Sudy Nym wrote:You may be correct, it may have been the latter. I think it annoyed me because the destination was still in a concealed area. That said, I'd still love the ability to control routes fully. But I appreciate that may not be in keeping with Firaxis's streamlined design philosophy.Stuie wrote:That should not be the case. It should show the path that your soldier will take, and even displays a red icon at the destination if you will blow cover. This assumes that you will be passing through an area that you know is observed; if you wander into an area that only becomes observed as the fog is rolled back... well that's a different story.Sudy Nym wrote:There's one thing that annoys me incredibly just as it did in the original XCOM though, and that's pathing. There's no indication of what route a unit will take, other than presumably the most direct. This blew my concealment before it was desired in this mission, and wound up poisoning my units many times unnecessarily in the last game.
- Paingod
- Posts: 13135
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Tactically, I'm doing well in my Commander/Non-Ironman playthrough. I come back with one to three wounded (most often Gravely) and not many deaths. I mentioned I save at the start of a missions and load if there's a death - I haven't had to load in a long time now, and the last death was acceptable to me... a VIP Rescue mission, and with 4 turns left ADVENT dropped two Stunners and a MEC right on top of the evac zone. Beyond that, thanks to a graphics glitch, I got to see that there were three nasties on the roof, overlooking my exit to the evac zone... hmmm ... VIP in tow ... with two squads between me and the exit and only 4 turns to get there.
It ended up being a matter of sacrificing a soldier. My Grenadier laid down a Smoke grenade instead of sprinting; this made the VIP and three team mates near impossible to hit. The Ranger was already in a good position and tossed a Mimic beacon to draw fire. The Grenadier just couldn't get to the evac. The last thing I got to see was her getting ripped out of the courtyard, steps from safety, and sucked back into a dark room where she was poisoned, crushed, and eviscerated. The worst part was that she went into the mission Shaken and made it the entire way without a scratch until that last turn. She was terrified of getting back on the Skyranger, but I made her go anyway.
On the world map, though, I might be lost. The Avatar bar is almost full (the clock isn't ticking yet) and I have to jump through two "Contact the Resistance" timers to stop it. I've only got the Intel to get to the next area unlocked and I doubt I'll be able to get the last jump done in time. I'll still try - but it's not likely. I think that on my next playthrough I'll be hoarding Intel like a fiend. I spent a lot on the Black Market for soldier mods, supplies, and research to try and be more survivable in combat. While that worked, I screwed the pooch internationally.
It ended up being a matter of sacrificing a soldier. My Grenadier laid down a Smoke grenade instead of sprinting; this made the VIP and three team mates near impossible to hit. The Ranger was already in a good position and tossed a Mimic beacon to draw fire. The Grenadier just couldn't get to the evac. The last thing I got to see was her getting ripped out of the courtyard, steps from safety, and sucked back into a dark room where she was poisoned, crushed, and eviscerated. The worst part was that she went into the mission Shaken and made it the entire way without a scratch until that last turn. She was terrified of getting back on the Skyranger, but I made her go anyway.
On the world map, though, I might be lost. The Avatar bar is almost full (the clock isn't ticking yet) and I have to jump through two "Contact the Resistance" timers to stop it. I've only got the Intel to get to the next area unlocked and I doubt I'll be able to get the last jump done in time. I'll still try - but it's not likely. I think that on my next playthrough I'll be hoarding Intel like a fiend. I spent a lot on the Black Market for soldier mods, supplies, and research to try and be more survivable in combat. While that worked, I screwed the pooch internationally.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- blackjack
- Posts: 225
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:52 pm
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
"Toucan" is clearly a Fruit Loops reference, something embedded in the human past of an ADVENT soldier. I enjoyed that vid.AWS260 wrote:I'm surprised it's taken so long for someone to translate the alien language spoken by ADVENT soldiers. It's impossible to know for sure, but it sounds accurate to me.
Jake Solomon Tweeted the translations were "close"
On my initial runthrough, I'm so close to being able to get some good armor but still can't quite get the right ingredients (not enough corpses or Elerium cores or whatever) and the doom meter going Full forced me to tackle a "Very Difficult" 'anti-doom meter' mission in the southern tip of South America with what I could scrounge up.
I felt like in a prior guerilla warfare battle ("Difficult" label), I didn't scum save quite as much as usual. At times I finally felt confident in my tactical acumen -- even arranged a near perfect concealed overwatch ambush on a Codex that prevented her from cloning/teleporting at all. Yet it doesn't really matter because I did everything in the base wrong, wrong and wrong. So I'm debating whether to continue on the ragged edge of disaster or just delete all my dozens of savegames and start over from a better foundation of semi-competence. Should be an easy choice but throwing away 23 hours of play as essentially a "trial and error tutorial" isn't really an easy decision to make, I found.
- tgb
- Posts: 30690
- Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:33 pm
- Location: Tucson, AZ
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
That's pretty funny.AWS260 wrote:I'm surprised it's taken so long for someone to translate the alien language spoken by ADVENT soldiers. It's impossible to know for sure, but it sounds accurate to me.
I think it may be time to restart. My last two missions in a row went very badly, and now I'm down to a handful of rookies, 3/4 of which are still on the injured list, and the Avatar timer half full. I'm tempted to soldier on a bit longer just to see what a loss looks like and what the Avatar project is, but I already read somewhere that it's
Spoiler:
Last edited by tgb on Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
- Paingod
- Posts: 13135
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I need to start documenting what it costs to make everything so I can actually tell what's safe to sell off on the Black Market. I'm beginning to think that any trade on the Black Market is a "two steps forward, one step back" scenario and should be done carefully. Unfortunately, careful doesn't work when you have no idea what things are needed for.blackjack wrote:I'm so close to being able to get some good armor but still can't quite get the right ingredients (not enough corpses or Elerium cores or whatever) and the doom meter going Full forced me to tackle a "Very Difficult" 'anti-doom meter' mission in the southern tip of South America with what I could scrounge up.
The data is probably out on the interwebs somewhere, too. It would be immensely useful to have. Then I could know if it's safe to unload my stock of old corpses, or if I need to hold on to them until the bitter end.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- blackjack
- Posts: 225
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:52 pm
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
What's funny is folks like me bumbling is probably the whole story reason for a sequel ya know. That is, someone terrible played XCOM EU and lost, and then what does that lead to? Unfortunately, I'm history repeating itself. I'm a time loop. I'm that movie Source Code.
I mean, I originally intended to pull up some Wiki/FAQ stuff on my iPad and always have it ready for consultation. Just figured it made more sense to stay "within the game world" and just muddle along. Not sure I'm a "better" player now, but I feel much better informed than when I started on launch day.
I think my now obviously unwise Black Market thinking was to always keep one of anything (corpses in particular) in case I hadn't researched it yet. It truly never occurred to me that armor "recipes" would requires soooo many corpses. If I replay, I too will probably scribble a list of things to never sell. Though then I'll need to be smarter about mission choices and building the contact network faster I reckon, so I have more income and don't need to rely on the black market so much.
I mean, I originally intended to pull up some Wiki/FAQ stuff on my iPad and always have it ready for consultation. Just figured it made more sense to stay "within the game world" and just muddle along. Not sure I'm a "better" player now, but I feel much better informed than when I started on launch day.
I think my now obviously unwise Black Market thinking was to always keep one of anything (corpses in particular) in case I hadn't researched it yet. It truly never occurred to me that armor "recipes" would requires soooo many corpses. If I replay, I too will probably scribble a list of things to never sell. Though then I'll need to be smarter about mission choices and building the contact network faster I reckon, so I have more income and don't need to rely on the black market so much.
- coopasonic
- Posts: 20980
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Started the final mission last night... it will end tonight... one way or the other.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- NickAragua
- Posts: 6106
- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:20 pm
- Location: Boston, MA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
RE: Skulljacking
I've been skulljacking left and right just fine. It's even better when you give the skulljack to one of your supports with high hack rating. At 70% hit odds, you get intel AND you get to instakill an advent guy. Just equip the skulljack on the guy and you're good to go. You might be restricted to skulljacking a type of guy only once?
In my game, I'm hurting pretty bad for troops. I lost two guys hacking some stupid alien relay when a reinforcement squad of mutons along with an advent + mech squad dropped in. Meanwhile, my guys keep getting shot up by cheap bullshit shots from low ground to high cover. So, I was at a point last night where I had a terror mission pop up and I only had three guys, so I had to ignore it for a couple of hours while I flew to the black market to sell some sectoid corpses to the local sushi lovers or whatever, then flew to resistance HQ to buy a non-shitty veteran. Thankfully, the aliens were patient while I was screwing around. Situation's a little better right now, but that Avatar project is still only 4 pips short of completion and all the alien bases are at least two hops away from my territory.
I also encountered a berserker last night. I was very unimpressed. The first one simply ran up to my team and died. The second one enraged when my sniper shot him from long range, ran at a nearby advent guy and killed him, then started lumbering towards my team. He actually managed to hurt one of my guys, but only for 5 hit points? Kind of sad.
The other thing I'd like to talk about is the "stock" series of mods. The ones that let you deal damage on a miss. It's kind of a mixed bag. They're great for taking out weakened aliens or removing suppression/overwatch. What they're not great at is shooting at Codex aliens.
I've been skulljacking left and right just fine. It's even better when you give the skulljack to one of your supports with high hack rating. At 70% hit odds, you get intel AND you get to instakill an advent guy. Just equip the skulljack on the guy and you're good to go. You might be restricted to skulljacking a type of guy only once?
In my game, I'm hurting pretty bad for troops. I lost two guys hacking some stupid alien relay when a reinforcement squad of mutons along with an advent + mech squad dropped in. Meanwhile, my guys keep getting shot up by cheap bullshit shots from low ground to high cover. So, I was at a point last night where I had a terror mission pop up and I only had three guys, so I had to ignore it for a couple of hours while I flew to the black market to sell some sectoid corpses to the local sushi lovers or whatever, then flew to resistance HQ to buy a non-shitty veteran. Thankfully, the aliens were patient while I was screwing around. Situation's a little better right now, but that Avatar project is still only 4 pips short of completion and all the alien bases are at least two hops away from my territory.
I also encountered a berserker last night. I was very unimpressed. The first one simply ran up to my team and died. The second one enraged when my sniper shot him from long range, ran at a nearby advent guy and killed him, then started lumbering towards my team. He actually managed to hurt one of my guys, but only for 5 hit points? Kind of sad.
The other thing I'd like to talk about is the "stock" series of mods. The ones that let you deal damage on a miss. It's kind of a mixed bag. They're great for taking out weakened aliens or removing suppression/overwatch. What they're not great at is shooting at Codex aliens.
Black Lives Matter
- Paingod
- Posts: 13135
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Last night I tried to research an experimental ammo type - and got Dragon ammo. Burn damage... but just one copy of it. It adds 3 damage on the enemy's next turn, so anyone I've ignited and has 3 or less health left becomes a minimal priority. It was delicious on my best Sniper - Kill Zone, burn damage - the man's a monster. He also leveled up and got a special - Shredder. So now he's burninating, shredding, and rapid fire killing. He kind of makes the rest of the team look like underachievers.
I opted to block the Alien's attempts to create Viper ammo, too. No way did I want to deal with being poisoned after being hit.
I opted to block the Alien's attempts to create Viper ammo, too. No way did I want to deal with being poisoned after being hit.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- coopasonic
- Posts: 20980
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I really like the choices they give you for missions. Do I want to stop that dark event? But I need another engineer... but man intel would be so useful right now.Paingod wrote:I opted to block the Alien's attempts to create Viper ammo, too. No way did I want to deal with being poisoned after being hit.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter
- Newcastle
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:22 am
- Location: reading over a shoulder near you
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
From what i noticed on the dark avatar countdown.......NickAragua wrote:Situation's a little better right now, but that Avatar project is still only 4 pips short of completion and all the alien bases are at least two hops away from my territory.
When the bars go full red you have 20 days to hit a project site. So far, I've hit 2 sites and they knocked the project down two bars each. I then go around my business and wait for the bar to go full and get the 20 day countdown. Mind you, i've done the 20 day countdown only once. But, the larger point being is that you can stall hitting those sites until it goes full on red bars. Just prepare yourself for it. basically what i am doing is that i am opening up those countries that have sites, so when the timer does go full and they give me 20 days i can zoom straight away to that site and knock the bar down.
I've also read that as the bar gets more fuller it slows down before adding another bar.
I am playing on rookie though, sooo...might be different on higher levels.
I think I am about 1/3 of the way through and have only unlocked about 7 countries (all of asia, all of oceania & east africa)
Oh am curious where everyone else started? I started in Asia and the "artic circle" is my home base. Wonder if starting is random.
RE: Black market
I have browsed the site there for stuff, but I've not sold one single item off to them. I think I bought an engineer & scientist but thats about it. I'm ok with corpses, but am very tight with supplies right now and thats my main constricting factor.
Bayraktar!!!!
Trump and the GOP; putting the banana in our Republic.
Trump and the GOP; putting the banana in our Republic.
- Paingod
- Posts: 13135
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I'm not seeing it slow down on Commander. Last night I was advised that the aliens had built another base and I got two pips at the same time. That puts me just two from seeing the clock.Newcastle wrote:I've also read that as the bar gets more fuller it slows down before adding another bar.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- blackjack
- Posts: 225
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:52 pm
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I started on the east coast of the USA. Waited too long to build my network. Finally have reached the southern tip of South America, which unlocked access to Africa but there's something bad going on in Russia that I'll probably never be able to reach.Oh am curious where everyone else started? I started in Asia and the "artic circle" is my home base. Wonder if starting is random.
I'm tackling a 'very difficult' project site there (southern tip of South America), but the Avatar meter's full now, so I don't know ... I mean I don't know if it's worth perservering or reloading from an early save or just doing a wipe and starting over.
- coopasonic
- Posts: 20980
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
- AWS260
- Posts: 12681
- Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:51 pm
- Location: Brooklyn
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Mexico. My first Resistance connection was with the East Coast, then the West Coast, and I've just added the Arctic Circle.Newcastle wrote:Oh am curious where everyone else started? I started in Asia and the "artic circle" is my home base. Wonder if starting is random.
- Paingod
- Posts: 13135
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I started off on the West Coast of North America. Basically, the far left side of nowhere as far as the game is concerned. I'd rather have been somewhere in Europe.Oh am curious where everyone else started? I started in Asia and the "artic circle" is my home base. Wonder if starting is random.
That happened to me, too. I spent all my time clearing space, researching, gathering resources, and improving the Avenger and wasn't pushing OUT enough at all. I think from now on at least 80% of Intel is going to be saved for Resistance Expansion and I'm not going to piss it all away on speeding up squad improvements.blackjack wrote:I started on the east coast of the USA. Waited too long to build my network. Finally have reached the southern tip of South America, which unlocked access to Africa but there's something bad going on in Russia that I'll probably never be able to reach.
The aliens have bases throughout Asia, essentially as far away from me as possible. There's one in Chile. That's the one I'm trying to get to in hopes of averting global disaster.
I don't know if I'm going to ride this out and try to recover. At worst, I get to see what the end of the game looks like. At best I learn from my mistakes. I may go Commander/Ironman next game now that I've got a good feel for the tactical layer and how to handle it. If I do start over I have a better early game plan in mind that doesn't involve having no idea where to get a second Engineer for a month and hemorrhaging Intel on mediocre weapon mods and supplies.
I'd clear two rooms before building anything and put the AWC in the middle column on the top so it can benefit from a Workshop in mid-game. That means the GTS in the first corner afterwards (should be around the time I get my first Sergeant), and a Power relay below it (also accessible from a Workshop later). With those, I need the Resistance Comms on the right of the Workshop (two more clearings first) immediately and then just start pushing pushing pushing out - instead of farting around in NA for months chasing every project that appears on the map. I think I may have mistakenly pushed too far down my Avenger and was spending 30 days clearing Elerium debris before I really needed it; I've got a big pile of the stuff and really nothing to use it for yet.
Tactically, I think I'm going to go for Armor over Magnetic guns first, to open a second inventory slot and make use of Mimics and Scanners earlier to prevent more deaths. I'm not going to waste Supplies on things like Nanoscale Vests for 1 HP at the cost of a grenade, and I certainly won't build three of them and then have to sell them at a loss at the Black Market when I realize what I did.
I think I want to standardize my weapon builds with mods, too. Maybe something like...
Snipers: Repeater, Hair Trigger, and Laser Sight - improved chances to insta-kill, free shots, and critical hit.
Grenadiers: Scope, Autoloader, and Extended Magazine - Better aim, more ammo for a lot of Suppression fire.
Specialists: Stock, Repeater, and Extended Magazine - Always do minor damage, insta-kill, more ammo.
Rangers (Shotgun): Laser Sight, Scope, Hair Trigger - Extra Crit (stacks on the Shotgun bonus), Aim (offset the Shotgun somewhat), and free shots.
If I can, I'd give everyone Scopes, Repeaters, Hair Triggers - but I don't think I'll find enough of them - so I'll need to prioritize.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- Sepiche
- Posts: 8112
- Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 12:00 pm
- Location: Olathe, KS
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I started in the arctic, and first expansion was in the territory to the west of that.
Loving the game so far. I think I'm right about to start the final missions and I managed to get the Avatar project down to just 2 pips after it spiked a bit in the mid game. I basically misjudged how long it takes to get resistance comms setup and how important those are in being able to weaken the avatar project.
Once I realized my mistake I made a blitz to connect with more resistance cells and was able to drop the avatar project quite a bit in short order. The price was I didn't have enough time to setup a psi lab until late and so even now my psi operatives are pretty pathetic, but not having them didn't seem to hurt me too much, although I hear they are really powerful if you can train them up.
I also fell into the same trap a lot of people seem to of selling off advent trooper corpses before I realized I'd need them to research 2nd tier armor, but I was able to manage with a couple of exo suits until I was able to research powered armor and switch my troops over to it. The missile launchers on those exo suits were, I'm pretty sure, the main reason I was able to survive at a few points there.
Loving the game so far. I think I'm right about to start the final missions and I managed to get the Avatar project down to just 2 pips after it spiked a bit in the mid game. I basically misjudged how long it takes to get resistance comms setup and how important those are in being able to weaken the avatar project.
Once I realized my mistake I made a blitz to connect with more resistance cells and was able to drop the avatar project quite a bit in short order. The price was I didn't have enough time to setup a psi lab until late and so even now my psi operatives are pretty pathetic, but not having them didn't seem to hurt me too much, although I hear they are really powerful if you can train them up.
I also fell into the same trap a lot of people seem to of selling off advent trooper corpses before I realized I'd need them to research 2nd tier armor, but I was able to manage with a couple of exo suits until I was able to research powered armor and switch my troops over to it. The missile launchers on those exo suits were, I'm pretty sure, the main reason I was able to survive at a few points there.
- blackjack
- Posts: 225
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:52 pm
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Toucan Safari! That's all I can say.
It is fun to read all our parallel experiences. I guess in the end that's what's great about this type of game -- that everyone's having a remarkably difference experience in many ways, while we're probably all learning certain things the hard way too.
Some Steam pals suggested pushing forward on weapons first, the idea being "if you take 'em out first, then it doesn't matter how thick your armor is." I think the problem there imho is the shooting percentages are so whacked (even last night, my squad would regularly miss on maybe 75-85% rated shots; but would succeed on maybe 53%-56% shots), and equipping better weapons didn't change that ACC in my experience. So it doesn't even feel like better quality weapons is more helpful until rocket launchers or other seemingly "can't miss" weapons are available.
Plus the the battle droid thing wants to drop missile salvos on my squad, the Codex wants to disable them, etc. etc. So I'm on board with a faster focus on serious armor upgrades next time too.
I didn't pay attention to that Skulljack hacking bonus, I'll definitely give that to the appropriate specialist.
It is fun to read all our parallel experiences. I guess in the end that's what's great about this type of game -- that everyone's having a remarkably difference experience in many ways, while we're probably all learning certain things the hard way too.
Some Steam pals suggested pushing forward on weapons first, the idea being "if you take 'em out first, then it doesn't matter how thick your armor is." I think the problem there imho is the shooting percentages are so whacked (even last night, my squad would regularly miss on maybe 75-85% rated shots; but would succeed on maybe 53%-56% shots), and equipping better weapons didn't change that ACC in my experience. So it doesn't even feel like better quality weapons is more helpful until rocket launchers or other seemingly "can't miss" weapons are available.
Plus the the battle droid thing wants to drop missile salvos on my squad, the Codex wants to disable them, etc. etc. So I'm on board with a faster focus on serious armor upgrades next time too.
I didn't pay attention to that Skulljack hacking bonus, I'll definitely give that to the appropriate specialist.
- Paingod
- Posts: 13135
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I generally agree - but in harder difficulties, you're going to get hit whether you like it or not. Opening up armor does more than improve health, too - it adds an item slot. Be it a medkit, flashbang, battle scanner, mimic, or anything else - once you start using those utilities it's hard to give them up. They're awesome 'pear-shaped mission' escape buttons when you've already spent your allotment of "get out of trouble with explosives" cards.blackjack wrote:Some Steam pals suggested pushing forward on weapons first, the idea being "if you take 'em out first, then it doesn't matter how thick your armor is."
I've had missions all over the place. I don't think the mission end screen is accurate. I've had it show 100% hit rates when I know I missed shots.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
- jztemple2
- Posts: 11599
- Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
- Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
Maybe dumb question, but do scientists (and engineers) have a monthly cost? I've got an optional mission to liberate a VIP and I gain a scientist if I do, plus 90 Intel. I don't really need another scientist, but I can always use the Intel, however I don't want to blow supplies on a monthly salary for a guy I don't need.
UPDATE: And I just saw this, XCOM (Honest Game Trailers). Very good
UPDATE: And I just saw this, XCOM (Honest Game Trailers). Very good
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
- NickAragua
- Posts: 6106
- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:20 pm
- Location: Boston, MA
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I haven't noticed any maintenance costs associated with soldiers or engineers.
Re: Weapon Mods
My favorites are the scope, autoloader and extended magazine. Laser sight is also pretty good. They're reliable, and that's key in a game where your mouthbreathing troopers routinely miss 95% shots on guys out in the open. Since I don't really control what kind of mods/PCS upgrades I get, I pretty much just use what I've got.
Re: Weapon Mods
My favorites are the scope, autoloader and extended magazine. Laser sight is also pretty good. They're reliable, and that's key in a game where your mouthbreathing troopers routinely miss 95% shots on guys out in the open. Since I don't really control what kind of mods/PCS upgrades I get, I pretty much just use what I've got.
Black Lives Matter
- Turtle
- Posts: 6310
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 2:09 am
- Location: Southern California
- Contact:
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
I don't think they do, I notice that soldiers don't seem to have an upkeep cost either.
Anyone else wishing there were some more options? Not even long war level options, but at least 1 side option for equipment like the SMG mod is. I suppose that's what modding is for.
I'm nearing the end game on Veteran difficulty, and I think I'm ahead of the curve, but I do still feel I'm one bad turn away from losing my squad.
Anyone else wishing there were some more options? Not even long war level options, but at least 1 side option for equipment like the SMG mod is. I suppose that's what modding is for.
I'm nearing the end game on Veteran difficulty, and I think I'm ahead of the curve, but I do still feel I'm one bad turn away from losing my squad.
- coopasonic
- Posts: 20980
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
- Location: Dallas-ish
Re: X-Com 2 confirmed...trailer
18 soldiers saw action
39 missions
11 flawless missions
481 aliens killed
1 soldier lost
69 promotions
8 colonels
Humanity has been saved. You are all welcome.
39 missions
11 flawless missions
481 aliens killed
1 soldier lost
69 promotions
8 colonels
Humanity has been saved. You are all welcome.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter