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XCOM 2 |OT| Be Aggressive! Be Be Aggressive!

Welp, so much for that run. Damned UFO finally caught up to me, and everybody (I mean EVERYBODY) except one dude was still in the infirmary. Got butchered, Avenger boarded, game over.
Yup. All but one of my guys is now in the infirmary. I thought to myself "No problem. The designers would have balanced the game so that after such a challenging mission, they'll be no RED events for at least 5+ days" How wrong could I be? 36 hours later, I'm being asked to send my single rookie out on an essential Difficult mission :(
 

Jarate

Banned
FgTNjMG.gif


X-COM 2
 
Yup. All but one of my guys is now in the infirmary. I thought to myself "No problem. The designers would have balanced the game so that after such a challenging mission, they'll be no RED events for at least 5+ days" How wrong could I be? 36 hours later, I'm being asked to send my single rookie out on an essential Difficult mission :(

Yeah. I tried to push through with a pair of Grenadiers and a Ranger (all at <half health), only to run into a Muton, a Sectoid and pair of Stun Lancers. After they went down the writing was pretty much on the wall.
 

Roshin

Member
im not sure how I feel about the turn limits tbh. I think if I was to modthem I would use some mod to add more, not just take them off. Because of the nature of the procedurally generated maps, sometimes it feels fine, but sometimes it feels way too tight.

Im not gonna lie, everytime a mission with no timers pops up (not a lot so far unfortunately) I have more fun :/

There are mods up that disable most timers (not all, though) and some that add to the number of turns you get. I just saw a mod that doubles the number of turns for the Avatar thingie as well.

I've tried the mod that disables the timers and I admit that I enjoyed myself a lot more. It actually felt like XCOM again. :)
 
The ufo attacking your ship mission is insane.

Do the enemies ever stop coming? Like can I just defend the ramp the whole time then when the enemies thin out go for the EMP device? Or do I have to shoot my way to the device?
 

Machina

Banned
The ufo attacking your ship mission is insane.

Do the enemies ever stop coming? Like can I just defend the ramp the whole time then when the enemies thin out go for the EMP device? Or do I have to shoot my way to the device?

I thinned them out ahead of time which helped, but I lost 4 soldiers in the process anyway. Expect casualties in that mission.
 

wrongway

Member
The stuff in the Proving Grounds isn't research, you're building multiple Skulljacks.

Really? In my first game, I 'researched' it or whatever in the Proving Ground, then it was available to build as an Item in Engineering, and I was able to equip it in place of a grenade.

This time around, even though I've already 'researched' it, it is not available to be built, and I do not have it available for any soldiers. I cleared all equipment from them, and then went through them one by one to make sure. Something's gone sideways compared to my first game. :x
 

DJwest

Member
The ufo attacking your ship mission is insane.

Do the enemies ever stop coming? Like can I just defend the ramp the whole time then when the enemies thin out go for the EMP device? Or do I have to shoot my way to the device?
I watched a streamer this morning and I don't think the attacks will stop. You have to destroy the target and bail asap man.
 
The ufo attacking your ship mission is insane.

Do the enemies ever stop coming? Like can I just defend the ramp the whole time then when the enemies thin out go for the EMP device? Or do I have to shoot my way to the device?

There's infinite reinforcement drop ships but limited dudes actually on the ground to begin with. I shot my way to the device and then had to deal with two reinforcement ships on my way out.
 

Roni

Member
So far, I've encountered a 10 year old American soldier fresh out of boot camp and a 9 year old Mexican convict when the aliens invaded. Gotta love those soldier bios when you match them with the soldier's date of birth.
 

Jintor

Member
The ufo attacking your ship mission is insane.

Do the enemies ever stop coming? Like can I just defend the ramp the whole time then when the enemies thin out go for the EMP device? Or do I have to shoot my way to the device?

I thinned them out ahead of time which helped, but I lost 4 soldiers in the process anyway. Expect casualties in that mission.

I watched a streamer this morning and I don't think the attacks will stop. You have to destroy the target and bail asap man.

There's infinite reinforcement drop ships but limited dudes actually on the ground to begin with. I shot my way to the device and then had to deal with two reinforcement ships on my way out.

Protip:
Snipers can beeline the device right from your doorstep, all you need is a spotter
 
Really? In my first game, I 'researched' it or whatever in the Proving Ground, then it was available to build as an Item in Engineering, and I was able to equip it in place of a grenade.

This time around, even though I've already 'researched' it, it is not available to be built, and I do not have it available for any soldiers. I cleared all equipment from them, and then went through them one by one to make sure. Something's gone sideways compared to my first game. :x

You must have mistook the Proving Grounds for Engineering (understandably so) in your first game as it is not available to manufacture there.
 

Itachi87

Member
Quick question. On those extract or kill VIP missions, is it possible to extract the VIP without the enemy noticing at all or do they automatically go on alert if you get too close to the VIP? Also, do you have to knock his health down before you can extract?
 
Another stupid question...

I'm not seeing an option to remove weapon addons. I remember some text box popping up when I installed it... but I kinda just went "ya w/e" and skimmed over it. Can I remove weapon upgrades?
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Another stupid question...

I'm not seeing an option to remove weapon addons. I remember some text box popping up when I installed it... but I kinda just went "ya w/e" and skimmed over it. Can I remove weapon upgrades?

You cannot. The pop-up was telling you...it was permanent :p
 

Itachi87

Member
Another stupid question...

I'm not seeing an option to remove weapon addons. I remember some text box popping up when I installed it... but I kinda just went "ya w/e" and skimmed over it. Can I remove weapon upgrades?

No, you can replace the add-on with another add-on but it's essentially a one-time use thing.
 

wrongway

Member
You must have mistook the Proving Grounds for Engineering (understandably so) in your first game as it is not available to manufacture there.

Yeah, that could very well be. I was trying to squeeze some missions in when I should've been asleep. :p

Though there again, I'm not sure why I don't have a Skulljack when I've completed the project once in this new game. I should have one since I've completed it once, right? The objective list updated to reflect I've finished it. I haven't lost anyone so it hasn't gotten lost in the field. I don't know wtf. Maybe the game didn't give me one and that's what's tripping me up. I don't know wtf. :[
 

Erudite

Member
Initially I was on the fence about the focus on timed missions, but I realized how much I was holding on to my XCOM:EU/EW habits after this mission.

.webm of the last few minutes

I go from thinking how screwed I am (thinking I need to kill everything like in EU/EW), to realizing I've actually got a perfect run. Been having a streak of bad Commander & Ironman runs ending around the same times, hopefully this is the one that changes that.

This game is fantastic.
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
Quick question. On those extract or kill VIP missions, is it possible to extract the VIP without the enemy noticing at all or do they automatically go on alert if you get too close to the VIP? Also, do you have to knock his health down before you can extract?


In my mission he was inside an advent building so there was no way to get near him without setting off the alert. Ordinary civilians also break concealment so I assume you can't actually get to him even if outside. All soldiers get a skill in melee range to knock them out, then you can carry them to the extraction point.

well, definitely gonna need to mod that out!

No, you can replace the add-on with another add-on but it's essentially a one-time use thing.


If you have all of (edit: randomized bonuses apparently) the "Lock and Load" continent covered, you can reuse them after replacing
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
I just realised that I could have booked it to the evac site because the mech was stunned from my hack instead of killing it and losing 2 guys in the process. I need to get out of EU habits
 
Aliens shot my avenger down and massacred all my guys and there was nothing i could do.
Game over i guess. Feels bad.

Tip how to handle that situation:
If you kill and "dissect" an automated turret (autopsy research), you can build defense matrix (facility) which will let you get turrets of your own to defend the Avanger.
 

Jintor

Member
Another stupid question...

I'm not seeing an option to remove weapon addons. I remember some text box popping up when I installed it... but I kinda just went "ya w/e" and skimmed over it. Can I remove weapon upgrades?

Replace but not remove and you don't get them back, I think.
 

void666

Banned
Tip how to handle that situation:
If you kill and "dissect" an automated turret (autopsy research), you can build defense matrix (facility) which will let you get turrets of your own to defend the Avanger.

Thank you. I'll try that.
Guess i'll have to restart. I wasted too much time because i didn't understand some of the systems.

Oh well, i'm going back to dragon's dogma for a while.
 

Jintor

Member
They still need to surface more info in easier ways. I still can't tell sometimes if my sniper has higher elevation or not, occasionally it's weird to eyeball.

God damn though when a sniper tower basically got completely incinrated... the terrain destruction is so baller.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Thank you. I'll try that.
Guess i'll have to restart. I wasted too much time because i didn't understand some of the systems.

Oh well, i'm going back to dragon's dogma for a while.

Don't feel bad. The tutorial doesn't inform the player about 'traps' in the systems, plus the world map is overwhelming.

They still need to surface more info in easier ways. I still can't tell sometimes if my sniper has higher elevation or not, occasionally it's weird to eyeball.

God damn though when a sniper tower basically got completely incinrated... the terrain destruction is so baller.

7JTzCrx.jpg


Physics says what now?
 
How do I find more advent dark events? I got the first one, but there's another one being built and I can't figure it out. Not the blacksite, though. I'm trying to beef my guys up before taking that on.
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
How do I find more advent dark events? I got the first one, but there's another one being built and I can't figure it out. Not the blacksite, though. I'm trying to beef my guys up before taking that on.


If you have more than one area contacted you'll get a list of a few you can try to counter. You can only counter one from each group so the others you'll just need to deal with as they come. At first just do the missions they give you but once the option opens up you will need to start deciding which outcome is worst and deal with that mission (or go by the rewards if none is particularly terrible).
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Game is ripe for a "tips for starting up a xcom2 game" video, so mych information the game just doesnt tell you
 

Pikelet

Member
I am losing guys left and right in my playthrough, and the time it takes for my wounded guys to heal is just brutal. I have basically been in a constant state whereby 50%+ of my squad is incapacitated at any one time. This basically sums up the whole game for me really, it is trying to keep the pressure up at all times, in both the strategic and tactical layer. It's a very interesting direction they have taken the series, and it's thematically coherent. I love that they have tried to mix things up whilst also upgrading a lot of the holdover systems. This is everything that I want from a sequel really.

The increased amount of timed missions seems to be quite divisive. I think that they make the game a lot more stressful, which some people may hate, but that they also massively broaden the amount of viable playstyles. It's not just overwatch leapfrog anymore. I also find that it is great at increasing the frequency of those classic xcom cinematic moments. Then again, I haven't encountered any ridiculously huge maps paired with a miniscule time limit, which some people have reported. That seems like something that can be addressed in a balance patch though, or simply tweaked in a mod.

The random level generator is a thing of beauty though. It has consistently produced interesting, challenging, and gorgeous looking missions for me so far. I also think that the missions being more about completing objectives rather than simply clearing out all the aliens is a massive change for the better. It all adds up to a much greater variety

The strategic layer seems much more interesting this time around as well. I like the feeling of being reactive to what the aliens are doing. The choice of which research to get or how to spend your time is much more meaningful when the time pressure is added. In the previous game it was never really clear what the consequences were for simply spinning your wheels and grinding UFOs (often there simply wasn't any).

Can't wait to play more.
 
If you have more than one area contacted you'll get a list of a few you can try to counter. You can only counter one from each group so the others you'll just need to deal with as they come. At first just do the missions they give you but once the option opens up you will need to start deciding which outcome is worst and deal with that mission (or go by the rewards if none is particularly terrible).

So the more areas I have open, the more dark events I'll have, 100%. Huh. Im getting this weird feeling where I keep wanting to restart to do things more slowly, ironically.
 

Steel

Banned
Wow, poison is fucking brutal. When all but one member of your squad gets it in the first combat round and they all die on the way to extraction even though you completed the objective it's just... Damn it.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Game is ripe for a "tips for starting up a xcom2 game" video, so mych information the game just doesnt tell you

Tips the game doesn't tell you:
- Resistance Radio is key to combating dark events and Avatar progress. Get one up and running as a priority. Consider it just as important as the Satellite mechanic of old.
- It's very tempting to simply go from event to event on the world map gathering resources, but if you don't make contact with new areas at a steady pace you will lose in the long run. If shit goes down in an area far away from your territory, it could take you weeks to get there and by then it'll be too late.
- Squad Size is more important than better gear, misc research or any of a dozen really tempting things to move towards early in the game. You want to get to 6 members pronto. It's easy to miss if you haven't played the previous game.
- Alternate your squaddies, even when everyone is healthy. Games are lost on not having manpower available when dangerous events arise.
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
So the more areas I have open, the more dark events I'll have, 100%. Huh. Im getting this weird feeling where I keep wanting to restart to do things more slowly, ironically.


I'm not certain that it's tied to expansion, it could be time based too but for me it worked out that I had a second base contacted when it gave me a choice.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
Has there been any word on how long the campaign actually is?

Just wondering, I'm at
after having just researched the vial and codex brain, and have now been given 2 new story missions to do
, but I'll still need to make some more contacts before I can reach them.

Thankfully right now, I've got some more contacts going so I'm not 2 continents away from black sites, and have only got a few people in the infirmary!
 
You know those little pop-out side windows on the target selection screen that show you a breakdown of how your hit % and critical % are calculated? Is there a way to have those permanently open so I don't have to keep manually clicking the arrows?
 
Other helpful tip: it costs nothing (no actions, doesn't break concealment) to check out what possible bonuses your Specialist could scare up by hacking a thing. If you don't particularly want them, or don't feel that they're worth the backlash risk, just cancel the hack and proceed with your turn as planned.
 
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