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[Mupod]

I guess I've seen everything new by now, hell I even shot down a battleship which I was never able to do in my last two playthroughs. All I've got left is the final mission but if it's not any different...well, why bother?

In all my only real complaint is that there weren't enough new aliens. I guess Exalt was their focus, but all this expansion did was make me want the NEXT expansion even more.

Also,

Spoiler

whoever decided to buff Sectopods is an evil bastard. The base defense was pretty awesome too.

 

[Jintor]

After skimming all the reviews out there a consistent theme has definitely been harping on about the endgame. So I sure hope Firaxis is listening. YO WE WANNA GO TO MARS, GUYS

YO WORLD CONGRESS DAT SHEET

 

[Vaporak]

Anyone got any advice for how to not lose to UFO's you can't catch on Impossible? By the end of the second month/beginning of third month medium and large UFO's are showing up and panicking countries that have satellites over them. I went carapace armor before beam weapons so I can't get the laser cannons outfitted on any interceptors by the time these UFO's are showing up. I'm winning the fights with just ballistic weapons fine at this point, but the UFO's seem to be acting as a tech gate, and will just make you lose in the third month if you don't get better aircraft weapons to shoot them down.

 

[Falk]

An early post-launch interview for EU stated they knew that the start of each campaign was kinda rote - engineers or bust, and I guess the focus of this expansion was to shuffle that up a little with two new options to zoom down almost immediately.

It took Civ5 two expansions to have a non-vapid endgame. Patience.

 

[Gothos]

I need a difficulty level between Normal and Classic... Classic is apparantely too hard for me (I ran out of soldiers, except that one guy who arrived late!), but Normal doesn't have that tension. I recall doing fairly okay on Classic in vanilla, but now I got utterly destroyed.

It's one of my main gripes with this game. Why couldn't Firaxis give us modular difficulty selection, just like in Civ games where we can customize a lot of things? I feel the same as you - I would kill for difficulty level between classic and normal.

 

[Jintor]

An early post-launch interview for EU stated they knew that the start of each campaign was kinda rote - engineers or bust, and I guess the focus of this expansion was to shuffle that up a little with two new options to zoom down almost immediately.

It took Civ5 two expansions to have a non-vapid endgame. Patience.

Except you still have to tech to satellites immediately or you'll end up in a cascade spiral (though it is capped with only 3 possible leavers per month, I guess)

 

[PeterVenkman]

I have a few questions (this is my first Classic playthrough, Ironman):

1. Slingshot second mission

Spoiler

What gives with the final activation on the train? Did I need to have all of my troops in the cab or something? I failed it after I sent a MEC trooper to activate it, thinking it was just a button, but there was no prompt

2. How many countries do you guys consider alright to lose on a given playthrough? I've lost 3 with a 4th on the horizon since I lack the engineers for a third Upllink, and things are looking bleak. I've gotten a B on each month, but the bleed of countries happens so much faster on Classic than Normal.

3. Is rushing the base the best way to deal with panic? I've had countries with satellites drop out, which I never really encountered in Normal.

I'm feeling sort of beat down - last night I was in full on "one more mission" mode and I hit Newfoundland. I was thankful I only lost 3 guys.

 

[Jintor]

1. Slingshot second mission

Spoiler

What gives with the final activation on the train? Did I need to have all of my troops in the cab or something? I failed it after I sent a MEC trooper to activate it, thinking it was just a button, but there was no prompt

.

Noooooo, you should have just been able to stand in it. Maybe mecs are bugged with this mission, heard a few problems using mecs to press buttons/activate checkpoints etc

 

[PeterVenkman]

Noooooo, you should have just been able to stand in it. Maybe mecs are bugged with this mission, heard a few problems using mecs to press buttons/activate checkpoints etc

Damn, I knew something was up. I had activated one of the uplinks with a MEC so I figured all was well but that last stop cost me the mission. I had a MEC sitting right on the control panel with one Action Point and everything.

 

[Mupod]

I have a few questions (this is my first Classic playthrough, Ironman):

1. Slingshot second mission

Spoiler

What gives with the final activation on the train? Did I need to have all of my troops in the cab or something? I failed it after I sent a MEC trooper to activate it, thinking it was just a button, but there was no prompt

2. How many countries do you guys consider alright to lose on a given playthrough? I've lost 3 with a 4th on the horizon since I lack the engineers for a third Upllink, and things are looking bleak. I've gotten a B on each month, but the bleed of countries happens so much faster on Classic than Normal.

3. Is rushing the base the best way to deal with panic? I've had countries with satellites drop out, which I never really encountered in Normal.

I'm feeling sort of beat down - last night I was in full on "one more mission" mode and I hit Newfoundland. I was thankful I only lost 3 guys.

Yeah MECs can't activate the train, fortunately I had plenty of turns left.

For my classic run back in EU I had luck with skipping lasers and capturing as many enemies as I could, outfitting everyone with pillaged light plasma, and launching the base assault the instant my plasma sniper finished building. I still lost 3 countries, 1 of which because my I was still using conventional guns on the first terror mission and got overwhelmed.

EW is tougher than the base game in a lot of ways, but I think having a MEC would actually make my strategy a bit easier since they can deal with chryssalids quite well. Hell, bring two on the first terror mission, burn those damn bugs.

 

[PeterVenkman]

Yeah MECs can't activate the train, fortunately I had plenty of turns left.

For my classic run back in EU I had luck with skipping lasers and capturing as many enemies as I could, outfitting everyone with pillaged light plasma, and launching the base assault the instant my plasma sniper finished building. I still lost 3 countries, 1 of which because my I was still using conventional guns on the first terror mission and got overwhelmed.

EW is tougher than the base game in a lot of ways, but I think having a MEC would actually make my strategy a bit easier since they can deal with chryssalids quite well. Hell, bring two on the first terror mission, burn those damn bugs.

That's exactly what I did on my first terror mission and it worked quite well. Two flamethrower mecs inciting panic everywhere .

I think my issue is probably that I've pushed off the capture/containment for too long . Panic is starting to spiral, my ships lost their first ufo and I haven't even used the arc thrower yet. I'm Gonna outfit a squad with arc throwers since I have tactical rigging and see if I can salvage this run .

also EXALT troops take frighteningly little damage from conventional weapons. They are busting my balls

 

[Jintor]

Rushing captures is a great strategy imho. If you can get a satellite over South America, and it's only two countries so it's not too difficult, then any incidental sectoids/skinnies/floaters you can tase can cut your research time in half. Near invaluable, plus you get their plasma goodies.

 

[Mupod]

Research credits are nice, but the real reason I capture spam is light plasma. The aim bonus makes a big difference against Thin Man Bullshit.

Speaking of which, I didn't even notice that the respirator thing that's new to EW gives you 2 extra HP, it doesn't mention it in the build/buy screen. Sounds like that'd be nice before chitin armor.

 

[afreaknamedpete]

Except you still have to tech to satellites immediately or you'll end up in a cascade spiral (though it is capped with only 3 possible leavers per month, I guess)

If you activate all the DLC you get alot of free panic reduction. I kept trying to rush a satellite uplink on the first month and kept getting my ass handed to me by thin men, but once I decided to rush MECs the tactical layer became alot more manageable.

 

[huxley00]

I like the MEC part of the story in the expansion. I feel kind of guilty turning a man from a man into a machine. He is willing, but he is nothing more than a weapon at that point and can never be human again. I like how they approach the bio and tech mods as a gray area. People are willing, but does that make it right? Are we doing the same thing the aliens are doing to their captured species in order to win? Its weird to play a game that actually has gray areas instead of good vs. evil.

 

[Woorloog]

What kind of no-XBL multiplayer does this (and Enemy Unknown) have on 360? Does it support same console versus (ie each player controlling one team)?

 

[The Stig]

man heat ammo was really nerfed. I knew it went down to 50% before I played but man I didnt know how much harder it would make it. mechs are once again very frightening.

 

[TC McQueen]

The only problem with the base defense mission was the fact that the security rookies couldn't get their hands on some of the EXALT laser guns that got my hands on. I'm amazed I managed to get half of those redshirts to survive on Normal given how weak they are.

 

[TC McQueen]

Double post due to 504 error

 

[Kainazzo]

The difficulty does seem weighted towards the beginning. Though it took me 4 tries to make it through April on Classic, the game's been a breeze now that I can counter Thin Men with beam rifles. Completed my first terror mission in 3 turns without any civilian deaths, and waltzed through Newfoundland with my MEC only taking one swipe.

However, the Newfoundland mission itself was a lot of fun. I liked the extra banter from HQ, and there was a constant sense of urgency. Though it was scripted, I wouldn't mind a few more like it in a sequel.

Captured the EXALT operative (I'm guessing) and have yet to even be introduced to them. I'm about to get plasma weapons (captured the Muton in Zhang's first mission), and I still need to capture the Outsider. Did I get off track somewhere? I feel like I'm in a coasting state.

 

[Firebrand]

Am I missing something here?

Clicking "Transfer" does nothing but save the game. I don't lose any satellites, I don't receive any money and the request is still there.

 

[fleck0]

Am I missing something here?

Clicking "Transfer" does nothing but save the game. I don't lose any satellites, I don't receive any money and the request is still there.

I thought hitting transfer was supposed to take you to the satellite map were you had to manually assign the Sat to the country that wants it. Failing that most wonky stuff I run into goes away if I save-quit and reload

 

[Lautaro]

Am I missing something here?

Clicking "Transfer" does nothing but save the game. I don't lose any satellites, I don't receive any money and the request is still there.

In those cases I just launch a satellite for the indicated country and the request gets completed.

 

[Firebrand]

I thought hitting transfer was supposed to take you to the satellite map were you had to manually assign the Sat to the country that wants it. Failing that most wonky stuff I run into goes away if I save-quit and reload

Yeah, you're right, I was just being dumb and not reading the text. I was thinking they just wanted the satellite itself, but yes, I have to launch it.

 

[Kitbash]

Damn, I knew something was up. I had activated one of the uplinks with a MEC so I figured all was well but that last stop cost me the mission. I had a MEC sitting right on the control panel with one Action Point and everything.

I had the same problem with a normal soldier. Several turns left on the clock, all uplinks activated, and just one soldier left. Tried hopping in and out of the activation area a couple of times but just couldn't get anything to happen. Mission failed!

 

[TTG]

The council missions are brutal early on! At least on classic they are. Made me give up on ironman games for the time being. If the first month's mission doesn't get you, the second one will.

 

[hooijdonk17]

Anything short of Impossible Ironman is weaksauce.

 

[TTG]

I just cleared a mission against 10(floaters, thinmen, sectoids) with 4 rookies and a squad sniper. Lost 2 of the rookies and got another one out for 3 weeks, but those are the realities of war dammit! Not so weak sauce now, huh. And this is month 2, all I had was a scope. Anyway, there are only so many times I can stand a thinman to one shot my best guys out of full cover before I bow out. I went through classic ironman and vanilla impossible when the original first came out, not sure which was more frustrating.

My advice for the optimum XCOM experience is this: set it on classic and only save pre and post missions. If you're wiped or fail(bonus points for both) and feel that the game is no longer viable, reload. Otherwise, let it ride. Oh, and buy some satellites and bla bla blah.

 

[TTG]

Are the stats capped at 100, or can I stack the bonuses? 100+ aim for a sniper would be swell.

 

[bluecapsule]

Are the stats capped at 100, or can I stack the bonuses? 100+ aim for a sniper would be swell.

My sniper has 115 aim, and she almost never misses.

 

[TTG]

Did they reduce the difficulty on panic missions? Because I was gearing up for this titanic battle and all I got was 6 enemies.

 

[The Stig]

im still alive on my classic run through but damn my base game has been so bad.

before EW (on classic and impossible) I would plan my base down to the square (I'd even restart if I didn't like how the layout looked.

this time I went "eh, Ive done this before I can adapt".

mistake. while I have completed gangplank (at the earliest opportunity too!) Ive lost 3 countries.

ah well.

I am still yet to do any gene modding and only built one MEC, but I can already say "dat minigun and dat flamethrower"

 

[Grimsen]

Second corrupted Ironman save on 360. So bad.

Gonna play regular Classic.

 

[Firebrand]

This game just loves to crash, doesn't it. Some random crash every few missions I could live with, but now my Ironman save crashes everytime during the enemy turn. Ugh.

Played more than 10 hours since I got the expansion and I've barely seen any new stuff (failed one Classic, stopped playing Normal because it was too dull, and now this Classic game is over I guess). Haven't gotten to the Mec/genes/Exalt stuff yet. Medals are cool I guess?

 

[studyguy]

Damage Roulette is just shooting yourself in the foot in any difficulty beyond normal. Too often a brilliant plan is foiled by xcom units doing 1-2 damage each consecutively. Hell I had a critical of 2 with a sniper using the Headshot skill on a sectoid at one point.

It's so silly, I can't do that second wave option and make a serious attempt at ironman anymore.

 

[Leunam]

Played more than 10 hours since I got the expansion and I've barely seen any new stuff (failed one Classic, stopped playing Normal because it was too dull, and now this Classic game is over I guess). Haven't gotten to the Mec/genes/Exalt stuff yet. Medals are cool I guess?

I don't know how that's possible. I think I've got less time than that and I've already got 3 MEC's, done several EXALT missions, had nothing but new maps, and did the fishing village mission for the council (which was amazing, by the way).

 

[PeterVenkman]

This game just loves to crash, doesn't it. Some random crash every few missions I could live with, but now my Ironman save crashes everytime during the enemy turn. Ugh.

Played more than 10 hours since I got the expansion and I've barely seen any new stuff (failed one Classic, stopped playing Normal because it was too dull, and now this Classic game is over I guess). Haven't gotten to the Mec/genes/Exalt stuff yet. Medals are cool I guess?

That's a bummer about the crashing, but man I had MECs pretty early. I had my first one made in early month 2 I think? Maybe sooner - I definitely had two by my first terror mission and let me tell you them chryssalids were burning.

I think my most recent Classic run is done though. I'm in month 3 now? or 4? I can't down EXALT troops reliably - I ran into the genetically modified troops and my weapons do piss damage. I have two Majors and the rest of my troops are squaddies or DEAD. Doom tracker is 3 or 4 countries shy of dumping my ass, and my research and satellite coverage has slowed to a crawl (not to mention the UFOs that are getting by because of my balsa wood Ravens).

Firaxsis please - give me unshackled AI on a difficulty below Classic. I need a stepping stone.

 

[Firebrand]

That's a bummer about the crashing, but man I had MECs pretty early. I had my first one made in early month 2 I think? Maybe sooner - I definitely had two by my first terror mission and let me tell you them chryssalids were burning.

Yeah, I did postpone meld research a bit to go for other stuff that didn't pay off that much. Did they lengthen research times or something? I'm on month 3 and everything takes forever to research. I'd actually like some labs now. Still haven't gotten that dang containment unit up due to lack of funds and power and now sectoids are getting rarer. I guess I should have a better grip on build orders before attempting Classic, but eh, XCOM project still operational.

 

[speculawyer]

Damn, I must have lost my skills. This game is kicking my butt. I lost half my squad on that New Foundland mission . . . those critters are fast.

I'm very happy with the amount of additions done to the game. Mecs, gene improvements, new maps, new missions with twists, EXALT missions, etc.

 

[PeterVenkman]

Yeah, I did postpone meld research a bit to go for other stuff that didn't pay off that much. Did they lengthen research times or something? I'm on month 3 and everything takes forever to research. I'd actually like some labs now. Still haven't gotten that dang containment unit up due to lack of funds and power and now sectoids aren't getting rarer. I guess I should have a better grip on build orders before attempting Classic, but eh, XCOM project still operational.

I'm going through that right now. This is my first attempt at Classic and I am waaaay behind in research. I'm building a lab now which I never had to do in Normal. My troops have fallen way behind in terms of equipment.

Damn, I must have lost my skills. This game is kicking my butt. I lost half my squad on that New Foundland mission . . . those critters are fast.

That's exactly what happened to me! I lost two MECs on the lead up to the ship and then I lost one heavy when I realized

Spoiler

she was too slow to make it back to the LZ without endangering my other three troopers. Her final rocket took out 2 Bugs and probably saved my best three men

 

[Oppo]

The Seekers are fucking spooky.

I always lose count of them when they vanish and they have a habit of ambushing you at just the wrong moment.

Now when I see them, I turtle everyone on Overwatch in a tight cluster and wait for the nightmare to be over.

 

[Leunam]

I lost four out of my six squad members in that mission. My support (Major) and Sniper (Captain) barely made it with four or five chrysalids on their tail. The other four, including an MEC, fought bravely but couldn't do much to hold back the tide beyond some last minute grenades or flamethrower.

 

[TTG]

God, my rookies have heart, but this is basically how it goes right now:

Is there any point to overwatch with them?

 

[Imperfected]

God, my rookies have heart, but this is basically how it goes right now:

Is there any point to overwatch with them?

I have rookies either do forward scouting (ie, running ahead without overwatch to trigger encounters), grabbing objectives like MELD, or bum-rushing high value targets with arc throwers. Anything to keep them from having to fire a gun.

They can also get by pretty well as pure grenadiers if you have Tacitcal Rigging researched. Two grenades a mission is nothing to sneeze at for a rookie.

 

[Uriah]

Man my current classic run isn't as going as well as my previous run. And these early council mission are damn hard. At least I have a Mec to absorb fire.

 

[afreaknamedpete]

Another PSA.

Chrysalids apparently ignore second hearts! So don't count on your fancy-pansy redundant organ to save you from alien impregnation. Also, for reasons that are ENTIRELY unclear Mimetic Skin prevents you from activating Ghost Armor AT ALL.

 

[TTG]

Do the Zhang(what was originally DLC) missions replace what would be in the regular rotation? Because I swear, I haven't had the chance to lower panic, through abduction missions, at all in month 3.

 

[Doczu]

Guys and girls I need some advice. I played X-Com a bit on my laptop before i sold it, and now I want to jump back. I've only got a Xbox to play it on, should I give it a hit? Or wait untill i can play it on PC? Not a graphic whore, so I can easily play it on the console.

 

[davidsaurus]

Guys and girls I need some advice. I played X-Com a bit on my laptop before i sold it, and now I want to jump back. I've only got a Xbox to play it on, should I give it a hit? Or wait untill i can play it on PC? Not a graphic whore, so I can easily play it on the console.

I'm sure the console version is fine. I actually prefer just sitting back with a controller even though I play on a pc. It's a little more clunky but it's not twitch and it's easy enough to navigate with a controller.

My normal ironman run was going pretty well, I actually felt pretty confident had barely lost a soul... until the fishing boat mission. I was not prepared. I think a MEC might have helped me out given the nature of the mission but I prefer the modification stuff with the genes

 

[patapuf]

Some of the new missions are definetly harsh (and long). You just manage to reach the current objective and then "now let's spawn 6 more dudes and make them walk back to the skyranger.

I also forgot how punishing the strategy layer can be on classic. My second attempt is going well now but the first time i was 75% red by the 4th month and hoplessly behind on everything.