Training superhumans?

[Space Voyager]

I've had quite a bit of problems with psychics being so darn weak and slow, so I decided to give them at least some basic military training. It seems as though only accuracy was getting better without being enlisted into military training...

 

Becouse I shifted three psychos to military training I had to shift some "tough guys" psyonic training (ok, that wasn't neccessary, but why not...). Both groups are doing just fine and are progressing! Before I NEVER even tried to put normal humans into psionic training and vice-versa.

 

So my question would be whether anyone tried to train "superhumans"? The ultimate X-COM agents, to be dramatic. Guys that would be great in both fields.

[NKF]

Well, superhuman humans can never be as good as superhuman hybrids. Overall, I mean.

 

This is mainly because the three psionics disciplines can only be raised to 3 times their starting value.

 

Combat-wise, however, humans and hybrids can be equals as the all max out at the same stats.

 

As psionic aliens are rare enough, and when you do fight them, you can choose to use androids to ignore their special abilities, no, humans aren't worth training in psionics unless you really need that small psi-boost. Mind you, some humans can get good enough to cause a bit of havoc against units susceptible to psionics. Just not strong enough to mind control. Probes and panic would have to be their forte.

 

Hybrids however do benefit greatly from combat training for one fact:

 

Only combat training raises a unit's strength. Nothing else. Not even from experience gained in actual combat (which raises all your other combat stats - bar strength).

 

So for hybrids, putting them in combat training is a major benefit indeed! Although, I'd recommend putting half of your hybrids in psi and half in combat training. Then swap when you think each side has had enough. That lets you enjoy hybrids that are as tough as humans and powerful psionic troopers at the same time.

 

On superhuman, as there's just so many aliens to combat (if you let them through), getting a supersoldier with maxed stats, with or without psi powers, tends to happen quite a lot. You don't have to try hard, and as long as you keep the soldier alive, it'll happen.

 

- NKF

[Space Voyager]

Psionic stats can only be improved three times?!?! Darn, who would have thought...

 

So basicly if you want to have a superhuman you'd want to start with hybrids.

 

I figured I'll have to put hybrids into combat training since they were moving like snails with minimum equipment. But I was really looking forward to making one (or more) of the humans into worthwhile psionic fighter... Eh, what can you do.

 

Thank you for the info.

[Bomb Bloke]

Does the three-times-original-stat rule hold true for stats other then psi?

[Space Voyager]

Does the three-times-original-stat rule hold true for stats other then psi?

As NKF put it - no. Only for psi.

 

At least for accuracy I'm sure it doesn't, since sometimes it's practically non-existent (going dramatic here), but it grows pretty fast towards the max.

[Bomb Bloke]

Hmm... Perhaps the other stats are capped by a different multiple then three, then? It seems strange to cap psi stats but not the others.

[NKF]

Oh, all the other stats have limits of their own. Unlike psi's 3x base value, they get a set limit.

 

Like accuracy ends at 98. Oddly enough, if you modify the accuracy stat beyond this number, the game will downgrade the soldier until the stat is back to 98 after every battle.

 

- NKF

[Bomb Bloke]

What's the max accuracy gain per battle? Does that match the amount the accuracy stat goes down by each battle?

[NKF]

I would imagine so. I've not paid too much attention to accuracy in Apocalypse as I have in UFO/TFTD - mostly because absolute accuracy seems less important in Apocalypse than it did in its two predecessors.

 

My guess is that accuracy gains are positive (if the model is the same as the originals, it starts off with a large bonuses (well, the upper limit is large) and gets smaller and smaller as you reach the max)as they reach the limit, and when they go over the limit, they're treated as negatives. Or, perhaps the game just automatically resets it to 98.

 

- NKF

[Bomb Bloke]

What I'm thinking is, that the game applies the gains, and then removes them if they go over the 98 limit. However, if the gains are the same each battle (probably 1), then it might be removing non-existant gains... Hence why the skill slowly decreases to 98.

 

If that was the case, then a soldier who should have gained accuracy in a battle probably wouldn't go backwards. I dunno.

[Space Voyager]

One more question; do the psychotics get better percentage (for sucessfull psy attack) on easyer levels?

[NKF]

If you mean the difference between hybrids and humans, technically, hybrids gain psi skills as fast as humans, but they do get a large cut-off point, and as they start with more skill in all three psi disciplines, they are much better at it.

 

And as on beginner, enemy psionic defence won't be as high as it is on superhuman (assuming Apocalypse follows the same method of making 'harder' enemies by boosting all the stats on the harder levels in addition to increasing the number of enemies), it would be easier to use your powers on them (note, this doesn't include the usual hard-to-psi units like worms, spitters, brainsuckers, etc, that only give you a 2% chance of success).

 

- NKF