Plasma pistol musings...

[Sylph]

Interesting fact - the plasma pistol is the best long-range sectoid killer in the game.

 

At least, I think it is. I've found that 9 shots at 50% accuracy is absolutely incredible for ranged combat. I've noticed the vet xcom community seem to have found a love for the laser pistol, but often neglect this awesome tool because of ammo costs or TU costs. The ammo is so cheap, anyone who has raided a supply ship or 2 will have easily enough elerium to manufacture a few hundred clips of the stuff... In the early game you get the ammo given to you by the aliens too.

 

In my last few games of xcom, I've started using plasma pistols before even researching laser pistols. The things are amazing to give to a few soldiers.

 

In fact, my vet soldiers have been armed with a plasma pistol in one hand, and a heavy plasma in the other, and it's probably my second favourite armament for late-game combat. Instead of wasting the last few TUs on a heavy plasma snapshot, they can spend it on pistol autofire.

 

While I'm ranting about this, I feel the need to mention laser pistol + heavy plasma. With the laser pistol in the belt, a soldier with 80 TUs can fire 6 shots of heavy plasma with both hands, then draw a laser pistol for another 3. Next turn he can fire 3 with his laser pistol, drop it, then fire 6 more heavy plasma shotsm again 2-handed.

 

The point of this topic? Not a great deal, just wondering if people still have the negative opinions of plasma pistols *after* trying them out as a staple of their armament for a game, and more importantly suggesting that, if you haven't given the plasma pistol a serious try, you might enjoy giving it a go.

 

Take care all.

~Sylph.

[Zombie]

To be honest, I rarely try the Plasma Pistol. It's a matter of supply and demand really. The aliens tend to carry them early in the game and you will probably recover a good quantity along with the ammo. Problem is, they are phased out pretty quick by the aliens in lieu of the other plasma weapons so you'll be stuck holding the short end of the stick. When you run out of ammo for it, then the only way to get more is to manufacture. That eats up Elerium and engineer time (time I'd much rather be investing in manufacturing armor or better craft). Not to mention that the Plasma Pistol + Clip is a dead-end research project and doesn't yield any new projects or improvements.

 

When I do research the Plasma line, I opt for the Plasma Rifle+Clip so that I can get the all-important Plasma Beam craft weapon. The Plasma Rifle doesn't have as many problems as the pistol variant simply because the aliens will continue to equip part of their squad with it even later into the game. Of course, by then the prevalent weapon is the Heavy Plasma. Also, if you get to Ethereal missions with Sectopods, those Plasma Pistol shots will just bounce off of the Secopod's armor and not do anything due to the damage modifiers. Much better using the Laser Rifle then.

 

- Zombie

[Sylph]

It's indeed a shame about the dead-end research from the plasma pistol, but the manufacturing time and cost of ammo, if you end up having to do it, is pretty negligible.

 

As for sectopods, I have the same problem with heavy plasma to be honest - just bounces off (superhuman), same as laser rifle. I always use incendiary autocannons to kill sectopods, which pair nicely with a plasma pistol against ethereals, and was in fact one of the things that spurred me into looking for a decent ethereal-killing pistol.

Turned out I got a lot better than I bargained for, and decided to try relying on it as a primary weapon for a game, where I was really pleasantly surprised.

 

In summary, I suppose I'm trying to say I don't think the drawbacks of plasma pistols are as bad as they're often made out to be, and the big pro (the incredible autoshot accuracy with 9 shots a turn) seems to be forgotten in lieu of a few days manufacture and a small scout power source every few months.

[Zombie]

When I first started playing X-COM, I used the Plasma Pistol for training my rookies and storming the inside of a UFO. It worked great, but as soon as I ran out of ammo I switched over to the Laser Pistol instead (it's got that wicked 20% TU cost for the Snap Shot). While it lasted, it was good.

 

I suppose if EU were to be more similar to TFTD where you constantly need to manufacture Gauss ammo, I'd probably do the same with the Plasma Pistol. Also, I'd be more likely to use it if the plasma research tree started with it. Not to mention that the PPs stats are lower than the Laser Rifle in most areas.

 

The biggest problem with all the pistols really is the lack of stopping power. One-shot-one-kill scenarios don't happen as often and an injured alien is just as dangerous as a healthy one. On the flip side, pistols are one-handed and don't take any accuracy penalties for handedness so you can just grab them and start shooting. Plus they fit nicely on the belt so they are easy to get to in a hurry. I can see the Plasma Pistol being a great backup for the heavy weapons folk, but just not as a primary end-game weapon. My whole key to a successful campaign is a diversified squad, so equipping everyone with the same thing only leads to trouble.

 

You may want to try Small Launchers against Superhuman Sectopods (or even alien grenades). Both have high power and affect all 4 quadrants of the alien so it'll take a lot less to knock one out.

 

- Zombie

[NKF]

The plasma pistol isn't a bad or weak weapon, but its better qualities are often superseded by other weapons that it gets ignored. Speed and volume goes to lasers, power and accuracy goes to the heavy plasma. It's a fair balance I suppose.

 

It's amusing though, for a very long time the laser pistol was considered the world's greatest paperweight!

 

- NKF

[Sylph]

You may want to try Small Launchers against Superhuman Sectopods (or even alien grenades). Both have high power and affect all 4 quadrants of the alien so it'll take a lot less to knock one out.

Indeed, and with small launchers being a unique blast weapon in that they do 0-200% of their damage (I know you already know this, don't wanna sound patronising to one of the gods of xcom research) , they can be effective even against the massive armour of a sectopod.

 

In fact, I sometimes give my scouts 2 small launchers, one in each hand - the loaded item weight bug means the soldiers get 2 stun bombs free of weight costs, and the low snapshot cost of a small launcher means they can fire both shots in one turn, with a pretty good chance of taking down a sectopod on the second shot. Of course, by the time you can afford to give scouts double small launchers, you're probably playing too long and should be using a psi-amp instead, but still, for those of us opposed to mind control...

 

Not such a fan of alien grenades though - And even with small launchers and blaster launchers, there's really no beating incendiary autocannons for sectopod killing.

 

 

 

Speed and volume goes to lasers, power and accuracy goes to the heavy plasma. It's a fair balance I suppose.

 

It's amusing though, for a very long time the laser pistol was considered the world's greatest paperweight!

Hiya NFK,

Actually, I find the 'volume' goes to plasma pistols - they land more successful hits than laser pistols at anything but point-blank range.

 

The fact that laserpistols were overlooked for so long is one of the reasons I've tried to bring plasma pistols to attention.

[Zombie]

Indeed, and with small launchers being a unique blast weapon in that they do 0-200% of their damage (I know you already know this, don't wanna sound patronising to one of the gods of xcom research) , they can be effective even against the massive armour of a sectopod.

 

In fact, I sometimes give my scouts 2 small launchers, one in each hand - the loaded item weight bug means the soldiers get 2 stun bombs free of weight costs, and the low snapshot cost of a small launcher means they can fire both shots in one turn, with a pretty good chance of taking down a sectopod on the second shot. Of course, by the time you can afford to give scouts double small launchers, you're probably playing too long and should be using a psi-amp instead, but still, for those of us opposed to mind control...

 

Not such a fan of alien grenades though - And even with small launchers and blaster launchers, there's really no beating incendiary autocannons for sectopod killing.

I actually find it quite refreshing that someone actually knows that the Stun Bomb acts like normal ammo in terms of damage and yet functions like explosives in terms of area effect.

 

Dual-wielding Small Launchers is very effective, though I tend to just scavenge off the aliens and give one of them to a soldier so that they can gang up on a target if need be. Keeping the 80 item limit in check is always a big concern so one or two launchers (+3 bombs) is about the max I'd ever consider taking along on a mission; even with Sectopods. Ethereals are somewhat resistant to stun so equipping your entire squad with them is (again) just asking for trouble. Single wielding has a good point. A soldier can fire off an Aimed shot (near guarantee it'll connect) and still have more time to duck back under cover than if he'd take two snaps. If he shot two rounds off he'd be left more vulnerable if the alien didn't collapse. That's the primary reason for carrying only one weapon. Though, that 5% difference really isn't too significant.

 

Actually, I find the 'volume' goes to plasma pistols - they land more successful hits than laser pistols at anything but point-blank range.

 

The fact that laserpistols were overlooked for so long is one of the reasons I've tried to bring plasma pistols to attention.

I don't think I ever overlooked laser pistols. They are a permanent sidearm of my heavy weapon folk. Their unlimited shots mean I'm never stranded without ammo and never need to worry about the 80 item limit. With the Plasma Pistol I'd need to constantly micro-mange clip production to make sure my troops have enough. I'd just wish there were a way to "deconstruct" Plasma Rifle clips into Elerium. That way I'd be able to recombine it into Plasma Pistol Clips.

 

Might just give PPs a try again. This old dog is set in his ways, but has been known to switch strategies too.

 

- Zombie

[NKF]

I was actually thinking that if laser pistols did use ammo that I'd still use them a lot. To be honest, I quite like TFTD's gauss pistol despite how lopsided the distribution of damage the designers have given the gauss damage compared to sonic damage (generally a 19% and a bit damage difference). In the end though, it would really boil down to how much ammo it was given to it. 15 to 20 rounds would be sufficient.

 

The laser pistol's rate of fire is what I meant with volume. The plasma pistol certainly has a greater chance-to-hit for each shot.

 

I recall once where I played an all-pistol game (this was back when I was experimenting with various weapon scenarios) where everyone ended up with dual pistols. With the off-hand weapon consisting primarily of of laser pistols, I somehow managed to get away with working within the 80 item limit. Much fun and lets you juggle the positive aspects of all the pistols. The whole campaign started to flop once the Sectopods came into the picture for fairly obvious reasons.

 

- NKF

[Tasoth]

I usually use the plasma pistol as a sidearm on my 'heavy weapons guy', that is the guy I give my rocket launcher to, even pretty late in the game. Well, it alternates between that and the laser pistol, but I find I kind of like the extra hitting power.

 

Ammunition tends to not be much of an issue. Its cheap to produce and I usually have enough clips in reserve for a while.

 

I often like to use a range of weapons though.. I seem to getinto a habit of having the same squad game in game out. I usually have a sniper who usually uses a Heavy laser or plasma rifle too.

[karadoc]

I'd just wish there were a way to "deconstruct" Plasma Rifle clips into Elerium. That way I'd be able to recombine it into Plasma Pistol Clips.

Really? Plasma Rifles are pretty much my favourite weapon - because of their accuracy. My primary strategy is to having plasma rifle snipers standing at strategic positions, and to have scouts with heavy plasmas. Whenever I see an enemy, I shoot at them with the snipers rather than with the guy that actually sees them. That way, the aliens don't shoot back. The guy that sees the aliens only fires if the snipers can't get 'em.

[Zombie]

Well, I don't hate Plasma Rifles, but there's no way I'd ever be able to use up all the clips I collect from missions/raids. Same goes for the other plasma weapons really. I find Elerium to be far more important than plasma clips anyday due to the fact that a lot of the technology in the game requires it (Flying Suits, Plasma/Fusion Hovertanks, fuel for hybrid craft etc). How well you do mid-late in the game has more to do with how much Elerium is in your stockpiles rather than what the stats of your soldiers are. If you have enough Elerium, you don't need to run missions anymore because you can get all the points you need simply by shooting UFOs down. If I'd be able to back-construct the plasma clips into their respective components (Elerium), then that would infuse a good quantity into my stockpiles.

 

- Zombie

[karadoc]

Yeah, I agree. Elerium ftw. I guess I was just shocked that you said you would deconstruct rifle clips to make pistol clips.

[Zombie]

Well here again, you can collect a lot more Plasma Rifle clips than Plasma Pistol Clips because the aliens tend to phase them out early. If you want a plasma-based sidearm for your heavy weapon folk to use, you'll need the clips too. Plasma Rifles are just too heavy and big for heavy weapon guys.

 

Heavy Plasma clips are very abundant late in the game so I'd be more tempted to break them apart rather than the Plasma Rifle clips. But all this is just fantasizing, hehe.

 

- Zombie