Question

[unknowledg]

Opinions wanted:

 

I recently got XCom2 reinstalled on my computer, and after a seven year hiatus from playing I attempted to play the game. My tested strategy that I had remembered using years ago didnt seem to be affective. So my question to the forum--what is in your opinion the best starting strategy for XCom2?

[Jman4117]

Get a base in the north atlantic, get some tanks, and advance slowly in battle.

[Bomb Bloke]

Dart guns suck. Get rid of them. Research the guass kit quickly, then use the guass rifles. Stick with the heavier original weapons, though - phospher has it's uses.

 

In the tactical battles, make sure your units have something between them and the unknown territory at the end of each turn. Don't be impatient. Make sure your troops can reflex fire when possible, and remember teamwork. You don't want the aliens picking off your men one by one.

 

Finally, if in doubt about turning a certain corner, or entering/leaving a building, throw a grenade. You may have to shoot a door/ceiling out, but it's better then been shot the second you step foot through a door.

[NKF]

Hmm, the best advice I can give is to never stick to the same strategy. Instead, develop a lot of smaller general strategies and mix and match them depending on the battle.

 

Learn how to use all of your equipment to their fullest potential. That is to say, master your weapons. Know what they're useful for and use them when they're needed. Also, more importantly, know the limitation of your weapons (yes, every weapon has a limitation of some kind). Don't just stick to one type of weapon. Combine ranged shots with grenades. Use odd tools like the scanners to watch for movement behind walls. Use explosives to kick up temporary dust clouds so you can charge through a dangerous area (hey, it works). Flares. Flares are very important in TFTD.

 

Master your weapons, and master your soldiers as well. Consider your soldiers as a whole and don't just sack them because they've got low throwing skill. A cowardly soldier may have magnficent reactions (which is one of the most important skill for a front-line trooper), or an inaccurate soldier may be super strong (making this soldier a perfect grenadier).

 

Master your terrain. Know where you're fighting and anticipate where aliens may appear. For example, in port terror sites, it's safe to guess that there's a sniper in the huge storage building (I think it's a rail station with ore wagons). So if you set fire to the third level of the building and go on about your business as usual, you might just burn the sniper to death. Or know which parts of terrain cost a lot more to walk through than around. Like the corals. They take forever to wade through, but if you walk around them, you'll move much faster. Know how to use your ship as a safehaven or a bunker. The Triton is a great place to hold off the aliens. When you're out in the field, know where cover can be obtained and head to it.

 

Plan each of your moves. Move slowly.

 

And most importantly: Practice and learn from your mistakes and try and try again.

 

Or if you just don't care for all this strategy mumbo jumbo, go ahead and use save-reload immortality. Hey, if it's just for practice, it's not cheating.

 

- NKF

[NickAragua]

These are more specific tips, not useful for all situations.

 

- If you noticed specific guys getting mind-controlled a lot, sack them or don't let them go on missions against psionic guys. Most of my losses in TFTD come not from firefights but because some little dork is hovering just out of visibility range and letting some psionic guy in a bunker get psi-attacks off on my guys. There's really no way to prevent psi-attacks other than not being seen on the enemy's turn.

 

- Aliens just love hiding in one-square-thin alcoves and hallways. So if you've killed all the aliens but the mission doesn't end, chances are that there's one hiding in a closet, bathroom or little underground tunnel. Corollary to that, never send a man in to one of those little holes by himself. Send at least two, and try to flush the aliens out using explosives instead of coming in after them. If you do come in after them, make sure you have some hand-to-hand weapons (thermal tazers if you're looking for prisoners, vibroblades/thermic lances otherwise).

 

- For those open-terrain firefights, you start out with vastly inferior weapons, and can really only close the gap with sonic guns. If you just try to shoot it out, what'll generally happen is that you'll scratch the alien a little with your dart gun, then the alien will turn around and rip your trooper a new one - if they can see him. That's why you use a point-man (the guy with 20 strength and 40 firing accuracy who you give the dart pistol to) who will move ahead of your main firing group, take hits from sonic guns and grenades, but provide targetting info for your firing squad.

 

- Read up on the research do's and don'ts - NKF has a comprehensive list of what to research and what not to somewhere... (with some spoilers). The short version: Keep a couple of live "Deep Ones" around and don't research Tasoth Commanders. The only "legal" commanders are Lobsterman Commanders.

[cyrus]

To make it even more clear, I'd like to emphasize one point. When shooting aliens (especially on high difficulty levels) the chances are, that they will shoot in return. Many aliens have high reactions and accuracy ratings, not to mention superior weapons that can kill your soldier, even with an armour, with one shot. So, the best strategy to avoid reaction fire is to shoot it from beyond the visibility range (that of an alien - and it has slightly wider range). So there is some scout (you can use the rookies with high TUs and stamina for that or tanks will do well for that, they have thicker armour, though it is more costly solution), that reveals the positions of enemies and beyond him are some snipers that actually shoot the thing (consider that they have scopes). Thus, you may evade reaction fire completely. Grenades also very helpful, they trigger reaction fire at a far lower rate, if any.

[NKF]

Yes, that's one of the more effective strategies that can be used in UFO and TFTD. Even works to a small extent in Apocalypse.

 

Just to add some more notes to it:

 

When throwing grenades, make sure the alien cannot see you. Reaction fire is triggered when your reaction score (of which it's adjusted based on your time unit percentage) is lower than the alien's. If it cannot see you, it won't return fire. If it can, hope that your reaction score is high enough after performing the throw.

 

Now a couple more notes regarding reaction fire:

 

All units can see for 20 tiles or so in full daylight, on land. Since aliens ignore the light levels, they always see as if it were in full daylight, so they technically always see much further than you can (unless you employ flares - throw them far and wide).

 

An alien that cannot see you cannot shoot at you. This is true if the alien is looking away and you just so happen to sneak up behind it. Do keep in mind however that if it is shot and is not killed instantly, it'll turn around and seek its assailant, and if it wins the reaction check and has enough TUs, it'll get off a reaction shot. So keep well out of their visual radius in general and not just their line of sight. Especially important for melee attacks or if you like to use short range gauss pistol bursts in the back (which are very effective against some aliens, but not all)

 

- NKF

[Rattler]

Remember; the computer cheats.

[Zombie]

Well, its not so much that the computer cheats, but rather the game was programmed giving the aliens an unfair advantage! X-COM agents seeing 19 tiles (according to my measurements) is a little less than the aliens seeing 22 or more tiles in the same lighting conditions and terrain! That really sucks.

[cyrus]

No, computer cheates a little, really. It remembers positions of your soldiers when revealed. So, for example, if some alien stepped in and has seen some of your soldiers, but then he decided not to attack, but to retreat out of your field of vision, he then may attack you, even if you moved from the old position. It is often exploited by the aliens with psi attack.

[Ki-tat Chung]

ah yes, i remember something like this....somewhere else on the forum, we discussed that. it changes from beginner to superhuman tho...something like if the alien sees you one, the remember where you go, and if it dies, they can't see you any more etc.

[cyrus]

I am not sure they cant's see you when the spotter has died, at least with psi I think they continue to attack, though i am not 100% sure of it

[Ki-tat Chung]

it sucks how the aliens don't need anything to psi you though...

[Blehm 98]

I just do whatever it takes to win. why use strategies, jsut play it slow and you CAN win. besides, the only strategy i really use is probably renaming my soldiers

[NKF]

Then my friend, you are, unconciously, utilising some form of strategy.

 

Oh, perhaps not a grand strategic sense of strategy, but lots of smaller strategies that eventually build up to success.

 

- NKF

[Jman4117]

Could it be The Super Organization Strategy?

[Neorapsta]

lol,

 

I think its the same thing from EU, that once you've been spotted you can be psi attacked and from that point on. Plus they seem to have better sight radiai than you so it seems as though they psi without spotting you. After first getting seen they dont need visual contact in order to psi, it seems

[NKF]

Actually, they don't even need to see you. For psionics, the computer cheats. It knows where all your soldiers are.

 

As for visual radius, they are the same as yours, except they don't need to worry about the darkness. To them, it's full daylight wherever they go. In TFTD, since it's often very dark underwater, you've got a pretty heavy handicap throughout most of the game. Watch your reaction score, as that's the only thing that's going to save you from a reaction shot.

 

- NKF

[Puasonen]

I have 2 grenadiers in every mission and they are equipped with 17 grenades both. (grenade in both hands too)

 

In the start of the mission I prime both grenades from both grenadiers and open the door just to check if anyone is right in front of my triton. Next turn I start advancing around the map with scouts=(sucky soldiers) and tank. I go in every direction with one man to secure the front of the triton, then I put my grenadiers there. Every time I see an alien, I throw a grenade in their feet. This is VERY effective strategy which of course doesn't work IN ufos or alien bases but in terror sites and outsides in ufo and alien base missions. (Although your grenadiers are not very safe in big ufos and alien bases because of pulse launchers) They still tend to shoot my scouts with it every time.

 

Well, that's it. When you need help with ufo interior strategy and alien base, ask again and I'll help