New to X-com have some questions

[dschc78]

I recently purchase X-com via Steam and I’m really enjoying it. Wish I would have got it years ago. I’m having troubles even on the lowest difficulty setting. On the terrorize missions I really have troubles. My first attempted ended in a single blast from something I couldn’t see wiped out 9 members of my 14 man squad. Then something big with 2 legs killed the rest. On an attempt latter I figured I just needed new tech so the next terror mission I had 14 members with personal armor and laser guns. Thought I was doing ok then something ran at me squad and turned 3 or 4 of them into zombies in one turn. Managed to kill it but when I killed the zombies another alien came out and turned more of them into zombies. I ended up quitting the game since I lost so much funding and started a new one.

 

In the new game I was able to get power armor and plasma rifles and can beat terrorize missions losing some of my team though. Always some explosion comes from somewhere and kills my team.

 

Wondering if there is anyway to get countries to come back into the fold after they stop funding and make a deal with the Aliens? China, India, and the UK all left. I have a main base in the USA and just built a 2^nd one in Europe.

 

Another question I have is about your fighter craft. I build the New Fighter Craft and put in 2 plasma beams because of the not needing ammo. However they still need Elerium-115 to rearm why is this?

 

I can’t imagine playing this game on a harder difficulty having big problems with funding and nations leaving. I attacked UFOs when they were detected but then they seemed to stop coming to North America. I’m having better luck now with a European base and a new fighter there.

[Sunflash]

Most of the saltier than I seadogs around here can probably give better tips than I on general stragety; however I can answer a few of those direct questions!

 

There is no way to get a country back once they make a deal. This is why making a point to shoot down all the ufos you can is a good thing, because you CAN disrupt the deal if you get a fast enough head-start. I think. Either way blowing up aliens is always good, right?

 

According to the UFOpaedia page here, it should only cost Elerium to MAKE it. There is probably a 1-hour rearm time, but it shouldn't cost any Elerium during that process. Are you sure that's occuring? If so, some of the coders around here might wanna holler at you to figure it out.

 

Also, I know one of the major things people suggest is that you don't start your main base in USA. Do it somewhere in Europe. Why? Easier coverage of more nations. Not all as rich as the US, no; but volume over pockets. >.>

 

Usually works out fairly well, anyhow.

[Pete]

Hi dschc78 and welcome to the site

 

Your first one or two terror missions will always punish you, no matter what setting you're on. They are do-able under the right circumstances, but it's not uncommon to have to inflict as much damage to the aliens as possible and abort the mission (inflicting some damage beforehand makes the score slightly less bad, but it will still be pretty horrendous).

 

The two-legged creature will be a Reaper. Laser fire or incendiaries tends to drop those well and they're always accompanied by Floaters. I find Floaters more of a pain at terror sites than anywhere else because they tend to use their ability to float at different heights a bit more there - that might just be me though.

 

The site you encountered with the creature that turned your solders into zombies will be a terror site with Snakemen and Chrysalids - the nasty ones being the Chrysalids. They're a pain to drop with weapons from early on in the game, and laser weapons don't seem to do much to them from what I remember, but heavy plasma weapons will kill most things reasonably quickly, however they appear later in the game.

 

Chrysalids have an ability to impregnate your solders, so they turn into zombies (though technically "infested husks" would be a better description, since a new Chrysalid grows inside them for a couple of turns) and then a new Chrysalid emerges, albeit slightly weaker. The BIG problem with Chrysalids in terror missions is that they can turn the civilians into new Chrysalids too. The other problem is that they have a huge number of time units, so can cause real chaos. Don't be ashamed to abort the mission and cut your losses.

 

My main suggestion would be not to group your team too close together. It sounds like you are falling foul to alien grenades or, if you're unlucky, blaster launchers. I suspect it's the former though this early on. Really spread your team out (I have a hard time following my own advice when there are aliens all around the back of the Skyranger) - maybe have small groups of 2-3 solders and it's worth looking at their stats so that if you have one wiht high reactions in the group as it's not uncommon to find that if a Chrysalid charges your group and one or two people with good reactions get off a few shots they can think twice about continuing towards you - just don't bet on it

 

You can't get countries back once they've gone over. What happens is that the aliens launch missions specifically into the countries that they're trying to sign a pact with. They tend to send in a Battleship (bloody great thing) and two large UFO's as well as a small (I think). You might think you can take them all on later in the game to prevent it but it's bloody difficult and a Battleship will give even your best ships a run for their money - though if you're on an easier setting they might not cause as much damage. The best way to go about it is to try and keep everyone happy. Losing a big funding country early on can be a game ender for you definitely, but some of the less wealthy nations aren't too bad to lose.

 

Your new fighter craft require elerium as fuel, so it's not your weapons that are using it.

 

Where the aliens come from is random - they have bases on earth much as you do. If you're unluck enough to put your base on the opposite side of the planet to theirs then you'll have a hard time detecting them. In this case the graphs are your friend as they show how much alien activity there is in various countries and you can send your interceptors out to patrol.

 

You will get used to it, but by today's rather less challenging gaming standards it can be pretty punishing and some of the aliens that skulk about in the dark can be bloody scary. Once you're used to the aliens and you've read all about things in the in-game UFOPaedia then you'll be fine though - many of the alien UFOPaedia entries give you some tips on how to defeat them.

 

I hope that is of some help

[silencer_pl]

I recently purchase X-com via Steam and I’m really enjoying it. Wish I would have got it years ago. I’m having troubles even on the lowest difficulty setting. On the terrorize missions I really have troubles. My first attempted ended in a single blast from something I couldn’t see wiped out 9 members of my 14 man squad. Then something big with 2 legs killed the rest. On an attempt latter I figured I just needed new tech so the next terror mission I had 14 members with personal armor and laser guns. Thought I was doing ok then something ran at me squad and turned 3 or 4 of them into zombies in one turn. Managed to kill it but when I killed the zombies another alien came out and turned more of them into zombies. I ended up quitting the game since I lost so much funding and started a new one.

 

In the new game I was able to get power armor and plasma rifles and can beat terrorize missions losing some of my team though. Always some explosion comes from somewhere and kills my team.

 

Wondering if there is anyway to get countries to come back into the fold after they stop funding and make a deal with the Aliens? China, India, and the UK all left. I have a main base in the USA and just built a 2^nd one in Europe.

 

Another question I have is about your fighter craft. I build the New Fighter Craft and put in 2 plasma beams because of the not needing ammo. However they still need Elerium-115 to rearm why is this?

 

I can’t imagine playing this game on a harder difficulty having big problems with funding and nations leaving. I attacked UFOs when they were detected but then they seemed to stop coming to North America. I’m having better luck now with a European base and a new fighter there.

 

First of all welcome.

Second of all you need patience for this game and a thinking mind.

 

If the blasts are in terror missions - they simply thrown a grenade. You might turn down speed in options so you will clearly see alien shots. Also in addition you could change settings in dosbox config to slowdown the emulation (google that - CPU cycles I think needs to be lowered)

 

Zombie turning machine is called Chrysalid - mean though bastard that just needs one attack to kill you - the best bet is to use high reaction soldier and the best is of course flying suit. In terror of the Deep you get worse counterpart.

 

Once countries sing pact with aliens they are gone forever with funding

 

Plasma beams don't require elerium but you need time for them to recharge.

 

Why not USA ? Because USA is paying you a lot from the start and the more terrain you support the more money you get so satisfying Europe and Asia needs you can get far more money bonus then USA.

[Pete]

I used to start in the USA when I first played, but a European base is often better as more funding countries are packed in tightly together. That's worth thinking about too.

[dschc78]

Thanks for the welcomes

 

Ok that makes sense about the Elerium.

 

I'm also wondering how do plasma rifle clips work? It says it has 28 shots so I assume that means I can shoot it 28 times. But I burn through those clips and I know I'm not shooting more than 28 times.

 

Do any of these aliens cloak? I know theres lines of sight but I've had a few instances where aliens seem to come out of no where. I had an instance when I was raing a UFO (latter found out it was the vaunted Battleship) and I couldn't find the last alien. I only found him because he paniced/berserked and fired his weapon. He was in small room where I explored before. Even when I opened the door I couldn't see him had to move the trooper to the exact spot the alien was standing.

[Pete]

Plasma rifle clips - the only thing I can think of here is auto shot. That fires 3 bullets each time whereas snap shot and aimed shot only fire one.

 

There are no cloaked aliens, but you will find some (if not all) have better eyesight, especially at night. In your case though it could just be a line-of-sight bug, which I believe plagues a few tiles in the game but they're reasonably rare.

 

If you do any night missions, buy some electro-flares. They're cheap, reusable and light up a good portion of the map and help you see any nearby aliens. Eearly on in the game though if you shoot UFOs down try to wait til it's not night-time before doing missions if you can - the crash site remains there for a while before disappearing.

[silencer_pl]

Also don't be shy to read here many topics- maybe AAR's that are here so you can find information just lying around.

[NKF]

This game has a bad habit of deleting ammo clips that are partially used after the battle. So if you fire a few rounds and then end the mission, then the rest of the ammo will not be recovered.

 

- NKF

[Pete]

This game has a bad habit of deleting ammo clips that are partially used after the battle. So if you fire a few rounds and then end the mission, then the rest of the ammo will not be recovered.

 

I couldn't remember if this was the case but suspected as much. Thanks for that.

[dschc78]

I read some of UFOpaedia lot of information to go through. The information on weapons is helping alot.

 

Is there any energy penalty for carrying more weapons and gear?

 

From what I've read your best bet to sell for profit is to make laser cannons is that sound?

[FullAuto]

Is there any energy penalty for carrying more weapons and gear?

 

Yes, if you overload your soldiers you get a time unit penalty. Check the strength stat.

 

From what I've read your best bet to sell for profit is to make laser cannons is that sound?

 

Yes, they're the most efficient way to make money, IIRC.

[NKF]

You might want to look up the manufacturing probabilty section on ufopaedia org for the nitty gritty details. However once you are comfortable at playing on harder difficulty levels, you'll find that you can often ignore the laser cannon assembly line and just sell off excess recovered equipment (like heavy plasmas) to keep your finances in the black. They tend to pile up high fast.

 

- NKF

[Mero]

Even when making enough money by selling heavy plasma's i tend to use 1 factory (about 50 to 100 engineers) for mainly producing canons and selling them (using extender with the autosell ) due to unforseen costs (like replacing interceptors due to battleship losses) or Plasma losses due to high deaths on terror missions where HE are being handed out like candy

[chiasaur11]

Welcome aboard.

 

There's a lot of little tactics to make the game easier in individual skirmishes. Snipers, small fire teams, never take the front door when you can help it. The game gets a LOT less lethal when you learn the angles.

 

Still nasty, but more manageable. Which is why people can beat superhuman. Well, that and the absurd gamebreaking power of endgame tech.

 

As for my tech recommendations? Laser rifles and pistols can do more or less whatever you need done most of the time. If they don't cut it, switch to heavy plasma. Plasma rifles just complicate things.

[silencer_pl]

The only craft that can stand a chance with battleship is avenger, though it will take few hits. to repair X-Com based ships you need alien alloys.

[Hobbes]

The only craft that can stand a chance with battleship is avenger, though it will take few hits. to repair X-Com based ships you need alien alloys.

 

You don't need anything for repairs - the craft self repairs over time, without costing anything (alien alloys or otherwise)

[silencer_pl]

I am pretty sure that avanger needs alloys for repairs. I had a situation that second base without AA didn't want to repair.

[dschc78]

I started a new game with so I could still use the info I learned. It’s a lot better putting my 1st base in Europe and the 2nd in USA. Been able to keep all nations in so far but India. About to build a 3^rd base in China. To help with the plasma clip problem I just use laser rifles when dealing with UFOs medium or lower. Terror missions are getting better since I made some flying suits and that makes it much easier to scout.

 

It has been going a lot better this time around. I managed to take out an alien base in Europe. The only thing I can see hurting me is my base layout. My main base is just a random blob with no thought put into it. Guess I’ll learn next time.

 

Sorry I have so many questions still amazed that such an old game is so complex.

 

Where would a good idea to build a 4th base? Most alien activity seems to be in southern Africa (according to the graphs) but I don’t think I could get there in time to make a difference.

 

I have the ability to make avengers should this be the mainstay craft now? I assume it's perfect for shooting down UFO then raiding them right after.

 

I’ve been more focused on my tech this time around. Went laser rifle, armor, plasma rifle, plasma beam, and UFO tech. I haven’t researched any of the alien corpses yet. I been selling my alien corpses for cash but been keeping one of each. Wondering if I can sell it all and still research the tech or do I need to have a corpse on hand.

 

I’ve been using plasma rifles for when I want firepower should I switch to the heavy plasma instead? I have a ton of heavy plasma guns and clips courtesy of the dead aliens.

 

Lastly about how many soldiers is a good number to keep around? I have 16 at my main base currently plan to make at least 26 once I get an avenger up. At my 2^nd I have ten with laser rifles and power armor. Would this be enough to stop an alien attack? My 2^nd base was built better than my 1^st and I have a choke point there.

Thanks and again sorry for so many questions, I appreciate all the help I received so far.

[chiasaur11]

I started a new game with so I could still use the info I learned. It’s a lot better putting my 1st base in Europe and the 2nd in USA. Been able to keep all nations in so far but India. About to build a 3^rd base in China. To help with the plasma clip problem I just use laser rifles when dealing with UFOs medium or lower. Terror missions are getting better since I made some flying suits and that makes it much easier to scout.

 

Laser rifles and flying suits were my standard loadout. Little less power than plasma, but it made logistics a lot easier, and lasers shoot faster, which is very handy when keeping on the bounce. For anything below Mutons and 'lids, laser rifles are good enough.

 

 

It has been going a lot better this time around. I managed to take out an alien base in Europe. The only thing I can see hurting me is my base layout. My main base is just a random blob with no thought put into it. Guess I’ll learn next time.

 

Sorry I have so many questions still amazed that such an old game is so complex.

 

Where would a good idea to build a 4th base? Most alien activity seems to be in southern Africa (according to the graphs) but I don’t think I could get there in time to make a difference.

 

Eh. Lot of money. Maybe a little interceptor spot, or an engineering hub if you're drowning in cash. Otherwise, I'd just keep up on the bases you have. Casablanca can fend for itself.

 

I have the ability to make avengers should this be the mainstay craft now? I assume it's perfect for shooting down UFO then raiding them right after.

 

It is good for that. Best transport, best fighter.

 

But it guzzles fuel, and takes forever to repair if it gets dinged up. By now, you should be nearing endgame. Keep one for your main assault team, maybe one more for dogfights. Most duties can be handled by Interceptors with plasma without costing E-115.

 

I’ve been more focused on my tech this time around. Went laser rifle, armor, plasma rifle, plasma beam, and UFO tech. I haven’t researched any of the alien corpses yet. I been selling my alien corpses for cash but been keeping one of each. Wondering if I can sell it all and still research the tech or do I need to have a corpse on hand.

Eh. Corpse research is worth points. Nothing more. What you want is live aliens. Research those.

 

I’ve been using plasma rifles for when I want firepower should I switch to the heavy plasma instead? I have a ton of heavy plasma guns and clips courtesy of the dead aliens.

 

Let me tell you a story. (Big king with a golden crown).

 

There is a weapon spoken of in myths across the galaxy.

 

The Nar call it ""Gaze in Stunned Disbelief at the Tool of Our Destruction."

 

The Nebulonians refer to it as "The Big Floaty Thing What Kicks Our Asses."

 

The Pfhor, its foremost proponents, call it "Utfoo Heavy Assault Craft. "

 

This is not that weapon.

 

That weapon would be carved up like a Christmas turkey by a Heavy Plasma. Laser rifles are easier to handle, and there's another weapon you can research later that could hold the title "Vengeful Hand of God" without looking pretentious, but for general murder work against heavily armored enemies, the heavy plasma is as good as it gets.

 

 

Lastly about how many soldiers is a good number to keep around? I have 16 at my main base currently plan to make at least 26 once I get an avenger up. At my 2^nd I have ten with laser rifles and power armor. Would this be enough to stop an alien attack? My 2^nd base was built better than my 1^st and I have a choke point there.

Thanks and again sorry for so many questions, I appreciate all the help I received so far.

 

26 and 14 is probably enough. I'd also keep some heavy tanks around, just to be safe. But I love tanks.

 

Hypothetically, one guy with the really good gun, a good base design, or a trooper with a great secret stat could solo an alien attack if you planned right, but you don't want to run that narrow a margin.

 

And no problem.

[Mero]

The only craft that can stand a chance with battleship is avenger, though it will take few hits. to repair X-Com based ships you need alien alloys.

 

Not really, 4 interceptors with fusion ball launchers can beat 1 as well :X

 

Depending on my current psi strenght and finances i prefer to lose 2 intercepters over having to do a base defense against certain races.

[chiasaur11]

Not really, 4 interceptors with fusion ball launchers can beat 1 as well :X

 

Depending on my current psi strenght and finances i prefer to lose 2 intercepters over having to do a base defense against certain races.

 

Firestorms can also manage it with plasma. Just less of a sure thing.

[NKF]

Where would a good idea to build a 4th base? Most alien activity seems to be in southern Africa (according to the graphs)

but I don’t think I could get there in time to make a difference.

 

It can't hurt to expand there anyway. If not for current activity, then for future activity in nearby areas. Expanding your radar and maybe having forward intercept outpost always helps.

 

I have the ability to make avengers should this be the mainstay craft now? I assume it's perfect for shooting down UFO then raiding them right after.

 

If you are earning more elerium than you can use up, then you may as well switch mainly to Avengers. If elerium is hard to come by, then stick to interceptors with plasma beams.for everyday interceptions.

 

Still, it's worth having at least one Avenger on hand as they are great for emergencies such as when you must shoot down a Battleship, or you'd like to hit a distant terror site before it gets too dark. If you want to bring lots troops or tanks into battles then there's no better ship to use. You need it for the end-game anyway.

 

 

I’ve been more focused on my tech this time around. Went laser rifle, armor, plasma rifle, plasma beam, and UFO tech. I haven’t researched any of the alien corpses yet. I been selling my alien corpses for cash but been keeping one of each. Wondering if I can sell it all and still research the tech or do I need to have a corpse on hand.

 

Start the research project in the labs but don't allocate any scientists. You'll find that one item (I think) will be deducted from stores. In any case, the scientists will now have all they need to complete research on it later, so you no longer need to keep 1 sample in storage.

 

I’ve been using plasma rifles for when I want firepower should I switch to the heavy plasma instead? I have a ton of heavy plasma guns and clips courtesy of the dead aliens.

 

The plasma rifle is a great niche weapon that's very good for high accuracy soldiers (100%+ accurate snapshots, with or without kneeling!), but everday troops of any skill level tend to fare much better with the heavy plasma. You already know first hand what the aliens can do with it.

 

In practice, you may as well stick with whatever weapons you like. As long as the heavy plasma has been researched, you can always pick one up in battle to upgrade your firepower as needed. Especially useful when going inside UFOs, as it's a great way to make new pathways through the interior hull.

 

Lastly about how many soldiers is a good number to keep around? I have 16 at my main base currently plan to make at least 26 once I get an avenger up. At my 2^nd I have ten with laser rifles and power armor. Would this be enough to stop an alien attack? My 2^nd base was built better than my 1^st and I have a choke point there.

 

There's not any hard and fast rule as to what makes up a good number of soldiers to keep per base as there are lots of variables to consider that may change this number. Like base layout, tech, importance of the base, type of enemy being fought, etc.

 

But to make up numbers out of thin air, 10 for small bases (minimal facilities), 10 ~ 20 for mediums and 20 ~ 30+ for large (bases with almost all slot used) seem reasonable enough.

 

One recommendation for bases with a troop transport: Keep at least an equal if not greater number of reserve troops on hand compared to troops you send into battles. Say if you send 10 out, keep about 10 ~ 20 soldier on reserve. This acts as a decent garrison when the main force is away, and they can be used to quickly fill empty seats after each battle.

 

- NKF

[Pete]

Multiples of 10 is also optimal for Psi Labs later on.

[silencer_pl]

Not really, 4 interceptors with fusion ball launchers can beat 1 as well :X

 

But you will loose 1 if not 2 and that is plenty of elerium to spend on one battleship. So that makes 4x Interceptor with fusion balls much expensive and not reliable.

 

1 Avenger with plasmas will not even take 1/4th of its hitpoints.