3381

I’m guessing it would disappear almost instantly after hitting the “scan for activity” button, like everything else.

3382

I agree. I have Col with squad sight, a major without, and 3 other snipers of lower ranks with it. The major routinely stays home so I can promote the other guys up but even at lower ranks they are more effective because of one promotion.

In general, in 75% of the promotions there is clearly a superior choice. Bullet swarm vs surpression, being able to shoot 2 twice or shoot and move is clearly superior. I hope that Firaxis does a balance patch for both promotion choices and also the strategic level making labs more valuable for instance.

3383

I down an UFO and had an event 6 hours latter. I hit scan for the event. When I got my guys out PSI lab the UFO was still there so I know it lasts for at least 6 hours.

3384

Most events last about 24 hours.

3385

Yeah the squads would be more interesting if I was thinking “That guy is my Flanking Heavy, and that guy is my Spray-and-Pray Heavy”

Although for all the talk of skills and uber snipers, I’ve found weapons and armor technology to be much more important than skills in determining my squads effectiveness.

Tony

3386

You can have both Bullet Swarm and Suppression. The former is opposite Holo-Targeting and the latter is opposite Shredder Rocket.

But I don’t agree that most of the promotions have a clear choice. Suppression goes really well with Holo-Targeting, for instance, because they’re both support abilities. Bullet Swarm is better suited for a more aggressively played Heavy (someone who can shoot from a poor-cover-but-good-line-of-fire position and then move back to good cover).

3387

Suppression is the one that doesn’t compare to shredder rockets. The thing about rockets is that i’m not sure they destroy gear unless you actually kill an enemy with them. So two heavies shooting rockets at a group of mutons to bring them to their knees and then having the rest of your squad finish them off is often a very valid strategy. Also, because of the limited terrain destruction, using a rocket to get through a door (well, a garage door that can’t be opened) in order to get at an enemy is also helpful at times.

Bullet swarm (the shoot and then move one) is the one that doesn’t compare to holo-targeting.

I think 75% is perhaps a touch too high, but i’d say that the majority have a clear choice. The heavy is a bit worse than the other classes in this regard i think.

Also on supression, the alien discover move mechanic means that you rarely fight enemies at super range, because once they see you at max visual range, they move in to decent shooting positions generally… At first i thought that i could use the sniper scanner to do this, but when i uncovered enemies across the map with it, they still got a free move.

3388

Wait, you think Bullet Swarm is significantly worse than Holo-Targeting? With Swarm you can shoot and move, shoot and shoot, shoot and reload, shoot and overwatch, shoot and suppress. It’s extremely handy.

3389

I completely disagree.

The skills seem designed in a way that rewards stacking similarly focused abilities together. For instance, Shredder Rocket is good if you want to use your Heavy aggressively to increase the damage enemies take. But if you want a Heavy that’s more support-focused, I like Suppression much better, which can help other soldiers get out of a situation where an alien has them pinned down with Overwatch.

Certainly, “clear choices” become more apparent as you go down a skill tree if only because stacking similar skills is to your benefit, thus creating highly specialized soldiers. Like going down the right side of the Assault tree – taking Aggression, Close & Personal, Rapid Fire, Bring 'Em On, and Killer Instinct – will give you a glass cannon who can run in quick and deliver two high critical-damage shots. So once you start taking up the early critical-damage boosting skills, it is in your interest to continue going down that route.

3390

Yes. My guys can’t hit the broad side of a barn. I had this one alien with a 45% chance to be hit. 4 guys took 3 rounds to kill it. I think in overwatch mode, my guys have only connected twice.

I gave up when on my 3rd mission all my experienced troops got one shot, all in the same round. Only my rookie lived and he was panicked.

3391

Early on thats true, but after a while the limited range of rockets made them less useful imo. Supression was a lifesaver in so many cases. My chick with Shredder rockets hardly ever got to use them after a while. Its not often I’d start a round in range and not want to move.

3392

Actually, one of the things about the new XCOM that I’m quite fond of is that the range of skills at least gives a semblance of the OGs appeal to a wide range of players.
Because, here there are maybe skills clearly superior to others to the number cruncher, but there’s a chance that the other choice is still viable if you (want to) play the game differently. For example, a sniper with squadsight IS great, but also sometimes hard (or even impossible) to use (much), depending on the map layout. Do you still take one? Or would you rather have a Sniper that can move AND act the same turn, just because he can keep up with your squad better? Or do you say screw the sniper" and take another Heavy, Assault or Support instead?
At least SOME options to chose from in this otherwise “VERY narror corridor” type of game.

rezaf

3393

Anyone else following mods? This one seems intriguing: http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/18/

Specifically:

  • Arc Thrower now goes in the pistol slot
  • Pistols need to be reloaded, just like every other weapon.
  • Increased chance for UFOs showing up.
  • UFOs doing missions can be intercepted sometimes.
  • Carapace, Titan and Archangel armors provide two item slots instead of just one.
  • Civilians killed offscreen by Chryssalids will turn into zombies on Normal and Classic (it already was so on Impossible).
  • Second Wave is enabled.

Also, anyone know what this means?

  • On Normal and Classic difficulty levels, the AI should now use more than 5 NPCs (it already was so on Impossible)

Is this referring to civilians in terror missions, or does this mean that on Normal and Classic, the A.I. only moves around up to 5 alien “groups” on patrols before your team is discovered?

3394

It means that only 5 aliens will participating in a fight. That’s supposed to only apply to normal and easy, though.

3395

Thanks. I’ve definitely played maps on classic with only 5 aliens, though, they were always UFO crash sites. (Side note: That kinda reminds me … I miss that you don’t find bodies of aliens that died in the crash anymore.)

3396

There can be more aliens on the map, but they won’t rush your guys, to be clear.

3397

Yeah I always kind of liked that some of the aliens could be killed in the crash. At least here the UFOs are often heavily damaged, but that was one of the small little things that helped X-Com shine.

3398

Oh OK. So I was right, then? This is about the max number of units that walk on patrols versus those that stay in once place and never move (until discovered)?

3399

Wow, guess my game is bugged. Multiple times I’ve engaged 9 plus mutons in combat that are rushing forward. Although once the beserker did just wander away instead of charging forward, but for sure had 5 incoming fire and 2 guys pinned down.

3400

That’s what I’m wondering … does “NPCs” mean individual units or individual “groups”? Aside from the times when Thin Men drop in from the sky, I think it’s pretty clear that all aliens in the game move in groups of either two or three until they discover your position.