XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...

[Anarion]

Tactics are still mandatory for winning you the game, but you also have to be careful about not pulling spawns.

What I recommend for beating impossible is advance + Hunker Down behind full cover with fire magnets as your other troops advance out of sight with Overwatch/dash. Most aliens will open fire on the visible targets. Once you're close, you can grenade and follow up with gunfire. This strategy also synergizes extremely well with squad sight snipers. Advance -> spot -> fire -> hunker.

Mass grenades and rockets are crucial early, eliminating cover for snipers/follow up shooting, and doing guaranteed AoE damage.

Squad sight snipers are invaluable. Get them as soon as possible.

Flanking is recommended when possible, but be very careful about moving too far out that you trip other spawns.

'Execution rushes' are a useful technique after closing with hunker down + full cover, usually guaranteeing kills on weaker aliens with point blank flanking attacks.

Early on, remember to use pistols to weaken sectoids so a rifle burst will kill them, or to finish them off after they've eaten one.

Lastly suppression helps supplement an advance. It's a _really_ tough choice beween that and Shredder rockets. You should have at least one trooper capable of suppression so it can be used on an as-needed basis. Once you do, get Shredders. I like to use Support as my designated suppressor.

What do you do on maps like the gas station one or some of the parking lots where there is almost no high cover and the only spot available is a truck that can explode if it gets shot too much? I find those ones especially hard because you generally trigger a spawn simply by moving to high cover and then you're stuck trading shots because advancing to a new position will trigger further spawns and kill you, but withdrawing leaves you without a safe position.

Why would you do that?

It is a surprisingly common misconception that in the old game, you were penalized for ignoring shot down UFOs. That's completely untrue - you can leave a crashed ship until it disappears off the map and nothing bad will happen. You don't even lose a single point. Even if it was a Terror Ship with chryssalids. Even if it was a battleship.

Because you stopped caring at a certain point. If you're just trying to capture a leader or commander to finish up the game, and you've already got a stockpile of Elerium and all the armor and Avengers you could want, what difference does it make where you shoot down the smaller UFOs?

Mayhem + Danger Zone isn't worth it; a second rocket/blaster bomb and grenade are too huge to pass up. The problem with pimping out the Heavy's suppression is that it has _way_ too high an opportunity cost.

I actually really like the heavy suppression build, but you have to treat it like a different class entirely. I mean, you take supports and assaults on missions and don't spend the whole mission wondering why your assault trooper doesn't have more rockets and grenades, right? A heavy with the suppression build is the same thing. He should also have holo-targeting and then you use him as a pure support that can lock down several enemies and destroy cover while inflicting minor damage at a 100% hit rate and making all your other shots a little more accurate. Plus, you still take HEAT ammo, so the heavy doubles as a really powerful squaddie when you need to take down cyberdiscs and sectopods.

[tensai_oni]

Because you stopped caring at a certain point. If you're just trying to capture a leader or commander to finish up the game, and you've already got a stockpile of Elerium and all the armor and Avengers you could want, what difference does it make where you shoot down the smaller UFOs?

Psi training, to break the game even further. Your psionic soldiers aren't done polishing their skills until they can take over Ethereals and Chryssalids with a single attempt!

Anyway, I guess the issue I had here was not shooting down UFOs over water per se but rather it being talked in context of a solution to the problem of UFOs getting shot down and thus generating a mission you "have to" take care of - which is not a problem at all, because as I said already, no you do not have to go to the mission if you don't want to.

[Anarion]

Psi training, to break the game even further. Your psionic soldiers aren't done polishing their skills until they can take over Ethereals and Chryssalids with a single attempt!

Anyway, I guess the issue I had here was not shooting down UFOs over water per se but rather it being talked in context of a solution to the problem of UFOs getting shot down and thus generating a mission you "have to" take care of - which is not a problem at all, because as I said already, no you do not have to go to the mission if you don't want to.

You're clearly not as obsessive-compulsive as I am about such things.

[HamHam]

Tactics are still mandatory for winning you the game, but you also have to be careful about not pulling spawns.

Tactics are subordinate to the discovery system. If attempting to flank would reveal new ground, don't do it. Destroy their cover, blow them up, kill them with mind bullets, or run away. Every turn, just single move and overwatch. Just hold out until you get Ghost Armor and then the game completely breaks. Hilariously Psi armor is probably worse than Ghost Armor.

[Surrealistik]

Controlling spawns is unquestionably key, but without tactics, all the spawn control in the world won't matter as you die repeatedly by increasing your risk/RNG exposure unnecessarily.

Overwatch spam can work, but I wouldn't recommend it early game against accurate and relatively durable enemies like the Thin Men; you're just asking to be outshot unless you've got several squadsights readied.

As for the game breaking, I find that's true the moment you get Opportunist on your squadsighters + laser sniper rifles or better. Ghost armour and the like just allows you to win more. Even II isn't especially difficult once you have laser weapons and carapace armour.


As far as Heavy Suppression focused builds go, they seem to have some promise, but again, rocket/grenade spam is too strong to pass up IMO. Holotargeting isn't really useful late game either (you have all the accuracy in the world).

[HamHam]

Controlling spawns is unquestionably key, but without tactics, all the spawn control in the world won't matter as you die repeatedly by increasing your risk/RNG exposure unnecessarily.

There's no much tactics other than pick the best cover. Trying to comprehend the insane LOS system maybe.

Overwatch spam can work, but I wouldn't recommend it early game against accurate and relatively durable enemies like the Thin Men; you're just asking to be outshot unless you've got several squadsights readied.

What? If you already discovered them, then obviously you take them out (rockets work great for this).

[BRC]

So there I was, in a burning tankyard, swarming with 'lids.

My best assault, "Wild Child", was holed up next to a tank, when four 'lids and a zombie all stormed out of the building. She survived the assault (only two hit her), but things looked pretty bad.

And then I noticed two things.

First: All the "lids were right next to the tank.

Second: I had a heavy nearbye with a Rocket.

Wild Child weaves between the 'lids and blasts a zombie threatening the Heavy. The Heavy fires a rocket right at the tank, catching the nightmare-bugs in both the primary, and secondary explosions.

Six chyrissalids dead from one rocket.

Don't Mess With Heavies.
That is all.

[Drascin]

Mayhem + Danger Zone isn't worth it; a second rocket/blaster bomb and grenade are too huge to pass up. The problem with pimping out the Heavy's suppression is that it has _way_ too high an opportunity cost.

I don't know. Those 100% assured damage points are pretty useful, especially when you're looking at that berserker that survived with a couple XP.

[Cespenar]

I wonder how far a team of 6 Heavies would go.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I wonder how far a team of 6 Heavies would go.

Actually, for an odd combo, try two Heavies, two Squadsight Snipers, and an Assault.

For this, I go all the way back to Everquest tactics. The Assault... is your Monk. He is the ONLY squad member who goes out and explores new territory. When he finds enemies, he pulls back and lets the Assaults and Snipers exterminate them. Then goes back for more. He's also got the Arc Thrower, for quick captures if you wound but don't kill something.

[Anarion]

As far as Heavy Suppression focused builds go, they seem to have some promise, but again, rocket/grenade spam is too strong to pass up IMO. Holotargeting isn't really useful late game either (you have all the accuracy in the world).

This doesn't make sense to me. Are you saying that every single heavy you have should be maxed out on rockets and grenades? You only need more than 1 or 2 if you actually plan to bring 3+ heavies into the same fight, yet you've stated that you also use supports and have them use suppression. The suppression-focused heavy isn't an alternative to other heavies, it's an alternative to a support or assault role, where you give up the healing/smoke grenades or the run and gun abilities for better space control and a gameplay style that's more focused on slowly advancing and controlling territory.

Actually, for an odd combo, try two Heavies, two Squadsight Snipers, and an Assault.

For this, I go all the way back to Everquest tactics. The Assault... is your Monk. He is the ONLY squad member who goes out and explores new territory. When he finds enemies, he pulls back and lets the Assaults and Snipers exterminate them. Then goes back for more. He's also got the Arc Thrower, for quick captures if you wound but don't kill something.

This certainly works once you have archangel armor, since you can get a sniper that has LoS everywhere on the map. It's a bit tougher to do something like this early because a lot of the time it can be hard to get clear lines of fire on the ground and the enemies won't follow you, instead just taking up an overwatch position and doing nothing for turns on end.

[Driderman]

Just got a perfectly good classic ironman game ruined by a buggy council mission triggering at the same time as an abduction mission:
Did the abduction mission with no losses, only injuries, but when I wanted to the council mission afterwards, all my active personnel were listed as "on mission" and I had to abandon the mission :(

[KillianHawkeye]

Just got a perfectly good classic ironman game ruined by a buggy council mission triggering at the same time as an abduction mission:
Did the abduction mission with no losses, only injuries, but when I wanted to the council mission afterwards, all my active personnel were listed as "on mission" and I had to abandon the mission :(

You know that those council missions are completely optional, right? I'm not sure how missing one would result in a "ruined" game, unless those soldiers never come back from that "on mission" bug.



Well I'm doing much better on Normal difficulty. I just got three Excellents on a terror mission (achievement, yay! ). I'm almost to the end of June without a single country lost and am ready to embark on the alien base mission which, if successful, will allow me to keep that streak going. I've got ALL the lasers and am currently researching the SHIV and Titan armor. I think plasma will be after that. My base layout is great, and I'll have all the resources necessary to build an elerium generator right between two thermals on the bottom level once I get my next batch of credits. I don't think I'll have any issues with power after that. I do need to move my alien containment area so I can put a satellite nexus between three uplink rooms, at which point I should be able to cover all the countries.

Hopefully I won't get too used to this level of success, because I plan on switching back to Classic after this playthrough. But hey, maybe I'll learn something that will help me improve my strategy. At the very least, knowing what I get for researching certain objects will help me plan my mid-game research schedule better.

[Beacon of Chaos]

Finally completed the game today (normal difficulty). I love this game. Gonna start up classic difficulty soon (but not Ironman, until they iron out the bugs.

My final team was two heavys, two assaults, a support, and a sniper, with an extra support/assault/hover SHIV as backups. All highest rank, because I may have save scummed just a teensy bit.

Random thoughts:
Why can I not sell outdated equipment!? These laser rifles aren't being used and no country will ask for them! Arg, and I had so little money by mid-game because I forgot to build more satelites.

Are carapace armours really that useful? I never built one because I figured I'd never need it.

I love the nickname feature, it really helps me want to protect those soldiers. Aleandro Delgado was another face in the crowd, but "Fastlane" was a hero.

Did anyone ever use combat stims? I tried them briefly, on a titan armour assault (24HP + 50% less damage = living tank) but the boost you get is just too short for a 1-shot. Also it takes a turn to use, meaning that by the time you use it, it will probably be no longer relevant. If it had multiple uses or lasted a few more turns I could see it being worth it.

Psychic powers: I hear a lot of people using mind control, but did anyone try telekinetic field? For me it seems to basically stop the aliens in their tracks as they simply will not bother trying to fire through it. It's a "gimme a break" button with a 4-turn cooldown. Panic is completely useless. Everytime I tried it, the enemy just shot at me.

The ending:

Spoiler

Show

Fastlane... noooooo!

That was... abrupt. I do think they're forshadowing a sequel/expansion. The boss was saying he was cast out of his home, which is presumably where a more powerful race lives.

[NEO|Phyte]

Are carapace armours really that useful? I never built one because I figured I'd never need it.

The extra HP compared to basic armor is handy, but you're better off rushing straight to skeleton suits and using those instead. A bit less HP, but you get a defense boost, increased movement, and a grapple gun.

[Tengu_temp]

I wonder how far a team of 6 Heavies would go.

ALIEN SANDVICH!

[Surrealistik]

This doesn't make sense to me. Are you saying that every single heavy you have should be maxed out on rockets and grenades? You only need more than 1 or 2 if you actually plan to bring 3+ heavies into the same fight, yet you've stated that you also use supports and have them use suppression. The suppression-focused heavy isn't an alternative to other heavies, it's an alternative to a support or assault role, where you give up the healing/smoke grenades or the run and gun abilities for better space control and a gameplay style that's more focused on slowly advancing and controlling territory.

I'm saying that as many heavies as possible should have nades and rockets maxed out. Only one or two squad members really need suppression; since the Heavy loses too much by specializing in it, suppression should be the job of the Support, for whom it doesn't have nearly as much of an opportunity cost. In the unlikely event you can't field a Support to suppress, then the job falls to one of your Heavies. Even then I wouldn't emphasize suppression at the expense of an extra nade and rocket.

There is also no such thing as too many explosives. There is _never_ such a thing as too many explosives.

What do you do on maps like the gas station one or some of the parking lots where there is almost no high cover and the only spot available is a truck that can explode if it gets shot too much? I find those ones especially hard because you generally trigger a spawn simply by moving to high cover and then you're stuck trading shots because advancing to a new position will trigger further spawns and kill you, but withdrawing leaves you without a safe position.

I'm assuming this is a case where I've already spawned something, and so can't afford to trigger. Solutions:

Smoke nades + partial cover. Advance.

Snipers. Riskier if I have to advance to spot; hopefully I can battle scan.

Rockets.

Withdraw to a place with high cover and overwatch if available, forcing the aliens to come to you.

That said, it's rare, but sometimes you do have to risk a spawn, because advancing through a position is completely untenable, and you have no real solution except to reposition.

I don't know. Those 100% assured damage points are pretty useful, especially when you're looking at that berserker that survived with a couple XP.

That's what the extra grenade/rocket is for. Guaranteed, AoE, cover wrecking damage, but I am admittedly tempted by the idea of a reliable, at-will finisher.

I think it has some potential. Tell you all what; I'll try the Suppression + Mayhem combo, and if it proves useful enough times, I'll let you guys know. You guys should also give it a shot, see how it works out for you. Still not sold on dropping extra nades though for Danger Zone, especially when Mayhem makes them even more powerful.


@ Ham Ham: I'd just described them in my prior post you'd objected to. Spot for the squadsights via move + hunker (battle scanner or guy moving to good cover + hunker at end of turn), snipers take shots, and rush surviving aliens if appropriate. Explosive spam to soften and remove cover if needed, then follow up with fire. Spreading and flanking can work if you've got some breathing room. Smoke nades for when you don't have cover you need. Suppression is invaluable for minimizing risk vs more accurate/deadly aliens. Tactics aren't especially deep in X-Com, but they're present. You can't win impossible just by reflexively moving into the best available cover + overwatch with your soldiers every round (avoiding spawn trips is assumed), even though that's often effective.

As for early game overwatch exchanges with accurate aliens, yes, rockets can work, but only if you have em. Part of the reason I emphasize Heavies is because they allow me to more easily and consistently deal with this sort of situation if I must. That said however, if you don't have that ordinance available (or enough squadsights), exchanging fire in this way early on is a bad idea, which will usually result in you losing or taking heavy casualties. Taking down several Thin Men on II from a considerable distance with ballistic weapons is not something you can do with ease aside from the above.

[HamHam]

@ Ham Ham: I'd just described them in my prior post you'd objected to. Spot for the squadsights via move + hunker (battle scanner or guy moving to good cover + hunker at end of turn), snipers take shots, and rush surviving aliens if appropriate. Explosive spam to soften and remove cover if needed, then follow up with fire. Spreading and flanking can work if you've got some breathing room. Smoke nades for when you don't have cover you need. Suppression is invaluable for minimizing risk vs more accurate/deadly aliens. Tactics aren't especially deep in X-Com, but they're present. You can't win impossible just by reflexively moving into the best available cover + overwatch with your soldiers every round (avoiding spawn trips is assumed), even though that's often effective.

None of that feels very satisfying in single player. The amount of map you can safely access at any given time is just too constrained to do anything fancy. Brute force abuse of your abilities like Squad Sight or Rockets is almost always the best answer. Smoke grenades are cool but really only in the mid game because earlier just taking a shot is often better and after nothing will live past your turn most of the time.

[Zevox]

Are carapace armours really that useful? I never built one because I figured I'd never need it.

Oh hell yes. They're a huge upgrade over your basic body armor, allowing your troops to survive another shot or two, which is huge early in the game. They're what makes Sectoids and Thin Men stop looking like that big of a threat. I'd say go for them before even laser weapons.

Did anyone ever use combat stims? I tried them briefly, on a titan armour assault (24HP + 50% less damage = living tank) but the boost you get is just too short for a 1-shot. Also it takes a turn to use, meaning that by the time you use it, it will probably be no longer relevant. If it had multiple uses or lasted a few more turns I could see it being worth it.

I've never used them, so I don't actually know what they do or how long they last (since the description of them is so vague). I just figured I'd never pick them over Med-kits (Supports), SCOPEs (Heavies, Snipers), Nano-Fiber Vests (Heavies, Snipers), Grenades (Assaults), or an Arc Thrower (Assaults). Maybe if they benefited from the Support ability that gives three uses to Med-Kits I'd put them in the second slot of a Major/Colonel Support to give them a try... if that slot weren't bugged, anyway.

Zevox

[RagingKrikkit]

Finally completed the game today (normal difficulty). I love this game. Gonna start up classic difficulty soon (but not Ironman, until they iron out the bugs.

My final team was two heavys, two assaults, a support, and a sniper, with an extra support/assault/hover SHIV as backups. All highest rank, because I may have save scummed just a teensy bit.

Let's see, the first time I went, I had a Col. assault as my volunteer, a Major sniper, and 4 squaddies. Good times.

The second time I had A support (Volunteer) 2 snipers, 2 assaults, and a heavy, all colonels. Now THAT was fun.

Random thoughts:
Why can I not sell outdated equipment!? These laser rifles aren't being used and no country will ask for them! Arg, and I had so little money by mid-game because I forgot to build more satelites.

Are carapace armours really that useful? I never built one because I figured I'd never need it.

Oh, well, it's not game-breaking.

Yes, carapace armor is very useful. It's essentially the armor equivalent of laser weapons, and will give your troops 3 extra health, which is another sectoid shot right there.

I love the nickname feature, it really helps me want to protect those soldiers. Aleandro Delgado was another face in the crowd, but "Fastlane" was a hero.

Heh, that's what they calledd my second volunteer. Man, she was a beast.

Did anyone ever use combat stims? I tried them briefly, on a titan armour assault (24HP + 50% less damage = living tank) but the boost you get is just too short for a 1-shot. Also it takes a turn to use, meaning that by the time you use it, it will probably be no longer relevant. If it had multiple uses or lasted a few more turns I could see it being worth it.

I made one, but never got around to using it.

Psychic powers: I hear a lot of people using mind control, but did anyone try telekinetic field? For me it seems to basically stop the aliens in their tracks as they simply will not bother trying to fire through it. It's a "gimme a break" button with a 4-turn cooldown. Panic is completely useless. Everytime I tried it, the enemy just shot at me.

I think that's the point. It's supposed to make it so that psi doesn't work on your troops. My personal theory (though it never made it to the practice stage) is to have two psi troops, one with panic/mind control, and the other with the defensive setup.

The ending:

Spoiler

Show

Fastlane... noooooo!

That was... abrupt. I do think they're forshadowing a sequel/expansion. The boss was saying he was cast out of his home, which is presumably where a more powerful race lives.

Yeah, the ending has been a matter of some confusion for a while now. Here's my offical theory:

Spoiler

Show

Somehow, for some reason, humanity came to the attention of the Ethereal Ones. Perhaps humanity had the ability to "ascend", or perhaps there was a different motive. Whatever their reason, the Ethereal Ones sent their fallen brothers, the Ethereals, to oversee the ascension (or whatever their motive was) of humanity. To do this, the Ethereals tested mankind, pressing them with one trial after another, to prove that they were worthy.

First came the Sectoids and Thin Men, a test of mankind's will and ability to accept the new and unknown, that Human society could continue to function, despite the knowledge that life exists beyond their planet.

Next were the Floaters and Cyberdisks, a viable combat threat, and a test of mankind's strength, that they could hold their own against a strong and new military threat.

Then there were the Cryssalids and the terror missions, a test of resolve, that humanity could push forward with its cause in the face of overwhelming destruction and the most horrifying creature to ever be called alive.

After that, humanity was tested with the Musons, a test of adaptation, that Humans could change to face a new and overpowering foe.

Then humanity was tested with the Sectoid commanders, a test of the mind, that they could continue to press on, even as they and their allies were ripped of the control of their bodies.

The Sectopods were not a test of themselves, unlike the rest of the alien forces. They ultimately contributed little to their cause, and could best be said to retest the qualities of might and adaptation.

The true next test were the Ethereals, a test of mind, body, and soul, that Humans could still push forward and achieve their goal by any means nesecarry, even if it involved the deaths of themselves or their friends, even by their own hands.

The final test is that of the Gift. Faced with extinction, the final test, the final hope, was the the Volunteer would sieze control of the temple ship, and save humanity from total destruction, something that could only be done with a use of the Gift unlike anything humanity had seen before. The Volunteer overpowered the psionic barriers meant to only allow the commander to pilot the vessel, took control of the helm, and changed the self-destruct sequence to simply destroy the vessel, rather than allow it to become a black hole.

Humanity has passed all the tests, with flying colors. The Ethereal Ones are very pleased with humanity's sucess, and are now preparing for their true meeting.

[Beacon of Chaos]

Oh hell yes. They're a huge upgrade over your basic body armor, allowing your troops to survive another shot or two, which is huge early in the game. They're what makes Sectoids and Thin Men stop looking like that big of a threat. I'd say go for them before even laser weapons.

Wait, are they actually armour then? I figured they were like the nano-fiber vests and take up the item slot instead of the armour slot.

I've never used them, so I don't actually know what they do or how long they last (since the description of them is so vague). I just figured I'd never pick them over Med-kits (Supports), SCOPEs (Heavies, Snipers), Nano-Fiber Vests (Heavies, Snipers), Grenades (Assaults), or an Arc Thrower (Assaults). Maybe if they benefited from the Support ability that gives three uses to Med-Kits I'd put them in the second slot of a Major/Colonel Support to give them a try... if that slot weren't bugged, anyway.

Zevox

They take a turn to use, and for the next two turns the soldier takes half damage from all attacks, is immune to crits, gets a +3 bonus to movement, and a bonus to will, but I think it's only vs. panic. Not great, and as you say, there are so many better options for that item slot. Might be good if you really need to run a gauntlet of overwatching opponents, but it's still situational.

[Anarion]

Random thoughts:
Why can I not sell outdated equipment!? These laser rifles aren't being used and no country will ask for them! Arg, and I had so little money by mid-game because I forgot to build more satelites.

There are country requests, but I too found it odd that I couldn't sell extra plasma rifles that I captured. That was a major source of income in the original. Perhaps the designers wanted to de-emphasize capture?

Are carapace armours really that useful? I never built one because I figured I'd never need it.

Yes, a thousand times yes. Classic and impossible don't wait around for you, aliens start upgrading and getting better and better as time passes, and they all start out with extra aim and crit anyway. Carapace armor changes your soldiers from dead in one lucky shot no matter what you do, to actually being capable of taking a hit. It vastly increases your margin for error and is probably one of the biggest cuts to the game's difficulty of any upgrade.

Did anyone ever use combat stims? I tried them briefly, on a titan armour assault (24HP + 50% less damage = living tank) but the boost you get is just too short for a 1-shot. Also it takes a turn to use, meaning that by the time you use it, it will probably be no longer relevant. If it had multiple uses or lasted a few more turns I could see it being worth it.

I never tried them. If they tripled on the support like medkits, it might be good, but it's really asking a lot for anyone that actually wants them go give up an alien grenade.

Psychic powers: I hear a lot of people using mind control, but did anyone try telekinetic field? For me it seems to basically stop the aliens in their tracks as they simply will not bother trying to fire through it. It's a "gimme a break" button with a 4-turn cooldown. Panic is completely useless. Everytime I tried it, the enemy just shot at me.

Panic is completely useless, the other power that ups your will is way better, since in most cases it give the soldier using it a 100% hit chance on their powers for the next couple turns. I never tried telekinetic field. It's numerically the same as upgraded smoke grenades and people still get shot in those. It does interest me to hear that the AI treats it differently, and if what is essentially an AI bug causes them to stop firing on the higher difficulties as well, I think it would be worth looking into the power. Still, mind control is really incredible.

The extra HP compared to basic armor is handy, but you're better off rushing straight to skeleton suits and using those instead. A bit less HP, but you get a defense boost, increased movement, and a grapple gun.

Are you sure? I thought skeleton suit just gives you move, hp, and the grappling hook. I think the defense boost is only on ghost armor.

[NEO|Phyte]

Are you sure? I thought skeleton suit just gives you move, hp, and the grappling hook. I think the defense boost is only on ghost armor.

Skeleton gives a +10, ghost gives a +20

[Beacon of Chaos]

Let's see, the first time I went, I had a Col. assault as my volunteer, a Major sniper, and 4 squaddies. Good times.

The second time I had A support (Volunteer) 2 snipers, 2 assaults, and a heavy, all colonels. Now THAT was fun.

Having a fully-equiped team of colonels is a great feeling, even though I still had a tough time on the final mission. Well, towards the end, at least. The rest was a cake walk.

I think that's the point. It's supposed to make it so that psi doesn't work on your troops. My personal theory (though it never made it to the practice stage) is to have two psi troops, one with panic/mind control, and the other with the defensive setup.

Not sure I follow.

Yeah, the ending has been a matter of some confusion for a while now. Here's my offical theory:

Spoiler

Show

Somehow, for some reason, humanity came to the attention of the Ethereal Ones. Perhaps humanity had the ability to "ascend", or perhaps there was a different motive. Whatever their reason, the Ethereal Ones sent their fallen brothers, the Ethereals, to oversee the ascension (or whatever their motive was) of humanity. To do this, the Ethereals tested mankind, pressing them with one trial after another, to prove that they were worthy.

First came the Sectoids and Thin Men, a test of mankind's will and ability to accept the new and unknown, that Human society could continue to function, despite the knowledge that life exists beyond their planet.

Next were the Floaters and Cyberdisks, a viable combat threat, and a test of mankind's strength, that they could hold their own against a strong and new military threat.

Then there were the Cryssalids and the terror missions, a test of resolve, that humanity could push forward with its cause in the face of overwhelming destruction and the most horrifying creature to ever be called alive.

After that, humanity was tested with the Musons, a test of adaptation, that Humans could change to face a new and overpowering foe.

Then humanity was tested with the Sectoid commanders, a test of the mind, that they could continue to press on, even as they and their allies were ripped of the control of their bodies.

The Sectopods were not a test of themselves, unlike the rest of the alien forces. They ultimately contributed little to their cause, and could best be said to retest the qualities of might and adaptation.

The true next test were the Ethereals, a test of mind, body, and soul, that Humans could still push forward and achieve their goal by any means nesecarry, even if it involved the deaths of themselves or their friends, even by their own hands.

The final test is that of the Gift. Faced with extinction, the final test, the final hope, was the the Volunteer would sieze control of the temple ship, and save humanity from total destruction, something that could only be done with a use of the Gift unlike anything humanity had seen before. The Volunteer overpowered the psionic barriers meant to only allow the commander to pilot the vessel, took control of the helm, and changed the self-destruct sequence to simply destroy the vessel, rather than allow it to become a black hole.

Humanity has passed all the tests, with flying colors. The Ethereal Ones are very pleased with humanity's sucess, and are now preparing for their true meeting.

Ending stuff:

Spoiler

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An interesting theory, but I'm not sure that ALL of it was just a test. The aliens had come to Earth to harvest specimins for their experiments. They were probably looking to see if humans could be genetically modified like the sectoids and mutons, to be their next attempt at the perfect being. I personally think that humanity simply surprised them by fighting back, and it wasn't until much later that the Etherial leader decided that perhaps humanity was strong enough to get The Gift without all that modifying. At which point he set up the plan to see if the humans could make use of the etherial device.

I'll agree that the black hole trap at the end was probably the last test though.

EDIT

Yes, a thousand times yes. Classic and impossible don't wait around for you, aliens start upgrading and getting better and better as time passes, and they all start out with extra aim and crit anyway. Carapace armor changes your soldiers from dead in one lucky shot no matter what you do, to actually being capable of taking a hit. It vastly increases your margin for error and is probably one of the biggest cuts to the game's difficulty of any upgrade.

Nice. I'll make some in my next playthrough then.

Panic is completely useless, the other power that ups your will is way better, since in most cases it give the soldier using it a 100% hit chance on their powers for the next couple turns. I never tried telekinetic field. It's numerically the same as upgraded smoke grenades and people still get shot in those. It does interest me to hear that the AI treats it differently, and if what is essentially an AI bug causes them to stop firing on the higher difficulties as well, I think it would be worth looking into the power. Still, mind control is really incredible.

Ah, so the deep smoke grenades are +40 too? Interesting. And yes, I don't think I saw any aliens try to shoot at my soldiers while they were in the field, but I could be wrong. I didn't use it that often, because it was on my heavy, and he often had better things to do with his actions. Might be good on a support though.

One thing to note: TK field is always centred on the user, but the radius is huge. Probably about twice the size of the upgraded smoke bombs. Maybe a little less.

[Zevox]

Alright, finished up my Normal Iron Man game.

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Final mission was exactly the same, which was a bit disappointing after the Alien Base was completely different. And I once again beat it in exactly the same way - two shots from my sniper from outside the final room itself on the head Ethereal, and that was all that was needed. Final team was (all Colonels):

Sir Arthur, "Knight." Healer Support, Psionic, the Volunteer. Sole survivor of the first contact mission.
Hsien-Ko, "Pendulum." Healer Support.
Dante, "Stylish." Rifle Assault, Psionic.
X-23, "Wild Cat." Shotgun Assault, Psionic.
Super Skrull, "Inferno." Rocket-based Heavy, Psionic.
Trish, "Lightning." Squadsight Sniper.

Arthur and Dante were in Psi Armor, X-23 in Ghost Armor, and everyone else in Archangel Armor. Only problem I had was one Blaster Bomb bugging out and doing nothing to a Cyberdisk and its Drones, but I had Trish in place to double-tap it, so the Cyberdisk died anyway and took its Drones with it.

I lost seven men during this play-through, a couple genuinely painful ones. Going off memory (since I forgot to check the memorial before entering the final mission), those were:

Captain Victor Von Doom, "So Top Tier." Suppression Heavy.
Seargent Morrigan Aensland, "Succubus." Squadsight Sniper. First contact survivor.
Corporal Frank West, Support.
Squaddie Guile, Heavy. First contact survivor (who died in mission 2).
Squaddie Mike Haggar, Heavy.
Two nameless Rookies, one from the first contact mission.

Well, that was fun. I think I will play through one more time, upping the difficulty to Classic. No Iron Man though - not doing that until I've cleared the difficulty at least once without it. I will try to accept losses though, as long as they're not totally crippling ones.

Going to start splitting my time between this game and others however. Too many things I want to play, as I said last night.

Wait, are they actually armour then? I figured they were like the nano-fiber vests and take up the item slot instead of the armour slot.

Yep, they're actually armor. Armor that gives +4 health. You can use them and Nano-Fiber Vests on the same soldier early on for +6, a very nice amount at that stage in the game.

They take a turn to use, and for the next two turns the soldier takes half damage from all attacks, is immune to crits, gets a +3 bonus to movement, and a bonus to will, but I think it's only vs. panic. Not great, and as you say, there are so many better options for that item slot. Might be good if you really need to run a gauntlet of overwatching opponents, but it's still situational.

That's actually a lot of good boosts there - however, I think you're right that they're still not good enough because they take a turn to use, and because you only get one item slot, which can be used for more essential things. If there were a way to control which trooper enemies shoot at, so that you could have a high-hp tank use that and draw enemy fire for a turn or two, that'd be great, but short of that, I don't think it's worth the time and item slot.

Skeleton gives a +10, ghost gives a +20

Psi Armor also gives +10, for the record.

Zevox

[Reynard]

So, uh. Sectopods take some killing. I think I destroyed about a third of the cargo ship in that one shootout.

Also, mutons keep blowing up any Elites I manage to stun. It's getting quite annoying.

[shadow_archmagi]

Ending

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So, the thing about the weird ending is that the Final Boss's dialogue doesn't imply that killing him is part of the test. He says something when you kill him like "Oh no! What are you without ussss...." which implies that being shot in the head is a definite setback to his plans.

[Anarion]

Ending

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So, the thing about the weird ending is that the Final Boss's dialogue doesn't imply that killing him is part of the test. He says something when you kill him like "Oh no! What are you without ussss...." which implies that being shot in the head is a definite setback to his plans.

More ending

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Here's the thing that doesn't make sense to me. Clearly the dialogue implies that you killing the uber etherial is bad from his perspective. And he just spent a bunch of time talking to the volunteer about all their experiments and failed ascension. So why the heck do you they attack you? Are they surprised when you return fire and pump them full of plasma? If they were just planning to kill you and miscalculated, why let the ship land on their super-battleship in the first place or take all that time to explain everything?

[shadow_archmagi]

More ending

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Here's the thing that doesn't make sense to me. Clearly the dialogue implies that you killing the uber etherial is bad from his perspective. And he just spent a bunch of time talking to the volunteer about all their experiments and failed ascension. So why the heck do you they attack you? Are they surprised when you return fire and pump them full of plasma? If they were just planning to kill you and miscalculated, why let the ship land on their super-battleship in the first place or take all that time to explain everything?

Yeah that's what I don't get either.

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Like, it'd make way, way more sense if they just added like three lines

Space Wizard: "Now, for the final test, KILL YOUR FRIENDS, MCWIZARD! ASSUME DOMINION OF HUMANITY!"

Human Wizard: "Uh, no? I won't enslave humanity. I couldn't enslave humanity. We're a free people. Earth is free. Always will be. FREEEEEDOOOMMMMMM"

Space Wizard: "Then it is a WIZARD DUEL!!!"

But instead it just comes off as really contrary to their stated goals

[HamHam]

The Ending Explained:

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The Ethereals failed to Ascend, and so lost the favor of whatever beings they worship. So they went around trying to find other races with the potential for Ascension and uplifting them to get their gods to love them again. But all they found was failure after failure. Their attack on Earth is intended to push humanity toward Ascension, evolution through conflict sort of thing. And maybe they eat people's brains, not sure.

By defeating all the other enemies humanity proves itself superior to the failures.

"Now that you have proven yourselves we shall show you the secrets... ow, wait, why are you shooting me in the face, ow, stop that, OW!"