Iskandar's Travels in XCom: Enemy Within

[jindra34]

Neon Knight, IF you got to carry over more skills, if MEC Troopers weren't the best thing on the front line, and if the liable penalty for range that could be reduced by closing wasn't greater than the bonus you get from the sniper-mec skill when standing still, yeah it'd be nice. But your giving up a lot of good options for the worst base option of the MEC's, one that takes a lot of work to make profitable.

[BRC]

Neon Knight, IF you got to carry over more skills, if MEC Troopers weren't the best thing on the front line, and if the liable penalty for range that could be reduced by closing wasn't greater than the bonus you get from the sniper-mec skill when standing still, yeah it'd be nice. But your giving up a lot of good options for the worst base option of the MEC's, one that takes a lot of work to make profitable.

One advantage is that you need fewer Snipers. You rarely bring more than one sniper, and they rarely get injured, so two snipers is really all you'll have use for. If you've got a third leveled-up sniper lying around, it may be better to MEC them rather than an Assault, Heavy, or Support, all of which you'll want multiple backups of.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Hm... yeah, if you turn a high-ranking Sniper into a MEC they'll have great Aim, and you don't need that many Snipers (I prefer to run with two once I get bigger squads, but that's my way), but all the other classes have better MEC abilities.

[Sam cw]

Perhaps a good way to think of it is that the Sniper's high aim is his MEC ability. A max level Sniper has 15 more aim than the next highest class, which is pretty nice when you're rocking the highest base damage weapon you can have.

[Iskandar]

Yeah, at max level, and standing still, Killian should have 110 aim or so. 70% or so to hit despite high cover, in other words. And even if he misses, there goes the cover and he can try again at 110% chance to hit.

Nasty enough, I think.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Yeah, at max level, and standing still, Killian should have 110 aim or so. 70% or so to hit despite high cover, in other words. And even if he misses, there goes the cover and he can try again at 110% chance to hit.

Nasty enough, I think.

I'm pretty sure once you turn them into a MEC, they follow MEC stat progression. Unless you already took that into account and Sniper max aim is 120?

[Iskandar]

I'm pretty sure once you turn them into a MEC, they follow MEC stat progression. Unless you already took that into account and Sniper max aim is 120?

Killian's current aim is 97, or 107 when standing still. He still has a rank up coming, so 110 ish isn't unreasonable.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Oh. When standing still. On the guy who can't take cover and has no squadsight. I suppose you could try to play this like WoW and pull mobs, but they're generally smart enough to stay in cover and not get hit by overwatch. Except for the melee aliens who don't use cover anyway.

[BRC]

Oh. When standing still. On the guy who can't take cover and has no squadsight. I suppose you could try to play this like WoW and pull mobs, but they're generally smart enough to stay in cover and not get hit by overwatch. Except for the melee aliens who don't use cover anyway.

That high-aim still helps even without the standing still, and extended (more than one-turn) firefights DO happen.

[Iskandar]

Oh. When standing still. On the guy who can't take cover and has no squadsight. I suppose you could try to play this like WoW and pull mobs, but they're generally smart enough to stay in cover and not get hit by overwatch. Except for the melee aliens who don't use cover anyway.

Eh, 97 even when moving isn't anything to sneeze at. And I think he has the medal which gives him +1 aim per each mission where everyone comes back alive, maxing out at +10. I think he has already gotten a few points for that, so realistically, with next rank up, he could hit 105 aim, even when moving.

Yeah, maybe I didn't make the most optimal choice, but I stand by it. We needed a MEC trooper, I certainly wasn't MECing Crossblade, and Killian was the first to hit Major. I do plan on making a Heavy into a MEC, and probably a Support (I only have like 3 or 4 at this point).

Wait for the next two videos before judging me. One of those missions was heavy on thin men, and MECs do wonderful, nasty things to thin men.

[jindra34]

Well I guess I qualify. Just make sure I carry a flamethrower so I don't have to get too far from common troops.

[KillianHawkeye]

Okay, THAT was totally badass! I'm sold.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Do note that Crossblade got a promotion at the end of that last mission, so he's now on the same rank as Killian, however... MEK troops are inherently badass.

I know at least one rookie got a promotion to assault that hasn't been renamed yet, though. I figure you can get around to it when you get back to base.

[Iskandar]

Do note that Crossblade got a promotion at the end of that last mission, so he's now on the same rank as Killian, however... MEK troops are inherently badass.

I know at least one rookie got a promotion to assault that hasn't been renamed yet, though. I figure you can get around to it when you get back to base.

Isaac Newton? He is named, check the first page. Speaking of which, I need to update things. Also, Crossblade is still a Captain, Killian is a Major.

I just realized exactly how silly Killian is going to get. He has the Urban Combat medal. You know, the +5 aim against targets in full cover? And the Council medal that is still giving him points in aim. He currently has 98 aim, the Council medal will almost certainly push that to 105, and the level up should hit 110. Standing still, that becomes 120.

Full cover would only drop that to 85% chance to hit.

Oh, and he gets two shots if he doesn't move.

And he is getting 2 extra damage to autopsied aliens.

That is 22 damage a turn, and that DOES NOT count crits.

That is just... terrifying.

[KillianHawkeye]

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I just realized exactly how silly Killian is going to get. He has the Urban Combat medal. You know, the +5 aim against targets in full cover? And the Council medal that is still giving him points in aim. He currently has 98 aim, the Council medal will almost certainly push that to 105, and the level up should hit 110. Standing still, that becomes 120.

Full cover would only drop that to 85% chance to hit.

Oh, and he gets two shots if he doesn't move.

And he is getting 2 extra damage to autopsied aliens.

That is 22 damage a turn, and that DOES NOT count crits.

That is just... terrifying.

And this is just for the first tier of MEC's, I have a feeling there's going to be several more tiers which will be unlocked later that might push that even higher...

Makes me wonder what you will be running into that will require that much output. I mean, that even one-round kills Sectopods.

[Hyozo]

Not any more. Enemy Within gave Sectopods a pretty substantial buff.

[Domochevsky]

...
That is just... terrifying.

But at what cost?

[KillianHawkeye]

But at what cost?

At the cost of my eternal soul, obviously!

[jindra34]

At the cost of my eternal soul, obviously!

And 66% of your body by mass.

[Iskandar]

Ok, second part of episode 9 is uploading, will be up within the hour. More Slingshot DLC missions.

First page updated. All rookies have been processed, will hire a few new in a bit and assess my needs.

Things are going well. A lot less panic, or at least a lot more manageable. That Terror mission, oddly enough, landed exactly where I needed it to calm down Asia. Still cash poor, though that might resolve itself this month. Soon, it will be capturing aliens time!

[jindra34]

Right thin men are a worse threat than multiple Muton's spawning in flanking positions...

[t209]

http://www.deviantart.com/art/I-neve...-for-414638798
A Comic for Kilian.
I wonder if we can ask Iskandar to get custom hairstyles.

[Iskandar]

http://www.deviantart.com/art/I-neve...-for-414638798
A Comic for Kilian.
I wonder if we can ask Iskandar to get custom hairstyles.

In general, no. My memory is poor, and I don't want to forget something. Easier to stick to one unified look. Crossblade is the exception, and actually he isn't the big star this game as he was last time. He is coming off second best versus Kiillian. Mind, those two have more kills than the entire rest of the squad put together. Not that I'm TRYING to do that, mind, but that is what is happening.

[Triaxx]

They're in the alien killing business, and business is good.

Crossblade would have more kills except he keeps getting laid up in the hospital. That said, either the game is much easier this time around, or you're better than you were last time.

You may have answered this one already, but what do you use to record games? Fraps is junk unless you buy it, which entirely negates the purpose of a trial version. Bandicam only seems to record Minecraft. And I've not figured out how to get Dxtory to work at all.

[Iskandar]

They're in the alien killing business, and business is good.

Crossblade would have more kills except he keeps getting laid up in the hospital. That said, either the game is much easier this time around, or you're better than you were last time.

You may have answered this one already, but what do you use to record games? Fraps is junk unless you buy it, which entirely negates the purpose of a trial version. Bandicam only seems to record Minecraft. And I've not figured out how to get Dxtory to work at all.

FRAPS, paid version. Worth it, IMHO. Maybe not the best out there, but it is very simple to set up and use, and the quality is more than enough for Youtube.

I use the standard Windows Movie Maker to put the videos together. Doesn't allow much in the way of fancy editing tricks, but, again, good enough for what I use it for.

As far as hardware, I've recently gone to recording while wearing headphones and using an actual good quality microphone. Compare the audio on my old videos with what I have now in this new XCom series, and it really stands out, I think.

I need to get a stand for my mic. As it stands, I have to put something soft under it or it picks up my keyboard and mouse clicks too well.

[The Bushranger]

Well, you see, the aliens learned from the first go-round. They know they stand no chance against Crossblade, so they've resported to getting him stuck in medbay for as much as they possibly can...

[Iskandar]

Sigh, hired new soldiers. Got three women. Out of female names.

smuchmuch, Doc Kraken, Schneekry, Surrealistik, Eldan if y'all want to come up with another name for me, I need two more. First come first serve. Anyone else, if you want to come up with alternate names for when I get to you, that would be helpful.

Next two episodes recorded. That last Slingshot mission? Well, let's just say I was left with 5 effective combat soldiers after.

[KillianHawkeye]

Y'know, I was gonna suggest green for the MECs. It would be a good contrast versus the other colors you are using. Maybe a darker green, like the color a tank might be?

http://www.deviantart.com/art/I-neve...-for-414638798
A Comic for Kilian.

Nice.

[Draconi Redfir]

Sigh, hired new soldiers. Got three women. Out of female names.

smuchmuch, Doc Kraken, Schneekry, Surrealistik, Eldan if y'all want to come up with another name for me, I need two more. First come first serve. Anyone else, if you want to come up with alternate names for when I get to you, that would be helpful.

Next two episodes recorded. That last Slingshot mission? Well, let's just say I was left with 5 effective combat soldiers after.

Pvt Draconi Redfir reporting for duty sir! Free for any genetic modificaitions or psychic trainings you may eventually need! Just keep those Mec buzzsaws away from me! Oh! And if you can, paint me red