XCOM 2 is on sale 60% off...

[Eldan]

Long War is, apparently, BLOOD HARD. I'm not playing on a high difficulty, but I'm on my fifth mission or so, no real research done. And it's throwing pods of eight advent soldiers at me, some of them with things like grenade or rocket launchers. The last mission was to kill everyone, and it had four such pods, plus a single muton in the middle.

[heronbpv]

Well, aside from my own avatar in the game, all the characters in my character pool have been members of my past campaigns, promoted to poolable for reasons ranging from cool looks to kickass performances. Also, I love Anarchy's Children for the options it provides: nothing like having a super serious elite-forces kinda guy paired up with a some crazy-voodoo gal with a rocket launcher (or flamethrower, if playing Long War 2), plus some tribal looking guy wearing the skin of his enemies and hatchetsword, and a giant Robot.
Long live the resistance, where all walks in life come together to kick Advent in the face! :D

@Eldan:
Beware of the infiltration mechanics. It seems you jumped into probably a Ambush Troop Column mission with either too big a team to reach the 100% infiltration (where pod sizes should be as balanced as they can get; usually, only one "Rainbow pod" of all Advent-type soldiers, plus some stragglers here and there), or too little time to properly infiltrate with a decent team.
As of version 1.3 (current is 1.5 I believe), it's no longer possible to jump into these and go 0% infiltration murdersprees. Pods get out of hand regardless of the Advent Alert/Strenght levels of the region.

[Avilan the Grey]

At the same time that I have set the chance of new soldiers showing up in Anarchy gear, I have set the chance for Alien Hunter gear to 0. Because that looks frakking laughable. IMHO, of course.

Before starting this time I did clean my Pool out quite a bit btw, first I went through it and deleted about two thirds of it. Then during all those restarts, I deleted all characters I saw popping up in the Skyranger that I honestly felt a bit disappointed seeing there. So I have a bigger list than the rest of you (I think about 30) but at least I can honestly say I am happy to play with all of them.

[heronbpv]

Wait until you finish one campaign, at least, and see. Mine is already at ~50, and I only have 1 character originally from it!
Also, the photoboot... I didn't thought I needed it, until I stopped to see my current list of posters, and start reminiscing about each missions. The feature really started growing on me, and it's really cool to the the posters pop up around the maps. Sometimes, even under appropriate circunstances! :D

Overall, my experience with the expansion has been great so far.

[Doorhandle]

I edit characters only when I feel like it, with once exception: Psi troops must always have ludicrous hair. Allways.

The one exception covered his shame with the skull-shaped mask with the circular saw atop it.

[boomwolf]

Well, FML

One of my mods causes a total failure when trying to load up a game.

can't for the life of me to find WHAT mod though, I tried the "halves" system to try to track it down (shut half off, if it got fixed, I narrowed it down and turn up half the shut mods, if it still crashed shut down half the remaining-until you isolate one) but couldn't seem to find the one doing it.

So finally, I unmarked everything, and what did I find out?

UNMARKING DOES NOT DISABLE THE DAMN MOD.
Figured it out by mods that take effect before the game even started x_x


So yea, my whole trial and error mess was for nothing, because all the mods where on anyways despite me turning them off. only clicking "disable mods" turn them off, but that turns EVERYTHING off, so it doesn't help.


So, its probably some sort of a mod conflict, but how on earth can I figure out what mods are conflicting?

[warty goblin]

Is it just me, or does this get really easy once you get plasma weapons? Anything less than a sectopod is basically instantly mulched, and even a sectopod eats three or maybe four attacks. Even if I trigger two pods at once, unless I've got somebody way out of formation it's at most gonna be a single injury which isn't much of a problem, and I'll still have a substantial action advantage because high level soldiers have an absurd number of ways to get extra attacks. The last time the Chosen hunter showed up, I obliterated him before he could do so much as target anybody.

Lost at this point aren't even a joke; about the only inconvenience they cause is using up all of my sniper's autoloads.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Welp, I went and got my first campaign bricked. Commander difficulty, savescumming only if something bugs out or I misclick. A UFO comes outta nowhere and shoots down the Avenger. I get my people set up around the ramp and 2 pods of assorted advent activate on the first alien turn. I clear most of them on my turn and a berserker pod and the Viper King charge the ramp on the second. The kings kills a soldier and escapes with a single HP but that takes up most of my turn and the berserker starts slam-dunking my people. And then the Cryssalids showed up. Long story short, I was able to kill the 'lids and distract the 'zerker long enough to Squadsight cheese the beacon but I lost too many soldiers in the process and had to abandon my Reaper. RIP.

I'm having loads of fun though. I hadn't played any of the DLCs so there's just so many new toys to play with! I'm trying out the Beta Strike option next, see how I like it. It feels like an overall difficulty bump. Not being able to alpha strike pods means more wounded soldiers. Wounds are less threatening on the tactical layer but it forces a wider, shallower roster that makes it harder for XCOM to snowball to victory. Which sounds nice in practice but also means missions take a fair bit longer. Still unsure if I like it, overall.

A question for y'all. What do you all think regarding early game build order? The new facilities make it tricky, and there's not enough time and space to get everything. I did the GTS, Ring and Infirmary ASAP, and now have a little time to decide what to get next while I dig deeper and build some power. But there's just too many things I want! Radio, Proving Grounds, Training Centre... never mind trying to rush Psionics, or even a Lab. They got buffed and you could theoretically get some great value out of an early lab now.

Is it just me, or does this get really easy once you get plasma weapons? Anything less than a sectopod is basically instantly mulched, and even a sectopod eats three or maybe four attacks. Even if I trigger two pods at once, unless I've got somebody way out of formation it's at most gonna be a single injury which isn't much of a problem, and I'll still have a substantial action advantage because high level soldiers have an absurd number of ways to get extra attacks. The last time the Chosen hunter showed up, I obliterated him before he could do so much as target anybody.

That's XCOM's famous inverse difficulty for you!

Early game, you fear the aliens. Late game, the aliens fear you.
Early game, you pull two pods and curse like an old sailor. Late game you pull two pods and giggle like a creepy schoolgirl.
Early game, you pray for your soldier's lives. Late game, you dock their pay for scorch marks on the WAR suit.

[heronbpv]

Well, FML

One of my mods causes a total failure when trying to load up a game.

can't for the life of me to find WHAT mod though, I tried the "halves" system to try to track it down (shut half off, if it got fixed, I narrowed it down and turn up half the shut mods, if it still crashed shut down half the remaining-until you isolate one) but couldn't seem to find the one doing it.

So finally, I unmarked everything, and what did I find out?

UNMARKING DOES NOT DISABLE THE DAMN MOD.
Figured it out by mods that take effect before the game even started x_x


So yea, my whole trial and error mess was for nothing, because all the mods where on anyways despite me turning them off. only clicking "disable mods" turn them off, but that turns EVERYTHING off, so it doesn't help.


So, its probably some sort of a mod conflict, but how on earth can I figure out what mods are conflicting?

If you are somewhat familiar with computers, and have a bare minimum of confidence tweaking with files, try the following (warning: wall-of-text incoming):

Look at the crash logs. They're usually located somewhere at the My Documents directory (under my games, I think). The Log.txt usually registers all the events, just take a look at the most recent one, and scroll down all the way to the bottom. Try reading what's is going on from the botton up, in particular lines containing the words Error/Exception/Failure. Between all the gibberish, they will ocasionally mention the name of either a mod or a configuration that caused the error, and then you can use it to track down what's causing the error. This was how I found out that one of the PCP mods was crashing my game while trying to start a new campaign.
After that? Disable the suspected mods, remove them from your workshop list, then delete the contents of the Config directory that's located on the same place as the log one. The reason for this is because, even after removing the mods, their changes might remain in this one directory. When you load your game, the contents will be recreated.
If that doesn't solve it, or if after doing that the game doesn't load, try the validate game files option from steam (right-click the game on the games list, properties option, then go to the local files tab).

Now, if you don't want to, or can't do, the above? My bet is disable any mod that adds "new map locations" (which are the PCPs I mentioned earlier), and subscribe to the "Unbind missing mods" mod. Then load the game, and press the Unbind button. I believe you don't need to load a game for that button to appear on your screen, but please read the mod instructions on the mod page.

Hopefully this helps. Good luck, commander! o>

[boomwolf]

Well, couldn't for the life of me find useful data in the log (so. many. warning. and. errors.)

HOWEVER, purging my modlist of all map-related mods, and deleting the config flies seems to have worked. so there's that.

Do tell, you remember what mod actually caused it in your case? I wonder if it happened to be one of the mods I purged.

[Vitruviansquid]

Welp, I went and got my first campaign bricked. Commander difficulty, savescumming only if something bugs out or I misclick. A UFO comes outta nowhere and shoots down the Avenger. I get my people set up around the ramp and 2 pods of assorted advent activate on the first alien turn. I clear most of them on my turn and a berserker pod and the Viper King charge the ramp on the second. The kings kills a soldier and escapes with a single HP but that takes up most of my turn and the berserker starts slam-dunking my people. And then the Cryssalids showed up. Long story short, I was able to kill the 'lids and distract the 'zerker long enough to Squadsight cheese the beacon but I lost too many soldiers in the process and had to abandon my Reaper. RIP.

I'm having loads of fun though. I hadn't played any of the DLCs so there's just so many new toys to play with! I'm trying out the Beta Strike option next, see how I like it. It feels like an overall difficulty bump. Not being able to alpha strike pods means more wounded soldiers. Wounds are less threatening on the tactical layer but it forces a wider, shallower roster that makes it harder for XCOM to snowball to victory. Which sounds nice in practice but also means missions take a fair bit longer. Still unsure if I like it, overall.

A question for y'all. What do you all think regarding early game build order? The new facilities make it tricky, and there's not enough time and space to get everything. I did the GTS, Ring and Infirmary ASAP, and now have a little time to decide what to get next while I dig deeper and build some power. But there's just too many things I want! Radio, Proving Grounds, Training Centre... never mind trying to rush Psionics, or even a Lab. They got buffed and you could theoretically get some great value out of an early lab now.




That's XCOM's famous inverse difficulty for you!

Early game, you fear the aliens. Late game, the aliens fear you.
Early game, you pull two pods and curse like an old sailor. Late game you pull two pods and giggle like a creepy schoolgirl.
Early game, you pray for your soldier's lives. Late game, you dock their pay for scorch marks on the WAR suit.

My thoughts on early game build orders:

Always build the Resistance Ring first. Having a resistance ring is almost like having a second avenger to scan in terms of the resources and advantage it nets you. The Guerilla Tactics School has taken a nerf with some of its powerful abilities shuffled onto Resistance Orders, but I still build it second because access to the fifth team member is such a big advantage. For the other early game buildings, I try to get the Proving Ground early, and don't get the Training Center or Infirmary until way later in the game, possibly after my second power relay, just because I haven't found them as necessary.

[heronbpv]

Good to hear! Welcome back to fight.
As for the mod, can't remember the exact name, but there where only two PCP mods avaiable at the time, and I was subscribed to both. And a new one cropped up this week.
I'll wait a while before trying them again. It seems that there were some changes with the expansion, regarding textures and shaders (or something), which broke every single one of the cosmetics and maps mods.

[Eldan]

WELL.

The next mission I'm embarking upon says it's harder than previous ones. And it was given the codename "Operation Hellish Agony". That should be good.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Steaming pile of bovine manure alert: If a Priest reaches the touchdown area during an Avenger defence, it's game over. He'll Sustain and force the instant game over when it pops on his turn. FUN. RIP campaign #2. It was doing alright but once more a UFO came and ruined things.

#3 will be Beta Strike again. The extended firefights are quite fun, especially against the Chosen.

My thoughts on early game build orders:

Always build the Resistance Ring first. Having a resistance ring is almost like having a second avenger to scan in terms of the resources and advantage it nets you. The Guerilla Tactics School has taken a nerf with some of its powerful abilities shuffled onto Resistance Orders, but I still build it second because access to the fifth team member is such a big advantage. For the other early game buildings, I try to get the Proving Ground early, and don't get the Training Center or Infirmary until way later in the game, possibly after my second power relay, just because I haven't found them as necessary.

Have you been playing with Beta Strike? I feel the Infirmary's a higher priority when you've got wounded almost every mission. Then again, maybe one could make do with whichever faction HQ speeds recovery times. Maybe I'll try that this time round. Early Proving Ground makes sense, Dragon Rounds are simply the best. But what about Sparks? Haven't had much chance to play with them yet.

[Avilan the Grey]

WELL.

The next mission I'm embarking upon says it's harder than previous ones. And it was given the codename "Operation Hellish Agony". That should be good.

The random mission names are fun.
Best one yet (not seen by me, but on the internet) was something like "Operation Sweaty Night".

[warty goblin]

Have you been playing with Beta Strike? I feel the Infirmary's a higher priority when you've got wounded almost every mission. Then again, maybe one could make do with whichever faction HQ speeds recovery times. Maybe I'll try that this time round. Early Proving Ground makes sense, Dragon Rounds are simply the best. But what about Sparks? Haven't had much chance to play with them yet.

SPARKs seem like they'd be a poor investment early game, since the thing they really bring to the table is built-in armor shredding, and early game enemies aren't highly enough armored for that to really matter. And SPARKs are really expensive. Late game I'm finding having one in a squad is actually fairly useful. They don't start with a bucket of HP, but they do have lots of armor, and aliens don't have lots of armor-shredding attacks as a rule, so it adds up. Plus, being able to knock all the armor off of anything smaller than a sectopod in one shot is really handy. The grenadiers can come close, and a sniper with AP ammo can take a chunk off their health bar but leave the armor intact. The SPARK just solves the entire armor problem.

As a bonus, Overdrive is a really potent way to break the attack action economy, which seems to be what really lets you start dishing out crazy amounts of murder.

[Eldan]

The random mission names are fun.
Best one yet (not seen by me, but on the internet) was something like "Operation Sweaty Night".

I had a Long War mission where I accidentally sent one medic alone on an infiltration mission. Luckily, he was not killed, but knocked out and captured. The operation to free him was called "Operation War God".

Clearly, he took the transport out on a spin while drunk and got arrested by police. The commander gave this the most sarcastic mission name ever.

[heronbpv]

Just beware of SPARKs vs Andromedons. Two campaigns in a row where the first Andromedon ends up crushing most of the hitpoints plus almost all armor of my first SPARKs, resulting in a unexpected death (?) a turn or two later. Even though my last one had both Bulwark + Formidable (4 points of armor with the carapace armor equivalent).

Too bad, cause nothing says "Hello, Advent" better than a Rainmaker missile from a SPARK.

[warty goblin]

Just beware of SPARKs vs Andromedons. Two campaigns in a row where the first Andromedon ends up crushing most of the hitpoints plus almost all armor of my first SPARKs, resulting in a unexpected death (?) a turn or two later. Even though my last one had both Bulwark + Formidable (4 points of armor with the carapace armor equivalent).

Too bad, cause nothing says "Hello, Advent" better than a Rainmaker missile from a SPARK.

Weird, I've found Andromedons to be pretty easy to knock out, although I haven't done it with Sparky yet. The first time I met one on the way down to the Assassin's Ascension Chamber it was something of a problem since I didn't realize they had the second stage. After that I just park whatever ranger has the katana in the husk's path and that does the trick.

I guess one did cause something of a problem by acid-attacking the third floor of an apartment building I was using as a fighting position and forcing a couple people into the next room, but once I popped it, it was pretty easy.

[Avilan the Grey]

Doing a self imposed challenge this time :
"Female Tinman"
1. Disable autosave.
2. Only save between missions.
3. I am allowed to restart missions.
4. Except for DLC characters only use female soldiers.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

4. Except for DLC characters only use female soldiers.

A.K.A. The Charlie's Angels run. I'm a fan. Have you done an .ini tweak or are you blasting recruits with Shen's gender bender beam?

[Avilan the Grey]

A.K.A. The Charlie's Angels run. I'm a fan. Have you done an .ini tweak or are you blasting recruits with Shen's gender bender beam?

I'm just dismissing all male rookies.

[boomwolf]

Dear god....

I have just one-shotted a chosen, at practically game start.

Not one turn, one shot.


Who knew that remote start against someone weak to reapers and to explosives would combo out to dish freaking 24 damage XD

[Hunter Noventa]

Dear god....

I have just one-shotted a chosen, at practically game start.

Not one turn, one shot.


Who knew that remote start against someone weak to reapers and to explosives would combo out to dish freaking 24 damage XD

Yeah, 'Weak to Explosives' is pretty much the best Chosen Weakness.

Though, also, Repeaters work on the Chosen as well as they do on everything else: Randomly, but hilariously.

[BRC]

Yeah, 'Weak to Explosives' is pretty much the best Chosen Weakness.

Though, also, Repeaters work on the Chosen as well as they do on everything else: Randomly, but hilariously.

I have a lot of tun with "Vulnerable to multiple attacks".

I've got the Bug where "Lost World" never ends. It's really annoying, but it's fun to kill the Warlock by dropping an Ultrasonic Beacon on him, then sitting back as all the lost swarms he summoned with his psi-zombies converge on his location and tear him to shreds.

[Hunter Noventa]

I have a lot of tun with "Vulnerable to multiple attacks".

I've got the Bug where "Lost World" never ends. It's really annoying, but it's fun to kill the Warlock by dropping an Ultrasonic Beacon on him, then sitting back as all the lost swarms he summoned with his psi-zombies converge on his location and tear him to shreds.

I think there's a mod to fix that bug somewhere.

[BRC]

I think there's a mod to fix that bug somewhere.

I saw that, but apparently it only works if you start a new campaign.

The Lost are more annoying than anything, and they're sometimes nice, since they break Advent overwatches, and the ADVENT AI isn't smart enough to go for reliable headshot chains against them. Stun Lancers and Priests will waste a turn melee attacking/stasising a single Lost.

[boomwolf]

Coupling the fact that once you get a good pistol user around, you can practically clear out an entire horde without even spending an action-the lost are more of a boon than a bane if it was not for cheaty AI (bunch of lost surrounding an advent dude? better run them all to the closest Xcom operative! even if he is concealed and we technically are not supposed to see him. ESPECIALLY if he is concealed and we are not supposed to see him.)

[huttj509]

I saw that, but apparently it only works if you start a new campaign.

The Lost are more annoying than anything, and they're sometimes nice, since they break Advent overwatches, and the ADVENT AI isn't smart enough to go for reliable headshot chains against them. Stun Lancers and Priests will waste a turn melee attacking/stasising a single Lost.

I like them in normal gameplay. They hit that sweet spot of not being *annoying* to deal with, but I can't just ignore them. When they show up on a map it shifts my gameplay enough to remain interesting.

Though Lost World event would get really frustrating, REALLY fast.

[BRC]

Coupling the fact that once you get a good pistol user around, you can practically clear out an entire horde without even spending an action-the lost are more of a boon than a bane if it was not for cheaty AI (bunch of lost surrounding an advent dude? better run them all to the closest Xcom operative! even if he is concealed and we technically are not supposed to see him. ESPECIALLY if he is concealed and we are not supposed to see him.)

They don't make winning battles especially difficult, so much as annoying. Especially on timed missions, since you can easily lose a turn or two stopping to shoot through a crowd of Lost (You miss/roll low on damage? You just lost two actions bucko).

Fortunetly, I've heard it goes away if you do a mission where the Lost are SUPPOSED to appear. I finally hit one, and I look forwards to being able to throw grenades again after I do it.