XCOM (PCMR Edition)

degrassinoel

I think it deserves it's own thread here tbh.

It's on sale in the latest humble bundle and if you havent played it, you owe it to yourself to play one of the best games of the last few years.

I recently just finished a normal ironman (marathon + some other secondwave options) game, took me just over a week or, if you want an hour breakdown.. 48 hours.

Truly awesome game, streamed the whole thing on twitch and had my highest ever amount of viewers.. 14 lol

I also tried out the longwar mod, i didnt enjoy that as much as the original campaign but it's not without it's merits either. Some really nifty changes to it.

Oh yeah, and just incase anyone was OCD enough to try rescuing all the civilians on terror missions.. i did it!
IT CAN BE DONE!

See for yourself

In that same playthrough i managed to get an entire squad equipped with ballistic weapons killed by a raging horde of Chrysilids on my first terror mission, my sniper even got killed by a zombie former XCOM heavy heh

Cravez

Excellent game, easily a top contender in recent times. I'm an XCOM fan and while I still prefer Apocalypse over any other in the series, I think the more recent Enemy Unknown/Within did an excellent job in bringing forward turn-based squad strategy to a larger audience, since not many are big turn based fans, the simplistic move and fire I think made the game more accessible to players.

Nody

I'm actually watching a "Lets play" of the Long war at the moment and even only a few missions in it's clearly way more brutal than the normal game which means I'll need to take it for a spin eventually (waiting for Enemy within to come down in Christmas sales as I'm tied up with other games atm).

ShadowHearth

I bought expansion ages ago, but barely played it. I wanted to do a hard ironman playthrough, but after several hundreds of attempts I just rages out and called it.

I have redownloaded recently and I am planing to play normal ironman this time around and actually see some of the expansions content....

degrassinoel

Do, it's worth it. Plus there are a few surprise missions that will entirely screw you over on everything above normal if you're not aware of when they happen..

N/I is a good start, and it's not always easy as you know it's evil RNG

Dcully

I bought it over 6 months ago for €9 and still only played the first mission, im truely ashamed of myself.

Klair88

Just got this and will try it out.

the incredible pudding

Nody wrote: »

I'm actually watching a "Lets play" of the Long war at the moment and even only a few missions in it's clearly way more brutal than the normal game which means I'll need to take it for a spin eventually (waiting for Enemy within to come down in Christmas sales as I'm tied up with other games atm).

BeagleRush's? His Ironman impossible run is really entertaining, great editing and all round entertainment. You learn a lot from him too.

For those unaware - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXctaw5JGF4LcidFVdkQMV1tc2DfC8x3D

Nody

the incredible pudding wrote: »

BeagleRush's? His Ironman impossible run is really entertaining, great editing and all round entertainment. You learn a lot from him too.

For those unaware - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXctaw5JGF4LcidFVdkQMV1tc2DfC8x3D

Nah; Northernlion as he's way closer to my level of play (i.e. total n00b!). His original play through of Enemies with in was my trigger to buy the game in the first place because it showed exactly it was the type of game I wanted.

Wossack

BeagleRush's are excellent, but so infrequent I think he's the only youtuber Ive set an email alert for

I highly recommend skipping over the original and going straight to the DLC. Its the same game with extras added. It is the game the original should have been. Far more mission variety. I don't remember playing the same thing twice in the DLC. That happened regularly in the original

Cravez

Deleted User wrote: »

I highly recommend skipping over the original and going straight to the DLC. Its the same game with extras added. It is the game the original should have been. Far more mission variety. I don't remember playing the same thing twice in the DLC. That happened regularly in the original

Yep completely agree. My only concern is for new players, the Exalt missions can be quite tough if you are not familiar with the game yet.

Kiith

I can't play Ironman. It just makes me so mad. Missing an 80% shot only be have your best soldier sniped from miles away makes me want to smash things. Easy mode and being way overpowered is about where my skill level is in XCOM. Might watch some of those video's though, and see if i can't give it another shot.

You guys are buying me a new keyboard if it all goes horribly wrong though :P

Nody

Cravez wrote: »

Yep completely agree. My only concern is for new players, the Exalt missions can be quite tough if you are not familiar with the game yet.

Exalt mission? How about

the bloody whale mission with unlimited spawning Chryssalids that are seen for the first time

? That's the definition of a low blow in my book :P

I found the Exalt missions to be very easy to be honest

Nody

Nody wrote: »

Exalt mission? How about

the bloody whale mission with unlimited spawning Chryssalids that are seen for the first time

? That's the definition of a low blow in my book :P

That mission

at the shipyard

:eek: Lost almost all my front line soldiers on that one

Cravez

Exalt missions are easy for experienced players but I would think that someone new to the game would find the amount of soldiers you have to fight to be very intimidating and possibly tough at first. I think the first time I had encountered them they had more health than my guys, were about 20 of them and packed the same weaponry and thought to myself "Better get some KY Jelly ready because I'm about to be fucked!"

At the same time though, I guess the challenge is what you want in this type of game anyway. It's just a shame the game can make it hair pulling unfair at times (missing 97% chances to hit with flanks etc)

TomCo

Deleted User wrote: »

That mission

at the shipyard

:eek: Lost almost all my front line soldiers on that one

I really enjoyed that mission. I just made sure the guys with the most AP ran ahead and used overwatch to cover the slow guys. If things got hairy I just used the MEC flamethrower. Didn't lose a single soldier.

TomCo

TomCo wrote: »

I really enjoyed that mission. I just made sure the guys with the most AP ran ahead and used overwatch to cover the slow guys. If things got hairy I just used the MEC flamethrower. Didn't lose a single soldier.

Its all fine and dandy if you are prepared. I was not. I got cocky and was overwhelmed fairly quickly. It was a great mission as I eventually beat it on my first attempt.

ShadowHearth

To I fired it up again last night. I finished original on normal ironman. After numerous tries to play expansion on hard ironman I just gave up ages ago.
So I started on normal ironman as I want to actually see expansion lol. So far it goes well. I don't know if it's new to expansion, but you can revive your team mates now? My sniper got RNGed up his arse and gone down. I was able to stablise her and get her back to base.

ShadowHearth

To I fired it up again last night. I finished original on normal ironman. After numerous tries to play expansion on hard ironman I just gave up ages ago.
So I started on normal ironman as I want to actually see expansion lol. So far it goes well. I don't know if it's new to expansion, but you can revive your team mates now? My sniper got RNGed up his arse and gone down. I was able to stablise her and get her back to base.

Shiminay

ShadowHearth wrote: »

To I fired it up again last night. I finished original on normal ironman. After numerous tries to play expansion on hard ironman I just gave up ages ago.
So I started on normal ironman as I want to actually see expansion lol. So far it goes well. I don't know if it's new to expansion, but you can revive your team mates now? My sniper got RNGed up his arse and gone down. I was able to stablise her and get her back to base.

Stabilize/Revive was always there afaik, it's a skill the Support class can learn. I believe that it works on the basis of your soldier getting dropped to 0 HP exactly and you get 3 turns to stabilize them (costs a First Aid kit).

Cravez

Yep you've always been able to revive/stabilise a teammate if they were bleeding out.

ShadowHearth

I only finished game once on ironman, and needless to say I tried not to lose soldiers. so I guess I did not see it much.
Though there are situations when it is impossible to stabilise? Just instant death? As that what I could remember when it came to my soldiers.

Nody

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Though there are situations when it is impossible to stabilise? Just instant death? As that what I could remember when it came to my soldiers.

Yes; there's a roll (not sure if surplus damage/damage type has a play in it or crits) that can be improved for officer school to reduce the chance of death to incapacitation instead as soldiers become more senior.

Angron

Nody wrote: »

Yes; there's a roll (not sure if surplus damage/damage type has a play in it or crits) that can be improved for officer school to reduce the chance of death to incapacitation instead as soldiers become more senior.

Had a look online, the officer school thing was called "Don't Die on Me", but it was removed in Enemy Within. Now, instead, there's the Secondary Heart gene mod. Extends bleed out time by two turns, and the will penalty from being critically injured is removed.

degrassinoel

yeah there's a chance for it to happen with every soldier, then there's a 100% chance with that gene mod.

I'm not sure what the odds are of it happening or what makes it happen with non gene mod soldiers but it's not as frequent as you'd like either.. and when it does happen, it's usually to your support guy.. ye know.. the one with the med kit..

Angron

For stuff like that, I usually replace the arc thrower I'd have on my assault class with a med-kit as a just in case after I've captured all the aliens. It's paid off a few times :pac:

ShadowHearth

By the way, can arch yoke can be used by assault dudes with that skill that lets you double run and shoot?

degrassinoel

ShadowHearth wrote: »

By the way, can arch yoke can be used by assault dudes with that skill that lets you double run and shoot?

nope, sadly. Run and Gun wont let you do that, you can only overwatch or shoot, not use items.

Nody

degrassinoel wrote: »

nope, sadly. Run and Gun wont let you do that, you can only overwatch or shoot, not use items.

Which has cost many members of my team dearly as I try to get my Assault into position (worst to date, a Cyberdisc on top of three guys, I shoot it down to 1 health losing 1 guy only realizing this Assault did not carry the Arc Thrower, duh!) :P

degrassinoel

i've done that too, even managed to get my assault nailed by the cyberdisc explosion because of reactive MEC fire

Cravez

I give Arc Throwers to my Support guys. Support class gains higher mobility with every level and can move further than any other class. Plus their double item skill means you can have an Arc thrower and a Medkit until you unlock the gear expansion tech in the foundry.

Nody

Just finished my latest play through; come to the last room set up the breach and the whole speech kicks off. As it finishes and I'm doing my first move the Sniper goes "Double tap, critical, lolz".

Kiith

Had a good run going, but lost two satellites to Large UFO's, which i couldn't shoot down, and two nations left. Kind of screwed me over, and i've since started a new game. Enemy Within is definitely a massive improvement over Unknown. Far more missions, and some good story additions. The Exalt are interesting, and the base attack was bloody tough.

Rebel Rebel

Steam Sale on at the mo. I am looking to get Enemy Within at some stage, it is currently 7.49, but the complete pack is also 7.49

Question if i purchase the complete pack as a gift can i keep Enemy Within and give away the rest?

Kiith

They are usually a single key which gives you both games, so i'd doubt it.

degrassinoel

Rebel Rebel wrote: »

Steam Sale on at the mo. I am looking to get Enemy Within at some stage, it is currently 7.49, but the complete pack is also 7.49

Question if i purchase the complete pack as a gift can i keep Enemy Within and give away the rest?

Enemy within is the best part of XCOM - fixes a lot of problems that original campaign had and adds a lot of variety to the game in terms of maps, campaign lenght and new classes. grab the complete pack anyway, well worth the pittance it's on sale at atm

Nody

degrassinoel wrote: »

Enemy within is the best part of XCOM - fixes a lot of problems that original campaign had and adds a lot of variety to the game in terms of maps, campaign lenght and new classes. grab the complete pack anyway, well worth the pittance it's on sale at atm

And once you played it through install the Longwar mod and try to do it again (before you go crying in a corner how bloody stupidly powerful the AI became >.> ).

Got the Canadian mission mentioned earlier as random council mission thinking, oh well no worries then (had declined that mission specifically as I got it on month 3!). Well, no...

While there were not the zombies in the village all the other Chryssalids spawn from the fishes and unlimited spawn from the damn whale. Oh and did I mention the two Cyberdiscs who camped the bloody ship as well while I had 7 Chrysalids running towards me from two different points on the ship? To say I died hard would be an understatement

Angron

Nody wrote: »

And once you played it through install the Longwar mod and try to do it again (before you go crying in a corner how bloody stupidly powerful the AI became >.> ).

Got the Canadian mission mentioned earlier as random council mission thinking, oh well no worries then (had declined that mission specifically as I got it on month 3!). Well, no...

While there were not the zombies in the village all the other Chryssalids spawn from the fishes and unlimited spawn from the damn whale. Oh and did I mention the two Cyberdiscs who camped the bloody ship as well while I had 7 Chrysalids running towards me from two different points on the ship? To say I died hard would be an understatement

First time I did that mission it went balls up very, very quickly. I had no idea what was coming, so I just got wrecked in it and lost everyone. Next playthrough, I was a bit more clever, camped a sniper up high in an area overlooking the ship, and inched everyone forward gradually. Did the bizniz in the ship, then made a mad dash back to the extraction zone, leaving the sniper up there as long as I feasibly could to cover the others. The satisfaction of pulling it off after such a drastic loss the last time was one of the best feelings I've had gaming.

Nody

Angron wrote: »

First time I did that mission it went balls up very, very quickly. I had no idea what was coming, so I just got wrecked in it and lost everyone. Next playthrough, I was a bit more clever, camped a sniper up high in an area overlooking the ship, and inched everyone forward gradually. Did the bizniz in the ship, then made a mad dash back to the extraction zone, leaving the sniper up there as long as I feasibly could to cover the others. The satisfaction of pulling it off after such a drastic loss the last time was one of the best feelings I've had gaming.

I beat it in "normal" mode but with Longwar mod the groups get bigger, have more resistance and your weapons deal less damage. Popping it all it simply went down hill from there

Rebel Rebel

degrassinoel wrote: »

Enemy within is the best part of XCOM - fixes a lot of problems that original campaign had and adds a lot of variety to the game in terms of maps, campaign lenght and new classes. grab the complete pack anyway, well worth the pittance it's on sale at atm

Picked up the complete pack as a gift to see if i could just use EW. Ans = No, you loose the rest just for the 1 DLC. Anyway Xcom is updating away. Looking forward to a new game.

degrassinoel

you're gonna either love it or hate it,
good luck Commander!

Rebel Rebel

just finished my 2nd month of my 1st go at within.

Few Questions

Medals: Right now i am thinking to only give out medals to Lieutenant Rank soldiers; too soon/late?

Squad Size: what is a good size squad for within, i currently have 13 after loosing 3-4 so far.

Meld; getting 1 Meld can usually at the mo per mission, and have just started researching it. Should i pop my cherry with Genetics or Cybernetics

degrassinoel

Rebel Rebel wrote: »

just finished my 2nd month of my 1st go at within.

Few Questions

Medals: Right now i am thinking to only give out medals to Lieutenant Rank soldiers; too soon/late?

Squad Size: what is a good size squad for within, i currently have 13 after loosing 3-4 so far.

Meld; getting 1 Meld can usually at the mo per mission, and have just started researching it. Should i pop my cherry with Genetics or Cybernetics

Medals are your choice - personally i give them to my golden boy/girl and try to keep him/her alive by giving them the best of gear weapons and medals early on - if a highly decorated soldier dies i think you can earn back most of the medals, except mission specific ones.

With squads, i keep mine around 12, unless i dont see an irish flag - then 50.. lol, but yeah, there's really no need to fill up the ranks and the cash early on is better spent on building, gear and weapons

meld is your choice again, personally cybernetics.. it's always handy to have a MEC at your disposal even if they're just meatshielding for you at first, they have some really excellent abilities later on. And they look awesome when you upgrade them to the final stage and stick go fast stripes on them

Nody

Mechs can be built up to do some really serious BS; for example they get a remote mine layer. Drop down all mines in an area, then throw in a grenade to trigger them...

For squad size I'd recommend at least two full squads to cover for injuries etc. Exact composition depends on personal preferences.

Use medals as soon as you get them. Maximise their use. I'd always put them on my best soldiers first.

marko93

So, which one of you was getting their fix on the laptop this morning on the train to Maynooth?

Rebel Rebel

Just finished up enemy within, i would have like a hard last boss battle(played on normal), and and i only invested in gene mods really last game as meld was low just enough for 2 mecs until i got ghost armour, that i got loads of meld.

only had maybe 2-3 missions with mimetic skin, its fecking brilliant

Nody

Rebel Rebel wrote: »

Just finished up enemy within, i would have like a hard last boss battle(played on normal), and and i only invested in gene mods really last game as meld was low just enough for 2 mecs until i got ghost armour, that i got loads of meld.

only had maybe 2-3 missions with mimetic skin, its fecking brilliant

Now try with the Longwar Mod and you'll get your wish granted;

the end boss if you ever make it there has 60hp!

.

Rebel Rebel

christ all might, ball park, what is the duration of the long war mod because the regular game get intense by month 3 or 4