Josip Broz Tito

I haven't had a chance to play much this build, but if the geoscape's pretty much the same= it is possible to prevent most terror missions. In my 19.6 playthrough, I had it to where I had one terror mission at the end of September, then was able to kill off every medium ship that would arrive in europe, africa, asia, and south america. get at least 6 foxtrots in the main base, then as you build new ones (3 hangars min), shift your planes gradually to the new bases as you make them. There is some chance involved if they send something to new zealand or iceland etc. But geoscape control can drastically cut down on them until massive ships arrive (unless the geoscape's changed in 19.7, still have the same setup I did in my 19.6 playthrough, only a half-month behind). Jackal armor is kinda fail vs rifles, so I echo what others have said: explosives, and cover. Deploy quickly so that you don't get trapped in the chinook. Throw smoke as far away from you as possible to block LOS w/out blinding yourself. Helps to destroy cover aliens can use to approach you w/ C4 too. And don't be afraid to wait a few turns at a time to let them come to you. If you can, pack extra machine gun, and rockets on your riflemen: you'll need the extra to deal w/ destroying cover and aliens. Love how reminiscent this game's getting of modded X-com/tftd.

I hope it's in- this game still needs more variety between the alien types.

Posted this in a different thread, but it makes more sense here: 2 random ideas that popped into my head. If someone already came up w/ them= it's your idea lol Vehicle Idea: Might be nice to have the option of removing the turret from a vehicle to increase its armor. Random Smoke Idea: Have light+ heavy droids, and androns be able to see through it since they have multispectrum vision. Might open up the option for an advanced smoke grenade they CAN"T see through

Now that is a novel idea, could be costly though. I'll have to try sending a vehicle into a corvette when I get a chance to play. Vehicle Idea: Might be nice to have the option of removing the turret from a vehicle to increase its armor. Random Smoke Idea: Have light+ heavy droids, and androns be able to see through it since they have multispectrum vision. Might open up the option for an advanced smoke grenade they CAN"T see through ; )

I agree w/ Ishantil on his recommendations. We've had the beta to get ready for this: new players will need a helping hand. I went a different route than you did: went w/ one base so far. 30 scientists, Hunter, full set of jackal, 6 foxtrots. I think I'm halfway thru 2nd month. Stopped hemorrhaging soldiers once jackal was available. Will soon have lasers researched and a second base up. Dunno how my game will go from here. This is good though. The game's forcing choices now and it does have an impending doomy feel.

I restarted my game and rushed production of jackal armor: HUGE difference compared to assault shields. Takes a good chunk out of the many plasma pistol bolts I'm getting shot at me, and makes rifles semi-survivable. New hunter feels right. I have no complaints about the machine gun: It hits often enough to get the job done. I changed my playstyle from mostly riflemen and machine-gunners w/ one shotgun to: 1 hunter (MG), 1 machine gun, 2 snipers, rest riflemen (all w/ jackal). This has worked out great and I can usually avoid wounds. UFO Breaching: I open the door w/ machine gun fire from the vehicle and infantry w/ my troops far back from the door. I then use the vehicle to pop into sight, spot, then unload w/ my infantry machinegun and snipers. Keeps my troops safe and I don't have to blow up equipment. When corvettes show up I'll be doing something similar. Gonna have to shoot open all of the doors from the outside and see if any aliens pop out. It will take time...but I'm hesitant to send troops up close in this build.

The only time the %'s have been off for me is if the line of fire intersects cover. Mentally I've just taken the 95% and minused out the % the cover is reading. This has proven to be fairly accurate for me to gauge whether a shot will hit. I noticed from the last build the veteran soldiers I had (never lost any of my initial soldiers in 19.6, so they were superhuman) grew more accurate w/ autofire as their accuracy stat increased. This wasn't reflected in the hit%. My riflemen would often hit w/ 2 out of 3 shots on full auto. My rookies that were added when I went to Shrikes...not so much. Their full auto shots were all over. Points: 1. Cover isn't being deducted properly on some single shots. 2. Full auto fire isn't updating its hit % as soldiers advance in accuracy.

For me it's made getting close to aliens a bad choice. Getting my squad equipped with armor early on has helped, but I never know when a plasma rifle will kill one of my guys or not. Spot w/ vehicle. Shoot w/ machine guns and snipers w/ a few riflemen flanking to bypass cover. Before I would play more aggressively w/ lots of close-in kills. If nothing else, it's made early game far more tense, closed in spaces more dangerous, and made jackal armor a worthwhile investment.

I've had the opposite experience: they leave Australia alone until mid-game and attack south america : ) And yes, you can lose funding blocks. I've heard scuttlebutt of a mission to regain a block after it's lost. Maybe in a future build : )

Nerfing one thing to make a bad thing look better in comparison is not the right decision. The alien plasma shotguns would still be poor, and rifles would become useless compared to sniper rifles and machine guns. Shotguns do need a buff, whether in pellet count like Ishantil is experimenting with, a TU reduction, armor pen, etc: or a combo of all of the above. Right now, stun batons are the superior option for up close...which is silly.

I've never had success using cannons until corsairs (since they're fast enough for me to get behind things). I've tried using condors more this build, but they seem to get killed really fast/require a LOT more work to use effectively. As for your example: I only need 2x foxtrots per light scout/scout w/ avalanches. This means I can build just one extra hangar, and still kill all of an early wave that shows up on radar at the same time. Foxtrots never get hit if you use them correctly= they can head to base and refuel quickly for mid-game waves, instead of getting repaired/recovered like condors tend to end up. Even then, foxtrots using alenium/plasma torpedoes annihilate all alien ships. Foxtrots only need to be switched out for marauders when massive ships start showing up. Using the one-torpedo per rolling ship, wait for roll, then shoot all technique is vital. It also leads to foxtrots literally never getting hit since you outrange all alien ships. Against fighters and bombers: set speed to lowest, have each foxtrot target a separate fighter, put one torp on hold, wait for roll, shoot other= profit. Once you get alenium explosives, you can send less planes after scouts which = more of a wave killed= more money and reputation. Condors can't do this. Don't have the speed, are outranged by everything above scout, and carry weaker weapons. I've also noticed that cannons tend to be weak, sent a marauder using a plasma cannon after a scout. Took 3-4 seconds+ to down it. Seems overly long, and would make me hesitant to use them on capital ships. My point is that you can play like a333 does and do well, but you have to do far more work for it to be successful. This is a problem. There needs to be a few geoscape changes to make it so that condors become necessary, rather than a gentleman's challenge to use.

Do the 9 pellets make up-close kills worth it now? As in, does it kill them dead in mostly one-2 shots?

I've been losing 1-3 soldiers per mission (used to be none usually in v6). This is pretty brutal (but I like it). Huge part of that is the increased aggression from aliens, especially their habit of melee bursts. What are the ramifications for me early game? 1. Spending more geoscape money on replacement soldiers. 2. Using 1-2 snipers per squad. 3. Bringing 1 rocketeer just to deal with the UFO interior. I can't risk sending soldiers into them, or taking potshots= I just blow the insides up. This has led me to taking home $30K+ less mission money. Alternately, have chucked C4 into the UFO's too. 4. Made a garage + a hunter. Been pairing the hunter sight range w/ machine gun and sniper fire. Safer than advancing with riflemen atm. 5. Prioritizing the manufacture of jackal suits. I will see how well this fares with the new dmg spread. If it lets me take people back home after a mission= you've just solved the 'nobody is making jackal armor' problem. As far as Sciencing goes: 1. Beginning of game= built an additional lab. 2. Hired 15 more scientists as lab space opened. Resulted in approximately the same research pace as v6, I just had less $ to spend anywhere else. I don't feel I can skimp on research as the armor, foxtrot, and alenium explosives are vital early game. Overall: I have less money to work with at the beginning of the game.

Yeah, little to no armor makes it impossible to do what I mentioned: that's why I make armoring up my guys a priority over weapons. Wolf makes a huge difference between bringing soldiers back home or not. I've just gotten jackal in the newest version. It's needed now IMO. I cannot get away without armor without losing at least 1 soldier per mission without it. Plasma pistols are nasty now.

An advanced version of the flashbang might be good to add in. Change the purple on the item picture to blue to indicate plasma= good to go; ) That is, as long as sebs aren't bugged in some way. On Snipers: This version I've started using sniper rifles again because it's now very dangerous to get close to aliens. I still seem to be getting consistent 40 dmg hits with the ballistic version. I don't know if that's intended, or if the random number gen likes to roll 40's for me currently.

The combat shield is good in this version, just not as good as last version. I'm still only in the beginning of the game, but what's making them 'good' instead of 'very good' is the fixed AI. I've lost 5 shield soldiers in a few mission replays to sebillians and caesans running up to my soldiers and unloading a burst point blank. One of those bursts often finds a way past the shield. When they just break= it saved that soldiers life. Do I mind this? No, I would figure the aliens would be semi-suicidal since they're clones. Can't wait until they can use grenades too. Nothing says x-com (more like TFTD) like having your landing craft grenaded the first alien turn ; ) As for that picture: get machine gunners/rockets up to the level, array your soldiers just out of the C4 blast radius, blow the door. Then all you need to do is light up the aliens. Kill the ones w/ snipers and plasma cannons first, as they're most likely to inflict lethal dmg.

Ah, so it is- misremembered. That's what I get for not looking facts up prior to posting They had already used the AK design for machine guns and precision rifles, thought a shotgun would've been designed then too. Regardless, there are many other semi's that would be 1979 appropriate. Alien aggression: Did you guys tweak Alien AI? I've had sebillians and caesan's charging at my soldiers left and right. Great change, and it will make jackal armor a priority on my list now. The damage spread feels good initially too. There's that familiar TFTD tension with every shot and alien turn.

With the change to multiple projectiles, only use for shotguns is up close/melee. I think the shots need a TU reduction. As it is, I need to run next to an enemy, shoot it, then probably shoot it again to kill it. With an assault rifle, I have had better results going for that up-close full auto to kill an enemy. A close-range weapon absolutely needs to one to two hit kill (preferably close to one). This is what makes stun batons useable. As it is, the shotgun is more dangerous to use than the baton because I will likely not kill my target. This leads to either reaction, or a next turn soldier death. I feel it needs either, a TU reduction, more damage, or a modifier to damage based on range (so that up close the shot hits harder, but not as hard further away. All that said- I absolutely love the way you're taking shotguns. It'll really distinguish them from the other weapon classes when you guys balance them. To bad you guys didn't model the ballistic shotgun after the Saiga semi-auto shotgun the Soviets (and now russians) use. Would be a good excuse to add a burst mode back to it (rapid trigger firing), and at the first tier too. Contrary to belief, it's a very controllable weapon when firing rapidly, and it's based off the AK.

Replicated what you guys are talking about...yeah, that's a thing. I have an old habit of never having my soldiers closer than 2 tiles distance (TFTD taught me the hard way): in 50 hrs I've never had this happen. Stuck a machine gunner diagonally next to another soldier, then shot at roughly 45 degrees= dead soldier.

Personally, this doesn't seem to be that large of a flaw (if I'm understanding the issue properly). Aiming past your own soldiers is risky, shooting just past them even more so. I like how it is now. Only thing I'd like to see is the ability to have soldiers be allowed to shoot over kneeling soldiers that are adjacent to them. Otherwise, I think it's fair how the game has it. Pointing a gun and firing in the direction of friendlies needs to be a risky choice.

Hi, new to the forums. Played the original X-Com, Terror from the Deep, and Apocalypse heavily, usually on the hardest difficulty settings. I'm a bit of a masochist as far as X-Com goes and prefer brutally hard gameplay. The following mass of text are my thoughts on the current state of arms, armor, and equipment in the game. Some opinions are echoes of what others have said, and some are unique: I felt I should share. Weapons: Pistols: I feel they're great where they are now in terms of damage, cost to fire, reload, and effectiveness. Offers great volume of fire at the penalty of damage. I don't mind the reduction in magazine size from ballistics upwards. Shotguns/Carbines: I really felt the difference between this update and the last. The accuracy buff across the board was one of the best changes made in the beta IMO- the shotgun/carbines have benefited the most. The range isn't all that great until plasma, but you will kill whatever you're shooting. Great power offset by the need to be close. I don't feel that these weapons need a change...except the projectile speed on the plasma carbine. It's too slow and doesn't make it feel powerful. Assault Rifles: I'm not sure others will agree with me, but I feel these weapons are where they should be. Any reduction in TU's to fire them will make the game to easy. With laser rifles I was already at 95% chance to hit with full-aimed shots. High accuracy + ability to one hit kill enemies w/ melee full-auto= already powerful. As the game is right now, you can outfit a whole squad w/ assault rifles and do fine. For a midrange weapon, this is where it should be. Machine Guns: The accuracy buff put these over rocket launchers as my preferred heavy weapon. The 10%+ chance to hit along with the volume of fire changed this gun from a suppression device, to the focus of my squad. In real life, a machine gun is used to supress- but if it can kill a target= they do so. I've had great luck with hanging my machine guns back and railing aliens, while my riflemen move up to get shots in. Many times the machine gunners kill the aliens. The guns sound and feel powerful, have a decent chance of hitting, suppress well, and deal the right amount of dmg at all tiers. They sound chuggy and powerful- great job. Sniper Rifles: I understand the necessity of nerfing these weapons a bit. They work well, but I feel that they aren't as useful to me now compared to just using an assault rifle. I was at 95% chance to hit with laser rifles on most of my soldiers. Taking two shots with high probability of hitting, plus the ability to use burst fire to one-hit-kill at melee> snipers. I started using snipers again when I researched the Shrike. I felt like I could afford another non-front line soldier. I think the reason I didn't use them pre-Shrike was that my sniper soldier would lag far behind the others in stats gained per mission because of the lack of shots-per-mission. Rocket Launcher: I don't use these anymore. I cannot afford to destroy alien equipment IMO. -Stun Rockets: I would use stun rockets, but I've never had it create a gas cloud. It deals light stun on impact and creates 2-3 tiles of light gas. I expect it to at least fill the blast radius w/ light stun gas. I do feel there's room to add an electroshock rocket as a side-grade to the stun gas rocket. -HE Rockets: Whatever you shoot with one of these dies. It does its job well. You really have to weigh the cost of losing mission money against the threat posed by your target. I really only use these to help take the Alien Leader rooms of bases. It's powerful, but you pay for it in opportunity cost. -What I want: Electroshock rockets + Incendiary Rockets. If you are able to work out the bugs for the Armor-piercing rounds= I would love to try those. Not sure if they're needed though. Stun Baton: Dangerous to use, but rewards your efforts. This has the right amount of stun dmg in my opinion. The TU cost seems balanced. -What I want: A lethal melee weapon like the thermal lance and vibroblade in Terror from the Deep. There are few things more satisfying than stun baton 'kills'. A lethal version would be a great alternative if you absolutely need to kill an andron without collateral dmg. Could use same animation/model as stun baton. Conceptually, a high-tech stilletto. Slams it into a target, uses a plasma charge to superheat a metal tip and propel it forward (just like lore for plasma torpedo) before creating a small explosion in target. Shield/Assault Shield: Perfect IMO. Does what it says and saves lives. HE grenades: I use these to kill entrenched aliens that pose a huge threat, or drones/reapers. I would like to see 1 tile more of range. The overdamage property makes these inviable as a main weapon now. Stun grenades: Knock out low rank aliens with ease + area denial. I feel these are where they should be. Electroshock Grenades: Decent side-grade for the stun baton. I feel these are good for higher rank, fleshy aliens, but could use a 10% improvement in stun dmg. Also, these are poor against androns. I don't know if they're meant to have higher dmg against them- I assumed so based on their Xenopedia entry. Flashbangs: People need to use these more. I barely receive reaction fire from movement because of these. The radius is right where it needs to be and they suppress well (higher rank is more resistant, but usually 2 will do it= makes sense). You don't need them in the beginning of the game, but when attacking bases/larger UFO's these save lives. I feel these are where they should be. Smoke grenades: They work, and can be used the whole game. People need to use these more, as well. It would be nice if you shed more light on how they affect accuracy for the tooltip. Does what it needs to do. I've gotten used to how it doesn't block line-of-sight. Only issue, in the future aliens need to be allowed to grenade and burst fire into smoke at players. At 2 plus smoke grenades, aliens usually don't fire at my troops. Not good. Medkits: I Don't have an opinion on these as far as effectiveness, they're necessary. I would like to see a late game upgrade to reduce their inventory size by half, as well as a 20% bonus to efficiency. Could make it require a looted alien base to recover their regeneration/maturation technology. Thoughts on Laser Weapons: I feel that either a $5k price reduction per weapon, or earlier access to the research would help usher out ballistics. I was tempted to skip lasers altogether. In this beta I didn't in order to afford another base. Armors: The removal of the sight restriction was spot on perfect. The weight and monetary/opportunity cost to create armor is balance enough. Jackal: I was never able to afford making it. By the time I could, Wolf was an option. I'm sorry to say I've never made jackal armor. Wolf: I can eat direct plasma cannon shots to the face and still live (sometimes 2). Xenopedia for the cannon needs to be updated, btw. The game changes pace once you've acquired this armor. I'd venture to say it might need a 5% reduction in armor to keep the game tense. I'd wager I could beat normal without making any other armor. Predator: I've made one suit so far. Yeah, definitely worth it. My main machine gunner is a walking war-crime in this. Definitely represents that old X-Com feeling of reaching the top of the tech tree and finally going into battle knowing the aliens should be afraid. The lack of nades and non-hvy weps balances this out. Rookie soldiers are useless when wearing this= good. Need to test this more, but it seems spot on. Aliens need an answer to this armor IMO. Haven't tested the other top armor yet. If it's stronger than wolf= normal is cake once it's acquired. Vehicles: These suffer from the same problem that alien heavy drones have: Huge target, low armor and health. This has been an issue in all X-Coms. I can get more longevity and firepower out of two soldiers instead of a vehicle. I feel they should excel at pushing through open terrain so your soldiers don't end up taking shots. More health, more armor, perhaps less firepower to compensate. Other threads have more knowledgeable thoughts on this. Let me know what you guys think.