Early Game Multirole Troops

[Scorpion]

I find that during the early stages of the game, multirole troops are the way to go.

I find this maximizes my firepower during the ballistic stage of game while maximizing flexibility.

For example:

Assault troops use a rifle at start and have a shotgun in backpack for breaching.

Snipers to have a loaded rocket launcher in backpack if needed, rather then taking a dedicated rocketeer.

Shields have a shotgun in backpack for when the shield is gone.

-Scorpion

[ViniJones]

I agree, I put shotguns to shielders at start. But I dont use m16s much, only if I get soldiers with high accuracy or later when theyre trained.

Multipurpose works well with no armor to hinder you.

I never use rocket launchers and equip everyone with flashbangs. Those actually work most of the time and dont break the stuff youre selling afterwards.

[Gauddlike]

dont break the stuff youre selling afterwards.

Quite an important tip that I don't think everyone grasps right away

[quiescat]

all my starters carry both shotguns and snipers, minus the 2 machine guns who carry a pistol if they have the spare weight after the main gun and 2 back up clips. that setup is largely going to last until wolf armor( skip jackal ),also included are smoke,flash,med kit(s) and spare ammo as weight allows.

i never use rifles ,damage grenades, rocket launchers, or shields they just don't seem remotely reliable or all that effective

open question how do you not pull your own teeth out weight for a rocket launcher to get into effective firing position safely shoot a target and reload then catch up to the rest of the team who are back at base catching up on the latest america's funniest home videos segment on how my rocket guy cant hit the broad side of a barn much less kill a anemic albino in a red onesie

[Scorpion]

Rockets are very handy for blowing away cover to expose aliens to kill.

Never had trouble hitting things, but I always use one of my best guys with high strength and accuracy.

They are also good for shooting gas deep into a corvette prior to assault.

Rifles are also helpful, as they can do a aimed and normal shot in same round, or burst fire at extremely close range, although I usually switch to shotguns for point blank range.

I've never really used damage grenades, or C4 much. In theory C4 could clear cover like a rocket, but at a much shorter range, and usually I want to keep the range as long as possible.

Shields also play a large role in most battles, I usually have 2 in an 8 man squad and use them to scout and draw fire.

For the actual ship breach they are effective as well, they open door toss flash bang (absorbing fire from those who are not suppressed) then after everyone fires at the aliens they close door again.. rinse, repeat, reward.

[quiescat]

Rockets are very handy for blowing away cover to expose aliens to kill.

Never had trouble hitting things, but I always use one of my best guys with high strength and accuracy.

They are also good for shooting gas deep into a corvette prior to assault.

Rifles are also helpful, as they can do a aimed and normal shot in same round, or burst fire at extremely close range, although I usually switch to shotguns for point blank range.

I've never really used damage grenades, or C4 much. In theory C4 could clear cover like a rocket, but at a much shorter range, and usually I want to keep the range as long as possible.

Shields also play a large role in most battles, I usually have 2 in an 8 man squad and use them to scout and draw fire.

For the actual ship breach they are effective as well, they open door toss flash bang (absorbing fire from those who are not suppressed) then after everyone fires at the aliens they close door again.. rinse, repeat, reward.

the rocket launcher bit was more of a joke then any thing its the reload times that makes it ineffective for me personally make that one guys role, and while i dont know about the early game C4 as i dont run across any real need to wipe cover early game. the upgraded version last time i used it melts cover at a fair range if you can judge to outer edge of the blast zone instead of hitting the target square on, at significantly less inventory space or time units as a secondary function within my assault role

the shield issues for me stems from once upon a time it was 80% block chance( no clue what stats are now) which led to silly instances in the early game, where my other wise shielded character would pop his head out from behind his shield at the most inopportune time and get his face melted off, this change happened around around the time smoke stop being a full line of sight blocker, and went to being a hit chance reduction; in tandem with the reflex modifier making shotguns not under powered suicide sticks,so added all together you get me running around like a mad man popping out of smoke to shotgun blast aliens in the face for 20TU instead of the rifles 40TU all that effort dealing with the rifle which can be effective if played like Muhammad Ali or if your extra sneaky and get the chance to unload a burst round to the face its just way to much work for this caveman to set up( meaning me), so i either pray and spray with the machine gun, which at 10 round bursts its more like point and giggle, or go shot gun ninja where smoke covers long ranges and corner baiting gets aliens shot in the face for being noisy ( you have to be back 1 square or they can do that corner shot deal and you likely wont get your reaction shot and dont forget to travel in pairs.

for breaching that varies as i have not had a lot of time with the game post full release yet they changed some lay outs on me i have noticed but largely its drop smoke on top of the aliens and walk to point blank range coming from either a side or behind and unload,

i try not to use doors and in fact prefer blowing them up with machine gun fire, while my shot guns sit 3 tiles or so away ready to breach. if my guys get shot at its either really far off sniper fire i did not spot in time or a misjudged shotgun face stabbing( its really a melee weapon shh don't tell any one ) the flash bang are for the ones i have to run up to face to face, the sniper rile only really sits around till i get into laser tech or electro grenades to deal with androns effectively.

( small disclaimer yes i know shots have changed to a % system and are not in fact using the 20 or 40 respectively use them because its close enough for my post and i just dont know the real number nor a reliable wiki to bother looking them up right this moment)

[crusherven]

I don't use rockets very often, but I did find them useful one time on a landing ship when I was able to hit 4 androns for 70-80 damage each. It didn't kill any of them, but it was a good way to quickly do some damage and eliminate cover.

[PurpleXVI]

If I want to blow away cover I just bring one of the vehicles, personally. In part because finding soldiers with the 70+ Str to actually use heavy weapons correctly is a huge pain. You're unlikely to ever find any recruits with it, and strength gains seem relatively rare.

[ViniJones]

Rockets are very handy for blowing away cover to expose aliens to kill.

Never had trouble hitting things, but I always use one of my best guys with high strength and accuracy.

They are also good for shooting gas deep into a corvette prior to assault.

Rifles are also helpful, as they can do a aimed and normal shot in same round, or burst fire at extremely close range, although I usually switch to shotguns for point blank range.

I've never really used damage grenades, or C4 much. In theory C4 could clear cover like a rocket, but at a much shorter range, and usually I want to keep the range as long as possible.

Shields also play a large role in most battles, I usually have 2 in an 8 man squad and use them to scout and draw fire.

For the actual ship breach they are effective as well, they open door toss flash bang (absorbing fire from those who are not suppressed) then after everyone fires at the aliens they close door again.. rinse, repeat, reward.

May I ask what difficulty do you play on? I breach the UFOs similarily, but I find m16s useless, machineguns for long range shotguns for short range.

I dont really need to break cover, the aliens either just rush in to kill one of my people and leave themselves exposed or theyre already suppressed and can be easily outmanouvered to render the cover useless.

Breaching is another story, they stay in cover there, but flashbangs stop the reacton fire and machineguns break the cover without breaking the alien guns. I find gas useless and only stun by batons, which are reliable. Rockets go boom, but thats about it, so if you like it... to each their own.

[crusherven]

If I want to blow away cover I just bring one of the vehicles, personally. In part because finding soldiers with the 70+ Str to actually use heavy weapons correctly is a huge pain. You're unlikely to ever find any recruits with it, and strength gains seem relatively rare.

How do you propose to do that on the second floor of a landing ship?

You can get a strength gain every mission--just load your troops up to 1 magazine/grenade less than it takes to encumber them.

[ViniJones]

I still think vehicles are useless, you can substitute and out perform them by heavy weapon troopers, who can teleport up a landing ship too. The STR is an issue though, while it can be trained as you suggest, its still only a bit per mission, predator seems the most efficient option here.

[AmericanPride]

All of my kits have dual roles.

Like the OP, my Assault kit uses the rifle as the primary weapon and a shotgun for close quarters. He also has C4. When not breaching, he's part of the maneuver element (with the rifleman) to assault enemy positions.

The Marksman is also the medic and ammo-bearer (one additional LMG magazine and one additional rocket).

The Rifleman, like the Marksman, is also a medic and ammo-bearer.

The Grenedier (Rocket) uses a rifle with the rocket in the pack, while the LMG has a pistol as a secondary firearm.

I rely heavily on LMG for suppression to enable my riflemen and assault to maneuver near the enemy to destroy them in close combat. Frag and smoke grenades are used heavily. C4 is used for breaching doors and walls, and for reducing obstacles. Ditto for rockets, especially when armored enemies are concentrated in a small area.

As everyone has noted, maneuvering the LMG and rocket into a firing position is difficult, and needs to be timed well. When moving into the enemy's field of fire and unable to fire that turn, smoke combined with the use of cover is key to increasing the odds of survival. It helps having a medic immediately on hand. In some circumstances, either weapon can be fired after moving around a corner if your assault element is close enough to the enemy to destroy them by the end of the turn.

Gaining superiority of fires (i.e. destroying or suppressing the enemy) is absolutely essential. Both LMGs and rockets can accomplish this or enable it if used correctly.

[ViniJones]

I agree with most Pride said. Heres what Ive been playing around with lately.

Assault: Shotgun

Medic: Shield

Heavy: Lmg

Sniper: Precision rifle

Each gets a medkit, a baton and flashbangs as much as they can carry.

I use the flashbangs to supress the enemy(duh). Its fairly reliable and can be done over walls.

LMGs supress well too, but I mostly use them to break cover or kill. I use a standing shield trooper in front of the LMG when positioning. A supressed foe only shoots once, which breaks the shield, but leaves both troopers healthy. Mind you this sometimes causes the death of the LMG, so I moved to positioning 3 tiles away from the sight range, thus not letting the supressed alien see me.

I actually started bringing a single rocket with me, should I get a reaper or something else hiding in a building.

Completely lost the rifles and pistols, dont see the point. (i use pistols with shield, until batons come along, the reaction modifier is good :3)

[AmericanPride]

Vini,

I use rifles to engage medium-ranged targets. I prefer engaging my targets at the max effective distance of the weapon system (which is usually, but not always, the line of sight limit of the operator, which I think in daylight is 16 tiles). Depending on the transport, I have 2-3 LMGs, and I keep them close enough to each other to have interlocking fields of fire. Whenever possible, that's the first weapon system I use in a turn. After destroying or suppressing the enemy, I can then maneuver my riflemen and assaults into a better position (ideally within hand grenade range). I only assign pistols to the LMGs in the event that they deplete all of their ammo - which has only happened once.

Honestly, I have not seen any use for shields. I prefer maximizing the firepower of all my operators. The opportunity cost of a shield is another machinegun.

EDIT: I agree with you about vehicles. The opportunity cost of a vehicle is two machineguns.

[ViniJones]

I use rifles to engage medium targets too, just not the assault ones.

I find that the assault rifles can really only shoot one aimed shot per turn, so do the precision ones. That is, if you want to have APs to move back to cover and not die. Actually, the precision rifles allow you to take 2 half-aimed shots if targeted a turn beforehand, making them better than assault rifles. The only thing missing is the suppression done by burst fire. Like I said I supress mostly with flashbangs.

This is mostly about the basic m16. Laz0rs and plasma burst fire can be quite devastating on medium range, once your troops can shoot straight, thats certainly not when the m16s are the best rifles.

If I have to engage an enemy from afar, its LMG, precision. I much more prefer the damage and reaction modifiers of shotguns. Or even better the guaranteed neutralization by stun batons. I prefer close combat.

Shield work well at start, its one shot youre willing to take. If shit happens, you have a dude who can run in the open and not crouch, making him a priority target, saving the other soldier, who is in trouble.

They also work well with stun batons, once a target is supressed you run up to him and if 2-3 hits dont cut it, you can calmly end the turn, take the one shot the supressed alien is capable of and finish him.

The only enemy I wouldnt recommend shields against is androns. Against those, you really should maximize your firepower and engage at the maximum possible range. (or hit n run with shotguns)

[dpelectric]

Well, here's the thing. There's a thousand different ways you can equip and use your troops, and a thousand different players will strongly advocate each and every one of them. There is no right or wrong; if it works for you, it's right. And there really is no such thing as a definitively superior combination of tactics, or even any one that is superior to any other. You can succeed at ground combat in a ton of different ways, which is the beauty of the game

[AmericanPride]

It's definitely interesting to see other players' tactics and preferences, especially in the use of defensive and non-lethal weapons like shields and batons. I don't even bother with them since I prefer blasting my way to a win. My casualty rate is usually pretty high though, since I also focus on offensive weapons instead of equipping my soldiers with armor. On average, I probably suffer 2-3 casualties with rates as high as 5-6 per battle. I've also lost a few teams before I realized that there's no shame in withdrawing if victory seems unlikely. The result is that I have a constant influx of fresh recruits, the survivors of which I reassign to my primary strike team to handle the more dangerous missions. So it's interesting to see how those micro-decisions affect the larger progress of the campaign.

At first, I didn't use precision rifles, but then I found the value in them as you stated. I only bring one however since most missions involve assaulting a UFO of some kind and I rather have the assault rifle for that purpose. How do you adapt your approach to terror missions when enemies are often concentrated and covering one another?

[ViniJones]

Yes indeed, Its always good to find another enthusiast(or however you spell it) with a different approach and an open mind.

I must admit I lost all the armor somewhere along the way too. Its unreliable at best. Once predator comes along, its a different story.

I dont lose that many troops, Im quite careful on the ground combat map, its usually one per mission or none, because shit doesnt happen when you have a shield around, or happens more than once... or wraiths happen.

I dont usually need 10 soldiers to breach a UFO, so the snipers either stay behind, or equip the batons, or throw flashbangs.

In theory: Terror missions differ map-to-map and enemy type. They do provide a lot of cover most of the time so in general I swap the positions of what you use, I send my assaults and shields behind cover close to the enemy and suppress them either over the walls or by looking round the corner and flashbanging(you getting tired of those yet?) I dont get reaction fired... usually. Then I position my heavies and snipers so that they can deal with the pinned down enemies from a safe distance. Assaults also pop out, shoot and hide again and can dispatch any aliens that try to flank or escape the killzone. Saving APs for reaction fire works well for me here. This tactic only failed me once and it was against androns, shoulda know, shoulda brought more firepower.

Edit: I also won one mission by holding the landing zone with the heavies and just shooting the incoming enemies, spotting them by assaults lurking behind bookshelves and hot dog stands.

In practice: People die, shit gets blown up and I feel bad.

I do this with a team of 4 assaults 2 shields 2 snipers and 2 heavies. If theres a terror mission where I still only have a charlie, I lose the snipers. This is of course the ideal scenario, not really that often do you get the stats for a balanced team. Those whose stats dont cut it go with (you guessed it) or use batons... cant miss with those.

Edited June 23, 2014 by ViniJones