Defense batteries

[vaultdweller]

How many defense batteries (of whatever kind) need to be in a base to ensure that an attacking ship is shot down, and not just damaged? Or is it even possible for them to destroy them outright?

Just wondering how well I need to defend the bases that aren't home to my combat teams.

[Max_Caine]

I'd say at 4. Defence batteries auto-upgrade, so you don't want to spend too much money on a massive array of rockets when they are likely to change to lasers by the time the ETs start attacking bases.

[Dranak]

Batteries have 80% accuracy and fire once. Assuming you get to laser tech by the time a base is attacked, you can expect around 240 average damage done per turret (adjusting for the accuracy). Landing ships have 1600 HP, so six turrets would kill one *if* all the shots hit. Realistically, you'd want to be closer to nine turrets to be reasonably safe. Or three well controlled Condors. Both would cost the same and take about the same space.

[vaultdweller]

Hrm, sounds like there's no good "set it and forget it" option for defending manufacturing/research bases.

[Dranak]

No, and that's probably a good thing. It'd effectively remove base defense missions from the game if there was an easy way to make bases invulnerable to assault.

[Commissar Pancakes]

I think the mechanic is that base defenses that successfully damage an incoming UFO pretty much kills some of the assault force, applying less pressure on your [if applicable] battered defense forces.

[Dranak]

That's my understanding as well.

[vaultdweller]

No, and that's probably a good thing. It'd effectively remove base defense missions from the game if there was an easy way to make bases invulnerable to assault.

I agree to an extent, but where this differs from the original game is that the original allowed you to tuck away non-combat bases around the world and not worry about them being attacked. You could establish bases for radar coverage, research and manufacturing and they'd be perfectly safe. If you weren't launching aircraft from a base to draw attention to it, the aliens would never go looking for it.

To my (admittedly limited) understanding, Xenonauts has no mechanic like this. Every base is fair game for attack. I want to have the pressure of defending my key bases, but only those bases that there's some reasonable chance of having a garrison there. I don't want to be forced to go bankrupt building defenses just to get radar coverage in Greenland, nor do I want to do the insane amount of mission grinding necessary to train up a batch of rookies to a level where they can provide an effective defense for each base.

[theblazeuk]

I cycle my first 20 troops through missions and then ship them off in groups of 5-10 to other bases.

Main base stays the hub for everything and everything else gets the outmoded tech pawned off on them... god help them when the aliens attack but at least they'll have more than strong language.

[Dranak]

My understanding is that every base is a valid target, but the system weights it more towards older bases.

If I was going to try setting up a base for minimal defense, I'd go with about 5 or so turrets, which should be enough to take out a good chunk of the attacking force, and multiple tanks supported by a smattering of infantry with whatever gear I had available.

[StellarRat]

The good news is that since damage is cumulative on alien ships if you can get a couple torpedo hits with your fighters on inbound alien ships your batteries have an excellent chance of killing them.

[Commissar Pancakes]

I agree to an extent, but where this differs from the original game is that the original allowed you to tuck away non-combat bases around the world and not worry about them being attacked. You could establish bases for radar coverage, research and manufacturing and they'd be perfectly safe. If you weren't launching aircraft from a base to draw attention to it, the aliens would never go looking for it.

To my (admittedly limited) understanding, Xenonauts has no mechanic like this. Every base is fair game for attack. I want to have the pressure of defending my key bases, but only those bases that there's some reasonable chance of having a garrison there. I don't want to be forced to go bankrupt building defenses just to get radar coverage in Greenland, nor do I want to do the insane amount of mission grinding necessary to train up a batch of rookies to a level where they can provide an effective defense for each base.

To be fair, the Xenos are probably detecting the massive waves that our military radar installations give off and are probably drawn to that. They probably prioritize these less because it's the bases with fighters that are shooting down their ships, rather than the ones giving away their position.

That being said, it makes sound tactical sense to try and blind an entrenched enemy before launching an invasion wave.

[theblazeuk]

Quick question here as it seems kind of appropriate - are the entry points for the aliens predefined ala the original X-Com?

I remember that in the old game, the access lift and the hangars were where the sectoid menace entered the base. Originally I thought that was the case in Xenonauts too (and have certainly built my base as such) but last time I got attacked, they came in through a store room. And the hangars. They were coming out of the freaking walls man

[Max_Caine]

No, they aren't. Access points are randomly generated on the most external parts of the base map. They do come out of the walls.

[theblazeuk]

My careful planning, all for naught.

Still as disappointed as I am I won't have the turkey shoot I hoped for, it's definitely more challenging to be attacked from all sides and means I won't be treating base attacks like training academies.

[Commissar Pancakes]

My careful planning, all for naught.

Still as disappointed as I am I won't have the turkey shoot I hoped for, it's definitely more challenging to be attacked from all sides and means I won't be treating base attacks like training academies.

All your guys start in the command section of the base as well, so you can just hole up in there at the door to the command area and just turtle the crap out of the aliens.

[Anon_Spartan]

You can? I thought the invading aliens could destroy your base components, so you had to move quickly to defend them.

Now, if you could have all the doors in your base go on lockdown, or at least know which doors were being opened, that would be awesome.

[Commissar Pancakes]

Haven't played a base defense mission in a while, so my information might be a little outdated, but I don't think that the aliens would deliberately go out of their way to just smash everything they see without viable targets.

[theblazeuk]

Haven't played a base defense mission in a while, so my information might be a little outdated, but I don't think that the aliens would deliberately go out of their way to just smash everything they see without viable targets.

Hmm all my initial base attacks were won with heavy explosives and tanks with laser cannons... if I didn't scratch my base into the ground I doubt the aliens could have done anything.

Last time I turtled it just left me covering 4 exits with no troops able to flank. Not enough good guns (now I have lots of spare stuff though)

[Chris]

By V20 Stable the aliens will trash your base if you just turtle in the Command Room and wait for them.

[vaultdweller]

I don't know how I feel about that. The base defense is the only combat type that deviates from the standard "bug hunt" format. Every other mission type boils down to playing search and destroy until you've removed the aliens from the map. Base defense is a refreshing change of pace where you get to hold ground against aliens rather than hunting them down. I hope they don't turn into another variant of scouring a different-flavoured map until you've found all the aliens.

I hope that the aliens at least remain focused on getting to the command center without wandering off through the base.

[ventuswings]

I am certain some squads will retain command center capture mission. I'm still excited for this change because having everyone rush for the CC makes other part of the map redundant and have strategy of sitting within the CC ungodly strong with how defensively it is set up.

[Commissar Pancakes]

By V20 Stable the aliens will trash your base if you just turtle in the Command Room and wait for them.

I look forward to screaming obscenities about "those dern Xenos trashin mah law-er...I mean base like a couple o' mangy teens."

[Max_Caine]

This thread may help fill in the informational blanks re. base defence.

[TrashMan]

In some ways I like it when the aliens swarm the Chinnok. A few missions like that are a must. Because frankly, we need more misson types. We need varitey.

Defending things insted of just attacking aliens.

Like - allied convoy under attack, help them. (a large firefight with many allies soldiers)

Shot down airplane/helicopter. Hold out untill reinforcements arrive.

Ya know..things like that.

Edited November 19, 2013 by TrashMan