X-Com 2

[Edward64]

X-Com 2 has been delayed to Feb 2016 but that's okay with me (e.g. have to finish Pillars and Fallout 4 is coming).

Looking forward to a great game that is can be modded and has more variability.

See below for latest video. It looks great.

Official XCOM 2 “Welcome to the Avenger� Gameplay - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=53&v=2VTGL4nWiJM)


Meet the team from the recently-delayed XCOM 2 - The Wargamer | PC, PS3, Xbox 360 & Blu-ray walkthroughs & reviews (http://www.wargamer.com/Article/10269)
Last week the press minders at 2K sent around word that XCOM 2 will need a little more time before deployment. Originally slated for this year, the game is being held until February 2016 " to make it the best possible game." If you're more than passingly familiar with Firaxis, this should be cool with you. Sid Meier's studio have long been in the habit of releasing very good games that become great games after a few patches and maybe an expansion pack. So a little more time in the oven for XCOM 2 can't be a bad thing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Firaxis Hires 'The Long War' Modders To Make Mods For XCOM 2 (http://kotaku.com/firaxis-hires-the-long-war-modders-to-make-mods-for-xco-1754256400)

[nilodor]

I think green man gaming has a 25% off on preorders still. Good for a steam voucher.

[jeff061]

I think green man gaming has a 25% off on preorders still. Good for a steam voucher.

Thanks for the heads up.

[mckerney]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5eLW6kgn1Yo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Reviews are generally very high. Current Metacritic score is a 91 on nearly 30 reviews. Thought this review was pretty good.

XCOM 2 Review | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/02/01/xcom2-review/)

[Thomkal]

Total Biscuit loves it:

â–º WTF Is... - XCOM 2 ? - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1dLGihV0No)

[nilodor]

Looks freaking amazing. I'm excited and I can't wait to see what they do with the expansions. I hope they have another enemy within up their sleeves.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I can't wait.

I just burned out on XCom: Long War a couple of months ago (after a good 270 hours worth) and nothing has quite filled that void since.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Total Biscuit loves it:

â–º WTF Is... - XCOM 2 ? - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1dLGihV0No)

So that means, what, it runs at a frame rate so high that only dogs can see it?
:D

(I kid, I kid, love TB ... I just don't share his obsession about frame rate ;) )

[NobodyHere]

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/xcom_2/b/pc/archive/2016/02/01/xcom-2-game-informer-review.aspx

[Thomkal]

So that means, what, it runs at a frame rate so high that only dogs can see it?
:D

(I kid, I kid, love TB ... I just don't share his obsession about frame rate ;) )

He does seem anal about some things doesn't he?

[mckerney]

Video on character pools.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fo_AlvNvfa8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Shepp]

Preloads have started too. Its supposed to unlock at 12:01 tomorrow morning so I'll be able to fire it up when I get home from work tonight.

I sure hope the delay will mean there isn't any teleport bug or strangeness with line of site/ flanking. Those were a real pain in the original.

[Neon_Chaos]

LOCKED AND PRELOADED.

Here we go!

[jeff061]

Bought from Green Man Gaming. They sent 2 codes, 1 seems to activate on Steam just fine and I am preloading. The other code causes Steam to go unresponsive and crash, no clue what it's for. Weird.

[nilodor]

Bought from Green Man Gaming. They sent 2 codes, 1 seems to activate on Steam just fine and I am preloading. The other code causes Steam to go unresponsive and crash, no clue what it's for. Weird.

Weird, I bought from them as well but didn't have any issues redeeming both codes. Hopefully it fixes itself.

[jeff061]

1 code is for the base game, what is the other one for? I'll try on another PC.

[nilodor]

1 code is for the base game, what is the other one for? I'll try on another PC.

The other code is for future DLC and expansions.

[jeff061]

I didn't buy a season pass. Looks like it's this:

Pre Purchase Now and Receive:

RESISTANCE WARRIOR PACK
Customize your squad of resistance fighters with bonus outfits, headgear, and custom facial war paint. Instantly unlock a survivor of the old war as a recruit in your barracks.

[Marc Vaughan]

My big question are simply - "Does the line of sight work correctly?" and "Do enemy aliens still spawn ala Doom 1 or is strategy actually possible this time?"

[SirFozzie]

I'll be playing this tonight shortly after midnight on twitch, if folks want to hang out.

[mckerney]

Just got home my key finally arrived from Funstock. Preloading and then going to try to unlock with my VPN.

[mckerney]

Woooo, it's unlocked and ready to go! Time to have my entire crew slaughtered in record time.

[mckerney]

Managed to only lose 2 squadies on my first mission.

:(

[Neon_Chaos]

I'll be playing this tonight shortly after midnight on twitch, if folks want to hang out.

What's your Twitch channel?

[MizzouRah]

I traded in a game and had a reward certificate.. so for $18 I'll have xcom 2 here next Monday.. which is good because I need to finish up EW.

I want to read some impressions!!!

[EagleFan]

All this XCom 2 talk got me wanting to get back into XCom. Fired up a save I hadn't played in a while and damn, lost my most veteran leader in a very difficult crash landing mission. :( His service will not be forgotten. :)

[mckerney]

I really like the ranger class so far. Through two missions most of my kills have come from my ranger running around stabbing everyone.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Cripes. Huge download. Thank God for Google Fiber.

[Edward64]

Downloading now. About 8 hrs!

[Eaglesfan27]

Can't wait for it to unlock, but I have to work tomorrow, so I won't play too much tonight.

[SirFozzie]

We are live.. hopefully the game will be unpacked shortly and you'll get to see the gameplay!

Twitch (http://twitch.tv/sirfozzie)

[Eaglesfan27]

Is the game taking a very long time to do the final updates and start for anyone else? I started late (due to playing Grim Dawn) but I've been waiting for 15 minutes for it to start. Going to have to go to bed before it even finishes if it doesn't start moving quicker...

[mckerney]

The decrypting of the preload always takes a while. It's best to put it on an SSD if you can even if you move the install to a HDD later.

[Eaglesfan27]

The decrypting of the preload always takes a while. It's best to put it on an SSD if you can even if you move the install to a HDD later.

Thanks for the info. Maybe, I will get a bit of time in before work tomorrow. Going to leave this running and go to sleep for now.

[SirFozzie]

First thoughts on #XCOM2 .. There's so little to do and so much time.. wait, completely the opposite. COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY THE OPPOSITE.

https://www.an8bitmind.com/index.php/2016/02/05/first-impressions-5-5-hours-into-xcom-2/

[SirFozzie]

Oh.. and Fuck Codex.

Fuck it up the ass with a diamond tipped chainsaw across seven dimensions.

I'd go into details about why I want such a thing, but you know, spoilers :)

[mckerney]

Oh.. and Fuck Codex.

Fuck it up the ass with a diamond tipped chainsaw across seven dimensions.

I'd go into details about why I want such a thing, but you know, spoilers :)

I learned a very important lesson about not using a skulljack on an Advent Blacksite mission.

[Edward64]

Just finished my first mission after the intro. It went well for the first half and then reinforcements came and got wiped out (good thing I saved midway).

I'm pretty sure it'll get better as the story line progresses and I see more variety of aliens, skills, weapons etc. ... but right now its the same old game which is not necessarily bad.

[jeff061]

It feels like the first one was just a beta for this one. Core concepts are very similar, but it's tremendously more polished with a lot more "stuff" and variety. I don't think I'd want wholesale changes.

[MizzouRah]

People are complaining there are too many turn limited missions?

[jeff061]

Only played a few missions so far, not sure if it continues until end of game, but they definitely want you to feel like the invading team making surgical strikes. Get in, complete mission, get out. Turn limit creates that feeling, you are not an occupying force defending.

[mckerney]

I like the turn limited missions. They work well in forcing you to vary the tactics you use and like jeff said they work great for giving the thematic feel of playing a small resistance strike force that needs to get in, get the job done, and get out quickly.

Also kind of excited for the time when I have someone gets left behind after I read you can get a VIP rescue mission to get back a soldier who wasn't about to make it out in time.

[MizzouRah]

Yeah.. I don't mind that premise. Still finishing up EW and will go onto XC2 next week.

[Groundhog]

Man, this game is brutal. I'm losing 1 or 2 guys most missions, and my latest mission I had my last surviving soldier with the mission objective sprinting halfway across the map to the evac point with 1 bar of health and 4 remaining aliens firing away at her.

I get a weird amount of lag in the cut scenes that blend into the actual gameplay, as well as the transition scenes back at HQ. Anyone else seeing this? First time I've had any lag at all with a game on this PC.

[Neon_Chaos]

the weapons and armor upgrades are well worth the long research times. With mag weaps and plated armor, even rookies now stand a chance against the overwhelming odds thrown at you.

I like the timed missions. No longer do I get the feeling that I am just tanking and turtling my way through missions. You are actually now encouraged to engage the aliens into exciting firefights.

And yes, losing 1 or 2 soldiers per mission now. The Memorial wall is filling up fast, and each death reminds you that you are fighting a superior force.

Loving it.

edit:

Also, during a VIP rescue mission, I was able to get the VIP to the EVAC zone in time, but lost all four of my troops due to the timer running out. I got the mission win, but lost all my troops. Interestingly, it said "Captured" on all four troops during the mission end screen. Several missions later, one of the missions I took ended up being a rescue mission for one of those soliders! I was able to EVAC everyone out, and tadaaaa my Ranger Seargeant is back in business!

[SirFozzie]

There's mods available in the workshop on Steam to up the time limit or even remove them

[nilodor]

Man, this game is brutal. I'm losing 1 or 2 guys most missions, and my latest mission I had my last surviving soldier with the mission objective sprinting halfway across the map to the evac point with 1 bar of health and 4 remaining aliens firing away at her.

I get a weird amount of lag in the cut scenes that blend into the actual gameplay, as well as the transition scenes back at HQ. Anyone else seeing this? First time I've had any lag at all with a game on this PC.

I'm getting worked over. I knew I was in for a bit of a change when I failed the 2nd mission twice (the one where you get the core to power the avenger). I've done pretty well since then, although I've had to leave a couple of people behind and am probably going to get avatared here soon before getting that far into the game. It's a workout just on veteran, I can't imagine those of you who are succeeding on legend.

[revrew]

Just completed my first mission where I didn't bother slaughtering the aliens but made a mad dash to complete the mission (a VIP extraction). Their reinforcements landed, but I sprinted for the extraction zone and got everyone out without a single injury and only a couple of shots fired to cover my flank.

Wow, is that a fantastic new addition. Thrilling to have to choose between a dogfight or a sprint and seeing if you chose right.

Also very happy to see there are multiple paths to victory. I actually dodged most of the firefights in this one by going up and over the rooftops of the building and breaking in the back door, instead of weaving my way through the alien-infested streets. That doesn't work every time (I tried it in another mission and got ambushed by aliens on my flank that I didn't bother wiping out), but having the choices and the complexities of alien pods that patrol instead of staying put is awesome.

And the character pool? Oh, yeah. Oh, heck yeah.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I played this a lot yesterday. Really enjoying it. It's definitely not easy. I have lost a lot of troops.

Has anyone had an issue with certain character looks/props/etc. available in the recruit pool - when you create a soldier - not being available "in game" and, thus, disappearing from your created soldier's appearance?

For example, I can create a soldier with an eye patch in the pool, but when I went to edit him in the game there was no eye patch available and it then went away.

Also, I recruited a random generated soldier who had the "blow out" hair (that crazy hairstyle in the original X-Com) and then later in the game, after saving and re-loading, his hair changed and it wasn't available in the edit features.

It's weird.

[jeff061]

I've restarted a few games, similar to XCom 1. Bad pacing or research choices. 3rd play through now, made a beeline for squad size upgrades, armor upgrades and magnetic weapons. Seems to be going much better. In mission benefits aside, when you are up to 5 or 6 teammate you can absorb a rookie much more easily. Ideally you end up with a pool consisting of less rookies as you cycle them into mission, but they can also serve as cheap meat shields that don't impact you too much if they die(just recruiting costs).

First time through I raced up the story before getting my shit in order and it wasn't pretty. Second play through I waited too long to upgrade squad size.

Really enjoying the game. I don't mind the turn limits, but I'm not sure how much of a fan I am of the advent doomsday clock. I haven't gotten further enough in to see how that impacts things at a macro level.

[Groundhog]

I've restarted twice now. Current game I made it 5 missions without a single death, and just got my hands on predator armour. Mission 6 my entire team was wiped.

[nilodor]

I've restarted twice now. Current game I made it 5 missions without a single death, and just got my hands on predator armour. Mission 6 my entire team was wiped.

I'm wondering if the whole game is going to be like that, always on your heels, whenever you make a tech jump, the aliens make a bigger one, or you wind up with badder enemies. Just feels like you can never get ahead, not less even.

[Groundhog]

I think it is intentionally like that, but you really have to go against the grain as far as research goes - ignore the research items that the game tells you to go for, and instead focus on everything that makes your men more numerous, better armed, and better armored.

[korme]

If you add to the character pool can you then use the newly added characters on a save?

[Groundhog]

Yep, I created two characters, loaded my current game, and I received one of them as a reward for a mission.

[jeff061]

I'm wondering if the whole game is going to be like that, always on your heels, whenever you make a tech jump, the aliens make a bigger one, or you wind up with badder enemies. Just feels like you can never get ahead, not less even.

It seems to me to be very similar to the first one. If you make the right choices early, you set yourself up for future successes which in turn allows you to continue to make right choices and set yourself up for further success. I don't think the enemies are always 1 step ahead of you. Since I got predator armor and mag weapons I've been having a relatively easy go of it. Just upgraded to W.A.R. armor, even though I hadn't really felt any pressure to do so. Plasma is researched, just need supplies to upgrade to those.

On the flipside, if you are trending down it tends to snowball, because you aren't capable of winning without massive casualties and you can't field a capable roster. Without a capable roster it's real hard to turn it around.

The more I play the game the more I really like it. The environment destruction is turning into one of my favorite new aspects. Whether it's just shooting a hole through a wall or literally clearing a quarter of a building and dropping all the covered enemies with it, a lot of fun and good strategy. I love the faceless guys going to town on the terrain, they clear cliffs and buildings with one swipe. The heavy class is much more useful and the drones with the support class are fantastic. The first time I took down an heavily armored mech with a single armor piercing shot from my sniper had me grinning.

The way engineering is handled is significantly better as well. I thought it may be a bit to micromanagement, but I'm liking it a lot.

[mckerney]

The more I play the game the more I really like it. The environment destruction is turning into one of my favorite new aspects. Whether it's just shooting a hole through a wall or literally clearing a quarter of a building and dropping all the covered enemies with it, a lot of fun and good strategy. I love the faceless guys going to town on the terrain, they clear cliffs and buildings with one swipe.

Rescuing a VIP and then having a grenadier destroy a wall to make an exit for everyone feels so satisfying.

[Groundhog]

Played both my first landed UFO assault and ship defense missions last night. The UFO assault was fairly easy, but the defense mission is intense. Timer ticking down to disable the mission objective before wave after wave of increasing number of enemies land around your craft. I sent 2 men to take out the objective with the rest of my men camped out in overwatch to cover the retreat, and had two reserve alien crafts land while I was scrambling back and I just made it back in time to take off when a 5-unit strong alien craft landed….

Finding it a lot more fun with max-sized squads, there’s enough men to split your force a little, especially when setting ambushes while hidden (which is my favourite part of the new game I’d say).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

An Unlikely Fix For XCOM 2’s Long-Ass Back To Base Load Times (http://kotaku.com/an-unlikely-fix-for-xcom-2-s-long-ass-back-to-base-load-1758314840)

[revrew]

An Unlikely Fix For XCOM 2’s Long-Ass Back To Base Load Times (http://kotaku.com/an-unlikely-fix-for-xcom-2-s-long-ass-back-to-base-load-1758314840)

I've found another fix that helps tremendously. I have a computer just below the recommended specs for the game, and when I first tried it out, it crashed every time. Couldn't even get to the title screen.

Then I turned off my wi-fi and used Task Manager to shut Steam down and ran it again in offline mode. Works like a charm, now. Every time.

Have I said before how much I hate Steam? Yes, yes I have.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I played this a lot yesterday. Really enjoying it. It's definitely not easy. I have lost a lot of troops.

Has anyone had an issue with certain character looks/props/etc. available in the recruit pool - when you create a soldier - not being available "in game" and, thus, disappearing from your created soldier's appearance?

For example, I can create a soldier with an eye patch in the pool, but when I went to edit him in the game there was no eye patch available and it then went away.

Also, I recruited a random generated soldier who had the "blow out" hair (that crazy hairstyle in the original X-Com) and then later in the game, after saving and re-loading, his hair changed and it wasn't available in the edit features.

It's weird.

I figured out the answer. All of the customization options don't open up until a soldier reaches the rank of sergeant.

I am officially hooked on this game. I have gone to bed at 3 am the last two nights - weekday nights. Oops!

I have been really enjoying the stealth ranger on non-stealth missions.

I only have 5 man squads and have been leaning towards double heavies. I love grenades and taking out cover is so key.

I just got plated armor. I really haven't found a use for medkits or medics like the old game. It's nice to heal wounds, but I have yet to have a soldier get hit and start bleeding out like the old game.

[nilodor]

I just got plated armor. I really haven't found a use for medkits or medics like the old game. It's nice to heal wounds, but I have yet to have a soldier get hit and start bleeding out like the old game.

I've really only been using medkits to cure poisoning from viper attacks and viper rounds. Lousy jerk aliens.

For the first time in the game I feel like I'm almost level pegging with the aliens, the last few difficult missions have gone by with only minor injuries and some semblance of control from my side. Although it may be too late for me as the aliens got to the avatar project counter (although I managed to raid a factory to knock it back 1) and the factories are a long way away from my current operations.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Have I said before how much I hate Steam? Yes, yes I have.

That's okay. I probably love Steam as much, if not more, than you hate it, so it all balances out!

[jeff061]

I figured out the answer. All of the customization options don't open up until a soldier reaches the rank of sergeant.

I am officially hooked on this game. I have gone to bed at 3 am the last two nights - weekday nights. Oops!

I have been really enjoying the stealth ranger on non-stealth missions.

I only have 5 man squads and have been leaning towards double heavies. I love grenades and taking out cover is so key. .

I used double heavies up until I got psy operatives. Shred/grenades are key with all the armored enemies (side note, research armor piercing bullets and the shred cannon!) and holotarget is very useful. For Psy soldiers there may be nothing more handy than Stasis, but all the powers are great and Void rift is magnificent.

Also had all my specialists trained with a healer spec, just took 1 of them and respecced to offensive hacker. Haven't tried that out yet.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I used double heavies up until I got psy operatives. Shred/grenades are key with all the armored enemies (side note, research armor piercing bullets and the shred cannon!) and holotarget is very useful. For Psy soldiers there may be nothing more handy than Stasis, but all the powers are great and Void rift is magnificent.

Also had all my specialists trained with a healer spec, just took 1 of them and respecced to offensive hacker. Haven't tried that out yet.

I don't have psionics yet. I can't wait!

I'm a big fan of the Offensive specialist. They are great against turrets and robots. And, even against non-robotic enemies, the automatic 2 point hit can come in /very/ handy when you have a really dangerous enemy with just 1-2 hit points left.

[SirFozzie]

It's also good when one of your people gets Viper Grabbed (2 points of damage means auto release, which usually means the guy released gets to express his displeasure with Snakehugs at short range.. I save my specialists with Combat Protocol just for that.

[korme]

Any cheap tricks to speed up a painfully slow internet connection?

http://i.imgur.com/j1olS0E.png?1

[Groundhog]

Yikes, walk down the street and buy it boxed? :D

[korme]

Yikes, walk down the street and buy it boxed? :D

That still exists??? :eek: :D

[nilodor]

Man gunslingers are death dealers. I've just gotten to plasma pistols and my favourite way to break concealment is to get to take a high ground pistol shot (costs 1 action), then use lightning strike (free shot) and faceoff (to shoot at any enemy within range). Nothing picks up the mood better after your squaddies miss on a whole bunch of shot then for your gunslinger to deal death to all the near-by enemies.

[Marmel]

The negative reviews on steam are scaring me off paying $60 for this. I know you are going to get your share of negative reviews that are not justified, but I am seeing some pretty detailed reviews that are negative.

The whole timer thing is a huge turnoff. Is it as bad as it sounds? Here is one negative review. Is it at all accurate?

Unfortunately, I have to echo the sentiments of a lot of other reviewers here. XCom2 delivers a great core game, playing off of the strengths of its predecessors, but a few design flaws (and a LOT of bugs and graphical issues) have sunk the game experience for me.

People have already outlined those issues in detail, but a short list:

EVERYTHING IS ON A TIMER (EVEN THE WORLD MAP). The aliens are working on the "Avatar Project" (which might as well be named the Deus Ex Machina project), which ticks forward, often out of your control. God help you if you want to try to get anything done, because you'll be spending all your time on...

RESOURCE DROPS. Yes, to get any supplies, you'll now have to sit over them, like a hen laying on an egg, to get any resources. However, you won't be able to do this, because...

EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS ALARMING ALL THE TIME. Missions pop up all the time and while you're sometimes given a choice as to which one to do, you damned sure better do ONE of them, and best of luck because...

YOU'RE S.O.L. IF YOUR A-TEAM DIES. I don't mind difficult games. In fact, I like the permadeath nature of XCom; it gives your missions and decisions weight and I'll admit having to fight the urge to save-scum when one of my favorite soldiers died. However, the random nature of your missions means that it's entirely possible to get three of those "not mandatory but actually pretty mandatory" missions outlined above, and if you take any damage at all, you'll have to bring in fresh recruits. Even by mid-campaign, Squaddies and Corporals are effectively useless because...

THE COVER MECHANICS AND TO HIT NUMBERS MAKE NO SENSE. I take a reasonably seasoned corporal with a Tier 2 railgun, put him directly next to a muton with no cover at all under the effects of suppression, and my to hit is... 18%. What? Are XCom soldiers half-stormtrooper? A big giant unit with big giant HP and armor is apparently faster than a speeding bullet. You'll be surprised when a stun lancer hits you literally through a wall because...

THE COVER MECHANICS MAKE LITERALLY NO SENSE. Hitting through walls? a 20% to hit percentage difference on two of the same creatures literally right next to each other? Sure, why not. I don't care anymore.

[Honolulu_Blue]

THE COVER MECHANICS AND TO HIT NUMBERS MAKE NO SENSE. I take a reasonably seasoned corporal with a Tier 2 railgun, put him directly next to a muton with no cover at all under the effects of suppression, and my to hit is... 18%. What? Are XCom soldiers half-stormtrooper? A big giant unit with big giant HP and armor is apparently faster than a speeding bullet. You'll be surprised when a stun lancer hits you literally through a wall because...

THE COVER MECHANICS MAKE LITERALLY NO SENSE. Hitting through walls? a 20% to hit percentage difference on two of the same creatures literally right next to each other? Sure, why not. I don't care anymore.

I've played for about 10-15 hours or so and I really haven't experienced this at all. Sure, I've had my people miss their fair share of 75%+ shots and sometimes things seem a bit off, but nothing like you're talking about.

The railgun situation sounds like it could be because it's your sniper? Sniper rifles + short range = Shit. Use your pistol next time or keep your snipers at a distance.

If there is a 20% difference between aliens right next to each other it's probably do to a combination of the angle of fire and partial vs. full cover. My solution: throw/lunch a grenade, eliminate the cover situation, and fire at will, Commander.

The game does its best to simulate a cover mechanic and stressful, squad-based fights in a turn-based atmosphere. It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn good and not as wild and arbitrary as described above.

[jeff061]

I never got annoyed by timers, I guess if you are really slow it may bug you. In any case there are workshop mods that can disable it.

Resource drops are bonuses, not critical. They shouldn't be gotchas and grabbing them should be strategic.

Everything alarming all the time is kind of how it's been working since the 90s games and all the knockoffs, sounds like a newbie critique.

Don't create an A-Team. Cycle guys in and out, create a roster. You can now train rookies up to squaddie outside of battles with a facility and you can of course purchase an XP booster.

The rest just sounds like whining and frustration. Which there is always going to be in a game with a lot of luck involved.

Honestly I haven't heard most these complaints. The ones I see are the same one that I saw with XCom 1, that it's not 100% faithful to the originals, not as indepth and doesn't allow as much strategy. If that's what you want pick up Xenonauts, which is a great game as well.

Long story short, I just beat it and I loved it. I'll likely play through it multiple more times, just like I did with the first one. If you loved the first one you will love this one. If you didn't like the first one, chances are you will not like this.

[nilodor]

I'm enjoying it way more than the first one, which is saying a lot as it is one of my favourites.

At first the timers can be jarring and you really need to think that you are the underdog, you are fighting a much larger more powerful force and the only way you can survive is if you get in and get out. So the timer works pretty well to push this agenda.

I've never really felt cheated by the shot percentages. I've missed some 80+percenters, and I've made some 30ish percenters. I've also seen the aliens experience the same luck. The animations may be a bit weird sometimes, which can lead to unrealistic looking shots but I think the mechanics are solid.

[Marmel]

thanks guys, those were not my complaints, just a bad review I copied and pasted. Im still on the fence about spending $60, but im sure ill pick it up at some point.

[BYU 14]

Just had an amazing mission at an Advent black site, encountered 20 aliens guarding some technology. Killed them all, lost two troops and was headings towards evac site when 5 Advent reinforcements landed.

Got two of my three survivors evacuated and thought I would lose the third as he had to get through two Advent soldiers on overwatch, and a stun lancer charge. I was writing off a very promising sniper, when the stun lancer missed, the first overwatch triggered and missed, then the second one hit him for 5 damage.........Luckily he had 6 health left and made it to the evac spot with 1 heath left and was hoisted out.

Intense as hell, really loving this game!

[Neon_Chaos]

This game makes XCOM EU and EW just feeling like a freaking beta. You have to unlearn the bad habits of that game. Playing aggressive is recommended, specially once the new abilities and equipments get unlocked.

Very very good game. As they say, easy to learn, difficult to master.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Awesome.

Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/xcom-s-finest-sniper-is-here-to-save-the-day-1760054931)

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/elvxy322a8jxn7z9xil8.gif

[Eaglesfan27]

I can't get enough of this game. I don't have a lot of free time right now (back in school) but most of my free time is going to this game. :)

[Honolulu_Blue]

I can't get enough of this game. I don't have a lot of free time right now (back in school) but most of my free time is going to this game. :)

I am with you, EF27. If I am not working or hanging out with my girlfriend, I am playing this game. Often that means that I am staying up until two or three in the morning. On weekdays. I am really too old for that kind of shit, but I can't stop!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

XCOM Framerate | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/02/19/xcom-2-framerate/)

[jeff061]

Yeah the framerate is horrible. I've never had a game tax my system and this brought it to it's knees even on lower settings. Not a deal breaker, framerate isn't king in this game, but nice to know they are working on it.

[MizzouRah]

XCOM Framerate | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/02/19/xcom-2-framerate/)

I still haven't installed.. finishing up EW. Hope they get it patched by the time I"m ready. :)

[Julio Riddols]

I just hope they get this shit onto consoles. Seems weird for a turn based strategy game to use so much computer power, but it uses more than mine can handle and I dont think XCom is worth 400-500 dollars.

[Groundhog]

I dropped some of the settings down and I don't notice much of a drop in graphics quality, but it has improved the framerate, especially of the cutscenes. There's no reason for it to be as stuttery as it is though, it's just plain poor optimization by the development team.

The capslock trick when you finish a mission is pretty amazing, works basically instantaneously for me - hit caps lock, the button goes green.

[Edward64]

I've not noticed any framerate hits but my cursor sometimes goes weird. Restarted for my second round and doing better.

[nilodor]

Just finished my first play through. All I can say is wow! That was one hell of a ride.

[Edward64]

Just finished my first play through. All I can say is wow! That was one hell of a ride.

Any comparisons with Enemy Unknown? Was the ending better?

[Groundhog]

I'm at a point now where I've got the best armour and weapons outfitted on my force, but I'm still getting frustrated at the sheer number of aliens on some missions, especially when you run into two mobs simultaneously. I might got 2 or 3 missions without a loss, but then you get that one mission where it seems like you are doomed from the start.

[nilodor]

Any comparisons with Enemy Unknown? Was the ending better?

The ending is similar (was it different between unknown and within?) in style but I think it was better executed and I liked the story more. The final push is crazy and was a real battle. Overall, I really liked the pacing and the game overall was a big jump from XCOM EW for me.

[NobodyHere]

I need to get X-Com 2 now.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/appHBe0ZSOA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Honolulu_Blue]

That voice pack is pretty fantastic.

My favorite voice pack ever was the "Army of Darkness" one for Doom 2. I played /so much/ Doom 2 simply because I loved hearing all of the sound clips over and over and over...

[bhlloy]

This has gone right to the top of my list of favorite games over the last few years. I can't think of many other games I've been so looking forward to diving back into when I have some free time

[Eaglesfan27]

Anyone else feel compelled to restart midway through. My squads have just been decimated and I am realizing I am in a no win situation now. Still having a blast despite the setbacks last night.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Anyone else feel compelled to restart midway through. My squads have just been decimated and I am realizing I am in a no win situation now. Still having a blast despite the setbacks last night.

I had to do the same thing during my first play through. I just got to a point where I knew I couldn't get past a certain mission based on the troops and equipment I had. Wasn't going to happen.

After my restart, I focused on things differently, and I'm having a /much/ better time of it. It's not easy, but so long as I don't totally fuck up or the game absolutely jacks me by, for example, unleashing multiple pods of super powerful aliens all up on me at once, I should be okay.

[Groundhog]

46 hours and 1 restart, I've finished the main campaign. I used mods to double the Avatar bar and increase the turn limit in the timed missions, just because I prefer a more relaxing game.

Last battle was pretty darn tough - just had to focus on the objective and ignore everything else.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I am at the point now where the final mission is available, but I don't want to do it, because I want to keep playing!

I also want to have a full complement of Colonels go in for the final assault.

MOAR ALIENS MUST DIE

[revrew]

Anyone else feel compelled to restart midway through. My squads have just been decimated and I am realizing I am in a no win situation now. Still having a blast despite the setbacks last night.

Yep. I made so many mistakes in learning the new story arc and the necessarily new tactics required for X-Com 2, that I realized I had ground my whole campaign to a halt and would soon face a brick wall.

The restart, however, now that I "know what I'm doing," has been a LOT of fun.

[Groundhog]

I am at the point now where the final mission is available, but I don't want to do it, because I want to keep playing!

I also want to have a full complement of Colonels go in for the final assault.

MOAR ALIENS MUST DIE

Yep I waited until I had 4 colonels and two near-max psi soldiers. Next play through Im going to focus on psi a lot earlier, some really powerful abilities are available.

A bit disappointed that I only ever had a single defense mission all game long, and that was before i invested in defenses for my ship.

[Edward64]

I'm at the final mission, did a save and will finish it up tomorrow.

Good game, some notes

1) I don't like how the reinforcements come in 3's and how their landing zone is telegraphed
2) Rangers were cool early on but I'm using up to 2 grenadiers in late stages and not using the Rangers
3) So far, I've not seen psionics play a major role?
4) Zombies seemed to be more cooler & more of a threat in the original
5) I'm okay with the countdown timer but it seems to "cheat" e.g. I knock it down and then there's a breakthrough and it jumps 3+
6) In the later stages, engineers seem to be more important than scientists
7) I don't like how you can buy colonels in the later stages ... seems like cheating

All-in-all, happy with purchase. Got about 90 hrs in (restarted once) and can see me playing through a 2nd time. However, am somewhat ambivalent about it ... it doesn't seem like a big leap from original X-Com and EU.

[Groundhog]

1) I don't like how the reinforcements come in 3's and how their landing zone is telegraphed

I'd like a bit more diversity with the reinforcements - not necessarily Gatekeepers or anything, but mix it up a bit. ADVENT soldiers and MECs are a pushover after about 50% through. Telegraphing their location makes it easy if you're in good shape to set up an ambush, but early on when you are struggling through missions it would probably make it a ton harder if they didn't.

2) Rangers were cool early on but I'm using up to 2 grenadiers in late stages and not using the Rangers

I think it comes down to play style, because I find them really, really useful. I think the combination of run-and-gun/bladestorm/untouchable is absolutely lethal in flanking aliens.

I'm usually rolling out 2 grenadiers, 1 ranger, 2 specialists (1 mech-focused, 1 medic), and a psi. Sharpshooters don't get much run from me once I get my hand on psis.

3) So far, I've not seen psionics play a major role? As I said, I wish I'd gone down the psionics route earlier, because domination in particular is incredibly useful - better than a 1-shot kill against the toughest aliens you'll face.

6) In the later stages, engineers seem to be more important than scientists

Definitely.... Engineers are a lot more useful. I ran out of things to research quite early I think, where as I never seemed to have enough engineers to go around.

it doesn't seem like a big leap from original X-Com and EU.

Agree... I hope if they make a 3 they put more of a focus on base building and defense missions in your own base, like the original X-Com games.

[Edward64]

Done in 99 hours. The last 2 missions had several reloads. Hated those teleporting things.

Next time around I'll try not to cheat as much (and accept my losses)! Looking forward to the mods.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I just finished last night.

I really enjoyed the game. A lot.

I definitely found engineers to be way more useful than scientists. I only ever had one lab and didn't upgrade it until the very end. I always felt like I could use another engineer.

I almost always took 2 grenadiers. I love grenades. Just so useful at doing a good amount of damage and removing pesky cover. Once I got psi units, my six person team was: specialist, sharpshooter, ranger, psi, and 2 grenadiers.

The last mission was fun. At the end my team was spread out all over the map, basically in three teams of two.

I may replay the last mission again using different soldiers.

[bhlloy]

I didn't touch psi at all and had no problem with the game, but the final mission showed me what I may have been missing. If I did another play through I would definitely rush to psi as I imagine the game is quite different

I typically went 3 grenadiers, specialist and either 2 sharpshooters or 2 rangers depending on which of my colonels was healthy. Sharpshooters were nowhere near as powerful as the previous games but had some nice skills on the tree. And yeah, grenadiers were awesome and the colonel skill that meant you could start with a grenade and then shred was the best way to take down some of the heavier armor in the game. I had a bitch of a time keeping specialists alive because to take real advantage of them you couldn't use the foundry armor. Of my non cannon fodder rookies I think 80% of the guys I lost were specialists.

[Edward64]

Done in 99 hours. The last 2 missions had several reloads. Hated those teleporting things.

Next time around I'll try not to cheat as much (and accept my losses)! Looking forward to the mods.

Started a new game past couple days. I've not been reloading as much and I'm getting my butt kicked.

[Ajaxab]

Started a new game past couple days. I've not been reloading as much and I'm getting my butt kicked.

+1 to this. I finished the game as well, but with multiple reloads. Now I've tried an Ironman game on the 2nd difficulty level and things are looking bleak. I like the idea of trying Ironman, but I feel like it makes the game more of a rogue-like experience. And it's tough to put in 10-15 hours and realize that I can't take this save any further.

It's still a great game though. I've definitely got my money's worth.

[nilodor]

Anyone having problems playing recently? I tried to play a bit last night but the game kept crashing to desktop (after 40 or so hours with no issues). Happened both in my save gave and for a new game, with and without mods.

[nilodor]

Been trying to do a legend-ironman run. First two were aborted after each time about the 5th mission in I was dumb and got my whole squad murdered. Thought run 3 was going the same way after I had my scout get spotted by a group that came up from behind/beside us and got blasted causing 2 of my 4 remaining soldiers to panic all the while reinforcements and another group were alerted to my position. Some harrowing moments later that crescendoed with my samurai blowing out a building, killing 2 troopers and an officer, I made it out with 4 of my team still, mostly, intact. I've never played a game that was such a mix of stress and euphoria.

[nilodor]

Dola: Apparently the first DLC is out XCOM 2's New DLC Adds A Dash OfÂ*Shadow Of Mordor To The Game (http://steamed.kotaku.com/xcom-2s-new-dlc-adds-a-dash-of-shadow-of-mordor-to-the-1777111937)

Hopefully it doesn't unbalance things too much

[MizzouRah]

I've had this game for quite some time and still haven't been able to play it. :)

[Marmel]

This has been on my wish list all year and it hasn't gone on sale at all! Still $60???!?!?
:rant:

[nilodor]

Oh man the leaders are crazy. I just had a crazy sequence, didn't struggle too much with the first leader, took the two visits to get them, second leader shows up and runs into an overwatch, then all these badges start popping up, one of my soldiers executed them. Which in retrospect was kind of a bad thing as I didn't have good enough weapons for the third leader. They showed up on a vip mission, I was doing well, then they started doing their thing, which is super devastating to deal with, and the turns were ticking down. Then reinforcements dropped and I had to try and make a mad dash to the end. The same soldier ends up executing the leader, but unfortunately the 2 stunny's and officer that dropped wound up killing one of my guys and I had to leave two unconscious Majors (also far and away my best soldiers) behind. Going forward I don't have any snipers and I really need to recapture them in the next VIP mission. I'm wondering if the special gear is lost forever though...

[mckerney]

XCOM 2 is coming to consoles this fall, hopefully alongside performance increases that will also make their way to PC.

[Kodos]

Good news! Thanks, mckerney!

[Abe Sargent]

X Com 2 is on sale on STEAM this weekend


Save 33% on XCOM® 2 on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/)

[Honolulu_Blue]

Long War 2 for XCom 2 is now available on the Steam Workshop!

Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: XCOM 2 (http://steamcommunity.com/games/268500/announcements/detail/512683056167677579?__prclt=CCyoFT1w)

[BYU 14]

As if 300 hours in this game is not enough...

[Honolulu_Blue]

As if 300 hours in this game is not enough...

Yeah... You're about to double that, I reckon.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Okay, thoughts please.

Just got a new (second) XB1, so that I'm not so gaming deprived while the kid is away at school.

I'm loathe to buy duplicate titles and I'm not willing to requisition anything he's actively playing so I'm probably in the market for one more game to add to my limited number of options for a while.

I call the first console version the most fun I've ever had with a game I never came close to beating. I know, via FOFC & Google, that there's a kind of formulaic way to beat XCom1 but I've never had the patience to go that route. Is XCom2 similar in that regard, that there's a certain path/sequence of things that dramatically enhances your chances to beat it? Or is it more open-ended, with multiple ways to succeed?

Saw it new at Target on sale for $40 this week, so that's a plus.

Given what you now know about my historical relationship with XCom, good buy or bad buy, for me?

[Thomkal]

Hey Jon,

Don't have a link for you but Xcom2 is now or will be in Feb, $12 with the Humble Bundle Monthly, which you can sign up for, get your games, and unsubscribe right away if you don't want the service.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Hey Jon,

Don't have a link for you but Xcom2 is now or will be in Feb, $12 with the Humble Bundle Monthly, which you can sign up for, get your games, and unsubscribe right away if you don't want the service.

Thanks, but that's PC only right?

I don't have a computer in the house that'd come close to running it (or much of anything at this point) afaik.

[Thomkal]

Thanks, but that's PC only right?

I don't have a computer in the house that'd come close to running it (or much of anything at this point) afaik.

ah sorry didn't realize what you were using. Yeah think its only for PC's.

[Edward64]

Enjoying the Long War mod. In mission 5 or 6 now, its definitely harder & more challenging, and has more strategy re: infiltration. I'll experiment a little more and then re-start the game.

I had finished the base game and set it aside, so was really looking forward to this. Haven't been disappointed yet.

[djsatu]

Does anyone have any tips for a total noob to the game? Finished the tutorial level without a hitch, and just finished the first level on rookie as I've never played the first game before. I didn't create any characters before I started, and have upgraded a few members from the first squad, but now they are unavailable for the next level with new squad characters? Am I missing something here? Alot to take in right now with no explanation on most things. I thought rookie was going to be easy, but dang is this game tough already lol PS4 player also.

[nilodor]

Still waiting for the mac version of long war to come out. Bah

[Neon_Chaos]

Does anyone have any tips for a total noob to the game? Finished the tutorial level without a hitch, and just finished the first level on rookie as I've never played the first game before. I didn't create any characters before I started, and have upgraded a few members from the first squad, but now they are unavailable for the next level with new squad characters? Am I missing something here? Alot to take in right now with no explanation on most things. I thought rookie was going to be easy, but dang is this game tough already lol PS4 player also.

Are you playing XCOM vanilla with tutorial turned on?

[nilodor]

I think some of the keys to the game tactics wise are:

- Try to take on one group/pod at a time
- Get flanking shots when possible
- This means it's normally better to move and then shoot
- Use high ground when possible
- Try not to trade shots with the enemy (better to kill 2 then wound 3)
- If you can't kill them all be selective about who you leave active (sectoids tend to use psychic abilities and are bullet sponges early, so prioritize others over them)
- If you can't kill them all, be in full cover

On the research side, I tend to be play more aggressive so I try and go up the weapons tree early, it's important though to be making contact with new areas to get your income up.

Don't worry about the avatar project until it's full or almost full (just make sure you have access to the blacksite or a factory before it fully fills up).

The start is always hard because you are behind in tech, once you start feeling on terms with the aliens they will make another jump, it's not until the late game that you really get on top of them. Provided you can keep your soldiers alive until then.

If you like let's plays Marbozir and ChristopherOdd are good players to watch

[bhlloy]

Does anyone really understand or has had success with the Long War?

I've done a bit of research online, and understand that I'm supposed to follow the Find A Lead missions, and then complete the chain to liberate a region, but in practice that seems completely impossible, as when I get the next mission (or the one after that) the time for the mission is usually a couple of days or even a few hours, which basically makes it impossible. Do I just not have enough people doing intel to give me a chance to win these missions, or am I doing something else wrong?

[Groundhog]

Started putting some serious time into Xenonauts, and man, it makes X-Com look like an absolute walk in the park.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Does anyone really understand or has had success with the Long War?

I've done a bit of research online, and understand that I'm supposed to follow the Find A Lead missions, and then complete the chain to liberate a region, but in practice that seems completely impossible, as when I get the next mission (or the one after that) the time for the mission is usually a couple of days or even a few hours, which basically makes it impossible. Do I just not have enough people doing intel to give me a chance to win these missions, or am I doing something else wrong?

I think I understand it, but it has not really turned into any kind of significant success.

I can offer you this bit of advice:

There are quite a few missions with very low infiltration times - 2 to 3 days or less. Sending a full team in will never work, because the alien activity will go from "very light" or "light" to "moderate" or "heavy" and that's a death wish. Trying to complete a mission with "light to moderate" alien activity has been a challenge.

So, the trick for those missions is to send one shinobi. A single soldier. Outfit him with a sub-machine gun with as good a suppressor as you can (since you can add/remove gun mods at will), maybe a smoke or flash grenade and that's about it. You want the soldier to have as low an infiltration time and as high a movement as possible. The "shadow walk" ability (the one that reduces enemies' detective range) is key here, too.

The goal is to get the alien activity down to "extremely light" and the EVAC to one to two turns max.

You send your shinobi in solo and go pure stealth. Avoid contact. Kill no aliens. Get in and get out ASAP.

You can do this on some missions, not all of them. Any mission you need to hack a terminal, crack a safe, rescue people, or even assassinate (bring a much better gun if you have to assassinate someone) you can pull this off. Some are harder than others, but I've run a lot of successful solo stealth missions on all of these.

The hardest part, until you get the re-stealth ability, is surviving once you reach the objective. Calling for the Sky Ranger blows your stealth as does hacking a terminal, opening a prison door, cracking a safe, or assassinating a target. Once you do that, you just need to survive until you reach the EVAC zone. In some cases, it's easy because you're behind a wall and no alien pod can see you even when you break stealth. In some cases, it's really hard, because there are multiple pods around the objective and you just have to pray you find cover and they miss.

Since calling the Sky Ranger doesn't take an action, you do that first. Then you hack the objective, and then you have one move to try to hide/run or whatever. It's tricky, but it can be done.

I've managed to liberate one region so far. Once you get enough leads and intel (it helps having a lot of the resistance people on intel) you find a communication tower. You hack that and that gives you the regional alien base. Once you clear that out, you liberate the region.

I'm currently in a mission to go after my second communication tower. I cannot beat this mission. It's limited to 5 soldiers and it's impossible. There are a lot of pretty powerful aliens all over the map and there are constant reinforcements coming in. I could probably pull it off with if there were no reinforcements, but with them there's no chance. Advent Commandos are a fucking bitch.

So, to sum up: Solo shinobi stealth missions for very low infiltration time missions are key. Best to have ghost walk and the "does not trigger overwatch" skills to help survive. Get the alien activity down to "extremely light" if possible and a 1 to 2 turn EVAC time.

[jeff061]

Started putting some serious time into Xenonauts, and man, it makes X-Com look like an absolute walk in the park.

Yep, loved XCom 1/2. I've also put a ton of time into Xenonauts, there's an early hump you need to get over before everything clicks, but it really is a fantastic game.

Pro tip, if you haven't already, go to properties for the game, beta tab and switch to the Community branch. Haven't played for awhile, but last time I did that made several significant gameplay tweaks/improvements over the base game.

[bhlloy]

I think I understand it, but it has not really turned into any kind of significant success.

I can offer you this bit of advice:

There are quite a few missions with very low infiltration times - 2 to 3 days or less. Sending a full team in will never work, because the alien activity will go from "very light" or "light" to "moderate" or "heavy" and that's a death wish. Trying to complete a mission with "light to moderate" alien activity has been a challenge.

So, the trick for those missions is to send one shinobi. A single soldier. Outfit him with a sub-machine gun with as good a suppressor as you can (since you can add/remove gun mods at will), maybe a smoke or flash grenade and that's about it. You want the soldier to have as low an infiltration time and as high a movement as possible. The "shadow walk" ability (the one that reduces enemies' detective range) is key here, too.

The goal is to get the alien activity down to "extremely light" and the EVAC to one to two turns max.

You send your shinobi in solo and go pure stealth. Avoid contact. Kill no aliens. Get in and get out ASAP.

You can do this on some missions, not all of them. Any mission you need to hack a terminal, crack a safe, rescue people, or even assassinate (bring a much better gun if you have to assassinate someone) you can pull this off. Some are harder than others, but I've run a lot of successful solo stealth missions on all of these.

The hardest part, until you get the re-stealth ability, is surviving once you reach the objective. Calling for the Sky Ranger blows your stealth as does hacking a terminal, opening a prison door, cracking a safe, or assassinating a target. Once you do that, you just need to survive until you reach the EVAC zone. In some cases, it's easy because you're behind a wall and no alien pod can see you even when you break stealth. In some cases, it's really hard, because there are multiple pods around the objective and you just have to pray you find cover and they miss.

Since calling the Sky Ranger doesn't take an action, you do that first. Then you hack the objective, and then you have one move to try to hide/run or whatever. It's tricky, but it can be done.

I've managed to liberate one region so far. Once you get enough leads and intel (it helps having a lot of the resistance people on intel) you find a communication tower. You hack that and that gives you the regional alien base. Once you clear that out, you liberate the region.

I'm currently in a mission to go after my second communication tower. I cannot beat this mission. It's limited to 5 soldiers and it's impossible. There are a lot of pretty powerful aliens all over the map and there are constant reinforcements coming in. I could probably pull it off with if there were no reinforcements, but with them there's no chance. Advent Commandos are a fucking bitch.

So, to sum up: Solo shinobi stealth missions for very low infiltration time missions are key. Best to have ghost walk and the "does not trigger overwatch" skills to help survive. Get the alien activity down to "extremely light" if possible and a 1 to 2 turn EVAC time.

Cool, thanks for the insight. I've gone the opposite on some of the low infiltration time missions that I've thought have been completely necessary with a squad of 10, and while that might work early on against a million troopers and sectoids, it definitely doesn't against mutons and vipers and MECs :D

You must go through a ton of Shinobis, are you training all of your rookies up that way?

I sense a third restart in my immediate future

[Honolulu_Blue]

Cool, thanks for the insight. I've gone the opposite on some of the low infiltration time missions that I've thought have been completely necessary with a squad of 10, and while that might work early on against a million troopers and sectoids, it definitely doesn't against mutons and vipers and MECs :D

You must go through a ton of Shinobis, are you training all of your rookies up that way?

I sense a third restart in my immediate future

I do go through a fair share. That said, I don't play in Iron Man Mode, so I have restarted a few missions if too many go tits up.

[JonInMiddleGA]

vanilla, on normal, this is probably the easiest rendition yet.

Which is to say that I'll still get my ass stomped, it's just taking me a little longer to get to that point.

Still fun, though I wish they'd not make it feel quite so rushed. The timered missions percentage is higher than I wish it was.

[BYU 14]

vanilla, on normal, this is probably the easiest rendition yet.

Which is to say that I'll still get my ass stomped, it's just taking me a little longer to get to that point.

Still fun, though I wish they'd not make it feel quite so rushed. The timered missions percentage is higher than I wish it was.

I know you are on console, but Long War 2 on the PC definitely takes care of the easy factor and most every mission is timed so you can't just overwatch your way to victory. Fun, but brutal, one mission this morning took me over 45 minutes.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I know you are on console, but Long War 2 on the PC definitely takes care of the easy factor and most every mission is timed so you can't just overwatch your way to victory. Fun, but brutal, one mission this morning took me over 45 minutes.

Trust me, "easier" is not a complaint coming from me. This is the series that has, by far, kicked my ass more thoroughly than any other. Not only have I never once beaten it, I've never really even come close.

Yet I still enjoy the game play enough to pay money (again) to have my ass clobbered. I'm happy enough to have made it through one night of game play without being completely wrecked to the point where a restart is the obvious choice.

I do think the timers are short for "normal" difficulty/easy or moderate missions though, probably by 1-2 turns. Several times I felt like "oh screw it, just make a mad dash & let the little digital characters die" was the option they were pushing too hard for you to take.

[Edward64]

New DLC War of the Chosen at $40. Surprised at the pricing, I think I'll wait for a sale.

[BYU 14]

That is steep for an expansion

[nilodor]

Agreed. Although it's supposed to be xcom 2.5 so I'm expecting quite a bit to come with it

[BYU 14]

I have been watching some of the Let's Play of X-Com 2: War of the Chosen and it really does look like a new game to me in a lot of ways. Definitely seems much more robust than a normal expansion.

I am definitely re-thinking getting this now as I have over 300 hours in X-Com 2 and this adds a ton of new stuff, different interactions and most intriguingly The Lost, X-Com's version of The Walking Dead. Adds so many more tactical considerations when they are involved, not to mention that the missions overall offer so many more tactical choices. Pretty sure they got me.

[Neon_Chaos]

I am preordered on the PS4 version, due out in two weeks.

[NobodyHere]

Normally I wouldn't spend $34 on an expansion, but I X-Com 2 was probably the most engrossing game I've played in the last 2 years and I have some extra free time coming up next week.

[NobodyHere]

Okay

Screw release day.
Maybe later

[Groundhog]

Sheesh, 30 gb.

[Groundhog]

30 mins in so far, and I really like the inclusion of cohesion, and more data/stats on screen (morale in particular). Load times are also dramatically fixed.

[nilodor]

Excited for this to eventually come out on mac. I know the campaign is supposed to be longer, I hope it's not long war long. I never did finish my campaign as I got bored with having to defend a haven or whatever everytime I wanted to try and get something done (although I'm pretty sure I would have won since I had several regions liberated),

[Groundhog]

Another hour or so in, and it's like a whole new game rather than an expansion. Difficulty seems to have dropped a little on the early missions at least, so keep that in mind when selecting the difficulty level.

[MizzouRah]

I played the crap out of Xcom EU but Xcom 2 didn't grab me as much. The DLC has been getting glaring reviews though so I might have to grab it over the weekend. ;)

[Edward64]

Still resisting buying this for $40 on Steam and have Stellaris to keep me busy but reviews have been pretty good ...

[Honolulu_Blue]

I loved Xcom 2. I played through it twice and then played a few different games of "Long War 2". I have over 370 hours logged on it.

So, I'm a bit burned out at the moment, but I know I will buy the DLC and I will really enjoy it when I do. Could be in a month or two, could be tomorrow!

[Draft Dodger]

I loved Xcom 2. I played through it twice and then played a few different games of "Long War 2". I have over 370 hours logged on it.

So, I'm a bit burned out at the moment, but I know I will buy the DLC and I will really enjoy it when I do. Could be in a month or two, could be tomorrow!

right there with you. I will definitely get this as I LOVE this series. But the frustrations of Long War 2 have me on a little hiatus right now. Works out well for me

[BYU 14]

right there with you. I will definitely get this as I LOVE this series. But the frustrations of Long War 2 have me on a little hiatus right now. Works out well for me

I cashed in on the Long War fairly quickly, it was almost too much at times. Played about 3 hours of WOTC yesterday, it seriously is like a whole new game and is a very good balance of hard/fun to me. Punishes you for mistakes, but not brutal for the sake of being brutal and you have to think.

Playing on Ironman and one of the new Advent classes The Purifier can potentially explode when hit. I imported all my soldiers from XCom 2 and had one of my "favorites" from that play through on one of the early missions. Not even thinking, I brought him out of cover to flank the last Advent op and scored a crit for the kill. Unfortunately I was too close and the resulting explosion blew up a nearby fuel tank, which in turn killed me, LOL.

[NobodyHere]

Your spoiler is showing

[Neon_Chaos]

Hot damn. Been playing for around 8 hours total. It's almost a completely different game.

With all the new stuff layered on top of the old, I cant help but feel some information overload.

They werent kidding when they said it was almost XCOM 3.

[BYU 14]

Your spoiler is showing

I just spoiled the class :)

[MizzouRah]

Wife doesn't know I bought it.. so keep it on the down low.. LOL

So far I started with tutorial so it's a release flashback.. guess it opens up soon. Hope to get more time in with it tonight!

[MizzouRah]

One odd thing is my GeForce experience settings don't change in game so I had to manually change them and save.

[SlyBelle1]

For those not a big fan of the timers, not sure if you noticed that within advanced options when you first start a game, you now have the option to double the amount of time you get..plus there are a few other options stored away there....nice touch.

[Groundhog]

For those not a big fan of the timers, not sure if you noticed that within advanced options when you first start a game, you now have the option to double the amount of time you get..plus there are a few other options stored away there....nice touch.

Oooh... Wish I'd seen that, I might re-start actually.

[Edward64]

I take it everyone agrees its worth the $35-$40?

[Groundhog]

I haven't read any reviews so no idea if there are bugs or it's a short campaign etc, but based on 4 hours I would say it's well worth it if you love X-Com. It's basically X-Com 2.75.

[BYU 14]

I haven't read any reviews so no idea if there are bugs or it's a short campaign etc, but based on 4 hours I would say it's well worth it if you love X-Com. It's basically X-Com 2.75.

This, no regret at all spending 40 bucks. It is like an entirely new game to me.

[tyketime]

I just got around to playing vanilla XCom2 in the past couple of weeks when the price dropped before new Expansion. Should I do a playthru or two first, or does it make sense to grab the Expansion and start from there?

[NobodyHere]

IMO replayability will be enhanced if you do a vanilla run first.

[BYU 14]

I just got around to playing vanilla XCom2 in the past couple of weeks when the price dropped before new Expansion. Should I do a playthru or two first, or does it make sense to grab the Expansion and start from there?

IMO replayability will be enhanced if you do a vanilla run first.

LOL, I was going to say the opposite, but of course I have played both and WOTC takes everything good from XCom 2, builds on it and adds more interactions and challenge without becoming brutal. I would say maybe not a complete play through, but perhaps 10-15 hours to get all the mechanics and a good feel for the story, then start WOTC since it technically starts anew and not where XCom 2 leaves off.

Ultimately personal preference, but you can jump into WOTC and not really miss any of the story points from XCom 2.

[nilodor]

I was going to say it's worth playing through once (at least past the rulers) if you have the DLC and if you really like XCOM Enemy Unknown. Just the tie ins with XCOM lore were pretty great.

If not I'd say just jump right into the expansion.

[MizzouRah]

I played the heck out of EU and barely touched XC 2, so I'm just diving right into the new DLC.

I already lost a solider in my first mission after the tutorial.. lol..

[Edward64]

Decided to buy the DLC. Played maybe 15 missions so far. Just a couple thoughts

1) I don't like how powerful the Reapers are vs normal Sharpshooters. Can move and shoot and have the special concealment

2) I don't quite know how to kill the Chosen yet, I met 2 of them. The first one jumped around, put some hurt on the troops and on the third jump, stood around enough for me to shoot it 2-3 times and it ran away.

The second Chosen seemed to be more stupid. It hung around and I was able to knock it down with a good shot from the Reaper.

[Groundhog]

Decided to buy the DLC. Played maybe 15 missions so far. Just a couple thoughts

1) I don't like how powerful the Reapers are vs normal Sharpshooters. Can move and shoot and have the special concealment


I'm at magnetic weapons for my squad, but my reapers still have their stock guns, and at 3-4 damage I'm finding them near useless at the moment - outside of claiming crates, etc.

I have 1 of each of the new special faction troops, and I'm at the point now where through injuries, tiredness, and covert ops I'm rarely taking more than 1 each battle, either. I think the balance is OK. I've had a few pushover battles where the new special troops have dominated (especially the skirmishers), but then I've had the mission I've attempted 3 times now where a combination of a ton of zombies and a Chosen is straight out wiping my squad.


2) I don't quite know how to kill the Chosen yet, I met 2 of them. The first one jumped around, put some hurt on the troops and on the third jump, stood around enough for me to shoot it 2-3 times and it ran away.


I'm not far enough in to know yet, but I imagine all the Chosen are going to be part of the big boss battle at the end. I've killed the 2 I've met a handful of times and the main goal when they show up seems to be to take them off the map before they kidnap/steal knowledge from your team.

[Edward64]

I'm not far enough in to know yet, but I imagine all the Chosen are going to be part of the big boss battle at the end. I've killed the 2 I've met a handful of times and the main goal when they show up seems to be to take them off the map before they kidnap/steal knowledge from your team.

Oh great. I am hoping the ones you kill don't show back up at the end.

[jeff061]

Yeah, I don't think reapers have the range or damage of snipers. Their ability to scout a map and blow things up while concealed is what makes them valuable to me. I don't consider it a sniper replacement.

[Edward64]

Yeah, I don't think reapers have the range or damage of snipers. Their ability to scout a map and blow things up while concealed is what makes them valuable to me. I don't consider it a sniper replacement.

Their sniper weapon get upgraded too (at least up one level, not sure how far it goes).

Oh, haven't quite figured out the claymore yet ... I laid it a couple ways but it did not trigger.

[Groundhog]

Yeah, I don't think reapers have the range or damage of snipers. Their ability to scout a map and blow things up while concealed is what makes them valuable to me. I don't consider it a sniper replacement.

Yeah I should add I find the reaper useless for killing power once enemy hit points creep up, but the other stuff - especially the claymore - is awesome.

I think they did a pretty good job inventing the new classes. I love the melee-focused psychic build too, lots of fun, but the Skirmishers are probably my favourite.

[Edward64]

Add one more thing ...

3) The Lost/Zombies are fun. I do wish they had alot more varied animations, when the come as a group, they seem to do the same animation. The 1 damage seems relatively low though.

[Groundhog]

I like that they made the lost neutral too. Fun being in stealth and watching a horde charge into the enemy.

[Critch]

I was only bringing the reaper along on missions where there was a good chance of the Witch Chosen turning up as reapers do extra damage against her, can pretty much single shot her until she gets a bit stronger. Otherwise the regular old sniper was more effective, far better rifle after a bit of research.

To kill a Chosen for good I think you need to find their citadel using the Hunt the Chosen missions from the factions. I lost my one game so far before getting to that point though, so not completely sure. Just about to start again but this time without Ironman enabled.

So far I like the game, but I think maybe I $19.99 like it more than $39.99 like it.

[bhlloy]

Man, being half way through the campaign I couldn't disagree more on the Lost. I can't think of a more tedious game decision than hordes of cannon fodder who are absolutely zero threat to your team.

I like the other new stuff but I guess I'm the odd one out on this. If I see a mission with the Lost (especially one with the horde modifier) I grab my cellphone because I know it's going to be a bore fest of a mission.

[bhlloy]

DOLA - at higher levels the Reaper and other special classes are pretty damn valuable IMO. Especially as there's nice ways to gain ability points and you can buy more than the one perk per promotion. Remote start took me a ton of time to realize what I can do with it but it's way better than a sniper with a grenade, and once upgraded the Claymore is amazing as well and has bailed me out of a ton of sticky spots

[Groundhog]

Similar to some of the tabletop zombie boardgames I play, I find them most fun when it gets out of control. If I'm battling Advent, I start blowing shit up to attract swarms. The mission I'm stuck on tonight at one point I must have had nearly 30 lost swarming in.

[jeff061]

Remote start is crazy powerful and fun to watch.

[bulletsponge]

i love my reaper, i cant figure out how to recruit more

[jeff061]

You get covert ops missions sometimes to recruit them.

[nilodor]

Their sniper weapon get upgraded too (at least up one level, not sure how far it goes).

Oh, haven't quite figured out the claymore yet ... I laid it a couple ways but it did not trigger.

You have to shoot it once you've set it up

[Edward64]

You have to shoot it once you've set it up

Darn! Thanks. I thought if the baddies step in the space (or left it), it would blow. Makes sense now.

[Groundhog]

You get covert ops missions sometimes to recruit them.

I'm not sure if it's possible to have more than one, because unless it's bad luck the only time I've seen those missions happens to be if I lost a reaper/skirmisher/templar.

[Groundhog]

Similar to some of the tabletop zombie boardgames I play, I find them most fun when it gets out of control. If I'm battling Advent, I start blowing shit up to attract swarms. The mission I'm stuck on tonight at one point I must have had nearly 30 lost swarming in.

I finally beat this last night. Ended up keeping all my guys in stealth mode for the first 5 or 6 turns, and put them all in position to capture 5 crates as soon as we revealed. Meanwhile there were a good 20 or so Lost fighting it out with Advent. The Warlock Chosen was the real hard part about this mission - with no mindshield on anyone, as soon as we revealed both him and the Advent priest he summons were mind controlling two of my troops, but the Lost were a bit of a blessing here because about half the time they would attack the ever-increasing volume of zombies (usually with grenades, attracting more...). I had to abandon my usual defensive style of play and rush my other 3 guys forward into the mix (and out of cover) to take out the Warlock ASAP, ending up with 13 of 14 crates captured, and 0 soldiers killed... although 4 gravely wounded.

[nilodor]

I'm not sure if it's possible to have more than one, because unless it's bad luck the only time I've seen those missions happens to be if I lost a reaper/skirmisher/templar.

I've got two reapers right now.

I've also taken out two of the chosen. Their weapons are amazing!

[BYU 14]

I've got two reapers right now.

I've also taken out two of the chosen. Their weapons are amazing!

I would love to get a second Skirmisher. Once you get wraith and the free action perk they are amazing.

[Groundhog]

Man, the avenger defense mission is no joke, especially with the added threat of a Chosen to contend with. I only had 7 completely healthy troops too to defend with.

[thesloppy]

It sounds like I got unlucky in having the Assassin chosen right on top of me from the beginning of my game and immediately interfering in missions. She was invisibly chewing up my entire squad of 5hp chumps over and over, forcing innumerable reloads, until I eventually got out of her way just long enough to buff up a bit.

[Groundhog]

It sounds like I got unlucky in having the Assassin chosen right on top of me from the beginning of my game and immediately interfering in missions. She was invisibly chewing up my entire squad of 5hp chumps over and over, forcing innumerable reloads, until I eventually got out of her way just long enough to buff up a bit.

I was the same - the whole reason I'm defending the avenger right now is that the Assassin stole knowledge from me a bunch of times in early missions. :D

[nilodor]

I would agree that the assassin is by far the hardest to deal with because as far as I can tell, she gets a free strike that you can't do anything about.

I've found the hunter to be very easy to take down as he basically just makes one of your people move every turn.

By the time I took on the warlock I was too powerful for him so I couldn't get a good sense of his abilities.

[Critch]

I think the Chosen's skills can vary from game to game.

First time through for me the Assassin didnt have the skill that made her avoid overwatch. She'd pop up, the Reaper would reaction shot her and she would go away again. This time the Assassin doesnt trigger overwatch so she just jumps in, nearly kills somebody, then jumps away again.

[nilodor]

I think the Chosen's skills can vary from game to game.



Whoa, that's pretty cool. I knew they could develop skills if left unchecked but that's new to me.

[Groundhog]

I took out the Assassin a few days ago - I thought her "boss" stage was relatively easy because (until she started spawning Advent, at least) I was able to stagger my progress and only fight 3 aliens at a time.

Man, the assassin weapons are amazing. Played through an insanely difficult level with about a million lost to go with all my 'favourite' X-Com enemies (codexes, andromedon, & gatekeepers...), and gave my maxed out ranger both the assassin sword and gun and damn, he was a juggernaut.

I'm at the point now where I could probably fast forward and finish the game off fairly quickly, but I'm having fun developing some of these new classes, and I want to try some of the tech I've researched and not used.

[thesloppy]

Anybody else run into the 'King' Archon with 90 health? No thank you.

[Edward64]

Paused on Stellaris (waiting to read the reviews on the latest DLC and inevitable quick patch) and have been playing XCom WotC.

Just killed the first Chosen and fought off the attack on the Avenger. I'm enjoying it but not sure its worth the $40. It has brought me back into the game though and it does have that just-one-more-turn for me.

[thesloppy]

I enjoyed the new expansion, played the hell out of it everyday until I reached the final mission , at which point I saved it, and haven't gone back for like two weeks. For all the fun I had, I just don't feel like slogging it through that last grind.

[Groundhog]

Well, it's currently 3pm, and I started playing XCom at 10am... whoops.

[Thomkal]

Well, it's currently 3pm, and I started playing XCom at 10am... whoops.

slacker-come on back when you've gone 48 hours :)

[Ajaxab]

Stupid question...anyone know what triggers the final alien base assault? I've contacted all the regions, got rid of all the other alien bases and the Chosen, used the Skulljack, and my soldiers seem ready, but apparently there are still some things that need to happen. It seems like it's just grinding for no real reason and I'm not sure what else I can do.

[nilodor]

Stupid question...anyone know what triggers the final alien base assault? I've contacted all the regions, got rid of all the other alien bases and the Chosen, used the Skulljack, and my soldiers seem ready, but apparently there are still some things that need to happen. It seems like it's just grinding for no real reason and I'm not sure what else I can do.

It comes available when you are done all the shadow chamber missions. So it's blacksite, forge, gateway, network tower and the final mission. I'm guessing you need to skulljack a codex?

[nilodor]

I made a really bad mistake. I sold too many trooper corpses just as they stopped showing up on missions. So the aliens could all one shot my guys for about 10 missions until I got warden armour. Lost a lot of high ranking soldiers. Not sure if I'm going to be able to pull it off in the end. It's pretty exciting!

[kingfc22]

So in my 2nd start-up I tried to go IronMan and it was going good until back to back catastrophic missions led to us getting totally overrun.

Now on to take 3...

[Edward64]

Just finished the second Chosen.

[Groundhog]

I've taken out all the Chosen and I'm now crunching through the late-game missions. I found the missions have started to ramp up to the point where I've almost lost guys again, which is good - I think I went like 5-6 missions without taking a single point of damage. Oh, and on a related topic, the Chosen weapons are pretty good... ;)

[Groundhog]

Boss stage took me two attempts. 2nd run through I got lucky where the Avatars teleported to after I shot them and took out the first two pretty quick, but it got hairy with the 3rd. I mind controlled an Archon which helped soak fire from all the spawned baddies for a turn which really helped, but basically everyone on my team had around 25-50% health left by the end and if I had gone another turn I think I would have been overwhelmed as a Gatekeeper and a bunch of Spectres had just appeared.

Overall, definitely worth the money IMO.

[Edward64]

I've taken out the third Chosen now so progressing nicely.

I know there's a ton of options and different types of missions etc., I'm not exactly sure what it is but the game is getting repetitive for me and ... boring?

[NobodyHere]

Finally beat War of the Chosen

I assume the next X-Com game will be a remake of Terror From the Deep judging by the ending?

[Groundhog]

I assume the next X-Com game will be a remake of Terror From the Deep judging by the ending?


Haven't seen/read anything, but I'd say that's a safe bet... Interestingly, Phoenix Point is a new game coming out from the original creator of X-Com which also seems to be in a similar vein....

[Edward64]

I had the final mission waiting on me for a while and finally completed it.

WotC was okay. Ready for the next one.

[AENeuman]

XCOM 1 is probably my all time favorite and most played. Just started 2 on Xbox and I am awful. I could use some advice.

1. What is the strategy with conceal. Should you use it to explore, advance or just ambush the first group?

2. How do you defend against the codex? Their ability to transport seems to always flank me.

3. What is gained from hacking a power scanner, besides possible rewards?

[NobodyHere]

1. I tend to use the team conceal to ambush the first group of aliens. You can usually take 1-2 of them out fairly easy. I try to take a reaper on my missions as a scout.

2. Other than to stay flexible I'm not sure what else to say. Try to hit it with the first character you move each turn so you know where it will transport and still have troops ready.

3. It does reveal any characters in concealment but other than that I don't think there is anything else besides hacking rewards.

[Groundhog]

Yep, conceal I use to try and encircle the first mob of aliens, or position my guys in a good defensive spot for other mission types (rescues, etc).

Codexes are annoying as hell but yeah, agree with NH - nothing you can do outside of having other activations handy.

[bhlloy]

Agree on the conceal, the only time I'll make an exception of that is if the first group I come across is really weak and I know there's much tougher aliens out there somewhere, but even then it's a toss up. Usually if you hold it too long, you'll end up losing it on something dumb once you get further into the map anyway.

As for codexes, fully stocked Grenadiers are your friend. Being able to lob grenades and rockets half way across the map is a must, with a well placed upgraded sniper with squadsight as well.

[nilodor]

Or getting blue screen rounds in the proving ground. That plus rapid fire = pretty quick death

[jeff061]

I generally make heavy use of overwatch with Codexes, if at all possible. Ideally a sniper does most/all the work, but taking a few rounds after they teleport near overwatched soldiers works well.

[Kodos]

Coincidentally, I just fired up X-Com: Enemy Within on my PS3 yesterday. It's my second attempt at X-Com. So far it is going much better than my first attempt at Enemy Unknown. Nobody has died through 4 missions or so! ;)

[MizzouRah]

I've been in a deep run with XCOM - EU, playing a mission or two just about each night.

[Edward64]

Unconfirmed but lots of chatter about a new DLC

XCOM 2 could be getting another DLC expansion | GameWatcher (https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/2018-06-03-xcom-2-could-be-getting-another-dlc-expansion)
Fans have spotted that Firaxis seem working on something within XCOM 2, and going by Steam Database they've opened a new DLC entry for the game - suggesting a new expansion for XCOM 2 similar to War of the Chosen may be on the way.

There has been a lot of activity around XCOM 2 within Steam, which suggests that Firaxis are preparing something major for the game.

[BYU 14]

Unconfirmed but lots of chatter about a new DLC

XCOM 2 could be getting another DLC expansion | GameWatcher (https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/2018-06-03-xcom-2-could-be-getting-another-dlc-expansion)

Yes please, I have 600 hours into this game, by far my most played game on steam

[NobodyHere]

More content please. I was really surprised on how engrossing that game was. I didn't they would be able to surpass the first Firaxis X-Com game by as much as they did.

[NobodyHere]

Also I just noticed that article is three months old, maybe we'll get news from E3

[Edward64]

More content please. I was really surprised on how engrossing that game was. I didn't they would be able to surpass the first Firaxis X-Com game by as much as they did.

The first play through is great but its not that re-playable for me.

I would like different ways of winning - longer & different paths that you can follow besides just killing the Chosen e.g. civilian uprising, killing enough of the bad guy's captains, some sort of economic war etc.

[Thomkal]

X-Com2 on sale at GreenManGaming.com at 75% off probably just through the weekend.

[dubb93]

Free with PS+ this month.

[mckerney]

New expansion seems to be in the works, may be revealed at the PC Gaming Conference Monday.

[Kodos]

Coincidentally, I just fired up X-Com: Enemy Within on my PS3 yesterday. It's my second attempt at X-Com. So far it is going much better than my first attempt at Enemy Unknown. Nobody has died through 4 missions or so! ;)

I'm terrible at this game. I was doing okay until I had a few missions where I lost a lot of high-experience guys. Once that happened, the aliens got the advantage on the battlefield, and the last few battles were basically one-sided slaughters. My son says I should try playing on "Easy". I guess he doesn't like a challenge. :p

I think I'll try to spread experience around more in my next game.

[jeff061]

Semi related note, kickstarter for Xenonauts 2 launched a few days ago, surpassing it's modest goal in 12 hours. I did not realize the first one was kickstarted as well. In any case, I played the hell out of that game and the sequel is now the first and only Kickstarter I've backed.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/69341191/xenonauts-2-strategic-planetary-defence-simulator

I love me some XCom, those looking for even more depth of gameplay, highly recommend Xenonauts as well. Just make sure you enable the community edition.

[Edward64]

I'm terrible at this game. I was doing okay until I had a few missions where I lost a lot of high-experience guys. Once that happened, the aliens got the advantage on the battlefield, and the last few battles were basically one-sided slaughters. My son says I should try playing on "Easy". I guess he doesn't like a challenge. :p


I was about to say that I enjoy XCom 2 but don't have much trouble winning the game.

But then I realized that I do reloads if a mission goes sour and I lose a bunch of folks.

[MizzouRah]

I'm still playing Xcom Enemy Within.. about 50 hours so far. I only get maybe a half hour here and there but I think I'm getting close to the end.


Haven't even fired up Xcom 2 yet. :P

[Kodos]

I was about to say that I enjoy XCom 2 but don't have much trouble winning the game.

But then I realized that I do reloads if a mission goes sour and I lose a bunch of folks.

Well, yes, that would make it easier. But I stay true to the old X-Com dynasties. I name my guys after FOFC handles from Godzilla Blitz's threads, and when things go wrong, I don't reload. ;)

[jeff061]

Yeah, Iron Man is way to go.

[Edward64]

Alright, I promise to try ironman in my next go at it.

[Edward64]

So I started a new WOTC a couple days ago - Veteran, Ironman mode.

Been doing pretty well but had a mission disaster and now regrouping.

It went south fast when a team member unconcealed us before we were ready. I really screwed up though when I accidentally shot/killed a mind-controlled teammate (I was meaning to shoot the alien beside him instead).

Ultimately mission failed. Only extracted 2 of the team before the counter expired. My most experienced (a Major specialist) was captured. This is one that I would have reloaded right after my dumb mistake.

I kinda do like the Ironman mode. It does make you focus more on your movement choices and shot placements.

[BYU 14]

So I started a new WOTC a couple days ago - Veteran, Ironman mode.

Been doing pretty well but had a mission disaster and now regrouping.

It went south fast when a team member unconcealed us before we were ready. I really screwed up though when I accidentally shot/killed a mind-controlled teammate (I was meaning to shoot the alien beside him instead).

Ultimately mission failed. Only extracted 2 of the team before the counter expired. My most experienced (a Major specialist) was captured. This is one that I would have reloaded right after my dumb mistake.

I kinda do like the Ironman mode. It does make you focus more on your movement choices and shot placements.

Definitely the best way to play the game, makes things much more intense.

[Edward64]

Arrrgh. Another failed mission with the "viper king" last night with my most experienced folks that were left.

I think I was rushing things because my countdown had started and hit the site before I was ready. My team was not built up enough.

I think I'll restart.

[BYU 14]

Arrrgh. Another failed mission with the "viper king" last night with my most experienced folks that were left.

I think I was rushing things because my countdown had started and hit the site before I was ready. My team was not built up enough.

I think I'll restart.

What mods are you using?

[Edward64]

What mods are you using?

No mods, just vanilla WOTC w/ironman.

I thought with WOTC I saw there was a way to slow down the timer but I did not see it with ironman model? But I do need to get a way to slow it down which will allow me to rebuild up my squad if I have a bad mission.

What mods do you play with?

[NobodyHere]

I know there's an option to reduce Avatar progress speed, but I think you have to beat the game in order to enable it.

[NobodyHere]

dola

Yeah there's the option I mentioned above and an option to double mission timers to give you the chance to approach missions more methodically. I just checked and I was able to start a new game with those options and Ironman enabled.

[BYU 14]

No mods, just vanilla WOTC w/ironman.

I thought with WOTC I saw there was a way to slow down the timer but I did not see it with ironman model? But I do need to get a way to slow it down which will allow me to rebuild up my squad if I have a bad mission.

What mods do you play with?

Haha, I'm a mod whore, all of the below except the New Vegas gear which screws up the art. Some are just cosmetic, like Tats and accessories, but highly recommend all the game play mods. Especially soldier customization and a better advent.

[Edward64]

I know there's an option to reduce Avatar progress speed, but I think you have to beat the game in order to enable it.

Thanks, that explains it. I've had WOTC for a while and did beat it but had to reinstall Windows 10 about 3-4 months ago because one of their auto updates did not take. Would have thought that would be stored in the Steam cloud.

Okay, I guess this gives me an excuse to play non-ironman until I beat it one more time or I have to find a mod to slow down the timer.

[Edward64]

Haha, I'm a mod whore, all of the below except the New Vegas gear which screws up the art. Some are just cosmetic, like Tats and accessories, but highly recommend all the game play mods. Especially soldier customization and a better advent.

Thanks.

I will try out "A Better Advent" for sure.

[Edward64]

I played WoTC with "A Better Advent". I'm not exactly sure which missions were vanilla or new but I noticed an uptick on zombie related missions which is great.

[BYU 14]

I played WoTC with "A Better Advent". I'm not exactly sure which missions were vanilla or new but I noticed an uptick on zombie related missions which is great.

Oh just wait :)

[AENeuman]

On my second go through, some thoughts and questions.

1. What is your usual team make up, particularly last half? I find snipers are so powerful I never really developed psi folks.

2. Don’t quite understand experimental ammo and armor. Which ones are essential?

3. How often do use/ choose suppression?

4. Ranger swords seem mostly useless. Seems like every time I could use it my gun is always more powerful, especially since that close I’m often flanking

[Honolulu_Blue]

On my second go through, some thoughts and questions.

1. What is your usual team make up, particularly last half? I find snipers are so powerful I never really developed psi folks.

2. Don’t quite understand experimental ammo and armor. Which ones are essential?

3. How often do use/ choose suppression?

4. Ranger swords seem mostly useless. Seems like every time I could use it my gun is always more powerful, especially since that close I’m often flanking

1. Not sure if you're playing with WoTC DLC or not. But, I like to keep a balance for each of my teams. A sniper, a specialist (essential for med support and/or mech support), a grenadier, a ranger, and then a mix and match depending on the mission. I do like Psi operatives. I tend to have two of them, but only ever bring one on any mission.

2. I would say the only ones I find essential are blue screen rounds. I like to give them to my snipers so that they can take out the large, heavily armored mechs. I also like to give talon rounds to my shooty rangers to increase the odds of a critical hit with shotguns. I may also arm a guy with tracer rounds to increase accuracy and have played around with dragon rounds on occasion. I don't use the armors all that often, but will do so occasionally.

3. Not that often really. I do it sometimes when I can't kill a unit and what to just neutralize it for a round while I deal with other threats. In my most current WoTC play through, I barely ever used it. I used it a ton in the Long War mod, which is a very different game.

4. The benefit of the ranger sword is the almost guaranteed hit and the range. Because you can use the slash ability once each turn - moving your full movement and attacking - it's a pretty effective way of removing pieces from the board and staying mobile. If you play the WoTC DLC and get the katana, the sword attack becomes incredibly deadly. And the special ability to attack any unit that comes within range also comes in handy. Overall, the gun is probably better, but the mobility that comes with the sword can be really sweet. I tend to make rangers either stealthy or combat oriented. The stealthy ones rarely get kills and ideally stay in stealth for the majority of as mission. The combat rangers use a mix of guns and sword depending on the situation.