I reach a point after the first few big mission where I consistently hit a wall. I've got to be doing something wrong.
Because point blank shots can miss even in reality, and because in a turn-based game what you see is an abstraction where you are supposed to imagine various factors at play, like characters moving out of the line of fire?This shit is so ridiculous idk why they keep that in lol. for the memes I guess
Because point blank shots can miss even in reality, and because in a turn-based game what you see is an abstraction where you are supposed to imagine various factors at play, like characters moving out of the line of fire?
Not to mention that it remains an incredibly rare event even in the game.
Even completely untrained rookies tend to have an 85% chance or more in these circumstances and that becomes pretty soon a steady 100% every time your soldiers have a couple of levels under their belt.
Back to the topic, I can't stress enough to the OP how much of a better game XCOM 2 becomes when you add War of the Chosen on top of it.
In fact, I started two distinct threads in the last two years or so where I spent dozen of posts discussing the game in general and praising that expansion, more specifically.
The more I go back to play XCOM 2, the more I realize it may very well be one of my all times favorites.
Not even sure what I'm expecting or hoping to achieve by starting this thread, but I was just replaying this game in the past few days and the realization dawned on me. I enjoyed the first Fireaxis reboot to a fair extent, but I had some criticism about how they managed some parts of the game...www.resetera.com
PSA: XCOM 2, the greatest tactical game of modern times, is currently on an outrageous 92% discount sale on Steam
Just in case you missed all your past chances to be touched by greatness, the game is now at its cheapest historical price on Steam. Of course, 4 bucks is just the entry level, because no self respecting tactical fan should miss the chance to grab the expansion War of the Chosen as well...www.resetera.com
At this point I have something like 20+ campaigns completed in the game, ranging on the entire spectrum of challenge from Vanilla Veteran to WOTC Legendary/Ironman and I still can't get enough of the game. I complete a playthrough, wait a few weeks doing other stuff and at some point the urge to enjoy another ride comes again.
On the topic of difficulty, it can't be stressed enough that there isn't anything that the game throws at you that you shouldn't be consistently and reliably be capable to handle if you have the knowledge of the mechanics and know how to leverage it.
If anything, ironically enough, the very first missions where you are handling a bunch of inexperienced rookies and squaddies are the ones where things can occasionally take a brutal/unfair turn, but even then there's a lot an experienced player can do to mitigate unpredictability.
Past that early phase, you can basically play entire missions hardly ever having to rely on any chance below a 90% and you can get away completely unharmed even from the occasional fuck-ups where you activated more enemies than anticipated.
For example here's a couple of missions I recorded during my recent last playthrough:
Just a heads up, that's a valid strategy for you too.I don't think so. I'm playing whatever version was included with my PS+ subscription. I'm sure it's the standard release version.
I will also say that the fog-of-war can be cheap at times since you're given so little visibility and enemies will spawn and move way too far away to plan follow-up moves.
This is very helpful. Thank you.
I'll keep pushing forward and see if it entices me to buy the expansion. WotC seems to be highly regarded based off a lot of these responses.
What they really need is a custom miss animation for super-close-distance where it's a combo of your soldier panicking and the enemy dodging. Would look a lot less ridiculous.This shit is so ridiculous idk why they keep that in lol. for the memes I guess
Yeah, but XCOM.What they really need is a custom miss animation for super-close-distance where it's a combo of your soldier panicking and the enemy dodging. Would look a lot less ridiculous.
WotC arguably makes the game easier, if occasionally a bit more complex to keep track of.the difficulty curve sure is steep. the WOTC pack is even worse
I think I might be wasting too much time getting to the black site? Maybe I'm bungling when it comes to the contacts. I think I've been holding back making contacts for fear that I'll be overwhelmed by the chosen. I feel like I'm close. Like I'm winning the battles but losing the war.Realistically, the first few months are the hardest - Honestly, I think the alien 'level up' background process is paced out better in XCOM:EU/EW, where it's less of a wall if you're not prepared.
Regardless, surviving long enough to unlock the full 6-person squad and/or a few sergeant and up ranks is key to survival - Teeechnically, there's a (especially in non-Wotc) a generally 'optimal' build order for your buildings to consider to help facilitate this, but early abuse of grenades, swords (if you go the blademaster route) and other 'guaranteed' damage-type skills/weapons will always be key to early survival, as is balancing out moving with not activating more pods than you can handle versus the incoming timer.
The other big thing to keep in mind is the avatar project counter - certain missions will either reset it entirely or give you big swathes off, but you need to be making new resistance contacts similar to Satellite production in EU/EW.
WOTC flattens the difficulty curve IMO, it does not make the game harder per se.the difficulty curve sure is steep. the WOTC pack is even worse
the difficulty curve sure is steep. the WOTC pack is even worse
That's basically it. People take tens of 90% shots per mission, occasionally they miss one or two every twenty or so aaaand... What do you know? Minutes later they are on the internet bitching that "IT WAS TOTAL BULLSHIT" regardless of the fact the outcome tends to match perfectly the statistical probability.The number one thing XCOM has taught me is that humans are ass at probabilities and have a bias towards remembering negative experiences.
The amount of bullshit surrounding the hit chances is like one continuous joke that itself has jokes.
OP, I have had a crummy afternoon and this thread brought a huge smile to my face and several belly laughs. Well done with the gifs, this is a perfect post!
If you're talking about X4 charge missions, what I like to do for them is use concealment to get into a position so that I can plant the X4 Charges and escape in a just one turn. This won't always be possible to do in one turn though (especially if enemies are patrolling the X4 charge room) but I personally found this strategy to be pretty good.Got back into Xcom 2 and just had by first nut hit, had to attack a outpost to lower their progress, it was going great, flawless even, got in planted the bombs and then a group of tanky enemies come from nowhere and then 3 dropships of heavy armored enemies while I was dealing with the first group due to a bunch misses, most of which were 70%+. No one died, but I need more recruits now :(.
LmaoFolks back on the Avenger are like, "Damn, Commander. Uh we don't have enough staff since you sent our best people to fucking die." Movie-trailer voice guy is like, "Shit happens, Commander. This is war. Blah blah."
Happy to have brightened your day!OP, I have had a crummy afternoon and this thread brought a huge smile to my face and several belly laughs. Well done with the gifs, this is a perfect post!
Yeah, I completely forgot you can call in your own dropship, which is why it really went bad, as I was starting to walk around wondering where the EZ was, thinking it was clear and the game bugged out, when 1 of my guys got jumped by a group, so I had to basically save them, which is when it all went to shit with the Xcom fuckery. I really enjoyed it though, just have to hope nothing major happens while my team is out.If you're talking about X4 charge missions, what I like to do for them is use concealment to get into a position so that I can plant the X4 Charges and escape in a just one turn. This won't always be possible to do in one turn though (especially if enemies are patrolling the X4 charge room) but I personally found this strategy to be pretty good.
If you're playing WoTC you can solo a lot of these X4 missions with Reapers due to their special concealment ability and high movement.
Eh, not really. The calendar keeps moving onward, and the aliens level up at a consistent pace. So every mission you do will also give them better stats, while also advancing a "the aliens finished their evil plan" timer that causes you to lose the game (you can do specific objectives to delay this timer; I'm honestly not sure if it's possible to tread water indefinitely).Can you "grind" levels in this and make some of the fights easier?
Eh, not really. The calendar keeps moving onward, and the aliens level up at a consistent pace. So every mission you do will also give them better stats, while also advancing a "the aliens finished their evil plan" timer that causes you to lose the game (you can do specific objectives to delay this timer; I'm honestly not sure if it's possible to tread water indefinitely).
I think the general consensus among experienced players is that the humans' leveling curve is better than the aliens', but that's for people who know what they're doing. Newbies who don't and are being inefficient with their build orders and losing too many levelled-up units (permadeath is a thing) can find themselves in a death spiral where the aliens become overwhelming and the campaign is a bust (or at least such an exercise in frustration that it's better to scrap it and start fresh, with lessons learned about which upgrades to prioritize).
I struggled in Enemy Unkown, but there came a tippong point where I was able to eek it out until the end. Maybe I just haven't figured out how to make it that tipping point in xcom 2.You think Xcom 2 ramps the difficulty? Play Xcom Enemy Unknown. It makes Xcom 2 look like fucking Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.
No Thin Men in Xcom 2 already makes it a walk in the park.You think Xcom 2 ramps the difficulty? Play Xcom Enemy Unknown. It makes Xcom 2 look like fucking Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.
I never had it as bad as that one bullet-timing, Matrix dodging Crit Man in that one video, but yeah, nothing is as bullshit as them. Even the Rulers and Chosen are less of a nightmare.