Pissed about an X-Com FPS? Firaxis hears ya...

[Fabricated]

Short version of EW:

+Shitloads of new maps and tweaked old ones! You actually won't see every unique map in a playthrough!

+More council missions with somewhat more varied objectives!

+Genemods are awesome!

+MECs are also awesome!

+Meld actually kinda forces you to not do 2 hour staggered overwatch fests for podunk missions if you want the above!

+EXALT is kind of a neat break from the regular alien monotony and you get to see the squad members you pick as covert ops in street clothes!

+Lots of new usable items!

+You get medals for doing cool stuff, which you assign minor powers to (like +10 aim against enemies in full cover) and give to troops!

+Lots of new and legit useful foundry projects! How about getting EVERYONE 2 item slots?

+A major milestone mission you cannot avoid is really cool but also really scary!

+Tweaked abilities to make less popular abilities more useful!

+Fixes bugs!

-Adds tons of new ones!

-Game is now 10 pounds of shit packed into a 5-pound bag. Too many new goodies, roughly same game length in which to enjoy them. Lame.

-Meld is a dead giveaway of enemy positions, and kind of a braindead lazy method of stopping you from overwatching to kingdom come.

-MECs require a lot of investment, are weird to get used to (can't use cover), and generally while being super cool will be overshadowed by your A-Team members rocking full genemods.

-EXALT is so hilariously inept they're an annoyance at best. You will slaughter them horribly even on impossible ironman if you bother with their missions. Also the story has no payoff. They're entertaining in a clubbing baby seals sort of way however, and they are a nice break from carefully trying not to activate a map of X-rays over an hour.

-Genemods are actually a bit too awesome! Mimetic skin is pretty much gamebreaking, and even the "worst" mods are pretty significant boosts with no real drawbacks other than the investment. I only list this as a negative because...

-The game is still really easy at the end if you're in any shape to get to the temple ship. Once you got your supersquad and get them genemodded and get maybe a token MEC you're fucking unstoppable by everything but Sectopods which are basically unfair because they do more damage than anything now, get 2 shots a round, obliterate and practically ignore all cover, and now take half damage from everything including HEAT rounds.

-Also the first 2-3 months ingame are much more frantic and difficult due to slower research overall and the sheer amount of new shit you have to research.

[Strazos]

So I just got done the new crazy mission...

Made it out practically unscathed - my sniper, of all people, got nicked. Other than that, it was a nigh-perfect run - one of my heavies got hit slightly, but not through armor. Interesting and actually suspenseful what with what's going on in the mission.

Finished with time to spare. For the record, this was on Classic Ironman, with basic gear besides a few laser rifles/pistols. I had OTS built with max squad size, which helps immensely. I somehow have 3 heavies, so I was able to use rockets quite liberally.

Liking it so far, and I haven't even hit the new techs really, though I've been good about running down Meld.

[CmdrSlack]

So how does the console version work? It's simple DLC for PC, but I need a whole other disk for Xbox? Weak.

The version on Steam is DLC and requires the original game. I'm almost tempted to get both on Steam just to have the ability to use mods.

[koro]

-Meld is a dead giveaway of enemy positions, and kind of a braindead lazy method of stopping you from overwatching to kingdom come.

Meld isn't always a giveaway of enemy positions, but tends to be just often enough to keep you from getting complacent with it.

-MECs require a lot of investment, are weird to get used to (can't use cover), and generally while being super cool will be overshadowed by your A-Team members rocking full genemods.

I don't find that they get overshadowed at all. MECs have an absolute ton of health, and provide utility and abilities that even your gene-modded normals can't do, like being able to provide full cover to squadmates or doing insane on-demand damage from power fists.

-EXALT is so hilariously inept they're an annoyance at best. You will slaughter them horribly even on impossible ironman if you bother with their missions. Also the story has no payoff. They're entertaining in a clubbing baby seals sort of way however, and they are a nice break from carefully trying not to activate a map of X-rays over an hour.

I agree that EXALT is kind of a let-down, but they can pull out some surprises on occasion, like heavies who will toast a group of your dudes with rockets. The missions themselves are still nice, since they're a way of spending some cash to try and force a panic decrease in a country in a short time.

-Also the first 2-3 months ingame are much more frantic and difficult due to slower research overall and the sheer amount of new shit you have to research.

Agreed. I couldn't even get the Foundry up until late into the third month because I was too bogged down with the slow research combined with the heavy need to get more satellites out.

[Jeff Kelly]

stuff

Sounds great. It's still the 'rush to satellite coverage' first act though, isn't it? Probably my least favorite mechanic.

[Ironwood]

Bastards.

Ok.

I'll get this.  It sounds awesome.

[Samprimary]

They nerfed squadsight snipers in the hopes of keeping them from being the end-all be-all carry class. Then they introduce Mimetic Skin, which even on its own is profoundly good, but stacks with squadsight snipers in a way the game legitimately cannot even handle. as in, the AI doesn't seem to have any tools to deal with it.

Seekers aren't much of a real threat to your snipers anyway. Their AI isn't advanced enough. Instead of lurking around your group waiting for someone to scootch away where they can catch him or her alone, they just waltz up to your group, dither a bit, and then attack the nearest target. Usually in the middle of all his friends.

I can beat this game on ironman impossible EASIER now.

[Fabricated]

Mimetic Skin breaks the game completely in two.

I completed the Newfoundland mission by sending my mimetic skin sniper with Archangel armor (I got it right at the end of the game) to trigger the bombing run without ever alerting the bugs (while the few that run towards spawn were instagibbed by the rest of my squad on stacked overwatch).

After I triggered it, I ran like crazy. Of course they caught up to my sniper after like 1 move, so I just took off and flew most of the way back to my group!

I don't find that they get overshadowed at all. MECs have an absolute ton of health, and provide utility and abilities that even your gene-modded normals can't do, like being able to provide full cover to squadmates or doing insane on-demand damage from power fists.

They get more health and get some damage reduction, but not enough IMO to overcome how much fire they seem to draw. You kinda need to abuse LOS with them, and while it could just be me I think the X-rays consider MECs to be the same as any old trooper with no cover and thus a primary target. You roll up on a sectopod or a couple cyberdisks and suddenly their health starts dropping rapidly.

I do however deeply enjoy punching the shit out of bugs with them.

[Khaldun]

Seekers are just another reason not to send someone off by themselves, which the game already punishes brutally enough anyway.

I find the first 2 months of EW is harder than classic, but after that, yeah. But still fun.

[rk47]

Question: How's the Multiplayer?

[koro]

Nothing to write home about. It's you vs. another person in a squad vs. squad game, with point-buy.

[rk47]

Felt like a ghost town to me, no randoms online, anyone wanna give it a spin. Farkov47 on steam gmt 8

[Polysorbate80]

I've totally ditched having a Heavy along in favor of the MEC. 

The damage reduction abilities (can't lose more than 1/3 health on a hit, and take 2 less damage from attacks for a while after being hit) means I can soak up a cannon blast while I run up to a Sectopod, EMP to disable it and kill the drones, and then punch it in the face to finish it off after some squadmates damage it.  Then pop the healing mist to fix myself and anyone else close by 

I also used it to win the Newfoundland mission.  It got hit once on the way back out, but had the health to survive and couldn't be poisoned.  After that, it moved quick enough that the bugs had to double move to keep pace and couldn't attack.  He made it to the evac zone surrounded by a pack of aliens.

I used a Heavy to make one, which turns out to be a defense bonus against the closest enemy; anyone know what the bonuses are for the other classes?

[Khaldun]

[Samprimary]

I tested out the new mechanics on classic and determined what my strategy was going to be for impossible. I then beat Impossible Ironman on my first try.

[Reg]

This is exactly the information I've been looking for. Thanks Sam. I just haven't got the patience to figure all this stuff out on my own.

[Teleku]

Yeah, I guess I'll maybe give that I try.  I've literally started and failed at about 80 Ironman classic games.  Ironman Impossible is seems mind bogglingly impossible.

[Samprimary]

When playing Ironman, remember that your first mission can be failed and retried infinitely. The game gives you the opportunity to restart with the same four rookies. I made sure to redo the mission until I got the 'perfect start' of everyone surviving and everyone getting at least one kill, so that you begin gameplay proper with one squaddie of each class.

Also remember that once you start the temple ship mission, you won. If the Volunteer is killed you get to restart the mission, the game's not over.

And, well, don't take my word for this, but apparently the Base Defense mission allows you infinite retries if you wipe? I got through mine okay so I haven't tested this, but if that's true that takes away the biggest individual roadblock to victory you can have.

/ i guess i forgot to say what bonus to give for the Star of Terra, but honestly who would need me to spell it out for them.

[Teleku]

Oh, I know about the first mission restart.  While I didn't always hold it to the exact perfect XP distribution, I would always make the effort to get as perfect as I could before moving on.  All of the 80 games worth of wipes were well into the campaign.  I guess I'm just that bad at this game.   


(still love it more than almost anything else to have come out in the last decade)

[Megrim]

Come on Steam sales....

[Samprimary]

it's less about being bad and not being of the peculiar mentality that won't ever break from calculated minimal risk, no matter how much FUN might tempt you

17 rounds of heavies firing and then hunkering later ..

[Sophismata]

Actually, that's pretty much the major issue I have with XCOM:EU. You can (for the most part) play both TFTD and UFO on Superhuman and have an enjoyable game that doesn't really shoehorn you into a single method of play. Whereas the new XCOM becomes kinda rote at Impossible, much like Mass Effect does if you play that at the top difficulty.

They change a bunch game stats without actually modifying the gameplay, consequently weaning out all suboptimal play and leaving only the cheesiest starts as viable (and boring) options.

[Strazos]

Playing on Classic Ironman, managed to somehow get through the invasion without losing any of my normal troops; only lost the extras. Also, I managed to receive all of my 1st string starters as reinforcements.

They even threw a goddamned ethereal at me, before even seeing them in "normal" missions - good thing I had an Alloy Cannon-wielding beast of an assault handy.

[Teleku]

Really?  Haha, thats god damned hilarious.

[Polysorbate80]

I haven't tried I/I yet, but on classic if you move around the Newfoundland map destroying the hanging sharks before triggering the whale then you only ever get the chrysalids that pop from it, which are easily handled by a squad while someone flips the switch.  MEC collateral damage FTW.  Make sure you get them all, though, and there are several in the ship.

On untimed (non-meld) missions where you know when and where the bad guys will arrive, I often have the MEC moving around destroying all cover I'm not going to be using during the mission before they show up.

Oddly enough, you can destroy an entire building and still have its roof hanging there in space...

[Teleku]

Or in my case, when I ran up to the ship and discovered the whale, I had my extra 3 space moving support with the gene meld ability to jump any height.  Next turn had her jump up straight to the switch, flip it, then jump back down again, without any of the squad going in the ship.  Was a fairly easy jog back to the plane from there.   

As for the buildings, I believe they always leave some graphical metal pillars sticking around when you blow whole walls away, thus giving an excuse for the upper floors to,still be there.  But in any event, the roofs would just hang out in space no matter what you blew up in the original, so maybe it's a feature.....

[lamaros]

This needs to go on sale already...

[eldaec]

Note to Firaxis ...

'The EXALT base is in a country you can play in Civilization V' is a shitty piece of intel.

[cironian]

Note to Firaxis ...

'The EXALT base is in a country you can play in Civilization V' is a shitty piece of intel.

The game does automatically mark the nations excluded by any your current intel in the situation room list, so what does it matter?

[Teleku]

Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny.  I love how they cross reference their games with each other (like Civ V having an XCom squad as the future highest version of para infantry).

And it knocked more countries off the map than my next piece of intel "Not in South America" did, so its not that bad. 

[Baldrake]

Grraaarrggggggggggghhh.

XCOM only allows 100 save files. After 100, it silently fails to save, so when you quit your progress is lost. Now playing the same mission for the fourth time, now that I finally figured out what was going wrong.

And it's one of those god-awful "keep the civilians alive" missions. I hate those.

ETA: Just in case anyone else runs into this, it was quite a pain to resolve. I wound up deleting almost all of my old save files from the folder directly (not in the game), and even then the problem continued. After a few quit/restarts of both the game and Steam, saving started working again.

[lamaros]

I got the expansion. It's still so good. Love the random upgrades option, can make some curious soldiers.

[Falconeer]

I need a sequel. Now.

[Fabricated]

I got my money's worth out of this game when it was at full price, along with the expansion.

Only problem IMO is that the game kinda has a weird difficulty curve that isn't really solved by any of its settings.

The early game is terrifying because your soldiers die in a stiff breeze in flak, can't hit the side of a fucking barn, and a single thin man can literally ruin your whole game with cross-the-map crits.

Then you hit Laser weaponry and Carapace armor and outside of astoundingly bad fuckups or the RNG shitting on you tend to have a very solid advantage over the aliens. Then when you hit plasma/top-tier armors and have a squad of colonels you can annihilate anything with reasonably okay play and the only thing that can kill your troops is the RNG fucking you by having Muton Elites/Sectopods consecutively focus-firing them down and never missing.

Which doesn't really happen without you really fucking up. Enemy Within exacerbates this problem since the early game actually becomes a bit rougher IMO while Gene Mods and MECs make your inevitable supersquad even more unkillable. The various difficulty levels don't help much either with the curve shooting from "really easy" to "dick puncher".

[Hoax]

The game is even better once you mod it. I don't think I could ever go back to playing the base game. I took out the whole stupid "pop in" spawning and the idiotic free move aliens get when they pop in. Instead they are all spawned from the word go and free to act but if you see them first you can kill them without them doing anything. Also up'd the amount of aliens and their aggressiveness so that you don't come across them sitting in the open too often.

That change alone fixes the biggest problem of the game, where smart play means always moving insanely cautiously for fear of having to fight multiple alien "spawns" at once.

From there you can mess with all sorts of stuff to make the game so close to impossible that it feels right. If I recall correctly my last playthrough I was working on before EW broke everything thanks to a steam patch to the base game I had needed to basically give myself infinite money and I was still probably going to lose because I had fucked up on a mission. I was using the Long War mod and then made a ton of my own tweaks. Good times.

The next time I go deep into it I'll post more exact lists of mods/changes that I come up with. Haven't gotten around to buying EW yet though, I did sink 107 hours into Unknown so a nice long break to let new mods for the xpack catch up has seemed smart.