Archangel armor: What's the point?

[Lampros]

I crafted these, and I am regretting heavily, because I don't understand the point. What are these used for? It seems like the ability to float makes you even a bigger target, because you don't have the benefit of cover? I guess you do get a slight movement boost, but you are so vulnerable up there.

Can anyone share some insights on how to use them?

[Lampros]

Addendum: I should add that most of my A team has the Muscle Fiber Density Gene Mod. In this context, I guess I find this armor even more useless.

[tangoafterdark]

Archangel is mainly for Snipers. 2x Colonel Snipers w/ Archangel Armor is basically auto win in vanilla XCOM.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by Santander:

Archangel is mainly for Snipers. 2x Colonel Snipers w/ Archangel Armor is basically auto win in vanilla XCOM.

Ah, ok. I had been putting it on Assaults, and all it does is draw them focus fire.

Would the armor really help all that much if my Snipers have Muscle Fiber Density.

[Silamon]

Originally posted by ;451851477871815709:

Originally posted by Santander:

Archangel is mainly for Snipers. 2x Colonel Snipers w/ Archangel Armor is basically auto win in vanilla XCOM.

Ah, ok. I had been putting it on Assaults, and all it does is draw them focus fire.

Would the armor really help all that much if my Snipers have Muscle Fiber Density.

Putting your sniper in the air gives him/her a constant height bonus, in addition to having much better LoS from the higher position. It makes squadsight op.

For assualts you would usually use either ghost armor or titan, depending on if you want the stealth for scouting/getting up close and personal/escaping deadly situations or if you just want more hp.

Edit: if you were wondering about the other classes, I tend to put Titan armor on heavy (for obvious reasons) and ghost on supports (unless they are psychiced, if so they get the Psi armor)

[yuri simp]

Heavies also work with Archangel Armor. They benefit from the height advantage (compensating for their awful, awful Aim) and get better lines of fire for their rockets (obv. doesn't matter with Blaster Launchers, but still a thought).

The only issue is that Will to Survive does not work with flight. Other than that, enjoy your air support.

[Silamon]

Originally posted by hinge:

Heavies also work with Archangel Armor. They benefit from the height advantage (compensating for their awful, awful Aim) and get better lines of fire for their rockets (obv. doesn't matter with Blaster Launchers, but still a thought).

The only issue is that Will to Survive does not work with flight. Other than that, enjoy your air support.

Yeah but leaving someone in the air with aliens around usually ends in that person getting shot a bunch of times

[yuri simp]

Originally posted by Silamon:

Yeah but leaving someone in the air with aliens around usually ends in that person getting shot a bunch of times

Rockets have a greater effective range than an alien's sight range *wink wink* *nudge nudge*.

[red255]

.....How were you using the armor? Aliens arrive and you fly up in the air and get shot after they yell pull?

yeah thats not how you use flying armor unless they are melee only. you only got 6 fuel in the tank its not for combat manuevers. its for getting to the roof. or giving your sniper line of sight.

generally speaking Ghost armor is better for anyone not a sniper.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by red255:

.....How were you using the armor? Aliens arrive and you fly up in the air and get shot after they yell pull?

yeah thats not how you use flying armor unless they are melee only. you only got 6 fuel in the tank its not for combat manuevers. its for getting to the roof. or giving your sniper line of sight.

generally speaking Ghost armor is better for anyone not a sniper.

Yeah, that's what I've been doing. I will try them on Squadsight Snipers from now on ;)

[Lampros]

Originally posted by hinge:

Originally posted by Silamon:

Yeah but leaving someone in the air with aliens around usually ends in that person getting shot a bunch of times

Rockets have a greater effective range than an alien's sight range *wink wink* *nudge nudge*.

I actually didn't know this; so they could be useful on Heavies as well.

[yuri simp]

Originally posted by red255:

.....How were you using the armor? Aliens arrive and you fly up in the air and get shot after they yell pull?

yeah thats not how you use flying armor unless they are melee only. you only got 6 fuel in the tank its not for combat manuevers. its for getting to the roof. or giving your sniper line of sight.

generally speaking Ghost armor is better for anyone not a sniper.

Don't tell me what to do, let me have my fun. :P

Of course I know what the optimal strategies are, I'm an I/I player. It comes with the territory. Though it's not like AA Heavies (or any other non-Sniper) is an awful choice. Advanced Flight brings the tank up to 12 fuel, which is decent. The height advantage is really fun to mess with, and there's some interesting disappearing tricks you can pull off in full cover with flight. You can activate flight behind full cover, which blocks LOS, OW, and set up a rocket from there after touching down during the next turn. It doesn't even consume fuel.

Archangel Armor is not just for snipers. If you mess around a bit, flight has some interesting quirks to it that make all-Archangel viable.

[Urizen]

Squadsight snipers are the only ones who get maximin utility from archangel armor, Really useful in open maps. Just park your sniper where they can get a good LoS and leave them on overwatch and watch the dead bodies pile up. Advanced flight is not necessary if you can get good positioning.

Squadsight, Damn good ground, opportunist. double tap.

[yuri simp]

Originally posted by RustNick29:

Squadsight snipers are the only ones who get maximin utility from archangel armor, Really useful in open maps. Just park your sniper where they can get a good LoS and leave them on overwatch and watch the dead bodies pile up. Advanced flight is not necessary if you can get good positioning.

Squadsight, Damn good ground, opportunist. double tap.

I'm not sure whether or not it's "maximum". Certainly the most obvious utility of Archangel Armor, though. Also, if you want dead bodies, ITZ > Double Tap.

That being said, Archangel Squadsight Snipers...don't really seem as cool to me. Squadsight Snipers in general are much worse in EW. Not being able to crit at Squadsight range without Headshot is a big deal, but there's something even more irksome: Snap Shot snipers can be built better. See, Snipers get the Low Profile ability, which works really well with Mimetic Skin. Of course, that then works better with Snap Shot than Squadsight. Combined with ITZ, you get one of the most deadliest units, far more deadly than a Squadsight sniper.

I think being able to conceal your units in plain sight wherever full cover happens to be is a much bigger deal than buffing up a less-than-optimal unit. That seems to be getting the maximum utility, at least for me.

That being said, you still shouldn't build Archangel Armor. If you happen to have some in stock, though, try out some shin stealth (that's what the flying behind full cover technique is called, it's originally a multiplayer technique).

[Avataristche]

When i happen to have 2 snipers at final battle, i give em flight, so they can one-turn the final boss (fly up in the final room, ghost to reveal, double double-tap).

As a side note, double-tap snipers cope better with stronger foes, like ethereals and sectopods, and cases when you are swarmed with units prone to itz are quite rare (unlucky terrors, bomb disposals, base defense), and you can actually "save" double-tap for that.

[Stardustfire]

if u want death bodys u dont use Snipers, to situational, they wasted teamspace in urban maps and bigger ufos. MECs make piles of death bodys.