This game is brutal ON EASY

[stargazer1235]

Wow, I just recently got into this xcom game, I am a bit of a first timer at this. I knew what I was getting into, this game series is lengendary for being brutal and possible unfair, but I mean it is really hard on easy difficulty. I was doing well until those aliens that can turn humans into zombies started turning up and killing all my good troops, so I was forced to keep sending out recruits instead, at increasly devestating consequences.

I proberly made a couple of mistakes, like advancing the game too fast, faster then I could keep up. Didn't collect enough meld or alloys in the beginging and used my precious meld to make a mec trooper without actually having enough meld to create the suit itself.

If there is one thing I learnt is that you need to keep on top of you technology, facilities, missions and equipment, this isn't a game where if something goes wrong, you can rush buy everything you need.

I would like some helpful tips though.

Thanks for any help.

[Unkillable Cat]

Its been a few months since I played, but one massive tip for dealing with losses, rotate recruits through your squad each mission. So on one mission you take a heavy recruit, the next a sniper, the next medic etc. This way if you lose one of your key troops, youre not putting a raw recruit into the fray, and if you suffer heavy losses, you have a few with experiance to fill the void.

[la_nague]

use cover, use flanking tactics, use overwatch to interrupt aliens, maybe have a shotgun soldier against those melee aliens.


the aleins do have the numbers, so you dont want to trade with them: for example a 50% chance to hit is bad when the alien also has like a 40% chance to hit. You want to have 90% chances to hit and 10% chances to get hit. You can do this by using heavy cover plus hunker down and flanking tactics. A flanked enemy has a high chance to get critically hit.

[Boiledteabag]

GET LASER WEAPONS ASAP! conventional weaponery is like firing tiny wet paper balls at the aliens.

Chitin plating! better then microfibre vests and provides a 50% reduced melee damage and immunity to being strangled(you need the chrysalld autopsy for this those are the zombie creating aliens, and maybe immunity to the poisen that comes with their melee? cant confirm since i had armour that blocked the affects of literally everything by the time i decided it was worthwhile to craft the plating)

also RESEARCH THAT ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ARMOUR i learnt that the hard way and im playing on NORMAL for my first playthrough but after i got gene labs and robotics it was all ok.
Later armour will provide immunity to the poisen and i think supports get immunity to it by default.

And if your having trouble that bad, make a S.H.I.V they can be used as cover with the right upgrades, have the close quaters combat perk(under the name of sentinal module) and are all round baddass units with alot of hp that can help you alot early game.
They can also be upgraded to laser and plasma weaponry and a hovering one can be made.

I dident mention cover moving and flanking since that is what i assume everyone would have picked up on, assuming you actually did the tutorial?

[Giblix]

I finished Normal difficulty on Iron Man mode and have played on higher difficulties half way through the game. By no means I'm an expert, but might have a few tips. Especially since the Enemy Within x-pack made the game significantly easier.

1. always research something. do some autopsies, but keep most for later when you can do them in 1 day or instantly due to having enough scientists.

2. When deciding which abduction threat to visit go for the one that gives engineers. You really need engineers to keep production time down. And eventually get rebates once you have built two workshops adjacent one another.

3. When buying facilities first build satelite uplinks. 3 will do plus a satalite Nexus. Make sure to build them all adjacent for bonusses. With each council update also build 2 satelites. 5 days before the next council update look at the list of nations that have the highest threat. Then send a satalite in space above those 1 or 2 nations. The council missions also give reduced threat levels so that makes managing it a lot easier and less frustrating.

4. When you have money I'd go for squad upgrades in the barracks. Having your squad size increase from 4 to 5 members helps. More chance to flank and what not.

5. When possible get 1 mec + suit. They can take a beating and dish it out as well. Fill the other squad slots with at least 1 sniper, a medic and assaults. Personally I find heavies annoying and overrated.

6/. Obviously you need to play carefully and lean back. Don't rush in and take your time to plan a move. Move 1 action, Overwatch the second. You can overwatch many turns and eventually the enemy comes towards you. But you can also put many on overwatch people in the back as an ambush. Then have one or two members draw attention and pull back to make use of the ambush.

7. Use tactics like the one above. Also use cover and have members flank targets. A sniper in a safe distance behind a tree or rooftop helps as well.

8. After you got enough satelites and workshops it is time to go for armor and weapon upgrades. Might even have them researched already. Buy Carapace, or better yet go straight for Titan armor. Early in the game you might want to go for the cheaper underlay armor that gives extra HP/Def throughout the entire game.

9. At this time get a foundry up and running. That way you can eventually research the ability of equipping two support items. Allows for extra grenades or medi-kits next to that underlay armor.

10. Once you have a squad of 5-6 luitenants...its time to gradually switch one or two of them out for rookies. Time to start building a secondary or even tertiary replacement squad.

11. Time to make some Interceptors with plasma cannons. 2 per continent will do. Quickly replacing them with 1 Firestorm when possible will suffice. Then simply sell the interceptors to keep upkeep funds down.

12. also go try and finish the exalt story line + council missions first. Don't bother with the main story beyond creating the stun device to capture aliens and their weapons. You can use their weapons eventually and saves production costs. By the time the Exalt missions are done you'll probably have 3 squads of majors and all the research completed. Time to sit back and enjoy the main story.

13. Save at the start of each new mission if you're not playing Iron Man Mode. This way you can see which enemies there are present and how they act. Then adjust your strategy and learn the game.

Hope these tips will help you get started.

[Beep!]

Max out your squad size as soon as you can. Always take a variety of soldier types with you, and include a rookie. Arm your squad with medi kits, scopes, and grenades. Armour up, and get beam weapons as soon as you can.

And remember: The rookie goes first.

[Giblix]

I forgot. Learn the enemies and prioritize targets when possible. An alien that buffs another means you have to kill it. When it dies you'll also kill the buffed up alien. A cyberdisc in the middle of repair bots dies and explodes taking out the bots as well. Saving ammo and making the most of the situation is key.

If you play carefully and hang back you can send in the higher ranked soldiers. Personally I don't worry about rank and more about skills a soldier has. Just make sure the rookie gets the kill shot for the needed XP.

[Boiledteabag]

Gibly a écrit :

I forgot. Learn the enemies and prioritize targets when possible. An alien that buffs another means you have to kill it. When it dies you'll also kill the buffed up alien. A cyberdisc in the middle of repair bots dies and explodes taking out the bots as well. Saving ammo and making the most of the situation is key.

If you play carefully and hang back you can send in the higher ranked soldiers. Personally I don't worry about rank and more about skills a soldier has. Just make sure the rookie gets the kill shot for the needed XP.

And then have mind control immunity by late game to avoid human on human voilence and a team so jacked up on gene mods/SHIV/MECH that you win the game. lol

[nightworg]

stargazer1235 a écrit :

Wow, I just recently got into this xcom game, I am a bit of a first timer at this. I knew what I was getting into, this game series is lengendary for being brutal and possible unfair, but I mean it is really hard on easy difficulty. I was doing well until those aliens that can turn humans into zombies started turning up and killing all my good troops, so I was forced to keep sending out recruits instead, at increasly devestating consequences.

I proberly made a couple of mistakes, like advancing the game too fast, faster then I could keep up. Didn't collect enough meld or alloys in the beginging and used my precious meld to make a mec trooper without actually having enough meld to create the suit itself.

If there is one thing I learnt is that you need to keep on top of you technology, facilities, missions and equipment, this isn't a game where if something goes wrong, you can rush buy everything you need.

I would like some helpful tips though.

Thanks for any help.

Best thing to do, is to watch some "lets play" YouTube uploads of the game. Can recommend Zemalf and ChristopherOdd who both have played the game on impossibly ironman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqj_8HupnsU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpbTkbv4L2Y&list=PLvqxe4XbcSiEzrZm28NjsLXmHkffCJmBY

[Nostil]

take it slow. put of missions (not terror and abduction) as long as possable. when something says **priority** next to it, ignore it. you don't want it.

[Giblix]

YordlePhobia a écrit :

Gibly a écrit :

I forgot. Learn the enemies and prioritize targets when possible. An alien that buffs another means you have to kill it. When it dies you'll also kill the buffed up alien. A cyberdisc in the middle of repair bots dies and explodes taking out the bots as well. Saving ammo and making the most of the situation is key.

If you play carefully and hang back you can send in the higher ranked soldiers. Personally I don't worry about rank and more about skills a soldier has. Just make sure the rookie gets the kill shot for the needed XP.

And then have mind control immunity by late game to avoid human on human voilence and a team so jacked up on gene mods/SHIV/MECH that you win the game. lol

Only gene mods I went for was the 2 heal per round as well as the second heart to avoid insta-kills from the Etherials.

[ಠ_ಠ]

Once you get archangels on snipers it becomes extremely easy.

[Old Ben]

Lots of good points... I do not take rookies on hard terror missions, but take them on small & medium downed alien craft missions along with a couple veterans. Also try to let the rookie get the final kill shot for experience. Once you have any make Col., take Majors, Captain, Lt. to level them up and leave the Cols. at base, unless its a very hard terror misson or large downed alien ship.

On council missions where you know there will be lots of thin men, in later game when you have psionics, take all that have the skill as thin men are great to level up psionics on as you can kill them so easy with it.