Question about Archangel Armor

[himmatsj]

Hi guys,

Sad to say, in my two playthroughs, I never bothered to use my Archangel Armor. I have one big question about this:

When you equip snipers with AA, can you float them up in mid-air? How high? Can this negate most LOS blockages, so in effect you can leave your snipers VERY far behind and instead keep overwatching them each turn?

Also, feel free to let me know how you utilize AA for your team, and if it makes sense to have any other class equipped with AA. I have used Ghost armor, but so far I only used it on my one scout Support on both runs.

[Rox]

You can fly up to the "roof" of the level. They don't have full view of the map from being skyward, though, but most of my archangel snipers were able to hit anyone while using Squadsight, unless they were inside a downed UFO or something. Overwatch only works within your own LoS, I believe, so it wouldn't help to put them on that.

[Imperator]

Having a squadsight sniper in archangel armor is a VERY common strategy. (Some would say overused.) The new Seeker aliens in the expansion seem to have been designed deliberately to thwart such tactics. (Seeker = Invisible, Flying, Tentacle Melee Strangling Robotic Monster that purposely targets isolated soldiers.)

[himmatsj]

Originally posted by RAWLEE:

You can fly up to the "roof" of the level. They don't have full view of the map from being skyward, though, but most of my archangel snipers were able to hit anyone while using Squadsight, unless they were inside a downed UFO or something. Overwatch only works within your own LoS, I believe, so it wouldn't help to put them on that.

But isn't this dangerous? You may suddenly trigger more than one enemy pack.

[Rox]

Originally posted by ;792923684092903145:

Originally posted by RAWLEE:

You can fly up to the "roof" of the level. They don't have full view of the map from being skyward, though, but most of my archangel snipers were able to hit anyone while using Squadsight, unless they were inside a downed UFO or something. Overwatch only works within your own LoS, I believe, so it wouldn't help to put them on that.

But isn't this dangerous? You may suddenly trigger more than one enemy pack.

No, like I said, your don't gain any more LoS than if you were on the ground. You can see over some terrain that was blocking your view, but that's it.

[himmatsj]

What about simply hovering in the open? How does that work?

[Kelloggs]

Originally posted by himmatsj:

What about simply hovering in the open? How does that work?

The defense while hovering is the standard "flying bonus" , which is +20 defense ( equivalent to a semi-cover without hunkering down). So you pretty much don't want the aliens to know you have a flying soldier... if you leave your flying soldier in the front line, he'll go down pretty fast.


PS: while hovering you become immune to Flanking.

[himmatsj]

Originally posted by Sucrilhus:

Originally posted by himmatsj:

What about simply hovering in the open? How does that work?

The defense while hovering is the standard "flying bonus" , which is +20 defense ( equivalent to a semi-cover without hunkering down). So you pretty much don't want the aliens to know you have a flying soldier... if you leave your flying soldier in the front line, he'll go down pretty fast.


PS: while hovering you become immune to Flanking.

It's squadsight. He'll be pretty far back.

[Kelloggs]

Originally posted by himmatsj:

It's squadsight. He'll be pretty far back.

Exactly... that's the idea.

My point was just that Defense-wise it makes no difference to be out in the open or among covers. (It was an answer to your "What about simply hovering in the open? How does that work?")


But in a matter of Sight, you want to be in a place with the least amount of obstacles between the sniper and the battle... since if anything (like a tree) is between the sniper and the alien, squadsight won't trigger.

[DashThrowing]

I Overwatch my Squadsight Sniper with Opportunist, a Plasma Pistol, and Gunslinger, and it seems overpowered. I can kill a Muton with a simple Overwatch with it. Somehow, he can hit an alien halfway across the map with perfect ease with a pistol as with a Sniper Rifle. You may want it on your Heavy, since if you're high enough, there's an Aim bonus (Damn Good Ground applies to Snipers with it) and your Snapshot Sniper to raise their middling Aim, and a S.C.O.P.E. to help as well. I don't use it frequently, but helps when I need it most. Not recommended for the final mission, where there's plenty of high ground.

[thedUWUmslayer]

A good squadsight sniper can end the final boss fight before it even starts. Just put him in the door and shoot the boss when you trigger him.

[thedUWUmslayer]

And yes, jetpack squadsight sniper is pretty much the end goal you should be shooting for by end game with your snipers. Snipers deal more death than any other class, and they can do it without getting themselves hurt. A good sniper is an essential part of any team.

[DashThrowing]

Originally posted by pandoradog22:

And yes, jetpack squadsight sniper is pretty much the end goal you should be shooting for by end game with your snipers. Snipers deal more death than any other class, and they can do it without getting themselves hurt. A good sniper is an essential part of any team.

Completely agreed upon. My sniper in the end had over 125 kills, and maybe about half of them were with pistols (Right-side build, with Gunslinger instead of Damn Good Ground). A 113 Aim also gave much contribution to it. Snipers may suck early on, but are much more later on.

Originally posted by pandoradog22:

A good squadsight sniper can end the final boss fight before it even starts. Just put him in the door and shoot the boss when you trigger him.

The main problem I see here is that it's essential that they both hit, and likely Critical Hits, too, with Double Tap. My strategy is to blow it up with a Shredder (Blaster) Rocket, a Blaster Launcher Rocket, then mop up the remaining HP with my others. Volunteer dealt final blow, which was unpredicted, as my others couldn't hit it due to 40% defense or reflections.

[thedUWUmslayer]

Hey, I said it COULD end the fight quickly :P But yeah, it doesn't always work, but its a great opening strategy.

[himmatsj]

Originally posted by TheCarlsonBoys:

Originally posted by pandoradog22:

And yes, jetpack squadsight sniper is pretty much the end goal you should be shooting for by end game with your snipers. Snipers deal more death than any other class, and they can do it without getting themselves hurt. A good sniper is an essential part of any team.

Completely agreed upon. My sniper in the end had over 125 kills, and maybe about half of them were with pistols (Right-side build, with Gunslinger instead of Damn Good Ground). A 113 Aim also gave much contribution to it. Snipers may suck early on, but are much more later on.

Word. Early game, Heavies rack up the most kills. Late game, Snipers rule and my Heavies become less useful. My Support is fairly useless other than scouting or reviving, while my Assault goes in for clean up operations (useful throughout the game).

[hghwolf]

I discovered another thing Archangel armour is good for - breaking the map :

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=186151886

Second time this happened to me, first time my soldier got stuck on the ceiling of the temple ship.

Bugs in my XCOM ? It`s more likely than some want to admit.