What are the legendary requirements for defense matrix?

[Wicked Clown Luv]

I just missed my first shot at a turret wreck because I killed the last living enemy before the turret and the mission ended, which is stupid as fck. The wiki is wrong about many legendary costs, so I'm curious what is needed for the defense matrix on legendary exactly. Anyone remember off hand?

[ElanaAhova]

Not sure about costs. Query. The two turrets you get are used on only one mission, the defense of the ship when its forced to land by the UFO. I went thru that on vetern? (one step below legendary difficulty. Didn't need turrets to survive (actually kick some alien but). On legendary, is it worth the expense (a room, yada) just to get two turrets you only use in one battle?

[Wicked Clown Luv]

Originally posted by ElanaAhova:

Not sure about costs. Query. The two turrets you get are used on only one mission, the defense of the ship when its forced to land by the UFO. I went thru that on vetern? (one step below legendary difficulty. Didn't need turrets to survive (actually kick some alien but). On legendary, is it worth the expense (a room, yada) just to get two turrets you only use in one battle?

Veteran is two steps below Legendary. You mean Commander difficulty maybe?

Speaking personally, I have found legendary to be an extreme kick in the teeth moving up from Commander. It is a huge jump in difficulty. I also play with grim horizon and precision explosives though, which makes matters worse obviously.

Legendary has been frustrating the hell out of me, but it is the only difficulty where I've felt "a sense of accomplishment" succeeding. Haven't beaten it yet though.

[ElanaAhova]

Yes, commander. First play thru of xcom2. Started w WotC. Is tough. I decided not the get the two turrets. Survived without them. When I defend the ship, next time. Ill keep all my troops at the ship until all the mutons are killed. Then send a pair to get the pulse thingy. It was very close several times. Wow. Everyone got promoted. Two got two promotions.

[Abrakadabra]

I think on legendary its 150 supplies to build the defense matrix. Could be a little more or less but I think its 150.

For the benefits the matrix provides it is in my opinion well worth the ressources. if you also upgrade it (I think another 80 or 100 supplies) all turrents stats are increased, you get 2 more turrets, and all 4 turrets gain squadsight. But even if you realize that an e.g. pretty late standard avenger defense (meaning, it doesnt hit you in early to mig game) wasnt too much of a struggle, then the upgraded matrix also decreases the chance of chosen avenger sabotage succeeding.

Standard avenger defense can be a bit of a challenge at times though. Specially if it hits you rather early e.g. via freak dark events that surprise you and that you couldnt prevent because you had to counter a more devastating cark event. Sometimes your best soldiers might be injured or simply tired and then you might not be able to defend under perfect conditions with all your strenght.

Those 4 upgraded turrets are valuable. You might be a bit heistant to invest that money in a rather early phase of a campaign. But if youre inbetween weapon techs, next weapon generation still weeks off in terms of reasearch and youre not completly broke (I tend to sell some of my inventory like corpses in those moments), then it is well worth your investment.

Those turrets do serious dmg. If you can holotarget bigger targest then watch those turrets go after you removed cover. Though some the bigger targets usually dont use cover. They provide 8 attacks in total. Theyre very good for 2 things. They are invaluable in holding off that initial wave in an avenger defense. Thats where you will struggle if a standard avenger defense hits you unprepared. Trust me, youll sigh in gratitude, that you see those 4 turrets right at the ramp and youll even start smiling when you see what they can do. Big help. Costs some money but well worth the costso. In the end, when los is established they can blow up generators or disruptors and you only have to scout stuff. When enemies are close their aim isnt too bad. Theres almost always several of them hitting.

They can easily take out several enemies in the first wave which is huge. Your team can better concentrate on the biggest threats in that initial wave that greets you when the mission begins.

And they help protect all your loot and personel vs chosen attack.

I almost always build it rather early into the game unless the start of my camaign wasnt that good and I have more pressing stuff to do which requires the ressrouces that Id otherwise spend for the defense matrix.

[Stardustfire]

@Elana the Spike mission is a joke because you have all time in the world and can do turkey shooting. play an choosen attack avenger defense mission on legendary without reloading and than come back boosting you dont need the towers...

[gimmethegepgun]

In WotC the Defense Matrix also apparently helps protect against Chosen sabotage attempts.

[ElanaAhova]

Wasn't boasting, was asking. I work my way up to legendary. That's two play thrus from now. Turrets also cut down on sabatogue? That's an incentive.

[sandman25dcsss]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1135867452
Defence matrix is very useful on legendary. I lost 3 soldiers when ufo shot me down and I still needed 3 days to complete defense matrix. Later it helped a lot with 3 missions to protect avenger from chosen attacks.

[ElanaAhova]

@Sandman25. Three? Wow, that's brutal. Thanks for heads-up on the flaw in the defense thingy. Tactics wise, did you try putting troops on the high ground flanking the loading ramp? I hav''t, its enticing, but I think would disperse defense too much

Many years ago I played X-com unknown, then within. Worked my way up from easy to insane (legendary?) And then Long War Mod (when it first came out). I notice WotC uses several things introduced in the Long War mod. All this - strategy and tactics change as difficulty level increases. These changes, adaptions, are behind my questions.

[gimmethegepgun]

On the Chosen version of Avenger Defense you can't stay put, because the enemies don't come to you. You have to go to them in order to stop them from shooting the Avenger.
Also, the terrain is random just like in any mission. There's no guarantee that there will be any high ground nearby. Or you might get one like what I had one time where basically the ramp was on a plateau with low ground on both sides that stretched out most of the way to the spike, making it so nearly everything was on low ground compared to me.

[sandman25dcsss]

Originally posted by ElanaAhova:

@Sandman25. Three? Wow, that's brutal. Thanks for heads-up on the flaw in the defense thingy. Tactics wise, did you try putting troops on the high ground flanking the loading ramp? I hav''t, its enticing, but I think would disperse defense too much

Many years ago I played X-com unknown, then within. Worked my way up from easy to insane (legendary?) And then Long War Mod (when it first came out). I notice WotC uses several things introduced in the Long War mod. All this - strategy and tactics change as difficulty level increases. These changes, adaptions, are behind my questions.

Yes, it was hard fight. I didn't have many options as on turn 3 I had berserker and crysalid inside my deploynent zone. I killed them next turn of course but then another crysalid and sectoid arrived in the deployment zone so I had to kill them too. As far as I understand I had to kill them immediately or the game would end. Meanwhile an andromedon threw its acid grenade at my packed soldiers. Exciting battle for sure especially considering that I sacrificed 2 soldiers just to let my reaper reach the evacuation zone (at that time I didn't know that a newly hired reaper will not be a rookie otherwise I would probably sacrifice the reaper instead, it panicked when its teamate died and thus lost concealment while returning from destroyed transmitter).

[Stardustfire]

choosen avenger attack is ever the same terrain for me, i start in a valley and directly before meis a big higher level platau. thats the only map i ever seen when choosen attack. that makes templar with replacement so invalueable in this mission, because you can bring the 4 towers up to the higher ground so they can aim on more than just the few enemys that stand in an arkward enove angle to give los to the towers.

[ElanaAhova]

Originally posted by Stardustfire:

choosen avenger attack is ever the same terrain for me, i start in a valley and directly before meis a big higher level platau. thats the only map i ever seen when choosen attack. that makes templar with replacement so invalueable in this mission, because you can bring the 4 towers up to the higher ground so they can aim on more than just the few enemys that stand in an arkward enove angle to give los to the towers.

This sounds like the map I had for the mission. The defense towers are movable? Or player places them?

[gimmethegepgun]

Originally posted by ElanaAhova:

The defense towers are movable? Or player places them?

The Templar skill that switches places with an ally can be used to relocate them.

[ElanaAhova]

Originally posted by gimmethegepgun:

Originally posted by ElanaAhova:

The defense towers are movable? Or player places them?

The Templar skill that switches places with an ally can be used to relocate them.

clever.