How deal with advent project on higher difficulties

[Včelí medvídek]

Well, jsut started fresh game on Commander and I am thinking about how to best deal with advent project - do realy pay off ignore those missions until doom-counter, than just do one and wait for doom-counter again?

As I never tried this before you still lower the porgress so ahve some breath-time until the advent is on max again?

[Kunovega]

1. Focus on researching things your troops will benefit from (I prefer armor, then psi-ops, then weapons, do what works for you).

Do not spend time pushing the storyline objectives (skulljack, shadow chamber). Getting your first skulljack and using it needlessly ramps up the difficulty (adding codex) while you are still training soldiers.

Leaving the storyline objectives till later also gives you easy ways to knock down avatar project pips later in the game if you didn't waste them all early

That includes the blacksite mission, the codex origin mission, and so on. These are huge doom counter removal tools. They can sit on the map forever until you need them.

2. When opening up new resistance allies, beeline for factories as often as you can. But, don't do the factory mission. The more of these you have available to you, the safer you will be. You can leave them sitting on the map until needed. (my current legend play through has 4 of these available to me)

So long as you have either a storyline objective or a factory mission available to you the avatar project will never be anything to fear. You just do something to knock it down every time it gets full.

You can juggle that last pip for a couple of (in game) years even on Legend

3. Factory leads are like gold. If your hackers see the chance to grab one while hacking, try. Check every advent security pole you pass in every mission.

4. Gurilla ops: choose which event you are going to stop based on its effect towards the avatar project.

This may make some of your missions more difficult (letting advent get more reinforcements). But think of it this way: more reinforcements is more XP for your troops. Hiding faceless among the population is more chance to get corpses for mimic beacon and so on.

So always stop an avatar project breathtrough when you can. Factory breakthroughs on the other hand aren't as terrible if you have enough of the world contacted. The main danger with factory builds (where they build faster) is early game if they get spawned in a region you have no contacts. They aren't the end of the world though if you find them and have access to the factory mission though.

Just don't panic. The doom counter is a scare tactic that will make you rush the storyline if you panic. Using up all your easy removals early will make the game overall harder. Taking your time and only responding to the doom counter after it fills up will give you breathing room to build up your troops and your research; making the game in the long run much easier.

Honestly even on commander and legend the hardest part of the game is the early part. Because once your troops are 3rd tier equipment and some colonels it's nearly just as easy as veteran difficulty. The problem is you won't make it that far in your research if you throw away all your easy doom counters before you need them.

[Včelí medvídek]

Thank you for bunch of tips. I progressed far today during that 10 hours of play -already have power armor and plasma.

But I noted one thing related to reach doom-counter - the 2nd one started at day the first one ended (it was like 14 originaly, 2nd was 10) - I am afraid this way I can easily run of time and need to evade doom-timer from certain point to be sure nto screw the game.

[!?!]

The doom counter resets to 7 days minimum on anything above veteran so you can't juggle the last pip indefinitely.

[Kunovega]

Originally posted by chris:

The doom counter resets to 7 days minimum on anything above veteran so you can't juggle the last pip indefinitely.

Sure you can, if you always have a storyline point or a factory ready to be taken over. It doesn't take 7 days to fly there and do it which knocks off a pip.

I'm not saying sit in the 7 to 20 days of imminent failure. I'm saying every time the doom meter fills up, go knock off a pip.

You can do this indefinately so long as you have "something" that you can attack immediately which will lower it that you just leave sitting on the map. That includes all of the storyline missions and the factories. None of these disapear if you just ignore them until needed.

Consider that the game is winnable in under a year; yet I've juggled the doom counter to last for nearly 3 years if I feel like waiting around that's a couple of years window to take your time if you play it right.

Now if you have stretched that out to the absolute max, used up every factory on the planet and your only options are storyline to take off doom counter? Yea you will eventually need to win. But you are likely well beyond fully researched by then and unless you did something extremely wrong; winning at that point is simply knocking out what storyline missions you have left (each of which knocks down doom counter). At that point you don't even need to respond to gurila missions or council missions or anything because losing those regions don't matter when you are about to go do the tower and win.

If it's an absolute time crunch with the doom counter learing and I want to try and do side missions at the same time. throw the C team at the retaliation or whatever missions (that you could have skipped or failed safely), send your B team (well 3 or 4 of them) on the tower mission and have your A team ready for the final portal assault

[Včelí medvídek]

Ok, so the 7 is the minimum of days available after each reset? Sounds fine to me (Well I am going toward story missions anyway as I have all important gear... can consider it for legendary playthrough later;)

[!?!]

Originally posted by Kunovega:

if you always have a storyline point or a factory ready to be taken over.

You don't.

Originally posted by Kunovega:

You can do this indefinately so long as you have "something" that you can attack immediately

Have you ever actually tried this post-patch that knocked it from 30 to 7 days?

[Knappis]

Just make sure you have at least one option to reduce the counter at all times and only do it when you have to. if you don't have an option that should always be one of your highest priorities.

[Kunovega]

Originally posted by chris:

Originally posted by Kunovega:

if you always have a storyline point or a factory ready to be taken over.

You don't.

You do if you aren't wasting them.

I literally do not progress any of the storyline that gives project reductions unless the bar is full.

And I do not do factory missions (I just find them and unlock the region) unless the bar is full

By the time you actually run out of ways to knock down the doom meter you should be well into plasma and ready to just win at will

In fact I can guarantee you ALWAYS have something to knock down the avatar project right up until the end because: litterally anything you do in storyline knocks down the doom meter

Therefore unless you are right at the very end of the game at the last mission and ready to win you have something in the objectives that you can complete on-demand that will lower it

And when you run out of those: you are on the final mission

The only way you don't have these options is if you rushed too many storylines or factories early and redundantly wiped your bar out, wasting reductions needlessly.

You rush exactly when you need to, the moment you have knocked off the last pip of the doom meter you should be setting yourself to know exactly where your next pip reduction is going to be. Get it on the map and go back to doing something else

Do you know how much flexibility you have in early research if you don't care when you will get around to doing the skulljack?

Do you realize you can leave the very first blacksite story missions for a year or more if you uncover factories fast enough?

Don't let the game tell you when to do the storylines, you can ramp your troops up far more effectively by ignoring how fast it's trying to make you go and focusing on making your soldiers better equiped and trained.

Originally posted by Kunovega:

You can do this indefinately so long as you have "something" that you can attack immediately

Have you ever actually tried this post-patch that knocked it from 30 to 7 days?

I bought the game on steam sale a few weeks ago. I played for 1 week prior to that patch. All of the achivements including commander and legend were done after that patch. I just finished a legend/ironman like 2 days ago.

I've played 300 hours in the last month and I'm missing 2 achievements. 1 is for multiplayer (because litterally no one is ever on to play against) and the other is for beating the game before july 1st (which I'm about to attempt). It's likely going to be hard for me because I've been playing the game out in very long sessions juggling the avatar bar out over a couple of in game years before bothering to win. So while I have most of the achievements I have no experience rushing to get to the end by a set date.

BTW when I finished my legend/ironman a couple of days ago; I spent 2 in game years building my troops and I still had 3 factories left on the map that I never got around to using for pip reduction.

[merccobb]

I can second that it is possible to stretch Commander to at least 2 years, and Legend for much longer than that since the Avatar pips come slower (mirroring research and build times).

One thing to remember in Legend, though, is that making contact with a new region can take 7-8 days. So, if the doom counter fills up and resets the countdown to 7 days, and you do not already have a factory or story mission ready to go, you could lose while trying to make contact with a region. ALWAYS have a region uncovered with a factory or story mission, or have a facility lead with enough intel to research it, if the Avatar bar is more than half full.

The only pips that actually drive the inevitable end game are those that are added directly to the Avatar "statue" itself in the middle of the ocean. Any pips added to alien facilities (including from Dark Event breakthroughs, which I ignore) are easily negated when you take out the facility. Story missions can be used to negate the statue pips, but of course those are limited in number. Count up how many facility pips are on the map, any remainder are the statue pips. On Legend, doing the Black Site, jacking a codex, recovering the psi gate, and raiding the forge will all knock pips off the counter, while in Commander and below defeating the first Avatar you encounter will also knock some off. Very easy to stretch the game beyond where it starts to get a little boring taking your fully-kitted out team of 6 colonels to annihilate some more hapless aliens.

For Kunovega, when you do your July 1st run: Obviously, do it in Commander since Legend stretches build/research times out too much. You will want to bee-line story research and story missions. Hold off on making too many resistance contacts until you see where the forge or psi gate will be located, these will always be two regions away from you but you want to know which direction to start expanding and not waste contacts. You probably have time to research mag weapons and plate armor but psi and plasma/powered armor are unlikely. Good luck, it was one of the more fun achievements I thought since it changes the way you are used to playing!

[Včelí medvídek]

Nice and helpful reading from both of you.

Just note to Facility lead - research - I did it but it located facility in region not covered/reachable by me (so not make this research in advance and have access to region can be still fatal)

[merccobb]

Originally posted by Včelí medvídek:

Nice and helpful reading from both of you.

Just note to Facility lead - research - I did it but it located facility in region not covered/reachable by me (so not make this research in advance and have access to region can be still fatal)

Unless it bugged on you, that is exactly the point of the Facility Lead research. It will allow you to attack a facility even if you do not have the Region Contact. Did you try attacking it?

From a narrative standpoint, think of it like this: XCOM becomes aware of Alien Facilities and knows approximately where in the world they are located. However, they can only pinpoint the location if they actually have a regional resistance contact who can give them the exact coordinates. Facility leads short-circuit this, and allow XCOM to launch an attack on the facility even if they do not currently have a regional contact.

[Včelí medvídek]

Originally posted by merccobb:

Originally posted by Včelí medvídek:

Nice and helpful reading from both of you.

Just note to Facility lead - research - I did it but it located facility in region not covered/reachable by me (so not make this research in advance and have access to region can be still fatal)

Unless it bugged on you, that is exactly the point of the Facility Lead research. It will allow you to attack a facility even if you do not have the Region Contact. Did you try attacking it?

From a narrative standpoint, think of it like this: XCOM becomes aware of Alien Facilities and knows approximately where in the world they are located. However, they can only pinpoint the location if they actually have a regional resistance contact who can give them the exact coordinates. Facility leads short-circuit this, and allow XCOM to launch an attack on the facility even if they do not currently have a regional contact.

Oh. I feel realy stupid but most likely I did not - instead I built contact toward it. Somehow I thught it just uncover facility anywhere, no matter if you have contact there or not and you need access there for attack same as with other facilities..

Funny how one can finish game on Commander without knowing this:-)

[Histidine]

Somehow I thught it just uncover facility anywhere, no matter if you have contact there or not and you need access there for attack same as with other facilities..

Funny how one can finish game on Commander without knowing this:-)

I only noticed the distinction myself when a Facility Lead pointed me to a facility that was already on the map.