Endgame. Let's Play XCOM

[WordsHere]

I didn't really want to read walkthroughs or anything so I'm flying by the seat of my pants. I'm on my like fifth play through and it's way easier. I put a lot more emphasis on research and got better weapons and armor more quickly so my guys weren't dying all the time and were actually able to kill aliens. I've also found out through trial and error that reaction fire will not happen if the soldier has already used his time units for the turn. I'm playing more carefully and not using all my time units every turn, keeping them in little squads spaced apart (so they don't all die when a grenade lands on them) that inch along so they can react if something pops out from around a corner. I've even managed to start winning terror missions, which used to be guaranteed failure for me. My only problem now is getting my hands on Elirium. I usually try to shoot down UFOs, even waiting for them to take off if they land. It makes it a lot easier to attack them when half their crew is dead and there's already huge holes in the ship. Maybe there's no Elerium in ships that have been shot down though...

[Floirt]

Pretty much! If their engines are shot, then the elerium blows up. I think bigger ships still have some elerium if they blow up? I'm not exactly far either.

[Tezrial]

I think bigger ships still have some elerium if they blow up?

Depend on which systems, if any, survive the crash-landing.

[KawaiiMelon]

Oh man I am so behind in this. Wayyyy behind.

What happened to the Late Late Late KawaiiMelon?

[Unlicensed Busdriver]

I didn't really want to read walkthroughs or anything so I'm flying by the seat of my pants. I'm on my like fifth play through and it's way easier. I put a lot more emphasis on research and got better weapons and armor more quickly so my guys weren't dying all the time and were actually able to kill aliens. I've also found out through trial and error that reaction fire will not happen if the soldier has already used his time units for the turn. I'm playing more carefully and not using all my time units every turn, keeping them in little squads spaced apart (so they don't all die when a grenade lands on them) that inch along so they can react if something pops out from around a corner. I've even managed to start winning terror missions, which used to be guaranteed failure for me. My only problem now is getting my hands on Elirium. I usually try to shoot down UFOs, even waiting for them to take off if they land. It makes it a lot easier to attack them when half their crew is dead and there's already huge holes in the ship. Maybe there's no Elerium in ships that have been shot down though...

The 3 little red buttons and the the one with the green arrow on it in the lower left corner of the control panel allow you to have your guys automatically save enough time units for reaction fire. You get a lot more L00TZ from intact UFOs, so if you get the chance you should try to hit the smaller ones while they are landed.

I haven't played in a while, but I think I am at the point where I didn't appreciate the importance of psi-crap before trying to hit an alien base. I managed to take out the base with a miracle blaster bomb shot, but I lost all but two guys from my first squad. I'll try it again after finals.

[weirdguy]

Yeah, psi crap is the best crap. I'm sad that I wasn't able to survive that long.

[Argonaut]

Oh man I am so behind in this. Wayyyy behind.

What happened to the Late Late Late KawaiiMelon?

Killed by a Blaster Bomb.



Well hello, what have we here?


It's landed, and you know what that means. Elerium for us.


A floater immediately in front of us, just outside the UFO.
They aren't even trying any more.





3X PSI COMBO.



Our scouting of the UFO is interrupted by a rather annoyed Floater.





Extra XP for Old Spice Guy and Reako.


That door wasn't open before...



Let's go find out who opened it.



Ah, there we are.



Kraikan: Master Manipul8er.


Kraikan: Psi's a no go. Old fashioned way then.



Kraikan: Or not.


uU: Never send an alien to do a human's job.


uU: Or a...whatever species Jack is.


Metalbourne: Bored now. Busman?
Son of Busman: New window, coming up.


Reako: I think that's the last one outside.


Metalbourne: Yeah, your brain is ours.






Kraikan: Well, that should take care of the bridge.


Woah, Metalbourne missed.


Varkarrus: BUSMAN!!
Son of Busman: Oops.


Varkarrus: You are the moron.
Varkarrus: It's you.


Old Spice Guy: Got a situation here!


Son of Busman: Wait.
Son of Busman: I have AN IDEA.
Varkarrus: Oh fuck.


Son of Busman: GET CLEAR!


Son of Busman: JACKPOT!!
Metalbourne: Congratulations.
Metalbourne: Never do that again.


Metalbourne: Hey, someone's shooting at me!
Metalbourne: Haven't seen that in a long time.



Kraikan: Found the bugger.





Kraikan: Shh only dreams now.



Old Spice Guy: On to the bridge.

[Argonaut]

Metalbourne: Let's blow this tin can.



Kraikan: You're clear.


Metalbourne: Let's try something.


Metalbourne: Yup, two for one.
Kraikan: They weren't the last ones.
Tezrial: Great, he could be anywhere.


Tezrial: This is gonna take hours.


Son of Busman: Hey, I found him.
Son of Busman: And it took me what? Ten seconds. Fifteen tops.


Gotta remember from now on - there's always one in the barn.


Varkarrus is in sickbay while the doctors remove shrapnel from her head.
Son of Busman: I said I was sorry!



Another one? Oh this is just hilarious.

[weirdguy]

I wonder how a steak cooked by a blaster bomb tastes.

[Argonaut]

I wonder how a steak cooked by a blaster bomb tastes.

Atomised.

[Varkarrus]

Probably awful.

[WordsHere]

Okay, I could go back and reread the whole thread, but I don't want to. What was it you researched to let you train psionics? I think I'll start yet another new game. This time I'll do the following: Not focus on a single base; I'll have at least two with troops and a sky ranger instead of just one. Wait for ships to land and not wait for them to take off just to shoot them down. The bigger ones I'll still shoot down at first, but if the Elirium explodes if you shoot them down I'd really rather not shoot down the small ones just to make those easier. I'll also screw around with those buttons someone mentioned. This game might become playable for me eventually!

[Argonaut]

Okay, I could go back and reread the whole thread, but I don't want to. What was it you researched to let you train psionics? I think I'll start yet another new game. This time I'll do the following: Not focus on a single base; I'll have at least two with troops and a sky ranger instead of just one. Wait for ships to land and not wait for them to take off just to shoot them down. The bigger ones I'll still shoot down at first, but if the Elirium explodes if you shoot them down I'd really rather not shoot down the small ones just to make those easier. I'll also screw around with those buttons someone mentioned. This game might become playable for me eventually!

To get the Psi lab you need either a live Sectoid officer (Leader or Commander) or any Ethereal.

I might also make a little tactics update on how I generally tend to play too.

[Unlicensed Busdriver]

When you said a previous Melon had been killed by a blaster bomb I got all excited because I thought it meant I'd finally do what blaster launcher guys are supposed to and inflict significant friendly casualties.

I am somewhat disappointed that I only managed to put one superior officer in sickbay.

[WordsHere]

That's weird. It must have been a forum glitch but that post showed up twice so I deleted what I thought was a double post and the whole thing's gone. Huh. Oh well, long story short "waah, waah, where's that dang alien, oh there it is."

[Argonaut]

Hey look, Gino's back!


And gino brought ambushes at the LZ with him! A shot whizzes into the Skyranger, barely missing everyone.



Well that didn't go to plan for them, did it?


Tezrial: As you were, people.


Reako: There's the UFO.


Tezrial has NIGHT VISION.
uU: That reminds me, why don't we have goggles or anything for this stuff?
Metalbourne: Because shut up, that's why.



uU: Door's opened, I'm gonna hope it's ghosts.



uU: Nope, definitely not ghosts


Reako: It...exploded?



Kraikan: Another one up above.


Kraikan: I don't think that's a farmer.



Kraikan: I think we're clear here.



These aliens are of no use to us, so we'll take 'em out.


Metalbourne: Knock knock.
Floater: Who's OHSHI-



Well, at least they're actually shooting back now.


Would be better for them if they could actually hit our troops though.


Reako surprises everyone by taking a 90 degree turn to kill a Floater in one shot with reaction fire.


Kraikan: Stun-bomber somewhere nearby.





Metalbourne: Okay, now we can enter the UFO.
Gino: No, wait...


Gino: Now we can enter the UFO.


Spaceman Spiff: Goddamnit why do I have to go into the cow room.



No more aliens outside.


uU: Preparing to flank.


Metalbourne: My god that's a stupid alien.


Kraikan: I concur, brain like butter.


Kraikan: Midnight snack, eh guys?



Kraikan: Elevator's clear guys.


Metalbourne ascends and mops up.






Kraikan: The bridge should be clear now.


Reako: We're done here too.


uU: And up here t-oh fuck I blew something up.
Metalboure: That's coming out of your pay.
uU: But there's like eighty of the things back at base!


uU: Wait a second; I get paid?


And now that that's done, I think it's about time we started >fighting back.

[WordsHere]

Say, if you ever get around to that tactics post, I'd really love to hear strategy for Chrysalids. When I'm up against them in a terror mission, I usually end up losing almost all of my team and have to abort, even now that I have laser weapons, alien grenades, and power suits.

Also:

The one live alien is a Sectoid leader. One guy actually got back up from being knocked out but died later. The last soldier actually got shot by the last alien before finishing it. Also, all of the Elerium. All of it.

[Varkarrus]

Dude that is too much Elerium for one species to get so early. Then again, don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

[Argonaut]

The Ethereals seem to have taken matters into their own hands with locating Fort Imagination


Too bad we own the skies.


Ah, excellent. Now we can ship Elerium and weapons to Funkytowne so the Lightning can actually do something for once.


New craft weapon! Honestly though, I prefer plasma beams, so we won't be seeing many of these.


The Lightning actually does something for once.



Goddamnit not this again.



>Lightning-1 and Interceptor-5: Double team that battleship.


TIIIIIIIIIMBEEEEEEEERRRR!!


Looks like the aliens have just been...


THUNDERSTRUCK.





Air superiority - Obtained.


The Lightning will be out of action for a few days to repair, but I doubt we'll need it.


We will build a second Firestorm to base at Funkytowne.



OH NO YOU DON'T!


Phase Two of Funkytowne's expansion is complete.


Second second squad is equipped and ready for deployment.


And there's phase three. We'll order another Interceptor to go with Funkytowne's incoming Firestorm.


WHAT.


NO.


YOU'VE ALREADY DONE THAT THIS MONTH!


YOU CHEATING GITS.
STOP CHEATING AT WAR.


Yeah, without the Lightning we couldn't really do much.


Yeah, they aren't going to find us in that.


...Fuck.

When did the Mutons suddenly get competent?


A buttload of Mutons versus the 5 unarmoured rookies armed with Heavy Plasmas...


Well, we might win this one.

[Varkarrus]

Round 1 fight!

KO

Winner: Mutons!

Round 2:

There is no round 2, Fuckwad!

[HaloKirby9]

Shit, I'm there. I'm taking bets on how fast I die. Anybody want in?

Preemptively, I'm submitting HaloKirby8

[Argonaut]

Our manufacturing base is under siege, and all we have are...


These guys.


And this guy who is a girl for some reason.
Muscles Beefsoup: Guys can have ponytails!
Yeah, you keep saying that to yourself.


OH NO, A ROCK!


Yeah, that's not even remotely threatening, not even to these rookies.


These guys, however, are.


One muton goes down.


And down goes one of ours.


Bolt Vanderhuge bisects the other muton.


Looks like they have reinforcements.



Gotta keep going.


Oh good, they brought Blaster Launchers.



The mutons came in two by two, hurrah, hurrah.


We haven't taken many casualties yet. Maybe this is the episode focusing on the bit characters and how awesome they are.


Haha, NOPE!


Whelp, new base in Australasia, name time.

We seriously have so much moolah at this stage in the game that this can only delay us, it can't hurt us that much, only the destruction of Fort Imagination would seriously hamper us.

[undulatingUltimatum]

Holy shit what did they blow up?

[Argonaut]

Holy shit what did they blow up?

EVERYTHING.

[Traikan]

Clearly we must name our new base after the embodiment of revenge.

It is vengeance. It is the night. It... is...

Batbase!