Xcom tips, tricks and advice

[triggrhappy94]

I, and I know I'm not the only one, was wondering what tips people have come up with for doing well in Xcom, especially on Iron Man mode.

All I have is...
Snipers with Squad Sight kick ass--as long as you have line of sight, you can hit targets across the map with upwards of 75% accuracy.
Heavy's Holotargeting is really helpful. You have them shoot at a target first, and it adds 10% accuracy to every attack against that target that turn; and it stacks!

and of course
Engineers > Scientists.

 

[Bostur]

BloatedGuppy pretty much wrote the ultimate collection of tips a while back:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.392446-I-find-XCOM-really-difficult#15829154

 

[epidemia]

I have a few tips. Say only one of your team can see an alien, even if he has a lousy shot percentage theres no reason not to take the chance so long as your soldier is in full cover. On the other hand if he can see more than one its better to hunker down or better yet, move out of sight. The last thing you want is for 3 aliens to fire on the same guy. Either tactic will often draw the aliens out of hiding and right into the line of overwatch fire from the soldiers they didnt see.

Learning how LOS works in the game helps a lot too, if you find a wall with 3 blocks of full cover in a row then the middle block will make you invisible to enemies. Vans and trucks are great for this.

Since the aliens are always in little groups of 3 or so and never fire on their free move, its completely safe to leave your troops right out in the open. Just make sure to wait til you have moved all of your units before putting them into overwatch just in case your last move uncovers a group. On classic and Impossible difficulty, aliens often trigger themselves after you end your turn which means they will probably get fired on and THEN you can move your guys to cover.

Use explosives as health insurance. If theres even the slightest chance your risky flank maneuver will fail to remove the threat, having two other dudes within grenade range to finish him off is a good bet. Grenades are a sure fire hit but wont kill most enemies but two almost always does. If theres a pesky 3 health sectoid within grenade range of one of your guys, have each of your others fire at him first, they might get lucky.

 

[epidemia]

I have to disagree with the idea that bloatedguppy's tips are the "ultimate". Im skeptical because he assumes you will lose 2 or 3 countries before you take the alien base mission, that engineer rewards take precedence over panic levels and that continent bonuses and alien interrogations are important.

Its very possible to keep ALL of the countries in classic difficulty but not if you only take missions with engineer rewards. What you will want to do instead is play an appeasement strategy, looking at the overall panic levels of a continent and choosing the one with the highest. Of course you will want to try and get at least one engineer reward a month, but in my experience thats usually enough to cover the one uplink a month strategy. If not, plan ahead and build workshops. Ive achieved global sat coverage (except for South america which I leave open for abduction missions just for fun, with only two countries its easy to keep the entire continent in the white) without building a single workshop.

As for the research bonuses from alien interrogations... I understand that with an engineers only strategy your research time will suffer but a measly 4 scientists greatly decreases research times especially in the early tech like lasers and carapace armor. Alien containment facilities are expensive in the early game and Im not sure most people factor in the time it takes to actually build one and interrogate the alien. If you are wasting your first 2 satellites on crappy south america just to get the insta-interrogations which as I said is the easiest continent to keep happy, its no wonder you are losing countries.

By the time mutons start showing up, (the only alien with a decent research bonus) alien interrogations might take 3 days, max.

 

[Karma168]

Sniper with plasma rifle, SCOPE, Skeleton armour (to get the high ground), damn good ground, opportunist and double tap will kill everything. My A-squad sniper hits near everything with 100% and >50% crit and double tap means if it survives the first shot it's still going down.

Squad makeup for me is usually 1 Sniper, heavy and assault, 2 support and a SHIV. 3 specialists can do their job while the support is flexible enough (especially with deep pockets) to cover the rest of the squad. The SHIVs are good as bullet shields, if an enemy (especially beserkers) has a drop on a team member just move it between them and it can take the hit - a shivs easier to replace than a high rank unit. Obviously this depends on your playstyle.



As for base operations; research weapons over armour. I made sure my guys were well protected with carapace armour but didn't upgrade the guns, they got hammered when I first met mutons.

 

[epidemia]

Oh and thermo-generators are a WASTE. Never plan your strategy around them. You will want to build a 2x2 block of normal old power generators gradually starting from the right side of the access lift on the top level. Plenty of power to cover every important facility you need unless you are spamming workshops of course. Later on you might need more power and in that case you can either add more power generators to your existing block or build a lone thermo or elerium generator somewhere.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Im skeptical because he assumes you will lose 2 or 3 countries before you take the alien base mission...

If you play your cards right and don't run around failing missions, you'll lose at worst 1-2 countries by the time you're ready to head into the alien base.

...that engineer rewards take precedence over panic levels...

For early mission rewards take Engineers. On the rare occasion you can take cash, but not soldiers, and certainly not scientists. The only time you should deviate from this is if you absolutely have to do a mission in a particular location due to panic.

If you're going to shit talk someone a good starting point is actually reading the tips they give.

Seriously though OP, don't listen to BloatedGuppy, that guy is an asshole.

Squad makeup for me is usually 1 Sniper, heavy and assault, 2 support and a SHIV. 3 specialists can do their job while the support is flexible enough (especially with deep pockets) to cover the rest of the squad. The SHIVs are good as bullet shields, if an enemy (especially beserkers) has a drop on a team member just move it between them and it can take the hit - a shivs easier to replace than a high rank unit. Obviously this depends on your playstyle.

Have they fixed SHIV's yet? Those things were a carnival of bugs a month ago. I was working on using them as sniffers for psychic units, but as soon as one died it wouldn't let me add them to the squad any more, and they continually got stuck on terrain.

 

[C F]

Have they fixed SHIV's yet? Those things were a carnival of bugs a month ago. I was working on using them as sniffers for psychic units, but as soon as one died it wouldn't let me add them to the squad any more, and they continually got stuck on terrain.

The squad thing's been fixed, but I've still had them get stuck in terrain. Specifically in the air, while flying up and through doorways and near ceilings. It's not just SHIVs though; I had my psionic sniper get stuck mid-air while using the Archangel's flight ability.

Spoiler: XCOM Plot Spoiler: click to reveal

It was on the final mission, in the area where the two Sectopods were. There was no visible object interfering with her, either. Thankfully, she wasn't The Volunteer, so I was able to win regardless.

 

[epidemia]

If you're going to shit talk someone a good starting point is actually reading the tips they give.

Seriously though OP, don't listen to BloatedGuppy, that guy is an asshole.

Talking shit? Im actually just posting an alternate strategy, I mean no offense when they dont line up 100% with yours. And I did read your post, its not exactly a completely unheard of strategy, I tried it myself several times and it only works on normal difficulty.

If you play your cards right and don't run around failing missions, you'll lose at worst 1-2 countries by the time you're ready to head into the alien base.

For early mission rewards take Engineers. On the rare occasion you can take cash, but not soldiers, and certainly not scientists. The only time you should deviate from this is if you absolutely have to do a mission in a particular location due to panic.

You discourage people from ever taking anything but engineer rewards, Ive tried it myself and it always, every single time results in a loss of countries in the second month. Waiting for a country to go into the red before you finally decide to intervene with an extra difficult mission wont fix the other continent which by this point is also in the red due to neglect. In my experience the only time you can afford to take a mission based on the reward is for the very first one, after which you will start building ONE sat with a lower cost than it would have been without the extra engineers. Only-engineers in the first month means you will be doing missions in completely safe continents while letting other countries sink deeper into panic and you simply wont have enough satellites by the end of the month to save them. Unless you are really unlucky, you will still get at least one batch of engineers a month just by playing the appeasement strategy which as I said before is enough to continue churning out a new uplink each month.

its even possible to make sure that the country that you most want to launch sats over at months end is the one that is in red. Preferably one that gives you extra engineers. Its kind of a waste launching one over a panic-free zone IMO.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Talking shit? Im actually just posting an alternate strategy, I mean no offense when they dont line up 100% with yours. And I did read your post, its not exactly a completely unheard of strategy, I tried it myself several times and it only works on normal difficulty.

Here's the thing, guy. When your first introduction to someone is to say "ha ha you must play on normal!", and you're still at it a week later, when normal is ridiculously easy and a dog with mittens on its paws could faceroll through it, you are talking shit. Even after I've told you I've completed the game on Ironman Classic multiple times, even after I've told you I play at Impossible now, I'm still getting this "herp derp that wud only work on normal" rubbish. This whole XCOM trash talking thing you have going on is completely confusing and exhausting.

But I give up! You win! Clearly my idiot plans would only work on normal! I got the bugged copy of XCOM where they work on Classic and Impossible.

You might want to check out http://www.youtube.com/user/Beaglerush, he does one of the more popular Ironman Impossible walkthroughs on the net. He also recommends pushing Engineers, but what does he know? He probably also has the bugged copy of XCOM. Such a buggy game, that XCOM.

 

[epidemia]

I jokingly referred to you as a noob once and youve been mad ever since. I joined this site because I wanted to talk about xcom, considering you are one of the few people talking about it, its no wonder weve crossed paths more than once. When I said it only worked for me on normal, I meant what I said-it wasnt a disguised insult to your gamer street cred. I believed you the first time when you said you play on higher difficulties. SHEESH!

Also, the beaglerush videos are great, I wish he would hurry up and make more.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I jokingly referred to you as a noob once and youve been mad ever since. I joined this site because I wanted to talk about xcom, considering you are one of the few people talking about it, its no wonder weve crossed paths more than once. When I said it only worked for me on normal, I meant what I said-it wasnt a disguised insult to your gamer street cred. I believed you the first time when you said you play on higher difficulties. SHEESH!

Also, the beaglerush videos are great, I wish he would hurry up and make more.

I've been playing tactical TBS games since the original XCOM. I love them. They might be my favorite genre. Telling me I play on normal in EU is like telling me I have to wear a helmet to go to the bathroom. Of course I'm going to get irritated.

We're talking about my STREET CRED, man. Don't make me pop my collar and walk towards you, snapping my fingers menacingly. =P

But yes, if you try and chase panic on Impossible instead of focusing on achievable goals you're going to get straight up fucked.

 

[epidemia]

I've been playing tactical TBS games since the original XCOM. I love them. They might be my favorite genre. Telling me I play on normal in EU is like telling me I have to wear a helmet to go to the bathroom. Of course I'm going to get irritated.

We're talking about my STREET CRED, man. Don't make me pop my collar and walk towards you, snapping my fingers menacingly. =P

But yes, if you try and chase panic on Impossible instead of focusing on achievable goals you're going to get straight up fucked.

Ill admit I was feeling mighty superior having suffered unacceptable losses in two consecutive games following the engineer rush strategy and then having massive success with an alternate route. So superior that I joined two forums to pat myself on the back publicly. That said, I havent yet delved into Impossible because honestly the constant cheap shots in Classic are enough to make me want to punch a baby. The combat portions of Normal flow really well, theres just not enough enemies and they just sit around for eternity waiting for you. The base managment in Normal is a total cakewalk though.

Ive been waiting for a sequel to Xcom for as long as you, I played on the playstation1 port which got me interested in TBS games. Not sure if Id say they are my absolute favorite genre ever (More of a metroidvania sort of guy, Dark Souls ftw) but Ive definitely spent more hours playing them than any other genre out there. Silent Storm and CivIV robbed me of many a nights sleep.

 

[veloper]

Oh and thermo-generators are a WASTE. Never plan your strategy around them. You will want to build a 2x2 block of normal old power generators gradually starting from the right side of the access lift on the top level. Plenty of power to cover every important facility you need unless you are spamming workshops of course. Later on you might need more power and in that case you can either add more power generators to your existing block or build a lone thermo or elerium generator somewhere.

Sometimes they conveniently fit into a good base design, then you can use them, but yeah don't go out of your way to get them earlier.

Engineering should eventually become one massive block for the bonusses. Power and satelites should get a couple adjencency bonusses aswell.

 

[Dr.Panties]

(1) Spend all of your money on grenades.
(2) Never use grenades in battle.
(3) Only use pistols in combat.
(4) Dash every soldier headlong into unexplored territory, especially on their second move in a turn.
(5) Don't use cover.
(6) Don't buy or research anything other than grenades.
(7) Stockpile your grenades, but don't use them. Don't you dare!
(8) Don't build anything, ever.
(9) Don't upgrade your soldiers.
(10 Don't bother doing any abduction missions.

 

[King of Asgaard]

I, and I know I'm not the only one, was wondering what tips people have come up with for doing well in Xcom, especially on Iron Man mode.

Firstly, don't play on the Iron Man the game gives you, play Iron Man manually.
I mean, don't check the box labelled Iron Man when starting a new game, you should play Iron Man as it was played in the good old days.
The fact of the matter is that XCOM is a buggy bastard, and it wouldn't be the first time it bugged out during a mission, either leaving it non-winnable, or non-continuable. What that leaves you with is an unfair, cheap situation that Iron Man mode refuses to fix, sometimes making you have to start all over from the beginning.

Aside from that,

Heavy's Holotargeting is really helpful. You have them shoot at a target first, and it adds 10% accuracy to every attack against that target that turn; and it stacks!

10% accuracy increase is OK, but being able to shoot twice in a turn with Bullet Storm is invaluable.
Heavies are designed for damage dealing, not de/buffing. There are supports for de/buffing.

Hover SHIVS are expensive, but worth everything you pay for them, so get them.
Get Xeno Biology as early as possible and capture the first alien and subsequent Outsider quickly, because as the game goes on, they get harder to capture.
Make plasma weapons ASAP, especially Heavy Plasma Rifles, as they unlock the SHIV weapons, as well as interceptor weapons.
If a mission is risky, don't send in Colonels.
In times of need, rockets are your friend, so get Danger Zone.

The best bit of advice I can give you, though, is don't give up.
Sometimes, things will go to shit, you'll lose countries and valuable troops.
Endeavour to get back in the game, because there's always a way.
captcha: never quit

 

[veloper]

Heavy's Holotargeting is really helpful. You have them shoot at a target first, and it adds 10% accuracy to every attack against that target that turn; and it stacks!

10% accuracy increase is OK, but being able to shoot twice in a turn with Bullet Storm is invaluable.
Heavies are designed for damage dealing, not de/buffing. There are supports for de/buffing.

Debate is still out on that. That 10% bonus applies for the whole turn, so potentially the whole squad may get that 10% bonus.

My experience with heavies is that they account for the fewest kills of all classes, even with that extra shot, because they have the lowest accuracy of the bunch.
Support seems to be their biggest use, including suppresion and blowing up terrain cover.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Heavy's Holotargeting is really helpful. You have them shoot at a target first, and it adds 10% accuracy to every attack against that target that turn; and it stacks!

10% accuracy increase is OK, but being able to shoot twice in a turn with Bullet Storm is invaluable.
Heavies are designed for damage dealing, not de/buffing. There are supports for de/buffing.

Debate is still out on that. That 10% bonus applies for the whole turn, so potentially the whole squad may get that 10% bonus.

My experience with heavies is that they account for the fewest kills of all classes, even with that extra shot, because they have the lowest accuracy of the bunch.
Support seems to be their biggest use, including suppresion and blowing up terrain cover.

Really?
Because mine always have the second highest kills of the squad, with the first being snipers.
I suppose it comes down to luck at times, because I've had heavies armed with plasma stuff hit their targets at 25% chances.
I'd say it's because they have their rockets; that's some beautiful damage output, especially with HEAT ammo.

 

[veloper]

Heavy's Holotargeting is really helpful. You have them shoot at a target first, and it adds 10% accuracy to every attack against that target that turn; and it stacks!

10% accuracy increase is OK, but being able to shoot twice in a turn with Bullet Storm is invaluable.
Heavies are designed for damage dealing, not de/buffing. There are supports for de/buffing.

Debate is still out on that. That 10% bonus applies for the whole turn, so potentially the whole squad may get that 10% bonus.

My experience with heavies is that they account for the fewest kills of all classes, even with that extra shot, because they have the lowest accuracy of the bunch.
Support seems to be their biggest use, including suppresion and blowing up terrain cover.

Really?
Because mine always have the second highest kills of the squad, with the first being snipers.
I suppose it comes down to luck at times, because I've had heavies armed with plasma stuff hit their targets at 25% chances.
I'd say it's because they have their rockets; that's some beautiful damage output, especially with HEAT ammo.

For me it's snipers #1, followed by assault, then support and then heavy.

Snipers need no explanation.
Assualt are 100% accurate at short range with their shotguns and they can get close with fast reflexes + run&gun. Upgraded they get as many free shots as they need on all aliens walking around the corners they hide behind.
Support don't have much in the way of firepower, but they are accurate enough at medium range to outperform heavies.
Heavies finally have a rocket or two to help out, but I rarely use them on weak targets that would be killed with one blast, so the heavies don't always rake up the kills.

 

[Karma168]

Have they fixed SHIV's yet? Those things were a carnival of bugs a month ago. I was working on using them as sniffers for psychic units, but as soon as one died it wouldn't let me add them to the squad any more, and they continually got stuck on terrain.

I've not noticed any problems with them, lost a few and it let me replace them no problem and I've not noticed any problems with terrain (though I use a hover shiv so that may be why)

One bug that is still there is in the last mission you cannot send them through a door first, if you do then it locks it and none of your team can follow through. Just need to send one human through first then it works fine.