XCOM: UFF Defence

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ShadowSpectre
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

Caught this one just as Kin jumped. Mucle Fibre Density is a really good upgrade.

Both SK and Kin have finished off their mods, so hopefully we'll get some action out of them soon.
Terror mission! This will be fun.
Team ready to deploy.
Another paramour? Quite the player, we are.
Alex spots a squad of mutons before we have a decent view of the map as a whole.
A shop front indicates some level of close quarters combat. Alex won't be as useful here.
Into the party van!
Dabir lands a solid hit on the advancing Berserker.
A lovely combo from our assaults kills the berserker for free.
Flan's got a line of sight to die for.
And he does.
Alex has a brilliant little peephole through which to bollock this Muton.
Owned.
Flan activates Heavy Floaters.
Dabir activates Chryssalids and Mutons.
Garo moves in, but spots a zombie already moving. That's going to be a problem soon. But for now, he can concentrate on the melee troops.
This should guarantee a kill. If not, Dabir can back him up.
Three shots in a single turn. Nice work, Garo.
MMX kills the Chryssalid, but Dabir misses the Muton in the warehouse section..
Alex has him in his sights.
Zombies are no match for Man Jackson.
Pure's found the floaters.
Respectable damage, but it isn't enough.
Flan's activated Chryssalids and found more floater material.
But this Chryssalid's about to have a door opened on it.
"Toc toc."
A zombie approaches Garo. An unwise decision.
Flan takes damage and can't give it back. A number of civilians bite the dust this round.
Flan's chances to hit aren't great, I will be frank. It might be time for a tactical withdrawal.
Pure can just about see a Floater, so he takes a shot.
Not quite killed! That old ditty.
Flan lays a mine in hope that it'll be of use. Spoilers: it isn't.
A zombie rises.
A Chryssalid is known and shot at by Alex.
A second Chryssalid pops up near Dabir and MMX.
Flan's floater evades the mine entirely and misses Alex.
A second floater just about misses Flan, and Flan misses it. Also, close-up of zombie.
Flan moves out of the floater's line of fire and gets ready to punch the zombie.
"Qu'elle repose en paix."
MMX has the Chryssalid covered.
Alex can guarantee two dead.
This gives me the confidence to make a questionable move now. I'm moving Pure and Garo up to the roof out of cover to try and kill a floater.
Garo weakens this one to levels that Alex can pick off.
Pure can take the weakest Floater, Alex should be able to knock out Garo's one and the Chryssalid.
Alex delivers.
And a Floater kills a civilian. Bah.
Dabir kills it. Sodding Floater.
Civilian saving is not our best skill, it seems. No decrease in terror for the continent. A little bit of a disappointment.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

Welcome back. So, how are things at XCOM?
Well, the world is pretty okay with itself. Our objectives are also staring us in the face; invade the alien base, you tit!
Our bank balance is looking pretty plump. Having so many satellites is a massive, massive bonus.
We still haven't built up every available slot in the base. I have good reason for this; there are a few more facilities that we've yet to unlock, so we want to keep tabs on those. However, I think I can afford to put a thermo generator in juuuust in case our power consumption is a little too high later on.
We can afford to start looking into the final pistol improvements to increase the efficacy of all of our sidearms. This will essentially put a soldier with no ammunition in their main weapon at no great disadvantage against Sectoids or Thin Men.
The research team are a little bit bored right now, but we need more weapon fragments to really be able to do anything. That means go out into the field, so that we shall: soon.
Australia asks for some Mechtoid cores, which is a little bit of a steep price, but they're offering engineers, which isn't a bad tradeoff. We'll doubtless run into more mechtoids anyway, so we might as well.
We've got our abductions in progress. India offers cash, Japan offers scientists and Australia offers more engineers. However, the Australian theatre has the hardest mission. This means more aliens to kill and potentially more loot. We'll head there.
I'm taking drac out as our FNG. A support should have no problem being mobile enough to hit things.
I summon... Sightless Shield Gardna! In defence mode!
Okay, office buildings, we've seen this map before.
A Mechtoid and Sectoid!
Mechtoid moves in and gets shot at by Dabir and MMX. MMX misses, but Dabir slaps it for 10 damage.
Sectoid makes the best of a bad situation and tries to shield the Mechtoid, but this won't help it.
Alex has it in his sights. A guaranteed kill.
This deshields and damages the Mechtoid...
... leaving Flan to punch it out.
"J'ai mis un ver de terre dans un verre de terre."
Pure activates two Heavy Floaters near the end of our turn! This could be brutal.
Alex has a chance to top one of them, but the other could do some damage.
Enemy down.
The Heavy Floater takes a shot at Dabir and misses; Dabir responds in kind.
A pair of Mutons march into sight and take some questionable cover.
Alex should be able to fire at both Muton and Floater, guaranteeing at least one kill on his own.
MMX can, too, with his insane damage dealing abilities. But we want drac to get a shot in, too.
Getting Pure to flank MMX's Muton first and perhaps shoot it will weaken it enough to let drac kill it off.
Nice hit.
Well, this complicates matters.
Well, at least drac has a hard kill.
Flan's grenade can drop the Sectoid, reveal the Mechtoid and hurt the Muton in one go. This could go badly, but only if we're very unlucky.
Hey, no Mechtoid in sight. That's annoying. At least the Muton's out of cover, now.
Ouch, kid. Mechtoid was waiting for that one.
Well, take the killshot.
Holy shit.
Well, Dabir might be able to total the Floater. Maybe.
Eh, not quite. Ah, well.
Still, Mechtoid's spotted for Alex. There's the plan ready for you. Disable Mechtoid, let the Floater hit a MEC to tank.
Mechtoid moves up, Floater hits Dabir, Dabir misses.
First shot's free.
Second shot's extra.
drac is hoping for a kill against a Mechtoid here; can he make it?
Yes, he can!
No promotion for drac, but that's fine, first mission and all that. Central's right, though; the aliens aren't taking this any easier.
Japan and India both increase panic by one, but importantly, the whole continent did not panic. This is something that we can use to our advantage next month. I'm going to launch a satellite over India now. It gives me less funding than Japan, but it'll stop abductions happening there next month. I leave off Japan from this because they're itching for a Godzilla and Australia because aliens would have to be stupid to fight there.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

More of the endless grinding. Jesus. I want to try and get everyone to at least Sergeant, he says. I'm putting off the alien base mission, he says.

Fuck, man, I'm gonna start abridging entire missions. Until the Alien Base mission, I'm only going to give you a handful of slides per mission. I'll always include the mission type/location, squad, mission name and briefing screen unless something major happens in the mission. Otherwise, I'm just training up rookies. Not only will this make it less samey to you, it'll also make it more fun for me. Won't have to write stuff up as I go along any more, just get screencaps and write it up at the end.
Pistols are fuckin' boss.
Power on.
Fast UFO. Means we'll have less time to intercept it.
Success. UFO crash site time. Plasma cannons are incredible.
Taking Garo instead of MMX because it makes it more likely we'll have something left to kill for drac.
Damn, that name.
Big supply ship. Should yield a lot of loot.
Holy fuck, I love the top tier armour. That's Alex standing in the fucking fire. Downright demonic.
Pair of Floaters were never going to win against a pair of MECs.
Despite the fact that Alex shouldn't really be able to hit anything at close range, he can hit this goddamn Berserker at full strength ANYWAY.
Dabir's under threat, then not so much.
SuppressionQuestion.
Flan's also got the high ground against ALL OF THE MUTONS.
Garo's Close Combat skills are mad.
We're about to hit this room so hard their mothers are gonna get dizzy.
No reaction, last reaction.
Both down.
Boooring.
Building a MEC for FF in advance.
Also giving Alex legs. Mobility is key.
End of the month. Whooooo. Look at all that money.
This means we can go ahead and build some Firestorm craft. This is actually really important later, but doing it now saves time on the other end. The number we can make (three) is limited by the number of free hangar bays we have in the base. Since we have an interceptor around already, we can't have four. Upon construction, I intend to ship out the Firestorms to other bases around the world to station one in each with one interceptor, then build two more here, one for Africa and one for the other remaining continent.
Perfect. We don't even need them any more.
UFO landing. Dis gon' b gud. Taking SK and MMX instead of the MECs this time.
Cold Sun.
Big ship, of the Abductor type. Shitloads of pods ready to take. Lot of half cover, flat field to start, then two chambers and flanking platforms overlooking. We've done this before. You know the drill.
Heavy Floaters. This is gonna suck.
Shit, Pure nearly decked it. Luckily, the next two shots were misses. Think this is going to be a mission in detail.
Clay pigeon shooting.
Goddamn heal yourself. D__D
drac earns a promotion in the field!
Fucking hell, really stepped in it, has SK. Run away!
Garo's slammed the other Floater.
Grenading all three is just out of range, but we can kill one and rob the other of its cover.
drac can also flank it.
God damn it.
Alex damages the threatening Berserker, giving SK room to breathe.
SK kills it dead as it has its back turned.
Pure's not down and definitely not out.
Oh man. Garo took it up the ass. This has been a really tough mission so far.
Pure kills the sectoid shielding the Mechtoid.
MMX finishes it for us.
SK nades another Sectoid as we move up.
Outsider down.
Double suppression removes the Outsider's cover.
Squad of Mutons left to deal with.
SK finishes the round. Let's take a look at the damage.
Wow. Pure's in hospital. Oh, well, only a few days.
drac gets Sprinter to be more efficient at getting to flanking positions.
Ironic that our medic could have used better medkits earlier on.
Researched the Rocket Launcher upgrade.
We just hit the jackpot, kids. See you after the jump.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

Gonna be another quickrun through missions, hopefully with fewer hiccoughs.
Another supply barge. Time to rock.
The future is dark. The future is spectral.
Large ship, lots of bays with CRATES. Control chamber up ahead. Over in fifteen turns.
Empty cabin. Weird. We'll use it as a foothold from which we can reach out.
Mutons; they're standard fare these days.
Pure's riiiiight next to a Mechtoid. Better get the Assaults in ready.
Alex has an ambush perfectly ready.
From a questionable position, drac can take down both Sectoids, potentially earning another promotion.
Overwatched Mechtoid shocked that its day has just became incredibly shit.
YOU WERE ONLY S'POSED TO BLOW THE BLOODY DOOR OFF
Melee troops everywhere!
SK's rocket doesn't cocket up.
Pop pop.
Muton lands a grenade on MMX for pitiful damage.
drac's earned a promotion!
Assaults win.
Alex spots more Mutons. Endless Mutons. And endless CRATES.
Oh my God. Flee.
MMX has them both covered.
Oh dear, Berserker.
Oh dear, Outsiders.
SK!!! THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!!!
GOD DAMN IT SK!!!
Over easy.
Pops. Pops. Pops. We have Daddy fucking Drac over here. Pops!
Halo doesn't afreid of stupi hurts..
Going to research the ultimate aircraft weapon, but we're unlikely to actually build many.
Getting a pair of Blaster Launchers to give to our top heavies. SK should enjoy this one.
We have only two Abduction sites this time. This is because we only had those two countries unchecked. This lets us essentially farm resources from countries as we need.

Japan offered us a new sniper captain in return for a very difficult mission. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that we'll need many more soldiers. We decline their offer.
Two baby blues with us today, Snipe's the FNG.
Why so serious?
Petrol station/garage. Been there, done that. Dicked EXALT.
Totally unsuspecting Floaters.
So let's use the Blaster Launcher on them.
Self guided, this is a massive upgrade from the Rocket Launcher. We no longer need line of sight to hit things.
SK finishes a Floater off.
Shop's shut, mate.
Shit.
These are Muton Elites. They're the last step up in the Muton line, armed with Heavy Plasma weapons. This is likely the game telling me that I've waited too damn long. This could hurt. But first, let's hurt them.
Badly.
Really badly.
Never mind about the hurting. No promotions, but whatever.
Muton Elites ain't so tough. They're something to consider, but not pants-wettingly difficult.
Everyone has a Firestorm now, so we're going to be good for UFO encounters.
Giving Fox's MEC-to-be an upgrade.
And that's the month. Note Japan. We'll do a mission there next month. That'll keep penic down. It's been seven months since the aliens attacked, and we're in a really strong position.
It's a good thing we've got the Firestorms. This UFO has been touted as huge and loaded.
nreeeoooooow
This is the massive ship. Looks like a Battleship. Equipped with the strongest weapon in the air, the fusion lance. Luckily, Firestorms tank shitloads of damage.
Boom. Got ourselves a mission. See you then.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

SUUUUPER SPEED RUN

This is going to be one of two posts before the Alien base mission. As a result, I'm going to be super condensing the missions. This will probably take us to 2016 in-game. Hopefully we'll have everyone at Sergeant by this point.

Unlike the last couple of posts, I'll be posting even fewer screenshots per mission. The majority of the reports will be written up rather than photographed.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

This mission took place on a battleship, nice and big with lots of points overlooking sections.
An interesting point in the mission was when Alex spotted a Mechtoid squad behind a raised platform. This gave us a turn to set up out of right, positioning Snipe and SK in prime positions for kills with the Assaults and PQ in support on the left flank.
Unfortunately, a Cyberdisc joined the party at exactly the wrong moment, meaning we had more on our plate that we expected.
However, with Alex and SH killing the Cyberdisc without trouble and Alex weakening the Mechtoid, we seemed to have the situation under control.
Progression through the Battleship was actually reasonably unhindered. Two sections were clear of enemies, but the third had a number of enemy squads.
Snipe's killcount was increasing throughout this mission, but he did not earn a promotion through combat.
Alex's sight is incredible. That Heavy Floater is a section and a half away.
Garo took a hit from a Berserker, but he's still okay and was happy to return the favour later. The rest of the mission went swimmingly.
SK and Snipe both earned promotions this mission, Snipe up to Corporal and SK to Colonel, becoming the seventh soldier to earn the top rank.
That said, his aim is still disgusting. We had rookies whose aim was better than that. However, he does now have the highest Will in the force, pipping PQ at 101. He'll learn to use Mayhem to ensure he gets some damage guaranteed.
Snipe will learn Squadsight to improve his own rifle skills. Hopefully his aim will not waver.
We'll use the Meld we have to upgrade FF's MEC one last time. Soon we'll encase him in armour and see how he fares.
I also opted to give Snipe some new eyes to improve his chances.
Meanwhile, the Council asks us to undertake a mission to escort a target to safety.
Since Snipe's in the genetics lab, we'll be taking VR with us to earn some promotions. Note: his aim is already better than SK's, so hopes are pretty high.
Operation Silent Empire will hit your screens this winter, only on FOX.
This is the scientist we've come to rescue. Dr Marazuki has been tracking UFO movements and has been working out where the aliens were from.
The main enemies here are Thin Men, so it should be a welcome source of popcorn targets to grind our Squaddie up.
I will never stop being amazed by Alex's range.
Despite his amazing work during the mission, VR hasn't earned a promotion this mission. Soon, though.
Terror Mission!
Taking the A-Team.
REVENGE KILL!
It's the cafe/bookshop map. Already run into resistance.
Oh... fuck

This is the Sectopod. A tank with legs, this is possibly the biggest fuckstick that the aliens have to offer us in terms of physical strength. Capable of firing multiple times in one turn, being in Overwatch constantly and with armour that reduces damage by about half, them exploding and dealing five damage to anyone in the surrounding area, this is one of two alien units that I truly fear in this game, the other being the very final type of alien.
MEC Particle Cannons do basically no damage to something with stupid amount of health.
Luckily, we have Alex with his Disabling Shot to save us a turn's shit. This should allow us to get Dabir into position with his EMP.
Unfortunately, our Assaults are going to have to pick up the pace. We need MMX over here as soon as possible, because Garo can only deal six damage per shot.
And it all goes to waste when a fucking Drone repairs it up.
We'll be able to remove all of the support for the Sectopod pretty swiftly. A Heavy Floater showed up but it won't be able to accomplish much.
Good riddance to annoying rubbish.
We've whittled the Sectopod down to health levels that are actually looking really hopeful for killing it in one turn. Getting Pure to suppress it just in case, but we'll have MMX Run 'n' Gunning this thing and Alex is on standby with both shots available.
MMX standing out of cover was our best option against something this horrible because I want this thing dead and I'm sure it can be done.
YES! FUCKING TAKE IT, YOU SHITLORD!
That set the tone of the rest for the mission. We have a Sectopod to autopsy; let's get to it.
Overall a very uninteresting autopsy. All we know is that these fuckers endanger the entire squad if they're present. We lucked out with how many were supporting it.
We have a UFO landing and Snipe's back on form. Let's get down to business.
Holy fires, Batman!
The target UFO is a large scout. Still disc-shaped, but reasonably large, this shouldn't be a problem.
Snipe's taking after Alex's skills here. I can't believe I used to be too fussed about Squadsight.
"E-lite on your feet, aren't you."
Snipe got a promotion! He is now a sergeant!
Mechtoid arrives to sour the mood.
Alex can hit the Mechtoid and Sectoid through holes in the goddamn ship. Fucking Squadsight, man.
And Garo gets a confirmed kill on the Mechtoid.
The mission was a success... as was Snipe's nickname. I like it.
Giving Snipe Damn Good Ground to exploit heights. We'll look into taking VR next time.
We've improved the Arc Thrower, too, so we should be good at capturing anything that requires capturing. There are two such aliens I want in custody, both psychic and both yet to appear.
A perfect rap sheet for the month.
The Firestorm barely took any damage at all from three direct hits. You gotta love the new ship.
As advertised, VR is with us today. He should gain ample experience with this.
Fine weather today, isn't it?
It's a night time forest map, like most of the UFO crash sites. Some difficult territory and enemies as you'd expect.
An early Mechtoid pair and a pair of seekers turns up to try and rock the boat.
VR earns a promotion by killing a Muton Elite.
The rest of the mission played out as you'd expect.
I'm giving VR the ability Bullet Swarm, meaning he's essentially a less mobile but more dependable MEC trooper. His aim's outstanding, but didn't increase that much from his last rank. We'll call it a day there; we've accomplished a lot.
Last edited by ShadowSpectre on Thu May 29, 2014 5:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

Superspeed 2.0; I'm sure you're as bored as I am of constant mission reports where not very much happens. These will be heavily abrdiged missions resulting in a very short post.
dat's a fart amirite

iamrite

medic

(mission otherwise a success)
HOLY SHIT, VR'S NICKNAME

HOLY SHIT
Giving him the Shredder Rocket, an ability we haven't seen yet. It's basically a very good debuff for the Heavy, but I've yet to see how well it works with the rest of the squad.
This will be our chance to see how it works. Taking Zarro with us; he's our final Squaddie we want to promote to sergeant.
Yes, we are.
Okay, so the Shredder's range is about that of the normal rocket. It also makes the soldier who fired it make a comment about how much this is about to hurt.
It does appear to improve the damage by an amount; the first shot against this Muton Elite dropped it to one health. Don't feel like it's worth running for most of the time, though.
SK is no longer the soldier with the worst aim on the team! It's a shame that that is an achievement for a Colonel.
Zarro earned a promotion in-mission.
SK's Mayhem ability allows this to happen. It's not much, but it's a start to let Zarro take the kill because his aim is disgraceful.
It says a lot that we can afford to take risks like that and come away unscathed.
Zarro gets Holo-Targeting. It's such a useful ability for a Heavy to have.
I've put all of the snipers in for genetic modifications, now. I have a plan for them all that I hope to be able to put into effect at a later date.
Another perfect month.
We welcome Ebo back into the fold.
Awkward.
So, what was it that I wanted with the snipers? I wanted to give them all Mimetic Skin. Why? Well... What can you do against a killer you can't see? I want to make a squad of ghosts who can slay entire enemy squads before they can do anything at all. That's what I hope to be able to do, but I'll need a team of as many snipers as possible. Perhaps a couple of Supports to back them up.
Seems that promotions are pretty liberal today. Check out Zarro's nickname, there; Strobe. Seems like the lights are on, but people are home and they're raving 'til the sun goes down.
Ebo gets Disabling Shot while Zarro gets Suppression.

So, Zarro's promotion means that everybody's at Sergeant rank. Know what that means? I've completed my personal objective to promote everyone to Sergeant. We can go ahead with the story now.

But before that, some housekeeping.
I'm going to augment FF now so he can actually use the flamethrower MEC he has waiting for him. Hopefully it'll be of some interest.
I've also been building Firestorms in the background of the missions; I'm going to be putting three on each continent, two combat and one with an EMP cannon, another type of aircraft weapon that increases the likelihood of more loot from downed UFOs.
I'm also giving the snipers Archangel armour for whenever they're ready. This is mostly likely just a pipe dream since it'll take a long, long time to actually get anywhere with promoting these soldiers to Colonel.

At any rate, I'm sure we'll have opportunities aplenty.

Let's remember that our next deployment...
... will be here. See you next time.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

And away we go.
Let's make sure we do this right. The Alien Base is an extremely long complex with plenty of opportunities to fuck up. The squads in this are semi-randomised; where they turn up is heavily varied, what's in them is less so, but still not certain. You'll have noticed that I left the Arc Thrower at home. We'll have plenty of other opportunities for it after this mission; I just want to get this one over and done with first.
And we're in. The Skeleton Key did its... job. Whatever it was.
I'm going to be using Alex's scouting skills a lot; sending him into a potentially sticky situation first to try and neutralise higher level threats before they even get a chance to respond, then send in the heavies.
Annoyingly, cover in here is pretty liberally spaced. There's a high chance snipers won't have sight over everything from a ground spot.
On the other hand, the targets they can see are usually so fucked that it isn't relevant anyway.
Some interesting points here about the base. This is the only Alien Base assault in XCOM; the original games had several.
There are loads of platforms allowing for interesting lines of sight between sections. An awful lot of them let you view two sections at once. Of course, those sight lines work both ways.
There do tend to be huge simultaneous doorways between sections, meaning you're best served splitting your forces if you don't want to be outmanoeuvred.
Another interesting fact is that this map is markedly different to the one in Enemy Unknown; more raised platforms, better sight lines and alternate routes all derived from improvements to balance and rewarding tactical thinking were considered.
A turn's grace gives us the chance to destroy the drone accompanying the Sectopod and damage it slightly, as well as whittle away at the Floaters.
Pure's a godsend, honestly.
MMX's sidearm is a trusty one.
We aren't getting anywhere with this fucking tank.
At least Alex can clear house.
Jesus.
Pure's suppression works a treat.
He gets the honour of the killshot.
Eat that, you little shit.
I'm not actually sure what the weird intestinal tracts are underneath the base. It's never explained.
These weird things are also badly explained. I think they ended up being strange sources of food.
Stack up.
Pair of Chryssalids spotted. Dead.
Cyberdisc squad spotted. Dead.
That thing we can see in the darkness is the plot device. It's indestructible, so that's some degree of reassurance.
Note the Sectoid with... an awful lot of health. That's something new.
This is the Sectoid Commander. One of the more dangerous species of alien, Sectoid Commanders have access to psychic powers- including mind control.
However, I don't intend to let it use those powers. Not today. Sleep tight.
Note what Shen has to say. This will become very important soon.
Woooooo! Go team!
Well, well, well. It seems that Dr Vahlen's a little... apprehensive. We'll see why soon. Until then.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

It really is a gorgeous device.

The true value of the hyperwave beacon won't become clear until we research it and then build a special facility for it. But for now, we can cut the Sectoid Commander apart.
This completes the next phase of work: psionic laboratories. This is the last step in the ascension of man.
The psionic laboratory is a plot-critical build for us. We can't get anywhere without it. We'll see its workings in a few days.
More Firestorms ready. Shipping out.
We can also build some Fusion Lances. Turns out we didn't need fusion cores like I thought we did.
It's the best weapon, hands down. Even the game tells you that it'll shoot down anything.
Our research is complete. We can now build the Hyperwave Relay.
This facility will allow us to have a wiretap in the aliens' communications. It's intelligence gold. We'll see it in two weeks.
Firefox has become the dreadnought he was destined to be. Burn, baby, burn.
We have a Council Mission... Asset Recovery? This is new.
Going to send the top team in for this, just in case.
Technically this is about as easy as council missions get. Drop in, kill bad guys. Basically an abduction.
A truckyard is our destination. Let's get going.
Two groups of sectoids. This is gonna be a piece of piss.
Fuckin' shit, lad.
Dick 'em, Flan.
So much dicking.
All we get are goddamn Sectoids. Should have brought a bloody Sergeant.
Well. That was a disappointment.
A new research project we can undertake is the Ghost Armour project. This is actually amazing stuff. Doesn't protect as well as Titan, but who cares? You'll be invisible!
Ghost Armour is basically four turns of Mimetic Skin without the caveat that you can't start in an enemy's line of sight. You have to end up in cover, but when you activate it, you're invisible.
Roooooaaaar, Terror In Nagoya!
I'm sending Firefox on this mission so you can see the flamethrower.
This map's a pretty stupid one. I think we might have come across it before, but perhaps not.
Well, pretty much immediately, Alex spots a Sectopod. This is gonna suck.
PQ awakens a pod of Chryssalids.
Garo saves our ass once again.
As does Pure.
Mutons tho :c
Pure's suppression's a good 'un.
Unfortunately a Berserker gets through to deck MMX.
Sectopod's weapon is disabled, and Alex has a second shot against it.
... wat.

How do you miss with a shotgun?
At least the drones can't repair the Sectopod.
"You're about to float to heaven."
Shit. Forgot that Sectopods explode. MMX is hit again.
This is why we want him alive. He's hiding in a store.
"Setting punch to spin cycle."
Here's the flamethrower's effect text. It's... quite worrying, actually, causes panic in anything in the radius.
JESUS
Holy fuck.
Yeah, you better promote Fox.
Jetboots because never not jetboots.
MMX returns to duty just in time for a UFO encounter. We splash it, no problems. Attack next time. Over and out.
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

Firestorm with lance has next to no trouble downing the UFO.
Switching it up for the team. Pure's the commanding officer in this one, with Alex as his right hand man. Also on mission are VR, IE, Kin and Dabir. Going to try and indulge in the idea of using snipers more; IE may well gain a spot in the top rank squad. We're also giving Pure an Arc Thrower; you'll see why soon.
Rock on.
We've given Pure the stun gun because something will be different this mission and it's because we've just assaulted the alien base.
It involves a change to the type of alien that appears to us. See, normally, we'd have ships crewed by your usual motley of Mutons and Outsiders, but we have an upgrade of pace from the aliens now we're off the back foot.
And it involves these fuckers.

See, Outsiders stop appearing from this point. Remember they were basically communications aliens. Now we're upping the ante, there's no need for a middle man.
This makes these UFO missions a lot more dangerous; we need to be ready to expect pretty much anything because there's a new dyamic to the game: mind control.

Mind Control and other psychic abilities are calculated through the Will stat. This is why I was so impressed with SK and Pure; their massive Wills would do very well if they turned up positive for psychic ability. Your will minus theirs is, in essence, the percentage chance. There's more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. Unfortunately, the alien psychic troops are very, very good at this game, too.
"I do mind."
VR, back to his senses, is ready to dole out some heavy damage.
Kin earns herself a promotion with a kill from behind.
"Guilty as you charged."
Sectoid Commander fails to persuade Dabir. Note that MEC trooper Will is generally very high, but it's not impossible to mind control one, which is a terrifying thought.
Alex's fucking incredible.
"Meet my Unidentified Fisting Object."
Well, here goes nothing.
A very creepy "Looks like you're coming home with us~" from Pure makes me incredibly worried about his plans on the Skyranger ride home.
The two snipers finish up.
Two deserved promotions.
Kin receives the ability to crit on Overwatch, a skill invaluable to a sniper with Mimetic Skin.
VR gets HEAT ammo; we don't want to rely on his already very good aim too much, but HEAT would be very appreciated against Sectopods.
We also now have the opportunity to interrogate the Sectoid Commander. I'm unsure what benefits this will bring, but it's a welcome addition.
Not very much, then. Oh well.
Aha. Our Psionic Labs are complete. This is an important development.
Psionic Testing is similar to genetic modification and augmentation as systems, but it's important to note that there is a chance to fail this test. The higher your will, the more likely it is you're psychic. MEC troopers aren't eligible for this, and there's a Second Wave option to stop genetically modified troops ineligible for this as well. It takes ten full days for testing to complete, but we'll wait a while, I think.
For now, I'm doing a little housekeeping. Alex is back in Titan armour, boosting his health slightly, Pure's equipment is back to standard, and so on.
Back to business. Hey, it's almost Christmas!
Huh?
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Re: XCOM: UFF Defence

Post by ShadowSpectre »

If we don't hold the line here, any hope we had of stopping the alien invasion will be lost. The future of XCOM literally depends on this mission.
In the original X-Com games, base defence missions were much more common. This is the only instance in Enemy Within.
This level is probably my favourite in the game. It's just got so much character. There are multiple sections here, like many other areas; a rear guard post (as seen below), this main control room, a mech bay beyond where cargo is moved and a loading bay out back.
There are plenty of areas that require defending, meaning that being flanked is a massive danger.
The primary issue is the insertion of aliens straight into the centre. These tend to be the shock troops; Berserkers, Chryssalids and the like.
The troops we receive are the top handful of soldiers in our barracks and a couple of XCOM base security personnel. These are expendable rookies whose main job is to supply grenades and act as cannon fodder while our soldiers pick off the tougher foes. Losing them has no consequence in the strategic game; they don't appear on soldier memorials and their survival isn't associated with any achievement. They still cause a decrease in will when they're killed, though, so there's still a potential for panic.
We have control of Alex, Garo and Pure at the moment as well as two security soldiers, one Jalani Mazibuko and Mina Visser. I don't expect them to survive the first wave, especially since we're lacking Dabir or Flan; MECs would be highly useful, especially with Flan's proximity mines.
Our first course of action is to put Alex on a platform overseeing the area; we need the height advantage badly.
These spots of dirt are where aliens will drop in from vents in the ceiling. Having them covered is a large part of fending off the assault.
Garo's Close Combat Specialist ability is going to be a lifesaver here. The ability to drop melee troops is important in the first stage of this defence.

Let's get started. Deep breaths.
Chryssalid drops in and is the target of most Overwatches.
Two Sectoids drop down on the top balcony but one was taken down by Jalani. The second is about to get it, too.
This Mechtoid could be trouble.
This Commander will be even more trouble.
A berserker wil likely cause some strife in a turn or two's time.
This Mechtoid could have used a shot in the face instead of the whole squad gangbanging the Chryssalid.
Bollocks to this Commander.
At least we have Flan ready to aid us, as well as two more security personnel. That's four more grenades at our disposal.
I've peeled off Garo to take down the Commander; neglecting the centre Mechtoid should indicate to you how important taking down this alien is. He can also be the first line of defence against the flying troops.
Thankfully, Mina's got eyes on the Mechtoid that was near Garo; it's also in Alex's sights.
And it's down! Courtesy of Alex's splendid shots.
This Mechtoid's a real problem.
"J'ai fini et vous avez fini."
A moment's breathing space; the Berserker destroys some cover and the Commander moves up.
Okay. This is how it's gonna work. Pure attacks the Berserker and moves it towards him.
Base security soldier Zahara Kotsi grenades both enemies.
Fingers crossed.
TAKE IT, FUCKNUTS!
Cataval Diope seals the deal with a grenade. This side of the control room is secure.
Garo makes a move to the roof of the station and reloads, ready for plenty of shooting.
Two security personnel in support. Let's go.
Okay... no activity. One more turn's space. I'm leaving Alex in here to clear house when needed.
Pure heads up top to deal with the situation that's developing there.
Putting both of the soldiers that came in with Flan to look out into the mech bay for anything that comes through.
Another pile of dirt, another problem. Flan's on it.
Here's a view of the mech bay. It's got some interesting platform cover and a lot of... crates.
A Chryssalid takes it up the ass while a Sectoid gets the drop behind Flan.
Another bug to hunt.
Pure and Zahara squash it.
"J'avance, vous retraitez."
The base security take their posts.
Garo watches all.
And Alex watches for good measure. Incoming!
Floater down!
The other Floater survives.
... never mind.
The first Cyberdisc manages to evade Garo's wrath, the second doesn't.
A Drone bites the dust.
Two Seekers turn up, one survives.
A Heavy Floater joins the team, leaving us in a sticky position, but with a little less to worry about. Great work, Garo. I'm pulling him back to command where Alex can watch him for a turn.
Base security do their job; Jalani's grenade damages three in one.
Moved Alex to a better spot.
Pure and Flan need a resupply. Their base security will Overwatch this round.
Mina throws a grenade, hitting the same three Jalani managed. This reduces the enemies on that side to two Cyberdiscs and a Heavy Floater; much better than having to contend with so many different targets.
One Cyberdisc makes a move with murderous intent; Alex's pistol shots don't dissuade it.
Farewell, Jalani. You did good, son.
Mina just about makes it through without dying! She's truly a survivalist.
The death of Jalani invokes more reinforcements; the game won't let me have more than about eight soldiers at any one time, so hopefully we'll be getting a second MEC trooper through next turn. If Mina doesn't make it, which, let's be fair, is pretty likely, we might get a second soldier.
But let's eke out her game as long as possible. Alex takes down the flanking Cyberdisc.
This isn't a good enough shot for me, so I'll use the last grenade.
Oh wow, Jalani's stuck in the wall. Anyway, that's Mina's turn done. Hopefully she'll make it through, but she's used both of her grenades now, so that's about as guaranteed as her contributions will get.
Pure and Cataval make a stand in the mech bay; Flan and Zahara back them up on the right flank.
Garo reloads, ready to take down the fliers if they come through.
Mina... somehow defies the odds and survives. The Floater wastes its turn by merely moving up to flank her.
She's alive and well, and I have no idea how.
But Alex has no shots; short of lucking out against the Heavy Floater, Mina is unlikely to make it to the next turn.
I'm thinking about retreating Garo... but I've grown quite attached to Mina. There must be something we can do...
I think I have a solution.
Oh my God. This might actually work.
YES! Garo can get them! Fantastic, Mina will live!
Since the kill is guaranteed, I must give this a try before I do it; Mina takes a pistol shot against the Heavy Floater.
Mina, you wonderful, wonderful woman.
All that remains is taking down the Cyberdisc. Amazing work, guys.
We got Dabir out at the start of the round. He brings no new security because he's all the security we'll need.
We have new mounds of dirt forming in mech bay, so that's where we'll deploy him.
Flan is guaranteed a hit against whatever it is that drops in there.
We do what we can to ensure the base security soldiers we have are useful to us.
Pure's going over here to provide a different viewpoint.
I'll engage Dabir's boots to give him a little elevation this round.
This means he can take care of whatever it is that drops onto that pile there. Okay, that's everything. Let's get to work.
Mutons! Shitloads of them!
Happily, we can now retrieve the soldiers we left in command, a sharp burst of reinforcements for the vanguard.
Alex repositions.
... there's just too many of them. Someone is going to take a hit before we can deck everyone.
Let's try what we can. Flan prepares to punch a Muton.
Cataval grenades another.
Pure's aim is true.
A second grenade from Zahara weakens but doesn't kill another Muton. I fear we may lose her.
"I bay for your blood."
"Muton est muet."
Garo and Mina move up.
I'm really proud of Mina. I wish she could join the team. I feel she's worthy of being an honorary UFF member thanks to her incredible survival so far.
Enemy turn... oh dear.
I'm sorry, Zahara.
Rest in peace, Cataval.
We'll get 'em. Run and gun, Garo.
Knock, knock.
This Berserker didn't know what hit him.
But he'll know what's gonna kill him.
Sit down, you fat shit.
Pure softens the Berserker up for a robot to cop.
Oh, man, this is beautiful. Imagine this Berserker, raging at Pure when suddenly PINK
PUNCH
"Thought I'd drop in."
With that out of the way, we move Flan up and reload her to maximum capacity.
This round is another cooldown round; I intend to reload and move everyone up.
Unless they don't need to, in which case, I'm dashing them to forward positions.
There are still some enemies dropping in, which is why we need to be sharp, but we can afford this turn to rest.
Pure moves up to support Dabir.
Garo can't make it all the way to the other dirt pile this turn, but he can get pretty close.
Flan can get even closer, though.
Mina's the last to move; her range is pretty poor.
A clutch of Chryssalids emerges from the vents. Flan takes one down, but there are still some to go.
Haaaaa, Alex killsteals from under Flan's nose.
"Squish."
Pure takes up a really forwards position.
A furious Flan takes up Overwatch.
Mina runs, but still doesn't get far enough.
Garo rearms, ready to unload his entire clip again.
The mech bay is secure. The forward security checkpoint is next in line for attack, and we have reinforcements inbound next turn.
Mina finally makes it to the front line.
Pure and Garo take point.
Alex brings up the rear.
Flan mines the way in as preparation for the wave.
And I take a pretty risky decision to put Dabir right up at the front to be a vanguard. Let's see if it pays off.
MMX! A welcome addition to the group.
No new contacts this turn, so we make some housekeeping changes. Garo moves up to perform the same task as he did with the flying troops.
Mina takes a nearby spot.
Dabir goes into Overwatch.
Pure does, too.
Base security Aya Mufaddal makes her way to basically where Pure was before. She brings two fresh grenades with her, so that's useful.
Alex makes his way up top.
MMX takes a position from which he can move swiftly to either tunnel.
Flan completes the circuit with an Overwatch. Here we go; good luck, everyone.
A drone perishes in the blast of the mine and its comrade makes its way forwards...
... only to be met by Dabir and Flan dicking it from range.
A Sectoid Commander turns up and Pure misses his shot against it...
... as well as missing a shot against a Cyberdisc.
... that's a bit useless. I'm not sure whether this is the last wave or not. We've had no Sectopods and I don't know whether that should be the case this late in the game.
Putting MMX on the roof to make sure, just in case he's needed.
Dabir explodes safely.
A disabled Cyberdisc is not bad news.
Aya's shot isn't terrible, to be fair; it deals two damage.
Mina kills the Sectoid. She has been an absolute star this game.
Garo runs to gun again and by Jove, I think he can kill the Commander.
Oh, yes.
Walloped. All that leaves is the Cyberdisc.
As we could assume that Flan's being trolly as usual, I make him leave a mine on the Cyberdisc; Dabir's currently in the blast radius. He can move out, but he can't take a melee kill from this because that'll activate the mine.
Pure reloads. Here comes the very last wave of ene-
-mies.

Bollocks.
Garo fucks up a Mechtoid.
... what's this?

This is the Ethereal. The top ranking alien in the hierarchy, its psychic powers are beyond compare. Able to use mind control on pretty much anything and able to use unique psychic attacks that can blast entire areas like rockets, Ethereals are some of the most dangerous aliens in the game.
And this one's brought its dog.
I'm actually quite excited about this; I've read about this happenstance but this is the first time it's happened in my time playing Enemy Within. Usually I get Sectopods at this stage and those NEVER die. Ethereals are still very, very dangerous, though, but they're the top gun the aliens have, so it actually feels really fitting that it turned up in this mission for XCOM's future.

We need to kill that Ethereal as fast as we can, before it starts to wreak havoc; anything and everything changes with that fucker on the loo-
oh.
never mind.
This is why snipers are incredible at the highest levels. Genuinely fantastic.
Ethereals have interesting death sequences. Mina deals with the Sectoid, leaving us to deal with the rest of the problems.
So-called problems.
"Command this."
So, we have a Mechtoid who is chronically fucked and a cyberdisc waiting to get punched...
... but let's switch it up.
"Detruisez tous; c'est une obligation."
And let's deprive MMX of any action whatsoever.
Wrecked.
Motherfucker. We lost three good soldiers, Jalani, Zahara and Cataval, but their sacrifice made our job defending the base that much easier. Wow.
We made it.
Completing this mission gives us a unique medal; the Star of Terra, soon to be renamed. We only ever get one of these medals.
Fuck. I'm out.
Loads of corpses from this mission, somewhat unsurprisingly.

Fuck. I'm out. Peace.
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