Saving Rookie Ryan

[Warface]

Okay so I have this virtually maxed-out game going with teams set up for both Psi and non-Psi. I have two non-Psi teams I use whenever I can, but I use my Psi teams against terror ships, battleships, and bases.

 

I really love using the non-Psi teams -- 26 rookies with laser rifles and personal armor were actually responsible for the first base invasion (floaters) and acquiring the first blaster launchers in this particular game. They were produced by my first manufacturing base shortly after it became fully operational, slapped together for this particular operation like a boatload of WWII draftees and launched into action. They managed to storm the base with only 3 or 4 losses, and miraculously whatever blasters were used against them were misfired. (NO reloading)

 

Some time later, the survivors and successors of those original 26 are now an 18-man team with blaster tanks, blaster troops, heavy plasma riflemen, and power armor in large supply. They routinely clear any ship up to and including regularly-scheduled supply ships, averaging probably one loss per raid.

 

So this morning I decide to send them after one of two muton battleships infiltrating their home territory (just for the elerium), thinking it will be a heroic effort with multiple losses and lots of explosions but in the end a grim victory for the non-psi vets.

 

What happened instead made me quit the game almost immediately to write this post.

 

I dropped two smoke on round 1, one on on the ramp and one in the Avenger, only moving one tank out. On round 2 I spotted a muton and shot it. Moved one tank out on level 1 (air) and one tank and two soldiers to level 0 (ground). Both still in smoke. Ended the turn.

 

Alien round 2. A blaster bomb ENTERS the Avenger, ignoring the tanks, killing the entire crew except four people. Another blaster bomb hits the tank on the GROUND, killing it and the soldiers.

 

I actually aborted the mission and planned to take the loss, but I couldn't bring myself to save the game and instead quit (since I can't window CE to use the internet). Honestly I could easily have suffered the loss without even flinching, as I have over $100 million, dozens of ranked troops with high Psi, plenty of elerium, etc from all the ships I've cleared WITHOUT reloading. I was just so pissed.

 

I usually only take on battleships with Psi-strong troops, but I can remember clearing some in the past without Psi and without being instantly blasted before it was even possible to get out of the ship and two smoke bombs centered on the craft exit on two levels.

 

Any comments/reflections?

[Warface]

Bump.

 

Anyone know why this happens/how to avoid it?

 

By the way I retried the mission again that night with the same crew. This time, the only blaster they fired, again on round 2, appeared to target a MUTON. An alien-controlled muton. Perhaps another misfire. I completed the mission without a single casualty with the non-psi crew and mopped up the second battleship with a psi crew (who ironically lost one of their "decoy" infantry at the end to a lone vigilante muton).

[[NKF]]

Blasters into the back of the Skyranger is an unfortunate reality. Hence the often given advice: Save often.

 

Unless your save/reload policy is excessively hardcore, many tend to agree that the blaster bomb into the back of the Skyranger is one of those few occasions where reloading is acceptable.

 

- NKF

[Warface]

Thanks for the reply, NKF.

 

My no-reload thing was getting pretty hardcore until this. I save frequently in the Geoscape to minimize certain utterly ridiculous human errors (I've loaded brand-new Avengers with full crew but no gear, for example, or sent the wrong craft to the wrong sites) -- and then there are game crashes as well, so. But in the Battlescape I've been pretty accustomed to not reloading, so this was a big hit to my pride.

 

But yeah, since our "decapitating strikes" are usually limited to 1-2 command crew regardless of the game turn, I think it's a bit cheap that they could put the bomb inside the craft so early and through 2 layers of smoke -- with troops already outside the craft as well. I suppose that's where I draw the line, although I'm considering just absorbing the loss next time it happens.

[Zombie]

Any comments/reflections?

 

Anyone know why this happens/how to avoid it?

What difficulty level are you playing at? On Beginner the aliens are a lot more tame than on Superhuman. Rarely do I ever see a Blaster Bomb come flying my way on the first or second rounds on Beginner. (Maybe it's just me, but I found the aliens to be a lot smarter in the PSX version of the game though).

 

Whatever the case, there isn't much you can do to prevent it. If you have Blaster Bombs, you could preemptively nuke the bridge and the area around it the first few turns to soften the aliens up. That will probably get the worst of them, but there may be one or two Engineers who will be hiding in the engine rooms which are carrying a Blaster Launcher as well. Can't really nuke any of the legs which survived the crash as it'll destroy the Elerium and Power Sources too. I guess you just have to spread out as much as possible as soon as you can and hope it'll be enough. Could try reloading the game (yes it's frowned upon, but I certainly will not fault anyone who decides to do this), as the aliens might not fire off a bomb.

 

By the way I retried the mission again that night with the same crew. This time, the only blaster they fired, again on round 2, appeared to target a MUTON. An alien-controlled muton. Perhaps another misfire. I completed the mission without a single casualty with the non-psi crew and mopped up the second battleship with a psi crew (who ironically lost one of their "decoy" infantry at the end to a lone vigilante muton).

The Blaster Launcher is pretty inaccurate in the hands of anyone (and especially the aliens) so it's surprising that we don't see more friendly fire "accidents". But certainly the aliens aren't targeting themselves, like you said it's just a misfire.

 

- Zombie

[Warface]

What difficulty level are you playing at? On Beginner the aliens are a lot more tame than on Superhuman. Rarely do I ever see a Blaster Bomb come flying my way on the first or second rounds on Beginner. (Maybe it's just me, but I found the aliens to be a lot smarter in the PSX version of the game though).

Collector's edition with Seb's loader; superhuman (always).

 

Whatever the case, there isn't much you can do to prevent it. If you have Blaster Bombs, you could preemptively nuke the bridge and the area around it the first few turns to soften the aliens up. That will probably get the worst of them, but there may be one or two Engineers who will be hiding in the engine rooms which are carrying a Blaster Launcher as well.

Decapitating strikes to the bridge/command room with blaster bombs are S.O.P. Seeing as there wasn't enough time for more than a few soldiers to get clear of the craft, and the entry lift was not even in sight, it must have been an engineer running around outside.

 

I guess you just have to spread out as much as possible as soon as you can and hope it'll be enough.

Two turns is hardly enough to get spread out (without inviting even more blasters, frags, plasma, etc.). Turn 1, smoke was deployed; Turn 2, tanks and scouts were unloaded.

 

Could try reloading the game (yes it's frowned upon, but I certainly will not fault anyone who decides to do this), as the aliens might not fire off a bomb.

All games have been saved in the Geoscape, so every scenario I run will be different.

 

I think the moral of the story is The Computer is a Cheating Bastard.

 

Therefore, all battleship assaults will be preempted by saving in the Geoscape.

[Tiruas]

The reason why this is even possible is the "free look" ability the aliens have on turn 1 & 20...

 

they automatically know where you are & what your stats are... period on turns 1 & 20 + however long they can "remember"

 

for this reason even with smoke or whatever you are capable of getting a blaster bomb inside your craft...

 

in TFTD i think that's a big reason behind your lander having a door which shuts to protect it (although being inside it is not at all safe either in TFTD)

 

regardless, this is due to their programming, but it is definately "cheating" as far as i'm concerned... so if you wanna reload until they don't feel like cheating... *shrugs* who's to say there's any shame in that?

[Warface]

Blasters into the back of the Skyranger is an unfortunate reality.

Whatever the case, there isn't much you can do to prevent it.

The reason why this is even possible is the "free look" ability the aliens have on turn 1 & 20...

 

they automatically know where you are & what your stats are... period on turns 1 & 20 + however long they can "remember"

 

for this reason even with smoke or whatever you are capable of getting a blaster bomb inside your craft...

 

The real question, then, is, why don't they do it every time?

[Zombie]

Alien AI is a strange and confusing thing. There is quite a bit of randomness involved in the game so any number of factors could play a role. But yeah, if they know your location from the start you would think that they would send a nuke on the initial turn.

 

- Zombie

[Tiruas]

Alien AI is a strange and confusing thing. There is quite a bit of randomness involved in the game so any number of factors could play a role. But yeah, if they know your location from the start you would think that they would send a nuke on the initial turn.

 

- Zombie

 

 

i would say the factors involved in this are

 

1- difficulty level, you're not gonna get nuked on turn 2 inside your skyranger on "beginner"

2- path of the bomb, if you're trying to chart a path from the top of a battleship & into the xcom ship,

A- is it even possible (i.e. are the ufo doors open, both upstairs and downstairs)

B- is it plausible in 8 waypoints or not?

C- is it too risky a path (although aliens tend to friendly fire alot with launchers so maybe risky isn't a factor)

 

if it's just a random alien, and he's carry it outside the ship, therefore it's 100% possible from the beginning,

you'd have to wonder why he didn't... if he didn't...