Using Blaster Launchers

[SJimenez]

Okay, I was attacking the sectoid base, and I was doing my usual wimp-mop-up team (Just a bunch of riflemen supported by my 4 "elite" psions with 99 psi each) when I stumbled across this little sectoid with a blaster launcher. I thought "cool. There are 5 aliens half-way across the base..." and I turned to launch the bomb down the hallway, swerve to the left, past my guy turn to the left again, through the cave, down another hallway and finally hit the guy in the middle. Well, the problem happened is the Sectoid turned, shot the wall and exploded. Now, I did get to kill an alien, but that seemed kinda useless considering I was about to kill 5 and had a rifleman right behind him ready to shoot. How do you use these things?

[Snakeman]

If your using the CE version, I do know there's a problem with firing it for some angles (and probably up/down). I think the trick here is to plot carefully especially around bends in corridors. For up/down, I think it'll work if you plot your second waypoint to be above/below but one square away on the next level.

 

Be careful though. Once I had only plotted one way point from a man positioned on my ship to a crowd of aliens I'd wrangled with psi. I may have had a second waypoint, not sure, but what happened was the blaster bomb boomeranged back to my people on the ship and made a mess

 

If your using DOS version, I don't recall any particulars, but I think that one was working.

[Hamato]

What do you mean? Do you already know how to set waypoints? I guess so but I'll try to explain anyway. Here we go.

 

As you know the Blaster Launcher can fire around corners, up, down and what not. Select the soldier with the Launcher, click the weapon, select the option to fire. Then you get the usual cross hairs. When you now click any point on the battlescape you set a waypoint, clicking anywhere else sets another and so on. You can set up to 9 waypoints. When you've set all your waypoints, you have to click the button on the upper right, which appears there after setting the first waypoint, telling to fire the blaster bomb. Now the blaster bomb will fly from the soldier to the first waypoint and then to the other waypoints in the order you placed them. If it hits anything on its way, it will explode. If it doesn't, it will fly straight ahead from the last waypoint until it hits something or leaves the map.

 

Now if you knew all that I'm sorry. But then I can tell that there are some things you should think of before firing that blaster bomb:

- as Snakeman mentioned, a blaster bomb doesn't want to be shot straight up or down when playing the CE. If you want to do that you'll have to set the next waypoint at least one square away in the other level.

- the blaster bombs won't fly the correct way most of the time. When targeting the next waypoint the blaster bombs way will have a small angle to the correct way meaning it'll fly a bit to the left or right (not sure for up and down). So for example in an alien base with those narrow corridors it's best to let a blaster bomb zigzag a bit by setting some extra waypoints because when a blaster bomb is near it's next waypoint (but about to fly past it) and there's still another one it will mystically "warp" into the waypoint and from there continue its way to the next.

Maybe this is the reason for your alien blasting itself?

[jman4117]

If you go vertical along the way the bomb will fly south from that point. If it goes off the edge without hitting anything, it will warp to the next waypoint and continue on to the target. Quite usefull if you want to go farther than 9 wayppoints will allow.

[[NKF]]

CE vertical movement bug and the drift of the projectile between waypoints aside (although, they MUST be taken into consideration at all times):

 

I think the key point is to give your waypoints lots of space. As mentioned earlier, go in a zig-zag pattern rather than in a straight line (for tight spaces) and if you really must have it move tightly past a bunch of your own soldiers, use as many waypoints as you can to get it past them - or, just get them to move out of the way.

 

- NKF

[Adun_Toridas]

I use them as artillery bombings... up and down, you know the best way to provide that weapon as a cool and good way to have assured entertainment.

[Zombie]

I use the Blaster Launcher mostly for the entertainment value as well. There is nothing funnier than herding up 9 Mutons in a square and then blasting the heck out of the center one. The mass death screams are sadistically satisfying.

 

Another use is in retaliation. If the aliens decide to shell my men, I shell them right back. But I send about 5 bombs to make sure I hit the smarta$$. I also use the Fusion Missiles from the Fusion Hovertank to nuke the command center of an alien base if I really don't feel like playing the mission. Five of them are usually necessary though (1 for each of the command tables and one to punch a hole in the security wall lining the inner area of the lower part of the module. Since you can't bring 5 tanks along on a mission, I equip one of my men with a Blaster Launcher to cut a hole in the wall first, then the tanks can clean up - all in one round. (You can sometimes get lucky where you don't need the initial bomb, but I always end up being a couple waypoints short of hitting the intended area so that initial bomb can save you a few). Goes without saying that a Blaster Bomb is great for nuking the Hangar in an X-COM base defense mission.

 

I don't use the Blaster Launcher much on normal UFO missions, but they can be handy when you are dealing with Ethereals. A couple bombs sent to the bridge will usually prevent the aliens from getting a strong foothold and allow you to take the upper hand before the Psi attacks begin. Need I say that Blaster Bombs are really effective for Sectopod killers? Didn't think so.

 

- Zombie

[[NKF]]

Rather than one blaster bomb per table, why not just use one bomb to destroy two sets of tables by targetting half way between them? That usually works, but I guess it's not terribly thorough.

 

- NKF

[Zombie]

Yeah, a couple would normally work, but I had a few times where a table was unexploded (it's sometimes hard to target the midpoint due to the fog of war). I find it much easier to fire 4 bombs in there to make sure everything is gone. And in a Muton base, those extra explosions are guaranteed to drop all the aliens stationed upstairs. Might as well take a few of them out before dusting off from a surgical strike.

 

- Zombie

[Crafty]

If you're not looking to capture a Sectoid leader, and you're dealing with a sectoid supply ship (especially with rooks on board), it's worth it to spend two blaster bombs to (1) bust open the bridge from the top, and (2) take out the leader. Don't screw up and send in flying suits from the top, though, since some jackass survivor might be hanging around to ambush you. Either send in extra explosives or take the top level in the usual manner, coming up through the lift. Better survival rate.