49 replies to this topic

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Just wondering who else does what I do.
Ive used all four of these although I prefer using Squads of Snipers and Squads of fast weapons, then squads of stunners, but combining all of these into one large squad, occassionally splitting the marsec squad away from the others and using the stunners to hold doors down, and setting snipers lengthwise in the hallway. then opening the door with a stunner laying down.

This can cause some Very fun battles

[Aiki-Knight]

I've probably explained this before, but I love doing so, so I'll do it again! I write a class code after each agent's name. It helps me know what each agent is carrying, and what each agent can do. It also helps me balance out fire teams. Codes can change with loadout, as possible, but agents can be "promoted" to higher agent classes when their abilities reach a suitable level. It lets me know who my toughest agents are when the chips are down. It also helps me organize bases and the entire organization just by names.

Here are my basic agent classes: (edited for changes June 29th /07)

Rifleman (RF): must have acceptable bravery and strength. This is even more important in X1. This is the basic class of agent.

Recon (RC): More lightly armed than a rifleman, carrying a motion sensor. The RC's job is to take a forward position, or close to the UFO, and use a motion scanner to spot for the unit. Light equipment allows the RC to run faster to and from spotting positions. Must have above-average stamina and strength (for speed in battle).

Heavy Weapons (HW): must have high strength to carry autocannon or rocket launcher (RT). Also for X1

Sniper (SN): must have high firing accuracy. I use this more and more in X1, too. I try to setup the SN to cover the whole battlefield as much as possible.

Pyro (PY): carries the Marsec mini-launcher, a flying armour pack and lots of mini-launcher rockets, both HE and incendiary. I use these as anti-air defence against flying, cloaked skeletoids. The mini-launcher rockets find cloaked targets and fire fast with lots of ammo. Rarely used unless cloaked skeletoids are expected. But these are also really useful against fast-moving poppers and cloaked arthropods.

Here are specialists who develop during the game:

Demolitions agent (DM): must have very high strength and stamina in order to carry lots of det packs and various grenades and mines to lay stacked grenade traps and blow doors. I'm using this guy in my Aliens:250 game. DM carries 4 prox mines and 4 HW grenades. his job is to keep mining the doors against hordes of aliens charging out of downed UFOs.

PSI trooper (PSI): must have very high PSI before they go into battle. In X3 they deploy very late, as I want to train them up with combat training too before sending them into battle. But I'll send them out on misions as possible to give them combat experience.

Stormtrooper (ST): Only an agent with high bravery, good strength, medium-high stamina & TUs and fast reactions can earn this designation (generally 50+ on all stats). They're especially important in X1, where reactions determine who fires first when you breach the door of a UFO. I use stormtroopers to lead the door breach, and rely on at least one to reaction-fire when aliens come out the door. It's the most glorious class, but the most dangerous. It's hard to keep enough on hand, as they're often most likely to die in battle.

Capture Stormtrooper (CST): Not only must this agent breach doors, but stun aliens up close rather than just kill them at range. This class develops late in the super-trooper stage, and is usually my very top agents - high on everything including PSI when mind-control is a possibility. Sometimes I refer to this as a Super Stormtrooper.

Commando (CM): This is reserved for super-troopers who pretty-well max out on stats (must be 90+ across the board). The codes help me to know who's equipped and ready to do what in tactical combat. If I have a problem, and need someone to solve it, I'll grab an CM knowing that he/she is the best choice. I get a number of these in XCOM3, as training facilities allow it. In XCOM1, these almost never occur. A Commando in XCOM1 would be practically a god. In X3, commandos do solo missions and kick major butt.

Ultra-Commando (UC): This is a Commando with 90+ PSI, and who's armed with 4+ teleporters to conduct solo missions against very late-game downed battleships and motherships. A UC is the final stage in the evolution of my XCOM agents. I've only ever fully trained and widely used one in the history of X3. She has 100 points on all but reactions, I think stamina, and PSI attack (no editor used). A UC can dodge missiles and jump throughout the battle, dropping vortex mines and stun grenades like a phantom.

Anyone else use a system like this?

Edited by Aiki-Knight, 30 June 2007 - 06:41 PM.

[Sorrow]

My squadroles:

For regular soldiers: (all equipped with a Megapol Armor)
Squad Leader - Equipped with Megapol Plasma Gun and Motion Scanner. He/She detects potential threats. No prerequisites, though I usually use officers in this role.
Rifleman - Armed with Marsec M4000 Machinegun - I usually use rookies for this role.
Sharpshooter - Equipped with Megapol Sniper Rifle - I use soldiers with high Accurancy for this role. One shot - one kill.
Grenadier - Armed with Megapol Autocannon - I use soldiers with moderate accurancy for this role.
PSI Specialist - Hybrids equipped with Plasma Gun and Mind Bender. Sometimes used as Squad Leaders.

For marines (All equipped with Marsec Armor (Flying Suit equivalent in my mod.)). Due to small amounts of Marsec Armor, only veterans serve as marines.
ReconEquipped with Plasma Gun, Motion Scanner and Marsec MiniLauncher.
Grenadier - Armed with Megapol Autocannon.
PSI Specialist - Hybrids equipped with Plasma Gun and Mind Bender. Sometimes used as Recon.

[Aiki-Knight]

My squadroles:

For regular soldiers: (all equipped with a Megapol Armor)
Squad Leader - Equipped with Megapol Plasma Gun and Motion Scanner. He/She detects potential threats. No prerequisites, though I usually use officers in this role.
Rifleman - Armed with Marsec M4000 Machinegun - I usually use rookies for this role.
Sharpshooter - Equipped with Megapol Sniper Rifle - I use soldiers with high Accurancy for this role. One shot - one kill.
Grenadier - Armed with Megapol Autocannon - I use soldiers with moderate accurancy for this role.
PSI Specialist - Hybrids equipped with Plasma Gun and Mind Bender. Sometimes used as Squad Leaders.

For marines (All equipped with Marsec Armor (Flying Suit equivalent in my mod.)). Due to small amounts of Marsec Armor, only veterans serve as marines.
ReconEquipped with Plasma Gun, Motion Scanner and Marsec MiniLauncher.
Grenadier - Armed with Megapol Autocannon.
PSI Specialist - Hybrids equipped with Plasma Gun and Mind Bender. Sometimes used as Recon.

Wow - I really like some of your ideas! I like the squad leader idea as a detection co-ordinator. I also like the Recon Marines idea. I might try that!

[Steelion]

Well, I give the guys with the best reactions MGs, and everyone else Autocannons. roughly 6 of each. Then I'll have one modded sniper rifler, and another psi-trooper. No real specialization.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Aha, I still like being able to send in a group functioning as one.
My X-com is a Swarm of agents <3.
-Hoverbike and Probe freak-

[Aiki-Knight]

Aha, I still like being able to send in a group functioning as one.
My X-com is a Swarm of agents <3.

What exactly does this mean? Everyone is armed the same?

I wonder what NKF's trooper classes are:

1. Basic trooper: armed with a pistol and a length of string. Can kill aliens at a ratio of 10:1.
2. Intermediate trooper: carries a power sword and qualifies as a bona fide kensai.
3. Veteran trooper: armed with a mind bender. Kills aliens by making them kill each other or jump off high places.
4. Advanced trooper: Carries nothing and finishes missions solo.

NKF, care to dispel any myths about your squad layouts? ;-)

Edited by Aiki-Knight, 18 April 2007 - 09:53 PM.

[NKF]

Me? Unlike UFO and TFTD, where I end up with a variety of roles, I have no real particular designated roles in Apocalypse. Their function and purpose is as fluid as water depending on what they've got in their hands.

Well, that's not quite true, I do end up coming up with what feel like specialised roles.

My bread and butter troopers generally get a pair of the best guns of the month (or the best gun of the month paired with a stun grapple or toxigun or power sword or devestator cannon), a few simple-to-carry gadgets like some AP grenade, Stun Grenades and one smoke grenade, a medikit, some good protection (best armour and shields) and off they go. If I'm raiding the alien dimension, everyone gets a token vortex mine. No one gets a cloak - those are obtained in the field when needed (very rarely).

My scout is exactly the same as the b'n'b trooper, but with a motion scanner on the shoulder.

Hybrids get to carry a mind probe, but otherwise the same as the bread and butter trooper. I may choose to go with lighter armour and lighter weapons (i.e. plasma guns or toxiguns) to compensate for their lower strength until they've logged some hours in the combat gym.

Power swords are bequethed to the active team that I use the most. These are hard to get (without stealing), so they get shared a lot. Usually given to my close-combat android berserkers.

Android stunners - used specifically for the capture of micronoids. Basically the usual setup, on an android and with an extra pair of stun grapples (unless the grapples are the primary weapon).

One or two special snowflakes get to be the token flyers, so they get a spare Marsec torso plate and leave their main torso plate in storage. Otherwise identical to the bread and butter trooper. Used for obvious reason of their flight advantage, and to rescue troops stuck in holes by throwing their armour into the hole.

My heavy weapon troopers get a launcher of some type, but are generally set up the same as the bread and butter troops, with more free space in the backpack by way of sacrificing one shield. They're always got their safeties on and are never-ever allowed to use reaction fire.

My mules - this is definitely a role. Wear the best armour, and as much of item X that they can carry. Usually shields or vortex mines. Might sometimes go with Marsec heavy launcher HE missiles, dimension missiles or heavy launcher AG rockets.

My token medic - Basically a bread and butter trooper with a medikit, or two! Only used at the very rear end of the game once I get everyone else to ditch their medikits and second shield to make room for more teleporters. Hey, with teleporters you don't really need them if you play your cards right, but having at least one is still a good idea.

As you can see, my setups aren't particularly that imaginative, and there's no real specialised roles. Just minor variations here and there.

The reason I try to keep an almost identical setup (apart from the weapons) is to make re-equipping everyone of their standard consumables at the same time a simple task. (If anyone is scratching their head at this remark - the cityscape soldier equip screen allows you to equip several soldiers at the same)

- NKF

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

What exactly does this mean? Everyone is armed the same?

No, My Squads as I specified above are all the same on their squads, not just bread and butter.
I make 6 snipers 6 machine guns, Those are my "Bread and butter" as Nkf puts it, Squads.
I of course have a specialty squad, in which I have my Trapper, Psi Sniper (since Mutants tend to have high accuracy), and my Autocannons with 2 explosive mass agents and 1 mass fire agent. All of my specialty agents have Marsec Flying pieces, but only the Trapper has the full outfit due to how many grenades and Proximity mines he carries for trapping purposes.

The Beauty of the trapper is that if the trap DOESNT go off, You get the grenades and prox mines back !

[glen_es]

Most of the game I equip everybody just about the same. Couple of exceptions.

I always give one soldier my name, he gets the best weapons and armour available.

As the game goes on, I hire more and more androids. I take as many of these as I can on my missions while my humans and hybrids are building up super stats in training.

I usually take 12 soldiers on missions, split into 2 squads. One squad I will try to fill with all androids and use them as shock troops, they lead the attack. If they get wounded or killed, doesn't hurt like it does to lose a super trained human.

When toxin guns are available, I'll equip 10 soldiers with those, and 2 soldiers with twin devastator cannons. The guys with the devastator cannons shoot down walls to open up fields of fire for everyone with the toxin guns. Rather than hunting for the aliens, I'll let them come to my toxin gun armed soldiers.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Just another reason tunneling owns <3.

[glen_es]

Aiki - are you ever organized with the class codes after the names, good for you.

The closest I come to this I usually have 1 or 2 mutants psi-training from the get go. To make sure I don't send them out on any missions until their psi attack is strong (because the rest of their stats suck), I'll give them names like PSI-1 and PSI-2, to help alert me who they are.

I change names of other troopers throughout the game for different reasons. In my my Xcom, NO GIRLS allowed. Any troopers with female names get renamed to just their last name.

Long time survivors often get nicknames to replace their full names e.g. renamed a soldier "Killer" after he took out the last Megaspawn in a battleship despite getting seriously wounded by a dimension missle and huge collateral explosion from a heap of dead battleship defenders. Someone with a nickname tells me at a glance that he's a long timer. Helps when I want to include or exclude my best troops from missions.

Edited by glen_es, 30 April 2007 - 04:12 PM.

[Sorrow]

I change names of other troopers throughout the game for different reasons. In my my Xcom, NO GIRLS allowed. Any troopers with female names get renamed to just their last name.

Heh, then they are just women without names.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

nuh uh. they are just dudes with pony tails and mullets

[glen_es]

Heh, then they are just women without names.

No No No there's a huge difference (smart-@ss )


BTW, what a let down when I read the description of the Procreation Park. For a while there I was thinking soldiers would be falling over themselves to answer an Xcom alert to that building.

[Aiki-Knight]

I change names of other troopers throughout the game for different reasons. In my my Xcom, NO GIRLS allowed. Any troopers with female names get renamed to just their last name.

Heh, then they are just women without names.

That's just silly. Women agents make great snipers. In the army, women win markmanship competition disproportionately to their numbers in the army. When they're good, women are generally better shots. Anyway, Earth is left with one city. Of course, everyone is going to be eligible for military service. Women are in every army in the world. I name my female agents after my many female friends, and they kick some serious donkey. I knew a girl when I was in the army - she had hay-colored blonde hair, blue eyes, a gorgeous face - she was a knockout. And she was fit and was in the infantry. A class act, too.

Seriously, guys - do your XCOM however you want, but I have dozens of hot babe agents who would turn the Charlie's Angels inside out.

[NKF]

I'm sure it's just the way things have panned out for me, but at the start of the game, I often find that female agents are far better fighters in general than the men. That is to say, they start off very well, and having a good start lets them hit the higher stats a lot easier.

Of course once everyone maxes their stats, gender becomes meaningless.

This is just a perception, it's not necessarily true that one gender has better starting stats than the other in X-Com.

- NKF

Edited by NKF, 07 May 2007 - 08:35 PM.

[Sorrow]

So, male characters should have greater strength, stamina and hitpoints and female ones should have greater accurancy.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

..What do you think would happen if it was a He-she? :X
If you really wanted accuracy could you just cut off a mans dingaling?!???

Im fairely sure the stats are unbiased and random.. ^.^

[Aiki-Knight]

Im fairely sure the stats are unbiased and random.. ^.^

I think you're right. :-)

[Sorrow]

I started doing raids against Transtellar this day. I'm using marines in Marsec Power Suits in previously mentioned roles. They are absolutely deadly. None of them got wounded during 5 last raids thanks to Marsec mines and devastating firepower of Autocannon and Mini Launcher. They kill opponents with Megapol Sniper Guns and Mega Launchers before they can fire at them /

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Ive never really liked the mega launcher as a weapon myself, mabye if the ammo was a little smaller I'd have liked it more.

The Minilauncher is just, Far too much of an improvement for words.. D:

[glen_es]

Seriously, guys - do your XCOM however you want, but I have dozens of hot babe agents who would turn the Charlie's Angels inside out.

When I see the equip agent screen, it's more like Pvt. Pyle from Full Metal Jacket rather than Farah Fawcett.

Any of you military buffs know if the ratio of women in US or UK special forces is lower than regular army?

I have this mindset of my x-com agents in the mold of the French Foreign legion from the 1950s.

[Aiki-Knight]

Seriously, guys - do your XCOM however you want, but I have dozens of hot babe agents who would turn the Charlie's Angels inside out.

When I see the equip agent screen, it's more like Pvt. Pyle from Full Metal Jacket rather than Farah Fawcett.

Any of you military buffs know if the ratio of women in US or UK special forces is lower than regular army?

I have this mindset of my x-com agents in the mold of the French Foreign legion from the 1950s.

True - the equip screen ain't so pretty. I replaced the anime faces with the Tinseltown pack, and then use XED to edit the faces to match my real-life female friends as closely as possible, although some of my friends don't need Hollywood faces to be gorgeous. It's a nice little fun thing to do. It's fun having my friend Kelly matched to Brigitte Wilson's face, and fighting as a sniper. Actually, a few of the girls in my XCOM3 are friends I met in the army. They all got out like I did and got careers, but in real life a couple were infantry, so they could probably do not too bad if shoved into XCOM. Both are total babes, too.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Both are total babes, too.

ZOMG Pics plz.

[Tkwiget]

I have my squads setup with a range of specific tasks. When I get more items to use on my guys I tend to have them specialize in particular things. I do have my guys play important roles but only if I know I think I might be going into a very difficult fight. I generally tend to have 1 or 2 squads guard a location on the map that allows me to fall back on it. This squad or two also contains supply mulls and support troopers. It generally is a location on the map where enemies can only enter the area in 3 ways and Teleporting makes it 1 way and generally there are 2 enterances to the particular location that I've got guarded.

Yes, I do have Assault, Defense, Support, Scout, and Reinforcement speciality squads that I create, but those are only created after a certain point in my game. Within each of those speciality squads I have my Agents equipped differently from one another. So they can help compliment each other in a fire fight. I use them. Everyone should make their forces organized like that.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Everyone should make their forces organized like that.

Pft. >>

Biased loser.

You dont really need compliments, its only a game. Its about fun !

I dont mind wasting a whole weeks budget on explosives just to level the cult from the inside.. ^^'..

[Tkwiget]

Everyone should make their forces organized like that.

Pft. >>

Biased loser.

You dont really need compliments, its only a game. Its about fun !

I dont mind wasting a whole weeks budget on explosives just to level the cult from the inside.. ^^'..

I only name one of my Agents after myself so that I have that idea that I'm actually on the battlefield owning aliens or getting owned by them.

In a recent new game I started, the Aliens rushed and surrounded my Agents and was shooting them and was withering them down from long periods of weapon fire and then they would retreat...another long period of weapon fire, then retreat...repeat the process until they're all dead and my guys are impressively hurt but still alive.

[Sharp]

Gender is irrelevant

Androids rule all!!!!

Also everyone is the same, I mean have you ever taken off the helmet??? XCOM Babes they are not

P.S.

In most special forces there are very very few women because women are in general weaker then men, in some special forces (and some normal armed forces) you actually have to be a man, no girls allowed!!!

Edited by Sharp, 15 June 2007 - 04:22 AM.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

What about Droids?

Im sure Honda is gonna start using machine guns pretty soon ^^

[Pherdnut]

I prefer uniform - right down to the exact same placement on the paper doll inventory of an agent. It's much easier and faster to reequip since agents that are out of a certain type of grenade or ammo will stick out when you switch from to another. Sometimes I'll split up half and half though. Before I started raiding Marsec for powerswords, I used to go half M4000s and Devastator Cannons until I got my hands on toxiguns.

I am thinking of starting to specialize a couple sapper agents though, now that I've discovered the joy that is powerswording your way through inconvenient UFO and cultist walls in the first week.

[Elros]

I've started using a new system for my latest playthrough. So far the only alien tech I have is disruptor guns (boomeroids on their way). I've got 5 squads with one each of the following types:

Infantry- Machine gun, power sword, lots and lots and lots of grenades

Support- Disruptor, mini-launcher, stun grapple and 1 of each grenade

Engineer- Plasma pistol, heavy launcher

Heavy weapons- Disruptor, auto-cannon with lots of HE and incendiary clips

Sniper- Sniper (duh), stun grapple, proxy mines and high explosives

Psi Trooper- Disruptor or plasma, mind bender, motion detector

Everybody has lots and lots of stun grenades, a smoke grenade each and where possible a medikit. I only have 5 marsec plates, so the highest ranking in each squad gets that. This is all gonna change when the tech starts coming, though.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Ive been recently experimenting with some of the weapons NKF has been mentioning underated, and I have to say.
Ap on Autocannon IS good xD
I like it, what can I say?
Its Accurate enough for my purposes, and can kill a chunk of wall in one shot, sometimes needs two.
Just put in the other hand a stun gun, because the auto cannon has trouble with brainsuckers.

[Nepereta]

Different Squads have different roles:

On the entry screen I enter the game with multiple teams of 6( usally 2). I then break each team into 2:

These are :

Elite : 2 best soldiers equiped with the best stuff ( these guys take point and look for a fight) they are designed to be spotted and move quickly
Fire Team: 4 soldiers designed to give supporting firepower. The plan is that I never actually expose these guys. They tend to hang back with disruptors and drop smoke. If fire power is requested they bring it in at long range. ( btw I consider the lives of my troop to be far higher than collateral damage, I 'll gladly bring the building down if that is what it takes to save it.)

I am a bit of a nepotist, my best troops tend to get the best equipment. In the early game they receive the first handfull of plasma pistols I have stolen from the opposition. Later on they have the first Marsec Torso Plates and sheilds. They do tend as a result of this to be exposed to the most enemy fire and are asked to perform the most work. I do tend to let the rookies hang back in a supporting role really to these superstars. Of course the lesser troops get their chance to shine during the times when the superstars visit the infirmary.

With exception of the weakling Psi-Troops all my units attempt to have at least 1 AP,1Stun, 1 Smoke and a Scanner.

Edited by Nepereta, 28 June 2007 - 06:30 AM.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Scanners are useful, but you usually dont need more than one in a squad.

[Aiki-Knight]

I've found in the super-long game and the Aliens:250 game that I've created two new, stable, and useful classes:

Recon
Ultra-Commando.

I've updated my opening post to fully explain my current system.

[Steelion]

I've developed a pattern in the early game. 2 squads consisting of: 1 sniper (high acc, laser sniper), 2 machine gunners (generally rookies, or low acc), 1 autocannon (average stats, armed with a couple HE clip for multiworms), and a grappler (2 stun grapples) Once I get disruptor weapons, i jut equip everyone with 2 of em.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Personally I use up all the left over ammo before switching any of my agents to the recharging weapons, Usually I get Shields before I start using the devastator cannons xD
So much ammo, so few shots.
Aka I use Aimed a lot more than most of you do
The longer you can make a round last, the longer your squads can last.
Once you are out of ammo you dont have much choice but to fleeeeeeee
Or if you are in a later state with disruptors researched and such, you can try your luck at scavaging.. xD

[Steelion]

I use aimed, except for when I am armed with devastators, or are at close range (UFO door ambush) Nothing like ~8 disruptor guns on full auto tearing apart anything that moves.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Eh, even then Im usually snap shotting it ^^..
Except for with light disruptors, heck. those things only use is to go full auto, drop them and pick up another set.

[Sorrow]

My new version of organisation of marines:
A 6 man Lance consisting of:

3 Knights in Flying Suits:
2 Sharpshooters armed with Megapol Sniper Rifle/Devastator Cannon
1 Grenadier Armed with Megapol Autocannon

3 Squires in Personal Armor:
1 Hybrid Psionic Scout with Mind Bender and Motion Scanner
1 Heavy Support with Marsec Mini Launcher and Entropy Launcher if available.
1 Light Support with Marsec M4000 Machine Gun

Knights have the greatest accuracy and experience - they fight at the front with their armor and superior firepower.
Squires are intended to be in cover most of the time. They go out if their assistance is needed.
Heavy Support eliminates most dangerous enemies such as snipers or enemy heavy support, makes holes in walls, destroys groups of enemies, etc.
Psionic Scout MCs enemies if there's a good opportunity.
Light Support places mines and clears some smaller rooms or assists Knights in combat.

Edited by Sorrow, 09 July 2007 - 07:40 AM.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

By flying suits you mean Marsec suits right? XP
and by Personal Armour Im assuming Megapol.
This topic is for Apocalypse. Please keep to the correct terms ^^'

Also, I have never seen a reason to have agents in that dont see much action. I never usually have more than 4 agents equipped with a layout O_o..

[Aiki-Knight]

My new version of organisation of marines:
A 6 man Lance consisting of:

3 Knights in Flying Suits:
2 Sharpshooters armed with Megapol Sniper Rifle/Devastator Cannon
1 Grenadier Armed with Megapol Autocannon

3 Squires in Personal Armor:
1 Hybrid Psionic Scout with Mind Bender and Motion Scanner
1 Heavy Support with Marsec Mini Launcher and Entropy Launcher if available.
1 Light Support with Marsec M4000 Machine Gun

Knights have the greatest accuracy and experience - they fight at the front with their armor and superior firepower.
Squires are intended to be in cover most of the time. They go out if their assistance is needed.
Heavy Support eliminates most dangerous enemies such as snipers or enemy heavy support, makes holes in walls, destroys groups of enemies, etc.
Psionic Scout MCs enemies if there's a good opportunity.
Light Support places mines and clears some smaller rooms or assists Knights in combat.

I really enjoy your medieval approach to military organization. Medieval studies is actually my academic field, although I don't specialize in things like knights, etc. Your arrangement makes me consider, for a moment, how the feudal system might have been translated into modern, technological use, had it survived socially. Who would the knights of today be? In WWI, I know that the biplane (and triplane) pilots either were knighted members already or at least considered their class a contemporary equivalent to the knight. It's very interesting to see how your futuristic squires would contribute to the battle, providing support in the forms of psionics and heavy weapons operation, clearing out less-difficult objectives.

I certainly don't disagree with your setup, and I do enjoy your refreshing way of bringing together the medieval and the futuristic. It's not my own way of XCOM, but I applaud it all the same. It's great to see all the different ways we approach the same game, which is really more like an environment in which we create and live our own games. My impression of the place of knighthoods today is that they're handed out to the people who are already upper-class, or have elevated themselves sufficiently to join it. I don't have a problem with Elton John being knighted, as he's a great musician, although he hardly fits our medieval conception of the knight. About a year ago, there was a scandal in Britain over the distribution of knighthoods - essentially, people with big money who asked for knighthoods got them, probably with pay-offs. I was so very disappointed.

Knighthood, I believe, still has a relevant place in society if only it were reserved for what it is in spirit, not just in the historical record and literature, but in the hearts of the population: a special award for great acts of conspicuous bravery or selflessness. Certainly, the knights of old were indeed upper-class members, and were knighted because of this, and their resources to provide a horse and arms. But today, as we cast off class (or pretend to), I'd like to see knighthoods awarded for deeds, not money. You might be disappointed to learn that only high-ranking officers in Britain are knighted. The soldiers in the field can earn the Victoria Cross, but never a knighthood. This is a shame, for it corrupts the social understanding of the knighthood. In the real world, knighthoods should be able to be awarded to anyone who deserves one. But I suspect that the well-to-do of the British upper class would prefer not to have common soldiers and common people gaining access to the inner sancta of the most privileged class; they'd rather not have to rub shoulders with the Cockneys, or the northern Scots, or those from Liverpool or Manchester or Sheffield.

So, in my XCOM, I'd knight the best troops who display outstanding bravery and/or are injured coming to the aid of civilians or other wounded, pinned-down agents.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

I wouldnt knight anyone in mine, They're all cowards.

[Steelion]

I don't usually care about promotions. Generally the highest rank i get is sergweant.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Well is been made fairly clear, More than half of us are lazy. ^^'..
16 people who dont sort out their agents. o:
while only 12 that do.

[gufu]

None of my troops are organized - auto guns and marsec machineguns usually enough to take down anything alive. And the stuned survivors, usually of large number.

[mooses_an]

I've gone so far in sorting my squads that I've given them squad names like XC-1, XC-2... And then I've renamed them to be characters from Stargate, X-Files, Matrix and newest squad is from Xena/Hercules, though it's only got Xena and Gabrielle so far. I've also changed their faces with the midnight editor, so they look a bit like they do in the tv series or movies. Each squad has 4 units and each member of the squad has different weapons, but all squads have about the same weapons. I think it's easier to recognize them with such familiar faces and names than with some random names. I think I'll also have to put myself into the game.. and edit my rank to Commander, but I haven't found a suitable soldier yet, don't know who will be the other squad members.

[Munashiimaru]

I use two squads of 6 each with 2 robots 2 humans and 2 hybrids. At the start, robots get machine guns and a stun gun in their backpack, humans get either laser or autocannon depending on strength, and hybrids get pistols and mindbenders. Everyone gets two stun grenades for capturing units/countering smoke bombs. Once I get alien weapons, I use those on everyone but the hybrids. Once I'm pumping out toxigun ammo I eventually get everyone those (starting with hybrids). The humans I get at the start with poor psi-defense I also give machine guns until I can replace them with droids.

I use the droids up front as tanks/expenables, humans to lay down heavy fire, and hybrids for clutch mind controls on units about to rock me with explosives or to get shielded enemies to toss their shields off to the side.

[Hobbes]

On my last game I came up with a different system than all of my previous games:

First, I've group together soldiers with similar Time Units/Stamina, regardless of the weapons/equipment they carry. Your squads will move better because it won't have stragglers delaying the others. You'll have to keep paying attention to their stats (one way to do it is to put the Speed/Time Units value on their name) and updating them. This is specially important when storming UFOs since it's best to get to the entry doors and cover them as quickly as possible.

Second, if you already have specialized roles for your soldiers, you can also have them for your squads, instead of packs of agents moving around. So, if you have 12 agents, you can have 3 general propose squads (for instance, 1 Scout, 1 Rifleman, 1 Heavy Weapons, 1 Assault) OR 4 specialized squads - for instance 1 Scout squad goes ahead to spot the aliens for the other 3 squads to engage. This reshuffling of agents on squads can be very important - my games usually end with most of agents on a different squad than they started.

Third, instead of micromanaging each agent, issue orders to the entire squad instead (here having specialized squads with the same TU/Speed stats really help). You'll need to keep the squads small though (2-4 members) and still do things like throwing grenades and firing heavy launchers individually (unless you want for them to run out of ammo quickly or be a victim of friendly fire).