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Best Purchasable Weapon


What is the best basic (purchasable) human weapon?  

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Wow, thanks for the Proximity grenade fix suggestions NKF! That helps a lot! :)

Dud mines? I'm not sure what you mean, but I assume a "dud" is a mine that you had armed but does not explode when a unit enters the trigger area. Right?

As far as I can tell, Proximity grenades do not have any bugs in the PSX version. I use them plenty, and never witnessed any of the problems found in the computer (specifically, the CE) version. Hence why I use them so much: they work! :)

- Zombie
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Oh, that is a dud mine? :blush1:

Well, if that is the case then saving a PSX game to a memory card with armed proxies lying about, and then reloading the game from the card will not make those proxies disappear (like I said: only for the PSX version).

----------

I was reading through this topic and noticed a discussion about Heavy Cannons and Auto-Cannons. Most of us know that the heavy weapons are, umm, "heavy". In other words, they weigh a lot. :wink1:

Carry heavy items (or lots of small things like grenades) puts a strain on your soldier. The game calls this strain "encumbrance". A soldier can safely carry weights up to his/her strength rating without any problems. Add more weight and the soldiers TU is penalized accordingly.

Here is Zombie's somewhat useless fact of the day:

Empty Heavy Cannons weigh less then empty Auto-Cannons (by one point). HC clips weigh more than AC clips (again, by one point). Soldiers toting a HC or AC with one clip will encounter the same weight: 24. However, since clips for the Auto-Cannon weigh less, it is better to equip solders with this weapon as you gain a 1-point weight savings for every clip you carry beyond the first.

As an example, say your soldier has a strength rating of 61. If he uses a Heavy Cannon (weight: 18), he could only carry 43 points of weight more. Since a HC clip weighs 6 points, he could carry 7 of them without being encumbered. But take the Auto-Cannon (weight: 19). He can now only carry 42 points of weight. Since AC clips weigh only 5 points, he could carry 8 without facing a penalty. Nice. :)

Rocket Launchers (weight: 10) are special weapons. The ammo for this weapon is rockets (Small: 6, Large or Incendiary: 8). Because rockets occupy a 1x3 slot in inventory, a soldier is limited to carry a max of 5 rockets: 1 in the Launcher, 1 in the other hand, and 3 in the backpack. Let's see... 5 rockets @ 8 points per is 40 for "ammo" weight. Add the launcher and the total is 50. Wow, a soldier carrying as many rockets as possibly would only need a strength rating of 50 (ultimate max is 71).

Again, just some useless facts I recognized a while back. :Drool:

- Zombie
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
First, I'd rig the answer so that I could vote for Psi Amp.

I'd sell lots of Laser Cannons to bribe the authorities that be and/or set up manufacturers so that Psi Amps became purchasable.

Then, I'd vote for Psi Amp. Nuff said.

:rave3: Edited by MikeTheRed
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
I voted for the stun rod, just because it's the only melee weapon in the whole friggen game. Plus, in a twisted way, it's kinda fun to try and storm the one Sectiod Engineer locked away in the engine room not facing you with six guys and end up losing four...
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  • 1 month later...
Rifle all the way. I wouldn't trust a Rookie with an HC, let alone an AC. :P

Though, in fact, once I get H. Plasmas, everyone gets one. Just because they're so damnably powerful and accurate.

I find it unnerving when my Sgts can gun down wave after wave of oncoming aliens in basedef with just heavy plasmas, and hit each shot. :D
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  • 2 weeks later...
Definitely Rocket launcher; you don't need accuracy as long as you set up the wall-angle correctly, and with a flying suit any alien below a rocket carrying soldier is a goner.

I even use them in UFOs - my style of play is to never reload in a game; last terror mission I had two friendly fire rocket casualties, but it was still worth it. In supply vessels, you can use the rocket launchers to shoot on an angle around the corner to the lifts and clear the lift pad without any line of site. You could waste TUs and elerium on a blaster bomb, but using Blaster launcher doesn't increase firing accuracy.

Finally, I use the rocket launcher to clear farmhouses, buildings, jungle trees, and other obstacles. If there is an alien in a farm house there is no better way to flush them out (other than blaster launcher, see above). High explosives delay a turn, and again using them to kill aliens does not increase your snipers' accuracy.

I would actually rate the rocket launcher the best weapon in the game; the blaster launcher is a great bail-out weapon but is limited in its use and accuracy-accruing benefits. I usually have about 25% of my squad as rocket launchers, 80% heavy plasma, and the rest miscellaneous (blaster launcher, fodder, medic).
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Definately the rifle.
- low cost for the best sniper
- auto shot beats pistol
- damage beats pistol
- can't kill your men easily when they have personal armor (renders mind control useless)
- enough rounds to complete a mission for 1 clip per unit
- can kill a muton on superhuman mode 20 tiles away in 5-8 shots Edited by Kratos
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I'm in the minority here but when I start a new game I immediatly buy 6 more HEAVY CANNONS along with AP rounds so all 8 have heavy cannons for the first few missions (less im lucky enough to have the very small+small on day 1 start which cough cough ..happens a lot considering that I have my no1 save slot reserved with a save with nothing done and a few hours till those two show up :P ) from there its Lazer rifles by about the 20th n hopefully in time for my first terror mission.
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[quote name='Kratos' date='Feb 28 2006, 04:42 PM']Definately the rifle.
- low cost for the best sniper
- auto shot beats pistol
- damage beats pistol
- can't kill your men easily when they have personal armor (renders mind control useless)
- enough rounds to complete a mission for 1 clip per unit
- can kill a muton on superhuman mode 20 tiles away in 5-8 shots
[right][post="147446"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]


In the red corner, with a Pistol, defending champion, eeeeeeeeeN Kaaaaaaaay Eeeeef
In the blue corner, our challenger, with a rifle, Kuuuuuuuuuuratos. :knockout:
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  • 9 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

The auto-cannon retains its usefulness throughout the game, and is never obsoleted. It just becomes more specialized. It has the widest range of uses by far, but one noteworthy drawback: It just doesn't do enough damage to certain terror units.

 

The main reasons it remains useful:

 

1. Interchangeable ammo with auto-fire. Sure it's a little heavier, slower, and less accurate than a rifle, but explosive ammunition multiplies rookie effectiveness. There is always a risk of friendly fire, but less so with the AC than with rockets (especially with power or flying armor).

 

2. AC-HE does not injure soldiers in flying Suits, and is highly unlikely to cause injury in a power suit. It does, however, injure or kill most aliens, including Mutons, Ethereals, and Chrysalids. Perfect for friendly fire incidents as well as psi-weak soldiers. Also less likely to destroy loot. This is only a weakness against heavily armored aliens such as Cyberdiscs and Sectopods.

 

3. AC-I is the most effective lighting source available (auto-fire illumination; illuminates in a spread; fire damages aliens; fire clears terrain; harmless to agents in armor). This remains true throughout the game. I found Cydonia to be too frustrating without at least 2 AC troopers exiting the craft with incendiary bursts in turns 1-2. Flares are useful, but also destructible, less luminous, and non-lethal.

 

4. While obsolescence isn't considered in this poll, it's worth mentioning that the auto-cannon's versatility doesn't get outdated by any other weapon. The laser rifle obsoletes conventional rifles (except for psi-weak soldiers, but for reasons mentioned above, the AC is better in the hands of a rookie in decent armor), and the blaster launcher obsoletes the rocket launcher (3 E-115 per blaster bomb is insignificant, especially if you can recover 10+ blaster bombs per base or battleship raid). Other conventional weapons (except miscellany like the stun rod and specialized grenades) are obsoleted by alien tech, given a sufficient supply of resources. No other weapon has the versatility to completely obsolete the AC.

 

Early in the game, a (fairly strong) rookie in a Power Suit armed with Auto-cannon, laser pistol, and 1 clip of AC-I and 1-2 clips of AC-HE is a highly resilient trooper who can light up terrain and kill fairly efficiently (for a rookie). My usual early game loadout is 1-2 rocket tanks, 1-2 rocket troopers, 2-4 AC troopers, and riflemen with grenades or Hi-X as the remainder. Deploy into 2 fire teams, each with 1-2 heavy (rocket) weapons and 1-2 firestarters with sidearms. AC troopers illuminate, riflemen search, heavies destroy. AC troopers then switch to HE ammo and help the heavies "open up" obstructive terrain. They also kill a lot of aliens in the process, and give the scouting riflemen and snipers line of sight.

 

I took my first Sectoid base in Superhuman mode, in my greatest battle ever, with only 6 soldiers, a plasma tank, and a conventional rocket tank. I needed to get rid of the base to keep my score up for the end of the month, and the Sectoids had been giving me a lot of trouble, what with the base invasion and all the terror attacks. All the soldiers were veterans of previous Sectoid battles and were sifted out as the strongest psionic resisters by trial and error. My first 6 flying suits were used in this mission. 4 of the soldiers had AC-HE and the other 2 (known to be the strongest minds) had laser rifles. That was it! No casualties except the rocket tank. The AC troopers did most of the killing, with the laser troopers taking out Cyberdiscs (and nearby aliens by proxy). Psionic attacks were ineffective, since the few attacks that got through only got the AC guys. The small size of the fire teams kept the profile low, and close quarters fire with AC-HE was devastating without FF casualties. By the time 2 AC soldiers and a tank made it into the command center, the officers were panicked, and an AC trooper was able to blast them in the face without injuring himself.

 

I don't think there is a perfect weapon for every job (except maybe the psi-amp, given psi-trained troops). You can win every battle with blasters or grenades, or laser or plasma weapons, but ultimately they all work better when used in a full complement. This is more true at the beginning of the game than any other time. Most wise commanders have a heavy weapons "element" and scout/sniper teams working in unison, with a healthy mix of direct and indirect fire weapons.

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well.. my vote goes to stunrod. oh eyah baby ! i like watching them go down and look them deeply into eyes.. :) but to do this safely, you need motion sensor, lots of smoke and lots of luck (or reloads) :) anyone who played counter strike know, how fun is to knife your enemy from behind.. ahh..

 

i remember crashed down terror ship with sectoids and cyberdiscs. i have managed to get to top floor. my men got out from the elevator, and then.. there he was.. a cyberdisc.. spawned on the right side of the ship with one half on the corridor, and other half behind one-tile door :) so i threw smoke grenade, got the stunrod, and zap!zap!zap!zap! - live cyberdisc in my collection :) mwahahaha !!

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2. AC-HE does not injure soldiers in flying Suits, and is highly unlikely to cause injury in a power suit. It does, however, injure or kill most aliens, including Mutons, Ethereals, and Chrysalids. Perfect for friendly fire incidents as well as psi-weak soldiers. Also less likely to destroy loot. This is only a weakness against heavily armored aliens such as Cyberdiscs and Sectopods.

In case anyone's interested, precise numbers for the average hits to kill can be found on the wiki Kill_Modelling page, for certain common weapons.

 

The Standard Grenade at Ground Zero is slightly stronger (HE 50) than a direct hit from AC-HE (HE 44). Thus it takes a little more hitting to kill with the AC-HE than the Grenade, for an average of ~4 AC-HE shots to take down a Muton at Superhuman, and ~6 for a Chryssalid. Silacoids are especially vulnerable due to very weak underamor (compared to their other sides) plus explosive vulnerability, and need only ~3 AC-HE hits, on average.

 

If folks want me extend the model to more or all weapons, I can do it.

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MTR, I think it's good as it is, but if you feel up to it, it would probably be worth expanding it into a major look-up table.

 

But I must ask, you list F/S/U for armour. Which of these are used for a directional attack? Like the bullets and HE on the fringe?

 

---

 

I must concur with Ethereal Navigator - the autocannon is a nice versatile weapon. However, I must press the fact that incendiary rounds are limited by the amount of smoke and fire that's already on the map, and its short lifespan. They're great for immediate lighting anywhere on the map, but if you approach the game like I do and take many turns to perform maneuvers - IC induced lighting have too short a lifespan. That's where flares excel over IC lighting. So both methods have their pros and cons. It's how you make the best of them despite their cons that counts more than anything else.

 

- NKF

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Hiya NKF! LTNT. I've been off doing other things.

 

you list F/S/U for armour. Which of these are used for a directional attack? Like the bullets and HE on the fringe?

I used the Front armor and one Side's armor, always targetting the one with the most armor left, until the target was killed. I made the table as an aid for Experience Training; see the 4th paragraph of the Intro on the Kill Model page. Thus it gives a feel for other scenarios, but it certainly differs from real battle inasmuch as you'd never deliberately try for the side with the most armor.

 

Which reminds me... really, my reply to Ethereal is incorrect. Real battle results would be less; it makes a real difference if you are mainly hitting only one facing (as is often the case in real battle as opposed to Experience Training), and of course, you are not magically always/deliberately hitting the side with the most armor left! So I guess I misled you dude, sorry... and I guess the table really needs more, so it can also include real battle situations.

 

FWIW I did some "real life testing" after what I posted... this was when we were talking about Reaction Training (Discussion), and I had all my men exactly 20 paces from an alien, all in one bunch (including vertically) to one direction of the alien (mainly facing his Front), to simulate catching an alien just as he emerged from a UFO door. I found that indeed I was killing them faster than my model predicted. Which only makes sense.

 

It can easily be modified for anything else, such as piercing only the Front, or randomly Front and one Side, or half the shots to Front, the other divided equally to the two Sides, all randomly... or anything else.

 

The question is, what scenarios are likely (for however folks might like the model done), and what do they equate to, in terms of how often they hit various sides.

 

it would probably be worth expanding it into a major look-up table.

Most anything can be done. The model is just some code which has everything set up to generate most any variation on the variables used for the Kill Model. Because it's "full fledged" code, it can do most anything.

 

But in practical terms, if it expands very much, it's going to be messy to present. For example, having all weapons means it would extend "off the page to the right", in its current text form. Adding lots of variations on how the facings are hit would mean it could become real long.

 

I can readily generate whatever folks want. (Also note, there's a lot more info on each datapoint presented in the spreadsheet found as a link on the wiki's Extended Results page.) Presenting all the info is what might be a real problem.

 

Also, if I am going to revisit it, it'd be good to have a clear picture of everything everybody wants. So I only have to do it once. Each time I do it, invariably involves a lot of banging around to get it in presentable form. (It took several hours to transform the vertical spreadsheet data to the tight little table on the main Kill Model page, with its plusses, minusses, Inv, Dead, etc.)

 

Perhaps it could be presented using Excel, since some things can be done to manage data within it, such as Filters or Pivot Tables. But only a minority of people 1) have Excel, 2) are real comfortable with working in Excel, and 3) understand my data enough for it to be an entirely pain-free experience. A.k.a., while I'd like to think I present info well, we all know - myself included, when viewing other folks' spreadsheets - that we're never quite sure just what this variable over here is, or that column over there, etc.

 

If anybody knows dynamic webpage data presentation and wants to make a little interface for a page on the wiki, that might (might!) be the best way to be able to drill through the data and show just what a person wants. If that was done, I could let my results generator go hog wild with any and every idea. Ultimately, I only have to run the code overnight to generate results for practically unlimited scenarios (within the realm of the variables available to work with).

 

But presenting it all is a real problem.

 

***

 

As for Incendiary, I think it's pretty useless as a "power gamer's" weapon. BUT many folks play games for much more than just "how quick can I win". It's a cool weapon, in its way. More power to folks that find more ways to enjoy the game.

 

Edit: Added more re: how my Kill Model results are not applicable to real battles. They are for Experience Training. But I can generate most any other scenario. Anyone besides NKF interested?

Edited by MikeTheRed
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One large table in Excel form is a good idea. But for your display on the wiki, why not create several smaller tables, each with groups of related weapons. Like conventional weapons, lasers, plasma weapons.

 

It does mean jumping between tables to compare, say, a pistol against a heavy plasma, but it'll be easier to format than one massive table.

 

- NKF

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Because of uniqueness, i would say smoke granade and electroflare cause they are impossible to replace [iC rounds doesnt work for me, i smoke twice at the beggining]

 

But a rifle w/ 2 clips + 2 granades turn ANY rookie into a fast moving (75% uts!) direct and indirect fire able rambo, ready to take down early game sectoids and floaters.

 

I know they are replaced by Laser/Plasma and alien granades early on, but they work on ANY soldier (like laser rifle/plasma rifle/hp and alien granades :P I play the game more in a macro scale than in a micro scale)

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If you're going to use AC-I for illumination you definitely need to place it right. An auto-shot into a wheat field will create a spreading blaze that will push the limit for flaming squares, but a single shot at a tree will create a torch that lasts about as long as you need it and doesn't take up much space. My problem with flares is that they get destroyed in explosions and suddenly I have no light; plus I have to retrieve them to re-use them. I can usually deploy one smoke grenade at the LZ and still create some illumination with fire.

 

The beauty of combining the AC-HE with full armor is the point-plank auto-shot. In the all-too-common situation of walking into a small UFO room and facing 3 aliens within 3 squares' distance, you can blast everything in the room and not injure yourself before they can react. Not to mention it makes psi-puppets harmless to anyone else in power or flying suits.

Edited by Ethereal Navigator
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Kirill, Power Armor is not any more nor less resistant to Laser damage, versus other types of damage. There's a nice table concerning damage vulnerability or resistance on the wiki, here.

 

Still, Power Armor does have pretty high levels of armor. And if you're wearing a Flying Suit, you can't be hurt by a Laser Pistol shot to the Front, at all. You can be slightly hurt by a side shot, and can definitely be hurt (but just a little) with a Laser Pistol shot to the Back or Under Armor.

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  • 5 months later...

Heavy and autocannons are useless, IMO. Too heavy. Horrible accuracy. Way too long to fire. And the explosive ammo is too weak. Standard guns with Rocket launchers in a sniping role work fine up to floaters. In fact, I suspect Rocket Launchers with armor would get you through the whole game although you'd no doubt destroy a lot of valuable resale gear along the way and friendly fire could get ugly before you get powered armor.

 

The TFTD gas cannons are much better balanced against the other weapons than the heavy cannons of X-Com 1, IMO, although I don't really bother with most weapons that can't be used in and out of water so I don't have much experience with the hydrojets (autocannon equivalent).

 

If you're talking human vs alien tech and not just purchasable, laser rifles all the way.

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  • 2 months later...

I never understood why people liked the Autocannon. It's the worst starting gun and possibly the worst gun in the game. Why? It's one of the heaviest weapons in the game, it's the second most inaccurate weapon (based on average from all 3 types of shots) in the game, and it barely does more damage than your standard rifle. The ratio of % accuracy to % TUs used is the worst in the game, making the autocannon's autofire the most unreliable out of all auto-mode weapons.

 

The extra power you gain from using an AC over a rifle at the beginning of the game is utterly wasted when your weakling rookies spend all their time units lugging the piece of crap into position (or losing their TUs from the deadweight of the auto-turd) and then whiffing all 3 shots. That is of course assuming they had enough TUs to autofire in the first place. For 10% more time units they could have crouched with a rifle and fired 2 snap shots with double the accuracy of each autoshot, and spent half the TUs and energy getting in position to boot. The multiple types of ammo are completely moot. Why use HE when you can toss a grenade with higher accuracy and less TU? Incendiary ammo only really has one advantage, which is killing Reapers...and if you've ever had a squaddie killed by a Reaper you should probably quit, delete X-Com and never play again.

 

Rocket launchers and rifles are tied for the best starting weapon, but to say one is better than the other is apples vs. oranges. They're two different types of weapons, one is a squaddie weapon and the other is a support role. While you *will* ditch your rifles for laser rifles ASAP, you'll do the same for the autocannons as well seeing as they pretty much outclass it in every way possible. Therefore, you might as well sell your spare ACs and ammo to buy more scientists and get laser rifles faster, seeing as how those will last you until you nab and research your first heavy plasma...and even then you'll be using those lasers until you stock up enough plasma clips.

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You're right, it's not an ideal starting weapon for a weak soldier. Perhaps after they've managed to pick up a few missions worth of experience, but not right off the street with a low strength level. Alternately, use the same strategy you can use with the rocket launchers - carry less belts of ammo or have someone else carry the spares. A loaded autocannon only requires 24 strength minimum, and 5 points for every extra belt of ammo you want to carry. One spare belt is often necessary, so you need 29 strength. Otherwise stick to pistols and grenades and build up those pecs and abs!

 

It's slow, it's not terribly accurate (it still beats my favourite weapon though for accuracy - and that's the least accurate weapon in the game. The laser pistol.), but it's versatile. I have little care for the AP rounds though they are strong, and incendiary rounds are very special in their usage and will vary from player to player. The HE rounds are what make them shine, as the area-effect nature of the shells compensates for the bad accuracy. It's hard to use early on without any protection, but as the better armour comes along, you can make bolder and bolder attacks. By power armour, you can start firing auto bursts at point blank range. At that range, the accuracy is less of a concern. Even superhuman mutons can fall or get extremely crippled by this attack.

 

The ACHE easily clears terrain and direct hits attack the enemy's under-armour, which is often their weakest spot. The multiple explosions can destroy equipment - but you generally rake in more goods than you ever need so losing a few heavy plasmas is no big loss.

 

It's not the best weapon in all ways, but it's a good niche weapon. Try playing the start of an auto/heavy cannon heavy campaign. Not practical once the heavies like the Sectopods show, but it's messy and fun. You also learn to appreciate the difference in the two cannons before long.

 

- NKF

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I have no problem selecting a rookie or squaddie for strength and moving him around with an autocannon and a laser pistol (or even rifle). Sarge might follow a couple of rookies with this setup. I use it regularly to clear rooms at little or no risk to my own troops, including the point man once power armor is available. In the later game, AC-I and two cannons will remain on the ship and occasionally be used for illumination. If I am not using psionics, I will continue to use AC-HE for most of the game. A single rookie cannoneer in power armor can routinely walk in UFO rooms and kill 3 aliens at a time without return fire or backblast. Only Sectopods and maybe Cyberdisks can resist it completely on superhuman mode (someone correct me?). For reaction fire, just select the sidearm before ending your turn.

 

Accuracy and fire rate were never a problem for me either. The payoff with AC-HE is number of squares damaged. A miss can still be a hit, and can hit multiple squares multiple times. Unlike rockets, you can carry around dozens of shots which can be explosive, illumination, or even slugs if you are worried about backblast (though I carry laser pistols for this as soon as they are available, or settle for peashooters for the short time before that). You don't have to reload after each shot and sometimes can fire off multiple shots in a turn if you have the AC man in a good position. It can also clear more terrain in one round than a rocket.

 

This is my current "standard" loadout, early game:

1 rocket HWP

10 rifles, 2 clips each (or laser)

2 rocket, 4 rockets each

2+ AC, 1 AC-I and 2 HE each (increasing after laser pistol, 2+ after H. plasma

~4 stun rods

~4 medikits

4-10 each frag, smoke, Hi-X, a few proxy, and a few flares

Occasionally 1+ stun launcher w/3+ bombs

 

Standard loadout, later game:

3 HWPs, usually 2 plasma/1 blaster

10 heavy plasma, 1 clip each

4 laser rifles

2+ blasters, 5 bombs each or 4+ blasters, 3 bombs each

2+ AC, loaded with AC-I, also HE if psionics not available

A few smoke, proxy, maybe flares, grenades, occasionally stun launcher/bombs

Psi-amps if appropriate, more use of autocannons if no psionics

 

In other words, 1 AC is pretty standard in one of my 4-5 man squads. As a newbie, AC-HE was my main method of killing. Now it is an integral part of a streamlined tactical machine. It will always be indispensable for me for clearing rooms without psionics, and I can count on it to save countless lives in the near future. Rockets are worth keeping on hand for pure damage, but can be dangerous in closed areas and run out of ammunition quickly and thus cannot be depended on as a main weapon. Rifles are of course the backbone of most infantry, but the purchasable AR just isn't powerful enough to get a "best" vote from me. The laser rifle on the other hand... well we have to make that.

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Mass explosions in the early game generally strike me as counter-productive. True, you can cause pretty good damage with the HE rounds, but you'd get more bang for your buck out of a rocket launcher and some hi-explosives if blowing up your necessary early-game income is your deal. :shrug: I'll sacrifice a rookie just to get extra Elerium early, for instance (Plasma Beams on my Interceptors in the first month, whee!).

 

Also, running around blowing up stuff in a terror mission is generally bad, unless it's those damn chryssies.

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  • 1 year later...

Only rifle, grenade and High Explosive!

Rifle on long distance, grenade vs 2-3 sectoid/floater/another guys )))) and High Explosive vs Reaper/another terrorists.

 

Rocket and cannon (High Explosive vs sectoid/floater)? No! I like collect all corpse and alien weapon. ;)

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You can collect the corpses and alien weapons with High Explosives and Large Rockets - just use them once.

 

On the first hit, all of the alien's equipment (and corpse) will be intact as they aren't on the ground yet. Subsequent attacks will destroy them, which is why you should avoid hitting the same area twice. If any aliens move up next to the bodies, wait for them to move away before attacking them.

 

Or if you're really uncertain, just hit them with the fringes of the explosion - you don't have to hit them spot-on.

 

- NKF

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  • 1 month later...
For me Rifles tend to be the starter weapon of choice. Light vgood and long range, still deadly at close and large amount of ammo per clip. Always handy when your new squad need a few rounds to ge their eye in. AC a good choice if you have someone with good start str. Packs a punch and you can switch ammo to suit needs.
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  • 8 months later...
:blink: I hate avalanche missile launchers and fusion ball missile launchers. If your craft arms them in both slots then the last shot is always wasted, cause the craft would automatically disengage and change to following only mode after all the ammo's gone, so as soon as the last missiles are away, it would fall behind the target and those missiles are out of range (even though they are not suppose to be).

 

Just remember to set your interceptor to aggressive attack before the last shots, then you can hit with all. Just don't let the ufo come too close.

 

Stun rods are great. Though, throwing grenades cost a bit more time units then, if the soldier also had a ranged weapon. Which I prefer to have on all my soldiers. I think all other weapons get replaced faster with new technology. I think stun rods will be useful even with small launcher available.

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  • 1 year later...
The Autocannon. It's weight isn't really that bad when you compare to the amount of damage it can put out. The Rocket Launcher gets a close second, but it's too heavy, and its ammunition too space-consuming to be a mainstay weapon, though it is very good for certain situations.
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