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XCOMUFO & Xenocide

How Much Loot Do You Get From Clearing Out Colonies?


reckoner

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If you kill all the aliens, on both levels; would you only get the stuff the aliens are carrying, or is there more stuff lying around the colony, such as Zrbite or sub components that might make clearing out the colony worth it? Also, do you get the alien equipment from both levels, or just the last one?

 

Cheers.

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You generally lose everything that's left on the ground in the first level, with the exception of items on your ship, the exits and what your aquanats are carrying. (assuming you don't hit the bug that causes some equipment to disappear)

 

If you just destroy the synonium device and head for the exit, you keep whatever you take with you to the exits and whatever you're carrying. Note, an MC'd alien on the exits will not escape with you, but it will let you take its equipment back home.

 

On the second level, if you clear out the whole map, you'll get all the equipment, the corpses and all the zrbite clusters that are just lying in the ion beam accelerators and those odd fleshy exploding drum thingies.

 

That's what I can remember, at least. The same should hold true for Artefact sites as well.

 

- NKF

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I completely cleaned out a Synonium Activity site today. I was really enjoying it until I was down to the last alien. After 2 hours searching I still couldn't find the bugger. In the end I gave up and used a save-game editor. I never cheat but this was clearly unfair - it was a Hallucinoid Terrorist hiding at the bottom of the device lift - blocking any way down with no way to even see it. Had to do a "reveal map" cheat, then lower its MC strength so I could take it up the lift and blast the crap out of the annoying thing.

 

Two.... hours for ONE Alien.... nnnghhhhhhh......

 

Anyway, on top of all the lovely corpses and guns, I was awarded with 500 Aqua plastics, alien sub construction, and a few alien devices - but no Zrbite !

 

If I dont destroy the device before killing all the aliens, would I get zrbite? Anyway, I got 2300 points for that one mission, the highest I've ever got - and it's the first day of the month $$$

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Was this an artefact site as opposed to the alien colony?

 

The artefeact site has the pyramids on the first level, then the brown boiler room in the second level with the black chamber with the lift up to the device.

 

Unless I'm mistaken, the artefact sites don't have zrbite pods.

 

In colonies, you'll notice a lot of the ion beam accelerators (the purple spheres in the room that looks like a theatre) and those pink exploding drums about the base. If you look at them carefully, you'll notice that some are different from others by having a small yellow bar at their base. This small bar is the zrbite. You can also spot them by going to your overhead map and looking for the object markers.

 

Steer all weapon fire and explosives away from these, as even the weakest of explosions will destroy the zrbite, and as the object it's in will often be explosive. You can also see which Ion Beam Acclerators in USOs are powered by zrbite by looking at the base of the small blue podiums in the engine rooms. These objects are also volatile.

 

As for the synonium device, I don't remember if they contain zrbite, but it's safe to leave them alone while you clear out the base of aliens. You should automatically win the mission once the last alien falls.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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Yes it was an artefact site, thanks for the tips about the Zrbite. There's a colony on my map now, so I'm gonna clear that out tonight. Hopefully I'll get as much Zrbite as I did Aqua plastics from the artefact site. If I keep killing stuff at this rate, my monthly score will be over 10,000!
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  • 2 years later...
Yes it was an artefact site, thanks for the tips about the Zrbite. There's a colony on my map now, so I'm gonna clear that out tonight. Hopefully I'll get as much Zrbite as I did Aqua plastics from the artefact site. If I keep killing stuff at this rate, my monthly score will be over 10,000!

 

 

NKF keeps saying you don't get to keep the equipment dropped on level 1 of a colony attack....

 

unless i'm crazy that just isn't true...

 

i'm playing my first time through TFTD, Gold Version, with no modding (xcom util whatever)

 

aliens setup a base in mid march i think, actually quite close to my main base of operations.

 

initially i went to put the site down & manually cleared level 1, (instead of using the lift)

 

when i went to level 2 i intended to clear it, but was woefully unprepared to match up with lobstermen

 

i literally had one lobsterman surrounded by 9 xcom agents with gauss rifles & autofired him with all 9 agents 3 rounds in a row (replacing the ones it mauled to death each round)

 

after the 3rd round of no effect i realized it was just impossible so i aborted mission...

 

much to my surprise i had TONS of new stuff to research & gear to sell when i got back home.

 

netted me about 3 million.

 

When you consider that the main limitation of xcom activity in TFTD appears to be funding... it didn't take me long to realize how powerful a tool this could be.

 

After that point (showing my limitless grind tolerance / super endurance) i began to run Gameday daily raids on this colony, netting me about 3 million per day (in mid march!!!)

 

by the end of April, i had all the bases possible with 4 long range radar going, & the money to build gen. stores, living quarters & put about 20 soldiers in (in case of base attacks on an otherwise unmanned base)

 

by the end of May, i had 2 fully functional "main base" of operations, on opposite sides of the globe, with 4 fully manned Tritons ready at a moments notice.

 

if i had felt like it with 4 Tritons, i could have been netting 12 million per day off this 1 colony.

 

no matter how many times you clear level one, if you abort mission without killing the synonium or clearing level 2, you can farm level 1 for all eternity.

 

While this may not net you Zyrbite... i would strongly suggest you actually LEAVE the colony intact. Not only for manual funding, but at an amazing 1000 points average per mission, I was EASILY getting "Excellent" reviews from all nations, even if i entirely ignored Terror missions.

 

By the end of June i would have had about 500 scientists fully going (but i ran into the coding error of 255 max science/engineer)

 

anyways, my point is this...

 

leave the colony & farm it as needed to fund whatever you want to do. once you're confident in your base placement & $$$ position

 

guess what it is still there... you can kill it whenever you like!

 

but again, if you leave it, you could always smash the supply ships that come there, and you stores of zyrbite will be limitless.

 

IMHO, there is no reason to clear a colony off the map ever it was the biggest blessing that ever happened to my campaign.

 

PS i have at least 30 DPL launchers with 200+ ammo in 3 different bases, as well as 20 Shock Launchers with 150+ ammo, i do not manually pick this ammo up, they are left on the floor on colony level 1 & are considered recovered items for me, just as any item on the floor of a recovered sub would be... they don't have to be on the triton floor or elevator floor... that's just crazy talk.

 

where i think you may get confused is on the level you abort mission from. if you abort mission ON level 1, yes, your men have to be carrying it or have it on the triton floor for a dust off. if you CLEAR level 1 & then ABORT on level 2, all of levels items are secured regardless, but any equip on level 2's floor is lost, unless you bring it back to the exit area or are carrying it by xcom agents in the evac area.

 

*side note* interestingly enough an unconscious agent on the evac floor will be MIA & deleted, and if an xcom agent is carrying him unconscious he will be MIA & deleted, in order to evac him, you actually have to med-kit revive the person 1st & then have them stand in evac area as normal

Edited by Tiruas
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I'm basing my findings off my experience with the Dos edition of the game. That version never lets you keep the loot on the first map except what you carry on you (and I believe v2 lets you keep the stuff on the Triton squares as well). I'm also basing this on the shipping lane 2-parter missions, where you can clear both maps.

 

I don't have the CE version to compare however, so our experiences may vary. It's possible they corrected this in the CE release.

 

I might just have to e-bay myself a copy of TFTD CE one of these days.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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I'm basing my findings off my experience with the Dos edition of the game. That version never lets you keep the loot on the first map except what you carry on you (and I believe v2 lets you keep the stuff on the Triton squares as well). I'm also basing this on the shipping lane 2-parter missions, where you can clear both maps.

 

I don't have the CE version to compare however, so our experiences may vary. It's possible they corrected this in the CE release.

 

I might just have to e-bay myself a copy of TFTD CE one of these days.

 

- NKF

 

 

 

i would suggest you ditch the dos version & goggle up a windows version if you can...

 

that would be a major pain in the donkey to have to manually carry all that gear back to your lander each time... forget that man. :(

 

yeah, it totally works, i raided that base so many times i lost count of it...

 

given the i almost always lost my torpedo tank & 3-4 men each raid in the early days, i still netted about 3 million per raid

 

and i never once had to horde up the gear & move it around the map.... that's just plain stupid, who would do that???

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Ah, have you met zombie and his patented Smash and Grab technique that he uses in UFO?

 

In general, I find the loot off supply ships more than adequate to get by. If you have two or three colony farms, you're set for the rest of the game. It was easier in UFO since supply ships crews there didn't carry guide missiles. The flip side to this of course is that it is a source of DPL torpedoes. The only real downside is that you have to wait for the supply ship to appear. Colonies are there 24/7 and can be attacked whenever you want.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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i'm unfamiliar with zombie's strategy,

 

but, you're missing my point, yes you can grab the supply ships & i do...

 

but if you cannot swipe the colonies & get all that gear without hauling it back to the triton... that's really annoying & i would want to fix that.

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http://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Alien_Base_Assault

 

 

Smash And Grab

Alien bases can be a very quick and dirty (dangerous) way to get Elerium, using what we call the "smash and grab" mission. Raid them by seeking out the storage room with power units. Destroy the power units without using explosives, and pick up the purple Elerium canisters that were underneath. Boogie back to the entry lift, and abort the mission. You get the Elerium and the base is not destroyed. This means you can raid as often as you dare. Consider grabbing a few pieces of alien equipment on your retreat to replenish any spent equipment during the raid, and perhaps if you are lucky enough to knock out a high ranking alien, drag it back to the entrance to have it abducted.

 

If you want to do repeated Smash And Grabs on the same base, you must not destroy the base Control Center, and you must leave at least one alien alive in the base.

 

One tip is to knock out an alien, bring it somewhere safe where you can watch over it (such as the small storage rooms with the small grav-lift), then revive it with a Medi-Kit. Proceed to wipe out the rest of the aliens, but do not damage the command consoles in the command centre. As soon as the base is neutralized, initiate a recovery mission and gather as much equipment (and corpses, if you're really stretched for cash) in the green entrance pads before aborting the mission. Though this may seem time consuming, it does allow you to reap the rewards of a normal successful mission.

 

The mission will be counted as a technical failure, but that's nothing to worry about, as the activity points, loot and experience will tell you otherwise.

 

Many (or most?) alien bases will not have power units, or any Elerium. Recent research has shown that attacking a base's Supply Ships is likely to be more profitable (and less dangerous) than attacking the base itself, and a more reliable source of Elerium. See UFO Recovery Values#Alien Base Assaults for more details.

 

 

*******

 

very interesting, for all the years i've played Xcom1 never once did i attempt that or even know it was possible.....

 

i always thought capturing power sources & supply ships intact where the only way to acquire elerium... i will have to see if this is possible in TFTD, the extra zyrbite could come in handy (i'm also whorishly greedy)

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i always thought capturing power sources & supply ships intact where the only way to acquire elerium... i will have to see if this is possible in TFTD, the extra zyrbite could come in handy (i'm also whorishly greedy)

 

Colonies have 100 units of zrbite. You can also smash and grab here. It's located on the top floor of the synomium device room. There's elevators for you to use. Don't use explosives to destroy the ion-beam accelerator thingy that housing the zrbite. Use sonic cannon to remove it. You will also get the zrbite if you wipe out all the aliens in the second level. HOWEVER, in your mission score, you won't get points for it. Once your ship gets back to base, you'll get it in your stock.

 

Artefacts sites don't.

 

Survey ships never have zrbite. Other intact ships have them at various amounts. A cruiser will always have zrbite, no matter how damage it is (since the zrbite is located on the magnetic navigation, not ion beam accelerator). Use the map button to located the 'equipment' blips.

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One place I often spot Zrbite is in the 'theater' with the purple Ion Beam Accelerator tanks thats at the top of the Synonium device chamber. In general, I'd regularly check the overhead map to see if you can spot any items on the ground in areas you're sweeping through.

 

You can actually recognize which bits of furniture are storing Zrbite. In UFO, the elerium pods were purple dots at the base of the Power Units. In TFTD, they are a little yellow-ish bar.

 

I wouldn't recommend even attempting to recover zrbite crystals on a USO though as the IBA's in subs are explosive, which means you'll destroy them. You may as well clear the map and get everything. The only way to get it without destroying it is to somehow walk or drop a non-floating aquanaut into the IBA through elevation trickery or tossing a stunned aqunaut into the IBA. None of these are easy feats!

 

i'm unfamiliar with zombie's strategy,

 

but, you're missing my point, yes you can grab the supply ships & i do...

 

but if you cannot swipe the colonies & get all that gear without hauling it back to the triton... that's really annoying & i would want to fix that.

 

Heh, TFTD has so many bugs that it doesn't bother me too much anymore. Selling loot gathered from standard missions covers the operations more than enough.

 

I don't really attempt to completely destroy colonies until I'm ready for it. By the time I do get around to wiping out the excess colonies, I'll probably have enough money and resources to get by just fine. Besides, I like to do surgical strikes and blow away the Colony as quickly as possible, loot tends to be secondary in this case. Just a throwback from my UFO days when I had this thing for wiping out Ethereal bases with a few well placed blatser bombs in in 2 turns or less if at all possible - which was in turn inspired by TFTD and its synonium device. Amazing how things go around in cycles. ;)

 

One good way to verify for sure that you gather all the loot from the topside portion of the colony is to abort the second part of the mission as soon as it starts (after recovering any aquanauts that start stranded deep inside the base). The tasoth, aquatoid, hallucinoid and tentaculat corpse count is a good indicator of loot collection. I might run this on my copy of pre v2 and v2 just to be sure. The fact XComutil has a fix for the loot problem though sticks in my mind.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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I wouldn't recommend even attempting to recover zrbite crystals on a USO though as the IBA's in subs are explosive, which means you'll destroy them. You may as well clear the map and get everything. The only way to get it without destroying it is to somehow walk or drop a non-floating aquanaut into the IBA through elevation trickery or tossing a stunned aqunaut into the IBA. None of these are easy feats!

Zrbite isn't necessarily placed under an Ion Beam Accelerator in TFTD though. The location(s) where Zrbite spawns is determined in the executable and there are a few ships where the Zrbite is just sitting loose on the floor of the ship (or sometimes even outside the ship). Just look at the overhead map to see where the Zrbite is, you might be able to pull a surgical strike on a USO as well. ^_^

 

- Zombie

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