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XCOMUFO & Xenocide

Meets alot of floaters


Tokk

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In most of the games I have played, the aliens seems to split the earth into areas. So that Snakemen keep to one area and Floater to another area. In my last game missions in Europe was always against Sectoids.

 

I bet they do the rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets what :)

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well, if you play some modified version of ufo

this could be the answer

 

anyway, as I mostly play unmodified version of ufo collectors edition

I can confirm this:

In some periods of time, it is a greater chance to find particular type of race often than other ones

sometimes mission type counts too!!!

 

i.e.

most of the time, I see this order of appearance

sectoids tends to be first race to fight

than floaters -> snakeman -> mutons

and finally ethereals

 

if you shot down a lot of floater ships

they ( floaters I mean ) could send more ships in retaliation missions

so this could be in your case

 

if alien race set up colony

than supply ships will be populated by the same race each time

so ... if floaters setup a base .... each time supply ship will appear

you will meet ( meat LOL hehe ) your beloved :) floaters

 

could you write what type of ships/missions you are encoutering most?

 

yarrow

Edited by yarrow
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It's a random toss between Sectoid and Floater at the very start, then as usual Snakeman, Muton and finally the Ethereals. But with the randomness involved, I once had a campaign where I never got the Mutons until well after the Ethereals.

 

Also how long have you been seeing the floaters? If it's still early into the game and only a few months have passed, then things are probably normal.

 

- NKF

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When I dicover a Floater-base, I usually leave it alone and wait for the supplyships to come. As the supplyship land I attack it to get my greedy hands on their Elerium. :ar15:
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Snakeman bases are good for that too. While their accuracy is the 3rd highest of all the races, and they have more health and armour than floaters, they do have the lowest TUs and most importantly the lowest reactions of the main 5 races. This means they can't move very far and when they do move their ability to use reaction fire just plummets.

 

And to be honest I don't like attacking the bases because of the Chryssalids. ;)

 

- NKF

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And to be honest I don't like attacking the bases because of the Chryssalids.

 

Thats the reason I avoid them too, they have nasty friends. ^_^

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I must point that ... tactics employed by you, or your style of play

have a very strong impact on which aliens you like, and which you do not

some example here, ironman runs I do more safely, than normal 'save'y' LOL way

 

I do not dislike cryssalids, like most of other players do ( dont like them either )

its just another alien to be hunted down and killed

I understand of course, why other players dont like 'speedy infestation guys' ;)

 

returning to floaters

floaters are #3 race of preference on my list,

 

personally I prefer sectoids for following reasons

- they can give you ALL the techs in the game -> psi, navigator, leader, commander, engineers, medics ... whatever

- so easy to kill, even with the weakest and most basic weapons ( except for cyberdiscs of course :) )

 

and now some frustrating ones

- first terror missions is a real challenge, to most of players ( including me )

- cyberdiscs can blow ( my preciousssss ;) ) loot when killed

- lost whole squad and skyranger, on 'sectoids only' mission

 

to me, floaters are a nice break from 'sectoid scheme' :)

 

yarrow

Edited by yarrow
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  • 2 weeks later...
I must point that ... tactics employed by you, or your style of play

have a very strong impact on which aliens you like, and which you do not

some example here, ironman runs I do more safely, than normal 'save'y' LOL way

 

I do not dislike cryssalids, like most of other players do ( dont like them either )

its just another alien to be hunted down and killed

I understand of course, why other players dont like 'speedy infestation guys' ;)

 

returning to floaters

floaters are #3 race of preference on my list,

 

personally I prefer sectoids for following reasons

- they can give you ALL the techs in the game -> psi, navigator, leader, commander, engineers, medics ... whatever

- so easy to kill, even with the weakest and most basic weapons ( except for cyberdiscs of course :) )

 

and now some frustrating ones

- first terror missions is a real challenge, to most of players ( including me )

- cyberdiscs can blow ( my preciousssss ;) ) loot when killed

- lost whole squad and skyranger, on 'sectoids only' mission

 

to me, floaters are a nice break from 'sectoid scheme' :)

 

yarrow

 

I usually encounter Sectoids. I prefer Floaters. I hate sectoid especially in barn tactical missions because many times they are 4-5 tiles away and I can't see them because they are hiding behind a fence or something annoying like that. I prefer Floaters because they are more easily spotted and bigger targets (and better target practice too as they are not as weak as sectoids).

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yes, I agree with you ... but still prefer sectoids ;)

 

below I present some tips when fighting in urban areas,

most of them are well known, so dont expect any miracles ;)

 

 

I found that kneeling helps a lot

in sitiuations when sectoids 'hide' behind some obstacles like fences

 

walking onto hills helps;)

the trick is, that you dont have to walk up to the top of the hill

any 'change of elevation' can help, even the smallest one!!

 

throw some high explosives on houses roofs

in case of sectoids any grenade should do ;)

 

use more frequently rocket launchers/high explosives to flatten buildings, orchards ... whatever

now sectoids cannot hide anymore ( maybe except of their ufo-ship if it is intact ;) )

 

you can also burn to ashes

trees, even whole forests/jungles with incendiary ammo

 

 

yes some methods are more costly ... but ... one corpse pays back these costs

compare this 1500$ per high explosive grenade / 20K$ per alien corpse

( grenades can blow aliens so corpse is not generated sometimes )

 

 

and final note

sectoids can give you psi, floaters cant !!!

the sooner you know which soldier is psi weakling, the better

 

this knowledge is very important, even if taken from combat experience

I mean before first month of psi training psi-lab

 

yarrow

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yes, I agree with you ... but still prefer sectoids ;)

 

below I present some tips when fighting in urban areas,

most of them are well known, so dont expect any miracles ;)

 

 

I found that kneeling helps a lot

in sitiuations when sectoids 'hide' behind some obstacles like fences

 

walking onto hills helps;)

the trick is, that you dont have to walk up to the top of the hill

any 'change of elevation' can help, even the smallest one!!

 

throw some high explosives on houses roofs

in case of sectoids any grenade should do ;)

 

use more frequently rocket launchers/high explosives to flatten buildings, orchards ... whatever

now sectoids cannot hide anymore ( maybe except of their ufo-ship if it is intact ;) )

 

you can also burn to ashes

trees, even whole forests/jungles with incendiary ammo

 

 

yes some methods are more costly ... but ... one corpse pays back these costs

compare this 1500$ per high explosive grenade / 20K$ per alien corpse

( grenades can blow aliens so corpse is not generated sometimes )

 

 

and final note

sectoids can give you psi, floaters cant !!!

the sooner you know which soldier is psi weakling, the better

 

this knowledge is very important, even if taken from combat experience

I mean before first month of psi training psi-lab

 

yarrow

I actually throw high explosives inside the window on the top floor instead of on the roof.

:-)

 

As for corpses, I play with council funding only mod.

:-)

 

Kneeling haven't really helped me in locating sectoids and is more likely to waste my TUs and potentially trigger reaction fire. I blow obstacles from afar if possible, but mostly so my shots won't hit obstacles instead of the target.

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If you step back and think about it, it doesn't really matter whether you like Sectoids, Floaters or Snakemen. They're all "fodder" races compared to Mutons and Ethereals and can be shot down easily with the basic pistol.

 

- NKF

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If you step back and think about it, it doesn't really matter whether you like Sectoids, Floaters or Snakemen. They're all "fodder" races compared to Mutons and Ethereals and can be shot down easily with the basic pistol.

 

- NKF

Ahhh..... but when you play with range based accuracy, things tend to change a bit.

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sorry, I assumed, no mods in use

just unmodified version

 

Agreed, both range based accuracy mod and council funding self-restriction

makes a big difference to the game

especially range based accuracy, its like lowering your soldiers firing accuracy to 20

 

 

throwing through windows does not work too well to me ( it works, just not so well )

its easier to throw to roof, and after roof is blasted, throw inside building

yes, 2 or more grenades are needed, but its better chance to catch alien on the roof first

 

all of this is from my personal observation of course

and I can say that from buildings, aliens tends often go downstairs

then stay on the floor, except for the roof snipers

 

flatting buildings/fences, and kneeling tactics works very well to me

maybe its my style to demolish civilian structures :)

 

kneeling can provoke rection fire, yes of course

so, I prefer ( and tend to ) throw a lot of standard grenades near the fences and other small obstacles

they are cheap and in endless supply to XCom

 

heavy stuff: like high explosives and rockets

I leave for 'my little terraforming' :)

 

 

and finally

NKF made his point, aliens are fodder to be mopped up

some are just harder to wipe out, some you like and some you like less ;)

 

after all, its YOU, that must have fun from the game in the first place

I do :)

 

in my case, its those sectoids in the very begining of the game, that makes the fun to me

lets say first/second month, when the aliens have that big strategic and especially tactical advantage over XCom

after sitiuation balances, I found its like just mopping up over alien corpses ;)

 

so go ahead ... meat :) your floaters/snakemans/mutons/ethereals ... whichever you like or dislike

leave my beloved sectoids to me LOL

 

happy 'meating' :)

yarrow

 

ps.

another and rather stupid argument why I like sectoids

they looks like aliens, in most people eyes

buhahaha, that is stupid arg indeed :)

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Yes, throwing high explosive through a window can be tricky. I always leave some soldiers with TUs to pick it up if it didn't go in. As for throwing grenades on the roof the first turn, I used to do it. However, if there are floaters there, you risk them coming out and shooting during their turn.
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It requires a bit of practice, but is otherwise not hard. Get your angle right or make your own holes. It's quite easy to level the entire upper level of a barn and the roof with a single high explosive

 

Ahhh..... but when you play with range based accuracy, things tend to change a bit.

 

Point blank shots then. ;)

 

I wasn't implying the pistol specifically - just that these aliens are of the fragile variety that will fall easily to anything.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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It requires a bit of practice, but is otherwise not hard. Get your angle right or make your own holes. It's quite easy to level the entire upper level of a barn and the roof with a single high explosive

 

Ahhh..... but when you play with range based accuracy, things tend to change a bit.

 

Point blank shots then. ;)

 

I wasn't implying the pistol specifically - just that these aliens are of the fragile variety that will fall easily to anything.

 

- NKF

I'm already master of flattening barn floors.

:-)

 

It is just that sometimes, even at the right angle, high explosives hit the wall and fall down.

 

As for pistols, I actually have to thank you about them. I used to use sniper rifles only. In one of your threads, you referred to pistols so I started experimenting with them and use them ever since. The reason being that unlike sniper rifles, you can move your soldier quite a bit and still get 1-2 aimed shots unlike a sniper rifle.

 

Though when going in close quarters, I arm my soldiers with an automatic weapon. I also arm the first four soldiers on the Skyranger with sniper rifles, just in case I meet lots of hostiles in close range as I step out the door.

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if I throw high explosive on the roof

there is no such thingie as: 'risk them coming out and shooting during their turn' :D

cause after my turn ends, your floater sniper :D on the roof is dead, plain and simple

 

thats one of reasons why I like throwing high explosives on the roof

standard grenade can blow roof too, but not the floater sniper

even sectoids can survive if not thrown in correct place

but high explosive has power to do both things at the same time

I mean, kill the alien sniper and destroy the roof

 

you underestimate the power of the dark side ... on the roof :)

 

after all, only ONE!! alien is resistant high enough to high explosive grenades: Sectopod

All others ... even those pesky cyberdiscs!!, can be blown with just one humble high explosive grenade

even 'Pod of Sectoids' :) is quite badly damaged, after explosion

and yes ... I NEVER saw him on the roof ROFL

 

in terror there is no discussion, sonic pulsers 'rule the battlescape', but in XCom 1 <_< ?

 

 

I was wondering about oldfan following sentence

'It is just that sometimes, even at the right angle, high explosives hit the wall and fall down.'

 

hmm, that is interesting

I never observed this, grenade explosions are contrained to one level

my guess is: some error in collision detection that is being used, like in ufo diagonal walls

 

but it stays as item on the level down ... hmm? ... after explosion? OMFG

that is really interesting, or I ... 'didnt hit the alien' ? ... again ;)

 

yarrow

Edited by yarrow
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It requires a bit of practice, but is otherwise not hard. Get your angle right or make your own holes. It's quite easy to level the entire upper level of a barn and the roof with a single high explosive

 

Ahhh..... but when you play with range based accuracy, things tend to change a bit.

 

Point blank shots then. ;)

 

I wasn't implying the pistol specifically - just that these aliens are of the fragile variety that will fall easily to anything.

 

- NKF

I'm already master of flattening barn floors.

:-)

 

It is just that sometimes, even at the right angle, high explosives hit the wall and fall down.

 

As for pistols, I actually have to thank you about them. I used to use sniper rifles only. In one of your threads, you referred to pistols so I started experimenting with them and use them ever since. The reason being that unlike sniper rifles, you can move your soldier quite a bit and still get 1-2 aimed shots unlike a sniper rifle.

 

Though when going in close quarters, I arm my soldiers with an automatic weapon. I also arm the first four soldiers on the Skyranger with sniper rifles, just in case I meet lots of hostiles in close range as I step out the door.

I never throw explosive on the roof, I usually spot the snipers there. I meant throwing it to one level below the roof - from my experience, that is usually where aliens hide. If you blow up the roof, you risk floaters coming from the floor beneath it the on their turn - this is what I was referring to.

 

When I throw explosives through the window of the top floor, I try doing so when there are other soldiers around with TUs at maximum. The reason is that sometimes the soldier is not accurate in throwing the explosive and instead of going through the window it hits the wall and falls on the ground. That means that unless there is somebody else to pick it up, it is likely that the soldier will be in the blast zone.

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If you step back and think about it, it doesn't really matter whether you like Sectoids, Floaters or Snakemen. They're all "fodder" races compared to Mutons and Ethereals and can be shot down easily with the basic pistol.

 

- NKF

Yeah, let`s play a campaign only with the standard weapons OMFG

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It's quite possible to beat the game with starting level heavies like the High Explosive, Heavy and Auto cannon and Rocket Launcher. They make it possible to beat the terror units. The stun rod will let you capture you the big-three aliens needed to go to the last mission.

 

Superhuman sectopods however take quite a beating.

 

If it's possible to destroy an alien base with any given weapon setup, then theoretically Cydonia's possible to defeat as well.

 

If you meant just the pistols and rifles - you might have to abandon a few missions due to running out of ammo against some terror unit. It takes nearly a full rifle clip for a superhuman reaper for example. Missions vs. Sectopods are completely out of the question. :D

 

Mods not accounted for.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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It's quite possible to beat the game with starting level heavies like the High Explosive, Heavy and Auto cannon and Rocket Launcher. They make it possible to beat the terror units. The stun rod will let you capture you the big-three aliens needed to go to the last mission.

 

Superhuman sectopods however take quite a beating.

 

If it's possible to destroy an alien base with any given weapon setup, then theoretically Cydonia's possible to defeat as well.

 

If you meant just the pistols and rifles - you might have to abandon a few missions due to running out of ammo against some terror unit. It takes nearly a full rifle clip for a superhuman reaper for example. Missions vs. Sectopods are completely out of the question. :D

 

Mods not accounted for.

 

- NKF

I actually did some experimentation with a Cyberdisc in superhuman using high explosives and large missile. On most accounts, it can survived the first hit. I think I tried around 20-30 times and from what I remember, I killed it on first strike 5-6 times or so.

 

As for reapers, I love them if I manage to down the terror ship. If I have 3-4 of them, it is easy to have all your squad score 11 hits per that mission if using pistols or sniper rifles. Reaper are almost completely helpless in jungle terrain, as their movement is highly impaired.

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perhaps harkonnen mentor :) ( actually, I forgot his name :( )

is using some mods again

 

in my experience ( no mods, just pure Collectors edition )

High Explosive is third 'on the shelf' ( one grenade under Cyberdisc and disc is gone, ~80% of the time )

large rockets are only slightly less efficient, ~70% of the time

 

yarrow

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perhaps harkonnen mentor :) ( actually, I forgot his name :( )

is using some mods again

 

in my experience ( no mods, just pure Collectors edition )

High Explosive is third 'on the shelf' ( one grenade under Cyberdisc and disc is gone, ~80% of the time )

large rockets are only slightly less efficient, ~70% of the time

 

yarrow

No mods that affect that. I play the collector's edition and I was quite surprised that high explosives and large missile failed to take out a Cyberdisc most of the times on the first hit. Even laser rifles usually take 3-6 hits to take it down.

 

P.S.

Piter De Vries, I believe

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Yes it was quite a shock when I first started playing true superhuman missions to find that the Cyberdiscs sometimes survived a rocket.

 

But then there's a good reason for this. Cyberdiscs are the most resistant enemies in the game to high explosive damage, taking only 60% of the damage, and with the increased superhuman level health it's not surprising they can survive the attack. Of course they are still very badly crippled in the process.

 

On a related note: Laser, Plasma and Stun do normal damage to Cyberidscs, which is why they're very good at damaging them in general.

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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Yes it was quite a shock when I first started playing true superhuman missions to find that the Cyberdiscs sometimes survived a rocket.

 

But then there's a good reason for this. Cyberdiscs are the most resistant enemies in the game to high explosive damage, taking only 60% of the damage, and with the increased superhuman level health it's not surprising they can survive the attack. Of course they are still very badly crippled in the process.

 

On a related note: Laser, Plasma and Stun do normal damage to Cyberidscs, which is why they're very good at damaging them in general.

 

- NKF

Forget about rockets, this is also the case with high explosives which are more powerful. But yes, I agree, it does cripple their aiming accuracy significantly. My favorite thing is to find a bunch of Cyberdiscs clustered together. I actually hope that the first explosive/rocket won't kill any of them. Then, the second explosion may cause wonders and lots of secondary/thirdly/forthly/etc explosions by having them die and explode.

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