Just A Curious Question.

[Commander Nicolai]

Reguardless of how accurate your guy/girl or whoever can shoot. Using the Blaster Bomb... does it matter?

 

I have guys that have 90 Firing Accuracy and they cant even shoot the damn thing straight 2 points I made on the battlescape.

Like it will hit a tree or light pole or something in the way .

They cant even hit the target going through a maze of 8 points I made on battlescape.

 

But when I put some rookie on there with 50 Firing Accuracy and shoots it, he can hit the target going through an 8 point maze of crap I had to guide it through... this doesnt make sense. Is their another Stat/Trait playing a roll in this?

 

If it doesnt matter how good they can shoot using Blaster Bomb, Im going to start equipping to only guys that can carry heavy crap. I use to only give it to people with good Firing Accuracy, like snipers.

Edited January 27, 2009 by Commander Nicolai

[[NKF]]

Your accuracy doesn't matter. From a recent discussion we had somewhere on the forums (or perhaps the wiki), the blaster is re-fired between each waypoint using its own accuracy stat. So it has the potential to drift off course slightly (between waypoints) - then once it nears its waypoint (or flies off the map - which ever comes first), jump to where it should have been and then get fired off to the next waypoint.

 

It can be tricky, but a bit of practice pays off. To get the most out of your blasters bombs give them plenty of space and don't try to make your maneuvers too tight.

 

In a corridor, going down the middle works, or you could even try to zig zag it so that it purposely flies towards a wall that it could clip, then bounce it off in the other direction further along the path, and repeat until it clears the corridor (or the back end of the Skyranger).

 

- NKF

[Zombie]

We had discussions about this in both places. For some reason though, the server for the wiki is taking forever to load pages so I'll have to do this from memory. If it serves me, I think that Seb mentioned that the "true" Firing Accuracy of the Blaster Launcher is hard coded to be something like 50% for aliens and 40% for humans between each waypoint. And this accuracy is not further modified by the units personal FA stat either (like it is with other ranged weapons). So basically, the accuracy for the Blaster is the worst in the game instead of the best.

 

To use the weapon effectively, put waypoints closer together in tight areas. That way, any potential "drift" created by the low accuracy will be negated. In open areas, feel free to space the waypoints further apart because even if the bomb veers way off course there isn't much it could hit. At least outdoors, send the bomb up as high as it can go and then, with a couple long-distance waypoints, send it near the intended target. When you get close, dunk the BB down and at a slight angle. In alien and X-COM bases, simply send bomb directly down the middle of corridors. Since they are usually 3 tiles wide, drift will not be too big of an issue if the points are in the center of the walkway. But you'll probably want to place the points a little closer together anyway just to keep drift at bay.

 

Not sure what to do with sending BB's out of a craft. My usual tactic is to stand on the equipment pile (maybe kneeling would be even a better choice for Line Of Fire) and then fire the bomb at an angle to the right on the 'ranger. For the Avenger, there aren't any obstructions along the exit so there shouldn't be any issues here either. The point I'm trying to make is to get to the exit then fire the bomb. Don't be firing it off way at the back of the craft and expect it to fly perfectly straight with a single waypoint inside.

 

- Zombie

[[stewart]]

For longer distances between way points, try to do that way up in the air. So send the silver disk up then WAAAAAY over then down. If the accuracy roll is blown at level 4 for the most part, who cares.

[EtherImp]

For longer distances between way points, try to do that way up in the air. So send the silver disk up then WAAAAAY over then down. If the accuracy roll is blown at level 4 for the most part, who cares.

 

This. Only exception would be inside bases or inside alien craft... But in the case of both; why shoot down corridores when you can shoot through them?