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[a1s]

I image the X-com scientists are forced to resort to absurd shoe-string measures to stay under budget.  By which I mean they are using their shoe-strings to hold together the crude device they made to run their failure tests on alien alloys.  Once those tests are done, they will need to recycle the shoe strings.

at $750k per lab those have to Versace shoestrings. (Actually that's still pretty low for the kind of high-tec lab X-Com is supposed to have...)

[mainiac]

Reaction fire can be very crucial at times.  Don't move your soldiers until they are out of move points.  An agent with good reflexes will be able to shoot before the alien does if he has full action points.

Sadly, off-turn fire is less powerful then on-turn fire.  On turn, you can concentrate fire on a target.  Off turn, you have to decide ahead of time which direction the agents will face.

But keep in mind that the best defense is to kill the other bastard before he can kill you.  Cover area's where aliens might come as best you can.  And don't move faster then you need to.  If you use all your action points moving, you can't attack on your turn or the aliens turn.  If you don't know if there's danger out of your line of sight, assume the danger is there.  (of course, if someone is bleeding to death, you might want to reconsider.)

[Mephansteras]

I've started using smoke grenades more. If there is an alien I'm having trouble killing, I keep a soldier ready with a smoke grenade to toss in between it and us. That way I don't lose soldiers on it's turn, and I can just bombard where it was with grenades.

Really useful on terror missions early on when you're having trouble killing cyberdisks.

[Nirur Torir]

How do most people deal with supply ships that landed of their own free will without using blaster bombs? I tend to lose lots of rookies to all the sharp corners in them. The 150 Elerium-115 per ship is worth it, of course, but it seems like there is should be a way that lets me keep my rookies.

[Mephansteras]

They are pretty tough. I frequently use a gradual approach. I get my main group inside (with sweepers outside to get any wandering aliens). I then move through the ship slowly, making sure my troops always have enough time to blast any aliens that come around a corner to find me. I also frequently throw grenades at corners that are a bit away, just to get any aliens hiding just around them.

I've found that scouts with high reaction scores and pistols are very good in these situations, since they can get off a lot of shots. Plus, I can keep a grenade in their off hand without sacrificing accuracy.

[Nirur Torir]

Ah, using grenades at corners, I knew I was forgetting something, thanks. The aliens almost invariably kill my rookies with reaction fire at point-blank range as they turn the corner. Not that it matters much - It would distress the rookies, but I keep a Colonel in the Skyranger. It would distress me, but they're only worth slightly more then a dead alien.

[Soulwynd]

The reaction time on Apoc is much better. Not failsafe, but better. Soldiers with high reflex are awesome killers too.

Also, on ufo 1-2, if you sit a recruit around just waiting for a reflex shot, he will get nervous and start losing morale. I've had a recruit panic by just sitting on a snipping position.

[Sowelu]

Always remember that reactions are CONTESTED.

Whenever you do something that an alien sees, it looks at initiative scores:  (alien's reaction * alien's TU% remaining) versus (your reaction * your TU% remaining).

If you don't want to get picked off going around a corner, send someone with high reactions and nearly full TU.  That means stopping before the corner, yes.  And of course you want high TU when you stop at the corner, in case the alien comes around it.

But seriously--Even if your guy has 12 TU left and you say "I can send him around a corner, look, then pull him back", that is a suicide mission because any alien with enough TU left to shoot, will beat his initiative.

Yeah, all of a sudden corner approaches take four turns instead of one, but you'll start winning those reaction shots a lot more.

[beorn080]

I've found myself relying on stun rods and sniper range weapons, at least in UFO:AI. If an enemy is close enough to reach reasonably accurately with a close up weapon, I can reach him with a stun rod and drop him instantly. If he's too far for that, the snipers let loose their salvos. Stun rods being one hit wonders probably makes them overpowered.

[Soulwynd]

In turn based apoc, I use people with swords a lot. =p  It's a nasty killfest.

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, at least in the first X-com they aren't that good. You Might drop them in one hit, but it might take two or three, and you often don't have the APs for that. Which usually means that soldier is toast, since they won't miss at that range and any attempts to shoot the alien by your other troops have a good chance of hitting your own guy instead.

[Gunner-Chan]

Yeah, at least in the first X-com they aren't that good. You Might drop them in one hit, but it might take two or three.

Two or three at MINIMUM, I've seen sectoids take 4 stun rod shocks before. But that's why you gave the sticks to the rookies and not your real men.

[Sowelu]

Stun rods really shouldn't be one-hit drops.

That's what heavy thermal lances vs. lobstermen are for!

[a1s]

Stun rods really shouldn't be one-hit drops.

they aren't. if you play the game the way Nietzsche intended it to be played.

[Smitehappy]

Stun rods really shouldn't be one-hit drops.

That's what heavy thermal lances vs. lobstermen are for!

But that's the main advantage of stun guns/etc. No matter the physical shape of the person it's going to be effective as long as they have a nervous system that use electric signals.