Anything less than 2 damage is basically nulled anyway, since thats how much the passive repairs per turn. Also, ABA updated and added new, mean things. Almost none of which we will see soon, but I might as well mention it.
Huzzah for plot-based plot reducer.
We also get another supplies rumor that makes up for the one that seems to have vanished. Two days later, the workshop and resistance comms are done. One of the engineers gets put into the workshop, one of the gremlins into the comms, and the other gremlin into the power relay. The free engineer leftover it put back to work helping shield that power coil.
Shortly after, we get this, which is not too important right now. More importantly we have elerium research complete, which leads to all sorts of interesting things. The newest of which is that, if we wanted to spend an advent datapad on it, we can now instantly unlock alien strongboxes. I'll wait on that until we get the african bonus, so that it surely going to be good loot. From Ultimate Workshop, we can now build elerium cores at the expensive price of 75 supplies, 35 elerium, and 50 alloys.
For the rest, theres our plot research alien encryption, which will take the least time. In order of increasingly long to complete, we then have psionics (9 days), plasma rifles (12), and powered armor (13). I'm going with psionics first, we've got a supply drop in 15 hours and I want to get a psi lab soon. The supplies rumor got us 66 supplies, which is pretty alright.
I don't like the sound of that armor, but retaliation strikes are annoying as well.
3 days later, we've collected our supply drop, and bought some extras from the black market along with selling 9 advent strongboxes (we've still got 22 left). We're off to connect East Asia, and then if we still have time, build a relay in New India to complete the region bonus. I pick up both Gauss Rifles and Mag Cannons, and Kaladin is finished healing, so I take a couple days off the remaining shield power coil time.
That is conveniently close! I suppose we can head over there next, especially considering it annoyingly added 2 dots to the avatar progress, followed by a generic avatar progress increase. The power coil also completes shielding shotly after, so we get to work on digging out fourth row mid, we'll need more alien alloys and it gives us some.
East Asia is now connected, now for a radio relay in New India, and we'll be both closer to that facility and be able to make suits easily. 20 hours later, we've got Psionics completed, which means the psi lab is available and so is the adv. psi amp. The Psi lab is going in the power coil space, because it eats up
so much power if you intend to upgrade it later, and I do. I want me a bunch of psi-ops, because psi-ops are awesome. With an engineer diverted to it, it'll be operational in 11 days. I pick up the adv. psi amp for our psiblades (and later our psi-ops), Alien Encryption research is next, since its fast and necessary. We are now out of supplies tho :\
As much as I'd like to deny advent their armor, we need supplies, otherwise I can't build our armor once that relay is finished building! After double checking the proving grounds, neither EXO suits not spider suits need supplies to be built. So instead, we're doing this so I can get other useful things done, like building a laboratory, or maybe upgrading the workshop or comms or psi lab earlier. As a bonus, we don't have to deal with early retaliation.
Cypher gets Ever Vigilant, Furtukan gets Domination. Both snipers get Expanded mags to go with their seperate scope types, Jopax gets an adv. repeater, Sirus gets an adv. scope and adv. corrosive shrapnel, Pies gets Triage Protocol.
It might be a terrible pun, I'm leaving it there anyway.
Not on screen: Preacher, Flea, Cowboy, Big Bird
Lets'a go.
Uno mutono. Theres also the new advent in this group: the Advanced Wrecker. They have armor-piercing and high chance to wreck environmental things.
Ambushers 4, Xenos 0. Storm, Sirus, Cypher, and Athing all got a kill. Caroline gets us some loot: Elerium core x2, Advent strongbox, Adv. repeater, Adv Flexweave, Alien Data cache, Alien Strongbox.
Kaos gets the first Gauss rifle overwatch shot, and its an excellent one, but theres even more news than that!
The news being we've got a proper xenos squadron on our hands here. Four sectoids and an injured muton.
They even survive soulfire strikes, they do.
Lightning Hands takes out that sectoid.
I suppose Deadeye isn't all bad, when it hits. It turned this into a ohko on that sectoid, for example. Next, Jopax misses, sets the car the sectoid is hiding behind on fire, and then shouts verily about the eldar and their cover again.
Big Bird picks up some loot (PCS:Speed, Advent lockbox, expanded mag) and takes a decent shot at a sectoid. Furtukan does serious damage to the car sectoid.
Cypher picks up some more hack skill. (now at 171(+5))
Pies and Athing: Successful overwatchers. (Athing's image got
blocked by a fence)
Could be better. Theres an Advent MEC, an Adv. Gunslinger, a stun lancer, and two heavily armored advent back there. Good thing you picked up that hack last turn, Urist!
Look at that lovely 82% chance to steal the mec for a few turns!
*sigh*
Also, Pies misses and annoys the muton for 1 damage instead.
Athing flingeth back the muton with his gun of shards! (also loot, being advent lockboxes x2, alien strongbox, alien data cache, elerium core)
Poor MEC didn't stand a chance against the sniper oversight duo. If only it let us hack it!
I forgot there were more than two advent back there when I hacked instead of moved. You ain't dead though.
Advanced heavies have 7 hp and 3 armor. This advent trooper is literally about as tough as the mutons are, but without a defense score. Or a plasma weapon.
This is Big flockin Bird, and he does not approve of your armor shenanigans! Only he gets the big armor, he's made of it after all! (I think)
One of the uncommon times I've actually had use for combat protocol over soulfire!
Speaking of which, I actually got an interesting screenshot of that ability this time. It looks like a giant beam of psi-pain in this instead of whatever its supposed to, which is neat.
*Blam!* Overwatch kill for Storm, once again.
One adv. heavy's jealousy over heavier armor later, its our turn again. Cypher, whats in the box!
Intel is in the box, yay! (new hack score: 187(+5), you're also back up to 14 hp) Reinforcements are gonna show up behind us.
Caroline pulls off a max damage roll swipe at the heavy, knocking them out and letting everyone else move into position to
murder welcome the advent reinforcements.
Promotion: Lt. Ann, Maj. Pies, Maj. Athing (with an awesome AWC ability in Shredder!), Cpt. Kaos (AWC ability: Untouchable, not bad either)
Urist is injured for 6 days. Not gravely though.
Tactical Sensor increases Defense by 5% against enemies within 8 tiles. Adv. Flexweave increases mobility by 1 and dodge by 10%.
An updated look at the Avenger.