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[GiglameshDespair]

I did not think suppression stacked. Is it something they changed for long war?

[Mephansteras]

My Long War campaign may be entering a death spiral. I've hit a point where I don't have the skilled soldiers and equipment necessary to defeat a lot of the alien forces that are being sent against me.

Funny thing is, I can point to exactly how this happened.

I traded three laser rifles for a Corporal Tactical. Now, this wasn't a bad decision in and of itself. I'd just lost a sergeant Infantry and really needed some more firepower. But the problem is that I didn't check my production timings when I did it. I'd thought I'd just gotten more made (for exactly this scenario), but they actually had 5 days to go.

Then the HQ base assault happened, and despite being down most of my laser rifles I managed to win. Lost three of my really good troops in the process, though.

Right after that there was a landed supply barge. Now, I knew it'd be tough but I figured the reward would be worth the risk. It'd strike a heavy blow to the aliens and it'd give me the alloys that I was running very short on.

I failed due to a combined alien onslaught at the end of Seekers, Cyberdisks, and Outsiders. My troops were good, but they just didn't have the equipment and consumables left to deal with that much at once, and some luck shots by the outsiders took out a few of them in a single round (despite cover and smoke). I had to flee, and only three of the eight made it back, most of them badly injured. All equipment on those five troops (much of my best) is lost with them.

So now I've lost quite a few of my best troops, and with the research off the dead XCOM operatives I was forced to leave behind the aliens have had a massive tech boost.

No now I'm down many of my best soldiers, much of my best equipment is gone, I'm terribly low on alloys to try and make more, and the aliens have gotten harder.

Deluge proved to be impossible for me to win, and I've lost several air battles and an abduction since then. I have splashed a few scouts, but none of them were capturable. I'm running out of resources for new equipment and the world is quickly turning sour. I can't protect Europe since all my interceptors are smashed up, Africa is about ready to bail on me despite me adding some satellites over it, and I haven't been able to train up any new recruits lately due to the difficulty of the missions.

The only saving grace is that my Psi training is starting to finish up, and I'm hoping some good Psi soldiers will be able to help turn the tide against the psionic aliens that are now showing up.

[Sharp]

Long War with CO pods spawning in random places and CO pods calling all other pods to the battle can make UFO Landings super hard. I found the best way is just abuse snipers and gunners with squadsight and suppression and a scout for spotting and a couple of heavies for any cleanup or anti-robot activities and then just taking the whole map super slowly, it sucks for meld but I just get that on abductions now.

Also trading 3 laser rifles for a cpl tactical isn't great I feel, not unless you are stunning lots of EXALT elites, for the resources it costs to manufacture the rifles it's not worth it for one recruit, especially when you want a stockpile of weapons for base defence.

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, I came to the same conclusion in hindsight. Also didn't realize that the HQ assault would show up when it did. Too used to that happening after the alien base assault in vanilla, I suppose. I'd done none of the base defense Foundry projects at that point (and I wish I had, or at least done improved ballistics).

Ah, well. Learning campaign, I suppose.

[Sonlirain]

Just saw a onkers pod in Long war.

6 mutons and a seeker... in ONE pod.

[Tarran]

As far as I can tell: backup plans, multiple arc throwers, and disabling shot to have multiple chances.

Don't forget panic! Psi panic and Flamethrowers can make things far easier than they otherwise would be. Mind Fray can also help both for reducing health minimally and for reducing the aim of the target.

Just saw a onkers pod in Long war.

6 mutons and a seeker... in ONE pod.

Child's play.

6 Heavy Floaters in one pod, with the squad leader usually having Tactical Sense. Or a Sectopod Squad Leader/Boss with a drone contingent. Or a squad of 6 mixed Beserkers and Muton Elites.

Really, 6 mutons become the least of your problems really fast.

[Sonlirain]

It's not that there were mutons. Those can be disposed by a 2 mec squad with flamethrowers if they bunch up. The real thing is that was probably the first time i saw a pod larger than 4.

[i2amroy]

I did not think suppression stacked. Is it something they changed for long war?

The bottom of the "Tactics" page on the Long War wiki says:

Two suppressions can easily reduce the aim close to zero, while also reducing the range of rift.

So I assumed so. Could always be wrong I guess.

[crazysheep]

Oh, so running multiple arc throwers (not just multiple charge arc throwers) is the way to go, got it, thanks :3

Speaking of pods larger than 4, I found an 8 man pod (most likely 2 pods stacked on top of each other, but functionally 1 pod). 4 outsiders + 1 outsider leader + 1 thin man + 2 seekers.
This UFO is going to be tough to capture.

[Xvareon]

I have come to realize three very important things so far: One, MECs are almost too good in Long War. I am currently running Dayo "Blackout" Nuissant, a Brizilian MEC Jaeger trooper that can shoot twice in one turn and put down Muton Elites or Mechtoids before they can even act. Roughly a third of my forces, rounded up, are always made up of MEC Troopers armed with Railguns and diverse support weaponry (you would not BELIEVE how useful and powerful the Proximity Mine Launcher is).

Second, Chem Grenades are INSANELY good. They drive the inherent damage reduction of Sectopods down by a considerable margin, and also drop their aim low enough to make them miss quite often; they are the entire reason I was able to beat my first two Sectopods so easily, because I was able to tag them both with the acid cloud in the first round of combat. That particle cannon of theirs is just a big flashlight once you slap enough anti-aim effects on them. I almost never bring Flashbang grenades anymore, except to stack them on top of the Chem Grenades; having an aim penalty of -80, range of grenades sliced in half, and movement range almost nullified will make any blob of Muton Elites scream in frustration.

Third, I'M FINALLY IN THE END GAME. Three alien bases down, one in progress, and Plasma Weapons already researched, with Adv. PlasWep not far behind. I even have enough Meld now to consider putting up a Genetics Lab on the side, though I'm going to wait until I get Tier 2 MEC suits first. My first Firestorm (the ultimate Interceptor) is already being built, which will finally give me the edge I need against the Aliens' rapidly-upgrading ships, especially those Abductor-class UFOs that I can never take down since my airforce has to be spread all over hell. And with the Hyperwave Relay drawing close to completion, I might get to see my first Ethereals soon. W00t! 

(Tip for fellow XCOM'ers -- if you're not sure whether the Proximity Mine Launcher is worth it to bring into battle just based on its armory stats, bring it anyway. It has nearly double the damage of the Grenade Launcher, whilst having about the same range as an Engineer/Grenadier lobbing a frag at a pack of Chryssalids. The base level of the Prox. launcher gives you 3 shots, whereas the grenades only give 2. Of course, these are only effective if some enemy moves over them, so lob them at exposed enemies (who will run for cover) or groups containing Chryssalids or Berserkers, who are virtually guaranteed to move first next turn; the aliens seem to prioritize their melee troops. Also, remember that the MEC can enter the 'One For All' defensive stance and still use the launcher without breaking it, since it is not an arm-based weapon. I'm unsure whether or not the launcher gets bonuses from HEAT Warheads, but it definitely gets them from Mayhem (generally available to Archer-class MECs). With the amount of explosive damage this baby can dish out, it's like having a 3-shot rocket launcher on your side.)

[Rolan7]

"Laser shotgun" is a misnomer for the sake of brevity. The weapon is a refracted array multibeam laser cannon, and it makes exactly as much sense as a regular shotgun firing 12-gauge - sacrificing sheer stopping power and long-range damage for increased accuracy via shot dispersion and higher chance of damaging something vital at shorter distances. It works because each individual laser beam remains focused and still deals damage.

The whole point of a laser is concentrating as much light, heat, or whatever other energy as possible on a single point.  Intentionally building a laser weapon that spreads out its energy is just stupid.

Also, while we're on the topic using a shotgun against tougher than human foes makes no sense.  Contrary to what Halo wants us to believe, shotguns with anything other than slugs are the opposite of armor piercing, because the force of the weapon is split between several projectiles each of which has to penetrate separately.  Now, supposedly ordinary weapons just straight don't work against the aliens, which would imply that even sectoids are bullet resistant.

Admit it, shotguns are just their for style points.

Sure it's primarily just for style (and actually, gameplay) but it's not necessarily unrealistic.  Consider (as HugoLoman pointed out) that even sectoids have redundant organs according to autopsy.  Shooting many rays could easily be superior than a single ray, even if the penetration/damage is divided amongst the ""shotgun's"" rays.  By shooting several rays, there's a nonzero chance of hitting all copies of a vital organ.  In fact, if the aliens focus on redundant organs rather than invulnerable skin, you just drastically increased the odds of hitting important organs *at all* instead of just searing connective tissue or muscles.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Yeah it's an old post, I was doing an unrelated search.  Edit:  And would have mildly necro'd the thread if not for the post above mine which I didn't even read before posting.

[puke]

Mmm.  My LW campaign stalled a few months back.  will have to resume at some point.  Explain me something about MEKs, I never got there:

MEK class replaces soldier class.  What happens to existing class abilities?  Does a soldier keep them, lose them and start over as a level 1 MEK, or lose them and replace them with an equivalent selection of MEK abilities based on level?

Also, is MEK class based on soldier class, or does it get randomized?

Looking at the data, MEKs seem to have better stat gains, so it would seem to be more optimal to MEK your rookies.  But it all depends on what happens to existing levels and abilities, I guess.

[crazysheep]

Your soldier loses all existing class abilities, but gets equivalent selection of abilities based on the level when they were augmented (so a sergeant will get to choose abilities up to sergeant level).

As in vanilla XCOM, MEC class is based on soldier class prior to augmentation.

[Xvareon]

You forgot the fact that all MEC classes gain the 'One For All' ability for free upon becoming augmented, which turns them into a heavy cover element that your soldiers can use in the field. Very handy for crossing wide open stretches of land without worrying so much about leaving your units exposed. And they don't even end their turn by doing it (though they can't shoot their primary weapon while in that stance).

And yes, MEC class is based on soldier class. Snipers become Jaegers, which are high-damage kings that can even learn Squadsight for 5 extra tiles range. Assaults become Marauders, which get Shock-Absorbent Armor to start with (reducing all damage within 4 tiles by 33%) and can even learn Run and Gun at max rank. I highly recommend turning Infantry into Valkyries, though; having two shots a turn, plus the option of Rapid Fire for THREE shots a turn, when each of those shots has the potential to do a whopping *13* damage (not even COUNTING criticals) is insane.
http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=MEC_Trooper_%28Long_War%29

[crazysheep]

I'm not usually keen on mentioning One for All because it's usually a grenade magnet. That said, it's quite handy if you know there aren't going to be many grenades coming your way.