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[BFEL]

I'd say Not Created Equally pulls you down about a quarter of a difficulty level.  While it is true that it can produce worse soldiers than normal, you aren't going to use those soldiers.  So for all intents and purposes it represents a ~10 aim buff to all your soldiers at no cost.  It completely changes the dynamics of the early game to have supports and assaults that are worth shooting with at range.  The main cost of using it is that if you suffer heavy casualties before you have money to get new rookies, you might find yourself digging into your reserves of bad shooters.

Compare to training roulette, which doesn't let you know which soldiers are good or which soldiers are bad in advance.

That's one reason I LIKE training roulette. You don't know if that rookie with 60 will and 70 aim is going to be the savior of the universe. You'll use him/her and if they get nothing but crap training then suddenly that guy over there who has crap stats but amazing perks is suddenly the better choice.

But mostly I like it because it makes everyone REALLY unique. Snipers with two (Or possibly more O.O) reaction shots? Awesome. Heavies that carry 3 medikits and 2 grenades? Could happen.

Also it give me a reason not to use Supports. Always felt they were just the Assaults crappy cousin. And now they are.

The other thing that can be good or bad when using Not Created Equally is that it also effects each soldiers base move speed and potential move increases on leveling, and which unlike aim or will you can't see until you take the soldier into a mission. I've ended up with an assault with maxed out will and aim who moves slower than a geriatric sloth and a support who could dash across quarter of the map after taking the sprinter skill choice and hitting Colonel.

I did not know this! O.o

Last note: Anyone else get REALLY hard choices with Training Roulette? I had an assault who could take things like "either Close and Personal OR Close Combat Specialist and I nearly cried. It was like that up the entire tree

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, I like having all three on. Makes the soldiers much more unique and definitely gives me more interesting choices to make as soldiers level up.

[BFEL]

Yeah, I like having all three on. Makes the soldiers much more unique and definitely gives me more interesting choices to make as soldiers level up.

Every soldier an adventure.

[Mageziya]

Thinking about it.

Isn't it possible to get a sniper that has both Snap Shot and Squad sight with training roulette?

[Sindain]

No, first two skill levels aren't random, and the associated abilities can't be randomed.

*Edit*
Though this may only apply to snipers? (I know first ability isn't random for all classes though.)

[BFEL]

No, first two skill levels aren't random, and the associated abilities can't be randomed.

*Edit*
Though this may only apply to snipers? (I know first ability isn't random for all classes though.)

Basically every class has a few class specific abilities that can't be randomized, like a supports smoke grenade modifiers.
Also a Heavies choice between Rocketeer and er....the bigger boom thing

In essence if it would be impossible for another class to actually USE that skill, then its not random.

[lordcooper]

Is anyone who owns Enemy Within up for a bit of multiplayer?  Post or PM me your Steam ID if so.

[EnigmaticHat]

So I was watching one Beaglerush's streams (this is like a new thing for me, I never go on twitch) and they had a contest to see who in the stream would play him in multiplayer.  And I won!  And then I won the game!  Well, 2 out of 3.  So much fun.  Neither of us had played EW multiplayer before, or Xcom multiplayer for a while, so it wasn't exactly a super-optimized thing.  The first game we both brought similar alien builds with mechtoids, which Beagle characterized as some sort of alien fast food franchise battle.  The second and third game were characterized by one of us bringing an ill-advised team against a decent Xcom build, and getting utterly massacred.

[umiman]

All human XCOM teams are unbeatable in MP. Even just one max level sniper with good gear can massacre entire teams of aliens on his own.

The rare times I go MP, we always agree no levelled humans.

[BFEL]

Question: Why do they allow Ethereals in MP but not Sectopods? I mean sectopods ARE fairly OP, but it just makes no sense to me to just leave out that one enemy.

[WillowLuman]

All human XCOM teams are unbeatable in MP. Even just one max level sniper with good gear can massacre entire teams of aliens on his own.

The rare times I go MP, we always agree no levelled humans.

One Ethereal, with as many rookies or sectoids as the remaining points can get. Hide the Ethereal. Use the cannon fodder to find him, then RIFT his punk ass. I did this and won against an all-human, high-leveled team.

[EnigmaticHat]

All human XCOM teams are unbeatable in MP. Even just one max level sniper with good gear can massacre entire teams of aliens on his own.

The rare times I go MP, we always agree no levelled humans.

One Ethereal, with as many rookies or sectoids as the remaining points can get. Hide the Ethereal. Use the cannon fodder to find him, then RIFT his punk ass. I did this and won against an all-human, high-leveled team.

Ethereals cost 10500, too much for standard multiplayer matches.  With good reason; any MP match that included them would become entirely about them.  Not really fun.

Really there are two (well, 3 now) seriously OP things in Xcom multiplayer.
1. Xcom troops loaded up with a number of small upgrades.
2. Squadsight snipers, just like single player.  But especially because the standard sniper loadout includes opportunist AND damn good ground, for some unfathomable reason.
3. Maybe MECs.   They seem heavily underpriced for all the utility they bring to a team.

If you're wondering what I mean by #1, look at it like this.  You have a rookie, that's 800.  Now make him a smokejumper support, adding 2 health, minor stat improvements, and a smoke grenade for 100.  Now give him a light plasma rifle, that's +10 aim and crit, and +1 damage, for 250.    Now add a flashbang, letting him cripple a more powerful opponent for 100.  Then add the watcher genemod, adding the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and +5 aim/crit for doing so.

Grand total, 1350 points.  7 health, 5 damage, great accuracy and good crit chance.  Moves almost exactly like a thin man.  Has a flashbang and a smoke grenade.  Cost equivalent: 1 thin man, 2 sectoids, or half a muton.  You can buy 5 of them and have 3250 left over, which is enough for a mechtoid or a sectoid commander.  Or a rocketman heavy.  Or a MEC.

[Mageziya]

The Ethereals, unless I am mistaken, used to be about 9500 points. I think the logic for not including the Sectopod was that there was no way that a Sectopod could be worth under or at 10000 points for the ranked matches. The Ethereal, on the other hand, could just barely fit in the point limit.

[WillowLuman]

Have they decreased the budget to 10000 points? Last time I played it was 20000, enough for one Ethereal and a few sectoids or rookies. They wouldn't make them cost more than the entire budget, would they?

[EnigmaticHat]

Have they decreased the budget to 10000 points? Last time I played it was 20000, enough for one Ethereal and a few sectoids or rookies. They wouldn't make them cost more than the entire budget, would they?

There's 7500, 10000, 20000, and unlimited.  But 10000 is generally agreed to be a standard game, and I think that its the only amount you can play ranked with.