Did Enemy Within buff the aliens or some shit? I've been getting these bullshit critical hits and oneshots from aliens while behind full cover at the most inopportune times. It's absurdly cheaper than what I experienced in Enemy Unknown on Classic Ironman.
One time a sectoid managed to blast through the corner of a cargo crate I was using for cover to crit one of my soldiers. It shot through two layers of full cover, and with a freaking plasma pistol.
Another time a single thin man managed to kill off 3 of my four soldiers in just as many turns. It crit all of them. Actually, screw all thin men in general. There's countless times they pulled some bullshit on me and ruined the mission. The most absurd crit shots, or being able to move further in one turn so that even though I thought I was safe on the building top where the thinmen can't see me, instead it jumps straight up the rooftop, landing in half cover, and oneshotting one of my soldiers. I'm half expecting a 360 noscope critshot from across the map on my soldiers who are behind full cover, because thin men gonna thin my men.
I barely cleared the Portent council mission, because of those effing thin men. Lost 2 of my best troops, my highest ranking heavy(sergeant) and my only assault.
So, early game got way way way harder. Promotions take forever, equipment takes longer to set up, and those effing thin men are being thin men. Bloody hell.