Some tips and general information about my procedures in The Long War, learned through trial and error and many missions worth of heartache. Updated for beta 15: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O-Fg17b0RHY.html
Relax, unless you're slacking off in the research and foundry projects by the time those fuckers show up you should have the gear to kill them with 4 solid shots.
I was completely new to XCOM when I started playing a month ago. During my first campaign, I felt in such a hurry to progress trough the campagn that by the time the aliens attacked the XCOM HQ, my soldiers only had carapace armor and regular guns, and I was facing mechtoids, mutons, cyberdiscs and sectoid commanders. It was a nightmare. But then I realized when I played the game a second time that there really is nothing stopping me from progressing troughout the game at my own pace, so I would never progress with the main mission until I researched all the technologies available to me. By the time of the HQ attack, I had Titan armor and light plasma rifles, along with well trained soldiers and a mech-2, I wrecked the aliens. That was my main frustration with the game initially, that it was too hard too early, but once I started playing at my own pace, the game became enjoyable. Started playing Long War today and although I'm already very impressed with the new features, the diffuclty is just a plain dick move, made to piss me off. First, no easy difficulty. At this point I'm not looking for a challenge, just to figure out the new gameplay. And now everything is ridiculously expensive, not to mention everything takes so much time. You can't even make laser guns instantly, they take days, which doesn't help when there's a new abduction every week, when UFOs are showing faster than my interceptors can repair, so they destroy my satellites, countries are spontaneously withdrawing from XCOM project even though there's no panic, fuck... To be clear, I totally like the idea of attacking an alien ship with a crew of 60, assuming I have a squad of 12, fully upgraded/trained soldiers, that could make for a hell of an entertainement, but I mean, come on! Even with 2nd wave features to tone down the difficulty, it's hardcore. It's one thing to miss all your shots on 80% potential success rate, as enemy within accustomed me, but this is too much. Still gonna play it though, till I fall into depression or adapt and overcome.
you might find some valuable advice on the Long war wiki to help with your campaign experience. one of the most important things you have to accepts is that, especially in early game, you must learn to judge which battles cannot be won at that stage and then stay away from them (especially in air game early on you should ignore any medium sized or larger ufos. also pay attention to their altitude status - don't intercept NOE ufos, for example, since those will usually automatically generate an abduction or landed ufo mission and under any circumstances shoot down small ufos at high altitudes since those are most likely searching for your satellites). also: 1 Nation withdrawing in first month despite there not being enough panic is a normal feature of Long War. high panic and failed terror missions are the only ways to otherwise lose a country to the aliens, so there should not be any more "surprises" (though I think the overseer ufo later in game can do some country influencing shenanigans; not sure about that, so you'd have to check the wiki entry for the overseer)
You just have to keep in mind that this game mod wasn't made with exactly fun in mind, it was made to give a more realistic portrait of a war, in the sense that you aren't the only one playing, so are the aliens and they want to win too. Ah and for the things being so expensive, keep in mind you are making experimental well....everything, guns, buildings, armor, equipment nothing as been made before and needs a lot of resources because it wasn't streamlined
I am surprised that none of the replies mentioned the training ini file. It should put the game at a manageable level of difficulty until you figure out how this new xcom works
I must say, in an ocean of goofy videos about various games, this is an excellent piece that is very useful and very well made. One of the best tip videos ever. Thank you, and please continue with the great work.
MassiveFoot29 Its a Chryssalid Hive Queen. Think of it as a chryssalid leader unit. Its physically bigger (obviously) and it has more perks than a standard chryssalid (Lightning Reflexes, Adaptive Bone Marrow, Sprinter and Shock Absorbent Armor). It also has like 15 more health than a standard chryssalid.
Rex1987 I shat my pants the first time it appeared for me! It actually jumped up on a roof i was using for cover. Fortunately it ran out of movement points 2 squares away from 3 of my guys so i could focus fire it down before it could kill any of my men.
I've noticed the Grappling Hook bug happen in the alien base on a non-modded game before. Got my sniper stuck under ground, halfway up the map from where everyone else was, so far off to one side that she was efefctively off the map. But hey, she was safe, and my other five troops pulled through.
I tend to build more than one build on each class, the only exception being Assault because I have found a build works for what I want the Assault to do; get up close without dying. For example, I have the Overwatch build and the Suppression builds on my Infantry. I think the Overwatch build should be obvious, the Suppression build takes all the tanky perks along with Suppression and Lock 'N' Load. The idea is simple, Suppression tends to draw enemy fire so you can shoot then Suppress with Light 'Em Up / reload then Suppress with Lock 'N' Load, draw the fire and keep your squadmates safe. This build is something the Infantry can do that the Valkyrie doesn't do better, it also allows the Gunner to do something other than Suppression which is nice because the LMG does more damage than the Battle Rifle.
There are a good number of things I like about Long War, even though I've never actually played it. I think even Firaxis likes it, because it seems like some of the elements in LW were put into XCOM 2. The Grenadier class may have come straight from here, for example, as may have XCOM 2's movement stat. The different grenades & different ammunition types may have led directly into XCOM 2's "Experimental Ammo/Grenade" Proving Grounds projects - which can be done multiple times. The Specialist class in XCOM 2, however, is practically a re-skin of the main character's ability to operate drones by remote found in "The Bureau: XCOM Declassified."
I was wondering if anyone knows if Bioelectric skin in LW still works like it did in vanilla if more than one trooper in your sqaud has it? By that I mean in vanilla if multiple troops had it the alien signatures would only show up if they were within range of ALL troops on the mission equipped with it. That made it kind of pointless to have on more than one or maybe 2 at most because they had to stay stacked on each other to make use of it (and seekers simply weren't a threat in Vanilla).
You can also fiddle with a couple of .ini files to re-enable the easier difficulties from the base game, so you get all the good shit, but without the intense difficulty. Check it out on the ufopedia, tells you how to do it on the long war page for difficulty.
What would be the best counter to start with? I was thinking UK to get the +3 aim bonus, but is it significant? Nigeria's extra mobility also seemed good to have
at grapple bug isnt a long war only bug, it happens on my ps3 unmodded version too, had my rocketeer get slung all the way to the last boss once lol was funny, but, got him killed in the end
In your soldier list I see your men (even just PFC) have very high defense. In my game, most PFC have defense values between -3 and 3. Is it only because of the different version of LW? I am playing b15e. Or is there any research you can do to largely increase soldiers' defenses?
The rocket thing still exists in 2023. But im not patching it because its saved a few squaddies a few times getting a full rocket to the face and just acting like it never happened while the area around them is bursting in flames. Had it happen to aliens to but honestly with how janky the aim stats are i just roll with it now because ive seen aliens hit with 25% chance more often than not and watched my 98% hit chance rookies miss point blank on a flank and get wrecked next turn.
if only there is an inventory item that gives you something similar to the mechtoids energy shield even better if it recharges 1-2 points per turn if you take no damage
The Long War's been updated since I made this -- I believe they changed the Sentinel Drone ability so that it repairs half the damage you've taken instead of the full amount. Makes the SHIVs less overpowered, but they're still useful to have along, especially with an Engineer with Repair.
+Top Spec That would make it equivalent to a MEC Trooper's self-repair ability. They only get to repair 6hp per battle, as well, but only by sacrificing extra storage for their weapons & secondary subsystems.
Unfortunately I don't think the mod would ever work on consoles. You could ask the developer about it for more information, but I'm pretty sure they've moved on to other projects by now and likely won't be updating the mod anymore.
Holy this mod would of been so useful wen I was testing my friends mod what give an arc grenade and the arc would chain lighting to enemies in range of the one getting tased the chain lighting only hade a 12% chance of happening
2:05. " Hey Dice did you bring your Oh %$%$ meter?" Dice replies. " No I left it in the locker again." Then we hear. "Eat grenades up yours alien scum." "Nooooo Dice!" Dice walks out of the remains of the queen. "Nice one Dice!".
I remember encountering a very large ship when I didn't even had laser cannons. Like how am I supposed to deal with that. I ignored it and lost a satellite.
LeBronze James The game will screw with you that way so there's no other way but suck it up. But here's a few tips. A sat hunt mission tend to occur after a scout mission. a scout mission is when a scout, raider or battleship flying low or medium over a country but do not land. For the first 2 ships, you want to shoot it down; doing so generally prevent a hunt from going on, or a smaller ship. If you don't have enough interceptors to shoot down scouts, that's the sign you need more figters, and better armament. Get better armaments as quickly as you can. In the early months, target to acquire 2 new interceptors per month, up to 12 over 2 continents. In early months elerium are not very much needed so you can sell it off. Don't sell too much Meld. The better you do, the less Meld you get, later on. So save that precious Meld. A down UFO nets you some 200-300 credits in stuff if you just dump it on the market. So you won't save 200 cash by letting a UFO go, you lose a lot of profits and protection. So acquire lots of aircraft. With a bit of save scumming, you can intercept some ships by sending a fighter, get one hit in then bail out before getting hit. That will save you some repair time. Still scout missions generally mean you only have 2 sorties before it zooming off. With a damaged interceptor, it's generally a good idea to cycle that fighter out of that continent and send a fresh one in. That won't cut the repair time but the alien generally concentrate on one continent, so cycling fighters in and out keep fresh fighters on station. Finally, when you start to cover whole continents, it's a good idea to keep a couple of spare satellites on hand. They WILL send battleships so you will need spare sats.
+LeBronze James Depends on the ship. I've managed to take down a Abductor with a Raven that still had the original weaponry in it. It just took using an Aim & a Dodge to make it last long enough to hit it enough times. I hardly ever use Laser Cannons in My planes, anyway, because like the Phoenix Cannon their short-range only. The ships where you could use them are heavy enough that getting that close in anything less than a Firestorm is practically suicide - or it's moving fast enough that taking the time to get close enough to use the weapon could result in you losing the UFO altogether if you don't have any Boosts in your arsenal - & anything you could survive to hit you could still use Avalanche missiles on to take down. My weapons of choice are to have 3 Firestorms in each hanger. One is equipped with a Fusion Lance - useful for taking down battleships, which is the only time I really need them. One is equipped with a Plasma Cannon, for taking down Abductors & Cargo ships. And the third is equipped with an EMP Cannon, for taking down Small & Large scouts with minimal damage to the equipment inside. Yes, it takes a while to build 15 Firestorms - especially when you have to have enough space in your main base's hangar for a couple of planes to use on whatever may come up as you're building them - but they are definitely worth it.
i love this game,but playing long war makes me wana cry,i finished 2 originals on hardest and i tought i can do long war on 2nd dificulty,but i restarded 3 times alredy,wana bash my sreen in srsly...what 2nd wave options do u guys use? im on aming and red mist...any tactics?
Johny Relax You might pick up a few tips from EnterElysium, He does regular Long War playthroughs (though he hasn't started a Beta 15 one yet so bear that in mind). I'm not saying he's amazing, but he explains what he's doing as he goes and is generally rather easy to listen to, so you might pick up a few tips.
+The Alpha Falcon actually after i download it.. norton deletes it when i try to install.. i have work files on my pc. so im tryingto be really careful..
+War Rior your first problem is you have Norton your better off with windows default protection Norton just causes more problems then it solves remove it from your computer and watch your performance boost :D
Beta 14's not out yet, but there are a number of changes and fixes listed for the upcoming release. You can see the upcoming release notes here -- forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/1884195-long-war-beta-13-feedback/ -- but unfortunately there's no release date for it yet.
Cara da Riqueza Repair Bay was what the Cybernetics Lab was renamed to after they added gear damage I believe. You need one to make MECs and unless you have the second wave option that disables gear damage on you'll need one after getting tier 2 weapons and armor to fix them when they get damaged (I believe. I haven't actually played enough of LW to reach that point before.)
Cara da Riqueza It is Cybernatics Lab; they change it mechanic a bit but you still need it to augment MEC trooper. It is part of LW B15; because your item will get damage while in fight (If the damage went through armor point) and you will need to repair it which will cost the same resources type that you build that item but not the same number. IMO it is a nice addition but they didn't balance it very well since they are testing it around. You will constantly lose your resources over and over again. To top that up, if your MEC suit get damage through armor, you will need Alloy and Meld to repair it before you can use it again. I played with this new mechanic and didn't like it. Thankfully, you can turn it off in Second Wave option or play lite version of it which will cost you only time to repair, no resources need.
Why use a S.H.I.V to set off Mechtoid Overwatch shots? Personally, I would use - in EU/EW, anyway, as I'm not sure how LW would work it - an Assault class with Lightning Reflexes & wearing Ghost Armor without going into Ghost Mode. I would also use Run & Gun, since a soldier making a Dash move is already getting a defensive bonus against such shots. The first Mechtoid will automatically miss, & the second one will have a significantly reduced chance of hitting the soldier as it's running. If the Assault has an Alloy Cannon, the Double Shot ability, is close enough, & has a S.C.O.P.E. attached to their Cannon, they could potentially kill at least one of the Mechtoids when they got to the end of their run. Especially if they have the Colonel level ability that increase their Critical Hit ability & Aggression, as well, or the Mechtoid was already damaged by someone else beforehand.
+Timothy Hansen The mechanics of Lightning Reflexes is slightly different in long war than in vanilla. In Long war it only gives your squadmember a 90% chance of evading the very first reaction shoot and 70% chance of evading any further reaction shoot. So there is some chance that you get hit. And some Mechtoids in Long war can use advanced firecontrol which triggers the reaction shoot when you try to lay fire on them. SHIV's are much more usefull in long war than in the vanilla game. The alloy SHIV is basically a little tank which you get quite early in the game and SHIV's can't fall into panic, which also is a much bigger thing in long war.
Except if the S.H.I.V. is destroyed, a soldier likely to panic will anyway, which makes getting the human soldier killed instead of the robotic unit actually more sensible because the robot can "avenge" the soldier in the same turn, whereas the aliens could have moved into a better position for themselves by the time your soldier has come out of their funk. And let's not forget the total randomness of the panic reaction. Hunkering down is all right, as long as there isn't an alien in a position to move to flank that soldier, but taking fire at a Mechtoid is dangerous because it gives you no better cover than before & because they'll take the next turn to target your ass. Also, if there's a Sectoid in the area, they might do a reaction shot on you & kill you before you even have a chance to blink. And that doesn't even go into the OTHER potential threat: your soldier shooting & killing one of their own teammates, which is harmful for everybody. It's that kind of behavior that makes Me make the medal in EW that keeps the soldiers from panicking should a teammate get injured or killed - I tend to rename it "Sociopath" - & why I have two Supports at all times. The second one I give the "Smoke & Mirrors" perk to, so they'll have more smoke grenades, but I give the first one the "Dense Smoke" perk so they can toss a smoke grenade that gives full cover in the open. That way, every soldier that I need to move forward can do so without getting shot. It's also why anytime I have a soldier get critically wounded before I can give them a second heart, the moment they come out of being injured I dismiss them.
A destroyed SHIV don't cause panic. And they can be rebuild quickly and for quite low cost if they get destroyed, That's one of the reasons they are alot more useful in Long War than in Vanilla. And in Long War, soldiers can also panic if they just get hit. This can further trigger a chain panic reaction of soldiers nearby, which simply isn't the case if the SHIV is hit. By the way, an alloy SHIV wiht full health will survive, even if both Mechtoids would hit it. And last but not least, the perktrees in Long war are different. An Assault can't get lighning reflexes until he reaches the highest rank which is calles Master Seargent in Long War.
Mod in general is just utterly broken.. I like that it has the old Xcom in Mind that it knocks you in your place if you get too good. But the vanilla Xcom EW is just not built for some of the large scale battles you will face and too many failures will just see you lag behind and it's unbeatable once the more advanced aliens like the Warmaster Floaters and the Leviathan Mechtoids make an appearance. Save scumming is an honoured Xcom tradition, but too much and it saps the joy out of the game. EXALT missions are fun.. That is until mid-game. Then you have those stupid 4-man extraction missions in tightly knit locations where you can't move without triggering a cluster of EXALT operatives. Late game EXALT, it gets even better, you either take out the Elite Snipers or your men don't go home at all. There are some locations that are just not suitable for large battles. The French Convoy Battle map being one of them, the moment you land, you get behind the military lorries and the bar next to it is full of EXALT that are all clumped into a mass of EXALT Super Soldiers that no amount of rockets and grenades can clear in time before they go full rape train on your tiny 4 man squad. Save scummed every time you faced them mid to late game for that reason, simply can't afford to make too many mistakes, money is tight early so you need to make sure you have a strategy planned out and follow that plan.
A high percentage of aim is meaningless in a game like Xcom, especially from a shady developer like Faraxis...I miss 90% + shots at least once per mission. That is NOT "RNG". That is a blatant ripoff!
There is scripting to the RNG I had a save at the last soldier move on a certain round on my first terror mission against chrysalids in Xcom EU If i overwatched, the chrysalid moved up and 2 of my soldiers shot. 20 game refreshes they both missed all 40 shots (20 each) at 60% chance. But, if she moved to the one spot she could make it to? The other guy still on overwatched ALWAYS hit the chrysalid once it moved. I didnt want to run that play tho because the floaters always downed the soldier that had to move. So yah, theres some horseshit in the RNG aspect of the game
I've noticed the Grappling Hook bug happen in the alien base on a non-modded game before. Got my sniper stuck under ground, halfway up the map from where everyone else was, so far off to one side that she was efefctively off the map. But hey, she was safe, and my other five troops pulled through.
