Anyone know what the deal is with Plasma Pistols, Rifles and Mind Probes? Where do they go after around the fourth month? I hate it when for the rest of the game you never see them any more. I like arming my rocketeers with plasma pistols sometimes, and I have to keep making more plasma pistol clips. Same for the rifle. The weapons are all solid weapons, in my opinion. Anyone know why they don't show up any more?

because the alien are trying to win

It's the way the computer runs the difficulty level inside the game. Usually when X-Com develops and uses technology such as personal armor, psi or lasers, you start seeing more rifles than pistols and afterwards those get replaced by heavy plasmas and stun launchers. It is also related to the appearance of the different races....by the time Ethereals I never saw them using (but i might be wrong there) pistols and dwindling numbers of rifles.
It means also that when you get power suits and heavy plasmas, it means that in a few weeks you might start expecting heavy armed alien crews and advanced races.
Usually after a while, I start avoiding all of the pistols and rifles and start stockpiling them. Still sometimes you might need to use Elerium to build clips for them, depending on your usage....

Indeed, the game simply weeds them out later on as they are so weak compared to the newer weapons the aliens use. I have a full research game thatr is missing one thing (and technically isn't a full research game but that's beside the point) I have no plasma pistol in my inventory so I can't research it... And I can't ever get one now because I'm ready to go to Cydonia... No laser pistols there methinks!

When did the aliens start using lasor pistols?



-Blade FireLight