I've dfecided that in my next game, in which I'll give final testing to my CoE-Plus ALPine mod, I'll change my strategy and tactics in a significant way. First and foremost, I'll have more research and engineering bases, and military bases would be spread in a thinner way (but still weill cover my territory for easy interception and mission mobility); I want shorter research times and faster production. On my previous game I had too many military bases, and only 5-6 each in Research and Engineering, and I was in the Russian base mission; I want more balanced research this time.

Also, I'll radically change my squad organization. Previously I've organized my troops in one 7-person team; in the missions themselves I usually ended up using them in smaller groups. This time around my squad will only be 6 soldiers strong, divided into two equal teams. Each team will have a Rifleman (general-purpuse firepower), a Heavy Gunner (earlier Grenadier, heavy firepower) and a Sniper (long-range firepower. Atleast one member of each 3 soldier team will be well-trained in Medical; everyone will carry a medkit. I've found out that I heal my troopers between hostile encounters anyway, so no need for a dedicated medic.

Also, instead of setting a walking goal in the other end of the mission and let my troopers run into Transgeneants and Grays, I'll walk in small steps each time.

That is all good tactics. Having many research / manufacture bases and few military is a must!

I'm also contemplating on changing the "Riflemen" in the abouve strategy to Shotgunners or SMGers. The snipers and SuperStrikers take anything distant; the Shotgun/SMG blasts anything close. I just want to use the PDWs and P90s this time around...

One more thing - are alien weapons worth it once they become available? especially since some Human guns kick serious butt (especially the SuperStriker, ZWI Falcon and Steyr AUG).

Alien laser rifles while they can't compete with some human weapons in distance are very accurate and equally powerfull, just don't bother with hybrid lasers tho

The plasma gun is better than the SuperStriker vs certain types of transgenants but it does lack in AoE compared to the SS.

You can't really disregard alien weapons, particulary the ones that show up in the later stages of the game. A good mix of human, hybrid and alien tech is key for victory.

The (non-improved) Hybrid Laser Rifle isn't THAT bad, IMHO. It has a very good ROF, great accuracy even in burst mode and decent range. Ofcourse, later-generation Plasma rifles are better... Or just Steyr AUGs.

About hybrid lasers, I must say I've changed my mind about them, including pistol ones. I think they've had an additional change in the 1.4 patch. While not Ueber, they can compete with their alien couterparts. The alien lasers, seem to have better accuracy while human gain in range and perform a lot better in burst mode. This is true for both rifles and pistols as well as the normal and advanced versions.

My next team design:
- 1 Medic/Psion; will use a Desert Eagle in the early stages and Psi items later on; I will build his/her Dex+Int to Good, then Int+Will to the max, then Dex to the max and then Perception to the max.
- 1 Sniper; will use the best sniper rifle available, and in the very early stages the best AR; I will build his/her Int and Will to Avarage and Perc to Very Good, then Will+Perc to maximum, then Dex to maximum, then Int to maximum.
- 1 SMG specialist; will use the best SMG available and perhaps later alien/hybrid handguns; I will build his/her Str+Agi+Dex to Avarage, then Agi+Dex to maximum, then Int+Perc to maximum.
- 1 Heavy Weapon Specialist; will use the RPG-7, then the Super Striker, and then Plasma Weapons and possibly deployable stuff; I will build his/her Str+Dex to Good, then Str+Agi to the max, then Int+Perc to the max.
- 3 Riflemen; will use the best AR available (up to and including the Steyr AUG) and, later on, one will use a hybrid laser rigle and two will use AUGs (if the laser will really prove itself then I'll have two with lasers and one with AUG); I will build their Str+Agi+Dex to Avarage, then Agi+Will to maximum, then Int+Perc to maximum.

The plasma rifles are excellent weapon, terrible mileage, but they pack a gigantic punch...