Superhero difficulty

[laclongquan]

Finish the game in normal diff. Now retry with hardest.

 

First impression: Hostiles are pretty tough. The Rets are the weakest bunch, now can eat dozen of laser bolts before going down.

 

Laputa increased time to research is a stone cold bitch. The increase is irrevelant in other labs because we can always build more to compensate. But Laputa is the biggest bottleneck in my first game, especially the last Putting It Together... I completed other lab's researchs ages ago~ I foresee the use of research cheat in certain Laputa researchs which doesnt lead to a scene or trigger.

 

Question is: which one?

EDIT: all the floor plant blueprints are safe. Mind as well finish them all before even Ret language or Cultist Threat

[silencer_pl]

None? I've completed it on superhero few times without major issues, except with rages when first meeting cultists. This game battle engine is so buggy and frustrating, it's sometimes not worth it.

 

Units spotted only few meters before you, unit laying in front of other unit makes super barrier, you can shoot through huge trailers, but forklifts arms are impenetrable. One burst from 9mm uzi from cultist murders your unit while a burst from HMG to cultist psionic makes him only injured.

[ERISS]

If time is cheated, you'll have to cheat with experience too, for letting time to pass makes battles appear.

I play in SuperHero difficulty, and I don't feel your pain, I'm okay with the bigger pacing, I even prefer it, so my AShock games take very long.

[laclongquan]

Ah well, we shall see.

 

Due to asking escort fees from a cyborg, I got a ret warp rifle pretty early. If I can find more, this weapon will replace all the ret laser rifle.

 

The three initial recruits can be aim toward three training group skills pretty easily. I name them Rangie, Troopie, and Gunnie.

 

Asking for escort fee from rescuees or escortee can yield astonishing results: I got two XM8 damn early, plus two M60. The rifles eat 556 bullets like no tomorrow, so I have to save ammo (not produce any yet). Heavy equipment guys are in training, so no call for machinegun. Lucky too, as 762mm is just nearly 100, not even a full load yet.

 

Laser rifles/pistols are of course, but the damage is low, so I save battery for the single Sonic Gun. It's like a good shotgun , but costly.

 

This time I expand careful. Other than undirected expansion, all directed missions are on current EU bases to reduce the chance to meet cultists. the single latin american base is just cant be helped.

[laclongquan]

Upto now, the reduced awareness of superhero make for many ambushes on my scouts. They simply see farther than mine, and shoot faster too, add to the tough HP, and no more one shot-one kill from shotgun.Fully capable of killing mine in one-on-one shootouts.

 

Add that factor to Cultist battle and I approach with extreme caution. Three short-range soldiers on the guard house ahead as bait, with a ret warp rifle as a pseudo-sniper farther away, and a XM8 rifleman as backup shooter. Work like a charm.

[silencer_pl]

Yeah, the cultists needs some special approach.

 

In my first encounters I usually hide in some room and lure them to full auto squad. Grenades and rockets help to knock them out. Later if you have barret and sniper level 3 it is all glorious with headshots. 5000 damage and everyone dies.

[laclongquan]

An Excellent Rifleman with a Ret Warp Rifle is pretty glorious, especially in early stage of the game.

 

My 2nd Cultist Battle is at the dock with two huge cranes. Two riflemen with XM8 and Ret Warp rifle perch on one, and the three others arm with short range weapons like shotgun and two blasters hole up in a nook on ground level. The cultists can easily attack the baits provide they move to the wide open route, and get shot for their troubles. They can survive that, but too energetically moving around to avoid rifles mean they wont have time for the ground trio. Bang, shotgun!

 

My only injury is the xm8 guy get hit from one of the hostile groundpounder's return fire.

 

The wide open maps like this are stone cold bitch considering the lack of snipers and sniper guns. I have a laser, but the trainees still havent finished yet.

[laclongquan]

Some maps are stone cold bitch to do in superhero diff. Especially the escort civilians missions. The odd nooks and cranies mean sometimes the bugger with laser sniper gun can shoot at us from half a map away and we havent discover him yet.

 

The biggest question so far I have for this difficulty is the number of spawned enemies per maps. I'm still at 2 weeks away from wargot-arrival, and the number seem either small, or doesnt increase compare to easier diff. Largest bunch seem to a cultist horde (10-).

[laclongquan]

It seems to be less resources for income, so things are tighter than normal games. Not that it's too tight, as we can just request rarer resources from factions, and pay them by things we have abundant.

 

For that economic aspect, superhero just impose upon you a tight restraint, but certainly not crushing. Hell, a powergamer can circumvent it pretty quickly. Overall, a careful balance between tracking base (which cost resource) versus the harvest from each base will bring you through with flying colour. After that, the major expenditure of resources will be spent on building 2 colleges on 50-70 resource-base, and 3+ colleges on better ones (which Stuttgart qualify in both games). Finish with that investment, now you can pay to build labs.

 

The HP of enemies are certainly quite tough to achieve one-shot kills, unless you manage to arrange one-volley kills. And paralysis projectors are certainly handy to achieve that, what with their long range.

 

Currently i'm at 7 days from space walnut arrival. Africa and Europe is tightly hold. Cultic brazil as the "preserve". Are in process of conquer north america, as well as asia and australia.

 

Roster of 14 soldiers with minimum level 7 and as high as 13. I have more overqualified recruits than I have trained personels, as the training time is too long. It is just another way to control my skilled minions, not that it's too onerous. I can hire more, but why bother to dilute xp gains when there's no criticial need.

 

The lesser prospective employees offered by three factions are level 4, with only the 3000-resource soldier (ie top relationship offering) is level 10. I hire only one level3 Medic guy as the training time is longer than I expected and my med in training is at mid-level2. There is rare need for medic in battle, but more often for level3 outside of one, as most of the time my squad run in a state of light injury.

 

Trooper is the most useful training groupskill. A trooper level3 is heroic in rifle and throwing, meaning they immediately become useful and we can aim them at more exotic training combination, unlike other groups. Either stalker (more stealth), or leader (for beneficial auras), but you have time to develop further a level3trooper. I have in my squad 2,3 troopers as the backbone.

 

Gunman is immediately useful as it allow access to machinegun (level1), but a good machinegunner should go the way of technician (level3 for mech bonus).

 

One scout to use scanner to discover yellow targets. A good spotter for snipers, you can say.

 

I might abandon this game for Aftermath, as I am not sure the game can challenge me later on. Might.

[laclongquan]

Get the Wargot assault Laputa battle.

 

The Wargots are divided into two bands and encounter one solo cyborg and a trio. The trio stop 4 wargots with SR25, XM8 and a modded PKM. The solo cyborg rifleman run like hell toward the narrow alley that lead to central area to hopefully stop them at its mouth, as the 3shot burst of a rifle can not hope to kill the bloated HP of superhero difficulty. Meanwhile a machinegunner nearby run like hell to his place to join force. The combined firepower of modded XM8 and M60E stop 4 Wargot with difficulty, and the cyborg get heavy injuries. Cheap price, though.

 

Explosive and AP Ammo, of course. Not that I meta game, but because looted ammo is plentiful, and Ordinance factories produce more than enough. The normal piles are just stockpiled in inventory.

 

Meanwhile, the Laputa is STILL at Cultist Religion. The slow space of research is ridiculous. The other labs can get massed effort to solve it, but Laputa? Bah~

 

At this stage I have two Australian provinces left. The Cultist is contained in Brazil. Everywhere else fall under the banner of Laputans.

 

Almost every base get connected for lab spaces. I run a pretty tight economy, with +150/+100/-140. It is slightly into the deficit situation, as I sometimes have to exchange for resource. The stored resources are all at under 15k level.

 

A roster of 15 recruits, all at pretty good skill level, with two or three at very good combat skill, the rest at excellent or heroic. 7 in active main squad, and the rest in continual training.

 

I foresee no more difficulty. The wargots doesnt look like much challenge. When the starghosts come, even if I have not produced plasma weapons, i still have more than enough wargot plasma guns to deal with them. PLus, more than likely my squad will be completely trained by then.

 

Probabbly time to consider Aftermath, then~

 

Oh, and it seem in superhero difficulty the number of certain spawned are lower. I think Rets is one example, as I have some battles with only 4 rets. Not sure about Cultists.

[laclongquan]

Increase number of wargots. At most it's 10 per map. For two stage map, it can be as high as 20.

 

By investing in labs to concentrate on researchs, I finish many fields early. currently only Hyper Energy left, with one med lab to research stasis field. The rest now change to factories to produce the goodies. Since I have to produce 7+ for each item, it's slow going.

 

The resource drain for build/destroy/build... labs are pretty high, and I have to request resources from factions at least one each. well, that is the price for fast research.

 

Of course, Laputan research sucks! Right now, it's still wargot culture. I save collaboration, but maybe will have to research it ahead of the queue...

 

The wargot grenade launcher is about the best of its type, with a magazine of 20. So it's possible to bring along one for missions and reload with looted ammo. And best use is incendiary against roomful of enemies that is hard to assault, in underground base map

[laclongquan]

I stress again that Laputan research increase is pure bullshit.

 

The increase research/production time is a good idea to both slow the tempo and increase demand. hardest difficulty has me sweat for a few moment..

 

But judicious dedicated slots to research segments by segments can has us completed each section in good time.

 

At late stage, I have only Laputan research to run, everything else is researched and produced (each weapons are six copies at the least).

 

4+ days for second vessel research? 8 day for Putting the pieces together? bullshit! And it's extremely irritating because one dare not even use cheat to complete research, as Laputan one has movies attached to important research.

[ERISS]

I like this long coda, this is where at last the Secret Services and Militia defenses can be usefull, even they're not very efficient.

For me Aftershock is a 'background running game', you keep it back when you want after playing others many games.

[laclongquan]

Finally return to this game after six years. I am repicking up knowledge and reflex as I go.

 

1. Forget that if you control the capitol, you control any provincial mines just acquired without bothering with tracks. Meaning starting the game we shouldnt have to build any for Central europe, and one for Paris (France). The difference between two and three tracks is so STRIKING in early games that it dictate our strategy of expansion. The last time it didnt hit me because I'd been in a long stretch of playing, but this time I jump straight onto SH diff. It's... staggering.

 

2. Forget the terrible time and resource sinks in manufacture: queued items keep resources in that, so shouldnt queue great number and just adding more if you feel the need. And time is too freaking long: I capture most of Central Europe and France and just barely make 6 light helmets.

 

3. Laputa research time :sigh:

[laclongquan]

4. The need for resource make me resort to soldier-for-hire ways. I help the factions defend a few times (successfully), then trade the increased reputation for resources.

 

5. Help friendly troop defend. Now sometimes we got a 6 friendlies (Cyborgs) and they simply make short work of invading mutants, even with some wounds. Their heavy weaponry is even higher level than ours. Couple success with robbing them make defend missions a huge gain.

 

And sometimes we got a lvl1 psionic with nothing at hand... What the fuck? So faction(s) lie to us in mission briefing... Oh well.

[laclongquan]

6. Maybe patch1.3 change a few things? Compare to the old impressions from the last SH run, my Reticulans dont seem so tough as that ("dozen of bolts before going down"). I am in the stage before Earth Folklore researched, and they only take 6 bolts before unconscious. If they are tough and cant unconscious then indeed 10 bolts.

 

Anyone can relate to this experience? Rescue a person and (s)he's a level1 with nothing on hand. I dont remember this happen in patch 1.2

 

Compare with my own old impression, this run I got the 2nd XM8 in Cultist's third battle. No Ret Warp rifle. Seems to be the distribution of weapons equipped on allies in rescue mission was tweaked down quite a lot (I have seen around 5 level1 rescuee in rescue missions upto Cultist)

Rescuee: I think 30% of these mission has level1 recruits with nothing on their bodies.

Escortee: All of them are level 1 recruits with nothing.

Friendly troops: At least they can carry something on their bodies, although the quality is way down compared to the last game (in patch 1.2 I think).

 

EDIT: and no capture wargot mission at all, so we have two Laputan researchs in the disabled queue.

[laclongquan]

7. Maybe it's a long time since my last run, or maybe there's unawared changes between there and now... But Cultists are pretty ridiculous. A cyborg using two mp5 from 40-ish tiles (I think) shoot at my prone Sniper, using nothing but the vision of a nearby unconscious Cultist. The missed shot show his chance is at 40% but since he's dualwield smg burst at her, he got a few shots hit and disable her easily.

 

This is just the first Cultist mission too.

 

EDIT: It seem maaaaaaybe the first Cultist mission get some boost somehow, two more missions later I dont find that ridiculous high level of skill.

[laclongquan]

8. Currently making use of the two weeks before Wargot to sweep up the Cultist and the other riffraffs.

Cultist can be plenty of dangers compared to Mutants or Reticulans, thanks to their number (10, nearly double mutants and more than double Reticulan in missions) and equipments

It practically require us to choose battlefield to fight. Making sure they arrive there in drips and drops instead of one full platoon. The earlier ensure an almost zero wound, but the later can be a wiped squad. Or at least days in hospitals so out of the fights.

 

9. College mark the major step up in economy game. Full college towns in 50+ resource province ensure a VERY steady stream of income to make factories running full blast, and labs in full operation.

[laclongquan]

10. Find a reticulan warp rifle in the hand of a M4-toting cyborg, 10 days before asteroid arrive.

[laclongquan]

Wargots arriving. My teams are spread out and encounter them immediately. A duo of Heroic Rifle men armed with modded XM8 shooting AP ammo kill 3 of them on the spot. Later on, a modded PKM, a rifleman, and a Barret sniper, kill another squad on the spot. Most dangerous would be a lone machinegunner with modded PKM meeting 4 on the big machinery room. Luckily the distance is great so the Cyborg can kill any come into his vision, and the unseens shooting at him with grenades all missed.

 

At this time I have Brazil, and two NA provincial areas left in Cultist hand. Brazil for safeguard, and NA for more invading battles, or waiting for Wargots dropping would be too troublesome.

 

Full arsenal of sniper rifles, rifles, and machineguns. Only thing left would be plasma weaponry. I have ret warp rifle but it need hyper energy lab to research operation tech.

 

Biggest production is implants. We have to make three of everything for the 3 cyborgs so it's heavy use. It's worth your while though, because Cyborg can be very deadly machinegunner (use dexterity arm to get to Dex Superhero+2).

 

In contrast I only have one Medic3 psionic. IT's a good idea though, because if a team has too many Cy+Psi would have too tight inventory to pick up every loots. I simply dont train them as sniper because they carry too little. My one weakass human sniper illustrate that point very well: I have to invest two point in STR for her to be able to carry Barret with nothing else, not even light armor.

[laclongquan]

Still waiting for that capture Wargot mission, because I have two researchs require Live Wargot.

NOTE: based on research tree, those two lead to new space vessel which we already acquired thanks to other techs. But these two unable to research titles are ANNOYING.

[laclongquan]

Meet the first Starghost mission. Just have one or two research left (two research require wargot live doesnt count).

 

Kill all that I can, with one Cloud left behind. We run like hell toward the other corner and wait for mission complete announcement. It's not perfect, but SG mission is generally a net loss in term of resource so no need for aim for kill-all.

[laclongquan]

Assault Mothership of Wargot

 

3 living space module, so total 12 soldiers, leaving one behind.

5 containers of stuffs, bring only half-full. I plan to thoroughly fight on that ship, so need space for loots. We shall see if it's enough.

 

Even I bring a level3 Medic, there seem to be no time passing. So I have doubt that there's healing between battles.

I have no scout, so no one use scanner. While power is more than enough, the lack of utility is annoying. Slightly.

[laclongquan]

A long campaign on Wargot mothership cost 80 rounds of .50AP, 800 rounds of 7.62mmAP (for PKMs), and 50 E-cells (for plasma shotgun and rifle). As such, 5 storage module is not exactly necessary, other than assuage the greed of packrat players.

 

NOTE: Warp resonator is like shotgun but use Mechanical(and 4+ sec), Warp Rifle is better range but still too slow~ The target generally get destroyed in 2 second thanks to several heavy machine guns and sniper rifles, half the time it take to shoot one warp gun. Even with heavily resistant target like Star Cloud, plasma gun and shotgun can do the job just fine instead of suffering the super slow speed of warp weaponry.

[laclongquan]

For research, after destroying mothership, there's only Laputa-only researchs left. It's very freaking annoying but there you have it. (Pillar of Death autopsy is short even with only 3 med lab).

 

For manufacture, we do it purely for completion sake. And it peter out when we have enough of EVERYTHING.