Let's Play UFO2:Extraterrestrials

[Zombie]

Heavy Cruiser Part 1

This UFO is on some sort of a base map, not really sure what to call it but it's certainly different. (Maybe it's a "mining" map)? Oh, and its big. Not in terms of length & width but length, width & height (or depth). That's right, there are multiple levels underground and they encompass almost the entire map except for the UFO which is in it's own little cubby. Anyhow, we spread out the best we can and don't see anything for the first 6 turns. We spot a Bonesetter first so Hobbes will take an auto shot at it:

And he kills it when the two damaging shots do 30 & 37:

Atta boy! Then JFG peeks out to inspect the damage only to spot one of the UFO cannons:

Not sure what I was thinking here, but I convinced myself that the cannon couldn't possibly shoot at JFG if he throws a grenade down there:

And of course, the grenade doesn't do any damage either. To make matters worse the cannon shoots back at him but luckily the damage was absorbed. Okay, playtime is over. BB's got an itchy trigger finger on his mortar:

He hits something in the darkness for 32 damage (which I assume is a Bonesetter) and the cannon takes 118 damage. Neither are kill shots:

He still has APs left so he lets another one rip. This time the blast does 55 damage to the unseen Bonesetter which kills it and it also does 130 to the cannon which destroys it:

In a way, I think the grenade "test" JFG performed actually helped us out as it forced the use of the mortar which ended up taking out a Bonesetter too. The next turn we can see a Rider is standing next to a piece of equipment near to where the first Bonesetter was. Pete doesn't have a shot at it, but he can throw a grenade there:

The blast from the exploding equipment does 99 damage to it which is an automatic kill for weakling aliens like this:

So satisfying! The next round we spot another UFO cannon. NKF is in a position behind cover and he's in throwing range so might as well toss a normal grenade on it:

It does 33 damage which wasn't too bad. He's out of AP and can't throw another grenade but he grabs another to be ready:

The next round we spot a Bonesetter in the air near to NKF. Normally, I'd let him shoot at it for xp but Zombie has a better shot:

The first auto shot did 32, 5 and 4 damage which wasn't enough to kill it. But the first bullet of his second shot did 33 which took it out:

With that out of the way it's time for NKF to toss another grenade on the UFO cannon:

It does a healthy 53 damage. So he tossed a photon grenade on it too but it only did 17 damage:

NKF is out of the weak grenades so next turn he's going to toss a golden pineapple on it:

That blast did 54 damage which destroyed it:

Now that's how to take out a cannon if time isn't a concern and external threat pressure is low. During the alien's turn a couple rounds later a Bonesetter opens a door in back of where the equipment used to be only to be met with reaction fire from Jman:

Love pics like this with the yellow trail. Anyhow, this shot hit for a whopping 2 damage but the second did 58 which killed it:

Certainly wasn't an easy shot to make but Jman took it all in stride. Three rounds later and Pete is slowly exploring the building to the north east of us when he spots a Rider inside. Trouble is, he's out of APs so he takes a little bit of cover and preys:

Fortunately I left NKF at the open doorway so the Rider shot at him instead and both shots from it were absorbed. NKF had just enough APs left to reaction fire back. The first bullet is going to be a hit to the head:

It does 38 damage killing it. Good job! The next round Pete comes out of cover to find another Rider in the next room. It would be a difficult shot for him to take so I bring in Crazy Gringo from the nearby door to shoot at it instead:

The first bullet does 26 damage which kills it:

A couple turns later and a Rider opens that door where the Bonesetter died from Jman's barrage. This time JFG is going to redeem himself by shooting at it:

The first blast does an impressive 49 damage which kills it:

While moving Pete around he came face-to-face with another Rider in a lift room. An auto shot seems to be called for in this instance:

The first bullet does 41 damage which kills it:

Join me for part 2 where there will be more UFO cannon tribulations. Then we head underground to take out the last Rider. We mess with a couple Bonesetters in/near the UFO by flash frying them in a flame-kissed orgy and then meet up with a glitchy commander which we stun. Promotions were made, a UFO was shot down and the end of month summary came. Lots of stuff to cover so you don't want to miss it!

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

What do my eyes contemplate? A new kind of deathtrap at dusk. The aliens dabbling with terraforming perhaps and it all looks fittingly bleak.

Digging ever more greedly into the bowels of mother Earth is our exclusive privilege - you shall be made to repent, in explosive fashion for starters!

We follow up with a healthy serving of lead to sprinkle the unwary on our path.

Brothers, we shall cleanse this land of the foul xeno scum that has descended upon it and crept within. Close ranks; we go deeper!

[Zombie]

Heavy Cruiser Part 2

It's four turns later and Blade just spotted the UFO canon on the northwest side. We don't want to waste mortar shells on this so Blade will toss a normal grenade on the thing for some easy (but low) xp. Notice the lone weapon inside the UFO - that's the "incidental" kill when BB nuked the first cannon earlier:

The blast did 29. So he threw another which did a healthy 40 damage. Good start! It's not gone yet so Bomb Bloke will drop his mortar so he can throw a grenade at it too:

It only does 12 damage:

The next turn he tossed another grenade on the thing:

The blast did 27 damage so he tossed a photon grenade on it but the damage was absorbed:

BB looks a little disappointed, doesn't he? Well, Blade is going to toss a photon grenade at it now:

It only does 11 damage so Jman steps in and tosses a normal grenade which does 19 and takes it out (finally):

I'm not sure why the photon grenade is so underpowered against cannons. I mean, it shouldn't be as it has 80 damage while the grenade has 75. The only real difference between them is the blast radius (5 for the grenade, 4 for the photon) but that shouldn't be a factor when we are always tossing them directly on the cannons. Maybe it's just bad luck but more often than not they do crap damage to everything except maybe Riders.

Speaking of Riders, it's two turns later and a Rider pops out of nowhere down below where Pete and NKF are (along with a couple support soldiers one who is Hobbes):

NKF reaction fires hitting for 27 with the first bullet killing it:

I move up Hobbes and Pete to the doorway leading outside to hopefully block any more aliens from getting past us. When we open the door a Bonesetter reaction fires at us with it's heavy photon beamer ammo. It damages Hobbes for 8 (which really isn't an issue as he has the pale blue crystal) but the damage is absorbed by Pete. Pete is going to shoot at it:

It took two auto shots to take the thing out as the damage was absorbed for half the bullets:

Same turn, I decide to have Bomb Bloke mortar the last cannon on the far side of the UFO:

It's a weak spot hit for 166 damage which means no more cannon:

I probably didn't need to do this but I want to clear out the "bowl" where the UFO is in and don't want a cannon taking pot shots at us during this. The next round JFG rounds a corner down below where he spots a Bonesetter so he'll auto shoot it with his photon beamer (normal ammo):

One shot missed while the second did 16 and the last did 4. The Bonesetter shot back but the damage was absorbed. JFG shoots again hitting for 18 and 36 which killed it:

Two rounds later and the team at the northeast door to the UFO notices that the southeast door is open. NKF is going to throw an incendiary grenade there just in case an alien is inside:

Nope, but a round later it comes out to stand in the flames which do 13 damage. By this time our other team has made it to the UFO so Blade is going to toss another incendiary grenade at it from around the side:

It's a weak spot kill for 64 damage:

So that takes care of the outside of the UFO. I think this is a logical place to stop - I'll do a part 3 to this mission next time. Probably shouldn't have took so many screenshots of tossing grenades on the cannon but I wanted to give you guys an idea of how many it could take to destroy it in this way (that number = 7).

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

Playing grenade roulette and seeing what numbers one gets is a fine art. Trying it against a craft's Canon is elevating the stakes of the whole affair to walking a fine line between daring and recklessness. But that's just how we roll.

Head-on we sweep the perimeter of the creatures' lair - every nook and cranny - for those maggots unwilling to take a gamble before.

Now it's going to get even dicier. Might this can of worms somehow be one of the spicier?

[Zombie]

6 hours ago, Thorondor said:

Playing grenade roulette and seeing what numbers one gets is a fine art. Trying it against a craft's Canon is elevating the stakes of the whole affair to walking a fine line between daring and recklessness. But that's just how we roll.

In my defense, all the soldiers tossing grenades were in cover so the cannon couldn't figure out where the thing came from. It's much safer than shooting at the cannon directly, that's for sure.

Heavy Cruiser Part 3

It's now nine turns later. All our soldiers are inside the UFO and there were no aliens in the central area on the lower level. Odd, but maybe that last Bonesetter we killed earlier was the last central guard. Whatever the case was, I had Zombie open the door to the left room off the hallway (with the teleporter naturally) where he spotted a Bonesetter in there amongst the vats. Nobody can shoot at it, but Pete can throw a grenade over there:

It does 6 damage to the Bonesetter which was crap. The blast also destroyed most of the vats which was nice, but the Bonesetter "jumped" to a different location in the room where it was able to shoot back at us with it's heavy photon beamer ammo. Pete took 2 damage, but Zombie and Hobbes shrugged it off:

I almost reloaded the game at this point but figured I'd give NKF a chance to recover first. He's going to toss an inferno grenade on it:

It does a decent 37 damage. Crazy Gringo is going to shoot at it now:

All the bullets hit and did 5, 5 and 6 damage, killing it:

Not the highest damage rolls but he got the job done and that's all that matters. The next round Zombie is going to toss a grenade into the room on the right even though it appears to be devoid of aliens:

Yup, nothing was in there. Why waste a grenade on this? Well, it removes the "furniture" in the room allowing us to see in the corners. And if there was an alien camped out in there somewhere, the grenade would tell us. Three turns later and we are ready to start breaching the upper floor of the UFO. When we open the door to the lift room on the right side, a Bonesetter inside shot at Hobbes but the damage was absorbed. NKF will shoot at it:

He needed two auto shots but was able to take it out:

Always the chipper soldier, isn't he? A couple rounds later we breach the left side. Nothing was downstairs, but there is a Bonesetter in the lift room upstairs. Pete's going to shoot at it:

The first bullets damage was absorbed, but the second did 49 and the last 19 which killed it:

Before we could get everyone onto position the next round we find the commander by the left room. I had Blade, JFG and Tammy shoot at it. No damage was done, now Pete is up:

Again, the damage was absorbed except for one bullet which did 11. I think it's time for Zombie to stun the thing:

And that was the end of the mission. EOM report:

Pete and NKF both got 4 kills and both were promoted again! The points breakdown was identical again. One point into Shooting to max that stat out at 101 , one point into throwing, two into strength and the last into bravery:

Looking back at this I probably should have put the bravery point into strength to max that out right away. But these guys are going to be promoted again soonish so it'll be fine. One thing is for sure: these are two of the best soldiers I've seen come out of the program so far (well, besides Throrondor - he's a god too). So it makes sense to be picky when hiring, don't settle for lower shooting and strength! Back in the Geoscape and a photon cannon and a VT3000 fighter shield have finished:

We need these for our base in Antarctica. Oh, and here's a hint: when an interceptor is built, make sure you have a cannon, missile, shield and a bomb on hand there. That way when you transfer it to another base it'll be equipped already. A day later now and a supply vessel UFO appears over Alaska:

I send in my interceptors from South America to engage first. When the UFO gets close enough to my base in North America to trigger the defensive systems to fire, I send the interceptors from there to greet it. By that time the first volley of missiles from the South American interceptors will be on the way. Needless to say, the UFO couldn't really do much before it's shot down:

Let's look at the end of month summary:

I mean, it's not all that bad. For the areas we have bases in (EU, Russia, North & South America) we have maxed out funding with them and they are all happy too. Africa is happy too as we have an aircraft carrier in the Med. Even though the other areas are "POOR", it's a chump change drop in funding. Once our base in Antarctica is shooting down UFOs on a full time basis, our funding will probably max out there. And I'd guess that it's reach will probably spill over into Asia and Australia too. So really, we are doing pretty good in terms of securing funding.

In terms of other funding areas, we had fewer UFOs this month to visit and by extension, less items to sell. Not the end of the world, we'll make that up. The biggest expenses were the new interceptors and the base facilities in Antarctica.  I knew this going into the process... funding is always going to take a hit when expanding. But we managed to keep it all positive so there shouldn't be any problems assuming it's kept under control next month too.

Stay tuned for that Supply Vessel mission next. It should be interesting!

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

Now grenades talk to us. What's technology coming to?

Well, the only way is up and we go through the motions as the consummate professionals that we are, ending with an expertly delivered jolt of satisfaction as well as a couple of hard-earned promotions.

We have the further good fortune of having someone as capable as Supreme Commander Z at the helm, making sure all is kept running along on the strategic / financial side of the equation, even in these oh-so trying times for our planet.

Live update: more invaders downed - prep the unwelcoming commitee ASAP!

[Zombie]

Supply Vessel Part 1

It's a farm map this time so we deploy in the usual fashion. During the alien's first turn NKF starts reaction firing on a Bonesetter on the farmhouse rooftop. The first bullet was absorbed but it looks like the next will be a hit too:

Everything was absorbed unfortunately. Well, it's still 3 xp for him at least. When it's our turn, NKF will continue shooting at it (there's another Bonesetter up there now):

It took two auto shots to take it down and all but one bullet did actual damage. The other Bonesetter is Pete's responsibility:

Much the same as NKF: all but one bullet did damage and he killed it easily with two auto shots:

Same round, and on the ground floor of the farmhouse there are two Riders. Crazy Gringo is going to shoot the closest one first:

His first two bullets did 15 & 13 damage, killing it. May as well shoot at the other Rider right away:

This time his first two bullets did 23 and 5 which was enough to kill it as well:

During the alien's next turn another Rider came bolting out of the farmhouse and came right up to CG - across the hedge from him. He walks a little closer to get into point-blank range to fire:

He did 22 and 35 damage killing it:

It just can't get any easier than that. A couple turns later Jman is trying to spread out a little bit but was spotted by an alien cannon on the roof of the UFO. It shot at him doing 4 damage. Bomb Bloke will nuke it with the mortar:

The blast does 132 damage to that cannon and damaged another for 45:

The next round JFG notices a Rider behind a hay bale by the tool shed. So he'll shoot at the bale first:

With that obstruction out of the way Blade can shoot at it. No need to go crazy with an auto shot at this range, a snap should be sufficient:

It does 26 damage which was enough for the kill:

We finally spotted the other alien cannon we damaged earlier so BB is going to mortar it again:

It does a decent 109 damage which means it's gone. It also hit something else for 37 damage:

My guess it's another cannon somewhere. We don't have eyes on it yet so it doesn't make any sense to fire on it blindly. The next round JFG tries to sneak a little closer to spot it but it sees him and shoots three times. The damage was all absorbed thankfully. Now that we see it, BB will come a little closer to mortar it:

The blast does 132 damage which destroyed it. It also did 95 to another cannon to the right (you can probably see the red targeting circle):

The next round JFG spots the other cannon (and a Trep too). Let's get rid of that cannon first:

It does 121 damage (not 132?) and that's way more than enough to take it out:

This Trep really isn't a threat to anyone where it is, but I'd just as soon take it out while the going is good so JFG is going to take a snap shot at it with his photon beamer:

His first shot did 4 damage so he took another which did 40. Not enough for the kill, so Blade is going to shoot at it (snap shot this time too):

He does 44 which kills it:

A couple turns later and Zombie has a little issue with a Bonesetter who was in the farmhouse on the ground floor. It shot at him during it's turn, missed once and blew up some explosive barrels. Zombie is shooting back and does 8 damage with the first bullet:

He then hits for 11 & 19 which kills it:

Wait a minute, that's 38 damage and a Bonesetter has 65 health. What gives? Well, I think the Bonesetter hurt itself in the blast but the damage wasn't caught by the game because it was still technically hidden from us. Kinda a dumb mechanic, but that's how it works.

Join me next time as we take out the last few Bonesetters and the commander even shows up outside which gives us more opportunities to take it out. CG gets a promotion so we allocate his points, then we take a look at our new base in Antarctica. Research into the Mega finishes so we start looking at the new combat medikit topic. Finally I make a change to our main base which I hope will help us out in the future, and last but least, we take down another heavy cruiser and make a last minute crew change. Should be an interesting episode.

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

Who would've thought we'd welcome the more pastoral views once again. What a difference a few days make.

Don't expect any leniency though, aliens - you've been disturbing the peace and causing harm for far too long. When your beady eyes catch sight of us capital punishment will already be at hand.

Trying to deprive people of some fine homemade cider and destroying property is not going to go down particularly well with us either.

We've got a score to settle, lads - keep pushing on!

[Zombie]

Supply Vessel Part 2

It's now our turn again. Crazy Gringo is in the farmhouse kitchen upstairs trying to clear it out but spots a Bonesetter in a corner. He quickly closes the door as he's nearly out of APs:

The next turn he opens the door again, but the Bonesetter isn't there? I know it's still in the corner there so CG is going to toss an incendiary grenade there:

It only does 17 fire damage. Okay, how about a normal grenade then:

Th blast does 49 damage killing it. Notice where the body is:

Now we spot a Bonesetter just inside one of the UFO doors. JFG is going to toss an Inferno grenade on it since he can't shoot at it:

It only does 22 damage. He tossed a normal grenade on it next but the damage was absorbed:

That's all anyone can do this round (well, BB could've wasted a mortar bomb on it, but come on, seems like overkill). During it's turn it comes closer to us so now Tammy is going to shoot at it:

One auto shot was all it took, though the first two bullets only did 4 & 5 damage:

The next turn another Bonesetter exits the craft and moves to the tool shed. There's also a Commander in the air, but we'll deal with that later. Pete's going to shoot at the normal Bonesetter on the ground:

He hits it once for 17 damage and somehow kills it?

Not sure what's up with that except perhaps one of those incendiary/inferno grenades or mortars pre-damaged it. Speaking of the mortar, BB is going to send one near the commander now:

It does 34 damage which is promising:

He's going to send another one in back of the commander hoping to find a break in it's armor:

This time the damage was absorbed. All-righty, you asked for it, BB is going to use one of these sludge (chem) mortar shells on it next:

And that kills it! EOM:

And Crazy Gringo is promoted. Here is his point allocation:

Basic stuff really. One point went into Throwing to max that stat out at 99. Then one point went into bravery to get that to 72. Not adding points into that anymore so it'll have to be good. And lastly two points in agility and one in vitality to round things off. Looks like a solid soldier overall. Back at base and our two heavy rocket defenses finished construction at our base in Antarctica:

Speaking of such, let's take a look at that quickly:

The 2 workshops will be done in a couple days which is nice. One of the photon defenses will require 9 days and the other will be 25. Not worried about that as we have the rocket defenses to backup the three interceptors, and we haven't seen many UFOs down here either. I have a feeling that will change though. About an hour later our research into the Megetra (Mega) completed:

Let's look at its description first:

Obviously, don't bother using sludge (chem) stuff on them, though on paper I think a sludge mortar bomb might be enough to do some damage. Mechanical is also a no-no but what else do we have to shoot with? Nothing. At least it takes full damage from incendiary and freeze so we can toss grenades on them. Well, we are going to start researching the Combat Medikit next:

I've been waiting on an upgrade for our soldiers since forever it seems. Even though it's not a weapon I think it'll be a little more potent than the regular medikit. And we need better healing capabilities with the new aliens. The only trouble is that these take a very long time to build (sorry, couldn't help it as I checked).

It's at this point that I started thinking on the long build times of stuff at the main base. Right now it's becoming kinda annoying as our main base is the only place we can manufacture soldier-only items. We are always low on bombs for the mortar, ammo is constantly needed and we are way behind on better armor. Need I mention grenades and now the upcoming combat medikit? Something needs to be done pronto. I started to think what facility we could safely cut at our main base and I think we don't need 2 heavy rocket defenses:

Let's remove that:

Well, not remove, but sell. Kind of a good feeling knowing that we get our original investment back out of it again. In it's place will be another workshop:

See, I think the issue here is that bases in this game are 6 x 5 while bases in X-COM:UFO (UFO:EU) are 6 x 6. Those extra 6 modules suddenly seem really important, don't they? Or heck, more hangars would be nice too. Not sure why the devs didn't go this direction, but it's probably due to balance.

Back in the Geoscape and a heavy cruiser shows up over India. Our main base starts firing its heavy rockets at it along with the floating base in the Caspian Sea. May as well send the interceptors from Europe over there to draw it in closer:

That strategy worked and when it's close to the floating base I send out all the interceptors nearby:

Took a little while to whittle it's health down but eventually it crashed:

Before I send out the transport I take Crazy Gringo off as he was just promoted. In his place I put in Gimli as he needs about 400 xp yet to get to CG's level:

Join me next time when we visit that heavy cruiser!

- Zombie

[Zombie]

Heavy Cruiser Part 1

This mission is again on some sort of a base map. Not really sure what, but there are plenty of trees and vegetation to hide behind near our transport. We only get 4 soldiers off the transport when we spot a Bonesetter by a gate. Luckily Hobbes still has some APs available so he'll toss an inferno grenade at it:

It does 46 fire damage which isn't enough for the kill. Blade thinks a normal grenade will take it out:

Nope, the damage was absorbed. So Gimli comes off the transport to throw an incendiary grenade on it:

It does 45 damage which kills it:

It's amazing how a lowly incendiary grenade puts out just as much damage as a powerful inferno grenade, isn't it? I was a tad worried about all those soldiers bunched up from the grenade throwing, but nothing happened for a couple rounds. We now spot a Rider on a rooftop to the right of the Bonesetter. NKF somehow has a shot at it:

The first bullet does 58 and that means one dead rider:

A couple turns later and we spot one of the cannon on the roof of the UFO. As always, Bomb Bloke is going to mortar it:

It does 102 damage but that isn't enough to destroy the cannon. So he'll send another:

It does 84 damage which destroys it:

We now spot a Bonesetter on a rooftop to the north of our transport. JFG has a line of fire so he'll try a snap shot with his photon beamer (normal ammo):

The first shot did 18 while the second did 13 and the last did 36 which killed it:

The next round we spot a Rider on the ground in the same area. Jman is close enough and in cover so he'll toss a normal grenade on it:

It only did 19 damage. Well, seeing as it's damaged already, let's have Gimli take a long range auto shot at it:

The  first bullet did 36 damage which killed it:

It's now four turns later and we spot another UFO cannon. Blade is in cover and in range for a throw so he'll toss a photon grenade on it, hoping to soften it up for BB:

It does a decent 38 damage:

BB is too far away to get a mortar over there this round so that'll have to wait till next round:

The blast does 144 damage which destroys it:

I'm feeling a lot better with those two cannons out of the way. There is one more on the left side which can be an issue but we haven't spotted it yet. Oh, and there's a Bonesetter along the close  side of the UFO so Gimli is going to shoot at it:

It took two auto shots to kill it as there were some low damage rolls:

A couple rounds later Zombie peeks in the door to the building to the north of the transport only to come face-to-face with a Bonesetter inside which shoots him for 1 damage. An auto shot at point blank range seems like the answer to that:

It took him two auto shots to kill it as the first bullet was absorbed:

We eventually spot the other cannon on the UFO roof on the left side. It takes BB a number of turns to make it over there safely without getting spotted, but now he's ready to mortar it:

It only does 65 damage but the blast sure looks nice:

So he sends another which does 104 damage which destroys it:

Join me next time when we venture down in the bowels of the base to rid it of more Bonesetters and Riders, then head inside the UFO to kill the last 3 bonesetter soldiers and finally stun the commander. Not like we need another one, but they take full stun damage so it's just easier to end the mission out that way.

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

You know what happens when you let Crazy Gringo get his hands on the grenade candy jar - things reeeaally get blasted to smithereens! 😎

Of course, overkill is not entirely undeserved when the enemy is trying to pull our leg like that. You don't play fair, we don't play fair, aliens. It's just the sort of toxic environment you're fostering and BB is quite happy to oblige, returning in kind smack-dab onto that brash commander.

Mega research: kill them or become their lunch. Get the picture? 😋

Thumbs up on base improvements: whatever increases our readiness and capability can only be a good thing. Trespassers be warned - you'll be shot on sight, no matter where you are!

Speaking of which, we're called upon for a meet and greet; only to have an enemy barring us right at the gate. So, we're supposed to be the party crashers now? Newcomer Gimly of course promptly reminds the creature who's uninvited here.

What do you say we go look for the open bar? And, we're not going to take any attempts to stop our perambulations kindly...

[Zombie]

Heavy Cruiser Part 2

It's the next round and when Jman comes down a lift he spots a Bonesetter nearby. Time for an Inferno grenade:

It does a whole 23 damage. Not sure what I was thinking here, but instead of sending Jman back up the lift I had him shoot at the Bonesetter with his photon beamer. Not only that, but I didn't have him kneel down either so his accuracy is only 65%:

He connects only once for 12 damage which didn't kill it (2 shots missed). If that wasn't bad enough, he didn't have enough APs to get up the lift to relative safety. So he has to weather it out in a corner, hoping, preying that the Bonesetter looses interest. Doesn't work, as during the alien's turn the Bonsetter comes right up to him and shoots. Luckily the damage was absorbed. On the bright side, Jman now has a 99% accurate auto shot:

He hits for 19 and 42 which kills it:

Meanwhile, in a lower part of the map Hobbes comes down some steps to find a Rider nearby. So he'll shoot at it:

The first bullet hits for 31 killing it. Hobbes then goes back up the stairs as high as his APs allow:

About three turns later a Rider comes out of nowhere and shoots at JFG with it's heavy photon beamer (AOE) ammo. JFG's armor was enough to soak up the damage, but the Rider was not so lucky and died in the blast:

Already resorting to suicide bombing tactics aliens? Seems a little early for that. About 6 turns later KFG spots a Bonesetter by the left door of the UFO. Tammy is right above that area so she'll toss an incendiary grenade down there:

It does an incredible 59 fire damage which kills it:

Another 6 turns later and a Rider comes out of the right door of the UFO, opens the door to the room where 4 of my soldiers are staging, takes a step in and runs out of APs. Smart, really smart. Gimli is going to shoot at it:

He hits for 23 & 38, killing it:

Nothing happens for 6 turns so the whole team breaches the UFO. Nothing is in the first area, but on the next round Hobbes opens the door to the right in the back hallway and sees a Bonesetter inside. Time for an auto shot:

He really didn't do much so now Pete is going to try:

All the damage was absorbed so Zombie had to mop up the mess by killing it:

Wait, what is that blob to the right in the lift room?

I think that's the commander! But it's not really in the lift room, it's upstairs somewhere. Not sure why there's a ghost of it visible. A couple turns later and we split up into our two breach teams to take the lifts. Half of the team is staging in the left room when a Bonesetter comes literally out of nowhere and shoots at Jman with it's heavy AOE photon beamer ammo. Jman shrugs off the damage, but Tammy takes 10 damage and NKF takes 16. Jman shoots back hitting for 49 on his first shot:

His second shot killed it (no screenshot, sorry) and then we patch up Tammy and NKF. A few turns later and everyone is upstairs now trying to tighten the noose. A normal Bonestter comes out to greet us and then the commander comes out to throw a cryo grenade at JFG for 27 freeze damage and another at Hobbes for 3. After patching up JFG (Hobbes doesn't require attention as he has the pale blue crystal), we'll have NKF shoot at the normal Bonesetter:

He shoots at it till he's out of APs and is somehow able to take it out with the last bullet dealing 42 damage:

With the commander left and the team weary and possibly sore from injuries, it's time to end this by stunning the commander. But first, everyone shoots at it for some free xp. Hobbes gets the honors to stun it:

And that was the end of the mission. I'll cover the EOM report next time along with some base updates and then shoot down a couple UFOs and then we have to bombard a small recon vessel that landed on the water in the Pacific ocean. Well, maybe not. Easter Island is in the vicinity so maybe it was there.

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

Look at that - 'The Man' Jman outright saying to the critter: "Gimme your best shot, punk!" and living to tell the story.

Flexing his pecs, JFG goes for a little bout of one-upmanship with some close range blasting of his own, with explosive ammo no less.

Then the whole team invests itself in getting in the aliens' business again by steamrolling into the UFO, hot and bothered and looking for trouble.

There's a little splash damage to deal with in response from the otherworlders but there's no way they're keeping us down and we end it all with a stunner move from Hobbes.

Remember that, maggots: when there's a push we're the ones that push back hardest. Give it up for Alpha Team! 😎

[Zombie]

So here's the EOM report from the last mission:

Yup, I'd agree with excellent. We nabbed another commander, killed 18 aliens, got 10 photon beamers and a couple clips, plus the UFO components. Let's not forget about that $540,000 bounty too. No promotions, but that's fine.

Up till recently I sold all the UFO components except for a stockpile of 50 units of the common and 10 of the uncommon. I changed my strategy on this a few weeks ago. Right now I'm stockpiling ALL the Alien Fibers, Alien Flight Controls and Alien Gravity Engines and selling all the advanced UFO stuff. You will recover a lot more of the common items so those can start to add up quick. In addition, the prices you get on the open (urm, black) market are pretty good: $28k for the Fibers, $40k for the Flight Controls and $120k for the Engines. I could probably get by just fine without selling the components (especially with the mods I have enabled) but I usually like to keep stockpiles of something on hand just in case our funding is low or we have big-ticket items to manufacture as I can offset the cost of that a little.

Back in the Geoscape and our photon defenses in the aircraft carrier have completed:

Well, let's take a peek at it then:

So we have 3 photon defenses there, 2 light rocket and 2 heavy rocket. That should be good for a while. Now are all those defenses necessary as opposed to putting in another hangar and having only 3 defensive systems active? Well, an extra interceptor would be nice to help defend our main base, that's for sure. But interceptors are kinda expensive to manufacture and have monthly expenses you have to deal with. Plus they are fiddly as you have to send them out to the threats and then back them off when they get damaged. Whereas if you can draw the UFOs back to your base with your interceptors then the defenses can help shoot the UFO down. I say the more defensive systems, the better.

Back again on the Geoscape and the next thing that happened (5 hours later) was our last 2 workshops finished construction at our base in Antarctica:

We are going to take a look at that base too:

It's going to take 7 more days till the first photon defense is up and running and 23 till the other is ready. So we are going to have to rely on our rocket defenses to help shoot down UFOs in the meantime. With the two additional workshops we can pump out a fighter shield in a little more than a day:

The quicker we can get "sets" of interceptor components ready, the quicker we can manufacture the interceptors themselves. Anyway, it's about a day later and we suddenly have our hands full with UFOs. We just shot down a recon vessel in Africa and we are currently getting ready to shoot down a heavy cruiser near our main base (with another recon vessel slowly poking around in the Pacific Ocean):

When the heavy cruiser comes a little closer I send out all the interceptors from the aircraft carrier, our main base and Europe:

It doesn't take too long to down a "weaker" UFO like this, in this case about 21 minutes:

Nope we aren't going to bombard this crash site as it's close to our main base. It's a nice fireball when it crashes though:

We are waiting a little bit to see what that recon vessel does in the Pacific Ocean. It lands somewhere in the water(?):

Not sure if it's Easter Island or a game glitch, but I'm not ready to find out which. So I send some interceptors from our base in South America to bombard it. It doesn't take long to destroy it:

One less UFO to worry about. Since the sun rises in the east, we are going to assault the heavy cruiser UFO as it's in the sun first:

So stay tuned for that next time!

- Zombie

 

[Thorondor]

All that swag couldn't be in finer hands. We know how to use it better, aliens!

It would be interesting (though perhaps expecting a bit much) if the market actually reacted to the hoarding or flooding of certain items by making sale prices fluctuate accordingly. I suppose you can never reach a point when you have too much alien junk on our planet.

Makes sense then that we're getting even better equipped to bring down more flying gold.

Alright, it appears it's time to go out to collect again. Let's get cracking people!

[Zombie]

Heavy Cruiser Part 1

When we land it's a ctiyscape map. So Zombie takes one step off the transport intending to deploy in the usual fashion but the aliens had other plans. There were 2 Riders and a Bonesetter camped out on the roof next to us. A Rider reaction fired at Zombie but the damage was absorbed.

Z-Man didn't have a shot on any of the aliens but he could toss an Inferno grenade up by the Bonesetter:

The blast only did 23 fire damage to it. Well, crap. That didn't quite work out:

I have Hobbes open the door below so Zombie could get into cover. NKF exits the transport and is shot at by that trigger happy Rider too, but the damage was thankfully absorbed. Pete comes off and decides to toss a normal grenade at the Bonesetter:

It does a whole 12 damage. Not enough for the kill, but on the bright side it took out the guard rail around the rooftop:

Blade takes a couple snap shots at the Bonesetter with his photon beamer but only manages to damage it for 3. Gimli comes off ready to take an auto shot at it with his rifle:

All three bullets hit but did no damage. At this point I'm running out of options quick. All three aliens are still alive and I have a room filled with half my soldiers  with no APs and very explosive items around them. As a last ditch effort I'll have Bomb Bloke nuke the highest rooftop making sure to "split-the-difference" so to speak when selecting a tile to target:

The blast is very effective as it kills the Bonesetter after dishing out 49 damage to it and also takes out the Rider doing an incredible 141 damage to it:

Well, that's better. That other Rider is worrisome as it's closer to getting to our soldiers below. BB is out of APs but Tammy finds out she actually has a shot on it somehow:

The first bullet hit for 38 damage killing it:

With the landing zone clear we breathe a big sigh of relief. For the next 8 turns we slowly spread out trying to hold the progress we made in the first round. Tammy steps off the transport and finds a Bonesetter at the front of the transport. It was behind the guard rail but Tammy found out she could shoot at it:

Her first bullet did 63 damage, killing it:

Good job! During the alien's next turn a Rider shows up below the transport and shoots at Zombie hitting him twice for no damage. He is kneeling down on the right of the pic:

After the Rider is done shoting, Zombie shoots back and it's a weak spot kill for 70 damage:

Amazing! Four turns later and Tammy peeks off the back of the transport to find another Bonesetter in the same area as before. And she has a shot on it too:

Her first auto shot did 56 damage total. Not enough for the kill, but this thing must be teetering on death so she'll shoot again:

This auto shot did nothing but the first bullet of the last did 6 which took it out:

She is a coldhearted killer, no doubt about that and I'm certainly glad she's on our side. Three turns later and Hobbes spots one of the UFO cannons and this time Bomb Bloke is close enough to nuke it right away:

Big Boom time which takes it out for 128 damage:

A couple turns later and a Rider shoots at Jman damaging him for 3. But he reaction fires back with his first shot killing it for 40 damage. Oh, and his last shot misses wildly hitting a car which explodes and that sets off a series of other cars and barrels to explode too:

Three turns later and we can barely make out another cannon in the darkness so BB will mortar it:

The blast does 123 damage destroying it:

Three turns later and we've just spotted the cannon on the far right side so BB is called upon to nuke it:

This blast does 121 damage which takes it out:

The mortars have been fairly uniform in terms of damage potential which is nice as I hate wasting 2 bombs on each cannon. It's a couple turns later and we've been revealing a large part of the map so far. No aliens to see yet, but I don't want to get any closer on the close side as there are a lot of explosive things in the way. NKF will preemptively shoot at a car to set the whole shebang off before we have to get closer:

The initial blast is quite impressive as it destroys a lot of things:

And then the big explosions happen and that's where we start cooking with fire:

Too bad there were no aliens in the blast radius otherwise it would have been epic. Join me next time where we take out the last UFO cannon with grenades as I was worried my luck was running out on the mortar, then kill a bunch more Bonesetters with a couple Riders thrown in the mix to make it more interesting. The commander gives us headaches with it's glitchiness but we kill it in the end.

- Zombie

[Zombie]

Heavy Cruiser Part 2

May as well do the rest of the mission now. It's a couple turns later and part of my team has made it around the far side of the UFO but we can't go any farther due to the watchful eye of the last cannon. I was afraid that I used up all my luck taking out the other cannons with the mortar in one hit so I decided to have the team grenade the thing instead. NKF was standing in fire from the blast he created but got lucky as the damage was absorbed. Anyhow, Hobbes will start us off with a normal grenade:

The damage was absorbed so he tossed a photon grenade which did 39 damage. Pete is going to toss a normal grenade now:

It does 34 damage so he tossed a photon grenade too which did 20. Blade tossed two normal DG1 grenades which did 9 & 16. JFG tossed a DG1 which did 41 and that took the cannon out:

Easy peasy? Not quite, but again, it's cheap and spreads XP around. We have another issue to deal with as a Bonesetter is spotted at the SW corner of the UFO. NKF is just barely able to toss an incendiary grenade on it:

It did 45 damage so he tossed an inferno grenade at it next which was a weak spot kill for 74 fire damage:

Unreal! A couple turns later and our breach team arrived at the NW door to the UFO. When it was opened we saw a Bonesetter in there so Blade is going to take an auto shot with his photon beamer:

He does 9 & 26 damage but the last shot is absorbed. JFG is going to take a snap shot at it with his photon beamer:

It does 48 damage which means another dead alien:

The next round our 2nd breach squad opens the other door and spots a Bonesetter just inside. NKF is going to auto shoot it:

He hits twice for 62 damage which kills it:

The next turn we hear a Rider walking around near our 2nd team so when we open the door NKF will shoot at it too:

The first bullet is a weak spot kill for 69 damage:

You may notice that the door to the left engine room is open. We noticed that too and our 1st breach team opens the other door to spot a Bonesetter inside. Pete gets the nod for an auto shot:

Let's just say that he's a late bloomer as all his damage came at the end when he was nearly out of APs. At least the thing is gone:

It's now 13 rounds later. Nothing happened on the ground floor anymore which was surprising as the aliens usually set an ambush for us. Anyhow, Pete charges upstairs via the left lift and sees a Bonesetter right in front of him. Auto shot time obviously:

He damages it twice for 48 but it "moves" after the last bullet hit. And there's another Bonesetter up there too. Pete tries targeting the same bonesetter again, but it's not where it moved to... it's in the same place it was before, just invisible. He shoots again:

His second bullet deals 32 damage which kills it. And of course the Bonesetter corpse is not in either place. Buggy!

Well, he can't do anything else this round so he heads back down the lift. In his place is Hobbes who will shoot at the other Bonesetter:

It was mostly no-to-low damage except for the last bullet which did 38 and killed it:

Not much happens for 6 turns except the entire squad is now at the door to the bridge. Zombie peeks his head in there because he's in the tundra armor which protects him from the bonesetter commander's cryo grenades and weapons. He does spot the commander but also a Rider (after it shoots him for no damage). He tries stunning the commander but it wasn't a hit somehow. He gets the hell out of there and lets JFG shoot at the rider and the first shot was a kill when it deals 33 damage:

We wait a couple rounds then Zombie peeks inside again. The commander is in the same spot so he shoots at it this time. The first two shots were absorbed, the commander shoots back and it's damage was absorbed and then Zombie shoots the last bullet which does 12 damage... and the commander shoots back but its damage is absorbed again. Well, we just shot at it and the shots hit (one for damage too) so the commander must be where it's at. Right? So Zombie will try stunning it again:

(Notice that the stun rod is 100% accurate even though Zombie's other hand has a rifle in it). So what happened with Zombie's second stunning attack? Nothing. The commander was not hit for any stun damage, but the game ate some of Z's AP's. What a crock of crap. Well, now what? We can't stun it to end the mission as that doesn't work. I guess the only option is killing it. We aren't going in there anymore so now that the door is open NKF is going to bathe the thing in Infeerno grenade goodness:

The damage was absorbed.

The commander took a lot of fire damage during it's turn as it refused to move from it's spot. Forgot to take a screenie of this but the thing died after a couple rounds of roasting in it's own shell. EOM:

We couldn't stun the commander and now Hobbes is in the hospital for 3 days. Great. At least we have some stuff to sell again and we got that $600k bounty. That helps.

Next time we'll check out some soldiers, then deal with a couple pesky UFOs that were buzzing Africa. And after that deal with a UFO swarm attack. Totally blindsided by this as I usually play ahead a little bit to try out strategies but this never came up. So yeah, we are going to be busy!

- Zombie

[Zombie]

Time to take a look at some of our soldiers. First up is JFG who now has exactly 2500xp:

He has 64 missions under his belt with 112 kills. Not bad considering he's been a rear commander for a number of missions now. He's still rocking a VT2000 shield in addition to a newer VT3000. We'll continue to use the old VT2000's until they are gone which may be a while.

Next up is Hobbes who's still in the hospital for another 2 days:

Poor guy. Must be kinda uncomfortable wearing that armor and lugging all that gear around in the hospital. It's too bad we don't have more pale blue crystals, personal eternal shields or distortion field generators for our other soldiers. Would be nice to kit everyone out for the final mission like this, I'd certainly grind that out. Anyhow, he's a few hundred points away from his final promotion so we are going to have to start thinking of a replacement soon.

Speaking of that, Tammy and Bomb Bloke are getting even closer to a promotion than Hobbes:

These two have been part of our squad for so long it's almost inconceivable that we are going to need to find replacements for them too. Pretty big shoes to fill if you ask me. I think Tammy is our soldier with the fewest missions to get to this level which is a big accomplishment. Heck, Blade is also getting close to his final promotion as well:

He's been a cornerstone in our squad by backing us up with his trusty photon beamer.

Back in the Geoscape and we recently shot down a light cruiser UFO but now there's a heavy cruiser UFO inbound to Africa... at least that's what it looked like. There's no way we'll be able to do both these missions as the light cruiser is slated to disappear in a few hours. So the interceptors are sent out to bombard it:

And now it's gone:

Good. This will give us a chance to down the heavy cruiser. The thing just didn't want to cooperate with us and flew over the North Atlantic instead of over land. I send everything after it because it's supposed to create a terror site and we don't want that:

Yup, we down it over water which means it's gone too:

Since that's gone, I think we should expect a little lull in UFO activity for a while. That'll give our engineers at our main base some time to  start on a Sludge Suit of armor:

It's gonna take over 6 days which is a really long time to wait, but what else can we do? At least this other workshop will be coming online fairly soon which should help speed things along. In the Geoscape again and now we get a swarm warning:

Well, I wonder where the leader is going to be? It's buzzing around the south ocean around Antarctica just out of the reach of our defenses there but it's getting closer. That's not really an issue right now as our fly boys in South America just downed a patrol vessel, a light cruiser and a heavy cruiser:

There's another heavy cruiser in the North America region and it gets close enough to our base to trigger the defenses:

We'll let the defenses soften it up a little bit but we need to send the interceptors out to give it a target:

We take it out easily and then all efforts are on the swarm leader. We just barely take it down over land:

Ok, there are way to many UFOs to do ground missions on and all of them are way out so we'll just bombard everything in South America and North America:

I sent my transport out to do the ground mission on the swarm leader but it'll take a while to make it down there. A recon vessel is also buzzing around Australia so our interceptors at the main base will take it out and then bombard it too:

Next up is the swarm leader ground mission so stay tuned for that as it'll be interesting!

- Zombie

[Space Voyager]

4 hours ago, Zombie said:

Next up is Hobbes who's still in the hospital for another 2 days:

Poor guy. Must be kinda uncomfortable wearing that armor and lugging all that gear around in the hospital.

The bastard, he gets vacation with nurses... I miss those times...  

[Thorondor]

Aggressive buggers trying to mob up on us on arrival again? BB's "Overkill mode" activated! Tammy's "Retribution directive" online!

Now you've done it; there's no stopping us now. Kill, maim, incinerate, vaporize - annihilate.

The frenzy ends only with the charring of the elusive alien commander.

Victory takes its toll with Hobb's required downtime but the team's bond is strengthened and everyone comes out a better soldier after these tribulations.

Which comes in handy as the stakes have just been upped - we've got a swarm alert. Aaaaannnd... containment successful!

This is it. Let's go show them why we're called Earth's Finest!!

[Zombie]

Swarm Leader Part 1

With Hobbes still in the hospital, we go in one guy short. Maybe I should have brought along Thorondor or Space Voyager as I'm sure either of those guys would have performed good, but hey, we don't want to interrupt their little vacation, right? That just leaves more xp for Zombie. So I send NKF off the transport and he spots a Rider at the front. Auto shot time:

The first bullet hits for 24 damage, killing it. Now we can see one of the UFO cannons so BB will mortar it:

The blast only does 69 damage, so Zombie takes an auto shot at it. His first two bullets hit for 41 damage each which destroys it:

It's the alien's turn now and all hell breaks loose. A Bonesetter comes out of the UFO only to be met with reaction fire from Zombie. He hits it for 45 and 18 damage killing it. Oh, there are 2 Riders at the door and don't forget about the Rider at the top of the pic:

One of them shoots at Zombie for 2 damage. He shoots back hitting for 30 which kills it:

Now we can see a Bonesetter inside the UFO door:

And another Bonesetter shows up where that lone Rider is:

A Bonesetter shoots at Pete from the UFO door but the damage was absorbed. And that was the end of the aliens turn. Busy! It's our turn now and there are 6 aliens visible to us. We have our work cut out for us, that's for sure. Pete's going to start off the proceedings by tossing an incendiary grenade at one of the Bonesetters just outside the door to the UFO:

It kills the Bonesetter as it's a weak spot hit for 71 damage. It also hits the Rider for 22 damage:

There's no way anyone can engage that Bonesetter inside the UFO so Pete is going to shoot at it:

He hits all three times doing 65 damage which takes it out:

Fantastic stuff! Four left. Blade is going to shoot at that Bonesetter by the lone Rider with 51% accuracy and pray:

Most of the blasts were absorbed, but he managed to hit for 37 and 9 damage and his final was a critical hit for 75 killing it:

Tammy is now going to shoot at the Rider by the UFO door which is already hurt:

Her first bullet only hits for 8 damage but that's enough to kill it:

Two left. Zombie is going to shoot at the lone Rider:

He hits for 15 & 20 damage, killing it:

The last alien we see is a Rider at a door to the building to the south of us. When NKF moves to get into position to shoot at it he also spots a couple more aliens. We'll deal with that in a bit, as NKF is going to shoot at Mr Rider first:

He hits for 22 & 47 killing it:

Ok, what's next? Ah, there's a Bonesetter on the roof above where Tammy is. She still has plenty of APs left so she's going to toss an incendiary grenade up there:

It's a critical hit for 58 fire damage which kills it:

The last alien we see is a Bonesetter in the air above the building to the south of us. Nobody has a shot at it so we leave it go. It comes a little closer to us during the alien's turn so now JFG is going to shoot at it and hope for the best:

He should have hoped harder as there were a lot of hits for very little damage. He even managed to accidentally hit Pete but thankfully the damage was absorbed. I think we'll switch gears as we can see a Bonesetter inside a building to the north of us. Tammy is going to shoot at the side to create a hole:

With the hole created she can target the Bonesetter:

Not much damage initially, but her last two bullets did 48 & 24 damage, killing it:

With that out of the way I think we'll have Zombie shoot at that airborne Bonesetter:

He hits for 20 & 31 damage, killing it:

Hope you could see my strategy for dealing with multiple aliens without resorting to the mortar. Granted, this had a lot to do with luck, but if you deploy properly to cover all possible threat angles you can at least get shots on the targets.

I think there will be two more parts to this mission as there were quite a few aliens present. Stay tuned for that as it should be interesting!

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

I don't know who's leaving whom out in the cold here - I mean, SV and me, we're basking in the sun, having drinks with some gals lavishing their full attention upon us, as well they should. So, yeah, by all means knock yourselves out and run about in a sub-zero workout only we can see.

Still, it wouldn't do to let alien trash muck up such a winter wonderland of a landscape. Some might call it desolate, but that's no excuse.

Besides, they're shooting at us a whole lot more than before and, look, they've dared to outright kill civilians, which is both cowardly and intolerable. Permission to beat 'em into pulp - granted!

The ensuing initial purification efforts were upliftingly textbook (JFG hitting Pete in the bum with that shot was strictly in jest).

But there's quite a bit more to be done, so let's turn up the heat, shall we?

[Zombie]

Swarm Leader Part 2

It's three turns later now and Zombie reaction fires at a Rider trying to exit the UFO:

This shot hits for 49 killing it. Pete also gets in on the action and reaction fires at another Rider trying to exit too. His first shot hit for 35, killing it too:

Looks like the killing fields. Two turns later and Pete reaction fires at another Rider exiting the UFO. The forst bullet did 15 damage which is a start:

The second bullet did 27 damage killing it:

Easy stuff, these Riders. Pete just spotted another UFO cannon which shot at him for no damage so BB will mortar it as usual:

The blast damages a hidden Bonesetter for 42 and does 57 to the cannon:

There's no way Bomb Bloke is passing up another opportunity to fire his mortar again. This time the blast does 85 to the hidden Bonesetter killing it and it also does 140 to the cannon which takes it out too:

We just created a hole in the wall of the building for Tammy to peek in as we've been hearing a Bonesetter moving around nearby. A couple rounds later and Tammy spot it so it's auto shot time:

Her first bullet did 15 damage. That alerted the Bonesetter which caused it to fire back but the damage was absorbed. Tammy's second bullet missed and the last the damage was absorbed. With the Bonesetter's attention focused on Tammy, Jman is going to shoot another hole in the wall hoping to hit it with the last shot:

It missed, but that just allows Gimli to walk right next to the Bonesetter to shoot it point blank:

The first bullet was absorbed, but the 2nd did 17 while the last did 30 which killed it:

See? The pincer attack verks! With all those doors open to the left we think there's another alien nearby. The Next round Gimli investigates and finds a Bonesetter. It shot at him but the damage was absorbed. Jman is going to shoot a hole in the wall next:

And the Bonesetter isn't there anymore. It's standing next to Gimli now:

Strange stuff, these teleporting Bonesetters. Blade shoots a hole in the wall where the Bonesetter is now and hits it with the last blast damaging it for 45. Time for a point blank shot from Gimli:

He hits for 12 and 6 damage which kills it:

During the aliens turn a Rider shoots at JFG (I think) with it's heavy photon beamer ammo:

The shot somehow missed so when it's our turn again Pete is going to toss a normal grenade at it:

The first only did 15 damage so he tossed another which did 46 and killed it:

Seven turns go by. We don't think there are any more aliens outside so everyone splits up into the two breach squads. When we open the right door we can see that the door to the engine room on that side is open. NKF is going to toss a grenade at the door to set off those engines :

He damages a hidden Bonesetter for 13 and the engines exploding kill another doing 116 damage:

The next turn JFG walks inside to check things out and spots a Bonesetter behind a stack of some crates or boxes:

He gets out of there as NKF wants to toss an inferno grenade next to it:

The blast does a pitiful 4 fire damage. At least it destroyed those boxes as that allows JFG to take an auto shot at it with his photon beamer (normal ammo):

The damage from the first blast was absorbed but the second did a healthy 49 while the last did 14 which killed it:

Kinda wished JFG would have cracked out the heavy ammo for this at the blasts from that would have been better for screenshots, but he got the job done in any case. Stay tuned for part 3 where we deal with more Bonesetters both upstairs and down then take a little target practice at the commander before finally stunning it.

- Zombie

 

[Space Voyager]

20 hours ago, Thorondor said:

I don't know who's leaving whom out in the cold here - I mean, SV and me, we're basking in the sun, having drinks with some gals lavishing their full attention upon us, as well they should. So, yeah, by all means knock yourselves out and run about in a sub-zero workout only we can see.

But there's quite a bit more to be done, so let's turn up the heat, shall we?

As much as I love our current status description, I too would love to see us start hitting the aliens where it hurts most! Are we still unable to take the fight to them and "start the begginging of the end"?

[Zombie]

5 hours ago, Space Voyager said:

As much as I love our current status description, I too would love to see us start hitting the aliens where it hurts most! Are we still unable to take the fight to them and "start the beginning of the end"?

I'm getting there. Without giving too much away, there's a mechanic in place which, how should I put this, makes life very difficult if your "ducks aren't in a row". Long story short, you better be prepared. And from what little I know there seems to be only one path to get from point A to point B in terms of strategy - no shortcuts or alternate paths.

Don't worry, Thorondor and yourself will be making guest appearances before end game. As it stands, I'm done hiring and training any more soldiers. I think the pool of soldiers I have is sufficient enough to draw from for the final missions. Right now, there are a few soldiers ready for final promotion and nobody else to replace them on the transport so SV and Mr T will be back together probably in medic+rear commander roles initially and then over to different roles eventually.

- Zombie