Any general strategies you wanna share?

[Zombie]

OMG, you're right! Sweet deal. I didn't think I'd get more ammo for it at the base if I "found" it on a mission, but I guess that isn't necessarily true in this case.

 

I'm just thinking out loud here, but perhaps that Big Joe gun really isn't the best sidearm for my scout because it isn't silenced. Maybe that Little Joe pistol is better. IIRC it doesn't have damaging darts though, just stunning. Not that this is a bad thing for a scout since she is always forging ahead and is bound to run across the officers. Maybe the Big Joe is better for a Soldier?

 

- Zombie

[Puksiskissa]

Finished the Axis campaign. I found out that using 7 chars isn't a good decision. I used only four. (Heroscout, Grenadier, Sniper, Medic). Even the Kochkfsdfas factory wasn't so bad either.

Scouted, and behind the bars shot with Panzerrifle. Yet another tactic is to move with group. Don't leave snipers behind, or send the scout TOO far.

[Zombie]

I guess this builds on the: "shoot at the ceiling to create a hole in order to access the floor above" scenario. So there I was on the German Manor mission today. Thought I was doing so good until I found my heavy weapons folk on the ground floor while the rest of my team was 2 stories above. The team got into quite a jam and needed some help when they came face-to-face with a dangerous looking baddie (black face mask carrying a Panzersc... urm, let's just say "rocket launcher" 'cause I can't spell it correctly).

 

Well, the only person left was Gator who was standing 2 stories below with his trusty Lewis MK1. Just for giggles, I tried targeting the enemy with Gator and found his to-hit probability at 80%. Really? Ok, go get him boy! Gator shoots up through 2 wooden floors and nails the baddie a multitude of times eventually killing him. Nice! For the rest of the mission I used this strategy exclusively. Wherever my team moved, I had Gator mirror them a couple floors below. And when an enemy was spotted above I fired first with Gator from below. Works great, especially with only some wood separating the two floors. Concrete floors are a bit tougher to poke through so your squad will have to wing it there.

 

Best part of this mission is that I acquired the

98K Scoped and Silenced Mauser rifle

. Ooooo. :) (Highlight the box to find out what if you don't mind a spoiler).

 

- Zombie

[Kaije]

I don't know if this is common knowledge, but you can manually snipe attack a corpse to help train the snipe skill... Oh how I miss the hours I'd spend just training my team in S2

 

And I'm beginning to think I'm the only one around here who does not like or ever had reason to use the silenced 98k. My snipers were always rather partial to the welrod or the silenced sten when stealth was a priority.

[Knan]

It's a bit unsporting, that's true.

[Pete]

I never used stealth. Half of my guys seemed to carry sniper rifles whilst the "front liners" got killed a lot.

 

I think next time I play I need to maybe use some strategy and maybe a little patience too

[Kaije]

Don't be so hard on yourself Pete, that strategy works just fine in the x-com titles

 

Thinking back, the stealth characters combined with their perk trees are too overpowered once you get to level 7-8 or so. Not using them would most likely make for a much more challenging game.

 

It's a bit unsporting, that's true.

 

Which is unsporting, using the silenced 98k or sniping corpses for giggles?

[Pete]

Surely not the latter - kicking them when they're down means they can't kick you back. Very sensible

[Zombie]

I don't know if this is common knowledge, but you can manually snipe attack a corpse to help train the snipe skill... Oh how I miss the hours I'd spend just training my team in S2

Common knowledge for me at least. But even though you can train sniping this way, it is very tedious because the body moves around so darn much. It's best if you can carry a body to a corner of the map and then snipe at it there because the body doesn't wander badly. I also don't like to manually train snipe on a body because the damage you do to the body after every shot is constantly applied to the damage variable. Not sure what would happen if you managed to overflow the variable so I try to be reasonable and take only a few shots. Of course, it would take a very long time (and a ton of ammo) to get that far.

 

And I'm beginning to think I'm the only one around here who does not like or ever had reason to use the silenced 98k. My snipers were always rather partial to the welrod or the silenced sten when stealth was a priority.

Really? The 98K is the best thing since sliced bread if you are able to acquire it. Before it though, the silenced Welrod pistol is a handy addition to a sniper's arsenal. At one time I used the 98K for my Scout because it doesn't reveal you to the world after every shot, but in my recent game it's going to a true sniper (maybe Viper) so that he can use it most effectively. I'll equip my scout with a silenced Beretta SMG since she'll be closer to the action anyway.

 

Thinking back, the stealth characters combined with their perk trees are too overpowered once you get to level 7-8 or so. Not using them would most likely make for a much more challenging game.

My hero scout who is a mid-L7 right now is constantly being spotted by enemies. Then again, all I've been running lately is scripted missions and those have tougher enemies. If it was a random encounter, then yes, a L6 scout is usually enough to stay hidden most of the time.

 

- Zombie

[Kaije]

Common knowledge for me at least. But even though you can train sniping this way, it is very tedious because the body moves around so darn much. It's best if you can carry a body to a corner of the map and then snipe at it there because the body doesn't wander badly. I also don't like to manually train snipe on a body because the damage you do to the body after every shot is constantly applied to the damage variable. Not sure what would happen if you managed to overflow the variable so I try to be reasonable and take only a few shots. Of course, it would take a very long time (and a ton of ammo) to get that far.

I don't recall ever having problems with overflow, and I'd usually exhaust all the ammo I had when I needed to train up. Thank goodness they addressed this in S3 though.

 

Really? The 98K is the best thing since sliced bread if you are able to acquire it. Before it though, the silenced Welrod pistol is a handy addition to a sniper's arsenal. At one time I used the 98K for my Scout because it doesn't reveal you to the world after every shot, but in my recent game it's going to a true sniper (maybe Viper) so that he can use it most effectively. I'll equip my scout with a silenced Beretta SMG since she'll be closer to the action anyway.

I only use sniper rifles for mid to long range shots, so the 98k is a 'weak' weapon when maintaining stealth isn't an issue. The welrod was almost always my sniper's preferred sidearm though, which is indeed a great short ranged silenced weapon.

 

Yep, either the silenced Beretta or Sten should be the scout's best friend (before the katana of course).

 

My hero scout who is a mid-L7 right now is constantly being spotted by enemies. Then again, all I've been running lately is scripted missions and those have tougher enemies. If it was a random encounter, then yes, a L6 scout is usually enough to stay hidden most of the time.

Oh yeah, the scripted scenario missions are hit or miss on how well you compare with the enemies. Depending on the order that you do the missions, there'll be few that won't be much of a challenge by the time you get around to doin' them.

 

And if I remember correctly, the random encounters in one of the Germany chapters, if not both, should also give you a decent boost in exp. One fight should probably take your team up to L9ish... But then again, I usually only use a four man team.

[Zombie]

Ever since acquiring the Katana for my scout to use, I haven't been particularly impressed with it. Swipes with it are a long and drawn out affair, and my scout continues to miss with it even when standing right next to a baddie. I think my scout should focus less on form and more on function because even my dead grandma could hit a target that close. Not only that, but the Katana really takes up a lot of room in the backpack (if you decide to put it there). I'm leaning more to the M3 or Ka-Bar knife as they only occupy 1/4 the volume.

 

- Zombie

[Kaije]

Yeah, the animation is lenghty and gets redundant fairly quick. But the beauty of the Katana is when you get a bit more melee skill. I'm sure you're already aware of how unbalanced this weapon can be in terms of dmg to AP cost.

 

I've always liked the idea of melee weapons in this series, but usually had to go out of may way to make use of them. I think the perk that cancels the AP cost for shot preparation is to blame for this

[Zombie]

I'm sure you're already aware of how unbalanced this weapon can be in terms of dmg to AP cost.

Never really looked at this aspect too close so no time like the present:

 

Item#   Item Name		  Min Dam   Max Dam   Max AP Cost   Min Dam/AP   Max Dam/AP
129	 Mine Shovel		   15		35		 16		   0.94		 2.19
236	 Kappmesser			 5		25		 18		   0.28		 1.39
237	 SSA Dagger			10		33		 18		   0.56		 1.83
240	 Ka-Bar				20		40		 22		   0.91		 1.82
241	 M3					10		30		 16		   0.63		 1.88
242	 Combat Dagger		 20		35		 14		   1.43		 2.50
243	 Luftwaffe Machete	  7		30		 18		   0.39		 1.67
244	 Machete			   25		40		 22		   1.14		 1.82
245	 Katana				33		66		 21		   1.57		 3.14
246	 Billy Club			 5		15		 18		   0.28		 0.83
247	 Black Jack Club		5		20		 18		   0.28		 1.11
248	 Smatchet Lge Comb.	10		30		 18		   0.56		 1.67
249	 Khukuri			   12		37		 18		   0.67		 2.06
250	 M1917				 10		25		 14		   0.71		 1.79
365	 Wood Chopping Axe	 15		45		 18		   0.83		 2.50

So yeah, the Katana beats everything here again. But the combat dagger isn't too far off... Not a bad knife.

 

- Zombie

[Kaije]

Your table doesn't account for the min AP costs... The katana also ends up being the cheapest to use at 6 AP, where as the combat dagger is somewhere around 8-9 AP (if I remember the default value correctly). I don't remember how the game scales the AP range to Melee skill though. I want to say every melee weapon should be at min AP by around skill 140, but I could be thinking of something else. And let's not dismiss the critical and tohit bonuses either...

 

Needless to say, balancing the melee weapons is always the first thing I do when I start a mod

[Zombie]

Your table doesn't account for the min AP costs... The katana also ends up being the cheapest to use at 6 AP, where as the combat dagger is somewhere around 8-9 AP (if I remember the default value correctly). I don't remember how the game scales the AP range to Melee skill though. I want to say every melee weapon should be at min AP by around skill 140, but I could be thinking of something else.

Nor should it include the mins. Take my scout. At 40 XP level, cost for the Combat Dagger is 1 AP. It's 0 at 41 XP. Extend this out to an XP of 124 (the max) and the AP cost is -27. That's right, it actually adds APs to your total when attacking! Obviously, you'll never get to this level normally, but 40 is certainly attainable. Now take a Sniper (the worst melee class in the game). Crank his/her XP level up to 124 and AP cost is +2. So there are huge discrepancies in AP cost depending on class and XP level.

 

Now when you use the Katana with a scout, the switchover from 1 AP to 0 APs happens at 26-27 XP. When you modify skill level to 124, each attack adds 73 APs to your total. So you'll max out at a lower XP level with the Katana than the Combat Dagger due to it's lower first AP breakpoint, true. But for normal XP levels, the Combat Dagger will probably overrule it. Besides, it takes a rare random mission to get a Katana.

 

And let's not dismiss the critical and tohit bonuses either...

I have no idea what these stats play in AP costs. Heck, I'm not even sure what they actually do stats-wise.

 

- Zombie

[Kaije]

Nor should it include the mins. Take my scout. At 40 XP level, cost for the Combat Dagger is 1 AP. It's 0 at 41 XP. Extend this out to an XP of 124 (the max) and the AP cost is -27. That's right, it actually adds APs to your total when attacking! Obviously, you'll never get to this level normally, but 40 is certainly attainable. Now take a Sniper (the worst melee class in the game). Crank his/her XP level up to 124 and AP cost is +2. So there are huge discrepancies in AP cost depending on class and XP level.

Wow, I've never gone past level 18... nor have I ever thought about using the console to boost my XP to see if the AP cost dropped below the min. Good to know I guess

 

I have no idea what these stats play in AP costs. Heck, I'm not even sure what they actually do stats-wise.

Nothing to do with AP costs, but I think they do effect the AP to Dmg ratio a bit. Although on a level 20+ character they wouldn't mean piddly squat

[Zombie]

This isn't a gameplay strategy by any means, just a word of wisdom: if you are the Allies and go to Hannover to play through the Weapons Laboratory mission, to end the mission bring all your troops and the Doctor back to the starting point and have them all stand in the small room with the ladder in it. That's the correct room. Down the hallway a bit and on the lowest floor is another small room with a hatch and a ladder going down... that's the wrong room. I found that out the hard way last night. Ahem.

 

- Zombie