Superhuman Terror Sites

[Gimli]

I am trying to get better at the game and I've managed to learn enough to be able to take on Medium sized UFOs without much problems. Terror sites, on the other hand, are a problem. No matter what I do, I just don't have a good recipe for beating them. Actually, it may just be the first one, but I'd still like some advice on how to approach terror sites.

 

Let's take the first as an example, and maybe someone could give me a few pointers. Since it's first month, I managed to get laser rifles researched in time. Unfortunately, I was able to produce only two. I went on the mission armed with the following: 3 auto cannons (HE), 2 laser rifles and 9 laser pistols, totaling 14 soldiers. The first 3 have smoke grenades and everyone has high explosives. I throw the first smoke grenade underneath my first soldier on the first turn, and prime the other two. On the second turn, I put the other two smokers near the landing ramp. I usually take two soldiers out every turn, to prevent the aliens from throwing grenades. The problem is that there isn't a lot of "breathing space". The aliens are usually all around me. In addition, I don't have a very good tactic against Cyberdiscs. High explosives are good when I have an opportunity to throw them, but more often than not, I can't. Either it's too far or there's no throwing arc. Of the guns, the only ones that can put a dent into them are the laser rifles, the pistols don't seem to work all that well. Naturally, I use cover as much as I can.

 

Any thoughts?

[Kret]

Maybe you should add a rocket launcher or two with large rockets. They are usefull when the cyberdisc is out of reach from high explosives aswell as when they fly about. Just make sure the launcher is never loaded when ending your turn and that all the rocket ammo is either carried by someone else or stored at the skyranger. That should prevent unwanted reaction shots aswell as undesireable mindcontrolled shots.

 

BTW, I think it is best if you throw the two smoke grenades at the ramps in the 1st turn aswell as in the interior of the skyranger.

[Bomb Bloke]

Terror sites tend to be loaded with aliens, and it doesn't help that half of them seem to be aiming their weapons at your dropship's ramp...

 

But one nice feature they have is roads. Big open spaces. Take your pistolmen and have them wander about, leaving your laser troopers near the Ranger. When you find a target back off a bit (behind cover is good) and have the long distance soldiers do the shooting.

 

This has two benefits: The aliens get less chances to use reaction fire during your turn (because their attackers are so far away they can't see them), and assuming they survive the first volley odds are they won't be able to take down the nearby scouts when their turn comes (because they ducked into an alley).

 

And don't go thinking that long distance shots are a waste of ammo. A laser rifle on autofire will usually hit most targets at least once and quite often that's all it takes (Discs take in a bit, but that's just all the more reason to stay out of their range and send as many shots as possible their way). Of course if your scouts are anywhere near the LOF odds are you'll take them out too (especially when fielding rookies), so keep that in mind when deciding where to hide them.

 

Frankly I reckon thrown explosives are better for those corners that you really don't want to walk around. Lob one over a fence if you suspect something's over there. As a "you die now" weapon, the rocket launcher is hard to beat... Even at long range you just have to aim for a nearby building to ensure the death of anything in the blast radius - From a high altitude (or just from the Ranger's ramp) a miss will usually still hit the ground nearby. The tank launcher is my scout of choice (I tend to take one to each mission... even if they usually get destroyed just as often. Order spares, they pay for themselves).

 

Finally, don't neglect that kneel button, and don't feel obligated to use all your time units every turn. The more you have spare the less likely it is the aliens will get to use reaction fire on you (and the more likely it is that you'll get to use it when their turn comes). Only advance through an area at full speed if you're sure you won't run into any targets, and don't let your troops get so seperated that you can't immediately avenge the odd one that falls.

[Knan]

Any tank is fine firepower, since they can survive a cyberdisc shot and dent or destroy it in return (given time). And losing one will hurt your morale less than losing four soldiers.

 

Apart from that - rocket launchers, laser pistols, laser rifles, heavy lasers, high explosives. Alien grenades when you get them, naturally. Heavy cannon with armor-piercing ammo makes a satisfying *thunk* and helps a bit as well.

[Alpha_Monkey]

Finally, don't neglect that kneel button, and don't feel obligated to use all your time units every turn. The more you have spare the less likely it is the aliens will get to use reaction fire on you (and the more likely it is that you'll get to use it when their turn comes).

 

Yep.

For the n00bs who may not be sure how to apply this rule, I find it's easier if you simply remember this: You're better off being in solid cover with no TU's, than to have spare TU's but being out in the open.

There's more to using overwatch than having good reaction skills and lots of TUs. You need to have the likely attack vectors worked out, and you need to identify and use good cover.

You need to know your enemy, too. If you absolutely need to make a dash for cover while engaged against say, Snakemen, you can probably get away with it if you're lucky. Discs or Sectopods, on the other hand....they'll probably rattle off some automatic fire at you, and quite possibly hit you.

 

It doesn't hurt to get into the habit of having your scouts use a motion scanner liberally, too.

I only say this because I never used to bother, even though it's cheap and easily available. Maybe I'm alone there, I dunno.

[Zombie]

Here's what I do when sending troops on any mission. First, determine what aliens you are going to be up against. This may be tough without a Hyperwave Decoder, but you can make some deductions depending on what other aliens you saw up to that point. Once you know who you are up against, take a few minutes and look at the alien crew compliment. Are there any terror units present, and if so, do they have any special requirements to kill? Once you determine the type and quantity of aliens present, then it is time to match the weapons to the mission. To do this, you have to look at the damage modifiers. If the aliens are resistant to an ammunition type, be weary of using it. Unless of course the damage of the weapon is very large or the damage modifier is close to 90%.

 

Ok, so we are up against Superhuman Cyberdiscs. They have 34 all-around armor meaning you must have a weapon that has a max power of at least 35 to hurt it. Also, the Cyberdisc has 120 for health which makes it tough to kill. Finally it takes 80% damage from AP rounds and 60% damage from HE. Right away, we can call Houston and tell them we have a problem. AP isn't really an option since that damage type doesn't have a whole lot of power in the game (nothing has a power of greater than 60). You are left with basically HE and Laser weapons to choose from.

 

Time to look at the math. Here is the case of a normal Grenade (50 average damage at Ground Zero):

 

Min   Ave   Max
25	50	75   Normal (GZ)
20	40	60   Normal (GZ+1)

15	30	45   Modified down 60% (GZ)
10	20	30   Modified down 60% (GZ+1)

Since HE has an area effect, the Min damage is 5 less than the GZ min, 10 less than the average and 15 less than the max. As you can see, at GZ+1 the normal grenade cannot do any damage whatsoever (you need 35 or more and we only have 30). Only the primary quarter will possibly take some damage while the other 3/4 of the robot will not. That's not good. Even worse, at GZ there is a 65% chance you will not do any damage. At least for me, I can tolerate a 50% chance to all quarters, but not just one. In this instance, the Grenade is not the way to go. This applies to any HE ammunition with a power 50 or less including the HC-HE (52 ave) which falls in the same boat.

 

So the proxy (70 ave dam) is a whole lot better than the normal grenade. I'm seeing a 67% chance to do damage at GZ and a 42% chance at GZ+1, That comes out to a max of 71 damage points total if all quarters were hit and maxed out. The Small Rocket (75 ave dam) is better still: 72% chance to damage at GZ and 50% at GZ+1 for a max of 87 damage. Not bad, and it meets my criteria with the 50% chance to damage at GZ+1. The Large Rocket (100 ave dam) is tons better: 91% chance to damage at GZ and 80% at GZ +1 with a max damage of 179. That's enough for a one-shot-one-kill scenario. HE pack (110 ave dam) is excellent: 97% chance to damage at GZ and 88% at GZ+1 for a max damage of 215. Ideally though, you would want a weapon which always does damage at GZ and GZ+1. That requires a power of at least 132. Basically the Hovertank/Launcher (140 ave) and the Blaster Launcher (200 ave) would be the weapons of choice but both are not available for use early in the game. So there you sit. Your best bet is the HE pack (if you can throw it) or the Large Rocket (if you can shoot straight). It's a crap-shoot either way, but at least you don't have to get too close with the large rockets.

 

On to the Laser Pistol (46 ave dam). This type of ammunition is not area effect and looses some of it's appeal, but the Cyberdisc at least takes 100% damage from it and the Laser Pistol has auto-shot capability. That's a plus. Crunching the numbers, I get a 62% chance to damage with one shot. Not bad. However, you would be looking at 58 damage total if the shot maxed out. At that damage rate you would need at least 3 shots to kill the Cyberdisc. I guess that isn't too bad, but the LP has crappy accuracy. The Laser Rifle (60 ave dam) trumps the Laser Pistol. You would be looking at a 71% chance to damage for a total of 86 damage points (2 shots min). It also has an auto shot and better overall accuracy. I'd be looking at this weapon as a first choice.

 

So on a Terror Site I would take along some Rocket Launchers with Large Rockets (if you have them). Give the dudes with LP's a HE pack too just in case. Laser Rifles are preferred so getting your team outfitted with them is a priority as those Rocket Launchers can only go so far.

 

As a last resort, and if you can handle the stress, give a few men a Stun Rod and a couple High Explosives. If they come across a Cyberdisc which is close by, chuck a HE and take cover. If they (as well as the Cyberdisc) survive till the next round, run up to it with the Stun Rods and give it a poke or two. They deal up to 130 points of stun which is usually enough to stun these creatures outright. As a bonus, if you do manage to apply enough stun to a Cyberdisc, it will not go through it's auto-destruct sequence. You are bound to have some casualties this way, but who cares. They are only rookies - you can buy more.

 

Finally, if you cannot handle the Cyberdiscs properly with what you have, don't make the mistake and ignore the Terror Site. That is a massive -1000 points against your score. Always visiting a Terror Site and performing a tactical withdrawal on the first round only sets you back (at the maximim) -480. If there are less civilians present, the point differential will be even greater (up to 0 points lost if no civilians are present but this is rare). I'm sure that in a fairly good month most players can absorb this and still keep the countries happy. When you enter a Terror Site and assess that the situation is hopeless, kill a few aliens first and then dust off. Every little bit of positive score helps to offset the negatives from the civilians present.

 

- Zombie

[NKF]

Not really going to add too much here, but:

 

Deployment: Always wait a turn before deploying. The first turn is perilous because every alien out there will have full TUs - meaning full initiative on their part. Deploy within the first couple of turns after deploying the smoke grenade - it provides the strongest cover within this time frame. Also consider having someone whip out the motion scanner and check the surrounding area before moving out. Any nearby blips could indicate an alien beside the ramp. They can easily be dealt with a high explosive pack or a large rocket. No civilians should be nearby this early into the battle.

 

It need not be said, but if it's at night and there's plenty of space beyond the ramp of the Skyranger, toss out those flares, preferably into the mid-range.

 

Tackling buildings: It's easier to fight aliens while they're outside the buildings rather than to chase in after them if you know they are in there but you're unsure of your chances of getting in without being shot as soon as you step through the door. This happens to me a lot when I try to chase an alien who's just ducked into the small warehouses. So be patient and wait for them to come out and come to you. Alternately, cut holes in the wall and enter that way. Or just fire a rocket or high explosive inside and blow the building to smithereens. Watch out for civilians though.

 

Learn the lay of the land: It helps if you familiarise yourself with the maps, as there are many spots on the maps where you can predictably guess whether an alien will be in it or otherwise at the start of the battle. One example is the small park which is always sealed off from the rest of the map with a low hedge. Aliens occasionally spawn in the enclosed park.

 

Cyberdiscs: Cyberdiscs are what make early terror sites a pain. Just to add to what's already been said, AP rounds aren't ideal except for killing blows against a severely wounded cyberdisc. The tank cannon AP rounds pack a whollop though at 80AP, but need at least 2 to 4 hits to work. Laser pistols aren't the best, but are miles better than most of your starting AP equipment, so can do in a pinch if all your better weapons are still in transit. Just remember to kneel, use autofire and make sure the shooters are well beyond the cyberdisc's reteliation range.

 

Of course, practice makes perfect, so I recommend running a series of training missions at a terror site. Save before a terror site and just keep running practice missions by playing the mission, reloading and doing it all over again. You'll eventually get the feel for how a terror site runs and it's a good way of ironing out what you're doing wrong so you can do better next time.

 

- NKF

[Gimli]

Thanks a lot for the help folks. I went with the open road advice and placed my soldiers along the edges of the map. Lost only two soldiers and all the civilians so I had -130 in the end, but I don't mind. I'll make some re-runs to try out new things, like rocket launchers etc.

[Alpha_Monkey]

Bit of an aside, but no matter how many times I'm sure I've read otherwise, it appears an alien has to wander directly in front of your trooper to trigger reaction fire. This should be carefully considered when choosing cover points for your squad.

 

It's bloody annoying tbh. Using, say, a 30-degree fire-arc would make more sense. As it stands, needing to be directly in front to get a response can greatly limit where you can or can't leave a trooper on overwatch, and hence nerfs your squads flexibility quite a bit.

[NKF]

I'm not sure it's as bad as that. as I often surround the entrance of the large scout with a scattered half circle of troops, and they all get their chance to use opportunity fire. A number of the troops in the semi circle will not be able to face the door directly but do join in the fun as well.

 

I try to make sure that the troops are facing in the general direction that I want them to cover and leave it at that. Clicking on the spot you know the enemy will appear also helps, but as that's not always possible out in the open, just facing in the general direction you want to cover is all you really can do.

 

If the alien is able to move about in your arc of fire, then their initiative is probably higher than yours, so they get to keep moving until the difference in levels falls into your favour. This is probably why it looks like the aliens have to be in your direct line of fire before your soldier acts.

 

- NKF

[Kret]

Then, there's the mutual surprise rule which overrides any reactions that might of triggered. This is why I usually keep my ufo door ambushing soldiers at max visual distance from the door and placing them within the blind spot of aliens exiting the ufo. Except for crashed or landed ufos, I don't really rely much of reaction fire as the aliens are everywhere.