XCOM 2 - Till The Last Man Standing

[Jowy]

Base Management: The First Steps

In Enemy Unknown I usually beeline to laser rifles. Went for Modular Weapons here.
The choice is between weapons, armor, or story related tech. That's all I can tell at this point. There's a tech tree but it's hidden.



This is the Engineering grid. We will build stuff there. It has changed.
A workshop will give us an Engineer so we can start clearing the debris, which will give us more rooms to build stuff and some extra supplies.
We might get an Engineer from a mission, but the rewards for missions are random.
We'll want to get an Officer Training School up ASAP. There we can unlock more soldier slots for missions.



Welcome to the team Dp101, David Corperial and Picklepikkl.



We got a report informing us that we might find supplies at this location.
This is the world screen. It's still new to me. Right now all I can do is scan for the supplies or scan for intel at HQ.
Later we can choose between missions and different events and such, and we can start making contact with other nations.
We had no choice over our starting location. I don't know if you always start in the arctic or if it's just locked for the first game.



Modular Weapons finished. Magnetic Weapons would take about a month to finish with our current scientist count (that's zero!), so I went for Hybrid Materials (armor tech) which will only take 3 days.
We finished scanning and received 58 supplies. I built some equipment for us: a medkit and a flash bang.



We got a new report. I went ahead to scan it.
While doing that, we got another report:



This time it's a mission. It's time-sensitive so I abandoned my scanning and went for it. A quick Google search shows that they last about a day, and I still had multiple days to go, so that was the right decision.
Mission in the next post.

[Jowy]

Mission 2: Operation War Song

It's an Easy mission so I rolled out with 3 rookies and our Grenadier David Corperial as the babysitter.



Damn we got a timed mission right off the bat. We have 8 turns to hack a station.



Found our first pod. One Advent Trooper and one Sectoid. I know from watching gameplay that they've been buffed in XCOM 2.
They have more HP and can use psionic attacks like MIND CONTROL. I don't think I need to explain how screwed we are if one of our own soldiers starts shooting at us.
I had shots with everyone, but chose to wait one more turn to get into a better position.



They walked away! I re-positioned again.
Now you might ask, how are we down to 5 turns left?! This is what I asked myself as well. Somehow I managed to end one turn without doing anything. Live and learn I guess.
Anyway I started the engagement by launching a frag at them.



David Corperial in action. He killed the advent trooper and injured the sectoid.
The sectoid ran for cover and got caught in our overwatch trap:



First shot hits.



Second is a miss.



And the third kills it off. From the rooftop we had an elevation bonus to hit chance.
After that we had to haul ass for the objective. I still only took blue moves with our front liners seeing as there was bound to be more resistance on the way.



I had a plan to avoid those enemies. We'd blow up the wall to the objective room and handle that, then worry about clearing the building later.



THEY WERE RIGHT THERE! Too bad they didn't take any damage from the blast. 
Now we have a problem. We have to kill these two and get to the objective in 3 turns.



We had a 67% flank on the advent trooper. She missed 



Okay no problem, this is why we brought a flash bang. I was hoping to hit both of them since the commander is outlined in red, but turns out that laws of physics do apply.
Only the soldier got disoriented, but that's something at least. I overwatched with our last unit, trying to pin down the commander.



We dodged the shot from the commander. We are in full cover, though I have my doubts about the structural integrity of a wooden fence.



Our other rookie was not so lucky. The disoriented soldier flanked him and killed him. 
We were pretty unlucky there. He was the one who threw the grenade on the wall and thus already spent his turn.
THEN the enemies were discovered right there, one moved right towards him, we got a flank shot on him and missed, and we flash banged him, but he still managed to kill our guy.



She didn't miss when her own life was on the line 



We tried to hit her and/or knock down the wall, without success. The other rookie overwatched after the miss.
The enemy commander then retreated deep into the building.



We threw a frag at her to blow up her cover.



This allowed David to get a good shot in.
Our third soldier then ran for the objective and reached it, but that wasn't enough, you need to interact with it which she couldn't do on a yellow move.
We FAILED the mission as that missed turn from earlier came to bite us in the ass. But it's not over yet.



These guys popped out. We missed with our overwatch shots.



This is the situation. David is up on the roof and can't attack this turn.



We took a 58% shot on the trooper and killed it!



Our odds were abysmal against the faraway Sectoid. I took the shot and hit it though.
David was put on overwatch.



THEN HE KILLS IT THROUGH THE CEILING!
There was a roof window close-by which is how he got vision.



Good thing we started building that workshop.



Everyone who made it out got a promotion. Things could be worse.
The new rookies promoted to a Sharpshooter and a Ranger.



I would normally choose Shredder, but seeing as I'm going to be making newbie mistakes and this is an Ironman run, I chose Blast Padding to better keep him alive.



This I believe is going to be our story objective. I've heard that Blacksites are when the shit hits the fan, so we better be ready when it's time.

[Jowy]

Base Management: Comms and Rookies

Hybrid Materials finished. Started researching Resistance Communications, which we'll need to contact other regions.



We gained three new rookies when we finished scanning the intact structures. I also recruited one earlier. I went back to HQ to scan for intel, then got a mission pop-up.

Mission 3: Operation Ice Dragon

What's cool is that he'll actually join our team (as a scientist, not as a soldier) when (if) rescued.



Welcome to the team Brick and Pindicator. I also changed the naming scheme to usernames as last names, seemed to look better.



Since it's another Easy mission I brought two rookies along.



It's another timed mission. I'm starting to sense a trend here. Makes sense though, I always ignored the Meld timers in Enemy Unknown.. Going slow is how you stay alive.



Found the first pod. A sectoid and an advent trooper (hidden in the pic). I wanted to take them out, but next turn they climbed on the roof.
After that they climbed down on the other side presumably. The roof was empty when I checked. We lost our chance to engage.



To the left there was another building, an empty one as far as we could see. It's next to the road where our objective is.



There was a second pod guarding the vehicle.



We couldn't go inside the building cause breaking windows would also break concealment. But we can climb the pipes on the side.
Next turn we should be set and ready to engage.



We spot another pod down the road. They don't spot us though.



It's our friends from earlier, they have returned. Three pods are now visible to us. At least we're concealed.



OH GOD NO   They are patrolling towards us...



This is bad.



The other pod aggro'd as well and shot at the rookie, he lived with 1 HP.
We need to get him outta there. Get everyone on the roof, focus on the closer pod.
And when I move him back..



A THIRD POD ACTIVATES.



We are now facing all the enemies on the map. At once. That's 2 Sectoids, 3 Advent Troopers and 1 Advent Commander.



Pickle kills one Trooper.



Brick snipes the other.



Then we flash banged the two Sectoids. Hopefully the far-away enemies will just overwatch.
The other rookie who caused all this was pulled back inside the building into full cover.



The Sectoids both missed as they should. The Advent Trooper overwatched, and the Commander marked one of our rookies (easier for them to hit her).
We're still in this!



Brick connects a 55% snipe. This allowed the injured rookie to kill the Sectoid with a grenade. He earned a promotion.



Pickle missed her coin flip. Since I can't kill it this turn even if I hit, I chose to hunker down (+DEF and +DODGE) with the marked rookie.



The Sectoid reanimated one of the dead Advent Troopers. That's fine, probably one of the more favorable outcomes for us.



And out of nowhere, Pickle gets hit and she gets CRIT too, killing her in one shot. She wasn't flanked and was in half-cover. Horrible luck there.



Now things have gone to shit. The healthy rookie panics, jumps downstairs and shoots at the zombie.
Not really what we want.. Zombies walk very slowly, and if we kill the Sectoid it should disappear. Probably. Not that I can hit the Sectoid right now, he's hiding behind the vehicle.



Trying to whittle down their numbers. Brick misses her coin flip.



And so does the injured rookie.



Brick gets mind controlled.

Injured rookie gets shot at, it hits, he dies.

Brick gets shot at, it hits, she dies.

And the zombie killed the panicked rookie downstairs. Turns out they aren't that slow in XCOM 2.



Classic XCOM.

[Fenn]

This resistance is beginning to look like a false flag outfit. Better luck next time.

[Jowy]

I had to play one more today..

Base Management:

Finished Resistance Communications. We can now make contact with resistance groups from other regions.
Started Alien Biotech.



Made contact with East Asia for 40 Intel. We'll get more supplies at the end of the month, and we can do missions and events there. It's also where our first Blacksite mission will be.



Finished Alien Biotech. It's not what I expected. It unlocks autopsies and a new building that we won't be constructing any time soon.



Advent broadcasted a declaration of war on us.. And attacked one of our resistance bases.



That thing is bad news.

We have to go help. It's time for a TERROR mission. We are not ready.

Mission 4: Operation Star Giant

We head out with two rookies, our grenadier David Corperial and one of our two rangers, Dp101.
We lost our med kit and flash bang when our squad wiped out last mission.



We need to save at least 6 civs. We have three right near us, that's half the job done.



This grinning bastard put me on full tilt when he appeared.



We were mid-turn and in a very vulnerable position. Only a rookie could still act.
She had to overwatch, but missed the Sectoid when it started moving.



Instead of killing David, it mind controlled him.



The Advent Trooper killed one of the rookies.
We're under 5 minutes into this mission and we're already waist deep in shit. Absolutely brutal.



Dp frags the Sectoid, blowing up its cover.



The remaining rookie makes the shot of her life and KILLS THE SECTOID. Is that a glimpse of hope in this terrible nightmare!?
David is freed from mind control and gets to take a turn.



He frags the trooper, but doesn't kill it. It deals 3-4 damage, rolled low. I could have attacked instead, but that had a chance to miss completely.

The trooped ran away on his turn!



We hunted him down on our turn. The rookie missed, David didn't.



With no more enemies in sight it was time to rescue the civs.



Why is she looking up? What's wrong with that civ?



Oh.



Out of the frying pan, into the fire. 



Dp blasts it with a shotgun for max damage.



The rookie lands her 72% shot and kills it. That thing scared the crap out of me, but we killed it with two units.



David looted the drop. After all we WILL make it out of here alive.



There was a civilian somewhere in there. He was still burning alive when he ran away.



We kept advancing until we ran into this guy and his advent lackey.



The rookie was a tad too close when she found them, so she had to run back.



On the same turn, another pod patrols into our sight. DP gets the drop on the commander, almost killing it.



David misses the Sectoid with his overwatch shot. The Sectoid went inside the trailer to full cover, then used a psi attack to disorient David.
While disoriented, David couldn't use his grenade launcher or aim very well, so he reloaded and overwatched again.



The trooper hits our rookie for 3 and she panics. She hunkered down.



Dp is in full cover and has a good shot so she takes it.



Blown up! That's the Commander done for. 1 Sectoid and 3 Troopers left.



David misses his overwatch shot again (I think the disorientation didn't clear until our turn started).
The Sectoid shoots at him, dealing 3 damage, but 1 gets blocked by the perk we picked.



Dp got hit for 3, but returned the favor two-fold.



The rookie is no longer panicking. We need to get rid of the Sectoid before something bad happens.
I chose to run her behind full cover by the gas station pillar (hiding behind burning gas stations is generally not recommended in-game or in real life).
Anyway I tried to frag the Sectoid and blow up the car for extra damage and to get rid of the cover. Well, the car didn't blow up.



This was all I had. He couldn't run any closer because blue moves forward were not in range of any cover. He missed.



Weirdly enough the Sectoid ran away while burning alive.



It took a shot at Dp though.



The last trooper chose to start killing civs. Nearly all of them are dead by now, but I still prefer them getting shot over us getting shot. We need to save 2 more civs, and there are 3 out there.



NOW the car blows up. That explains why the Sectoid ran away.



David killed the last Trooper. Only the Sectoid remains.
We might have been able to kill it, if not for the fact that the rookie and Dp were both out of ammo and had to reload.



Dp is not having a great time 



The rookie kills the Sectoid. It had been losing HP the last few turns from having been set on fire. I think the car frag did that.



That was the last one! We actually did it after we almost lost everything in the first few minutes. Time to party it up boys!



Oh. We're going to have to postpone that party by about 3 weeks.
The rookie promoted to a Grenadier. I forgot what perk I gave to Dp.



Got any of those supplies right now? Pretty please?



We are not in a great place! We need recruits.. but we don't have any supplies.
Something need to be done and quick, or this is going to be a short campaign.

[Dp101]

I lived! And killed everyone!

[WarriorKnight]

Well we survived the retaliation mission at least, but things are not looking good for team RB at all...

Untimed missions are the exception, not the norm (as you figured out). You pretty much have to keep moving at all times. I also suggest using your best soldiers at all times, the missions might be described as 'easy' but that's only because you're at the beginning of the game, upgrading your dudes to higher ranks is one of the only ways to keep up with the aliens.

A workshop is probably a mistake, it is easy to go the entire game without building one. The first thing I build is a training school, being able to choose which class to promote soldiers into is very useful early on and the squad size upgrades are critical.

Finally, I wouldn't recommend saving civilians in retaliation missions. If you kill all enemies, the remaining civilians are saved anyway. Better to save your moves for the firefight then risk being caught out of position to save a civilian (plus less chance of a faceless surprising you).

BTW, are you playing with the DLC?

[picklepikkl]

Dying sucks

On a lighter note, this:

[Jowy]

Well we survived the retaliation mission at least, but things are not looking good for team RB at all...

Untimed missions are the exception, not the norm (as you figured out). You pretty much have to keep moving at all times. I also suggest using your best soldiers at all times, the missions might be described as 'easy' but that's only because you're at the beginning of the game, upgrading your dudes to higher ranks is one of the only ways to keep up with the aliens.

A workshop is probably a mistake, it is easy to go the entire game without building one. The first thing I build is a training school, being able to choose which class to promote soldiers into is very useful early on and the squad size upgrades are critical.

Finally, I wouldn't recommend saving civilians in retaliation missions. If you kill all enemies, the remaining civilians are saved anyway. Better to save your moves for the firefight then risk being caught out of position to save a civilian (plus less chance of a faceless surprising you).

BTW, are you playing with the DLC?

I've been bringing rookies along so that we could get everyone their class promotion before the missions start ramping up. I will try consolidating the EXP more, we could certainly use stronger soldiers.

The workshop could still pay dividends, mostly because we missed our chance at getting a free Engineer by being too slow in the second mission. I agree though Officer Training School is so important. In EU I never build workshops or labs, instead I almost always pick scientists or engineers as rewards when given a chance. That usually works out, but sometimes you'd get these huge droughts when they just don't show up. I figured that would be a big problem in XCOM 2 if it happened, because without an engineer we can't clear any of the rooms, and to get an engineer without RNG we would need to demolish the Officer Training School that is occupying our only room.

Playing with all the DLC.

Thank you for the advice. Any recommendations on what I should be researching first?

[WarriorKnight]

I've been bringing rookies along so that we could get everyone their class promotion before the missions start ramping up. I will try consolidating the EXP more, we could certainly use stronger soldiers.

The workshop could still pay dividends, mostly because we missed our chance at getting a free Engineer by being too slow in the second mission. I agree though Officer Training School is so important. In EU I never build workshops or labs, instead I almost always pick scientists or engineers as rewards when given a chance. That usually works out, but sometimes you'd get these huge droughts when they just don't show up. I figured that would be a big problem in XCOM 2 if it happened, because without an engineer we can't clear any of the rooms, and to get an engineer without RNG we would need to demolish the Officer Training School that is occupying our only room.

Playing with all the DLC.

Thank you for the advice. Any recommendations on what I should be researching first?

Keep in mind all my advice is with non-DLC, I wouldn't know the first thing about the DLC if/when stuff like that shows up.

Building up your staff is indeed a big priority in the early half of the game, but there are so many other facilities that are essential to build (tactics school, resistance comms, proving ground, maybe warfare center and of course power relays) that it isn't worth building workshops/labs early on to rectify them. Also I should point out that the workshop will only affect the rooms it immediately surrounds, so it does not effectively give you another engineer to use as you please.

Research? Well better weapons and armor is always good, it takes eons to research but it is so very worth it. The autopsies vary from essential (faceless autospy is awesome despite the nerf, need another retaliation mission first) to near useless (sectoid, ADVENT soldier maybe, not sure what other enemies you've encountered). If you can't think of anything good to research then go magnetic weapons, you can always switch research projects and I don't think research decay exists in this game...