Fenn Vs X-COM

[Dp101]

Welp, rip me again. Guess I can't complain about deaths that much, not compared to the fate of some others.

[El Grillo]

Wow, those bombs sure do pack a punch. Can you fly them up elevators? :D

[Dp101]

Wow, those bombs sure do pack a punch. Can you fly them up elevators? :D

Given that you can apparently finish the last mission in 3 turns using them, I would assume so.

[haphazard1]

Fried by alien plasma yet again. Such is the life (and death) of an X-COM clone. Farewell, #5!

You can send blaster bombs up elevators, as the wy points allow for vertical movement. The bombs tend to drift a little bit when they change directions, though, so you have to be careful with fancy manouvres. Too tight of a turn will often see the bomb stray and hit a wall, and then the huge explosion happens somewhere other than where you really wanted it to go. This can be really bad for the health of anyone nearby.

Also, as Fenn mentioned, blaster bombs are powerful enough to destroy some UFO internal walls. So you can cut new paths in some UFOs, which can be very handy -- and sometimes a lot safer than going through the usual front doors.

[DaveV]

Wow, those bombs sure do pack a punch. Can you fly them up elevators? :D

Given that you can apparently finish the last mission in 3 turns using them, I would assume so.

You can fly them up elevators, down hallways, through doorways, and probably right into an alien's left front pants pocket. The first time I won the game, it was by mind controlling a couple aliens to give me line of sight to the final boss and blaster bombing him into oblivion. Anticlimactic, to say the least.

[RefSteel]

Dear Diary,

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

HAAAAAAAhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Ha! Ha!

Ohhhhhhh man, blaster launchers are HILARIOUS! ... When we get to use them.

Yours always,
Colonel RefSteel (Clone #3)

...

P.S. They're nevvvvvvvver gonna trust me with one of those things, are they? Oh, well.

[Whosit]

Gee, I wonder if I can survive this mission now that I have fancy power armor?

BLEARGH!!

No luck for poor Whosits. I don't think I'll be going to Mars, but I'll hold down the fort for the rest of you! I can't believe that it's almost over now.

[Fenn]

If I was of a mind to, there's few problems my twelve Blaster Launchers couldn't solve. I think that's a little boring after you've done it once, so in the interest of fair play I'll be holding back on them a little.

Regardless:
Part 25.1 - The Last Mission

It's time. X-COM is about as prepared as it can be to strike at the heart of the alien forces. This mission is for all the marbles - either X-COM destroys the alien brain or the aliens destroy Earth. As such, every agent is being deployed, from Commander DaveV himself to the court-marshalled Lewwyn's clone to the fresh-faced copies of the previous few missions' casualties.

The safe strategy for the final mission is to take all of your Blaster Launchers and blow up everything in safety, but that's a little boring for my taste; this team will have just one Blaster Launcher and two Psi-Amps. I've also taken the liberty of modifying the X-COM Psi-Amp to only be usable if the operator has line of sight to the target; it feels a little bit cheesy to be able to sit back well out of danger and still be able to mind control aliens.


First out of the gate will be the psi-weaklings. David Corperial has just the one incendiary rocket, which launcher he'll drop after firing it once. I expect he'll spend most of his time under alien influence after that.


It's the same story for Old Harry; the Laser Rifle isn't too dangerous to a Power Suited agent, so on the odd turn he's usable he can try shooting some aliens with it. The first part of Cydonia takes place at night, so hopefully he can throw some of his flares before succumbing to mind control.


Like David, Molach's Autocannon is loaded with Incendiary rounds - harmless to our own, but good for lighting up the area and killing certain alien types.


Dreylin has a Stun Launcher and not much else; he's still vulnerable to psionics, but without any lethal weapons he can't do too much damage.


REM clocks in with a Laser pistol and various utility items. His 41 Psi Strength is still far from safe so he can't be trusted with the really dangerous stuff.


AdrienIer is average in many respects; he'll use a Laser Rifle, plenty of grenades and a spare Plasma Rifle for anyone who might need one.


El Grillo has a little of everything; his formidable psionic abilities earn him a Psi-Amp, but his excellent accuracy make him a good candidate for Heavy Laser usage against mechanical enemies. He rounds his collection out with a Medikit, Plasma Pistol and High Explosive charge.


RefSteel will make use of his rockets for the first half of the mission, and will swap to his Heavy Plasma afterwards.


Bobchillingworth hopes to make up for his lackluster accuracy with the Heavy Plasma's raw power.


With a full complement of Incendiary Rockets, rho26 will probably expend them all quickly then double back for a spare weapon.


novice is tied with haphazard's latest clone for the title of most psionically capable agent; therefore he'll be entrusted with the squad's sole Blaster Launcher. Six shots ought to be enough for anybody.


DaveV is probably the longest serving soldier out of anyone - he's certainly the best shot. His role will mainly be to hang back and snipe with that Heavy Laser. The Commander's Psi Strength is only middling, leaving him still vulnerable to mind control - will his luck hold one last time?


Quagma Blast has died more times than anybody else, and his latest clone's prospects aren't looking very rosy. Maybe he'll surprise me.


Dp104 is decent all around; he'll try out the Stun Launcher, plus a Plasma Pistol for backup (not the Laser Pistol pictured - I changed my mind after snapping this screenshot).


Our other psionic, haphazard6 also has some more conventional weapons - more to carry for other soldiers than for his own use.


Whosit doesn't have the strength to carry much more than his Heavy Plasma, but he's not at all bad at aiming.


Mardoc's high Psi Strength should make him a reliable medic; he's definitely not doing too much shooting with 43 Firing Accuracy.


Finally, Lewwyn makes his first appearance since his murder trial. His loadout's nothing special, but another Heavy Plasma is always useful.

In addition to these seventeen, a Plasma and Blaster Launcher Hovertank will be providing fire support.


I think that's everything - off we go.


Here goes nothing...

[Fenn]

Part 25.2 - The Cydonia Landing

We touch down on the surface of Mars with one pyramid already visible. We're taking no chances - Bobchillingworth, to the left of the front hovertank, will just drop a smoke grenade -

But when he does two shots fly in from the northeast, luckily not injuring Bob any. We're definitely not leaving the Avenger just yet. During the alien turn, Bob is twice targeted by psionics, to no effect.


Turn 2: Time for these tanks to earn their pay they don't have. The Launcher tank takes a hit from the left going out, and soon finds a Sectoid out in the open.


The little alien briefly regrets his choice of position.


Ascending to the roof of the Avenger, the tank discovers what shot it. Haven't seen a Cyberdisc around in a while, have we? Bobchillingworth steps out of the Avenger, throws his flare to the northeast (nothing seen), and drops the Cyberdisc in one plasma bolt; it must have been injured from that Blaster Bomb.


With the Cyberdisc out of comission, the Plasma Hovertank exits to the right and finds another Sectoid; one snap shot lands and kills.


After killing the Sectoid, the Hovertank is surprised by a glancing plasma shot. After Whosit throws a flare, the Cyberdisc responsible is spotted. Neither Whsoit nor the tank can shoot; somebody else will have to take it out.

haphazard proves to be equal to the task, blowing it up with two bursts from his Heavy Plasma.


After throwing a flare and stepping forward, rho spots the Cyberdisc that must have shot Bob. David Corperial lands a direct incendiary hit but it's still going, and now David is blocking the ramp. So, novice just fires a Blaster Bomb at the Cyberdisc and that's that.

With no other enemies in sight, those still in the Avenger move to the front and Turn 2 goes to the aliens.


A flurry of psionic attacks lead to David Corperial's hostile takeover, as expected. Without a loaded weapon he just floats about aimlessly, but he is acting as a spotter for the aliens. We'll also have to ber careful that none of our own reaction-shoot him, which they'll happily do if they have the TUs at hand.


Turn 3: The plasma tank was also shot from around here, so rho fires an incendiary rocket to illuminate the shooter and - wait, is that the exit lift? It's pretty close to the starting point; might be worthwhile to rush the lift now and forget about killing everything.

Anyway, haphazard primes an alien grenade and Dp throws it on the Sectoid.


Mardoc spotted a Sectoid to the north and turned away to give the others a clear shot, but not before the Sectoid vaporized him. Farewell Mardoc - for good this time.


Whosit takes revenge. For the rest of Turn 3 Old Harry tosses flares to the west, El Grillo and DaveV take positions on the Avenger's roof, and three soldiers box in David Corperial so he can't wander off anywhere. Unfortunately I missed a diagonal, and he breaks free after being mind controlled again. All he does is walk into the Avenger though.


Turn 4: AdrienIer caught a glimpse of a Sectoid during the alien turn. After a few steps forward he finds him again, and DaveV mows him down.


Mardoc finds two more Sectoids: one off in the distance, and another in a little pillbox.


The launcher tank gets rid of that second one, while Old Harry drops the other with an aimed shot.


Lewwyn makes a long throw with a flare, revealing this faraway Sectoid. There's no easy angle to him, so novice gets another kill here.

...At least he would have if his missile didn't fly off course and out of the map entirely. As it happens, Bobchillingworth has a primed High Explosive at the ready, and after moving a little closer he throws it from the Avenger roof right under the Sectoid's feet.


Turn 5: Psionic report - David is under alien control again, and Old Harry freezes in terror out of malign influences.


Dreylin, having entered the nearby tower last turn, finds a Cyberdisc waiting near the other entrance. The plasma tank, thus notified, takes it out with two shots.


After that, Dreylin spots a Sectoid and knocks it out with a Stun Bomb before retreating to the safety of the tower.


Dp104 scoops a flare off of the Martian soil and lights up this Sectoid with it; Quagma Blast is ready with a grenade and lands it nice and close.


This time, it's Old Harry who gets mind-controlled. Very dangerous since he has a weapon in him, but oddly he doesn't shoot at anybody.


Turn 6: The launcher tank finds nada in the south, but in the north Mardoc sees two more Sectoids. Lewwyn tries to shoot the one in the tower - he misses it but hits and kills an unseen Sectoid behind his target. Whosit has a go and domes the tower Sectoid, while DaveV snipes the one on the ground.


Near the lift, some soldier are checking the area for aliens. We could make a run for it, but that would mean leaving behind at least one mind-controlled comrade so it's not happening.

That said, all that happened on the alien turn was a single shot against a hovertank. Maybe the psionicically active Sectoids are dead already?


Turn 7: This was where the tank was shot from. Needless to say this Sectoid is not long for this, or any world.

With the psionic attacks apparently having ceased, we're free to move everyone towards the lift. The nearest soldier begin making their way there. The now-sane Old Harry picks up the Medikit from Molach's corpse and hands it to rho in lieu of a weapon.


Turn 9: At this point I realize that the hovertanks can't fit into the elevator, so they go on a hunt for the remaining aliens. Best case scenario, they kill the rest and get to come along, but if they're destroyed it's not loss.


It doesn't take long to find the last alien: a Sectoid hiding in this tower. One plasma bolt does him in.


With all the hostiles on the surface deceased, it's time for the final battle. At this point you get to re-equip your soldiers with whatever you brought along, which as it turns out is everything in the Avenger if you've wiped out the surface like I did.

If the surface was tough but manageable, the Cydonian labyrinth is much nastier. Stay tuned.

[Fenn]

Part 25.3 - The Labyrinth

The Cydonian complex is laid out like a souped-up alien base; it's much larger and features new kinds of chambers.

Here in one set of lifts (apparently they branched partway down) we have the majority of our troops along with the hovertanks.


To the south, the other lift is staffed by El Grillo, Dreylin, Dp104, rho26, Whosit and novice. To begin with, both set of teams will throw a smoke grenade down the local elevator shaft and wait - no reason to break tradition now.

Doors fly open every which way during the alien turn as the base's defenders move about.


Turn 2: In the north, the plasma tank takes a look first - nobody visible. David Corperial follows and checks his motion scanner.


There's one signature eight tiles south and three tiles east...that's the doorway out of this very chamber!


Indeed, a rocket from RefSteel finds a Celatid lurking right there. The rest of the squad moves up as best it can.


Down south, rho26 is the first down the elevator. Peeking around a corner, he finds a giant mech walking around.

This is a Sectopod, the terror unit of Ethereals. They have a devastating laser cannon and are encased in the heaviest armor of any unit in the game; even Heavy Plasmas can barely scratch their paint. Their one weakness is to laser weapons, hence the Heavy Lasers El Grillo and DaveV have been carrying around.


That said, they fall to Blaster Launchers just like anything else.


Dreylin, El Grillo and Whosit remain in the elevator in case some disaster strikes below.

On the alien turn, a barrage of psionic attacks begin, panicking RefSteel - him with the 78 Psi Strength - but something even worse happens:

Dp is once again ripped apart by a Chryssalid. He does take at least five blows before dying, which prevents the Chryssalid from knocking up anybody else.


Turn 3: rho shoots the bug, leaving it unconscious but not quite dead, and sheds Dp104's zombie skin. With some actions to spare El Grillo attempts to mind control Dp's latest child, but to no avail - Whosit has to gun it down.


In the north, the tanks uncover an unpleasant surprise: an Ethereal with a Blaster Launcher. If he's not killed this turn, he might bomb the luster of soldier up north and kill a good slice of them.


The only one with enough TUs to get a firing angle is DaveV; he runs behind the Ethereal, pulls out his Plasma Pistol, and drops it in one burst.


This leaves him terribly exposed, but there's nothing to do about it other than throw a smoke grenade courtesy of AdrienIer and pray.


This alien turn proves to be an unfortunate one. Dreylin falls under alien control...


novice is once again flattened by a Stun Bomb...


...and rho is also subverted by an Ethereal. That leaves just two able-bodied soldiers in the south.


Turn 4: Make that one; when Whosit descends the elevator, a trio of plasma bolts vaporize him from the side.

El Grillo attempts to mind-un-control Dreylin but again can't manage it.


In the north, the launcher tank has eyes on a launcher Ethereal. It's an easy kill.


The other tank finds a Celatid, which DaveV disposes of.


During the alien turn, a Celatid dissolves rho26 while Dreylin remains under alien influence. The south team is not having very good luck, is it?


Turn 5: Meanwhile DaveV is sent into a panic, and a third Blaster Launcher Ethereal flattens the launcher tank.


Bob heads south and finds a Chryssalid watching him from a lookout post. Unfortunately Bob's aimed shot hits the near wall, blowing it up and giving the Chryssalid a shorter path to him. That's not ideal, Bob.


El Grillo manages to break the alien control of Dreylin, who knocks out the nearby Celatid. This frees up El Grillo to descend and make his way to novice, to hopefully revive him next turn.


AdrienIer spots an Ethereal, but doesn't have enough time to shoot it and hides around the corner. RefSteel ends up shooting it later.


The plasma hovertank manages to make Bob's mistake good, killing the Chryssalid in one shot.


The aliens control Adrien and Dreylin again.


Turn 6: They even have Adrien shoot RefSteel! Thankfully the shot glances off.


DaveV shakes off his panic and picks his weapons back up; turning around, he sees the Ethereal that Blaster Bombed the launcher tank. One burst from his plasma pistol doesn't bring the alien down, but RefSteel is close enough to finish the job with his Heavy Plasma.


But moving forward, the plasma tank finds another Ethereal with a Blaster Launcher; all the nearby soldier take shots, but although some hit the Ethereal is left standing/


In the south, El Grillo revives novice and looks around for Dreylin; not seeing him anywhere he ducks behind cover.


Now it's Quagma Blast's turn to be controlled (along with Dreylin of course - he's spending more time under alien power than his own). At least no Blaster Bombs came flying in.


Turn 7: RefSteel guns down the Blaster Ethereal close to where he was first spotted. Maybe he was the one controlling Quagma Blast?


At any rate, the coast seems clear for now. Quagma shoots at the plasma tank as it passes by, but otherwise there's no incidents. Even the alien turn produces nothing but the customary Dreylin mind control.


Turn 8: Adrien investigates this little pillbox and finds a Silacoid lurking within. A few Heavy Plasma shots do it in.


Down south, El Grillo comes face to face with another Sectopod.


With novice awake, there's nothing to fear. Another one bites the dust.


RefSteel comes across the unpleasant sight of a Chryssalid. He retreats, and the plasma tank moves up to act as bait - hopefully it can keep the insect occupied.


Further east, REM finds yet another Blaster Launcher-equipped alien. His plasma pistol makes no impression, but Bobchillingworth makes it close enough to cook the Ethereal with his Heavy Plasma. That's one disaster averted.


The plasma tank serves its purpose well - the Chryssalid tears it apart, but no human falls victim to its claws.