Dying, indeed. Four attempts, four TPKs. Holy s#*!, this is hard. Sectoids have 7 health, so a shot doesn't kill, and every time they mind merge, they heal a health. It's a battle of attrition, with them often taking out my heavy cover and destroying my operatives, or just outright killing my men right through heavy cover. I'm a stubborn bastard, so let's see if I can figure out how to win.
Turns out the cemetery mission is just insanely hard... so much hard cover for the sectoids, so little for me. I finally made it thru, but lost 2 operatives, so gonna restart on a better first-mission map!
Initial contact was made with two sectoids. Walsh and McGregor moved into heavy cover positions while Snipes hung back and Ruiz went in for the flank. Suppression was used to great effect, allowing Ruiz to finally achieve her flank, albeit in half-cover and only a 55% flank shot. Unfortunately, McGregor is no heavy, and he ran out of ammo to maintain suppressing fire, leaving Ruiz vulnerable. As he hurriedly tried to reload to lay down some covering fire for Ruiz, she took plasma to the face. Needless to say, her funeral won't be open casket, and I've lost another chance at capturing any aliens.
McGregor, swearing to fate for running out of ammo at the most critical of times, moved in for the flanking shot, hoping to redeem himself. With our lovely belt-fed LMG still in play, he was kept safe by a constant hail of bullets from Walsh. He managed to take out the mind-merging sectoid with a beautiful flank shot, killing two in one.
The squad, now down a soldier, spent the next ten minutes covering ground around the downed UFO. Unfortunately, our slow-ass heavy made the process take super long. After Snipes and McGregor jokingly complained to Walsh about his slowness, Walsh made the comment that he would drop the LMG – and its ability to suppress all day – right then and there if they didn't stop bitching. Needless to say, they stopped bitching.
With lessons learned from the UFO, the squad approached the Outsider with much more care. Despite that, Snipes accidentally triggered him when making a wide flank to set up a kill zone on the right side of the UFO. Ten scary health, ridiculous aim and a nasty plasma carbine... without a doubt, things just got tense, and the noises of sectoids were still heard on the air. McGregor made a nice hit while behind full cover, then Snipes got lucky and took the fiend down to one health. Miraculously, the thing started regaining health during its turn at a rapid rate. As if it wasn't dangerous enough...
Speaking of dangerous, just then two other sectoids decided to join the party, leaving McGregor in the open, flanked, and dead in a few seconds. Walsh decided to end the Outsider and toss a grenade at him – with four health left, it would definitely finish him. OR NOT!!! The damn thing only took 3 dmg on a 4 dmg, guaranteed hit. Mother fucker...
With McGregor's life on the line, Snipes pulled out a clutch hit, Executioner kicking in and raising his odds of hitting dramatically -- I'm so glad I took that skill now...
With the Outsider dead and gone, McGregor was free to move to cover and reload. Walsh backed out to full cover and set up a kill zone; with the threat of his LMG in play, the sectoids played it smart and defended. Or not... as Snipes nailed the mind-merging sectoid right between the eyes on a 31% chance, ending them both.
Mission accomplished! After stripping the UFO clean, it appears the power cores become damaged by our interceptors. We might want to research a different type of weaponry for that...
Snipes picked up Master Operative due to his amazing ability to kill shit. Death From Above and Disabling Shot both had their appeal, but Covering Fire won out. Soon he shall be known as the Angel of Death, protecting allies with overwatch whether the enemy moves or not.
McGregor, following in the footsteps of Ninja, picked up a shotty after going up a paygrade.
On the GeoScape front, we have one day until some excavation and a power generator completes. Dr. Shen and his team will be finishing a satellite in three days and it might be time to start a new one. With Snipes' promotion, it will be vital to build an Officer Training School sooner rather than later. Due to adjacency, I want to make sure I can get the OTS on the outside, leaving the middle for generators and uplinks.
After a solid day of rest, the sectoid autopsy completed and it netted me.... nothing. I didn't learn a damn thing from ripping open the grey man besides the fact that they're all clones. Well, shit... all that was kind of pointless. I just spent two weeks trying to learn something from their biology and have nothing. I hope this doesn't put me behind.
Picking up something tangible is definitely needed, so I set Dr. Vahlen to researching the alien materials we recovered from the crash sites.
With our power generator and excavation complete, I finally had the room I needed to begin building a containment facility and an OTS. Both were quite cheap, actually. Everything seems pretty cheap in MM so far!
I spotted two UFOs, but unbelievably, all four of my interceptors were still down and unable to respond. Ignoring them allowed me to finish researching alien materials, which opened up both skeleton and carapace armor, experimental warfare AND elerium. In desperate need of aim, I decided to research weapon fragments next for some scopes.
The skies remained eerily quiet while all my interceptors returned to operation, weapon fragments research, a satellite, the OTS and the containment facility all completed around the same time. There's my aiming uplink I so desperately need to fight back against these UFOs. With credits in mind, I began producing a scope and an alloy-fiber vest – both were decently cheap. However, the extra seat in the Skyranger cost quite a bit, but was definitely worth it.
Finally, on the 25th of March, several UFOs landed around the planet and started abducting more citizens. With only one Skyranger, it was my duty to save the most unstable region. A "lethal" mission *gulp* it would reward me with a Master Operative-ranked Support, something I desperately needed. We were off to Durban, South Africa with recruits Shen Deng from China (who has the bloody, yet unused arc thrower) and Erica Russell from America (who has the bloody, yet unused med kit). Considering my luck with the ladies, she'll probably be dead very soon.
Commander's Log, Operation Bleeding Pipe:
This was a mission to the shipyard docks, and it turned out to be insanely easy with the judicious use of explosives. As MM has seemingly more baddies per map, explosives go up in killing power. That's curtailed with the loss of bodies and weapon fragments, but sometimes it's worth the loss when you have two exposed operatives and nine visible sectoids. We killed all but the last remaining sectoid, and we finally managed to capture one alive.
After interrogating him, instantly, I might add, since I launched my two satellites into South America, we got research cred for Beam Weapons – all normal on that front. I may actually go down that beam weapon road, since it has been very difficult for me to capture any aliens alive – they're just so goddamn deadly. I spent a gob-ton of money and built one more interceptor for South America and North America, each – they're still expensive despite having my HQ in America – this is definitely making an impact on my budget, as things are starting to become tight.
Commander's Log, Operation Defiant Hammer:
The council mission! I took Slingshot, and made my way through the map with ease. I like to send my squad up the left side, using the high ground and low cover to slowly work my way through the graveyard. It was definitely harder than I'm used to, as overwatch normally drops anything that comes at us. However, due to the mod, my aim is so much lower and pretty much everything survived through that initial burst – flanking becomes sooo important. The troops have started calling Walsh "Road Block" and I quite like it.
An interesting note, that first promotion from rook to Operative First Class (OFC) sees the greatest jump in stats – after that, things slow down. This will tend to make the OTS ability to have all new recruits start at OFC very powerful. Speaking of new recruits, welcome Zhang to the team. I've decided to make him into my offensive demo man, so I took double grenades, shredder rockets and aggression.
Commander's Log, Operation Lone Spark:
Shortly after Chilong joined us, the aliens began another round of abductions. This time, we headed to Nigeria to help lower Africa's panic. The mission was described as being lethal, so here goes nothing...
Today, my friends, is a sad day... Nine floaters descended upon us in Nigeria. Using their numbers and better weaponry, they managed to surround us. "Road Block" went down, screaming in agony, as a ball of plasma failed to realize he was wearing a kevlar vest. With their venerable leader down, most of the team panicked, sitting in vulnerable positions. Chilong, immediately stepped up to fill Road Block's shoes and launched a couple of rockets into large packs, thinning their numbers before taking a critical wound himself. McGregor, or Gunpowder, these days, said f*#@ this and went to town on them, flanking where could with his shotty, dropping floaters like flies. With the pack thinned, Conjurer, or Caimile Ballo from South Africa – she joined us after we proved our worth in Operation Bleeding Pipe – stabilized Chilong. He will live to fight another day, thank fate...
With the last remaining floater fleeing for safety, we took each building by storm, kicking in doors to overwhelm with firepower. The buildings were empty. We found the last pack of sectoids picking at a poor human in green goop. Gunpowder welcomed them with some buckshot to the face. Conjurer locked the last one down with some suppressive fire before moving in for the stun – mission accomplished. RIP Road Block.
Panic surged across Asia and Europe, but if they want more help, they should give more funding. Finances are running tight as the panic runs high, and two of my best, Chilong and Conjurer, are down for over a month as they heal from plasma burns. I still think about Road Block as the days fly by, that tough Irish bastard.
Dr. Vahlen is working on the Alien Nav Computer in the hopes that my interceptor fleet can be improved, while Dr. Shen is working on phoenix cannons and satellites. In the GeoScape, an uplink is being built.
After a few days of peace, a medium-sized contact was spotted over America. Using our new AIM device, we managed to score some hits, but 3 severely damaged interceptors later and we lost the bogey. In vain, we tried to bring another Voodoo up from South America in time, but it just managed to escape. DAMN! And only a day before our phoenix cannons were completed – the citizens are panicking.
Finally, after some tense days, the Nav Computer has been fully analyzed. ECM Jammer and Satellite Nexus now available for production! I immediately set Vahlen on to the beam weapons research – I'm tired of my boys gettin' cut down out there with that plasma weaponry, we need something, and we need it now! With what little money I had, I set Shen to building two more Aim modules.
Another medium contact, this time over South America, where we had two interceptors equipped with phoenix cannons and two Aim modules – success guaranteed, right? Wrong... Both Aim modules and an interceptor/phoenix cannon lost, the other down for nine days worth of repairs. Wow... this, this is not good...
Finally, we found lady luck herself; a dagger-class scout was seen over North America, and it took us only one interceptor to drop her. Ito, the Ninja himself, made it out of sick bay just in time to join the rest of the crew on their assault. It's time to show these aliens what Earth is made of...
Commander's Log, Operation Driving Stranger:
OFC Russell as support, Ninja and Gunpowder as assault, Snipes and a new rook, OSC Harris from Australia, landed in Midwestern USA around 1700 hours local. Dressed in green forest camo, they pushed their way forward through the swampy terrain; maybe they were in Louisiana...
Moving into cover on top of a ridge, Gunpowder ran forward to scout – turns out just a meter away, two sectoids were trying to get the jump on us. Gunpowder flushed 'em out and then killed one, while Russell got the other kill. We heard some floaters off in the distance, so went to investigate. They were spotted on patrol, flanked and killed – no muss, no fuss. Russell failed with her stun attempt, so sadly, we had to finish him. The Outsider went relatively quietly. With two assaults and Russell as support, our high movement speed allowed us to flank in one turn. Ninja put some buckshot into it at point blank and Russell successfully dropped it with the arc thrower, saving us a plasma carbine!
Harris picked up a shotty and OFC, altho I was hoping he would go for an LMG – missin' the suppression that it brings, for sure. I failed to mention Snipes picked up Junior Specialist and Opportunist, making his overwatch extra deadly, in a previous mission.
Doc Vahlen started in on Precision Lasers, altho I'm not sure it'll help, as we're cashless and two weeks from payday. The lack of engineers is starting to take its toll, as we just don't have the manpower down there to handle the higher tech equipment. Sadly, it turns out autopsies are completely worthless, so going for an early South America and arc thrower turned out to be a huge waste of resources.
Ninja's hometown, Tokyo, Japan, was under assault in a new type of terror attack. He was the first on the Skyranger as we headed in to our most lethal mission yet. Both Snipes and Deng are along for this one; we're gonna need their squadsight to pick off anything that moves. Deng's battle scanner should help us stay apprised of the enemy movements. Ninja and Gunpowder can move in for easy kills as they appear.
Commander's Log, Operation Severed Skull:
With the boys in black and the shades left at home, we landed in Tokyo during the evening and pushed forward onto a destroyed bridge, the civilians everywhere – terrified and afraid to move, we did what we could.
Our snipers set up in a perch for the whole game. The rest of the squad fanned out and moved forward, taking out a ton of floaters while the squadsight snipers took shots from across the map. Zombies started rushing us, but they were easy pickings for shotties and sniper rifles. Gunpowder moved forward to meet the new threat, Chryssalids, then promptly ran the f*#@ outta there to perch up in full cover. We had to watch as some civilians had their throats ripped out in front of us then turned to zombies, but our only options was to let the Chryssalids run through a gauntlet of fire, keeping our boys alive to fight another day.
Promotions all around except to Snipes. Gunpowder made JSPC and picked up Lightning Reflexes – finally! Deng, now known as Zero, picked up Disabling Shot. MOP Ninja picked up Close and Personal. Lastly, Russell picked up Field Medic.
We autopsied the Chryssalid and finally learned something from an autopsy! We had to let a large UFO go, as there was no reason to risk my interceptors against it – we stood no chance. Abductions then took place because of it. It was a tough choice, but we chose Sao Paulo, Brazil for a MOP Heavy.
Commander's Log, Operation Secret Gaze:
Utter failure... within three moves, we had something like twelve aliens surrounding us, and zero heavies – oooh what I wouldn't give to have Road Block back. A floater took out Snipes with a crit, even though he was behind full cover – a very lucky shot, indeed. That started the chain of events. Next was Ninja, flanked and dropped, no chance. Zero, flanked again – crit wounded and revived by Russell. That left Russell and Gunpowder, who spent the next several minutes outmaneuvering and flanking the entire enemy squad. Gunpowder probably netted about eight kills by himself, thank fate for Lightning Reflexes! Moving in for the last kill on a sectoid and a thin man, hiding behind the bar in full cover, surrounded by full cover, he still managed to be seen and shot at. The bar melted under the plasma fire from the sectoid marksman and left him exposed to the thin man – the shot connected and put him down, dead in three rounds... Russell knew it was time to make a play or lose Gunpowder for good. She charged the thin man and dropped him, point blank – don't care 'bout no poison! The sectoid knew she was desperate, so he placed himself between Gunpowder and her and readied himself to drop some plasma into her plans if she came around the corner. With one round left to save Gunpowder, around the corner she came, full tilt into the plasma which melted her face... RIP Russell, Gunpowder, Snipes, Zero, Ninja, and the heavy from Brazil we never got to meet. Essentially, six of my best operatives down for good. A sad day, to say the least. To top it all off, it appears that losing your entire squad means the loss of all their gear. Fair, for sure, but probably the end of this campaign. With two senior operatives in sick bay and no one left to take up the mantle, it's up to OFC Harris from Australia to lead the way with four other rooks – luck help them now...
So that the Interceptor consumables would only cost weapon fragments and be accessible throughout the entire game, they are also unlocked with Weapon Fragments (aim), Ufo Navigation (dodge), Ufo power source (boost).
The foundry projects Improved S.C.O.P.E (Sectoid), Improved Arcthrower (Floater), SHIV Repair (Cyberdisc) are unlocked earlier but require considerable amount of corpses (that could be sold).
the interrogations still get you beam/armour and UFO credit so they're still important, just autoposies aren't that important unless you have a foundry.
Louis Fournier from Canada, Vasily Chepurnov from Russia, Yvonne Perez from Brazil and Aidan Walsh from Ireland landed in Chihuahua, Mexico for Operation Hidden Druid after departing from their North American HQ - which gives me 20% decrease in air equipment and upkeep, down from, I believe, 50% in the OG. Base "operative" stats appear to be 5 health, 25 will, 57 aim and 5 defense. A sharp decline from the OG - this should be interesting... I wonder how the 5 defense will play into my strategies. The low aim will certainly make flanking more of a requirement. Chepurnov took a 4 dmg hit, dropping him to 1 health and 15 will, causing him to blubber like a baby. Hopefully, leveling increases their will as they become more battle-hardened.
All operatives have the suppression ability, I think this comes from their equipped weapon. VERY cool! Setting up suppressive fire should add a huge element of strategy to the tactical level. I'm excited already! Assault Rifles have higher base damage and crit chance at 5 and 20%, respectively.
Operative movement appears to be 6 squares - feels shorter than normal - I wonder if the alien movement is decreased/increased.
Shots are definitely harder to make with the low aims; 37% chance with sectoids at medium range and behind half-cover and 12% at range with full-cover. I found a bug or an unknown feature, but the half-cover sectoid has a full shield showing - I assumed the shields updated based on which character was selected, but it may be showing based on the highest level of cover it has against all members of my squad that are able to shoot it. On second inspection, only two members of my squad can shoot it and both show it as low cover, despite a full shield showing. Bug?
Interesting that, on the hardest setting, sectoids only have 3 health, but they do have a 5% defense to match my rooks.
After Action Report:
Wow, awesome! 6 sectoids dead, but RIP Perez - lost her while dashing to a flanked position, because I lost track of a sectoid who had the other side of the building on overwatch. Sectoids are definitely deadly with their "wrist plasma pistols" still.
Some great tactics with the new suppression. Fournier and Perez laid down suppressing fire on an exposed alien for several rounds. Both operatives were in full cover and had little fear of being hit; one took a turn to reload while one suppressed - this allowed my other two operatives to circle the corner for a flank and a 60% chance shot over the 30% or so normal ones. The sectoid had no chance to return fire or move due to the never-ending stream of gunfire. Despite the 60% chance, it still took the flanking soldiers several rounds to actually hit. Maybe a bigger bonus to hit a completely exposed alien would feel more lifelike, or maybe a higher default aim? It felt silly standing 4 meters from an enemy completely exposed and missing him 2 or 3 rounds in a row. That said, locking him down with the suppressing fire was totally awesome!
I used two grenades during the mission, so only came home with 4 sectoids in body bags - the other two were left in pieces. 12 weapon fragments tells me I get 3 per kill.
Despite losing Perez, my other three operatives spent some time honing their skills in specific areas. Fournier got two kills, but apparently enjoys aiding his fellow operatives during combat. Picking the support role got him a smoke grenade, 1 hp, 8 will and 7 aim. Chepurnov, with 1 kill and feeling a bit shaky after his near-death experience decided he wouldn't mind sittin' in the rear and picked up a sniper rifle, squadsight, 6 will and a whopping 9 aim modified with a +5. The Irish boy, Walsh, loves a good fight and with two kills he picked up a light machine gun, rocket launcher, 1 hp, 9 will and 7 aim - altho it appears to be modified at -10. Yikes, guess that LMG isn't so accurate.
Looks like I started with 8 scientists and 5 engineers. A medikit and 5 engineers are apparently spending 3 days assembling it. :p
Using grenades really hurt my research, since I'm now 4 weapon fragments shy of starting either weapons or armor tech. It seems I will be going for an early arc thrower and autopsies. Here's a question, does this mod allow me to to dismantle captured weapons for weapon fragments? I always thought it seemed silly that capturing live aliens actually hurt my research progression. What a cool option that would be!
I started with 4 interceptors, niiiice. Right now I'm leaving them all in America to protect my only satellite.
Commander's Log, Operation Silent Heat:
After spending several days manufacturing a medikit, it completed just in time. 3 UFOs made it through the world's defenses and began abducting humans around the world. I chose Kolkata, India and a dangerous mission in the hopes of earning the country's top 8 scientists and putting the region at ease.
Our 3 experienced troopers and a rookie named Kaito Ito, from Japan, jumped into the Skyranger and departed for Kolkata: stay tuned for more of their exploits! **bah, have class in real life, lol -- be back in a few hours for more playtesting!**
EDIT #1: Okay, finally got back from class. A few of my observations!
Heavy suppression is just effin' amazing. Walsh spent the entire battle suppressing everything, no reloads required - amazing! However, he did fire once, when I wanted to destroy a wall a sectoid was hiding behind, and that LMG cut it down to size, leaving the sectoid standing out in the open -- a beautiful gun, that LMG. His movement noticeably dropped to 5 tiles, but he was an immobile bastion of defense, so I didn't notice it *too* badly. UGH, never before has ranking up been so gut-wrenching. Covering Fire, Tac Sense or 2 grenades, REALLY? I want them all! During the mission, Walsh used a grenade to blow a wall, then cut the wall down behind that with his LMG -- 2 grenades would be so awesome. I also had him acting as the tank in front of 6 sectoids for 3+ rounds -- Tac Sense would make him unhittable. Covering Fire would only be worth it if this mod made it synergize with suppression; otherwise, I won't be firing enough with Walsh -- nor would he hit anything with his awesomely low aim. I can't bank on the mod making that change, tho. UGH, haychu Yzaxtol for making these choices so tough!In the end, Walsh picked up Tac Sense -- I hope to make him an unkillable tank in the middle of the battle.
Unfortunately, Fournier bit it when a sectoid came charging him and managed to get, through heavy cover, a 9 dmg crit on him.
Ito, our newest Operative First Class, was used as basically an assault, and my god did he assault. 5 kills his first mission out the gate. Walsh suppressed, Ito scooted into a flank and finished them off. Of course, on promotion, he picked up a shotty and Run'n'Gun! He gained a sweet, sweet 2 hp, 7 will and 6 aim, altho his shotty apparently reduces that by 5. I wonder if switching to the pistol will make that -5 go away?
Chepurnov netted a sexy hat-trick -- most of his shots snipin' through a nasty 25% chance. He's got a real talent with that rifle of his, altho his last kill was with a nice 71% flank shot with his pistol, my first gunslinger-in-training, apparently. UGH again, such tough choices for the new Chief Operative... Battle Scanner (BS) could be absolutely essential in MM, where the ETs seem to be packed in like sardines. Sprinter could help him remain mobile, but I plan on making him a stationary killing machine, not a snapshotter. In this mod of ultra-low aims, Executioner could be another STRONG talent. Sticking with my stationary theme, I think the range on BS might hinder it somewhat, as I plan to keep Chepurnov far back as possible. With that said, Chepurnov picked up Executioner.
10 sectoid corpses and 30 weapon fragments retrieved. 8 of India's best scientists just sped my Xeno-Biology research up to only 1 day left to finish, and (somehow) opened up both labs and workshops for me. Also, I just noticed the foundry is available to build without any research -- that opens up the potential to rush upgrades, especially to my medikit. I wonder what Experimental Warfare opens up now...
All in all, a successful mission. RIP Fournier.
EDIT #2: Just wanted to say, I'm loving the quick-toggle overwatch. I have it set to a thumb-button on my mouse and it's super easy now to set the whole squad to overwatch.
Commander's Log, Operation Spectral Hymn:
Before heading to Mission Control, I decided to stop by Engineering and discuss satellites. Turns out they can be built in 5 days and for only 45 bucks, wow! Not sure I like this change, as it removes the meta of whether to rush satellites/engineers/uplinks or focus on a research/scientist or even an April Base rush. We'll just see how it pans out; regardless, for the next two weeks or so, I'm safe to ignore satellites.
Xeno-Biology finished quickly and we immediately began arc thrower research. With no need to invest so much into uplinks, I think I might focus on rushing plasma weaponry. After finishing arc thrower research, I started the autopsy of one of the little grey men, since I want to help bolster my interceptor fleet with the aiming module.
Speaking of my interceptor fleet, I finally found my first bogey flying over the southwest of the United States. The damn thing nearly took out two of my interceptors, dropping to my third. For being a small UFO, this thing packed a hell of a punch. Glad I started that autopsy sooner, rather than later!
I loaded up Sarah Peretz, a new rook from Israel, with the shiny new arc thrower and the blood-stained medikit -- RIP Fournier -- and we were off to the crash site.
Right off the bat, Peretz takes one to the face, sittin in the *back* of my lineup – a crit shot that puts her down and bleeding out; of course, guess who has the med kit AND the arc thrower. Anyone remember the name of my second KIA? Perez and Peretz must be synonyms for "dies spectacularly"... An excellent mission so far... Is it possible for this mod to develop a way for someone else to use the med kit, sitting on the dying medic? It seems ridiculous that my three operatives have to stand around and watch while she bleeds out. Oh well, RIP Peretz...
Ito was bloody awesome; Walsh and Peretz, while she was alive, kept the 4 sectoids pinned down in a little valley between two embankments. Ito flanked to the high ground, completely out of their sight, then came up for a run'n'gun... which missed... with like a 75% chance. He made up for it next round by drawing their fire and surviving behind full cover, then killing two with a 'nade. He's blazing fast at 8 tiles a move, compared to Walsh's 5. It might end up being a bit overpowered, but we'll see.
Chepurnov, AKA Snipes, blasted the farthest sectoid to kingdom come, taking out his mind merged minion in the process.
With 4 down, it was just a simple push to the Outsider, right? Wrong! This guy spawned with like 10 health and my eyes bugged out – a bit different from the 3 I was used to. He also carried something called a "deadly plasma carbine" and used it with pin-point accuracy. With his first shot, he put a burning blob of plasma into Ito's chest from behind light cover and at almost max range. I almost cried until I realized he was down and bleeding. Three rounds to finish this thing or my all-star running back ends the way of Peretz. With it all on the line, Snipes made a 47% crit shot to finish the Outsider on the very next turn. He deserves that call sign, for sure. Lesson learned -- don't f*** around with these Outsiders.
Despite spending 32 days in sick bay, Ito survived and made Chief Operative. Ito just feels like a straight killer to me, so it was a no-brainer to take Aggression. This Japanese operative earned himself a call sign for all the pain he's going through right now, and I quite like the idea of calling him Ninja – let's hope he pulls through.
We got our first taste of Elerium, Alien Alloys and Flight Computers – I imagine those will go towards shiny new toys soon!
It wasn't long before another UFO showed up over mid-USA. After damn near losing Voodoo 3 to the Dagger-class Scout, Voodoo 4 was able to bag the kill. These things are TOUGH! Oscar McGregor from Scotland and Rosalia Ruiz from Spain suited up to join Walsh and Snipes on the mission classified as Operation Lazy Giant. With my lesson learned, I put the blood-covered arc thrower on Ruiz and gave the doubly blood-stained med kit on McGregor so that if I lost one, I still had the other.
Commander Drtyprior's Logs (17 comments)
Commander's Log, Operation Dying Scepter:
Dying, indeed. Four attempts, four TPKs. Holy s#*!, this is hard. Sectoids have 7 health, so a shot doesn't kill, and every time they mind merge, they heal a health. It's a battle of attrition, with them often taking out my heavy cover and destroying my operatives, or just outright killing my men right through heavy cover. I'm a stubborn bastard, so let's see if I can figure out how to win.
Initial contact was made with two sectoids. Walsh and McGregor moved into heavy cover positions while Snipes hung back and Ruiz went in for the flank. Suppression was used to great effect, allowing Ruiz to finally achieve her flank, albeit in half-cover and only a 55% flank shot. Unfortunately, McGregor is no heavy, and he ran out of ammo to maintain suppressing fire, leaving Ruiz vulnerable. As he hurriedly tried to reload to lay down some covering fire for Ruiz, she took plasma to the face. Needless to say, her funeral won't be open casket, and I've lost another chance at capturing any aliens.
McGregor, swearing to fate for running out of ammo at the most critical of times, moved in for the flanking shot, hoping to redeem himself. With our lovely belt-fed LMG still in play, he was kept safe by a constant hail of bullets from Walsh. He managed to take out the mind-merging sectoid with a beautiful flank shot, killing two in one.
The squad, now down a soldier, spent the next ten minutes covering ground around the downed UFO. Unfortunately, our slow-ass heavy made the process take super long. After Snipes and McGregor jokingly complained to Walsh about his slowness, Walsh made the comment that he would drop the LMG – and its ability to suppress all day – right then and there if they didn't stop bitching. Needless to say, they stopped bitching.
With lessons learned from the UFO, the squad approached the Outsider with much more care. Despite that, Snipes accidentally triggered him when making a wide flank to set up a kill zone on the right side of the UFO. Ten scary health, ridiculous aim and a nasty plasma carbine... without a doubt, things just got tense, and the noises of sectoids were still heard on the air. McGregor made a nice hit while behind full cover, then Snipes got lucky and took the fiend down to one health. Miraculously, the thing started regaining health during its turn at a rapid rate. As if it wasn't dangerous enough...
Speaking of dangerous, just then two other sectoids decided to join the party, leaving McGregor in the open, flanked, and dead in a few seconds. Walsh decided to end the Outsider and toss a grenade at him – with four health left, it would definitely finish him. OR NOT!!! The damn thing only took 3 dmg on a 4 dmg, guaranteed hit. Mother fucker...
With McGregor's life on the line, Snipes pulled out a clutch hit, Executioner kicking in and raising his odds of hitting dramatically -- I'm so glad I took that skill now...
With the Outsider dead and gone, McGregor was free to move to cover and reload. Walsh backed out to full cover and set up a kill zone; with the threat of his LMG in play, the sectoids played it smart and defended. Or not... as Snipes nailed the mind-merging sectoid right between the eyes on a 31% chance, ending them both.
Mission accomplished! After stripping the UFO clean, it appears the power cores become damaged by our interceptors. We might want to research a different type of weaponry for that...
Snipes picked up Master Operative due to his amazing ability to kill shit. Death From Above and Disabling Shot both had their appeal, but Covering Fire won out. Soon he shall be known as the Angel of Death, protecting allies with overwatch whether the enemy moves or not.
McGregor, following in the footsteps of Ninja, picked up a shotty after going up a paygrade.
On the GeoScape front, we have one day until some excavation and a power generator completes. Dr. Shen and his team will be finishing a satellite in three days and it might be time to start a new one. With Snipes' promotion, it will be vital to build an Officer Training School sooner rather than later. Due to adjacency, I want to make sure I can get the OTS on the outside, leaving the middle for generators and uplinks.
After a solid day of rest, the sectoid autopsy completed and it netted me.... nothing. I didn't learn a damn thing from ripping open the grey man besides the fact that they're all clones. Well, shit... all that was kind of pointless. I just spent two weeks trying to learn something from their biology and have nothing. I hope this doesn't put me behind.
Picking up something tangible is definitely needed, so I set Dr. Vahlen to researching the alien materials we recovered from the crash sites.
With our power generator and excavation complete, I finally had the room I needed to begin building a containment facility and an OTS. Both were quite cheap, actually. Everything seems pretty cheap in MM so far!
I spotted two UFOs, but unbelievably, all four of my interceptors were still down and unable to respond. Ignoring them allowed me to finish researching alien materials, which opened up both skeleton and carapace armor, experimental warfare AND elerium. In desperate need of aim, I decided to research weapon fragments next for some scopes.
The skies remained eerily quiet while all my interceptors returned to operation, weapon fragments research, a satellite, the OTS and the containment facility all completed around the same time. There's my aiming uplink I so desperately need to fight back against these UFOs. With credits in mind, I began producing a scope and an alloy-fiber vest – both were decently cheap. However, the extra seat in the Skyranger cost quite a bit, but was definitely worth it.
Finally, on the 25th of March, several UFOs landed around the planet and started abducting more citizens. With only one Skyranger, it was my duty to save the most unstable region. A "lethal" mission *gulp* it would reward me with a Master Operative-ranked Support, something I desperately needed. We were off to Durban, South Africa with recruits Shen Deng from China (who has the bloody, yet unused arc thrower) and Erica Russell from America (who has the bloody, yet unused med kit). Considering my luck with the ladies, she'll probably be dead very soon.
Commander's Log, Operation Bleeding Pipe:
This was a mission to the shipyard docks, and it turned out to be insanely easy with the judicious use of explosives. As MM has seemingly more baddies per map, explosives go up in killing power. That's curtailed with the loss of bodies and weapon fragments, but sometimes it's worth the loss when you have two exposed operatives and nine visible sectoids. We killed all but the last remaining sectoid, and we finally managed to capture one alive.
After interrogating him, instantly, I might add, since I launched my two satellites into South America, we got research cred for Beam Weapons – all normal on that front. I may actually go down that beam weapon road, since it has been very difficult for me to capture any aliens alive – they're just so goddamn deadly. I spent a gob-ton of money and built one more interceptor for South America and North America, each – they're still expensive despite having my HQ in America – this is definitely making an impact on my budget, as things are starting to become tight.
Commander's Log, Operation Defiant Hammer:
The council mission! I took Slingshot, and made my way through the map with ease. I like to send my squad up the left side, using the high ground and low cover to slowly work my way through the graveyard. It was definitely harder than I'm used to, as overwatch normally drops anything that comes at us. However, due to the mod, my aim is so much lower and pretty much everything survived through that initial burst – flanking becomes sooo important. The troops have started calling Walsh "Road Block" and I quite like it.
An interesting note, that first promotion from rook to Operative First Class (OFC) sees the greatest jump in stats – after that, things slow down. This will tend to make the OTS ability to have all new recruits start at OFC very powerful. Speaking of new recruits, welcome Zhang to the team. I've decided to make him into my offensive demo man, so I took double grenades, shredder rockets and aggression.
Commander's Log, Operation Lone Spark:
Shortly after Chilong joined us, the aliens began another round of abductions. This time, we headed to Nigeria to help lower Africa's panic. The mission was described as being lethal, so here goes nothing...
Today, my friends, is a sad day... Nine floaters descended upon us in Nigeria. Using their numbers and better weaponry, they managed to surround us. "Road Block" went down, screaming in agony, as a ball of plasma failed to realize he was wearing a kevlar vest. With their venerable leader down, most of the team panicked, sitting in vulnerable positions. Chilong, immediately stepped up to fill Road Block's shoes and launched a couple of rockets into large packs, thinning their numbers before taking a critical wound himself. McGregor, or Gunpowder, these days, said f*#@ this and went to town on them, flanking where could with his shotty, dropping floaters like flies. With the pack thinned, Conjurer, or Caimile Ballo from South Africa – she joined us after we proved our worth in Operation Bleeding Pipe – stabilized Chilong. He will live to fight another day, thank fate...
With the last remaining floater fleeing for safety, we took each building by storm, kicking in doors to overwhelm with firepower. The buildings were empty. We found the last pack of sectoids picking at a poor human in green goop. Gunpowder welcomed them with some buckshot to the face. Conjurer locked the last one down with some suppressive fire before moving in for the stun – mission accomplished. RIP Road Block.
Panic surged across Asia and Europe, but if they want more help, they should give more funding. Finances are running tight as the panic runs high, and two of my best, Chilong and Conjurer, are down for over a month as they heal from plasma burns. I still think about Road Block as the days fly by, that tough Irish bastard.
Dr. Vahlen is working on the Alien Nav Computer in the hopes that my interceptor fleet can be improved, while Dr. Shen is working on phoenix cannons and satellites. In the GeoScape, an uplink is being built.
After a few days of peace, a medium-sized contact was spotted over America. Using our new AIM device, we managed to score some hits, but 3 severely damaged interceptors later and we lost the bogey. In vain, we tried to bring another Voodoo up from South America in time, but it just managed to escape. DAMN! And only a day before our phoenix cannons were completed – the citizens are panicking.
Finally, after some tense days, the Nav Computer has been fully analyzed. ECM Jammer and Satellite Nexus now available for production! I immediately set Vahlen on to the beam weapons research – I'm tired of my boys gettin' cut down out there with that plasma weaponry, we need something, and we need it now! With what little money I had, I set Shen to building two more Aim modules.
Another medium contact, this time over South America, where we had two interceptors equipped with phoenix cannons and two Aim modules – success guaranteed, right? Wrong... Both Aim modules and an interceptor/phoenix cannon lost, the other down for nine days worth of repairs. Wow... this, this is not good...
Finally, we found lady luck herself; a dagger-class scout was seen over North America, and it took us only one interceptor to drop her. Ito, the Ninja himself, made it out of sick bay just in time to join the rest of the crew on their assault. It's time to show these aliens what Earth is made of...
Commander's Log, Operation Driving Stranger:
OFC Russell as support, Ninja and Gunpowder as assault, Snipes and a new rook, OSC Harris from Australia, landed in Midwestern USA around 1700 hours local. Dressed in green forest camo, they pushed their way forward through the swampy terrain; maybe they were in Louisiana...
Moving into cover on top of a ridge, Gunpowder ran forward to scout – turns out just a meter away, two sectoids were trying to get the jump on us. Gunpowder flushed 'em out and then killed one, while Russell got the other kill. We heard some floaters off in the distance, so went to investigate. They were spotted on patrol, flanked and killed – no muss, no fuss. Russell failed with her stun attempt, so sadly, we had to finish him. The Outsider went relatively quietly. With two assaults and Russell as support, our high movement speed allowed us to flank in one turn. Ninja put some buckshot into it at point blank and Russell successfully dropped it with the arc thrower, saving us a plasma carbine!
Harris picked up a shotty and OFC, altho I was hoping he would go for an LMG – missin' the suppression that it brings, for sure. I failed to mention Snipes picked up Junior Specialist and Opportunist, making his overwatch extra deadly, in a previous mission.
Doc Vahlen started in on Precision Lasers, altho I'm not sure it'll help, as we're cashless and two weeks from payday. The lack of engineers is starting to take its toll, as we just don't have the manpower down there to handle the higher tech equipment. Sadly, it turns out autopsies are completely worthless, so going for an early South America and arc thrower turned out to be a huge waste of resources.
Ninja's hometown, Tokyo, Japan, was under assault in a new type of terror attack. He was the first on the Skyranger as we headed in to our most lethal mission yet. Both Snipes and Deng are along for this one; we're gonna need their squadsight to pick off anything that moves. Deng's battle scanner should help us stay apprised of the enemy movements. Ninja and Gunpowder can move in for easy kills as they appear.
Commander's Log, Operation Severed Skull:
With the boys in black and the shades left at home, we landed in Tokyo during the evening and pushed forward onto a destroyed bridge, the civilians everywhere – terrified and afraid to move, we did what we could.
Our snipers set up in a perch for the whole game. The rest of the squad fanned out and moved forward, taking out a ton of floaters while the squadsight snipers took shots from across the map. Zombies started rushing us, but they were easy pickings for shotties and sniper rifles. Gunpowder moved forward to meet the new threat, Chryssalids, then promptly ran the f*#@ outta there to perch up in full cover. We had to watch as some civilians had their throats ripped out in front of us then turned to zombies, but our only options was to let the Chryssalids run through a gauntlet of fire, keeping our boys alive to fight another day.
Promotions all around except to Snipes. Gunpowder made JSPC and picked up Lightning Reflexes – finally! Deng, now known as Zero, picked up Disabling Shot. MOP Ninja picked up Close and Personal. Lastly, Russell picked up Field Medic.
We autopsied the Chryssalid and finally learned something from an autopsy! We had to let a large UFO go, as there was no reason to risk my interceptors against it – we stood no chance. Abductions then took place because of it. It was a tough choice, but we chose Sao Paulo, Brazil for a MOP Heavy.
Commander's Log, Operation Secret Gaze:
Utter failure... within three moves, we had something like twelve aliens surrounding us, and zero heavies – oooh what I wouldn't give to have Road Block back. A floater took out Snipes with a crit, even though he was behind full cover – a very lucky shot, indeed. That started the chain of events. Next was Ninja, flanked and dropped, no chance. Zero, flanked again – crit wounded and revived by Russell. That left Russell and Gunpowder, who spent the next several minutes outmaneuvering and flanking the entire enemy squad. Gunpowder probably netted about eight kills by himself, thank fate for Lightning Reflexes! Moving in for the last kill on a sectoid and a thin man, hiding behind the bar in full cover, surrounded by full cover, he still managed to be seen and shot at. The bar melted under the plasma fire from the sectoid marksman and left him exposed to the thin man – the shot connected and put him down, dead in three rounds... Russell knew it was time to make a play or lose Gunpowder for good. She charged the thin man and dropped him, point blank – don't care 'bout no poison! The sectoid knew she was desperate, so he placed himself between Gunpowder and her and readied himself to drop some plasma into her plans if she came around the corner. With one round left to save Gunpowder, around the corner she came, full tilt into the plasma which melted her face... RIP Russell, Gunpowder, Snipes, Zero, Ninja, and the heavy from Brazil we never got to meet. Essentially, six of my best operatives down for good. A sad day, to say the least. To top it all off, it appears that losing your entire squad means the loss of all their gear. Fair, for sure, but probably the end of this campaign. With two senior operatives in sick bay and no one left to take up the mantle, it's up to OFC Harris from Australia to lead the way with four other rooks – luck help them now...
Also, why were they moved to foundry?
The foundry projects Improved S.C.O.P.E (Sectoid), Improved Arcthrower (Floater), SHIV Repair (Cyberdisc) are unlocked earlier but require considerable amount of corpses (that could be sold).
Action Report:
Louis Fournier from Canada, Vasily Chepurnov from Russia, Yvonne Perez from Brazil and Aidan Walsh from Ireland landed in Chihuahua, Mexico for Operation Hidden Druid after departing from their North American HQ - which gives me 20% decrease in air equipment and upkeep, down from, I believe, 50% in the OG. Base "operative" stats appear to be 5 health, 25 will, 57 aim and 5 defense. A sharp decline from the OG - this should be interesting... I wonder how the 5 defense will play into my strategies. The low aim will certainly make flanking more of a requirement. Chepurnov took a 4 dmg hit, dropping him to 1 health and 15 will, causing him to blubber like a baby. Hopefully, leveling increases their will as they become more battle-hardened.
All operatives have the suppression ability, I think this comes from their equipped weapon. VERY cool! Setting up suppressive fire should add a huge element of strategy to the tactical level. I'm excited already! Assault Rifles have higher base damage and crit chance at 5 and 20%, respectively.
Operative movement appears to be 6 squares - feels shorter than normal - I wonder if the alien movement is decreased/increased.
Shots are definitely harder to make with the low aims; 37% chance with sectoids at medium range and behind half-cover and 12% at range with full-cover. I found a bug or an unknown feature, but the half-cover sectoid has a full shield showing - I assumed the shields updated based on which character was selected, but it may be showing based on the highest level of cover it has against all members of my squad that are able to shoot it. On second inspection, only two members of my squad can shoot it and both show it as low cover, despite a full shield showing. Bug?
Interesting that, on the hardest setting, sectoids only have 3 health, but they do have a 5% defense to match my rooks.
After Action Report:
Wow, awesome! 6 sectoids dead, but RIP Perez - lost her while dashing to a flanked position, because I lost track of a sectoid who had the other side of the building on overwatch. Sectoids are definitely deadly with their "wrist plasma pistols" still.
Some great tactics with the new suppression. Fournier and Perez laid down suppressing fire on an exposed alien for several rounds. Both operatives were in full cover and had little fear of being hit; one took a turn to reload while one suppressed - this allowed my other two operatives to circle the corner for a flank and a 60% chance shot over the 30% or so normal ones. The sectoid had no chance to return fire or move due to the never-ending stream of gunfire. Despite the 60% chance, it still took the flanking soldiers several rounds to actually hit. Maybe a bigger bonus to hit a completely exposed alien would feel more lifelike, or maybe a higher default aim? It felt silly standing 4 meters from an enemy completely exposed and missing him 2 or 3 rounds in a row. That said, locking him down with the suppressing fire was totally awesome!
I used two grenades during the mission, so only came home with 4 sectoids in body bags - the other two were left in pieces. 12 weapon fragments tells me I get 3 per kill.
Despite losing Perez, my other three operatives spent some time honing their skills in specific areas. Fournier got two kills, but apparently enjoys aiding his fellow operatives during combat. Picking the support role got him a smoke grenade, 1 hp, 8 will and 7 aim. Chepurnov, with 1 kill and feeling a bit shaky after his near-death experience decided he wouldn't mind sittin' in the rear and picked up a sniper rifle, squadsight, 6 will and a whopping 9 aim modified with a +5. The Irish boy, Walsh, loves a good fight and with two kills he picked up a light machine gun, rocket launcher, 1 hp, 9 will and 7 aim - altho it appears to be modified at -10. Yikes, guess that LMG isn't so accurate.
Looks like I started with 8 scientists and 5 engineers. A medikit and 5 engineers are apparently spending 3 days assembling it. :p
Using grenades really hurt my research, since I'm now 4 weapon fragments shy of starting either weapons or armor tech. It seems I will be going for an early arc thrower and autopsies. Here's a question, does this mod allow me to to dismantle captured weapons for weapon fragments? I always thought it seemed silly that capturing live aliens actually hurt my research progression. What a cool option that would be!
I started with 4 interceptors, niiiice. Right now I'm leaving them all in America to protect my only satellite.
Commander's Log, Operation Silent Heat:
After spending several days manufacturing a medikit, it completed just in time. 3 UFOs made it through the world's defenses and began abducting humans around the world. I chose Kolkata, India and a dangerous mission in the hopes of earning the country's top 8 scientists and putting the region at ease.
Our 3 experienced troopers and a rookie named Kaito Ito, from Japan, jumped into the Skyranger and departed for Kolkata: stay tuned for more of their exploits! **bah, have class in real life, lol -- be back in a few hours for more playtesting!**
EDIT #1: Okay, finally got back from class. A few of my observations!
Heavy suppression is just effin' amazing. Walsh spent the entire battle suppressing everything, no reloads required - amazing! However, he did fire once, when I wanted to destroy a wall a sectoid was hiding behind, and that LMG cut it down to size, leaving the sectoid standing out in the open -- a beautiful gun, that LMG. His movement noticeably dropped to 5 tiles, but he was an immobile bastion of defense, so I didn't notice it *too* badly. UGH, never before has ranking up been so gut-wrenching. Covering Fire, Tac Sense or 2 grenades, REALLY? I want them all! During the mission, Walsh used a grenade to blow a wall, then cut the wall down behind that with his LMG -- 2 grenades would be so awesome. I also had him acting as the tank in front of 6 sectoids for 3+ rounds -- Tac Sense would make him unhittable. Covering Fire would only be worth it if this mod made it synergize with suppression; otherwise, I won't be firing enough with Walsh -- nor would he hit anything with his awesomely low aim. I can't bank on the mod making that change, tho. UGH, haychu Yzaxtol for making these choices so tough!In the end, Walsh picked up Tac Sense -- I hope to make him an unkillable tank in the middle of the battle.
Unfortunately, Fournier bit it when a sectoid came charging him and managed to get, through heavy cover, a 9 dmg crit on him.
Ito, our newest Operative First Class, was used as basically an assault, and my god did he assault. 5 kills his first mission out the gate. Walsh suppressed, Ito scooted into a flank and finished them off. Of course, on promotion, he picked up a shotty and Run'n'Gun! He gained a sweet, sweet 2 hp, 7 will and 6 aim, altho his shotty apparently reduces that by 5. I wonder if switching to the pistol will make that -5 go away?
Chepurnov netted a sexy hat-trick -- most of his shots snipin' through a nasty 25% chance. He's got a real talent with that rifle of his, altho his last kill was with a nice 71% flank shot with his pistol, my first gunslinger-in-training, apparently. UGH again, such tough choices for the new Chief Operative... Battle Scanner (BS) could be absolutely essential in MM, where the ETs seem to be packed in like sardines. Sprinter could help him remain mobile, but I plan on making him a stationary killing machine, not a snapshotter. In this mod of ultra-low aims, Executioner could be another STRONG talent. Sticking with my stationary theme, I think the range on BS might hinder it somewhat, as I plan to keep Chepurnov far back as possible. With that said, Chepurnov picked up Executioner.
10 sectoid corpses and 30 weapon fragments retrieved. 8 of India's best scientists just sped my Xeno-Biology research up to only 1 day left to finish, and (somehow) opened up both labs and workshops for me. Also, I just noticed the foundry is available to build without any research -- that opens up the potential to rush upgrades, especially to my medikit. I wonder what Experimental Warfare opens up now...
All in all, a successful mission. RIP Fournier.
EDIT #2: Just wanted to say, I'm loving the quick-toggle overwatch. I have it set to a thumb-button on my mouse and it's super easy now to set the whole squad to overwatch.
Commander's Log, Operation Spectral Hymn:
Before heading to Mission Control, I decided to stop by Engineering and discuss satellites. Turns out they can be built in 5 days and for only 45 bucks, wow! Not sure I like this change, as it removes the meta of whether to rush satellites/engineers/uplinks or focus on a research/scientist or even an April Base rush. We'll just see how it pans out; regardless, for the next two weeks or so, I'm safe to ignore satellites.
Xeno-Biology finished quickly and we immediately began arc thrower research. With no need to invest so much into uplinks, I think I might focus on rushing plasma weaponry. After finishing arc thrower research, I started the autopsy of one of the little grey men, since I want to help bolster my interceptor fleet with the aiming module.
Speaking of my interceptor fleet, I finally found my first bogey flying over the southwest of the United States. The damn thing nearly took out two of my interceptors, dropping to my third. For being a small UFO, this thing packed a hell of a punch. Glad I started that autopsy sooner, rather than later!
I loaded up Sarah Peretz, a new rook from Israel, with the shiny new arc thrower and the blood-stained medikit -- RIP Fournier -- and we were off to the crash site.
Right off the bat, Peretz takes one to the face, sittin in the *back* of my lineup – a crit shot that puts her down and bleeding out; of course, guess who has the med kit AND the arc thrower. Anyone remember the name of my second KIA? Perez and Peretz must be synonyms for "dies spectacularly"... An excellent mission so far... Is it possible for this mod to develop a way for someone else to use the med kit, sitting on the dying medic? It seems ridiculous that my three operatives have to stand around and watch while she bleeds out. Oh well, RIP Peretz...
Ito was bloody awesome; Walsh and Peretz, while she was alive, kept the 4 sectoids pinned down in a little valley between two embankments. Ito flanked to the high ground, completely out of their sight, then came up for a run'n'gun... which missed... with like a 75% chance. He made up for it next round by drawing their fire and surviving behind full cover, then killing two with a 'nade. He's blazing fast at 8 tiles a move, compared to Walsh's 5. It might end up being a bit overpowered, but we'll see.
Chepurnov, AKA Snipes, blasted the farthest sectoid to kingdom come, taking out his mind merged minion in the process.
With 4 down, it was just a simple push to the Outsider, right? Wrong! This guy spawned with like 10 health and my eyes bugged out – a bit different from the 3 I was used to. He also carried something called a "deadly plasma carbine" and used it with pin-point accuracy. With his first shot, he put a burning blob of plasma into Ito's chest from behind light cover and at almost max range. I almost cried until I realized he was down and bleeding. Three rounds to finish this thing or my all-star running back ends the way of Peretz. With it all on the line, Snipes made a 47% crit shot to finish the Outsider on the very next turn. He deserves that call sign, for sure. Lesson learned -- don't f*** around with these Outsiders.
Despite spending 32 days in sick bay, Ito survived and made Chief Operative. Ito just feels like a straight killer to me, so it was a no-brainer to take Aggression. This Japanese operative earned himself a call sign for all the pain he's going through right now, and I quite like the idea of calling him Ninja – let's hope he pulls through.
We got our first taste of Elerium, Alien Alloys and Flight Computers – I imagine those will go towards shiny new toys soon!
It wasn't long before another UFO showed up over mid-USA. After damn near losing Voodoo 3 to the Dagger-class Scout, Voodoo 4 was able to bag the kill. These things are TOUGH! Oscar McGregor from Scotland and Rosalia Ruiz from Spain suited up to join Walsh and Snipes on the mission classified as Operation Lazy Giant. With my lesson learned, I put the blood-covered arc thrower on Ruiz and gave the doubly blood-stained med kit on McGregor so that if I lost one, I still had the other.
Downloading Commander's Logs
of the X-Com Project
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---Standby---