Long War - More Summer Strategy
Some more notes on the strategy layer.
My Summer Strategy post goes into a lot of detail on the various technology paths offered in the early-mid game, and their relative costs and merit - the TLDR is that rushing MECs is what I do in the summer. This time through I took a quick detour for Xenoneurology to get some early captures (because greed), and that worked pretty well.
In this post I also go into more detail on some smaller, but still significant issues: when to do autopsies, when to do the ABA, and which projects to skip.
Captures on the Cheap
Early captures are lucrative. Most live xenos only sell for §10, but the real money is in gun-running.
By tazing a floater you can make §40; Mutons are worth §50. Its just so much more than what we get for corpses.
The only drawback is that it requires some investment in both research and resources. We need Xenoneurology to build an alien containment facility and an arc thrower. And if we want to do it right, we should also get the Chem grenade, which requires researching Experimental Warfare and Thin man Autopsy, as well as the New Combat Systems project. 1
But why bother doing it right? Let’s just do it.
So skipping the Chem grenade (for now) we defer these approximate costs: §220, 34 alloys, and 14 (30-scientist-days)2 of research. We still have to spend about §300, 20 alloy, and 10 (30-scientist-days) - which is still a lot, but reasonable. Its also worth noting that we save a lot of time because the Chem grenade takes forever to arrive.3
Capturing the aliens without Chem grenades is trickier than I had expected. Disabling shot helps, but it doesn’t prevent them from running away. Also, Disabling shot killed a couple targets because I max rolled the damage. Flashbangs and Suppression are great, and work great together.
Autopsies Early
I’ve realized that I am delaying autopsies too long. A little while ago I stumbled upon the Council Request page in the ufopaedia, which maybe I’ve seen before but forgot about. It made me realize that, no, my campaign hasn’t been unlucky with requests - I can’t get those more lucrative requests for corpses because I haven’t yet done the autopsies that unlock them.
Its a little confusing because requests for sectoid cadavers are not tied to the sectoid autopsy - but all the other cadaver requests are. I think I knew this at some point, and then forgot.
And so in recent campaigns I haven’t gotten those free Corporals until after they are no longer needed.
Next campaign (probably in 4 years) I plan to do the floater and thin man autopsies much earlier. They are fast, and both have a chance to grant soldier rewards. The floater autopsy also unlocks the Aim module, while the thin man autopsy unlocks chem grenades and improved medikit.
Timing the Alien Base Assault
A really good time to hit an Alien Base is after acquiring advanced gauss weapons. Its possible to do it earlier, but laser weapons feel weak by the time I’ve unlocked the ABA. And while I have MECs in August, they are low ranked.
Typically I get my advanced gauss weapons in late September or early October, and by this time I have usually pounded the aliens down to a lower resource level which means an ABA mission will fit into the schedule more easily.4
And so that was the plan for this campaign, but I forgot to do the Super Skyranger project, and then with 10 soldiers I realized I would want 3 MECs, and so needed another MEC suit. So the missions got pushed back to October. It turns out that there are actually a lot of steps to prep for the ABA, and its easy to forget one. For future reference here is that todo list:
Capture an alien
Interrogate an alien
Capture an Outsider
Build Skeleton Key
Super Skyranger
Satellite + Uplink capacity to launch over enemy nation
Gear for 3 MECs (if possible Restorative Mist * 3)
Advanced Gauss Weapons
Improved Medikit
Which Projects to Skip
There are 3 big projects that I skip.
I’ve already discussed how skipping SHIVs has worked out pretty well, so I won’t go over that here.
I also skip gene mods. This has saved me a ton of meld, and gives me an extra room in my base for whatever. I know that gene mods are powerful, but they are also costly. I typically build 9-10 MECs with gear to spare. I suppose I could divert some of that meld for gene modding, but it would slow down the MEC program, and I don’t think it is worth it. Since I started skipping gene mods, I have never looked back.
Lastly, I always skip pulse tier weapons. While these can be really advantageous for crit builds, and are far cheaper than plasma weapons, I really don’t see them as much of an upgrade over the Gauss tier. Skipping pulse also means you won’t get the EMP cannon or Supercapacitors which is a bit of a sacrifice. After researching plasma tier weapons, I have sometimes researched pulse just for the air game upgrades, but I’ve never done pulse before plasma, and I don’t see that changing.
Regarding specific foundry projects, I have always skipped the pistol upgrades (mag pistols, rail pistols) because I rarely fire pistols passed the early-mid game. I don’t like any of the weapon tier upgrades other than plasma (enhanced ballistics, enhanced lasers) because they require an equipment slot, and those are taken. I often skip the MEC secondary weapon upgrades (Jellied Elerium, MEC Close Combat) because Restorative Mist is usually better anyway. Obviously I am skipping the SHIV upgrades, because no SHIVs.
Of the 3 resource increasing projects (Improved Salvage, Alien Metallurgy, Alien Nucleonics) I usually do the first 2, and skip the last. Improved Salvage is worth researching because it speeds up the acquisition of plasma technology. Alien Metallurgy is worth researching if you want your titan armor sooner rather than later. Alien Nucleonics isn’t needed. Typically I never run short of elerium.
Most of the other projects are great, and its just a matter of priority.
In my latest campaign I’ve skipped Phoenix Coilguns and that was probably a mistake. I am shooting down all the UFOs with my laser cannons, but much of the time there is no crash site. Lasers do damage in larger chunks and this increases the odds that a UFO will be destroyed completely. Phoenix Coilguns have a higher rate of fire with smaller chunks of damage, and this should mean more crash sites are obtained. In January of my latest campaign I had 5 UFOs leave no crash site and that hurts.
I also don’t think it is worth trying to save money with less back-up equipment. I tried to get by with 5 carapace armors for awhile and that was dumb. 6 is the right number.5
Back-up equipment makes more sense when you will need it in the future for 10 man missions or the base defense. For that reason, I build extra scopes, MEC-1 armor, core plating and laser lances as soon as I can afford them. That gear will be needed eventually, so why not have it sooner.
Identical Research Credits Apply
I had assumed that identical Research Credits gained through interrogation would not compound, but that is wrong. If you have 2 identical research bonuses they will both apply.
For example, interrogating a Heavy Floater and Muton Elite will both grant a bonus to plasma research. Completing both interrogations will reduce plasma research time twice as much (40%), or perhaps (36%).6
We would also need a foundry, but I am not counting that because most players would build it by now for other reasons.
The research times listed in the ufopaedia are for 30 scientists. So 30-scientist days, is a convenient unit of time to use.
This is because there are 4 steps to getting the Chem grenade (Experimental Warfare, Thin Man Autopsy, New Combat Systems, build Chem grenade) and they all must be done in sequential order.
In my most recent campaign the aliens had Resource Level 3 in June and July, 2 in August, then it was 1 in September. In the previous campaign I also got it down to 1 in September.
With 6 Carapace and 3 phalanx + alloy plating, I have armor for 9 soldiers.
I am not sure if the credits are additive; 0.2 + 0.2 = 0.4 so 40% reduction in research time. Or alternatively multiplicative; 0.8 * 0.8 = 0.64, so 36% reduction in research time. Doesn’t really matter that much.
Do you prefer LW or LWOTC?