Long War - Late Game Tactics
Your squad is incredibly strong, but every mistake is a potential disaster. Good thing you have a shadow device.
This is a continuation of my posts on tactics - the previous post was Long War - Summer Tactics.
The late game has no clear start date. My best estimate would put it somewhere around December, but its hard to say for sure. The aliens increase in power incrementally throughout the campaign, whereas XCOM jumps in power whenever important technology is unlocked. Instead of defining the late game as a period of time, I would rather define it as a dangerous set of enemies and missions that are more likely to be encountered later in the campaign, but could arrive as early as October.
I am going to discuss all the late game enemies specifically and most of the late game missions (I am leaving the Base Defense for another post), but first I want to discuss a big change in my tactics: Squaring up to the enemy.
Squaring up to the Enemy
The term “Square up” comes from boxing, and it means to take a head on approach, with your shoulders square to your adversary, rather than at an angle. The squared up stance is primarily used by sluggers. In XCOM, what I mean by squaring up is to plan for simple straightforward engagements, without flanking maneuvers, without separating your squad, and without line of sight obstructions to conceal your squad or the enemy. Squaring up means to cluster you squad tight, with only a modest concern for immediate cover and rely on your powerful offense to overwhelm your opponent; much like a slugger in boxing.
With master sergeants, gauss weaponry, and a MEC or two, your squads should be able to overpower the aliens. At least most of the time. A straight forward engagement will usually result in your squad prevailing with no injuries. Fancy tactics using terrain features or splitting the squad, are more risky in the late game, and what is more, they are unnecessary. The most important concerns are to engage one enemy pod at a time, and to bring all your power to bear, on turn one. Those goals are most easily accomplished by moving your squad in a tight ball; a wrecking ball.
This tactic works even when your squad is not able to quickly dispatch the enemy; or worse, when your squad is outnumbered or outgunned. By clustering together it is easy to use the shadow device or dense smoke when things go wrong; and eventually, they will. Your best defense will no longer come from high cover, but rather from close proximity to the rest of the squad enabling the use of abilities that increases defense or completely hide all of your soldiers. A tightly packed squad will also make it easier to use psi inspiration when encountering ethereals or berserkers, or to heal squadmates with restorative mist.
The biggest drawback to this approach, is that it is boring, and that is a problem. Long War is a game after all. Sometimes I find myself moving recklessly in the late game, and realize that much of this dangerous impulse is just an attempt to break the monotony. If there is one problem with Long War, it is the effectiveness of boring and repetitive tactics in the late game. If you can’t stomach this style of fighting, I understand.
Another drawback of squaring up is that it is entirely useless during the most dangerous mission of the campaign; the Base Defense. On other tough missions it may also prove ineffective after the shadow device has been spent, because without it, your squad will no longer be able to stand their ground against ethereals and other heavy hitters. Sometimes you need to be more tactically flexible. It is a good idea to practice those other tactics, so you won’t be caught flat-footed in a dangerous fight. With that being said, squaring up is a simple and effective tactic that will make the late game much easier.
Late Game Enemies
Sectoid Commanders
These guys are usually easy to handle, but can be a serious threat, depending on the circumstances. Their shots hit much harder than you would expect but their primary weapon is mind control. If they take control of a MEC, and other soldiers panic, your squad can be in deep deep trouble. I’ve had soldiers mind controlled about a dozen times, and have seen it end poorly on more than one occasion. Fortunately, they don’t use mind control very often.
The best strategy for dealing with sectoid commanders is to kill them before they have a chance to use mind control.1 If you can’t manage that, there are not many other good options. Casting Psi Inspiration on your squad will improve the chance of resisting mind control, but it will still be more likely to land than to miss. A better strategy is to leave only soldiers with neural damping within range of the sectoid commander, but that can be dangerous with other enemies around. The worst thing to do is position a MEC far ahead of the squad. Sectoid Commanders love to move further back, and then mind control your point man. With the sectoid commander out of reach, you must use disabling shot on your own soldier, which is ugly. If a sectoid commander is left alive, it is a good idea to keep track of exactly how many bullets your soldiers have, especially the MECs. On two occasions I have been able to ignore a mind controlled MEC for one turn, knowing that they had an empty clip.
Heavy Floaters
These guys can be very dangerous. They have high aim when flying, and hit hard. Playing defense doesn’t always work; if you take cover and drop smoke, they can throw grenades at your clustered soldiers. The only way to stop heavy floaters is to kill/suppress/flash/disable them all. Heavy floaters have high HP, innate defense of 10, the ability to fly, and often appear in packs of 6 or more. Controlling an entire pod of heavy floaters on turn 1 is quite a challenge.
Heavy floaters are the main reason that rocketeers remain in my squad for the entire campaign. An engineer with Bombard can reliably destroy cover from long range, and has more ordinance than a rocketeer, but cannot target enemies in the sky. A rocketeer with Tandem Warheads paired with a Deadeye/ITZ sniper, will be a very effective duo when dealing with late game flying enemies. Shoguns and Valkyries are also very effective against flyers. Also Bullet Wizards because the AI tends to cluster flyers together for some reason.
When they stay on the ground, heavy floaters are much easier to manage. Flashbangs are still very effective in the late game; chem grenades somewhat less so against this enemy. It is worth noting that heavy floaters have somewhat low will (mutons and ordinary floaters as well), and can be controlled by mindfray and psi panic if you have developed your psi soldiers sufficiently. Just killing many of them will often panic those that remain. Mimic beacons can work against heavy floaters, but you won’t know if the enemy has been controlled until their turn. For this reason it is a good idea to boost the will of the soldier throwing the beacon which makes them much more effective. I can see the mimic beacon being a solid replacement for the shadow device, if you intend to forego the shadow device in order to make the late game more challenging, and better balanced.
Aircobra and Warmaster
All heavy floater leaders are incredibly dangerous. The lower ranked Destroyers will have Heat Ammo and possibly Close Encounters, which makes them MEC killers. But they are no harder to kill than normal heavy floaters, and so as long as you see them coming, they can be handled. This is not always true for the next tier of Heavy Floater leaders; the aircobra and warmaster. These MEC killers are themselves very difficult to kill because they both get Tactical Sense, and the Warmaster gets Damn Good Ground as well.
A flying aircobra will have 60 defense; warmaster 70.
It is important to realize the threat they present to your MECs, and to prioritize them above most other enemies. Sometimes when a pod of heavy floaters activates some of them will fly out of sight. If you can’t find the leader, you should assume that it is an aircobra or warmaster, and not move your MECs too far forward. If a warmaster gets close enough to use Close Encounters, it will shoot twice with Heat Ammo from elevation, and that will probably kill any MEC that does not have Absorption Fields. Even MECs with Absorption Fields will be in critical condition.
Sectopods
Sectopods are dangerous but usually not difficult. They are supposed to be an elite enemy, but they are accompanied by drones, making their pods very manageable. Even when there are two sectopods, it is not a scary situation.
Disabling shot goes a long way here. When disabled, sectopods can use their cluster bomb attack, but they rarely do. Like mechtoids, sectopods can shoot twice, so suppression and smoke are not as effective. Chem grenades are very helpful at neutralizing their high DR, but because sectopods always go on overwatch during activation it can be difficult to hit them with acid. Engineers with Bombard can reach the edge of visible range with their grenades and so they come in handy. Shred is also very helpful and much easier to apply. Just as with cyberdiscs, a shredder rocket with Heat Warheads can weaken the leader and wipe out the entourage.
I have noticed that sectopods will often avoid activation, instead moving around the edge of my squad, and sometimes teleporting to another location on the map. This behavior is not particular to sectopods, but it does seem more common for them.
Muton Elites
These guys are tough. They have a lot of HP and innate 20 defense making them very hard to kill. Like heavy floaters, they will often appear in pods of 6-8, which are nearly impossible to control completely. Indestructible cover will make any encounter with these enemies even more difficult. Some muton elite leaders get TacSense, which makes them one of the hardest enemies to hit when they are behind full cover, at 85 defense. All muton elites have grenades and the Bombard ability, and so they will often choose to heave explosives at your position. They are even more dangerous when shooting as they carry Alien Heavy Weaponry, with base damage of 13. Leaders will have Light ‘Em Up as well, and will often choose to stand in the open if it allows them to take two good shots.
So how do you handle these guys? Against an entrenched pod of muton elites I will usually trigger the shadow device at the end of turn one. Often when my squad pulls this magic trick, muton elites will leave cover and stand out in the open, but sometimes they will go on overwatch. When only a couple muton elites are left, flashbangs work very well. Around December, it is worth carrying flashbangs again; they are invaluable at controlling both heavy floaters and muton elites, especially with the increased range granted by the Bombard ability. Capturing muton elites is an important chore, and flashbangs help with that as well.
Leviathans, Reavers and Praetorians
Leviathan mechtoids, Reaver sectopods and Praetorian muton elites (as well as some Commandos) possess the Reactive Targeting Sensors ability which means they will get a free shot back at the first enemy who attacks them. This is a very rare ability that can be neutralized completely in only two ways: Disabling Shot, and Suppression. A scout shooting from good cover will have an excellent chance of evading the counter attack. Shooting from squadsight will not trigger the RTS counter attack, but I believe RTS is still active afterwards.
Mongo the Berserker
Mongo has Lightning Reflexes, Tactical Sense and a ton of HP. It is very likely that I will need to use the shadow device when encountering Mongo, and so I like to cast Psi Inspiration on my whole squad the moment he appears to avert panic, which prevents the shadow device from working on the panicked soldier. Psi Inspiration has the same radius as the shadow device, so this is an easy precaution to take. Like other berserker leaders, Mongo has the Shock-Absorbent Armor perk, and so chem grenades are doubly effective, removing his DR, as well as adding damage when he repositions.
Ethereals
A big difficulty with ethereals, is that there is no enemy quite like them. They are completely unique, and only show up in the late late game, so they will often catch novice commanders off guard. Once you overcome the learning curve, they are still quite deadly, but at least you know what you are up against.
Another big difficulty with ethereals is that they move backwards during activation, leaving you to contend with their body guards; usually muton elites, mechtoids, and heavy floaters. On the following turn, ethereals will rejoin the battle, and use one of their 3 attacks, psionic lance, mind control, or rift, all of which are crazy dangerous.
When ethereals are allowed to attack, they seem to favor Psionic Lance. This ability is aim based, so cover and smoke will offer some protection, but disabling shot will not prevent it. Ethereals have 100 aim so you should expect them to hit their shot. It is a good idea to cast Psi Inspiration before the encounter, adding +30 to the will of your soldiers. This reduces the damage of Psionic Lance and Rift by 3. Soldiers with low will should stay within 8 tiles of their squad leader. In the most favorable scenario, with the target’s will around 100, the Psi Lance of an ordinary ethereal will still do about 14 damage. Psi Lance damage is not reduced by DR and it is capped at 20. The initial blast of an ethereal’s Rift ability will do about the same damage as Psi Lance, but in an area. Do not leave soldiers in the rift area of effect, as it will explode, doing even more damage.
Because ethereals have such high will, Mind Control is almost impossible to prevent except by neural damping. Casting Psi Inspiration will at least prevent other soldiers from panicking when their squadmate is puppeted.
It is important to know if ethereals are on the map. For some mission types, the Hyperwave Relay can warn you of their presence. For other map types, sound cues may provide a warning, but should not be relied on. From March of year 2 and onward, if you don’t know what is on the map, it is a good idea to identify incoming pods with battlescanners to see what you are up against. A double ethereal pod will demand additional precautions; cast Psi Inspiration, and set up an overwatch trap.
If you want to kill the ethereal immediately, you should be prepared to move forward. Ethereals always move backwards on activation, and this makes it difficult to deal with them on turn one. Usually it requires a shredder rocket and dedicating a couple MECs and a Sniper to killing the ethereal, leaving your other soldiers to mop up or control the entourage. They will probably not be up the task. Because ethereals have 40 defense, there is no way to guarantee a kill. Also, if your MECs miss, their shots will be reflected back at them, leaving them wounded and with reduced will and thus more vulnerable to Psionic Lance. On the other hand, if the ethereal is severely wounded, there is a good chance it will use Psi Drain on one of its body guards, rather than attacking you.
A better strategy is to pull your own squad back about a full move, and engage the ethereal’s body guards in dense smoke. This tactic is much easier said than done, but it will prevent the ethereal from attacking you on its turn, and allow you to focus on the other incredibly dangerous enemies. If you are lucky, the ethereal will double move into range on its turn. Most ethereals have 12 mobility, and move 7 tiles. Some ethereal leaders have the Sprinter perk allowing them to move 10 tiles. By throwing a battlescanner, you can determine exactly how far away you need to move to be out of range of its attacks. The battlescanner will also prevent the ethereal from running away, then sneaking up on you later.
In order to capture an ethereal you will want to bring it to you, and that is most easily accomplished with the shadow device. Often it is possible to leave your squad in place, kill most of the entourage, then shadow up. The ethereal will hopefully move back into range, perhaps getting close enough to taser on the next turn. If you plan to use the shadow device, you should definitely use a battlescanner to keep track of the ethereal. It may also be a good idea to leave the ethereal with one ally who can be controlled with a flashbang or Disabling Shot. Should your initial stun attempt fail, the nearly dead ethereal will be very likely to Psi Drain his buddy, leaving your squad unscathed.
Ethereals are incredibly difficult to capture, and so it is a good idea to have weapons with a variety of damage ranges, which allows you to pick the attack that is most likely to reduce its health to 3. If the ethereal has been shredded, don’t forget to include the additional shred damage in your calculations when considering which attacks to use. If you manage to get an ethereal down to 1 HP exactly, a chem grenade will keep it from doing anything, but it will regenerate 8 HP at the end of its turn.
When you shoot down an Overseer UFO the command pod will have an ethereal and 2 muton elite body guards. They will be in the center of the UFO, behind a door, which allows your squad to get very close before activating. This is the best set up for capturing an ethereal you are likely to get, and still quite difficult.
Late Game Missions
Exalt Data Recovery Gone Wrong
Exalt missions are easy; unless the operative gets killed by a grenade, and then they become one of the hardest missions in the game.
To illustrate this point I am going to describe a recent Exalt Data Recovery that I ran in late December. I had a solid squad for the mission. 2 Assaults, 1 Shogun, and assorted other bio soldiers, all in titan armor with gauss weaponry. So a good squad, not awesome. After clicking the first terminal my operative was hit by a grenade, which did 7 damage, leaving him with exactly one HP. Phew. I spent another turn killing Exalt soldiers, business as usual, but after clicking the 2nd terminal my operative was hit by another grenade. And so now things are looking bad.
Perhaps if I had brought the shadow device, things would have gone differently. I often leave the shadow device at home for Exalt missions because the squad is always so spread out. Now I think the right way to play it is to bring the shadow device, but use it to hide the operative for a turn, rather than the whole squad. Maybe I will try that in the next campaign.
Anyway, there were still about a dozen Exalt soldiers alive, and an Outsider. It had been awhile since I had faced such a situation, and I did not realize then, what I realize now, which is that it was time to evac. Instead I decided to keep fighting.
Here is what happened: I managed to kill the Outsider and about half the Exalt soldiers, leaving 6 alive. Those six soldiers all targeted my best Assault and managed to bring him down with the last shot. And 4 more Exalt soldiers showed up as well. I kept fighting, killing about half of them again. On their next turn, they killed my Shogun (Friendly) with only 2 shots. Friendly was about 2 missions away from Absorption Fields, which might have saved him, but probably not. They had 3 more shots after he went down, and used them to severely wound 2 other soldiers. The thing about Exalt is that when they actually get a chance to shoot, they are quite dangerous. Exalt Heavies get 2 shots. The medics were doing 6-7 damage after DR. An Elite Sniper hit Friendly for 15 damage. Just enormous amounts of damage, and with very high aim as well.
So I finally realized it was over and started retreating. They killed an engineer and a gunner on my way to the evac; 4 soldiers made it out alive. The full butcher’s bill was 5 killed (3 SGTs, 1 GSGT, 1 MSGT), 2 heavily wounded, 2 titan armors lost. And it could have been much worse. The only disaster of the campaign thus far; and it came on an Exalt mission. A month later I did the Exalt HQ with no injuries.
Exalt HQ
The Exalt HQ has 33 enemies in January, which is the same as a late game Data Recovery. There are no terminals to click, so you must actually fight Exalt on this mission, just as you would need to do on a Data Recovery gone wrong. Yet the Exalt HQ is much easier because you will not activate the whole map rushing your squad to the transponder. Instead, you can move slowly, hoping to activate one pod at a time, just as you would do for an ordinary mission. Also you can bring 2 extra soldiers if you complete the Super Skyranger project.
On the Exalt HQ mission, I like to move my squad to the back of the helipad and camp there for a few turns. From this position my squad will be unable to see into the building, which means that enemy pods will activate in the entryway or outside the building, and they can be easily uncovered by rockets and grenades. I try not to tear down the interior walls, as that will likely lead to enemies activating further away from my squad. Usually a few bad guys run away, or get stuck at the bottom of the stairs. If they are a significant threat, I can throw battlescanners to find them, or drop smoke and just wait for them to return. As the mission progresses, I will move from the back of the helipad, to the front, and eventually into the building when it is safe to do so. This has always worked well for me.
In the past I have tried moving up to the high cover of the entry way doors, but this is much more dangerous. From the entryway, the squad will see too far into the building, and that will activate enemies that cannot be targeted except by moving in even further, which will activate more enemies and snowball out of control. On the Exalt HQ it is crucial to let the enemy come to you. If you bring dense smoke, and stay out of the building till most of them are dead, everything should go smoothly.
Alien Base Assault
Typically I choose to assault the first alien base in December or January, and after I have finished the Super Skyranger project and have titan armor on all my soldiers. While it is possible to run this mission much earlier, it is a significant risk because there will be about 45 enemies, and they will have the Itchy Trigger Tentacle perk while fighting on their home turf.
EDIT: I now believe it is best to run the ABA once I get Advanced Gauss Weapons, usually around October.
Itchy Trigger Tentacle enables the enemy to shoot during activation. It is unique to this mission, and so uncharacteristic, that it feels like the aliens are cheating. Even when you are prepared to deal with Itchy Trigger Tentacle, it is very dangerous, and almost guarantees that your soldiers will take wounds. For that reason, it is a good idea to bring a medic with extra medikits, just as you would on a landed transport. Its also important to have an engineer with battlescanners and an arc thrower to repair MECs.
I don’t enjoy the alien base assault because Itchy Trigger Tentacle encourages slow play. Your soldiers should always be in cover, because an activating pod could get a free shot, and the squad must move forward carefully, and into cover positions when exposing fog of war, even when no enemies are active. This can be slow and tedious. It also requires more patience to safely activate pods, which usually means triggering them from beyond visible range. If the enemy can’t see any of your soldiers, they won’t be able to shoot during activation. This approach means using a battlescanner or concealment scout to identify nearby pods, then activate them from range, when it makes sense to do so. Against robotic pods it is usually best to activate with a rocket, and then follow that up by disabling the overwatching mechtoid, cyberdisc or sectopod from a distance. Against pods of mutons or heavy floaters, it may be better activate them by moving into cover with a scout, relying on Lightning Reflexes to neutralize the reaction shot.
EDIT: Lightning Reflexes doesn’t work against Itchy Trigger Tentacle, I believe.
For door breaches, it may be a good idea to drop dense smoke before you open the door, rather than at the end of your turn.
There are some angled floors on both of the alien base maps, and sometimes enemies can “see” through angled floors and target your soldiers. One time, a loose muton elite shot through the floor, KO’ing my best medic. As none of my other soldiers had medikits I had to sit and watch him bleed out.
That’s the high quality tactical advice my substack provides.
I still play LW from time to time. Good advice here, thanks for sharing.