There have a been a lot of changes since I last played LWR, and so I am going to stick with Brutal difficulty for now. Brutal should be plenty challenging since I haven’t played in awhile.
This post is going to cover the early game (Mar - May).
Starting Bonus: Per Ardua Ad Astra
Back in version 1.36, I really liked Sukhoi Company, but that has been completely removed, and so now I need to find a new home. For my first few attempts I am using Per Ardua Ad Astra, which gives me an edge on the battle field. I deliberately chose a starting bonus that has no effect at the campaign level, because I want to evaluate the baseline balance of the economy, the air game, and research. Here is what I think - at Brutal difficulty, I am getting enough money and my hangar is strong enough in the early months, without any assistance from campaign bonuses. However, research feels much slower. I think the research focused starting bonuses might be pretty strong, given how much longer it takes to reach the mid tier weapon and armor technologies.
On the other hand, combat bonuses are great, and I really like Per Ardua Ad Astra. The extra HP has saved a few soldiers, and the bonus aim/will makes all your soldiers feel elite.
Tech Path
I have been playing around with my tech path a bit, and the biggest change is to de-prioritize armor, and focus more on research. And that means aiming for genetics and psionics technology so that I can build those labs for the adjacency bonuses.
Of course I still need to keep the engineers busy, and that means interspersing weapons/armor tech into the queue, providing a steady stream of gear to craft. In particular, Beam Lasers are very strong early on and will insure there is stuff to build through April.
Completing autopsies will enable lucrative alien captures, and so I fit those in as well.
March: Xenobiology Alien Weaponry Sectoid Autopsy Alien Materials Beam Lasers Floater Autopsy Xenoneurology April: Interrogate Sectoid Xenogenetics Xenopsionics Thinman Autopsy Improved Body Armor May: Alien Operations Chryssalid Autopsy Muton Autopsy Advanced Body Armor Alien Circuitry Drone Autopsy Alien Biocybernetics
Engineering
At the start of the campaign I have decided to push hard to excavate the lower levels so that I can get my labs up and running sooner, and boost research speed. As I’ve mentioned, research lags finance and combat capabilities in the early game.
Money is still tight, and you can cut costs by timing the completion of projects to the first of the next month.
I don’t need to recruit many rookies. I buy just one at the start of the campaign, and that works for me. The campaign throws a lot of free soldiers at you via the council missions.
March 1: Motion Tracker, 1 rookie recruit, Access Lift March 5: Stun Rifle, Alien Containment March 8: Access Lift lvl3 March 13: Scope x 3 March 20: Phoenix Cannon x 3 March 25: Access Lift lvl4 (timed completion Apr 1) March 26: Officer Training School March 27: Foundry, Repair Bay, Fission Generator (all timed for completion on April 1) March 28: Laser Rifle x 3 March 31: Fission Gen #2
Base Buildout on March 31:
In April I have found that I have enough funds to do the Alien Metallurgy project. Alloys seem to be the first resource that I run out of, and so its a good idea to complete this project early on.
I was barely able to launch a satellite at the end of April. I needed to quick build the Uplink after getting to 20 engineers mid month. After considering it, this only added about $100, so its not a big deal, economically, and I won’t worry about it in the future.
Because both the Genetics/Psionics Labs are cheap, it makes sense to build them quickly. It only costs about $50 more and you will get the research boost sooner. It’s not that big a boost, so this is optional.
April 1: Laboratory, Interceptor # 5 April 5: Laser Autocannon April 12: Workshop (should build on the 10th - timing for May 1, but didn't have the engineers) April 13: Alien Metallurgy, SHIV Advancements I April 14: Marksman Scope April 15: Genetics Lab (quickly) April 20: XTP I April 22: Psionics Lab (quickly), Satellite Uplink (quickly) April 27: Laser Scattershot
Base Buildout on April 30:
In May I plan everything around running the Alien Base Assault at the end of the month, and so rush the Skeleton Key.
I have found that Tactical Rigging is very important on harder missions, and it is worth quick building this project despite the cost.
As it turned out, the aliens shot down my satellite before it was operational (gah!) and I had to quick build another at the end of the month.
I had the money to do Alien Nucleonics, and the meld to start the 2nd skeleton key for the next ABA.
May 1: UFO Scanners, Interceptor #6 May 4: Phalanx Armor x 5, Reinforced Plating x 2 May 5: Skeleton Key (quickly), Alien Nucleonics May 9: Alloy Plating x 2 May 11: Thermo Generator (timed to complete June 1) May 12: Tactical Rigging (quickly), Proximity Sensor May 14: Phoenix Cannon x 3 May 18: Skeleton Key #2 May 28: Satellite (quickly)
Base Buildout on May 31:
Tactical Notes:
March. Everything went pretty smooth.
Van Doorn in March has 2 sets of 2-thin man drop-ins.
April. Didn’t see any soldier losses.
Council Mission was Hutch on Apr 20. Drop-ins were 7 total - 2,4,1.
May. Had a few missions with significant wounds. Mostly due to poor play and rushing for meld.
First Terror mission (May 1). These can be tough, but it went well.
Portent on May 18. A total of 8 thin man drop-ins. Seemingly random locations.
Friends in Low Places on May 25. So many drop-ins. Does moving soldiers forward triggers drop-ins?
This post is continued in LW Rebalance - Blogging Brutal v1.42 part II