XCOM: EU/EW - Beating April
Against Thin Men, the only good plan is to kill them, before they kill you.
This post is meant to help players win at the highest difficulty setting (Ironman/Impossible) though I am sure it will help you play at any level. April is the second hardest month of the campaign, because now we must deal with Thin Men. The beta testers did a perfect job of balancing out the Thin Man’s deadly aim, with equally high speed and damage. I am now and forever terrified by the chilling whispery echo that announces their presence. Nothing in any other game fills me with such cold hopeless dread. God, I love XCOM.
Typically you will have 6 missions in April: Council Mission, Large Scout, Landed Small Scout, Terror Mission, and 2 Abductions. All these missions are going to be challenging. If you can handle Thin Men, you can win all 6 of these missions. I have some tips for this, but cannot guarantee victory. I survive April a little over half the time. If you can do better, you’ve mastered XCOM.
Strategy Layer:
On the Strategy Layer, the big challenge is to launch 3 Satellites by April 30th. You must have 10 engineers by Apr 15th to make this happen. So if you didn’t get any Engineers in March, you will need to select the Engineers as your reward for the first Abduction. Since you are unable to grab the money reward, you need to find some other way to fund all your Satellites. My advice: Sell everything that isn’t nailed down, including Central’s sweater. Just don’t sell the alloy. You will need it for your Carapace Armor.
Research: Carapace Armor (hopefully started in March), Xenobiology (optional, for Instant Autopsies with S. America) Beam Weapons.
Build: Squad Size I, 3 Satellites (deadline Apr 9), Power Generator (deadline Apr 10), Satellite Uplink (deadline Apr 15), 4 Carapace Armors, Wet Work, Lead by Example, Access Lift (on Apr 26th), Interceptor (#3) w/ Phoenix Cannon (on Apr 28th).
Other notes: Its a good idea to wait till after you have the Engineers to build the Satellites as that will reduce their cost. You can also cancel build jobs, and re-initiate them when you get more Engineers, time permitting. All projects suffer a bit of time slippage. The actual deadline is probably about noon on April 10 for Satellites; noon on April 16th for the Uplink. But I wouldn’t push it that far. To meet these deadlines, sell all the resources that you don’t need (keep the alloy). Don’t forget to launch your satellites at the end of the month, and guard them with a Phoenix Cannon interceptor.
April Tactics:
In my post about Tactics in March, I broke up the advice by mission because fighting with rookies is very different than fighting with squaddies. Also the crashed small scout is very different (and easier) than the abductions in March. Regarding tactics in April, there is no need to discuss missions separately. All April missions will have 3-4 pods, and will be hard for mostly the same reasons, with the possible exception of the terror mission.
I also don’t want to repeat myself too much here. Most of the tips I gave for beating March are still true in April. The rocket is still your best weapon, and your Heavy should not move until you know you won’t need the rocket, and your squad should still move around the edge of the map to avoid activating multiple pods, and so on. Good tactics in March are good tactics April.
What’s new in April is that the enemy is far more dangerous. So let’s talk about alpha striking, and what to do when that fails.
Alpha Striking:
I believe that most advanced XCOM players have adopted the alpha strike as their primary method of engaging the enemy. Meaning the choice of abilities, gear, and tactics are based on the desire and intent to kill or disable all enemies at first contact; perhaps with a willful neglect of defense. Or more simply: Hit them so hard, they can’t hit back. Against Thin Men, alpha striking is critically important because if you fail to kill them, they are very likely to kill you. That changes things. It means you should be much more cautious moving around the map. You need to control how and where the battle takes place to insure that your squad has a high probability of destroying an entire pod of Thin Men without giving them any good shots, no easy task. I can think of 5 scenarios that are likely to succeed:
Rocket: A pod of Thin Men patrols into your position, and after scampering they are still within range of your rocket, which you fire, and that kills all or most of them.
MEC w/Vehicle: There are a bunch of cars on the map and you have a MEC in your squad. An incoming pod conveniently takes cover behind a vehicle, which your MEC blows up using Collateral Damage.
Overwatch Trap: Most of your squad is on overwatch, perhaps some soldiers have elevation. An incoming pod is softened up by the overwatch fire, and can be safely finished off during your turn by moving your squad forward and within range, and using Collateral Damage to remove cover.
Door Breach: Your squad is able to get close to a pod because it is on the other side of a door. You open the door and then use some combination of the flamethrower, grenades, Assault w/shotgun, to kill them all. Something similar can be done using any LOS obstruction to get close to a pod before it activates.
Sniper w/ Spotter: Your Sniper, with Squadsight, is on a roof and has good lines of sight. Another soldier is acting as a spotter and either hunkering in high cover or peaking around a corner then breaking LOS during the enemy turn. Your other soldiers are also hunkering or breaking LOS. Your Sniper is going to shoot at the Thin Men from range. If the Thin Men charge your position, your other soldiers will be able to kill them using standard tactics.
It should be very clear from these examples that what I mean by “alpha strike” is not reckless aggression. It means setting up good situations when you initiate contact with the enemy. These scenarios are all unlikely to just happen. Its nice to stumble into them, but it is better to be actively engineering them. So how do you do that?
Many of the good scenarios I listed above depend upon the enemy patrolling into your squad. Free overwatch shots are great, but frequently the primary benefit is the better positioning you gain on your turn. Thin Men will move backward on activation, and this will make them much harder to kill. If they activate because you moved into them, their scamper will probably take them out of rocket range, even if your Heavy is near the front of your squad. And if they took poor cover, and could have been flanked, your soldiers may be unable to get within range and take advantage of those flanking shots.
It is so much better when Thin Men stumble into your position. But waiting for that to happen is boring. And its cheap to camp incessantly. I will camp longer in April than in other months, especially if I find a prime location, but eventually boredom will force me to move along. When it is time to reposition it is best to move laterally to sound cues, usually around the perimeter of the map, until you have an obstruction between your squad and the closest pod of enemies. Then you can move forward with less fear of activating that nearby pod, and perhaps set up a door breach or something similar.
Let’s talk about how to move. You don’t want to move your Heavy or Sniper first as they need 2 actions to fight effectively. If you move the MEC first, and activate a pod, the MEC will probably be unable to use Collateral damage as the enemy will have scampered backwards. Better to move first with your rookie, Support, or Assault, and best to move into high cover. If no enemies are activated you will want to bring up another soldier, and another, and so on. But there will not be enough high cover for everyone. That’s okay. It’s not the cover you have, but the cover you will have when the plasma starts flying. The important thing is that the Heavy get high cover, and that often means you need to move that first soldier backwards a square, out of cover, so that the Heavy can grab that sweet high cover at the front. You lose an overwatch shot, but whatever. Having your heavy in that spot is more important. I would also move a Heavy to the front if that means taking half cover. Your rocket can’t save your team if it can’t reach the bad guys. With your Sniper there are a couple options. He can either take the high cover spot your Heavy just vacated, or just go on overwatch from his current position if he has squadsight. Sometimes I have the Sniper alternate between overwatch and double move, so that he can keep up with the squad, and still be on overwatch half the time. This won’t work if the Sniper doesn’t have squadsight.
If you have a MEC you should always be looking for vehicles and trying to position your squad such that they are just outside of your squad’s visible range. This is important because Thin Men move backward on activation. The MEC is also very good in close proximity because of the Flamethrower, so getting close using LOS obstructions is more powerful with a MEC on your team.
If you can get on a roof, that is usually a good idea. Roofs are LOS obstructions that enable ambushes, while also improving overwatch traps and squadsight sniping. I already mentioned this in my post about March Tactics, but its worth repeating; Roofs = Great.
Save a rocket for Thin Men if you know they are on the map. This is a little different from March, where I would advise using the rocket as soon as a good opportunity presents itself. In April you want to try to save the rocket for the most dangerous pod, which is usually Thin Men. You may be tempted to use it against Floaters, and sometimes that is a good idea if you are in a bad spot, or if you haven’t yet heard the eerie Thin Man sound cue.
Plan B:
So that didn’t work. Typically you will need a plan B when you stumble into Thin Men on your turn, and they scamper out of rocket range. Now what? Well you have some options to choose from; none of them good.
Going Full Defensive:
All soldiers hunker in high cover, or move behind a LOS obstruction, or move backward to a position that the Thin Men cannot target. Put the MEC where the Thin Men cannot target him, preferably behind a LOS obstruction and near the front, otherwise in the back on overwatch or reloading. Only go on overwatch with soldiers that are far enough away that the Thin Men cannot target them.
When to do this: You should choose this option if you have a rocket and can manage it. If the soldier that activated the Thin Men is in high cover, he can hunker. Or if he is a Support with the Sprinter ability he can usually move far enough backward that the Thin Men can't target him.
What to hope for: Hopefully the Thin Men won’t do too much harm. Your soldiers are likely to be poisoned, but if they don't panic it's probably ok. This plan really needs a rocket to work well because at least one Thin Man will be on overwatch, which prevents your soldiers from moving in with grenades, and prevents your MEC from getting into range to use Collateral Damage. Alternatively, an Assault with Lightning Reflexes can disable overwatch (If 2 are on overwatch this may backfire). If the Thin Men don't move into visible range, you can keep hunkering until they do. This is dangerous when there is a building that allows them to approach on your flank. If that is the case you should move even further back, or move your soldiers to guard the vulnerable flank.
Tank with the MEC:
The MEC is going to tank, so move him up front. Use Collateral Damage to uncover a Thin Man if possible. Other soldiers should also move forward to take shots while trying to stay in high cover. Use smoke to help defend the MEC and any nearby soldiers.
When to do this: This is a good plan when you have a MEC and smoke, but can't get all your soldiers in great defensive position.
What to hope for: You are hoping to kill a Thin Man before your turn, or with overwatch shots if you can't target them on this turn. You are expecting the Thin Men to target the MEC. If you are lucky, the MEC survives because you managed to kill one, or they miss a shot, or they don't do max damage or crit, or some combination thereof. If your MEC survives maybe the Flamethrower will come into play. If the MEC dies its not the end of your campaign. You can repair the suit (costs 20 Meld), and draft another squaddie into that role. The Thin Men are unlikely to be on overwatch at the end of their turn. If your other soldiers didn't panic, they should be able to move in with grenades.
Partial Defense:
Get all frontline soldiers into high cover, but instead of hunkering, they shoot or overwatch. Use smoke if you have it. Soldiers in the rear (such as Squadsight Sniper) can shoot or go on overwatch.
When to do this: This is an okay plan when you can’t hunker everyone in high cover, and you don't have a MEC to act as tank. Perhaps the soldier that activated the Thin Men had to double move to high cover. If he is not hunkered, then your other soldiers may as well shoot or overwatch as that won’t give the Thin Men a better shot than they already have.
What to hope for: This is not a good situation. If there are 3 Thin Men you should expect one of your soldiers to die unless you have Carapace Armor. Even with more Armor, you should be worried. With all your guys in high cover, the Thin Men are more likely to double move, or spit acid, which is preferable to them shooting at you. You are hoping to wound or kill one with overwatches, then follow up with grenades or a rocket, and Sniper fire. This can work if your team doesn't panic. But its not great.
Press Forward:
Move forward and attack. Soldiers in high cover attack, those in low cover attack. Squadsight Sniper should attack. If the Assault can reach the nearest Thin Man, maybe he should use Run & Gun, and charge in. Smoke probably won't help as the Thin Men are likely to have flanking shots that are guaranteed to hit through smoke.
When to do this: This plan only makes sense when you cannot get all your soldiers into even a modestly safe position. Perhaps you don't have a rocket or a MEC. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Or perhaps you have Carapace Armor, and one of the Thin Men is flankable.
What to hope for: You really need to take out at least one of them. Every time your squad kills a Thin Man there is a chance to break the will of his buddies, causing them to flee. If you kill two Thin Men, the third one will probably run away. If you don't manage to kill any of them, you are very likely to lose a soldier or two on the enemy turn and your campaign may be over. Unless you have Carapace Armor, in which case this is still dangerous, but less so. By pressing forward and attacking you are likely to be able to use your grenades on the following turn, provided your soldiers are not dead or panicked.
Carapace Armor:
If you manage to get through half of April, and follow my Tech strategy you will have Carapace Armor around midmonth. This will not guarantee that all your soldiers will survive an encounter with Thin Men. A Thin Man with a flanking shot is still very likely to hit for 9. Oddly, when a Thin Man makes a critical hit, 9 damage is twice as likely as 7, according to the Ufopaedia, and based on my experience, that seems right.
So Carapace Armor won’t allow you to play recklessly. This extra armor will make your cautious play much safer. This is because when shooting through cover, the enemy is far less likely to make critical hits, and with Carapace Armor your soldiers will survive every normal hit. Here is a little bit of math to illustrate the obvious.
When in high cover, but without Carapace Armor, if the Thin Men take 2 shots, a coin flip will decide if one of your soldiers dies. You can see that result in the highlighted >= 5 column. With Carapace armor, those odds go down to ~22% which you can see in the >=9 column.
This is a very simplistic analysis that doesn’t take into account many factors. It supposes that both Thin Men target the same soldier, which I am not sure they are guaranteed to do. It disregards the possibility of your cover being destroyed by the first shot, and of panic hunkering after being hit. But the biggest omission is consideration of the alien AI which is always prone to foolishness but particularly stupid when you are in good cover; choosing to double move, overwatch, or spit poison, rather than just shooting. I think your survival rate in high cover is much better than what the table above suggests.
If your shiny new Carapace Armor causes your soldiers to forget their mortality, and take low cover, you can see how that affects the odds in the table below.
The Thin Men now have ~42% to kill someone in Carapace supposing they shoot at him twice. Not good, but still about 30% better than what you would expect without it. Despite the limitations of this analysis, its clear that Carapace Armor makes a big difference when the plasma bolts start flying.
Portent:
If you selected Operation Progeny, you will get the Portent mission. Portent is absolutely ridiculous. It requires you to defeat 15 thin men in April. This is only feasible by memorizing the location of each pod, as well as the drop-ins and when they activate. I can beat this mission consistently, but only because I have detailed notes from my failed attempts. Here are my notes for Portent:
Starting pods: 2 thin men on corner of roof of second building (store) by crossroads. 2 thin men in alley by car. 2 thin men on sidewalk of main road, right of the store. 2 thin men way in the back by big rig. (approach them via roof) Drop-ins: Initiate survivor: pair of thin men, one on roof of store, in center. Other top of tank. Survivor moves to middle of roof of store: one thin man on door Hangover? of first building. Survivor moves to near edge of store roof elevated “plateau” area: pair drop in on warehouse roof sectoid + thin man. Survivor moves to edge of store, near side: single thin man drops in on top of big rig way in back. Survivor to front car in alley: single thin man at bench by evac zone. Survivor to doorway of warehouse: pair of thin men. Warehouse roof. Another by stone near evac zone.
Friends in Low Places:
If you selected Operation Slingshot you will get Friends in Low Places in April. This is nice little mission, not too tough, with a cool soldier reward. There are only 2 Thin Men on the map, everything else is a drop-in. They don’t seem to drop-in consistently. Or maybe I just don’t know how it works. Below is my crappy hand drawn map and notes for what happens when moving as a squad to the left. Z3, Z5 stand for Zhang to the location marked Z3, Z5.
Other Notes:
I didn’t talk much about Floaters and that’s because they are much easier than Thin Men. They are still dangerous, especially when airborne, as that improves their aim to 80. The main reason they are easier to fight is because most of the time they move forward, which allows you to target them with all your soldiers, or rocket them. Also they will jet behind your position, wasting a turn while also enabling your Assault to safely use Run & Gun.
The Terror Mission in April will always have 3 Floaters / 3 Floaters / 3 Chryssalids. Its not a hard mission. Rocket the Floaters, of course. The Chryssalids that charge your position are usually easy to kill with grenades, shotgun, etc. Don’t panic when the Chryssalids that ran away start killing all the civilians. Just keep moving forward carefully, and take care of any Zombies that lumber in your direction.
If you don’t have Operation Slingshot or Progeny selected you will get a standard council mission and those can be very tough this month, especially if you don’t have a crappy map telling you where all the pods are. You can skip these without losing out on too much.
You can start putting Nanofiber vests on your Assaults this month. It makes even more sense when you have Carapace armor as that will allow them to survive a crit. A grenade is still a good option, though.
What is the reason behind the research order? Xenobiology makes me think you want the sectoid interrogation for beam weapons, but you don't research arc thrower and go straight for beam weapons. What is the reason for slotting Xenobiology in there?
Btw, in the second paragraph first sentence you wrote March instead of April