Finally, XCOM2 gameplay (combat) mechanics, with some other than UFO setting.
I never understood why a so perfectly polished game engine (that XCOM2
possesses) was never reused.
Honestly, I do not know whether MYZR2E just plagiarized or contractually
borrowed it, but I definitely like the result very much.
In a nutshell: post apocalypse, among the ruins of a once great civilization,
survivors struggle.
They scavenge what they can (walk around, check every bush, pick up
everything), they kill what they must (in a turn based tactical combat).
This is a collection of tips and hints, strictly from my perspective, NOT a
game guide, not walkthrough. The goal is to make some choices easier.
Most of these tips valid for "NORMAL" difficulty.
General
-------
1. Start the game on "normal", which is humiliatingly the first option, where
usually "Easy" is located. Do not worry, it will not be easy. If you are an
average player,
you will just manage without constant re-loading during fights which is, let's
face it, the strongest spell a player can have and should not be relied upon
normally.
2. You might feel tempted to switch characters as they become available. It is
OK to try them, but your replay value lies in the different characters...
If you do not plan to replay though, the DO switch hence some characters are
definitely stronger than others.
3. Give each active character a silent weapon ASAP (one has Dux, one comes from
Selma, one can be found early on)
4. Upgrade first silent weapons to level II, then normal weapons to level II,
then silent weapons to level III, then normal weapons to level III.
Exceptions: Elysium, Rambino, Boomstick (these will be you final weapons, so
you can upgrade them to l3 instantly if you can afford)
5. Scout in stealth every map. Kill all wandering solo enemies (pre-battle from
now on).
6. Getting back to the Ark is free and instant, do it if needed (upgrades).
7. Do not worry much about enemy level, it is only an indication what you
should be before trying. You can see their HP and loadout, make your own
judgement whether to try or not.
8. sniper rifles are underpowered because of the 1 ammo capacity (must be
reloaded every other turn). It is very difficult to keep LOS from 10+ squares
constantly. Rifles with scopes
still get 14-18 range which is more than enough and allow movement more freely.
Even the final (purchasable fully upgraded) sniper is unused by my team. They
could be
a worthwhile alternative with aroun +30% damage.
9. weapon damage mods: ealry on use fire, later droid stun.
10. weapon scope mods: you will not need more than 10 range, so better go with
crit if you can (red eye - in lategame you will have 2 scopes with range and
crit both)
Characters and their skills
----------------------------
I will not list here all their skills, check those on wiki pages. Instead, I
will give you some arguments pro and contra, suggesting a "build" (I will use
"recommended" to indicate final setup).
Also keep in mind, that any character can use any equipment, so feel free to
experiment, albeit the developers clearly had a "happy build" for them each.
Bormin:
How good is he: very good. the tanky role he is capable of, cannot be replaced.
Role: run close, draw enemy fire, burst damage.
Equipment: heaviest armor, shotgun scoped for crit.
Mutations:
- run'n gun (minor): only good until you get twitch shot.
- corpse eater (major): on normal difficulty this is not needed. Plan your
battles better.
- (recommended) hog rush (major): very good. moves you a lot, knocks down and
damages, exposes enemy. especially useful for bosses and other dangerous foes.
Knockdown is actually not one turn but two (the
victim looses the turn in which it was knocked down AND the next one).
- (recommended) twitch shot (minor): basically an execute. get close, use it
with a proper shotgun. If you crit, that will be almost 30 damage (Boomstick).
Also invaluable if someone with lots of hp must be taken down silently
(hence if you manage to take down the guy, the skill will reset on normal
difficulty)
- stone skin (major): for a few difficult battles might be good. Not worth a
major, imo.
- spore cloud (passive): if you utilize Bormin properly (draw enemies to open
and snipe above with others), this is good. Keep in mind however that Bormin
must move out from the cloud before shooting as well.
Dux:
How good is he: not so much, you better off with Selma in every aspect
Role: get elavated, crit with long range weapons
Equipment: rifles scoped for range
Mutations:
- knee shot (minor): not so much. usually there is no problem dealing with
melee, before they melee...
- (recommended) Moth wings (major): a weak major, should be buffed (e.g. last
longer) Currently range is very small, only elevates you for 1 turn, so
basically it is just a hit%crit% buff, for 1 shot, nothing more. Pair it with
alpinist.
- (recommended) Circuit breaker (minor): healer droids are quite a problem,
basically they revive 1 enemy/turn, so, yeah, get this
- eagle eye (passive): until you get alpinist.
- (recommended) Alpinist (passive): with proper preparation (climb up with Dux
before battle), this is the best passive in the game. Pair it up with Moth
wings.
- Chameleon (major): pair it with silent assassin for a more or less sure crit.
- Silent assassin (passive): typically you will not have 50% bare crit%, so
alpinist is better. On most maps, you can get elavated (or use moth wings). Can
be slotted for pre-battles.
Selma:
How good is she: very good.
Role: get elavated, crit with long range weapons, at late game, the best
grenadier
Equipment: rifles scope it for crit
Mutations:
- Contortionist (passive): full cover is good, so get this until Alpinist.
Even after you have alpinist, on some harder fights it is worth to go defensive.
- Super Tendons (Passive): worse than any other passive, so no.
- Run'n gun (minor): due to the special location in the tree, you will not
select this probably early on, later Twitch Shot is far better
- (recommended) Twitch shot (minor): oh yes. from an elavated position, this
will be a real killer.
- (recommended) Frog Legs (major): very good. you can jump very far, very
high. The game says it is good for escape but I tend to use it to get HIGH and
kill ppl from above.
- (recommended) Alpinist (passive): very good, especially with frog legs.
- Tree hugger (Major): meh. Selma should never be surrounded to makes this
worth.
Magnus:
How good is he: good.
Role: medium range + CC
Equipment: rifles
Mutations:
- (recommneded) Telekinesis Shield (passive): 25% miss chance is great, even
if does not stacks with cover. You will see this on some bosses too...
- Dodge Dash (minor): you should plan better than moving while under Overwatch
- (recommneded) Run'n gun (minor): the other two is worse so get this.
- (recommneded) Puppeteer (major): very good. use this big bad boys like e.g.
tanks ASAP. You can get two attacks (one should be a charge), direct all enemy
attention to the big guy.
- Silent Assassin (passive): slot it for pre-battles only.
- Chain lightning (major): problem with this is that enemies rarely stack on
each other... if they do, they are meh anyway.
Farrow:
How good is she: very good
Role: get elavated, shoot everyone, especially with gunslinger
Equipment: rifles scoped for crit, heavier armor (she must go closer than
Selma), if possible, put knockback mod on her weapon
Mutations:
- (recommneded) Silent Assassin (passive): there is no other worthwhile
passive, so, this is what you will use.
- (recommended) Frog Legs (major): very good. you can jump very far, very
high. For Farrow positioning is important to utilize Gunslinger properly or to
gain the needed hit+crit bonuses.
- Circuit breaker (minor): in a few fights, where droids will be a problem,
this might be worthwhile over gunslinger, but, alas, those fights are quite
rare (droids will be more frequent lategame, but by then
Farrow should have some large nasty rifle using which she just makes so much
more damage...). Also, EMP grenades are better.
- moth wings (major): no. Farrow does not get alpinist, and, Frog legs is so
much better.
- (recommneded) gunslinger (minor): hands, down the best minor in game, very
large damage output on late game, where you will get swarmed every now and
then. Use it from elavated position.
For Farrow the stat boost line will give her +20% crit, which, with properly
scoped rifle and from elavated position will put her over 50%, making her a
very damaging persona.
What to buy and what not
-------------------------
Iridia:
- dont buy weapons, except maybe the last one on lvl50 (which is a sniper btw)
- dont buy armors, you will find what you need
- buy medikit only if you have less than 3. If you need more than 3 in a single
map, you just do not get the hang of this.
- grenades, early on, are last resort equipment, as such, always everyone shall
have two euipped (hand+emp), but do not use them if there are other options
- hand grenade is good once upgraded (8 damage), also destroys covers
- EMP - robot disabler - makes robotic battles much easier
- chem flares are meh. your people either shall get close (Bormin) or get high
for bonuses...
- smoke grenade puts out flames and blocks LOS, so use them to get away from
risky situ.
- buy only the better versions of scopes (green or red eye).
Artifact upgrades:
Here is the path I recommend:
Deal Maker - Pyromania (meh, but you have to to move on) - Blaster Master
(makes hand grenade a potent alternative) - Zapper - Ranger
After this Butcher - Medkits
Combat tips
-----------
1. Always scout thoroughly. Kill every solo enemy. Sometimes when you bump into
them they converse a bit then they part ways, so you can pick them one by one.
On normal, mutation powers (minor, major) reset after each battle, so USE them
to get easier silent kills: hog rush gives you one more turn, twich shot
doubles your damage (it will be increasingly hard to kill 16-20 hp enemies with
2 armor later on...)
2. Remember, you have two actions (which you cannot carry over turns) BUT
shooting ENDS your turn. So either move THEN shoot, or if you are already at
the best place you can be,
then reload THEN shoot, even if your rifles is almost full.
3. Concentrate fire, but do not rush kills.
4. Sometimes, retreat is the best tactics you can have. Forces enemies through
bottlenecks, where aoe can be utilized. Especially so with robots.
5. You should use your mutations early on (I'd say ASAP if you benefit from
them), so after 2-3 kills they can become available again.
If you keep them for "oh shit" cases, you will end up using them only once per
battle instead of 2-3 times.
6. Bosses (nova sect) sould be proiritized because of their mind control. plan
your battles the way so you can hogrush them instantly and take them out even
if this means getting a few holes in your hide.
7. Some battles hints you that your enemies might not like each other either.
So, why not letting them thin each other's ranks a bit?
8. pyros are annoying but not a real threat
9. melee is painful if they get close. they always hit and their average damage
is 5-6, which can be painful
