XCOM 2 is out, OK, THIS TIME FOR REAL

[katmai]

Yeah the amount of missions with turn limit to start is ridiculous, not to mention the consistent mind control on squad.

[Syt]

Yeah the amount of missions with turn limit to start is ridiculous, not to mention the consistent mind control on squad.

It seems once you dissect a sectoid you get tech to build protection against that BS.

[Syt]

Had only 4 soldiers ready: Abigail Hall (see above) and three rookies. Got swarmed by half a dozen aliens. Abigail gets attacked by melee troopers and dies, and then is resurrected. The other rookies withdraw a bit and then grenade the shit out of the cluster of enemies. Then rookie #3 gets mind controlled. But her comrades kill the sectoid, releasing her. The rest is a bit of mopping up. Half way through the mission I thought the game was lost there, but I made it through, though I had to use the supplies I got to recruit new soldiers and am now broke again.

[FunkMonk]

Turn limits don't bother me and I'm glad they're in. The old strategy of Overwatching forever was boring and detrimental to the game flow.

Sectoids can be super annoying but flashbangs are their hard counter and you can build them right away. Flash those buggers and their mind control, panic, disorient, and zombie effects instantly go away. This saved me in a VIP mission.

[DGuller]

Turn limits are fine if they're a little lax.  But if they're too aggressive, then it makes the game too scripted.  They basically remove too many options from you, and force you to play in a certain way.

[FunkMonk]

Yes that's the risk they run, and with maps being procedurally based I imagine some missions will be next to impossible to actually complete at the highest difficulty.

But then there's that 1 in a 100 chance you do complete it. That's what XCom is about.

[katmai]

@Syt. Yeah I researched the device which is great defense.
@Funk I have no problem with turn limits, I didn't like that 80% of missions been on have been timer.

[Syt]

I kind of get why they added timed missions, though. One, it fits thematically - the underdog resistance who have to get in and out quickly and all that. Two, most missions in XCOM 1 were a slow slog - move, overwatch, move, overwatch, etc. Turn limits force you to take more risks (while the concealed phase allows you to cross the map faster on the way to the actual encounter and let you decide on what terms you engage the enemy).

[Josquius]

So I should wait until there are balancing patches then

[Syt]

Most of the data is easily modded as it's in txt files. There's already mods changing/removing the time limits.

[katmai]

Most of the data is easily modded as it's in txt files. There's already mods changing/removing the time limits.

I didn't do that change, but bumped up default squad to 6 from the 4.

[FunkMonk]

So I should wait until there are balancing patches then

Not really. Out of the box the game is pretty well balanced and it was built with modding in mind so there are already lots of mods on the Steam Workshop that disable turn timers or disable the automatic lose-the-game mechanic or other stuff.

Like katmai, I think on my next playthrough on Commander difficulty I'll make some .ini edits like bumping up the default squad size and increase the enemy pod size or make melee attacks 100% chance to hit. Also I want to try to Long War Studio mods the add SMGs and Squad Leaders. It won't probably won't be balanced but it'll be interesting.

[DGuller]

Another timer-induced squadwipe.  Makes sense to put that feature in, that Newfoundland mission was the most favorite mission from XCOM, right?  I hate to mod the game, because mods ruin the game balance that developers intended, but in this case developers just got in plain wrong.

[FunkMonk]

Playing on Veteran right now. Just lost my first soldier to a Muton who hit a critical strike through full cover and a drone Aid Protocol defense bonus. 

I went on to lose the mission i think because I was too cautious. It was a retaliation mission and I found some decent terrain to overwatch camp in. Eventually the remaining aliens shot up all the civilians before I could do much about it. This game really does punish you for using the old master strat of overwatch crawling forever.

[Martim Silva]

I kind of get why they added timed missions, though. One, it fits thematically - the underdog resistance who have to get in and out quickly and all that.

I MIGHT have believed that, if it weren't for the fact that in many missions, as soon as you get the thing you wanted (hack something, usually), instead of asking you to immediately move to an extraction point, the game suddenly switches pace and immediately tells you to stay and "kill every alien", including the reinforcements that have just arrived.

So much for "hit and run guerrilla"...

Two, most missions in XCOM 1 were a slow slog - move, overwatch, move, overwatch, etc. Turn limits force you to take more risks (while the concealed phase allows you to cross the map faster on the way to the actual encounter and let you decide on what terms you engage the enemy).

Yes, overwatch support and careful advance and change of positions (often preceded by grenades) is usually how fireteam-based fights are done in the real world. Go ask any military commander or NCO if he thinks that speed rushing his whole squad blind to an area whose layout is unknown and where there is absolutely zero Intel about the size and placement of the opposition is a good solid tactic, and you'll get a BIG "Nope".

I could even bear it if the timers only started when we broke cover, as we could then manouver tactically and only start things - and the alarms - after we had surveyed the layout of the place and made a plan on where to go... but the timers start immediately upon arrival, as if the aliens have an hobby of calling reinforcements every 5 minutes, even when nothing is going on.

Not to mention that in the higher difficulty settings (I play on Commander, which means the old Classic), sometimes the objective is precisely on the far side of a VERY long map. And the extra HP of the aliens often mean it's not feasible to do the mission on the (tiny) time alotted - often a mere 8 turns.

As it is, I have used the mod that takes them out, except for story missions - I play X-Com for the squad tactics, not for turn-based CounterStrike.