Strategy Guide


I have a few tips that I've used that have helped me beat the game. Some of them might sound kind of wierd or totally different from strategies that they have in other XCOM faqs, but they've worked wonders for me. Most of what you'll need is probably in the first three and very last sections. But I was bored and figured I'd just write down some of my strategies for anyone who happens to want them.

Also, my little strategy guide obviously doesn't cover everything in the game, so if you're looking for some REALLY extensive strategy and statistics, check out these:

My stuff:

- As soon as you place you first base and add a few buildings such as the alien containment and such, sell off all of your rifles, grenades, pistols, and heavy cannons. Only keep your auto cannons and a few rocket launchers. Then go and purchase 4 more soldiers and about 20 auto cannons with forty or so armor piercing ammos (ACAP). Research medikits and buy a few more scientists. Then, after everything is delivered, equip your skyranger with the 13 autocannons with one extra ammo for each (totaling 26) and a rocket launcher with an assortment of 4 rockets. This'll leave you soldiers light on their feet (meaning no grenades and without the heaviest gun you could take)  and give them the most versatile weapon you can get so far in the game. Then lock and load baby.

- Soon as you touch down, be sure that your last soldier is equiped with the rocket launcher and four rockets. Then start dropping your soldiers out the left, right, and front of the ramp, forming 3 squads. Leave the rocket man about 5 spaces behind any of the other soldiers. As soon as they are off, scan the surroundings and then disperse your soldiers in a rough line (not next to each other) and make them kneel about 3 spaces from the ramp of the skyrander, making sure that you have a soldier covering every direction. End your turn. Then send each squad out in different directions, with one of them heading straight for the UFO to guard the door. I never use the Time-Saving buttons because it causes the mission to take a lot more turns than is necessary, and it can cause detrimental difficulties when sweeping through a city because the aliens will be able to kill more civilians. But don't forget to kneel, especially at the beginning of the game.

- Everytime I move a soldier, unless they are in immediate danger, I move them to the extent of their time units. As long as you keep them under cover, your soldiers will be able to increase their recon areas and the missions will end sooner. Of course, there are the negative consequences, but you'll see ways around that near the end of this letter.

- As soon as you can, research Heavy Plasma rifles and their clips. In all the games I've played, jumping straight from Auto Cannons to Heavy Plasma has an awesome effect. Sometimes I think it takes the aliens by surprise when I show up with them on the next mission. Many people would advise against this due to the supposedly enormous quantity of clips you would need to power these weapons  and the elerium it would cost you to manufacture the clips. I personally have never run into a shortage of clips as long as I'm taking down UFOs and collecting more elerium.

- Never sell elerium. I don't care if you have to build a base full of general stores just to store it. It is a no-no, paganistic, sacreligious idea to part with your elerium for mere cash.

- Your first base is more effective when placed in northwestern Italy, in the Alps. In this way, your base is near more funding coutries and can protect them.

- Build a new base ASAP, like when you have have about 4 million bucks to spare. My addon bases are very simple when I first start them. I put the lift somewhere in the middle, build a hangar, living quarters, general stores, and large radar. That just about takes care of everything you'll need a new base to do until it's all done and you have more money.

- Okay, this is my biggy. I suppose many people would say it's cheating, but it's what I do, and it works. I use about 6 save spots for each game that I play. The first three are in the Geoscape, and the second three are for the battlescape. Each time I do something significant or when I complete a successful mission, I alternate the three save spots reserved for the Geoscape. The second three are used when I first touch down, when I do something important, right before I end a turn, or right after I've survived another turn. I rotate these, tacking on a squentially -increasing number for the battlescape saves. In other words, the first time I save it, when I touch down, I backspace what ever was in that spot and stick a '1' in that save spot. Then the next time I save it, I go to the next spot and put a 2, then a 3 in the next. This way, since all battlescape scenes are saved with the same date, I don't get them confused. When I need to save it the fourth time, I go back up to the first battlescape slot, backspace the 1, and insert a 4. Now, when ever I do something really stupid, I can abort the mission and reload it at the last save spot. If reloading the game at the previous spot still results in the same problem, I go back to the next previous saved game and load it and remedy the problem that way.

That's all I have at the moment. If you have any specific questions, send them through feedback in the frame to the left.