Beginner's Guide here

[Wiz33]

Since I’vd seen and have myself asked a fair amount of newbie questions, I have decide to try to put together a beginner’s guide. It’s been a long while since I’ve done something like this so I welcome any and all inputs.

First thing first, I would suggest getting one of the varies mod available, I personally uses "Bman's UFO Ease of Use Mod" from day one and I found that it make the game so much more enjoyable that you should definitely consider it. The great thing is that it contains a large number of popular mods that can be turned on/off/adjust using an ingame menu. Even if you don’t end up using any of the mod, the improved interface alone is a must. Just make a backup of the Data folder in case you want to restore the game to default install configs.

Since the game comes up in Geoscape and since your base is about the only thing you have control over in the very beginning. A lot of people have ask for suggestions on base layout and which building to add first. We’ll start there:

Before we build, we have to talk about income. For anyone experienced in Xcom. Beware that gone are the days that you can build equipment and sell them at a large profit. Anything you build will sell for a lost and should only be done to get rid of obsolete equipments. Your only sources of income is government funding and alien salvage (which should only be sold after research) and a bit from alien bounty if you elect to use one of the mod. So spend only when you have to and spend wisely.

Each basic building you start with take one square with the hangar taking 4 (2x2). Advance building (Lab, workshop, detection array) take 2 side by side squares. Keep that in mind as you add buildings to your base so you can easily add advanced buildings without having to dismantle old ones and disrupt your research/production (you can do it after the new building is finished).

You'll need multiple labs and workshops to get through the game. The key is to get them without wrecking your income. You need a second lab ASAP as there are a lot of things to research but you don’t need a second workshop until you are close to getting something you want to build.

I stay at 2 labs and 2 workshops till I got advanced lab, I build one advance lab and I sold one of the regular and then later on I build another advanced lab and sold the other regular lab. As I sell the regular lab I replace them with workshops (as it take longer to get to advanced workshop, at least in my case) as you’ll now need increased building capacity to build the new interceptors and armours at a good rate. I did the same when advanced workshop becomes available (build one new, sell one old) and I eventually ended with 2 of each around the middle of the second year.

As for beginning research, do stuff that will benefit you right away first (lasers) and leave the others for second. Also build an interrogation/Alien containment building when you start getting the larger UFO (Crusier or above) and be sure to try and capture (Stun rockets and grenades) alien commander (green colour) as researching them usually leads to breakthrough to the next tech level.

Base defense is totally not worth it unless you get one of the mods as they are absolutely useless. Even with the mods, you’ll likely need at least 3 or 4 of the current generation defense to have a good chance of stopping a partially damaged (provided you manage to intercept and damage it before it gets to the base) Crusier or above. I would suggest not building any defense till you have a good surplus income (since you have 10 days to recapture a base and you might as well get some experience for your troops).

Don't overbuild on anything. I would only build enough new weapons for your main active squad and maybe a couple extra since you will be capturing a lot of weapons later which you'll be able to use once researched. Same with armour, have only enough for your active squad (on transport) and maybe a couple extra (at least till you get pass Desert Viper). I usually also have a extra set of current interceptor loadout (weapon and shield) so I can replace a lost interceptor as quickly as possible.

Don’t build a new hangar till you get to research new ships and don’t ever have more than 3 hangars at your main base as you can only build labs and workshop there.

You’ll need more bases to have good coverage. The first one should be on the opposite side of the globe and then one at each pole. You might go for 3 or 4 bases round the globe and one at each pole but 4 to 6 should be enough for the game. Since a new base only comes with a power building and 1 hangar, add an extra hangar and a detection array ASAP. Defense can come later if you elect to add them.

Now we move to Troop management.

First thing you need to know is that you can’t hire troops without a mod. They will trickle in from time to time though so you troop level will slowly increase.

2nd, Healing takes a long time so sometimes it’s better to load a savegame and restart if you suffer a lot of casualties. Be sure to patch up your injured troops as soon as possible as troops that have suffer more than a few hit points will take a lot longer to heal. Save often so you can patch your troops up before you kill the last alien as the mission will end at that point. Once again varies mod will help improve the situation but any troops that falls in battle will take a long time (30 days+) to heal.

Leveling. It may seems that improving accuracy is a top priority but don’t forget Agility and Vitality as they improve hitpoints and action points. After the first couple levels, make sure you pay some attention to the other stats. Strength is important as you will need higher strength for the better weapons and armours. Bravery helps under psi attacks and Reaction helps you get that snap shot off faster when an alien pops in to sight during their turn. Throwing I personally leaves last as Grenades are only needed to stun commander for capture.

Tactical missions:

Move slowly, keep your troops at least in pairs so they can back each other up and provide first aid. If your tank has stronger armour than your troops, use it as a scout (but send it to the back when it suffers over 50% damage since they’ll fully repair between missions). Use the save AP features so your troops will always end their movement while still having enough AP left to get off a shot. Use auto shot if you have a higher than 50% hit chance as there is a good likelihood that 2 out of 3 shots will hit and may down an alien that you usually cannot kill in a single shot as they don’t get to return fire until all 3 shots are calculated for hits.

Get medkits ASAP and have each of your active squad member carry one and 2 stimpacks. If you have the AP available, use medkit for critical wounds and use stimpack for the rest.

Once again, you might want to get some mods, ones that let you open doors without entering will save you a lot of hospital time in the long run. Ones that keep partial ammo will reduce that amount of ammo and medkits that you’ll have to build and save you some badly needed cash.

Last but not least. Savegames.

You got 10 save slots. Use them! I would use 4 of them for weekly saves so you can go back up to a month if you later realize that you neglected some critical research or such. One for current Geoscape saves. I would also save before intercepting any UFO in case it turns out badly. Use one for Tactical mission start, one as you make each kills and save often when you think you are almost finished with a mission so you can patch up your troops before you kill the last alien.

That’s all I have for now. Enjoy the game and feel free to suggest any changes.

[GalacticOrigins]

Nice. A little different than mine on a few points (I go for advanced cannon first to shoot the enemy down easier early on). Also, I stick with the standard Lab and only 2 workshops (makes for less costs and I have to prioritize research. Of course, on normal/easy difficulty finances are less of a problem). I also have 4 hangars at Main base, 3 for advanced int and 1 for the advanced trans. I research slowly, and get to fight level one aliens (grays, slithers, monsters and floaters I call them) the whole first year [8D].

I have not built at the poles, I probably should. Radar coverage is the key factor. A base in Patria, for instance, must cover as much of the region as possible to get any funds from the region and pay for the base upkeep costs.

I also build limited defenses, just to keep small stuff away (like 1 defense on a quiet base, 2-3 at a base that the aliens take almost every month). I just do not like the enemy coming and not having any battle at all (I do not use the int. at the base that gets conquered. It is still there if I retake the base within 10 days.)

Oh, also, I do not go across the planet until later. I can't stop small ships from reconning the region over there. If the aliens take the base in the first few months of the war I seldom have the soldiers available to go and retake it back. Also, having a few bases near Main Base means more hangars and thus more int support on the main continent. Stratos and Medie are wonderful, but Pulsar and Seathopia I stay out of. They drive costs up and there are problems defending those later on in the war, heh.

Overall, you have a great set of hints! [:)][8D][;)]

[Wiz33]

The interesting thing is that interceptor will head back into base even after the base was captured and they will be there for you once you re-capture the base. You don't need to route them elsewhere although you might if you have a spare hangar within range.

I guess researching slow has it's advantages;-) One thing that I did not get into is the Era trigger since some may consider them spoiler info. On the other hand, larger UFO appearance is time based so you might have a hard time if you're trying to take on Battlecrusier with advanced cannon

The thing I don't like about base defense is that they get totally destroyed. I would rather that they be damage and will becomes operational again a certain time after you re-capture the base which I would think is more realistic.

[princep01]

Alien names.....hummmm,  I call the floating, venomous purple things...."gasbags".  Sometimes, when they are most annoying, I call them "lawyers".

The vipons...oh, easy..."snakes", they have to be "snakes".

The chasers and the big clawed psi dudes......."meat" (they're easy if you get the first shot in) and "shrinks" (obvious....they try to make you a head case and pinch your wallet!)).

[iamgwd]

Some good information here although I don't like to restart a mission if it goes bad. That's just short of creating a 'kill all' button and winning the battle that way. IMHO saves are in case of a game crash to give you a restore point.

some things I've found. Do not use up an entire Medikit or Stimpak. If you leave even 1 unit left and switch to another device the unit recharges for you next mission and is available at full strengh. Unlike ammo, they seem to regenerate. Can save a lot of money/production time by not having to reproduce these.

[GalacticOrigins]

ORIGINAL: iamgwd

Some good information here although I don't like to restart a mission if it goes bad. That's just short of creating a 'kill all' button and winning the battle that way. IMHO saves are in case of a game crash to give you a restore point.

.....

Yeah, I only save after a mission in case there is a) a power outage (my room and thus computer is next to a hall switch to the Utility Room, sometimes I lose power ...) b) desktopcrash.

Recently, I went to a mission site. I forgot that I had rearranged my Troopers on the transy, and did not bring a tank. It was a training mission, so I had a Rookie and my 2 best people. I decided to leave (got cold feet) after I lost the Rookie. I could have redone it, but <shrug> I don't redo missions [:D]

[Wiz33]

ORIGINAL: iamgwd

Some good information here although I don't like to restart a mission if it goes bad. That's just short of creating a 'kill all' button and winning the battle that way. IMHO saves are in case of a game crash to give you a restore point.

some things I've found. Do not use up an entire Medikit or Stimpak. If you leave even 1 unit left and switch to another device the unit recharges for you next mission and is available at full strengh. Unlike ammo, they seem to regenerate. Can save a lot of money/production time by not having to reproduce these.

The save suggestion are for beginners, when you are still learning the game and may be making mistakes during your 1st game.