Xcom 2 Is Unfair
So I've been save-scumming the hell out of my first blacksite mission.My Grenadier went down to a stun on the first alien combat turn. Probably should have loaded at that point.Just as I got to the building, I got attacked by another group. This ended up with my Specialist getting controlled.
XCOM 2 does not only seem unfair and unbalanced in the start. It actually is. The difficulty curve of this game is completely ♥♥♥♥ed up. Remember XCOM:EU which would generally throw 3 hp enemies with weak weapons at you in the beginning? Publisher: 2K Offizielle Homepage: Kommentierte Spielszenen von Halimani.
I tried to fall back but they still shot my Sharpshooter, who in trun used Return Fire, setting my Specialist at 1HP. I'd already used all my medkits (1 on the Specialist with Medic Bot), and wasted one on my Grenadier thinking it would revive them.I get into the main chamber at my Specialist goes down to the MEC, so I'm left with a Sharpshooter and Ranger, both with 3HP left.Managed to take down the Viper + ADVENT group patrolling the roof after Overwatching a door, which one of them walked through (but door didn't open), allowing me to fall back and set up another Overwatch trap. Ranger took a hit and is 1HP now.I must have save-scummed (post 2 soldiers left) at least 30 times, trying different movements etc. I'm using the basic weapons and armour right now, playing on the 2nd lowest difficulty. I've completed the first game, though not EW (rage quit on a mission after Zhang went down from 4 aliens shooting at him in one round, Ironman mode).So is this game just a fair bit harder, perhaps even unfair? Or am I behind in tech for my stage of the game?
The game seems to have become a lot worse for firing through terrain and buildings/cover. I don't see the point of cover in the game atm as the aliens fire through walls, cars and the ground to hit you.We can do the same as well. I wish there was an actual line of sight mechanic in the game to stop you from firing through everything.
You just see the enemy through the wall and fire your weapon at them even though there's a concrete wall in front of you.At least add a bit of realism into the game so it's a bit tactical instead of seeing how many walls you can destroy with your weapon before you hit the enemy.I'd rather have it hard and fair than this crap we have now.Destroying cover with a grenade, fine. Firing through the wall as though you had x-ray vision, no. Originally posted by:The game seems to have become a lot worse for firing through terrain and buildings/cover. I don't see the point of cover in the game atm as the aliens fire through walls, cars and the ground to hit you. This actually pisses me off more than anything.
As an example, i had a grenadier in a closed off room with only one exit, with a viper outside and around a little corner, but could still see me. So, instead of just shooting around the corner, the viper turns the other way (into a solid wall) and shoots THROUGH the wall, making a hole, and now suddenly my soldier is flanked. I feel like they didn't do enough testing on some aspects of the game before they released it.My grenadier died btw.
This is game is harder then EU/EW especially the blacksite missions. Are stacked a bit against you.Don´t be afraid to restart the blacksite mission from the campaign save. It will spawn a totally different map or situation.Some pods combination and ganking on you.
Sometimes cause of RNG could present a really tough spot. If you do not have armour or mag weapons. The first blacksite is quite tough.Cause the number of pods against you is bigger then any of the Guerilla missions or Council mission.Blacksites have a fixed number of pods and reinforcements. They are a bit like scripted EU/EW story missions. With fixed structure.
As difficult as it may seem, I recommend saving the game upon deployment and then just playing through the mission without reloading unless you wipe, then start again from deployment.Whilst reloading a saved game is fine if you make a stupid error such as clicking one the wrong guy, the only way you learn is by losing from time to time. You'd be surprised at the beatings you can take yet still salvage the mission, but you'll never improve much by relying on save games.Like I say. Save at the start of the mission, fight it out and keep fighing, even if you just have one guy and the timer is running out. If you wipe, reload from the start. You'll have prior knowledge of where the enemy is and what type, so you'll have the advantage without relying on save scumming.
It's a better way to learn, and you won't feel as if you're 'cheating'. Originally posted by:The game seems to have become a lot worse for firing through terrain and buildings/cover. I don't see the point of cover in the game atm as the aliens fire through walls, cars and the ground to hit you.We can do the same as well. I wish there was an actual line of sight mechanic in the game to stop you from firing through everything. You just see the enemy through the wall and fire your weapon at them even though there's a concrete wall in front of you.At least add a bit of realism into the game so it's a bit tactical instead of seeing how many walls you can destroy with your weapon before you hit the enemy.I'd rather have it hard and fair than this crap we have now.Destroying cover with a grenade, fine. Firing through the wall as though you had x-ray vision, no.Just because you don't understand how cover and LOS works does not make it broken. There are a few LOS issues but it is maybe one or two per playthrough and it is caused by the map generator hiccuping, if you are seeing more than that you just don't understand LOS.Cover never straight up blocks shots.
It is full cover or low cover, never complete cover. If they have LOS on you they can fire at you. Full Cover can block LOS but just 1 tile of full cover rarely will block LOS.As an example very few cars in the game should block LOS. The bigger vans can if you stand in the middle of them but if you are on the edge of a van it shouldn't block LOS.Read that if you want to understand it better.
But with all of its achievements it doubled down on possibly one of the worst aspects of the original, the over reliance on dice rolls. In its pre-emptive attempt to lessen the effects of randomness on the core gameplay, it created a playground where everyone’s powers are greatly inflated, and one that’s ultimately ruled by power creep.The 2012 original is lauded to this day for introducing the genre to a wider audience, with intuitive controls and relatively accessible gameplay. It was a similar case for me, reigniting my love for a genre I had long since cared about. Around its release, I read a lot of angry comments about how entropy had taken control of design, killing off the tactical aspects and making it a game of luck more than anything.I never really understood these criticisms; dice rolls in XCOM always seemed like part of the formula to me, even if they can be a bit annoying.Today, having spent over 20 hours with the sequel, I absolutely understand their grievances.
In a way, XCOM 2 represents the natural evolution of modern games. It has more of everything its predecessor had, and even borrows from other genres. It fulfils your wishlist for what the original should have been.Yet, somehow, all these improvements managed to do is accentuate the worst parts of the Firaxis formula.Winning in XCOM 2 rarely feels like it.
You’re in a constant state of trying to catch up to the aliens on multiple fronts, and you’re never ahead. You always earn less than what you spend, and your plans are always foiled by an attack here or a raid there that you must take care of.Your ambitious ideas for a better ship and a better squad are always put off. When you return, you’ll have no doubt lost a soldier or two.
If they’re not KIA, they’ll more than likely be gravely wounded, preventing you from using them for a few days. This of course gets you to recruit others to fill in their place.
Which wouldn’t be too bad, if it weren’t for the fact you have to take rookies on missions to level them up, even if they’re not your best option.The missions themselves seem to always want to fuck you over. The odds are not just stacked against you, they’re unpredictable, and change on a dime. I don’t know if Firaxis is leaving the types and number of enemies you encounter to a random algorithm, or if it’s all part of bespoke level design. I doubt it’s the latter, but it always makes me lament my every move.The biggest reason for this is the sheer number of enemy squads in each level.
I dare you to find a single mission where the balance isn’t constantly one turn away from being completely out of whack. I found myself constantly refusing to move ahead. Any move I make could aggro another enemy squad I can’t see, but one that’ll definitely join the – already barely manageable – fight.I am not sending the whole squad ahead, either. I am talking about changing cover, or getting closer to an enemy for a better shot.
Xcom 2 Is Unfair 2
Any of these moves could be one tile too far.Whenever you accidentally aggro a group of enemies, they’re almost always more difficult than the one you’re engaging. Fights like these are gruelling and make every mission feel like a grand campaign-ending expedition, when it’s just an everyday scrimmage.
You never feel like the commander they keep calling you, more of a desperate swarmed general who’s out-manned and out-gunned.And if all these frustrations weren’t enough, XCOM 2 randomly decides to bring in backup. You get one turn of a warning, and they always come in at the worst time. It’s as if the game is constantly analysing your squad health before it decides to turn the dial up even further.
These backup units usually spawn at your flanks, and they usually announce themselves as you’re busy whittling down the three enemy squads you’ve been engaging since four turns.In the seconds before they drop, you’re left with two difficult choices and neither is rewarding. You either set up Overwatch to pick off the new units, exposing your back to the ones already aggroed. Or you continue dealing with the current threat and leave your flank open.And so essentially, in every mission, you’re always expected to cut your losses. With the exception of the concealed start, you never have time to set up ambushes or position your units the way you want. You’re always reacting.
Xcom 2 Faceless Unfair
Xcom 2 Is Unfair Good
It’s always a race to scramble to cover and hope the team survives until the next turn.This creates constantly escalating missions that feel gruelling to tackle. And although this is not a problem in and of itself, the over-abundance of them make sure that you’re frustrated more than excited. And that’s where I think I am with XCOM 2 at this point.The last time I played it, it was a mission where I had 14 turns to locate, reach a hostage, free and extract everyone. I tried this mission probably five times before giving up. I’ve always been completely against timed missions in games, but you can’t expect me to stomach that on top of XCOM 2’s penchant for screwing you over.
Including Runt!. You could only have played it on consoles if you rejected all the patches. 
Some enemies that were too hesitant to attack the player are now much more eager to fight. Patch 1.8.2 - February 18th– Bugs fixed –.