XCOM: Enemy Within

[Guynemer]

Training Roulette makes the game way more interesting.

I might give that one a go on the next go-around.

[MRT144]

I might give that one a go on the next go-around.

You should. When you get a HEAT Suppression Sniper with Sentinel you'll hate me and love me.

[Guynemer]

HEAT Suppression Sniper with Sentinel

[regexcellent]

Really every unit in the game should get suppression out of the box except snipers (or they should get it but it uses all their ammo or something I dunno).

Then the suppression upgrades for heavies and supports should boost the aim penalty from -10 to -20 or -30 or something.

[Al B. Sure!]

****ing Thin Men. I've restarted my campaign 6 times now after an absurd squad wipe on the first council mission thanks to perfect thin men who never miss and one shot critical through full cover. I'm tempted to simply ignore the first council mission as a result.

[regexcellent]

You will lose engagements with thin men in which you are at equal cover or inferior cover. You will lose engagements with thin men when they have a strong height advantage on you. You will lose engagements with thin men when they outnumber you.

Therefore, you need to:
1. ALWAYS use full cover
2. ALWAYS hunker down when in sight of them, unless shooting
3. Try to pull back out of sight and use overwatch traps so you can shoot them in the open
4. Get a height advantage on them
5. Destroy their cover with explosives

[DaShi]

Thin Men never miss. Argh

They do on normal, which is my current game as I learn the new features (and am considering a little too easy after playing on Classic). But yes, on Classic, they struggle to miss.

[DaShi]

You will lose engagements with thin men in which you are at equal cover or inferior cover. You will lose engagements with thin men when they have a strong height advantage on you. You will lose engagements with thin men when they outnumber you.

Therefore, you need to:
1. ALWAYS use full cover
2. ALWAYS hunker down when in sight of them, unless shooting
3. Try to pull back out of sight and use overwatch traps so you can shoot them in the open
4. Get a height advantage on them
5. Destroy their cover with explosives

These are good tips. Additionally, the spawn pattern on thin men missions is fairly predictable. In the first half, 1-2 spawn as you advance to the target. In the send half, they spawn as the target advances to the pick up point. So, for the second half, you can spend time prepping and positioning your troops before the thin men spawn by holding the target's movement until you are ready.

[MRT144]

****ing Thin Men. I've restarted my campaign 6 times now after an absurd squad wipe on the first council mission thanks to perfect thin men who never miss and one shot critical through full cover. I'm tempted to simply ignore the first council mission as a result.

if you make contact you can break LOS ya know.

[regexcellent]

if you make contact you can break LOS ya know.

It's something he should know because they teach that at OCS...

(that is one of two main purposes of smoke grenades in real life, breaking contact. The other one is covering an advance.)

Which reminds me...smoke grenades are also really useful against thin men.

[Wiglaf]

The enemy within impossible playthrough by the Borat/Saddam ****** is helpful for learning tactics

[Al B. Sure!]

(that is one of two main purposes of smoke grenades in real life, breaking contact. The other one is covering an advance.)

You are using the wrong operational terminology.

And I don't always have a bunch of supports at the ready.

[regexcellent]

Using the right terminology doesn't matter if people know what I mean. Not everyone has sat through death by ppt seminars detailing the correct vocabulary.

And you should have at least one support in your squad, who will have at least one smoke grenade. If you want to survive thin men, that is.

edit: from FM 3-21.8 The Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad:

The grenadier is currently equipped with an M203 weapon system consisting of an M16/M4 rifle and
an attached 40-mm grenade launcher. The grenadier provides the fire team with a high trajectory, high
explosive capability out to 350 meters. His fire enables the fire team to achieve complementary effects with
high trajectory, high explosive munitions, and the flat trajectory ball ammunition of the team’s other
weapons. The grenade launcher allows the grenadier to perform three functions: suppress and destroy
enemy Infantry and lightly-armored vehicles with HE or high explosive dual purpose; provide smoke to
screen and cover his squad’s fire and movement; and employ illumination rounds to increase his squad’s
visibility and mark enemy positions.

So even the field manual uses the word "cover" to refer to something that doesn't literally stop bullets. Moving on.

[Wiglaf]

How is smoke useful. It's a -20 aim penalty. Hunkering off and jerking down is -80...clearly better.

[regexcellent]

Can't hunker down if you shoot. Someone out of sight throws the smoke, whoever's in the smoke shoots. Or hunkers down in the smoke. Full cover + hunker down + smoke I believe is ~100 defense.