# That's XCOM (II) Baby! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [December 11, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194 "2015-12-11T20:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/142 "2016-02-17T04:09:00Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > The mimic beacon seems to act like a taunt - aliens will attack it even if it’s a poor target. I’ve seen aliens leave an exposed target in front of them to run back and attack the beacon. That’s what makes it overpowered. They preferentially attack rangers with Untouchable active, as well - so I think it’s probably intentional. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/143 "2016-02-17T22:36:39Z")
Hotfix today which fixes some crashes. What they should do with the Avatar project is to give the aliens some sort of buff, or you some sort of debuff, depending on the progress bar. So if you have a high Avatar progress, it doesn’t end the game suddenly, but the enemy can call in more reinforcements. Or maybe your purchases cost more. Or something like that. So you’d still have an incentive for keeping it low, but it wouldn’t suddenly end the game. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/144 "2016-02-17T23:03:24Z")
It doesn’t suddenly end the game. When it fills up, it goes to a 21-day countdown, instead. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/145 "2016-02-17T23:07:32Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Hotfix today which fixes some crashes. > > What they should do with the Avatar project is to give the aliens some sort of buff, or you some sort of debuff, depending on the progress bar. So if you have a high Avatar progress, it doesn’t end the game suddenly, but the enemy can call in more reinforcements. Or maybe your purchases cost more. Or something like that. > > So you’d still have an incentive for keeping it low, but it wouldn’t suddenly end the game. Or maybe make more Dark Events appear. When it’s just starting, there’s only one dark event, which you can prevent. Then it goes to two, to three, on and on. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/146 "2016-02-17T23:08:48Z")
> [@Unpronounceable](#): > > It doesn’t suddenly end the game. When it fills up, it goes to a 21-day countdown, instead. Does the game end when that runs out? ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/147 "2016-02-17T23:48:25Z")
Not sure. Haven’t let it happen. My understanding is that it does. ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/148 "2016-02-18T00:59:17Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > What they should do with the Avatar project is to give the aliens some sort of buff, or you some sort of debuff, depending on the progress bar. I was expecting lower-powered proto-Avatars to start showing up in missions. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/149 "2016-02-18T06:12:26Z")
Having a severe shortage of elerium cores this run. I forgot to take the upgrade that doubled loot drops early on. I’ve only had 2 or 3 of them and I’m past the midway point. So I’ve got some tracer rounds, and two special grenades, and that’s it. Been tough to get by with no experimental equipment. Does using explosives on someone destroy any loot they’re carrying, or just killing them with explosives? I’ve been using plenty of explosives and so perhaps that’s affecting the drop rate, but I just killed a sectopod after blasting it with grenades and it dropped some gear. So I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/150 "2016-02-18T07:25:17Z")
I had one of those avenger defender missions. At this point in the game, though, I’m pretty sure I could hold out against the reinforcements pretty much indefinitely. I killed about 40 aliens and had a gatekeeper dominated with a legion of psi zombies when I decided to just bail. Would reinforcements eventually have stopped coming or could I have kept the shooting gallery going forever? ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/151 "2016-02-18T13:58:30Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Does the game end when that runs out? It starts a timer, presumably the game ends if the timer expires. My first hit was 16 days, the second was 12. I don’t plan on giving them a third. I figure they probably continue decreasing with each subsequent fill up. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/152 "2016-02-18T14:30:49Z")
> [@Garula](#): > > I had one of those avenger defender missions. At this point in the game, though, I’m pretty sure I could hold out against the reinforcements pretty much indefinitely. I killed about 40 aliens and had a gatekeeper dominated with a legion of psi zombies when I decided to just bail. Would reinforcements eventually have stopped coming or could I have kept the shooting gallery going forever? That’s awesome! I had one of those mind controlled on a ADVENT VIP capture (or kill) mission from the first pod. That thing was a blast to have. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/153 "2016-02-18T15:56:23Z")
I ended up mind controlling a Gatekeeper and an Archon in the same turn with Void Rift. However, since they were the final two enemies of a terror mission, the mission just ended successfully with them both sitting there drooling. Kind of a shame, as I was interested in taking the Gatekeeper for a test drive. Mind control and hack are a great way to get a better feel for enemy skills, stats, odds, etc. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/154 "2016-02-18T16:44:54Z")
Ran into my first Gatekeeper last night. I was surprised that I couldn’t hack it because I was sure it was robot. It took three turns to kill, thankfully I had 2 mimic beacons still to use. Also, I got a couple turns into a base defense before calling it a night. A fully upgraded and staffed defense turret is crazy helpful. It gives you **eight** extra shots a turn. ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/155 "2016-02-18T16:51:56Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Does the game end when that runs out? I ran out the timer once just to see what happens. The game just ends, a bit anticlimactically. The ADVENT spokesperson guy gives a press conference announcing that XCOM has been completely annihilated. It’s not made clear what the Avatar project has to do with that victory, though. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/156 "2016-02-19T10:44:36Z")
I did a perfect retaliation mission. All 13/13 civilians survived. Who wants to touch me? It was more luck than good play, but there was some good play too. That’s super hard to pull off. I wish there was an achievement for it so I could see how rare it is. There’s only an achievement for losing 3 or less. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/157 "2016-02-19T12:15:54Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I did a perfect retaliation mission. All 13/13 civilians survived. Who wants to touch me? > > It was more luck than good play, but there was some good play too. That’s super hard to pull off. I wish there was an achievement for it so I could see how rare it is. There’s only an achievement for losing 3 or less. Wow, that is impressive! Luck or not. The best I’ve done is 11 on the mission I described previously where three (of the four) pods started in visual range. Can we get an AAR for that one? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/158 "2016-02-19T12:53:41Z")
If I save more than the required six is by accident, since the massive loses in Sidney in 1993 it has been my official policy that the safety of X-COM troops is the first priority in all Alien Terror missions. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/159 "2016-02-20T02:10:33Z")
Just finished my first campaign on Commander tonight. Holy mackerel, that last battle was hard. I just barely won, but damn was that satisfying. Didn’t lose any troops, either (assuming that ending the battle before Spooky and Kickass bled out counts as not losing anyone). Now some spoilery thoughts about the story. [SPOILER]So, in standard XCOM fashion, there was barely any story resolution, which is disappointing, but expected. I really wanted to see the Volunteer show up, though! Jake Solomon went out of his way to point out that the Volunteer didn’t die when the temple ship exploded. I was so sure they would show up in some capacity. I also wanted to find out what happened to Dr. Vahlen. Everyone seemed to be going out of their way to not talk about her,which made me think she wasn’t captured or killed, but instead parted ways with XCOM on bad terms. I could easily see her going too far in one of her experiments and getting thrown out. I was expecting to find her working with ADVENT, willingly or no. Ah well.[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/160 "2016-02-20T02:26:55Z")
Are berserkers exceedingly rare? I’ve only seen two in almost two full campaigns. They also lost their move on attack trait, which I thought was a cool way to make them unique. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194/161 "2016-02-20T02:43:26Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Are berserkers exceedingly rare? I’ve only seen two in almost two full campaigns. They also lost their move on attack trait, which I thought was a cool way to make them unique. I only encountered them on one or two terror missions and the final mission. So yeah, they’re rare as far as I can tell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-xcom-ii-baby/740194.md?page=9)