I'm probably on my fifth attempt at playing this game in Ironman mode. Here are some more things that I've learned.
EVAC / SkyRanger / Aborting Mission
On the Xbox One you can “abort mission” or call for EVAC, by calling the SkyRanger using the R3 button. There are some missions where this will not be available, like when there is already a fixed extraction point. You'll know when this option is available if it shows up on the upper right of the screen. Usually on certain missions, you have to fail an objective for this option to be enabled.
One of the first enemies you'll encounter in XCOM 2 are the Sectoids. They are a pain because they have the ability to mind control your units. They can also reanimate dead units on the field, including your own dead allies.
One way to break their mind control link, or to stop their reanimated zombies is to kill off the Sectoid.
Another, probably easier way, is to disorient the Sectoid. You can do this by tossing a Flashbang Grenade in their direction. While this won't kill the Sectoid, it disrupts them enough that their mind control ability stops working and their reanimated zombies just die off.
I would like to end this post with a short gameplay clip of this pretty fun tactical game.
I bought XCOM 2 for $15 when it went on sale on the Xbox One a month or two ago. This game, along with Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 are the only two games I've been playing for the past few months. Anyway what prompted the creation of this post was a traumatic in-game experience in XCOM 2.
I'm playing the game in “Normal” difficulty with Ironman mode turned on. Ironman mode for XCOM games means you only get one save file that is auto-saved. This means that if you made a mistake and the game already auto-saved, you cannot load back a previous save file to undo your mistake.
So I was playing this mission where I had to capture a VIP and then get everyone to the extraction point. There were 12 turns allowed before “Forced Retreat” happens. I did not know what “Forced Retreat” meant prior to playing this mission. I've played missions before where you could fail the objective and the game will still allow you to continue fighting until you get to extract the whole team. This was not the case with tonight's mission.
I completed the DCD Headquarters mission. In this mission I went up against the Outcasts faction. This really was my first time doing a mission against the Outcasts, so I had no idea what to expect.
I looked it up on Google Maps and it turns out this building in the real world is the American National Red Cross bulding that is located near the White House.
The biggest surprise were the Outcasts Engineers. On the final battle at the courtyard, there were multiple Engineers on the battlefield. The Outcast Engineers use a remote controlled car that has like chainsaws on it, I don't exactly remember. Unlike the remote controlled bomb cars that the Hyena Engineers use, this one was armored so it can take a lot of bullets before going down. It also did crazy amounts of damage.
Ifan got a crossbow from Zalsekar the NPC. It had pretty high stats so I gave it to my Ranger. What a difference maker in combat! My Ranger now does some pretty good damage. Weaker enemies are taken out with just 3-4 hits. It probably also helps that I stopped leveling up my Huntsman skill and instead now focus on the Ranged skill, which increases damage from the use of bows and crossbows.
The idea to use the Ranger to strip out Physical Armor from all enemies in the battlefield is a good one. It makes multiple enemies vulnerable to getting knocked down with just one use of the Battlestomp skill.
I played my first two international friendly matches as the coach for the US Men's National Soccer Team. I won both games against Wales and Slovenia. I used the same 4-4-2 diamond formation that I am using with my Master League team. A couple of notes on this:
The striker Weah for the US Team is super fast. Opposing center backs can hardly keep up. I need to look into feeding him the ball in counter attacks. He does seem to have trouble finishing. Not that he's not accurate with his shots, just that they get blocked often. That's probably on me and my shot selection, and not on the player stats.
I need another “fast” center back. Miazga is fast enough, but his partner is not. When I played against Wales, Bale ran circles around my slower center back.
Similar to what I see happen with Casteldine, Ogilvy who is my AMF, can sometimes have trouble keeping the ball. Need to make use of more one-touch passes. He also will run out of stamina just like Casteldine before the game ends.
I don't have good substitution options for LMF, RMF and the fullback positions. I don't think I have a choice though as I already have the best possible players in the lineup.
I finished another “Set up MILA” quest for Tinker Tom, this time it was at some Fish Packing Plant center. Reported back to him and he gave me another location to go to. Jeez will this quest line even end? He is almost as bad as Preston now, giving out never ending settlement quests.
I spoke to PAM and I got a quest to establish Jamaica Plains as a settlement. I’ve already discovered the location in the past but could not figure out how to make it a settlement of mine. Well now I know. I also managed to discover the “Treasures of Jamaica Plains”. I won’t spoil what’s inside except for one. If you play a melee character, there is a legendary baseball bat in there.
A new settler showed up on The Castle. I sent him to the County Crossing settlement. This event disproves my theory from my previous log where I said I already hit the population limit on my settlement, which prevented new settlers from showing up. That obviously isn’t true and something else is at play here. Either way I’m just glad to get new settlers.
Completed the “Set up MILA” quest at Mass Bay Medical Center. Was expecting some heavy resistance at the rooftop, but didn't get any. Actually there were no enemies until I'd gone down the building after completing the quest.
I ran into the classic issue of being “encumbered” because of too much loot. What can I say, I like looting enemies. Since I had Hancock as my companion, I was hesitant to call a Brotherhood of Steel Vertibird for a lift as I was worried that they might attack him (since he is a ghoul). So I had to walk around encumbered for a good amount of time until I found a location I can “fast travel” to. Dumped the extra loot at a nearby trash bin, then had to go back and forth to merchants and my loot until I was able to sell or save all of it.
I reported back to Tinker Tom at the Railroad HQ, who then gave me another location to set up MILA, at the Corvega Assembly Plant. Learning from my previous mistake of having too much loot at the end of the quest, I made sure to prepare for this one. I outfitted Hancock in Dirty Armor Fatigues with a set of “Deep Pocketed” Polymer Combat Armor. That would allow him to carry more loot than usual. And I did the quest using a Brotherhood of Steel Power Armor with calibrated leg pieces for extra loot carrying capacity. That quest was pretty straightforward and I didn't experience any issues with regards to enemies or hauling back the loot.
In the process of doing another of the “Set up MILA” quest for the Railroad. The current one is located in Mass Bay Medical Center.
The place is being guarded by Gunners.
There is an Assaultron on the second floor, yikes! Assaultrons terrify me! They terrify me more than Deathclaws. I was able to take it down with the help of a Protectron robot. I activated the one on the first floor. Once activated, the Assaultron sensed it and teleported down to the first floor. I was able to shoot it down without taking any damage. The Protectron survived the encounter too.
There is also another Protectron on the second floor.
There is a T-45 Power Armor in the upper levels of the building (after you take the elevator up). A Gunner Commander is near it. I took him down without anyone noticing. My guess is, if an alarm was triggered, he would have gotten into the Power Armor and I would have had a much harder battle at hand.
Stopped playing at this point. Need to explore the building more.
On my previous log I mentioned that I activated the recruitment radio beacon on The Castle settlement. For some reason no new settlers showed up. I need to figure out why.
Did the Bank Headquarters main mission today. There was a plot twist in that mission that totally caught me off guard. I had to rescue a VIP, one who is very important to the game’s story. What a mission that was!
I did the whole mission using a Police M4 assault rifle as my primary weapon, with a Military Mk17 as my secondary weapon. The Mk17 with the ACOG scope on it was special. Good amount of damage per shot and seems plenty accurate even when shooting out of scope.
I have noticed that the Control Point supply rooms are a treasure trove of loot. The big box doesn’t restock, but the rest of the boxes always do. You are almost guaranteed to get a weapon, or armor, or both from just visiting the different Control Point supply rooms in the game.
I’m up to level 19 now, so 11 more levels to go before I reach max level.
I looked it up on Google Maps and it turns out this building in the real world is the 
Ifan got a crossbow from Zalsekar the NPC. It had pretty high stats so I gave it to my Ranger. What a difference maker in combat! My Ranger now does some pretty good damage. Weaker enemies are taken out with just 3-4 hits. It probably also helps that I stopped leveling up my Huntsman skill and instead now focus on the Ranged skill, which increases damage from the use of bows and crossbows.