API tools faq
paste
PhysixCat

Death Log

PhysixCat
Nov 30th, 2019
974
0
Never
Add comment
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 38.67 KB | None | 0 0
raw download clone embed print report
  1. A log of my tactical tumbles during my Long War 1.0 campaigns, by PhysixCat
  2. Last updated: 2020-02-12
  3.  
  4. Written for the purpose of trying to learn from my cock-ups, and possibly giving others entertainment.
  5.  
  6. SEASON 2
  7. Total deaths so far: 40
  8.  
  9. Operation Enduring Heart - Crashed scout in quadrant rural map - 4/6/2016
  10.  
  11. Squad accidentally activated outsider pod when advancing towards a sectoid pod, which then triggered a seeker+thinman pod to back them up. We stayed on the edge of deciding whether to retreat or not for too late, and were then forced to fight on an unfavorable position where XCOM was overwhelmed by flanks and strangulations. However, the mission was completed in the end thanks to a clutch rookie who dodged an outsider's 65% shot at 1 health.
  12.  
  13. Deaths:
  14. LCPL Van Doorn
  15. PFC Amir
  16.  
  17. Lessons learned:
  18. Several, actually. When you accidentally activate the command pod, immediately check the number of aliens active. If it's below the expected number for that mission type, immediately retreat. Don't think your position is strong enough just because there's heavy cover - it will quickly turn into a hellscape with enough thinman acid, seeker strangulations, suppressions, and flanks. Fall back early, try to pick off the attackers in small chunks instead of trying to handle them all at once. Basic ballistic pistols are not able to kill robotic units like seekers even if they're at 1 HP - the DR will always save them, so don't even try. This makes getting rid of them priority #1, even beyond suppressing an outsider or pre-emptively running away from a strangulation. When you cannot afford to suppress or flashbang an enemy, control them via offering them targets they're more likely to shoot since they are in their way (for example, if a unit is all that is stopping an alien from flanking and killing a gunner, then the alien will probably try to kill that unit to take over their position).
  19.  
  20. Operation Lost Thorn - Landed large - 5/15/2016
  21.  
  22. While the squad was engaged with the command pod (six outsiders), an XCOM soldier was fired upon from a high vantage position and failed her panic check. This led her to being stuck in a vulnerable position without any smoke to spare in her direction. On the second turn of her panic, she did not hunker down (unknown if bug), which led her to become even more vulnerable. Mission was completed.
  23.  
  24. Deaths:
  25. CPL 'Kitty'
  26.  
  27. Lessons learned:
  28. When planning to fight the command pod of a landed large, pull back everyone. Having slightly forward positions with some troops to overwatch the initial wave sounds good in paper, until the outsiders can easily get high percentage shots with height advantage on them and get them panicked.
  29.  
  30. Operation Fading Hymn - Council Mission (Newfoundland) - 5/23/2016
  31.  
  32. Squad took control of an elevated position and attempted to secure all points of entry from a chrysallid pod advancing on them. We failed to secure one possible jump point for the aliens. Mission was completed.
  33.  
  34. Deaths:
  35. CPL 'Hotdog'
  36.  
  37. Lessons learned:
  38. You can't cheese the Newfoundland mission before the whale section man, stop trying. Try baiting out pod by pod with a mobile unit next time.
  39.  
  40. Operation Silent King - Abduction on TV store map - 6/8/2016
  41.  
  42. Squad was engaged by multiple pods (sectoids, thinmen, floaters) in an awkward position. Floater was not suppressed for one turn and was allowed to advance to a flanking position on a low HP XCOM operative. Mission was completed.
  43.  
  44. Deaths:
  45. SPEC Zoe Simana
  46.  
  47. Lessons learned:
  48. Mind your ammo when suppressing targets, you might run out on a key turn. Babysit low level 3HP troops, don't go strapping on Alloy Plating on them and thinking they'll be fine. A floater flank will still kill them off in one shot.
  49.  
  50. Operation Blinding Throne - Crashed fighter on badlands map - 6/9/2016
  51.  
  52. Squad was taken by surprise by a pod of seekers very close by. Rocketeer missed his shot on the group just meters away from him. Mission was completed.
  53.  
  54. Deaths:
  55. LCPL Ranajay Nagarjuna
  56.  
  57. Lessons learned:
  58. Before CPL (Fire in the Hole) rank, don't even try shooting rockets without steadying weapon first. Seriously. You may think the target is extremely close. The rocketeer will still manage to whiff the shot, even if they haven't moved.
  59.  
  60. Operation Dying Flame - Landed raider on stonewall map - 6/10/2016
  61.  
  62. Squad was engaged with a floater and a muton. Muton was not finished off, was able to run away, and grenade the cover our scout was using, exposing him to the floater. Mission was completed.
  63.  
  64. Deaths:
  65. SGT 'ME - 262'
  66.  
  67. Lessons learned:
  68. An uncontrolled muton can wombo combo insta-kill any of your troops with a well placed grenade + assist from another alien. Mutons must always be controlled or you're gambling with someone's life.
  69.  
  70.  
  71. Operation Forgotten Sleep - Abduction on underpass - 7/7/2016
  72.  
  73. Squad engaged multiple large pods made up of floaters and seekers. Instead of falling back, we made the mistake of trying to hold our ground to get more meld, believing that we would pull through with our MEC. We cleared the pods in the end, but at the cost of one of our operatives' lives. Mission was completed.
  74.  
  75. Deaths:
  76. LCPL Mihai Ciprian Chelariu
  77.  
  78. Lessons learned:
  79. This is not the first time we've faced such a problem. The lesson we've learned when too many aliens are engaged is fall back, break LoS, bait them out. Failing to realize this was the right move has gotten yet another poor soldier killed. This is bad and you should feel bad.
  80.  
  81. Operation Hidden Fog - Council mission (Rescue VIP in observatory map) - 7/17/2016
  82.  
  83. While attempting to sneak by the edge of the map to the extraction zone, the squad was ambushed and not enough cover for everyone could be secured. Smoke was thrown in an attempt to help everyone survive, but the floaters did not care and hit all their shots on our gunner. Mission was completed.
  84.  
  85. Deaths:
  86. SGT LinkinPark
  87.  
  88. Lessons learned:
  89. Smoke grenades without the Dense Smoke perk is not reliable, we've been over this. You need to fall back to better cover instead of doubling down in the open if you don't have Dense Smoke. You complete and utter silly person.
  90.  
  91. Operation Severed Priest - EXALT Covert Op Extraction on rooftop construction map - 7/21/2016
  92.  
  93. A very weak team that was scrambled on short notice was all we could spare to rescue our covert operative this time. On top of this, we got the worst covert op map and the worst spawn. An attempt to protect the laptop was made, but a series of unfortunate events (such as a steadied rocket from a LCPL missing its mark slightly and whinging an assault, the same assault getting sniped by a gauss long rifle, and rolling the lowest bleed out timer of 2 turns) complicated things. In the end, the mission was completed.
  94.  
  95. Deaths:
  96. TSGT Trixie
  97.  
  98. Lessons learned:
  99. EXALT needs to start the turn in the KOTH zone to actually tick the counter down - it doesn't count if they just step into it during their turn. LCPL rocketeers don't have Fire in the Hole, therefore are very bad even when steadied. We've been over this, don't trust them. Also, prevent bleedouts by getting the medic closer to an injured troop BEFORE they need to be stabilized. If you roll the lowest turn counter on bleed out (2-5 is the range), then you're screwed.
  100.  
  101. Operation Hidden Mist - Crashed fighter in badlands map - 8/4/2016
  102.  
  103. Squad encountered a mechtoid and immediately fell back to better ground. During the retreat, officer took half cover far back, believing he would be out of LOS of the incoming mechtoid. He was wrong. Mission was completed.
  104.  
  105. Deaths:
  106. CPT Potocki
  107.  
  108. Lessons learned:
  109. When retreating, sometimes distance ISN'T everything. It may be better to retreat less distance but take full cover + hunker down or smoke.
  110.  
  111. Operation Frozen Calm - Landed large UFO in Furies map - 8/6/2016
  112.  
  113. First blunder of the campaign. Squad spawned on a very awkward LZ at the back of the ship, and had to sneak its way to the actual Furies LZ. On the way there, we were ambushed by two pods of mutons+zerks in a single alien turn, and were caught out of position. Shogun MEC panicked, Marauder MEC was not able to get crucial CCS shot, and mutons got plenty of free shots on the squad. Mission was aborted.
  114.  
  115. Deaths:
  116. SGT Cymek12
  117. CPT Tayjan
  118. TSGT Spider
  119.  
  120. Lessons learned:
  121. CCS only activates if the target moves while they're inside the 4 tile-radius. If they just barely reach 4 tiles close, it will not activate. It may be wise to equip Alien Trophy on low-rank MECs so they won't panic and be sitting ducks. Always run the scout first if enemy OW is suspected. These are not difficult concepts but we somehow managed to make a great deal many mistakes, likely because of being put on the spot and feeling overwhelmed. Try to maintain calm and keep a clear head in hard situations. Also, hug the edge of the map harder during large landed missions. Pulling two pods of mutons+zerkers is not pretty.
  122.  
  123. Operation Black Dawn - Abduction in fast food joint map - 8/20/2016
  124.  
  125. Squad positioned itself on the roof to fight a cyberdisc pod, but when activated it instead chose to go inside the building. Commander was fixated with clearing the disc's overwatch, and dropped a scout to run it with LR. This was however completely unnecessary, because the act of dropping down from a building does not trigger OW. Mission was completed.
  126.  
  127.  
  128. Deaths:
  129. CPL 'Echo'
  130.  
  131. Lessons learned:
  132. We had horse blinders on. We were trying to solve a problem that didn't need solving. It was not necessary to clear the cyberdisc's OW because dropping down from a building does not count as a OW trigger. This means that we could have dropped the whole squad in positions surrounding the disc and killed it/disabled it without needing to LR-run the overwatch. Our scout got hit by the 3% shot in vain.
  133.  
  134. Operation Lost Spark - Crashed scout in swamp map - 9/2/2016
  135.  
  136. Squad accidentally activated the outsider pod while trying to get a better position on a floater+muton pod. We repositioned to suppress the outsider, believing that would neutralize it, and left an assault in a flanked position assuming the outsider would shoot the supressor. Mission was completed.
  137.  
  138. Deaths:
  139. LCPL Jackie Aldridge
  140.  
  141. Lessons learned:
  142. Remember that killshots override everything in the AI routines for the aliens. If they can get a killshot, they will take it even if the Hit% is low. This overrides the usual prioritizing of suppression and other concerns. Outsider had a 40% killshot on the flanked assault while suppressed, and he took it. Break LoS next time.
  143.  
  144. Operation Blind Serpent - Covert extraction (4-man) in TV store map - 9/9/2016
  145.  
  146. While trying to exfiltrate, the squad was swamped by sheer enemy numbers and not enough arrays to disrupt their actions. Mission was completed.
  147.  
  148. Deaths:
  149. TSGT 'Sunny' Xabasto
  150. SGT 'DJ' Yashina
  151.  
  152. Lessons learned:
  153. The TV store map is a nightmare for 4-man EXALT ops. It is extremely easy to get overwhelmed. Next time we get it, attempt to get control of the roof of the TV store before shit hits the fan. Things can get out of hand extremely quickly here.
  154.  
  155. Operation Red Pyre - Abduction in docks map - 9/10/2016
  156.  
  157. Squad was engaged with a mechtoid and a muton. Mechtoid was able to land a shot on our suppressing gunner, and the previously-disabled muton was able to kill the gunner. Mission was completed.
  158.  
  159. Deaths:
  160. SGT 'Mack' Pastran
  161.  
  162. Lessons learned:
  163. Mechtoids are fucking scary, man. Even through smoke they can fuck you up easy. Pull out all the stops when dealing with them.
  164.  
  165. Operation Shattered God - Abduction in TV store map - 9/17/2016
  166.  
  167. Underpowered squad was engaged with pod of outsiders and sectoid commander, had to resort to taking out cover one of the aliens was using - this however also exposed a rookie to enemy fire. Mission was completed
  168.  
  169. Deaths:
  170. PFC Tanet
  171.  
  172. Lessons learned:
  173. The "collateral damage" skill on Shoguns isn't very precise. Who woulda thunk.
  174.  
  175. Operation Ashes and Temples - XCOM HQ Defense - 10/13/2016
  176.  
  177. Blueshirt security guy got hugged by a muton. Mission was completed.
  178.  
  179. Deaths:
  180. PFC Goulx
  181.  
  182. Lessons learned:
  183. It doesn't seem like reinforcements in the base defense missions are necessarily tied to deaths. Have to look into this.
  184.  
  185. Operation Cold Skull - Abduction in police station map - 10/20/2016
  186.  
  187. Squad was engaged with several cyberdiscs at once. They were able to get flanks off and kill some of our operatives. Mission was completed.
  188.  
  189. Deaths:
  190. SPEC Tania
  191. LCPL Riyanto
  192. TSGT Gem
  193.  
  194. Lessons learned:
  195.  
  196. Don't underestimate cyberdisc mobility. We already knew they had lots of movement tiles, but we kept underestimating it during this mission.
  197.  
  198. Operation First Gift - Crashed scout in roadhouse map - 11/4/2016
  199.  
  200. Second blunder in the campaign. Activated command pod accidentally and the whole map's ayys rained down on an unexperienced squad. Mission was aborted.
  201.  
  202. Deaths:
  203. PFC DogTagHunter
  204. PFC O'Grady
  205. SPEC Headless Chicken
  206. LPCL Dalmuz
  207. CPL Skinner
  208. CPL Eddie Eagle
  209. CPL Pepperoni
  210.  
  211. Lessons learned:
  212. Don't risk command pod activations you doofus. And don't send two rookies + a largely inexperienced team to missions in November, it's madness.
  213.  
  214. Operation Blinding Chant - Abduction in underpass with train map - 11/29/16
  215.  
  216. Underpowered squad with no MEC support had to deal with overwatching Vulcan mechtoids in difficult positions to get sights on. At one point the squad took a risk to kill one of them and used low cover, at which point one of our operatives was one-shot killed. Mission was completed.
  217.  
  218. Deaths:
  219. LCPL Subbarao
  220.  
  221. Lessons learned:
  222. Not even full cover is safe enough against mechtoids, let alone half cover. We've been through this. It is imperative that you do not let them take any actions - when you do, people die.
  223.  
  224. Operation Secret Stroke - Abduction in cemetery map - 1/4/2017
  225.  
  226. Command ordered a concealed scout to overwatch accidentally, which resulted in triggering the entire map's pods on the second turn. Mission was completed.
  227.  
  228. Deaths:
  229. TSGT 'Devil Dog'
  230.  
  231. Lessons learned:
  232. Don't overwatch concealed scouts unless you are ready to engage, you dummy. That oversight made an easy mission a hellish one, and cost us a good man.
  233.  
  234. Operation Devil's Shield - Abduction in Van Doorne map - 1/15/2017
  235.  
  236. When attempting to cross the through in the VD map, we activated a pod of 5 heavy floaters without a good way to disable/kill most of them on contact. Mission was completed.
  237.  
  238. Deaths:
  239. GSGT ScrapQueen
  240. TSGT Zhang
  241.  
  242. Lessons learned:
  243. We already knew the VD map is cancer for anything that isn't the VD mission. So play like it. A reveal of 5 heavy floaters when not prepared is difficult to survive in the best of conditions.
  244.  
  245. Operation Fallen Pyre - Abduction in bar/grill map - 1/22/2017
  246.  
  247. Squad engaged a nasty combination of pods with poor cover and was forced to fall back to the parking lot. The situation appeared under control until an Ethereal decided to move up unopposed by overwatch or suppression, and one-shot a scout with a Psi Lance. Mission was completed
  248.  
  249. Deaths:
  250. CPL El-Sayed
  251.  
  252. Lessons learned:
  253. Ethereals have the potential to one-shot your troops, specially if they are relatively inexperienced (low will), and happen to have low HP/armor. If an attempt to break LoS with them is to be made, low HP troops must be kept out of sight at all costs and proper precautions should be taken to taunt the Ethereal.
  254.  
  255. Operation Glass Savior - Crashed Raider in stonewall map - 3/14/2017
  256.  
  257. Third blunder of the campaign. Squad arrived on the scene and took over 75% of the map with no resistance. An attempt to move into the UFO was made, only to reveal the command pod first. This resulted in all the enemies that were bunched up in one corner of the map to activate in quick succession, and failing to retreat at once, took some casualties escaping. Mission was aborted.
  258.  
  259. Deaths:
  260. GSGT 'Frag'
  261. CPL 'Wednesday'
  262.  
  263. Lessons learned:
  264. When you take over more than half the map and face no pods, approach extremely carefully and wait for a patrol. Attempting to end the mission quicker by going inside the UFO is suicide, because you never know where exactly the command pod will be in it. Its only characteristic is that it's static, and we didn't wait to see if this one was. When no ayys have been engaged and you pull the command pod first, run the fuck away immediately. You've already lost unless you have a god team.
  265.  
  266. Operation Sacred Mist - Crashed scout in building rooftop map - 6/9/2017
  267.  
  268. While engaging a cyberdisc on the roof, we underestimated its mobility and it got a free flank on our scout. Mission was completed.
  269.  
  270. Deaths:
  271. SGT "Glyph"
  272.  
  273. Lessons learned:
  274. Repeated the mistake of underestimating Cyberdisc movement. Need to assume they will try to flank and plan accordingly.
  275.  
  276. Operation Falling Serpent - Crashed abductor cliff map - 7/18/2017
  277.  
  278. While engaging a large number of aliens, we pushed up too hard with a jetpack infantry, and got punished for it. Mission was completed.
  279.  
  280. Deaths:
  281. SGT "Pitbull"
  282.  
  283. Lessons learned:
  284. While troops that are flying have better defense than they would have on the ground, this does not mean it's wise to move them even near the frontline tanks. Ayys may be tempted to engage them before the tank itself.
  285.  
  286.  
  287.  
  288.  
  289.  
  290.  
  291.  
  292.  
  293.  
  294.  
  295.  
  296. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  297. Everything below is from Season 1 vvvvvvvvvvv
  298. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  299.  
  300. Old stuff ahead
  301. Old stuff ahead
  302. Old stuff ahead
  303.  
  304. Old stuff ahead
  305. Old stuff ahead
  306. Old stuff ahead
  307.  
  308.  
  309.  
  310.  
  311.  
  312.  
  313.  
  314.  
  315.  
  316.  
  317.  
  318.  
  319.  
  320.  
  321.  
  322.  
  323.  
  324.  
  325.  
  326.  
  327.  
  328.  
  329.  
  330.  
  331.  
  332.  
  333.  
  334.  
  335.  
  336.  
  337.  
  338.  
  339.  
  340.  
  341.  
  342.  
  343.  
  344.  
  345.  
  346.  
  347.  
  348.  
  349.  
  350.  
  351.  
  352.  
  353.  
  354.  
  355.  
  356.  
  357.  
  358.  
  359.  
  360.  
  361.  
  362.  
  363.  
  364.  
  365.  
  366.  
  367.  
  368.  
  369.  
  370.  
  371.  
  372.  
  373.  
  374.  
  375.  
  376.  
  377.  
  378.  
  379.  
  380.  
  381.  
  382.  
  383.  
  384.  
  385.  
  386.  
  387.  
  388.  
  389.  
  390.  
  391.  
  392.  
  393.  
  394.  
  395.  
  396.  
  397.  
  398.  
  399.  
  400.  
  401.  
  402.  
  403.  
  404.  
  405.  
  406.  
  407.  
  408.  
  409.  
  410.  
  411.  
  412.  
  413.  
  414.  
  415.  
  416.  
  417.  
  418.  
  419.  
  420.  
  421.  
  422.  
  423.  
  424.  
  425.  
  426.  
  427.  
  428.  
  429.  
  430.  
  431.  
  432.  
  433.  
  434.  
  435.  
  436.  
  437.  
  438.  
  439.  
  440.  
  441.  
  442.  
  443.  
  444.  
  445.  
  446.  
  447.  
  448.  
  449.  
  450.  
  451.  
  452.  
  453.  
  454.  
  455.  
  456.  
  457.  
  458.  
  459.  
  460.  
  461.  
  462.  
  463.  
  464.  
  465.  
  466.  
  467.  
  468.  
  469.  
  470.  
  471.  
  472.  
  473.  
  474.  
  475.  
  476.  
  477.  
  478.  
  479.  
  480.  
  481.  
  482.  
  483.  
  484.  
  485.  
  486.  
  487.  
  488.  
  489.  
  490.  
  491.  
  492.  
  493.  
  494.  
  495.  
  496.  
  497.  
  498.  
  499.  
  500.  
  501.  
  502. ---
  503.  
  504. SEASON 1
  505. 45 deaths, campaign ended prematurely in early November because of save corruption and no recent backups :^)
  506.  
  507. Operation Glass Prophet - Landed harvester in forest map - 3/10/2016
  508.  
  509. First blunder. The third landed large UFO on March. Squad was engaging a thinman pod in the forest, when a pod of chrysallids patrolled in from inside the ship and ran right up against two XCOM soldiers. Tried to kill the lid pod in one turn, but didn't do enough damage - 2 survived and wrecked havoc. Mission was aborted.
  510.  
  511. Deaths:
  512. SPEC Buck 'Dharma' Roeser (Scout) - Eaten by Chrysallid
  513. SPEC Score 'G.' Oblin (Engineer) - Eaten by Chrysallid
  514. SPEC Tales 'SomeoneAwful' C (Medic) - Panicked & eaten by Chrysallid
  515. CPL Mr. 'Confused' Hobbit (Gunner) - Panicked & left behind, didn't get to EVAC
  516.  
  517. EVAC'd:
  518. CPL Drym 'Dryminator' Shyuan
  519. SPEC Romane 'ThineSpree' Lambrecht
  520.  
  521. Lessons learned:
  522. When dealing with landed larges, be very careful about surprise chrysallid pods patrolling in from the sides while fighting other pods. Bring more explosives. One extra AP grenade would have been enough to finish off the lid pod and prevent disaster.
  523.  
  524. ---
  525.  
  526. Operation Final Breath - Crashed scout in city ruins map - 3/11/2016
  527.  
  528. Routine rookie training op gone wrong. Squad was engaged with a sectoid pod across the street, and Meld canister on second floor of a ruined building was close to expiring. PFC Caglayan Poyraz double moved to the canister, believing the dash might grant a bonus to defense from overwatches. This was incorrect and she got shot, leaving her critically wounded. PFC Vasily volunteered to climb up there and stabilize Poyraz. Mission was completed.
  529.  
  530. Deaths:
  531. PFC Vasily Kovalyov - Shot by sectoid through elevated half-cover
  532.  
  533. Lessons learned:
  534. Dashes don't provide extra dodge to overwatches (this is not a Long War change, in fact they never provided extra defense in vanilla XEW either. The tooltip was a lie). Be more mindful of expiring times on Meld canisters so they can be secured outside of combat, ideally.
  535.  
  536. ---
  537.  
  538. Operation Dying Palace - Abduction (light) in mausoleum map - 3/27/2016
  539.  
  540. While squad was cleaning up a sectoid pod on one side of the map, PFC Elias Bowles attempted to capture a meld canister on another corner. He did not spot any hostiles on his motion tracker close to the canister, so he dashed up agressively close to it. However, there was an extra pod of sectoids waiting outside of range of the motion tracker and the rookie was immediately flanked with no moves left. Mission was completed.
  541.  
  542. Deaths:
  543. PFC Elias Bowles - Flanked and shot by sectoid pod activated on a dash
  544.  
  545. Lessons learned:
  546. Even if motion tracker shows no hostiles, tread carefully. A pod just outside the device's range might still be activated by an agressive dash. Be mindful of the number of pods expected for a mission, do not risk activation moves unless in a confident position.
  547.  
  548. ---
  549.  
  550. Operation Lost Line - Crashed raider in forest map - 4/19/2016
  551.  
  552. Second blunder. A comedy of errors. Perfect mission, up until Lt. Whidden was ordered to move one tile ahead of gunner LCPL Van Doorn and activated a thinman+seekers pod when the squad wasn't ready for an engagement. The bulk of XCOM's team awkwardly engaged the pod, except for sniper LCPL Romane 'ThineSpree' Lambrecht on the backline, who attempted and failed to get LoS on the thinman. Seekers strangled said sniper and PFC Chaim Navon. The rookie was freed, but LCPL Van Doorn missed a 93% flank shot on the remaining seeker. Lt. Whidden commanded him to take another shot, but LMG's seem to treat the Command ability as if they had already moved, so the LMG was unable to get a follow up shot. The squad eventually cleared the path to the UFO. SPEC Kyle 'Tuppence' Hoda was ordered to move closer to the crashed craft, and accidentally activated the command pod of 2 outsiders through a narrow side-door angle. The squad was out of position to deal with this threat, so many turns were spent attempting to break LoS and come around the other side. Eventually, PFC Chaim Navon was suppressed by one of the outsiders. The rookie attempted and failed to run one tile along the UFO wall, outside of LoS from the outsider. The squad was left reeling, but attempted to continue the fight. Lt. Whidden was ordered to fall back to a vantage position, but she was then flanked by one of the outsiders through a narrow angle of the same side-door from where the aliens were activated. Mission was aborted.
  553.  
  554. Deaths:
  555. LCPL Romane 'ThineSpree' Lambrecht - Strangled by a seeker
  556. PFC Chaim Navon - Shot by outsider's suppression overwatch
  557. LT Ellen 'Meaty' Whidden - Flanked and shot by outsider
  558.  
  559. EVAC'd:
  560. LCPL Peter 'The General' Van Doorn
  561. SPEC Ljubinka Milosevic
  562. SPEC Kyle 'Tuppence' Hoda
  563. PFC Daisy Warren
  564.  
  565. Lessons learned:
  566. One tile ahead of the revealed fog can make all the difference. Do not move ahead of pointman if not ready for engagement. Seekers will multiply their damage for every turn they remain strangling their target. LMG's cannot benefit from the Command ability to fire again on the same turn, it will count as if they had just moved. Be extra careful when approaching medium UFOs, as their command pod can be anywhere on the ship and activate easily from a misstep. Supression overwatch is treated differently from normal overwatch in Long War, and will ignore cover - even if you're breaking line of sight with your move, you'll get shot as if you were in the open. Line of sight with medium UFO doors can be very tricky, be extra careful of flanks when near them.
  567.  
  568. ---
  569.  
  570. Operation Sacred Stranger - Landed raider in forest map - 5/12/2016
  571.  
  572. Squad was engaged in decent positions against two thinman pods. LCPL Carly 'VLD' McGill was ordered to move to a position that was vulnerable to a thinman flank that was not considered. Later in the mission, CPL Jorblik 'Doom' Xabasto was critically wounded by an outsider flank that was not considered either. Mission was completed.
  573.  
  574. Deaths:
  575. LCPL Carly 'VLD' McGill - Flanked and shot by thinman
  576.  
  577. Lessons learned:
  578. Watch the flanks, you idiot. Also, remember to apply Holo-targetting on important targets, even if the shot percentages are high. Don't get cocky with the dice, they will bite back.
  579.  
  580. ---
  581.  
  582. Operation Dark Stallion - Newfoundland Site Recon - 5/20/2016
  583.  
  584. Squad was engaged with a thinman pod on an elevated position. Overwatch fire from the squad was ineffectual against one of the aliens, who moved up and took a 40% shot. One of our engineers was hit by this shot and was critted (8% crit chance) through elevated half-cover. Mission was completed.
  585.  
  586. Deaths:
  587. SPEC Marcus de Ridder - Shot by thinman
  588.  
  589. Lessons learned:
  590. Even if there is no clear misplay, sometimes you just die if you don't have enough HP to survive an unlucky crit. So getting armor quickly is very important for the tactical game.
  591.  
  592. ---
  593.  
  594. Operation Morbid Hero - Terror Mission in mall map - 6/3/2016
  595.  
  596. Squad encountered large hordes of zombies and two chrysallid pods. The lids were killed, but one of the zombies was able to punch one of our low armor assaults who was still in range. Mission was completed.
  597.  
  598. Deaths:
  599. SPEC Qasit Masoud - Fisted by zombie
  600.  
  601. Lessons learned:
  602. Be very mindful of zombie movement ranges. Not staying out of range of their move+melee combo is a clear misplay. Aside from that, get more armor. Getting one shot by a zombie slap feels bad.
  603.  
  604. ---
  605.  
  606. Operation Broken Sleep - Covert Data Extraction in fountain map - 6/18/2016
  607.  
  608. Squad was engaged with EXALT forces since the first turn, with our operative attempting to run to all arrays like in a previous EXALT mission. Poor judgement resulted in sending said operative to the nearest array helped along by a Command from LT Xabasto, but leaving her too far into enemy controlled areas. She was ordered to move next to a car during her escape in a disabled EXALT turn, but then an enemy threw a grenade at the vehicle - leaving her at 1 HP, panicked (failed 81% panic check), and next to a burning car. Mission was completed.
  609.  
  610. Deaths:
  611. LCPL Plasma Fodder - Died to a car explosion
  612.  
  613. Lessons learned:
  614. We already knew EXALT can still use grenades in turns when they're disrupted, but we underestimated this fact. Moving next to a car was a serious misplay, since the operative could get grenaded and frozen in panic next to what was essentially a bomb. Compounding this with the fact the operative did not have Steadfast was a recipe for disaster. On top of this, the arrays were seriously mismanaged. They could have been saved for turns where they would have been more useful, instead of rushing them mindlessly.
  615.  
  616. ---
  617.  
  618. Operation Vengeful Night - Council mission (bomb disposal) in mausoleum map - 6/21/2016
  619.  
  620. Squad defused the bomb, but was not ready for the incoming drop-in of 5 thinmen scattered around the map, leaving us with a very awkward engagement from all sides. A poor decision to run an overwatch with our scout resulted in leaving him in a very flank-vulnerable position, plus the overwatch wasn't even triggered. The scout got flanked and panicked after getting hit. Mission was completed.
  621.  
  622. Deaths:
  623. LCPL Stewart MacKinney - Flanked and shot by thinman
  624.  
  625. Lessons learned:
  626. When doing bomb disposal missions, be ready for the turn after defusal starting off with a drop-in of thinman reinforcements that are going to overwatch. When deciding to run an overwatch with a scout, make sure that you're actually going to trigger it, and make double sure the destination tile is secure from flanking. Don't waste a Command on non-emergencies unless the situation is fully under control.
  627.  
  628. ---
  629.  
  630. Operation Cryptic Mother - Crashed scout in arid wilderness map - 6/25/2016
  631.  
  632. Squad of largely inexperienced and underequipped troops was engaged with several pods simultaneously, including a Cyberdisk activated by an unwise forward move. We retreated back to the ground near the LZ and attempted to hold our ground. Two rookies huddled for cover by some rocks, believing themselves to be out of reach of the Cyberdisk for the next turn. They were wrong, and were grenaded, left in the open choking on a cloud of thinman acid. Mission was completed.
  633.  
  634. Deaths:
  635. PFC Edrik Ege - Grenaded by cyberdisk
  636. PFC Petar Hitrov - Grenaded by cyberdisk, 1 HP left in acid cloud without cover
  637.  
  638. Lessons learned:
  639. Starting from June, small crashed UFOs are no longer the typical rookie training missions we expected. It is now unwise to bring more than two rookies to them, let alone four - specially if suffering from gear shortages. Don't waste a Command on non-emergencies unless the situation is fully under control. Don't go for unnecessarily aggressive moves that might trigger more pods. Even if we think we've found all the pods in a map, the game manages to surprise us sometimes.
  640.  
  641. ---
  642.  
  643. Operation Cursed Savior - Crashed scout in city ruins - 6/30/2016
  644.  
  645. While attempting to stun an injured muton to take him captive, rookie accidentally activated an extra pod of floaters at his flank. Squad persevered in the risky live capture attempt, but ultimately failed. XCOM moved back to one of the edges of the map, baiting what remained of the floaters. Due to using an HE grenade instead of an AP grenade, a key floater was allowed to live one extra turn, which resulted in it flanking us. Mission was completed.
  646.  
  647. Deaths:
  648. PFC Samson Snow - Flanked and shot by floater
  649. SPEC Somkhuan Kurusarttra - Flanked and shot by floater
  650.  
  651. Lessons learned:
  652. Don't move into unknown territory when engaging another pod, you absolute buffoon. We've been over this. Also don't fuck around, use AP grenades when necessary.
  653.  
  654. ---
  655.  
  656. Operation Fading Shroud - GANGPLANK - 7/1/2016
  657.  
  658. While engaging a drop-in pod of overwatched aliens, too much attention was placed on dealing with the nearby muton and TSGT Hexenritter was ordered to move to a position vulnerable to flanking from the thinman, who was lying in wait. Mission was completed.
  659.  
  660. Deaths:
  661. TSGT Otto 'Hexenritter' Von Poopsock - Flanked and shot by thinman
  662.  
  663. Lessons learned:
  664. Always keep a clear picture of the battlescape in your head. Completely forgetting about an extra alien who was part of a drop-in pod is a very silly mistake. Check the Info screen if you're not sure which aliens are activated, always. And go to bed early. Doing Gangplank at 3 in the morning is not a good idea.
  665.  
  666. ---
  667.  
  668. Operation Brutal Fear - Council mission (VIP escort) in observatory map - 7/17/2016
  669.  
  670. Third blunder of the campaign. The mission started in the telescope room of the observatory map, escorting a VIP. We made the mistake of funneling through the alley on the right side of the building, with the goal of going up the stairs and seeking an elevated position on the roof. This was a huge mistake because of lack of cover in the area and a deadly funnel in the alley/stairs when many aliens were activated and the team was separated. An attempt to drop down from the back of the building and regain control from the starting room was made, but the XCOM forces were too weakened and could not hold it. The remaining troops were ordered to dash to the left of the map this time in an attempt to make it to the evac zone. VIP was killed in the escape. Mission was aborted.
  671.  
  672. Deaths:
  673. TSGT 'Oyster' - Shot by muton, stabilized, MIA
  674. CPL 'Romeo' - Shot by muton, bled out
  675. TSGT 'The General' - Flanked and shot by muton
  676. TSGT 'cymek9' - Shot by muton
  677. TSGT 'Sunuva' - Flanked and shot by muton
  678.  
  679. EVAC'd:
  680. 'BuffSkelly'
  681. 'Tuppence'
  682. Alloy SHIV (destroyed, but chassis was somehow recovered)
  683.  
  684. Lessons learned:
  685.  
  686. Fear alleys. Stay away from funnels with no cover. Break line of sight, don't let the enemy shoot. Those 2% and 20% shots will hit when you least want them to. Prioritize routes that maximize opportunities to break contact. Smoke grenades without dense smoke perk help, but are clearly not reliable, specially if not hunkering down. Always assume an enemy is going to enter a room on the next turn and catch you out of position - position troops on the right side of cover before this happens. Alloy SHIVs will act as cover for the enemy if parked right next to it (bug). Grenades can destroy stairs, cutting off the team. When given the choice between distance and cover, pick distance. Many pods active? Do not stay and fight. Run and break LoS. Be flexible with your tactics. Being stubborn and sticking with the original plan can blind you to much better opportunities.
  687.  
  688. ---
  689.  
  690. Operation Fallen Sword - DELUGE - 8/22/2016
  691.  
  692. Fourth blunder. Catastrophic failure. Squad made it to a few tiles away from the objective before the turn timer ran out, and then was forced to sprint all the way back to EVAC. Mission was aborted.
  693.  
  694. Deaths:
  695. TSGT 'Slunky'
  696. TSGT 'LunaMoth'
  697. SGT 'Doom'
  698. SGT 'BobThe3rd'
  699. SGT 'Faffel'
  700. SGT 'Sharahfluff'
  701. SGT 'Ferret'
  702.  
  703. EVAC'd:
  704. 'ScrapQueen'
  705.  
  706. Lessons learned:
  707. Deluge is a biiiiiiiiiiiiig pain in the ass. Gotta go fast. Prioritize moving forward over making sure pods are dead. Mission failure occured because we were a dash away from the truck objective on the last turn. If I had just kept the scout moving forward while the others kept the last pod down, I could have made it.
  708.  
  709. ---
  710.  
  711. Operation Fallen Apollo - Landed scout in forest map - 8/25/2016
  712.  
  713. Squad was engaged with several pods (including a mechtoid, muton, floaters, drones, and sectoids) that activated at once during enemy turn when out of position. An attempt to fall back to better cover was made, but the aliens got shots off at XCOM on half cover positions with no support to draw fire away from them. Mission was completed.
  714.  
  715. Deaths:
  716. CPL 'Commander' - Shot by mectoid, bled out
  717. CPL 'Strobe' - Shot by mechtoid
  718.  
  719. Lessons learned:
  720. If you're falling back to a better position and have no supporting fire (because they are also hauling ass), HUNKER DOWN. It sounds obvious in retrospect, but half-assing a retreat is gambling with people's lives. If you're falling back, pull out all the stops, go full defensive. Don't shoot with the guys that are also falling back. Best case scenario, they won't even make a difference with their damage, worst case scenario, they'll miss completely. Hunker them down.
  721.  
  722. ---
  723.  
  724. Operation Bloody Giant - Abduction in construction site map - 8/30/2016
  725.  
  726. Squad engaged a pod of mutons and berserkers that moved away into the fog of war. It was unknown how far they could move in one turn while still getting an attack. One of the rookies in the squad found out the hard way. Mission was completed.
  727.  
  728. Deaths:
  729. PFC Manuel Membreno - Eviscerated by berserker
  730.  
  731. Lessons learned:
  732. If a berserker pod is activated and you lose sight on them, fall the fuck back. LoS blockages might deceive you into thinking you're at a safe distance, when you actually are definitely in range for a football hug.
  733.  
  734. ---
  735.  
  736. Operation Flying Calm - Abduction in TV store map - 9/11/2016
  737.  
  738. Squad accidentally activated multiple pods in one false move with a slow unit, who couldn't get to safety even when commanded. Mission was completed.
  739.  
  740. Deaths:
  741. SGT 'Rooster' - Eviscerated by berseker
  742. SGT 'Gobbet' - Eviscerated by berserker
  743.  
  744. Lessons learned:
  745. Never ever move to possible activations with your LMG gunner/chonky units. They will happen when you're feeling most complacent, and will bite you in the ass. Once again, when activated berserkers are not visible, fall as far back as you can. Don't half-ass it, or you'll regret it.
  746.  
  747. ---
  748.  
  749. Operation Soaring Throne - Crashed raider in map with central road - 9/23/2016
  750.  
  751. Fifth blunder. Squad was attempting to stun a weakened muton at the center of the map, and while it was successful, it took too long to setup. This gave ample time for a Cyberdisc+Drones pod to flank the squad from the rear, and then for a Muton pod to flank the squad from the side in the next turn. Mission was aborted.
  752.  
  753. Deaths:
  754. GSGT 'Drym' - Shot by mutons, bled out
  755. SPEC Aleka Bebou - Shot by cyberdisc, bled out
  756. LCPL Zoey Beech - Shot by mutons
  757. LCPL 'Purple' - Shot by mutons
  758.  
  759. EVAC'd:
  760. PFC Eldad Harel
  761. PFC Achyut Uttara
  762. LCPL Franck Hikmat
  763. CPL 'Seizure'
  764.  
  765. Lessons learned:
  766. Captures aren't worth losing people over. We've lost too many good soldiers trying to get live captures in situations that were less than ideal. If a capture can be gotten without much effort and without losing much time (or it's the last pod in the map), then by all means go for it. But if you have to get out of your way to do so and can't do it quickly, AND if you're right smack in the middle of the map, the squad becomes a sitting duck for pods to patrol in from multiple angles and make falling back difficult.
  767.  
  768. ---
  769.  
  770. Operation Sacred Chant - Trapped raider in forest map - 9/25/2016
  771.  
  772. Very difficult mission that had to be completed with severe gear shortage. The squad walked into a trap mission with 36 enemies. XCOM engaged a large thinman pod combined with a mechtoid and sectoids, and suffered attrition while retreating to better ground. Mission was completed.
  773.  
  774. Deaths:
  775. TSGT 'BuffSkelly' - Shot by thinman, bled out
  776. SGT 'Butmuch' - Shot by thinman, bled out
  777.  
  778. Lessons learned:
  779. Carry more medkits. Three doesn't cut it for emergencies. We lost two guys because we ran out. Also bring more smokes, and hunker down more when retreating. If a trapped UFO is suspected then it would be wise to pre-emptively fall back after fights, instead of pushing the aliens. This is to prevent engaging many pods at once, since they will be homing in on you from the start.
  780.  
  781. ---
  782.  
  783. Operation Driving Fist - Council mission (bomb disposal) in butchery map - 9/27/2016
  784.  
  785. Squad was engaged with multiple mutons and floaters. An attempt was made to rocket a cluster of them, but this destroyed cover which opened sightlines to a cyberdisc. Mission was completed.
  786.  
  787. Deaths:
  788. SGT 'Pyro' - Flanked and shot by cyberdisc
  789.  
  790. Lessons learned:
  791. Be careful with cover destruction activating new pods, or letting pods that are already active get better shots at you. And in general be wary of roof lines of sight.
  792.  
  793. ---
  794.  
  795. Operation Cursed Daze - Crashed scout in swamp map - 10/13/2016
  796.  
  797. Squad was engaged with the outsider pod plus sectoids and thinmen. Rookie went to secure a meld canister next to the UFO while under heavy fire, in the cover of dense smoke. He panicked after accomplishing this task, and forgot to hunker down. Mission was completed.
  798.  
  799. Deaths:
  800. PFC Pasha Hardbass - Shot by outsider
  801.  
  802. Lessons learned:
  803. Sometimes panicked soldiers will not hunker down after their initial panic turn (unknown if this is bug). This difference in defense was enough to help an Outsider's 9% shot land through the dense smoke and full cover on the rookie, killing him. Be very mindful of ammo and line of sight when suppressing the enemy, it is very important to keep an Outsider disabled constantly until the squad is ready to engage it.
  804.  
  805. ---
  806.  
  807. Operation [redacted] - [redacted] - [redacted]
  808.  
  809. Squad was engaged with a mechtoid, pushing it aggressively to try to kill it in one go. Plenty of smoke cover was given to a forward assault, but not enough to the backranks, causing the mechtoid to go for a low percentage shot that had a better kill chance.
  810.  
  811. Deaths:
  812. CPL Phil Bromlin - Shot by mechtoid
  813.  
  814. Lessons learned:
  815. Being in full cover is not enough against heavy alien units such as mechtoids. They can still one-shot you at full health if you don't have enough armor/smoke cover/hunker down.
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Public Pastes
We use cookies for various purposes including analytics. By continuing to use Pastebin, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the Cookies Policy.  OK, I Understand
Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!