So in the base game I often indulged in "farming" an alien base for supply ships and raids, is that also worth doing in this mod with keeping cults active or should I actually be doing XCOM's job properly and forsake the morally questionable funding?
My current example for the question:I've just cleared my first Cult HQ and gotten the item needed to research their containment, I've checked the tech tree to see I need to contain all 4 for the next promotion which is making me wonder if I should keep them around until finishing the other Cults for more potential missions (unless theirs get replaced with others) or just take care of them for good once I've captured their special agent like Lo Wo (only one I found so far).
You can keep the cults indefinitely (maybe except one, because Promotion 3), but I put in a lot of effort to make it too much of a pain. The end decision is up to you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Btw, I noticed that many players do not eliminate all cults before jan '99, so they get punished. Not sure if it's an obvious objective for them...
Special missions like Lo Wo can show up after the cult is eliminated, I believe. Also eliminating one cult springs another threat into existence.I was checking the wiki and Natasha mission mentioned "false" on terminate Red Dawn so wasn't sure if needed to keep them around for longer until I could research her dossier, but Lo Wo one doesn't have that so not sure if some need it but others don't or if I just misunderstood the wiki there.
I was checking the wiki and Natasha mission mentioned "false" on terminate Red Dawn so wasn't sure if needed to keep them around for longer until I could research her dossier, but Lo Wo one doesn't have that so not sure if some need it but others don't or if I just misunderstood the wiki there.
As for springing other threats, right now I've not had the harder EXALT and Dagon missions yet so can't find their HQ, would terminating the cults I have gotten make those more likely to appear?
There are two scripts: one for before Red Dawn destruction, one after. With different odds.In my current campaign, I went to great lengths for capturing alive all of these special NPCs, Natasha included, all residing in this VIP Jail in one of my bases.
In my current campaign, I went to great lengths for capturing alive all of these special NPCs, Natasha included, all residing in this VIP Jail in one of my bases.
But I terminated Red Dawn already. What did I miss with not researching her as a captive? (I don't recall anything particular)
In my current campaign, I went to great lengths for capturing alive all of these special NPCs, Natasha included, all residing in this VIP Jail in one of my bases.
But I terminated Red Dawn already. What did I miss with not researching her as a captive? (I don't recall anything particular)
I think (without knowing the code) Cults do build more mansions the longer you let them live. And those mansions will improve over time, fielded or let's say fieldable personnel -wise. If you can handle them, they're good for score, training, bounty, but: you need to discover them, first, and existing mansions seem to behave like alien bases in the original game, giving you a negative score while they exist (best observable at the beginning of every month, when you start out in the negative; means some bad things are going on).Oh I thought those manors were just random events like the other missions, might have to radar check some areas then for safety incase missed a lot of those happening thanks.
In my current campaign, I went to great lengths for capturing alive all of these special NPCs, Natasha included, all residing in this VIP Jail in one of my bases.
But I terminated Red Dawn already. What did I miss with not researching her as a captive? (I don't recall anything particular)
RD HQ is quite farmable for financial reasons as far as I see, but the hybrid thing is a non-issue. Plenty of hybdrid prisoners right around the corner just after most cults are eradicated (I think, but am not sure, Exalt is the trigger for easy hybrid missions).
If that's really what your moral compas tells you is a right thingWe all know that XCOM morals are unquestionably beneficial for humanity. Our captives go to live on a farm and the buyers of our laser cannons use them for quarrying.
We all know that XCOM morals are unquestionably beneficial for humanity. Our captives go to live on a farm and the buyers of our laser cannons use them for quarrying.
Have anyone tried to farm Cult Mansions? Unlike all other cult stuff (including HQs), mansions do not disappear when you evacuate. So in theory it is possible to assault a mansion, kill almost all cultists, optionally grab some valuable stuff, evacuate, and assault again after refueling! Lot of XP if you are lucky. Never tried this, so not 100% sure it is possible.
So in order to farm a Mansion you need to kill a few, but not that many and carry their stuff to the craft.
Feels like way more work than it is worth.
I guess it depends if there are "high value" items, like if mansions have money briefcases / money bags (not done one yet to know) then carrying them out and evacuating could be worth it, but when doing HQ missions theres loads of small value loot which adds up but is a huge hassle to carry back if not finishing the mission.
I actually tried to farm cult mansions. Not for loot, but for experience. It was very interesting endeavor. One of cult mansions popped up just next to my main base, so I decided to try this out.
The tactics is simple. Attack during night to minimize risk. Stay next to evacuation zone. Shoot everyone you see (after throwing some light sources) trying to involve every your agent. After CTRL+E shows empty screen evacuate. If you managed to kill around 10 cultist, then you will end up with a positive score (-100 for evacuation). Relatively safe routine. But occasionally an explosive will get throne in the middle of your agents and a stockpile, so be warned...
(Do you know that each cult spawns it's own version of helicopters?)
Considering I never even end up fighting them due to just being able to fly past and attack their base, that is quite funny to know.I also avoided them until I realized that training for pilots shooting down alien crafts is actually a thing. Shooting accuracy an reaction training are negligible, but bravery training is important. (You need 40 bravery for an agent to make that agent the best.)
IMO, bravery is far, far easier to train with medical items.This requires getting shot or healing downed enemy units. Both activities are situational and dangerous. I am not saying that bravery training from shooting sown enemy's craft is a game changer, but an option that should not be forgotten about.
You do get clear skies for a while and a tiny bit of score from killing manor aircraft.Actually you will get clear skies anyway, even if you allow crafts to return to a manor. That is why many think it is useless to combat those crafts at all.
Both activities are situational...So is shooting down cult aircraft. And milk run missions tend to be more plentiful than manors. Once you have some Shadowbats to provide wounds and sufficient armour to largely ignore cultist weaponry, medical bravery training scales better than piloting.
Actually you will get clear skies anyway, even if you allow crafts to return to a manor. That is why many think it is useless to combat those crafts at all.True. :( I'd play around with huntMissionMaxFrequency if I were Solarius. 'Realism' is fine, but a feature that can be easily bypassed is pointless. Do note that fighter jets are pretty fast, so this trick doesn't apply to those as easily.
Once you have some Shadowbats to provide wounds...Are those bats suppose to bite enemies or my own agents? In 1-st scenario I will run out of bats soon. In 2-nd scenario I will run out of agents.
A 10% chance to get +10 bravery per interception is comparable to a single wound healing during a mission. And if you're getting any healing done at all, you're likely doing it more than just once. I mean, it's a cute little bonus, but it's absolutely not worth going out of your way to get it.I didn't know about percentage. And no, I am definitely not leaving cult mansions for bravery training through piloting. It is for overall training. And fun.
You know what's the actual ultimate means of training bravery? Pepper Spray.Yes, I know and use it. But it is definitely not "ultimate". I actually had a suspicion about if it trains bravery at all...
Are those bats suppose to bite enemies or my own agents? In 1-st scenario I will run out of bats soon. In 2-nd scenario I will run out of agents.Either works, but enemies are preferable. Bats are very good at melee evasion (and thus also CQC), so an isolated melee-only enemy is ideal. There's lots of cultists running around with clubs and baseball bats, plus monsters.
Yes, I know and use it. But it is definitely not "ultimate". I actually had a suspicion about if it trains bravery at all...You're not using enough of it, then. And there is no better method for bravery that I know. Healing is riskier, as you yourself said. Piloting specifically for bravery is an exercise in frustration. Just shoot off a cloud of pepper sprey a few times per mission and the odds stack up. Or you can concentrate on training a specific soldier like with nothing else. Getting 3 or 11 sprays in mission after mission is much more viable than doing 3 (or 11) healings.