Tactics to survive early games

[experimentalunit]

Hello, I am new on the forums.

I used to love xcom, I still do! The mood is so capturing. I am very glad about this project, thank you to everyone involved!

I find early game hard to survive, especially terror sites. Sometimes my first two soldiers off the platform get shot down immediately, smoke grenades provide enough cover to get the rest out, but damn I just had my whole team annihilated.

Is it normal to lose most (if not all) of your team the first few terror sites?

Does anyone have tactical tips for early game when your soldiers don't have personal armour or high powered laser/plasma weapons?

Here is some of my tactics. I'd love to hear improvements or learn new ones if you like to share.

I pay attention to:
- time of day: equip and use flares to increase visibility
- using the skyranger wheels as cover when moving out from the ship
- using smoke grenades whenever possible, especially if landed in a hot zone
- moving units in teams: to provide autoshot cover for each other
- keeping distance between units: to minimize splash damage from incoming fire and grenades
- snap shot over aimed shot, the 10-20% difference in accuracy makes up for the extra shots you get (in my opinion)
- I ignore pistols from the start: I go straight for rifles
- I keep F4 toggled (save TU's for autoshot) most of the time. I only override this and use all my TU's if I *must* get a soldier to cover, ASAP.

I would like to hear your tactics

[54x]

Laser pistols can actually be superior to laser rifles for certain UFO assault missions, FYI, although I think you might be talking about ballistic rifles and pistols, in which case you are correct.

Also, for crash sites, they'll all last long enough that you can simply wait for day- save the flares for the terror missions, or MAYBE for grounded UFOs.

Equip your first soldier with a smoke grenade, and eat the first turn so that you can deploy under smoke cover. Also, there are advantages to putting squaddies in at least the first two positions in your Skyranger. (Squaddies are pretty much as expendable as rookies but may have a few more TUs)

I've found that in the early game once you've gotten laser weapons, saving TUs for snap shots is sufficient for quite some time.

[winterheart]

Well, in early game using HWP is essential - especially on terror missions (mainly because it's hard to shoot down Cyberdisc with rifles). Also, keep on your team at least one rocketman and autocannon guy (with HE and I rounds in backpack), they may provide overwhelming firepower when you desperately need it. Between snap and aimed you should choose auto . Shoot more bullets on each turn and you will win!

[anonilsus]

I follow the rule of killing the aliens before they kill you.

[xracer]

My early game approach is

1. Attempt to do every mission during the daytime.
2. equip all my units with auto cannon with explosive ammo, demolish everything you see (civilians included)
3. If 2 cannot be carried then grenades and smokes grenades.
4. Put the guy that can carry an autocannon as your first unit, and clear the area.
5. kneel your first 2 units and wait a turn
6. get off the craft to the sides not down the ramp.
7. always move in teams of 2 or 3 not more but keep them separate enough so that 1 alien grenade won't kill all.
8. Kill all aliens

[Align]

Terror missions are especially brutal, so if you're going through several early on that's some bad luck; would definitely expect to lose a few guys.
Although, I've noticed there aren't always civilians since I switched to a nightly build... hmm.

[darkestaxe]

1. Attempt to do every mission during the daytime.
2. use autocannons w/explosive
3. lots of electroflares at night.
4. Select decent troops w/firing accuracy, sack the others. It's more about the time, frustration, score etc.
5. Load 2 junk soldiers at the front of the skyranger. have them absorb reaction fire.
6. Send 3-5 guys in a given direction or to an area to make sure you have enough shooters.

Finally
7. If you get a terror site: land, shoot an alien maybe, abort if its not floaters and daytime.
8. Get scientists/engineers at the beginning to reaserch lasers n stuff.

Just get the medium scouts that land, it's much easier. You should have laser rifles or even plasma rifles in time for your third terror mission most the time. I's about -200 to -500 points when you abort a terrorsite, fuckit, those civilians should eat cake.

[android]

Don't take your time too much, you'll get absorbed, like the rest of your day :p
Don't try the same thing twice
Don't wait to build your second base
Do research alien alloys as quickly as possible
Do another batch of laser pistols to sell
Do hire as many scientists and engineers as you can
Do hire more rookies than you (think you) need

[kharille]

Rocket launchers and a good supply of rookies.  Keep a lot of rookies in another base, that way it only takes about ... 4 hours to replace losses. 

I only worry about losing high psi strength troops in the end game.  Large rockets makes up for any inaccuracies.  If the first rocket doesnt' kill em', the 4th and 5th ought to...

Played superhuman on xcomutil last year, and going through this version now.  Doing alright....

[pmprog]

Rocket launchers and a good supply of rookies.  Keep a lot of rookies in another base, that way it only takes about ... 4 hours to replace losses. 

You have more than one base in the early game?

[kharille]

Only costs about 3 million..  less for one entrance, 1 living quarters and 1 storage.  Thats about, 1.5 million actually.  Small raider comes later.

I think I start building that in the first month actually.  Laser, then avenger, then plasman then psi.

[android]

Laser, alloys(armour), avenger. Can't do without armour
.. What's the best thing to manufacture and sell near start of a game?

[Align]

Motion Scanners. I'd also bring one or two in missions, they occasionally come in handy when breaching UFOs or setting up an ambush. Had this one terror mission where everything went to shit and in the end there was just one guy with a laser rifle, who used the motion scanner to see where abouts the last aliens were, and picked them off by rounding corners and shooting them in the face. Rocked.

[Man in the Funny Hat]

What's the best thing to manufacture and sell near start of a game?

To make cash start by selling laser pistols.  Then step up to selling laser rifles as soon as you can.  The last step is to be selling laser cannons.  I think there are other things to be manufactured and sold for profit that will actually net you more cash - but they will require elerium or alien alloys which you will want and need for other purposes.  The laser weapons require no special materials and will otherwise always be your most efficient things to make for cash.  This takes into account how many you can make per man/hour as well, it's not just sale price.

[Align]

Motion Scanners and Medikits are more profitable than laser weapons (until you get the cannon).
https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Manufacturing_Profitability