Your Tactics

[val]

assualt rifles, SMGs, and grenade launchers are the bomb for me.  Snipers, flamers, and every other weapon don't deliver.

Also have everyone pack medikits.  That can make a difference if they travel in pairs.

[Thrashard96]

i kill all aliens on the 1st turn. Guess how.

[ponkan]

New game, so only conventional weapons available, not even lasers. Most kills fall to soldiers with GL, SMG, or flamethrower. Add sniper or assault rifles for extended-range, and I call it a well-rounded plan. Grenade launchers get a machine pistol sidearm (one-handed FTW). 3-round airburst is just insane. 15 TUs is a lot, but it's pretty close to a guaranteed kill. Machinegun is great on the first turn if you have a favourable position, but thereafter is useless since TU usage is too much to lug it around or engage with RF, and aliens never end a turn in the open.

[val]

i kill all aliens on the 1st turn. Guess how.

That'll take a lot of grenade launchers and TUs.  Or a mod with a nuke launcher.

[Thrashard96]

Sadly, you're wrong. I cheat.

[unvis]

hehe

i can kill all the enemies in the first round, even without cheating. In campain game, Fighter battle, when there are only 5 enemies.

i usually have:
- 3 snipers (with regular sniper rifles or 2 sniper rifles + 1 coilgun) - great for long ranged shots even in open fields (by taking enemies down from a long distance, so that they have less chances to hit my guys when they fire)
- 1 grenadier - with launcher !!! awsome fighter. i even consider to use 2 guys with grenade launchers (marvelous to kill enemes over an obstacle, behind a corner or through very thight spaces - also time grenade is excellent); he kills many aliens (along with the Heavy weapon guy).
- 1 heavy weapon guy - with machine gun (this guy usualy kills most enemies and gets the best promotions); i mostly use him with Full auto fire, taking care to get as many aliens as possible in a line (and kills 2-3-4 with only 1 shot)
- 2 assault - but i don't really find then so useful: no asssault weapon is very useful: laser rifles (one of the few full assault skill weapon) - even if is very accurate and long range, it inflicts very low damages; plasma rifles: good damage with burst or full auto, but innacurate; needle gun - the best assault weapon probably, but if you aim you need Sniper skill and if you use cannonade, you have to be very close, or else you mostly miss; and if you are so close, you better use a plasma blade instead...
- 1 close/fast unit - but also i doubt of his use....

PS: i don't use a medic since all my troops have a medikit and they can quicly heal closer units.

[mor2]

may be more advanced levels need more advanced tactics but i find the basic laser gun teams very dangerous.
snipers are nice but before you get in range i can score 2x3 shots and stay at safe distance...

btw the most dangerous weapon in game is grenades, i used it ones, neddless to say the grenade flew at some wired arc and blew my soldier instead after which the whole enemy team rained me with granades (i never seen them use them before)

[Crazy Tom]

I'm runing the stable Windows version, and I find sniper rifles nearly useless, these guys can't hit the side of a barn with anything except spray and pray fire. So far, riot shotguns and assault rifles have gotten me the most kills.

In a side not, I'm not sure it it's a bug or not, but neither smoke or flash-bangs are showing up in the buy section, is this just the fact that these haven't been integrated into the game yet?

[Hertzila]

In a side not, I'm not sure it it's a bug or not, but neither smoke or flash-bangs are showing up in the buy section, is this just the fact that these haven't been integrated into the game yet?

They were in previous versions but they don't work in the current one IIRC. They'll be re-implemented when they're fixed.

[Crazy Tom]

Ah, thanks.

[plenty]

First base is turned into research facility (6 labs in the end, workshop demolished)
Second is a factory (used to get basic equipment asap, than to dissemble alien ships) - 6 workshops, no missile defenses (but 4 external), no ships.
3rd is more balanced, with some extra storage space, another drop-ship with "backup" team, single laboratory, workshop and alien storage.
4+ are just used to stop alien ships (interceptors, base defenses, a workshop or two to maintain production of ammo for my soldiers).

My combat teams are composed of:

a) 4-5 laser weapon users (any, but rifles work best)
b) 1-2 GL with few extra plasma blades
c) 1-2 Railgun

I set team a) in a far, but very visible spot, to attract fire and get some reaction kills eventually, while being relatively safe (sometimes some healing is required, but rarely ever any soldier dies).

Team b), hidden behind corners, is used to stop enemies from flanking, and to do final charge. They also serve as medics during long-range combat, or can help with RL (in backpacks).

Team c) usually gets to the building / behind the wall etc, and kills everything in range trough the walls, using infrared goggles.

For some reason (lousy path finding?) some enemies won't leave ships/buildings. Some also play a variant of hide-and-shoot without actually ever shooting (lack of TU). Also, quite often, they keep trying to shoot you trough the wall. That is when snipers/railgunners come handy.

I've noticed that AI engages in long-range combat first with ~half of the units, than sends some to flank/rear your soldiers, so my game style is just a countermeasure.

Until strength is implemented, every soldier carries a first aid kit, at least one plasma blade, spare ammo and an alternative weapon in the backpack (stun rod for a), RL for b), laser rifle for c) ).

[Tamanfodder]

My tactics??? Well at the simplest it is to kill every last alien on the map without caring about collateral damage 

Then seriously: I personally like sniper rifles...  ...a LOT! I usually search for aliens and get my snipers to kill them... Though there is nothing stopping me for going all out close quarters... I usually improvice on the field... It has served me well so far! 

[Larthalalyss]

Mostly depends on the soldiers I can hire.  Generally run 6 soldier teams, 4 soldier teams for base defense.  One is my explosives expert, normally armed with a grenade launcher.  If he's decent at heavy, he gets flechete grenades too.  If not, then it's a pistol and a knife or PB.  One is normally a sniper for long range fire support.  I might get one close weapons specialist, emphasizing hp and speed, using smg's or pistols plus melee weapons.  Course, that one is a might, pending on selection again.  Otherwise, the rest are split between assault and heavy specialists.  Generally go for more assaults than heavy, but do try to get at least one heavy.  Sniper starts with the sniper rifle, then upgrades as they become available.  Usually go to bolter rifle just for the fact that it can improve assault and is nice for 'in houses', later it gets upgraded.  The assault guys upgrade from rifles to lasers, bolters, and plasmas pending on each individual soldier's strength.  And also to give me a variety for dealing with different alien types.  Same with the heavy hitters. 

Generally try to avoid collateral damage, have even used a close person as an assassin, sneaking up behind and 'knifing' aliens from behind (which is somehow satisfying...).  As for additional gear, heavies and snipers have IR goggles.  All carry medkits, just in case.  Also they all have one to two spare clips of ammo pending on shots/clip.  Any leftover belt/holster space is filled with grenade fun.  For those times when 18 TU's is too many but 11 TU's (2 to hand, 9 to lob/roll) is just fine. 

Usually split them into two groups of three or three groups of two, pending on map.  Explosives/Assault, Heavy/Close or Assault, and the remaining two.  If it looks like the mission might be dicey, then I'll throw in two more soldiers aptly renamed to Cannon Fodder 1 and Cannon Fodder 2.  Honestly should call them Meatshield 1 and 2 instead.   

[val]

Sadly, you're wrong. I cheat.

A nuke launcher would be cheating.

[chris.staddon]

Another useful tactic... when one of my personnel obtains sight of an alien, I immediately send out 2 guys with stun rods round the geoscape - to outflank the alien / attack from behind. I don't know if it's deliberate (and correct) AI but the alien never seems to know it's being sneaked up on. It always concentrates on attacking the human right in front of it. My only gripe is you can't seem to stun bloodspiders (maybe it's already possible but I've never succeeded - has anyone ever managed it?).

Slight tangent but relevant to my point above: From what I see, bloodspiders do all the harvesting of humans. So capturing a live one should in theory be a MUST for XCOM research.... if it's not already possible, maybe it can be developed so XCOM could research something like Alien Nutrition. And from that, presumably a new weapon - alien poison (which gives you ammo that when you hit an alien, decreases their hit points at a faster rate than a normal injury...)?