close combat tactics - ?

[cannonfodder558]

Hello.

Which close combat tactics / equipment do you prefer? I suffer horrible casualties in mid?/late? game, inside of Ufos and buildings. Even with four soldiers in a row, and plenty of TUs for reaction fire.

Until now, fighting in nanocomposite with laser rifles. Never noticed the shot guns and flame throwers.

Do they change the odds?

Just finished research on plasma
encased rounds. The reports here sound promising, using them. with assault rifles. Didn't bring them. into the field up to now. As they are so expensive, I'd prefer standard weaponry, if suitable.

Greetings

[anonymissimus]

I basically never use valuable units in reaction fire positions, those units are fated to die. The basic laser rifle seems also good for reaction fire anyway. Other weapons are either imprecise for an inexperienced unit (particle weapons, plasma blaster) or don't do enough damage (shotgun - also imprecise) or are too heavy (flame thrower). On normal or below 2 hits from 3 beams of the 12 TU shot have a good chance of killing, so the unit survives. Ammunition is cheap and its very lightweight. Best overall weapon for the assault skill.
The best tactic is to not even come close to any enemy. Snipers can shoot though walls, such as the thin walls near the cockpit of a harvester, or the bottom of the wings of a corrupter. No need to enter any UFO. Similar for buildings.

[cannonfodder558]

Good morning.

Thanks for your hints.

How do you spot aliens inside of ufos from the outside? With the IR googles? I'm not sure whether they are useful/ how they should be used. How close do I have to be to an alien to detect them? And do they work through more than one wall/through all kind of walls, even the outer skin of a ufo?  I only detected an alien with them once. In a hut.

Comparing weapons in snap shot mode (8 TUs necessary): according to ufopedia, the laser rifle deals a damage of about 60, the shotguns, flechette shells, 160 (!), the flame thrower 80. Don't the shotguns cause much more damage with a single shot? The statistics give an excellent impression.

And what are the sabotaged slugs for? Better armour penetration = should they be used against armoured targets?

The flame thrower seems to be unaffected by armour. I'll try it (alien barbecue).

I'm researching the micro rockets for the .web455 (AJGuns mod). Probably only 6 TUs necessary, damage unknown at the moment. And if they could be doublewielded, maybe the weapon of choice for storming buildings/ ufos.

Bye

[Mech]

1. Smoke grenades.
2. Infrared googles (when needed).
...
...
PROFIT!!

[anonymissimus]

IR goggles have a range of 9 apparently, as the description says. Horizontally, vertically and diagonally it seems , so the area you spot aliens within has corners (as opposed to being a ball sector). Yes it works perfectly to spot aliens in UFOs. Okay, you can have bad luck and the alien is 10 fields away, but you are safe and get a chance again next turn.

What you don't take into account is that resistances of the alien armors and alien natural resistances are lowest against lasers (a reason that makes them useful even once particle weapons are available) and very high against the human tech weapons, except for fire maybe. But the flame thrower is so heavy you can't get the TU bonus and it is useless for ranged combat. The 8 TU laser rifle shot is not enough for killing an alien of course. If you're unlucky, a sheevar rolls a plasma grenade (8 TU) and you're fucked.

[Internecivus]

resistances of the alien armors and alien natural resistances are lowest against lasers

I like how this plot twist was explained in alien armor post-research mail. If you don't read these mails carefully, look back and read it, you'll be probably as pleased as I am.

[anonymissimus]

Better look up values in /base/ufos/armour.ufo though. They really should be shown in the UI once alien armor has been researched.

[cannonfodder558]

Good morning.

EP rounds rock. 

After enjoying the lasers, it is really fun to bring standard weaponry (with EP = encased plasma rounds) back into the field. Good idea, dev team. Also excellent timing, regarding the time it becomes available. And it is urgently needed in mid-/late game.

With assault rifles and EP ammo, and the power armour, there's a better chance to fight using reaction fire mode, and not always having to hide in smoke (smoke grenades still are absolutely necessary). Yesterday half of my squad didn't get killed, but just hurt critically / crippled.  That's an improvement.

Got a bit frustrated, getting killed all the time in melee.
On normal level.

By the way, I find the game well-balanced. I like the power armour not to be to powerful. It's just complementary in combination with other equipment and tactics you learned. Doesn't make other things obsolete.

It could provide a bit more protection.

I  like using monomolecular blades. What a pity they don't have a reaction fire mode. If your troops are waiting in a cloud of smoke, especially at a narrow passage, it would make sense.

Have a nice day