Base placement and management tips requested

[anonymissimus]

Well, I just realized that I forgot to tell that I don't attack flying ufos (as I don't want to lure them into cannons as it is as exploit of a bug IMHO). Because of that, when the last kind of UFO comes (cannon something), they are so fast and well armed that they will shoot anything near.

Without this tactics there would be no way for taking down corrupters and gunboats most of the time in the campaign.
Starchaser vs corrupter and Stingray vs gunboat, with appropriate equipment, are won fights though, you don't always need to lure them.

[hwoarangmy]

Yes, that's why I said I don't take them down ^^

For the very same reason, I would prefer to not use smoke grenades so much but the game is just not playable without for me.

[Adler]

I have specialised all bases (on medium). I have one science base with 6 labs, like radar bases very easy to defend, because there is only 1 entrance (with advanced radar). I usually use 8 noobs to defend such bases, but I give them best armour and a combination of close/mid/wide ranged weapons. Important are 2 snipers that I mostly place into the power plant to shoot through walls at aliens strolling outside.
Exceptions are my dropship-bases, which are defended by experiencend troops. In those bases I have enough soldiers even when dropship is out, because of injuries and I use different specialists for different maps.
My workshop-base (with 5 workshops, stores and anti-matter chambers, disassemble is very fast) is surrounded by 5 SAM-sites, because I hate to defend bases with so many entries.

I only attack slow UFOs with stilettos (one in USA, one in China), but I need more since gunboats show up now (i think they are gunboats, haven't captured one). The other ones I get when they land. I discovered dragoon and that other vessel but have to experiment with them now.

[frumius]

I have specialised all bases (on medium). I have one science base with 6 labs, like radar bases very easy to defend, because there is only 1 entrance (with advanced radar). I usually use 8 noobs to defend such bases, but I give them best armour and a combination of close/mid/wide ranged weapons. Important are 2 snipers that I mostly place into the power plant to shoot through walls at aliens strolling outside.
Exceptions are my dropship-bases, which are defended by experiencend troops. In those bases I have enough soldiers even when dropship is out, because of injuries and I use different specialists for different maps.
My workshop-base (with 5 workshops, stores and anti-matter chambers, disassemble is very fast) is surrounded by 5 SAM-sites, because I hate to defend bases with so many entries.

I only attack slow UFOs with stilettos (one in USA, one in China), but I need more since gunboats show up now (i think they are gunboats, haven't captured one). The other ones I get when they land. I discovered dragoon and that other vessel but have to experiment with them now.

How can you have 5 SAM sites at one base? I'm only allowed 2. Does a higher difficulty allow more SAM sites? I have 4 bases with 2 Sam sites each and I am only allowed 1 yard somewhere and 2 radar towers. I'm not allowed to build anything else on the geoscape. I'm on v2.5

[anonymissimus]

The limit is 3 installations per operational (power plant and command center finished) base. I recommend to spend the majority of these for radar towers; they should fill gaps between bases and extend radar somewhat to uncovered regions. In my current save I have 8 radar towers, 2 UFO yards and 2 SAM sites.

[Adler]

I have 6 bases all together for radar coverage and didn't build radar towers. Maybe radar towers are cheaper, but I cannot defend them from being destroyed. Bases I can defend and they cover a huge area. At the moment I have one base at each continent (that was my primary goal from gamestart on) and think about building two more, one to cover south pole and one for Pacific.
One base each continent means 6 bases. 6 bases are 18 external constructions I can place wherever I need them. I divide them on global aspects, not thinking 3 structures for each base

[anonymissimus]

Maybe radar towers are cheaper, but I cannot defend them from being destroyed.

I never ever had a radar tower destroyed (by aliens).
If that would happen, perhaps it works to lure the corresponding UFO to a place with ground defenses.
(And it would be a severe gameplay problem if installations could be lost just so.)
While the detecting radar range of towers is small, they greatly help to not lose track of already detected UFOs, covering gaps between the bases.

[Adler]

I thought they can be destroyed by alien ships, because one destroyed a ufo yard of mine and in the description of radar is written that they are easily spotted. That information helps a lot for strategic planning, thank you

[DarkRain]

Yes, UFOs can do bombing runs on ground installations (but really, if you are waging a war you should expect the enemy trying to bomb important things, that's why SAM weapons were invented in the first place) but currently this mechanic is not balanced at all: an installation might be destroyed or it might happen that the UFO tries to bomb an installation and is completely ineffective at it (you might see it flying over and over and over the installation in question, possibly for several in-game days, before managing to destroy it)

[hwoarangmy]

I never ever had a radar tower destroyed (by aliens).

For my part, strangely, I had a UFO Yard destroyed at the beginning of the game (no UFO there when attacked). Then, no installation at all have been ever attacked during the rest of the game. I don't know what triggers UFO to attack installations but it seems to need some love ^^