What's your favoret load out?

[Nevasith]

maybe something is wrong with my game, but the assault rifles are totally useless- low damage, low accuracy, terrible reaction fire-i prefer SMG and snipers. later on i use lasers and heavy lasers
I resigned from using a dedicated medic- instead everyone in my squad has a medkit in his holster, as i rarely have to reload- one magazine in holster and one in belt are enough,
Currently im checking out the plasma canon, but im not sure if its worth the trouble- it definitely has interesting ammo and small usage, but in the meantime it takes a lot of TU to use.
Any advices?

[DanielOR]

screw the plasma - low range.  sniper and SMG are great, indeed.  the assault rifle, I find is indeed not that great but it feels a gap - an intermediate weapon.  clears rooms, has a chance of shooting across open range, can be used to hammer nails too.  lasers make assault skills more viable.  I always ahve 2 people on my team use assault weapons.  Their the "jack of all trades" guys, sometimes clearing rooms, sometimes laying (weak) cover fire.

I also like machine guns (later replaced by heavy laser) - deadly at medium range, good chance of hitting at even high range on reaction fire.  Sure, not every shot hits, but that is what the 60 round mag is for. 

1 soldier - 1 med kit.  with you.

[Doctor J]

None of the Plasma weapons are worth carrying save the PB grenades.  However the Assault Rifle is so rudimentary that it should be the 1st thing to be replaced.  For example, the SMG is actually more accurate than the AR.  The Bolter is an excellent stopgap, depending upon your preferences you may substitute Laser Rifle and/or Particle Beam Rifle when you get them.

[Mayhem]

I usually have:

2 Close Assault troops:  SMGs and plenty of grenades and flashbangs, plus a medikit.   Later upgrading the SMGs for plasma pistols primarily to allow them use of a medikit or stunprod without losing ranged shooting.

4 "Grunts" with Assault rifles, upgrading to bolters ASAP.  Carry the basic pistol as backup, + 2 grenades and 2 flashbangs.

2 Support troopers with Grenade Launchers.  They also carry medikits and a powerful backup pistol.

If the troops I have do not have sufficient AW skills, I'll give them sniper rifles or machine guns, depending on what their highest skill is.  Or possible shotguns.  If my would-be grendier has poor HE skills but good HW skills I may use the Rocket Launcher.

Recent successes with the Coil Gun (it rocks!) are making me quite keen to replace one or two grunts with specialist snipers, if I have a starting squad with a sufficiently skilled sniper to make it worthwhile.

***

I usually split my squad into 2, with a CC, an HE and two ARs in each.  The ARs give cover as the CC advances and peeks behind cover, and should he spot an alien I use indirect burst-fire from the HE to take it out or weaken it, only stopping to shoot it directly if I'm very confident of being able to hide if it doesn't die - or if I am very confident that one fo the ARs can finish it off if required.

***

I'm prejudiced against lasers for no apparent reason, they just sound weak in the descriptions.    I seldom use them, though in squads with a HW specialist I do eventually replace the machine gun with a heavy laser.

[JerryLove]

Honestly, my best arrangement for early game was 4-6 snipers and the rest flame-guys. First round I would leave them very near the drop-ship but adjust positions to provide overlapping lines of fire to most anywhere the aliens would come, turn reaction fire up, and drop them to a knee.

If there was an obvious egress (a nearby doorway from a big building, or obvious large obstacle for aliens to come around: I would set my flame guys just around the corner from that.

When I had them, I never fired a machine gun and only fired an assault rife once. Grenade launchers are more useful, but lack range and get interfered with by roofs; so snipers have been better.

Later game, I'm 1 bolter rifle, 1 plasma rifle or grenade launcher with PE grenades (Usually put in the backpack as the stun baton comes out), 2 laser rifles, and 4 snipers.

[Surrealistik]

Coilguns, coilguns, and more coilguns. Possibly some laser rifle/grenade launcher backups, but mostly coilguns.

[DanielOR]

here's my problem with them - they require two skills - both assault and sniper.  By the time I get the damn things I have specialists, not generalists. 

[Surrealistik]

I'm pretty sure coilguns only require the sniper skill. Even if they don't, they're plenty accurate enough when crouched, regardless of which skill your soldiers are specialized in.

[DanielOR]

Sniper for precision shooting, assault for everything else, I believe. 

At what stage do you research them?  My progression is standard rifle -> laser rifle -> particle rifle.  Admitedly, standard rifle does not get many kills, but laser rifle is nice and versetile - works decently for cleaning rooms, and a good RF weapons as well, due to a low spread.

[kounselor]

I'm new to UFO:AI so bare with me.  I'm not sure what all is in the 2.2.1v, but I researched everyting and game ended like in dec.  I continued and it would just cycle months after that.

Close: SMG - 7.62mm Pistol + Stun Rod (Others didn't seem worth TU vs DMG)
Heavy: MG #1 (Pray and Spray Baby!) - Flamer (Good early on)
Assault: Bolter (Range, DMG, Good TU)
Sniper: Sniper Rifle (can't be replaced for Sniper Skill)
Explosive: Gas Grenade (Sleep my pretties .. sleep)

I didn't get into the energy weapons.  1.) Sound effects where horrbile 2.) Conventional weapons were just as good and cheaper.

Can't wait for more.  Replaying it on (Hard) setting and giving me a challenge now.  First run, closer to end had my main guy skills 30+ soloing missions

[DanielOR]

solo?  no sh*t.  That's some hard core, DOOM style play, baby!

never got into pistol other than laser.
stun rod also looses the appeal for me once you have gas grenades.
sounds aside, particlebeam rifle is an excellent weapon - great damage potential, with spread only slightly worse than that of a laser rifle.  makes assault troops a serious force.

[Juni Ori]

Half snipers, half cqb, occasionally one saw.

Sniper: sniper rifle
Cqb: smg, 2x grenade, flashbang
Saw: mg, 2x grenade, flashbang
All: clip, medikit

Usually six man teams. My best soldier (I have 36 (semi-)active in 3 bases) has 15 missions and 31 kills. Hard to say with which he has killed more, with sniper or smg - he excels in both.

[Chriswriter90]

Each squad has a sniper, grenadier, and a machine gunner.

2 with Assault Rifles, grenades, and medkits for various situations.

2 with SMGs, grenades, and medkits. (close range)

Finally someone with either a Rocket Launcher or Heavy Laser.

Everyone has at least one or two reloads and at least 2 grenades.
Rocketeer has 4 reloads, H. Laser has 2.

Once I have Stun-Rods, I give one to each person with a free backpack.

Don't usually use Plasma anymore, it's too close range for a rifle, I break them out for tight close quarters missions.

The Partical Beam Rifle is the only gun in the game that can reaction fire with aimed shots

[Erom]

After playing all the way through the game once without ever firing them, I tend to sell off all my secondary and melee weapons. I sell off the rocket launchers too, they don't seem much use. It gets me more cash to get my SAM's up faster or buy all the armor + medkits I need. All soldiers carry a primary weapon with 2 magazines and a medkit in the holster, and that's it.

Initial Loadout:
2x Flamethrower
2x Assault Rifle
2x Sniper Rifle
1x Machine Gun
1x Grenade Launcher

Later Game:
2x Flamethrower
2x Bolter Rifle
2x Laser Rifle
1x Heavy Laser
1x Grenade Launcher

[Kiashu]

I have only been playing for a short while, but this has been my initial loadout,

4x riflemen - carrying Assault Rifle (3 mags), 2x frags, 2x smoke. Also IR goggles.

1x gunner - carrying Machinegun (3 mags), 2x frags, 2x smoke

1x sniper - carrying Sniper Rifle (3 mags), 2x frags, 2x smoke

1x grenadier - carrying Grenade Launcher (6 HIT mags), + pistol (2 mags)

1x shotgunner - carrying Auto Shotgun (sabots), 2x frags, 2x smoke

Everyone carries a Medikit.

The soldiers pair up, with a rifleman accompanying someone with a heavy weapon. They move in two-person teams. If one is injured then the other heals them with the Medikit.

Where possible, I set up an initial position, lay down smoke as a shield, and try to encourage the aliens to come to us. Usually once you take down one or two most of the rest come running. If they can come running through a nice narrow doorway that's ideal. When they're all gone, we chase down the last few.

When moving around, I try to always have people ready to do multiple rounds of reaction fire - at least one in each pair.

This has worked pretty well thus far, I'll see how it goes over time.