Assassin Avenger Defense! (Part 1/2) // XCOM 2 WOTC Season 9 2024 // Part 103

[@davedunmire2278]

If the defense is two episodes, Leviathan is going to be wild

[@jorgmeltzer9234]

Remember that at some point you can't load savegames anymore because they become too big. I've been there, (re-)done that.

[@wilshireanasurimbor3068]

Whoa. And a great cliff hanger ending! Excited for tomorrow, hopefully you survive :D. I've never had to do 2 Avenger Defense missions, they are miserable and liable to end runs. Doing a second one this far in, with FL20 or whatever, terrifying.

[@TheBlobik]

I am pretty sure its at least the third. Assasin attacked the Avenger for a second time (first time there were no defense matrix turrets yet), and also Hunter did attack Avenger once (when the big house blocked the LoS for turrets and .the Nightmare Hive did not work properly)

[@pbsixgun6]

@@TheBlobik 1st one was what ended season 8. Only 2 this time.

[@BCBigCoyote]

He probably has 2-3 more to go. The UFO/scripted one, the warlock one that might be inevitable if he doesn't do his stronghold first and maybe the hunter if he's cheeky enough. All at FL 20. Dear Lord, lol.

[@Wolfeson28]

@@pbsixgun6 No, this is the third for this campaign. The Assassin attacked once already (ep. 47), then the Hunter attacked (ep. 81), and now the Assassin again. And yes, we're certainly not done with them. The UFO one will happen at some point after either the Psi Gate or Forge missions, and I think both the Warlock and Hunter are on the last section of their knowledge bars.

[@chasethecw]

"And then I can move Nova into a better position" *moves Puddin Pop

[@kevinezra2115]

Sometines I feel Odd needs a personal assistant who just sttands behind him and goes: 'That one has squadsight' 'Nightmare sees it' 'Remember the return fire'

[@Wolfeson28]

"Rescue missions always have reinforcements." "The Nightmare bug explodes." "Don't Long Watch on groups you don't want to pull." -"Sire, remember the Athenians."- -"Beware the Ides of March."- 😁

[@bitemytail]

"Activating the VIP summons reinforcements"

[@exequielgaleano9947]

This is absolutely crazy and I love it!!! Two parts on this simply shows just how crazy things really can get. The lack of meme at the end shows just how serious this is, lol! But I imagined one where the assanssin is babling around but Snow Queen goes like "What? I can't hear you under all those bullets!!!" 🤣 Lots of thanks for this awesome series!!!😁

[@plasmafan2659]

1:23:44 Odd: Oh, we’re sucking that thing. Me: YOU WHAT!? That caught me very off guard, lol

[@falsfire]

00:33:16 Commander Odd discovers melee units with bladestorm, vs units they can kill with the bladestorm before getting punched or seraphim'ed :D

[@drewhorton1272]

Did Future Gift Farms Cybernetic Hitman get nerfed? His Psi pffense with the suit was only 136 this mission but he had 160 without the suit in episode 95.

[@TheBlobik]

I wonder if the GEMs could be making a difference? Probably not that much, but who knows.

[@pbsixgun6]

Yeah, that seems weird.

[@LordOfKaranda]

Maybe unlocking Psionics changed things?

[@Daniellimb]

2 episode mission. spicy

[@joshuaranum8415]

Snow Queen is my season MVP.

[@fundi_mike]

don't worry about the swearing - with the emotional attachment from mission numbers becoming 3 didgets and the time invested, it's only fair that the vocabulary includes 4-letter words!

[@Ironica82]

Yea, agreed. I already know not to watch in front of my younger kids but am still grateful that he doesn't drop f bombs every minute like some people do.

[@allanpeter7700]

I rather he curse sometimes rather than none at all, like you said cursing means he is emotional attached

[@ErwinRommel2016]

Sabot rounds on the turrets would be disgusting and funny.

[@Wolfeson28]

Man, there were some seriously dangerous enemies in this one. The squad is has already blown way past the record for total damage taken (115), we've set new damage taken and damage survived records, and this thing isn't even over yet. Hopefully part 2 ends with a victory screen. That was a really rough sequence with Wraith, though to be fair that Nightmare bug was only active because it was part of the group from the right that got pulled by Knightfather's very risky Long Watch. And it probably should have been dead the turn before the explosion anyway.

[@ChiefAsian]

Odd you could've used soulfire to kill the chrysslid. Idk why you shot at the bug but it is what it is. Super intense episode today!

[@htetlin2451]

Commander f-ed up for sure right there.

[@WanoReborn]

I knew this mission is gonna be rough, but daaaaamn

[@TheLordSarek]

This is going to be great! Let's go!!!

[@allanpeter7700]

Honesty if you can’t kill things you should probably consider stasis more. I’m sure even one turn of disabled Mechapede would have been huge

[@vojtechzahradnik7830]

You certainly got me hanging on that cliff, Commander!

[@antoniotrivelloni8191]

30 minutes in it was never more over for XCOM After it ends, we have never been so back. Just win, baby! Just hit your 70s, boys and girls

[@MuttTehSuper]

I am terrified! Either this means that there is enough time for a whole other half of the mission and that is exciting and intense! Or that shot goes off and we have a lot of reflection! THE TENSION IS REAL

[@wjwoodget01]

----- Major Amy "Collux" Penton Log 103 ----- "Yes, that is ... regrettable. They are much like us, had the paths of their lives wended another way. Yet, I cannot allow myself to feel remorse for their deaths, for they feel no remorse at the deaths of others. They are but the fingers of the Elders, after all. They do their bidding, and so must be stopped at all costs." He winces slightly at his own words. "No, my heart cannot be that cold. I have misspoken myself. My deepest apologies, Major Collux. I wish that I could allow the space in my heart to care for them, but if I were to do that, it would not be strong enough to do what must be done." "What do you mean, Captain?" The words came out of Amy's mouth before she could stop them, she closed her eyes as she silently scalds herself for prying too much. "Sorry, that's a little too forward, isn't it. And you don't need to apologise to me either, we all have different reasons why or how the war entered our lives. Feeling emotions is the best thing to feel because it means we care enough to think about it if nothing else." "You have much wisdom, Major Collux. It is clear why Betos chose you to be the liaison aboard the Avenger. But you will not harm my feelings with questions. If one could, then I would spend all of my time in the infirmary, questioning myself." He brought his hand to his chin in thought. The action is smooth, precise, and poised. "To explain my view, I must ask you a question. Do you recall your time under the Elders' enthrall?" ----- End Log -----

[@jorgmeltzer9234]

You almost never make it out from a Mechapede without at least someone dying.

[@yunchunsa]

Hello Mr.Cliffhanger

[@allanpeter7700]

It feels weird for kinetic pull to have hit chance

[@Wolfeson28]

Functionally, it's exactly the same as the Skirmsher's Justice, just without the melee attack at the end.

[@allanpeter7700]

No I know but, all of Templar abilities are guaranteed to hit, I.e volt, invert etc. Even stuff like demolition is guaranteed

[@yourfathersfather8751]

these defense missions are horrifying. crazy enemies plus a very spooky game ending obj to deal with is just so rough

[@sad_yorick]

1:09 in. I feel like the squad sight on xcom1 sectopod, combined with other insane stuff, is just unreasonable. It's my impression that xcom doesn't have enough scaling in this mode. You are almost maxed out on most fronts and the enemies are just too much

[@chrismartindale7840]

Hey Chris! I don't know if you read all the comments but could you play Terminator Dark Fate: Defiance? From what I hear it's a strategy game where you command a large quantity of soldiers fighting Legion. While not quite XCOM or up to its level, it looks like a game I would enjoy watching you play.

[@Alleczu]

Looks like Christmas came early!

[@miketogwell1000]

That mechapede would have been so.much easier with some shredding, lack of cannons , rockets, grenades, or ammo really hurt and the legate replaces generals in the hunt the commander missions

[@Wolfeson28]

Ya, it did seem like this lineup was pretty short on cannon users. Unfortunately Oscuridad, Geo, and Tribal Chief were all unavailable right at the critical moment.

[@miketogwell1000]

@@Wolfeson28 true, but there are other ways to get shredding - grenades, rockets, AP rounds - even some of the bullpup classes can get shredding

[@Wolfeson28]

@@miketogwell1000 Oh, certainly. The problem is that a lot of those options are pretty rare, or are charge-limited, which is a big issue on a mission this long.

[@TheH3LLP3R]

The biggest, esepcialy with hindsight, missplay was taking the shot with pudding pop on the mechapede. Shouldve taken the 100% on the bug which wouldve left nova to take his shot on the mechapede because nova wouldnt have had to use combat presence on cybernetic because cybernetic had a super low chance of killing the bug in the first place and obviously the bugs reaction was gonna be moving into the smoke towards cybernetic. All of it culminating in wraiths death unfortunately (also, the micro missles was useless on the bug idk why you did that. The chrysalid doesnt take cover, obviously, to begin with) Other than that tho this was a great part 1 in terms of moves and action economy

[@jayeffaar]

Is the occasional swearing really an issue for anyone here? I don't ever notice it until Odd brings it up. 😁

[@jaybee825]

Nope, not at all. He doesn’t do it often & it’s fitting when he does. Nothing excessive but I understand why he’s so conscious of it

[@loganmulloy7212]

Man, this is what, defense number 3? Or 4? Hopefully we can see a Chosen taken off the board soon or this might be a common occurrence.

[@raider363]

Part 1 of 2?!?!? omg

[@Readied-Action]

59:14 When ADVENT finally says F.A.F.O and means it, good lord

[@justinwright725]

R.I.P Wraith 😞😑😭💪✌️💯

[@falsfire]

I know I've written this before but, the golfballs (at least base game, pretty sure requiem golfballs too) are organic. They're not robotic, so they do not take extra bluescreen damage, no?

[@jwbaker]

They are cybernetic, not organic. They are both flesh and machine. This is good because unlike a Sectopod, the Gatekeeper is vulnerable to all special ammo, to both gas bombs and EMP bombs, etc.

[@falsfire]

@@jwbaker Okay, I just don't think I've ever seen bluescreen damage listed in the damage preview on any of them...is it maybe a base game behaviour (thus drilled into our dear Commander's mind), that is removed by mods? (I'm not trying to be "confidently incorrect", just really wanna know lol)

[@jwbaker]

@@falsfire This run has hundreds of mods so who knows what all the intentional and accidental interactions are.

[@minorumas98]

Well, i know its not a wipe since there's more episodes, but damm does that look bad

[@BARNEYFIFE-d4r]

to be continued,.....To Be Continued,...."TO BE CONTINUED,.....oh okay 😳👍. Thanks Chris..

[@jakoblein761]

btw it should be Kuznezova, she is a girl isn't she?

[@sad_yorick]

The assassin dodges look buggy

[@jackyiv]

O7

[@gergdah]

XCOM cheating and "conveniently" running directly next to your stealth unit to reveal them is such an annoying mechanic

[@NicoTheCinderace]

Yeah, I think that's utter bullshit. I hope there's a mod which cuts down on the cheating.

[@thisguy35]

yea it happens to often

[@LordOfKaranda]

With Wraith he put a unit next to him with a Chryssalid nearby. But I do hate how they can "sense" your hidden units.

[@evilbob840]

Math didn't say you should have missed that 4th 50% shot, math has nothing to say about your chances at all. Probability says you still have a 50% chance because history is irrelevant. It also says that if you take 4 50% chances, you will usually get 2 successes, but 0 or 4 successes (or anything in between) are entirely possible.

[@allanpeter7700]

He always makes this comment but it is completely the opposite of how statistics works, he hasn’t corrected himself thus far, I’m seriously wondering if it’s an inside joke or something

[@evilbob840]

@@allanpeter7700 I think he genuinely doesn't understand probability, which is pretty common. After all, it is a pretty common joke to say that an XCom 95% chance is much lower than a "real" 95% chance.

[@montecarlocars]

Guys he’s clearly joking about the probability…

[@DSMTyralion]

To bad Cybernetic still lives :(

[@edgeman1135]

Maybe it's just me but I don't think enemies should get squadsight.

[@NicoTheCinderace]

It’s just you.

[@FalconCritical]

I mean that's the reason that they don't have squadsight in the basegame. Modders gave it to them to make missions like this spicy, and we players love the spice.

[@edgeman1135]

@FalconCritical yeah fair enough. I was thinking that squadsight is just really annoying to play against when approaching any unit risks activating another pod, but I can't deny that it's spicy. It'd be good if there was a better way to see who's in vision of the squadsight unit.

[@AzmanRacoon-bq1jt]

Any Idea if XCom3 will be coming out? Or more bluntly, considering how cringe woke Chimera Squad was, SHOULD XCom3 come out? Maybe the Great Game Industry Layoffs of 2025, after Christmas because Companies don't want the bad optics. But gaming industry lay offs will be brutal starting next month Jan all through 2025, maybe Gaming Studios will pivot back to profit and not ideology and get back to making games, paying customers willing to buy, in a bad economy....? So maybe XCom3 if made won't be Chimera Squad cringe bad? Or maybe not. Sigh.

[@Evilshtt353]

I don't want an Xcom 3 because Jake wouldn't be the one behind it. Chimera Squad wasn't "woke", I fucking hate that word now, it just wasn't a good Xcom game. Jake wasn't behind it and it showed. It was very very limited in its scope and just all around. Although it did introduce the mechanic of "Breaching" which was my favorite thing about the game. Unless you have legitimate criticisms other then "woke" then best to keep quiet.

[@Ironica82]

@@Evilshtt353 The breaching mechanic only works on small scale games like CS. Don't see that ever being used with XCOM world wide scale missions. I tried a couple of times to play it but with how little you can do between missions and how restrictive the characters are, it just wasn't my style of tactic game. I do think it shouldn't have been like XCOM 2 as they were focused on a city and wanted more character development, though (IIRC, the creator wanted to really focus on the interpersonal relationships and thus made the game as it is).

[@NicoTheCinderace]

“Woke” this “Woke” that. The word has lost its meaning now.

[@NicoTheCinderace]

God, same. “Woke” is such an overused phrase, it’s so annoying.

[@Ironica82]

Instead of just throwing "woke" around, please explain how it was "woke". From my perspective, it did not: -Have diversity just for diversity sake (it is set in a futuristic time so there would be different ethnicities group together as there are today and I don't recall any forced gay characters/pronouns) -Current day social issues that is not related to the world building of the game (since the story is that this city is the first city to accept the aliens as citizens and trying to overcome the past two decades or war so there would be those who hate all non humans after what was done throughout their lives and what was revealed to them at the end of XCOM 2) -No lecture on current day social/political issues that I can recall (never beat the whole game and only saw Odd's playthrough so I might have missed it). -It did not emasculate men at all just to prop up any females in the group. So, why was it "woke"?