How to Master Into the Breach - Episode 1: Mastering Mechanics (Tips for mastering the game)

This Into the Breach guide is the first in a series in which I dispense tips and tricks on how to master the game. Beyond just tips and tricks, though, the intent here is to give you an in-depth look at the strategies I use to achieve 30k victories. Whether your goal is to improve your own play, get 30k victories, or try some challenge runs, I hope this "meta" walkthrough gives you all you need.
Today we discuss the basics of mastering mechanics. Namely, interpreting the "perfect" information, getting a list of optimal responses, and iterating on those responses. I'll cover where the game gives you perfect information and where it doesn't, and how we use that to decide between "optimal" play or otherwise.
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[@soulmata]

I'm aware that letting the Psion block after punching the Scarab in the first scenario would leave all 3 Vek dead. The point I'm trying to illustrate there is controlling randomness. If I remake this video, I'll make sure I do it without a Psion present to help demonstrate that.

[@carolinacremasta277]

Hmm, let me say this: By blocking the two spawns in the first turn, you actually *increase* randomness, or: the threat that comes out of randomness. If you had not blocked the spawns, two random veks would have emerged next turn. But when you block the spawns, 4 or even 5 random veks will emerge the turn after next turn. Due to native damage per turn being always restricted by your squad and the items you have, you can only destroy up to so many veks per turn (push into water/lava aside). Not blocking the emerging veks and killing all three veks including the psion is the better turn here, afaic. So, what you referred in your post at the bottom to is a special case where I have so many expendable support units, that I can keep on blocking up to the end of the battle. I have just tried that out. With a custom crew of Boulder Mechs. It should be possible in other variations too but is nothing more (or less) than a special (interesting) case. Good video thoug. Thank you! :)

[@pairot01]

Great explanation! The last thing that could factor into the decision is XP farming. I've definitely been in a position where I let Vek spawn that would be trivial to block, trying to clutch that promotion. Although those are generally on the last couple of turns, not as an opener.

[@YuvalAyalon2011]

Your explanation on the number of actions of mechs vs vek was great! I had the sense that's what you were doing from watching your gameplays, than your explanation made it even clearer. thanks!

[@soulmata]

Thank you!

[@EVER2east]

very good and interesting guide :3. Thank you!💙

[@alisafa2146]

I’m soo happy to see you on ITB once again! Amazing content as always, hope I can catch you streaming it soon. Are you planning to stream ITB anymore?

[@soulmata]

Yes, I will be streaming it again eventually. Currently I've been plotting on what the next interesting streaming is. I don't really like doing just casual streaming. I'm working on a Chimera Squad run with a friend we are considering streaming.

[@EiderAoo7]

¡Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de hacer esta excelente guía!

[@soulmata]

Thank you!

[@davisdawson5047]

I know this is for illustrative purpose but for this particular board you can punch first for your second solution and the result would be the same without losing hp.

[@soulmata]

Yeah I made a number of oversights in this vid. Maybe one day I'll remake it.

[@MrPasseh]

Good stuff, thanks!

[@zerarch77]

Good video. Easy to follow, not too long, and demonstrates solid principles.

[@soulmata]

Thank you! I feel much better about part 2 - I feel I missed some solid points in this one and will revisit it eventually.

[@StopBuggingMeGoogleIHateYou]

Great video!

[@Tensownik]

There's also one more thing to consider (or so i think) - wouldn't it be better to let one vek spawn in order to not have too many spawn tiles to block next turn? In the second solution you will most likely have excess actions (you will be facing 1 vex with 1 hp) and with the first solution you can probably dispose or at the very least deny that spawned vek. That would lead to more xp gain and less threat in the next two turns instead of getting a very easy next turn.

[@soulmata]

It really depends. The problem with emerging vek is that you never know what's going to emerge, but you always know what's already on the board. If there are no alphas on the board, I'm more inclined to block over kill.

[@IntrusiveThot420]

Found your channel this morning after my 4th hard mode run and first win! Ice mechs + jones is OP as fuck.

[@soulmata]

Yeah, Beth (or secret pilot) with FT is I Win mode.

[@DKMaester]

Good stuff

[@soulmata]

Thanks! More will be coming.

[@lkqwndlqkakndkajsdn3320]

Great video i wuld love to see more into the Breach ore you could play somme Loop Hero

[@soulmata]

More ITB will be coming soon.

[@soulmata]

A lot of this is my opinion. Just keep that in mind!

[@andreabradpitto]

how did you get your mechs to be white? is it a mod?

[@soulmata]

@@andreabradpitto you can recolor your mechs in the mech bay before you start a new game

[@andreabradpitto]

@@soulmata thanksfor your reply :) that said, I am rather sure that that white color is not available by default. Maybe it is a mod or a trick wit the in-game console

[@soulmata]

@@andreabradpitto If you use modloader for more squads, it unlocks a much larger palette.

[@andreabradpitto]

@@soulmata last thing, do you provide *your* installed mod list somewhere? I checked most of your into the breach video descriptions but I had no luck

[@epicsandvich014]

Great video! Thank you for the guide, hopefully you will continue this series eventually, but if you don’t, it’s fine. You have your own life.

[@soulmata]

Someone suggested an achievement guide, which seems like a good thing to do.

[@carolinacremasta277]

Not sure. By blocking all spawns in turn one, you're actually _increasing_ randomness in turn three(!).

[@DecoMetallo]

hey man thanks a lot for the tips! Just wondering... is there a finite amount of enemies that spawn per turn (not counting the ones delayed by blocking). Thx!!!

[@soulmata]

Yup, there is an upper limit to the number of active enemies, after which no new enemies will try to emerge. This limit doesn't apply to enemies created by other enemies, like blobber bombs or spiders, though,

[@kmjohnny]

2nd option would've been better if I push the Vek first over the spawner, then fire from afar. Same outcome, less damage taken from our side. 1 Emerging Vek is not a bad outcome.

[@UstashaMe84]

Love these videos, pretty darn helpful. So I’ve beaten 3 islands but never in a row because it seems they get harder every time if you go on a run. I’m playing the game on normal. So basically I’ve only had the chance to use the rift walkers. I don’t know where I’m going wrong, should I be investing in movement or damage? It seems by the time I reach the third island the veks are too strong for me... or just flood the board so fast I’m out numbered

[@soulmata]

Difficulty progression goes up with each island, and the idea is you normally need to be eclipsing the difficulty boost with upgrades. Difficulty tends to peak toward the end of the 2nd island, and by island 4 usually start to drop - sort of a bell curve of difficulty. But there's some randomness to it, plus other factors. Movement over damage is a tough one, but it comes down to which squad you're playing - a move-heavy squad like SJ will want more move, but USUALLY damage is the right move. For Rift Walkers, damage all the way. Start off with the Artillery - even though it's expensive, buy its damage boost first, then the fist upgrade for the Prime. Having 4+ damage from its basic attack will carry you to Island 4.

[@UstashaMe84]

@@soulmata Thanks so much man! Really love your content and I appreciate the reply. Yeah I suppose every squad is different all having their strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn’t know personally since I can’t win with the RW lads yet haha. Literally the best $8 dollars I’ve ever spent in my life. I keep losing but I can’t put this damn game down. I’ll invest in attack next round and see how she goes!

[@UstashaMe84]

@@soulmata I finally did it man! 3 in a row and now I’m starting Factory Island tomorrow. I took your advice and got all 3 mechs attack power up. What a game changer when everything hits hard. I also got the passive “Force Amp” which adds more damage when the veks bump or block a spawning point. My Arty also had the ability to not damage buildings, definitely a must. Thanks to you I did it!

[@soulmata]

@@UstashaMe84 Rock on. It only gets better from here.

[@UstashaMe84]

@@soulmata yep my first ever victory was a 4 island run. My one and only victory with Rift Walkers. I tried the Frozen Titans and my god.. I cruised to a 4 island victory. That squad is OP af. That clown artillery freezing everyone haha. Zenith Guard... still trying to figure them out, they suck lol.

[@user-ox1jv4mk5s]

My optimal solution would be: push scarab with mech on emerging tile use artillery to both kill scarab and push firefly in water, last use tank to push psion on emerging tile. Results: 1 emerging 3 dead +7 exp to artillery +1 exp to mech and tank

[@soulmata]

Yes, that would be well done.

[@QUQINGPING]

why you stop this series? your analysis is out of this world!

[@soulmata]

Mostly because I had several people start harassing me because they did not like my voice. It was not worth their harassment to continue.

[@QUQINGPING]

​@@soulmata my friend, i have no issue with your voice... i can understand everything you said. plz do it for your fan & subs, you don't live for the ones who hate, we can't please everyone anyway. such a waste of good content & talent but i respect your decesion, no matter what it is. might check out your xcom guide as well but it seems like a huge game

[@soulmata]

@@QUQINGPING I am glad you found value in them. Perhaps I will do more in the future. Also, there is a popular discord channel if you are not already on it for ITB.

[@soulmata]

@@QUQINGPING Thank you for the kind comment. Also, I do stream every Wednesday and Sunday on Twitch, lately I have been streaming XCOM2. twitch.tv/soulmata

[@aqua9859]

hey, ik this isn't related to the video but how are your mechs that color? It looks like the color from the frozen titans but why is the orb of your combat/prime mech light blue instead of red?

[@soulmata]

You can customize the mech colors in the game before you start, it's the little square color icon next to each mech after you select a squad.

[@noronha4223]

Are you an engineer? Dude u must be an engineer?

[@soulmata]

Yes, why?

[@noronha4223]

Only an engineer could apply this much method and calculation to a game... Not even a computer scientist would be that methodical 😂😂😂

14:00 By my understanding of the game, this just isn't right. Every spawn you block on early turns just generates additional spawn points, so you have something like: - 1 unknown Vek + 3 spawn points + 1hp saved + a few more xp - 1 damaged Vek + 4 spawn points I'd go for that first solution. I don't know if spawn number algorithm is published anywhere, but it's really clear game does something like it, and you cannot block your way out of the fight. Overblocking on first turn just means having to deal with more Vek at once on later turns, instead of dealing with them more gradually more easily. I also don't think it's a huge deal what kind comes out, all the scary ones are limited to 1 per battle.

[@soulmata]

Blocking does not generate additional Vek spawns, I am not sure where you learned that but it's not true. What it does is /delay/ the spawn you are standing on, but the game will still create more up to the internal limit (which it will always do anyway, regardless if you block or not). If you manage to kill every Vek every turn, but likewise do not block, you'll still get up to 5 Vek to block. It is entirely possible to *completely* block all Vek after the first turn if you have supports units in your squad. I'm also not sure what you mean by "scary ones are limited to 1 per battle", this is also entirely untrue. You can easily get 2 Alpha Burrowers, or 2 Alpha Hornets, or something else. The guys on the ITB discord can go into in depth technical detail if you're interested.

[@imaytag]

@@soulmata Bit late but I think he's talking about the units that spawn other units like blobbers and spiders (and maybe diggers too, not 100%) I've never seen more than one of those on a single map, same as psions.

[@raedien]

You're correct Tom. While blocking IS good, you don't want to over block as the game essentially counts how many active problems there are (enemies on the board) and does not count spawn points in that calculation. Thus, if you keep blocking the game keeps spawning problems because it sees a "clean" board. Essentially you want to keep as many problems on the board as you are comfortable dealing with, killing current problems to match arising problems. Block when you can't keep pace. Aka, kill as many problems as you can, block when the game tries to spawn more problems than you can deal with. Even simpler, if you have no targets and as many spawns as you do mechs, do NOT block, instead just box them in/ protect objectives. Your turns will be very easy.

[@m98_b]

I would’ve used both tanks, then the Mechs 1. Attack with the tank behind the psion so that it bumps into the firefly 2. Attack with the tank in front of the firefly so that it bumps into the psion again and kill it 3. Use the Artillery mech to push the firefly into the water 4. Kill the Scarab with my Combat mech Sure I’ll leave some Vek emerging, but I’d have less enemies to deal with after my turn

[@raedien]

Tanks are only active on turns 2 and 1.

[@m98_b]

@@raedien assuming that the tanks were active, and the board looked like this, this is what I would do

[@soulmata]

Blocking vs killing can sometimes be a hard choice, especially since you don't know what will pop out.

[@ArmageddonChess]

Not usig hotkeys bothers me too much lol

[@soulmata]

I only have 1 hand.