Let's Replay X-COM UFO Defence #04: Finishing the First Mission

From the very beginning, X-COM is at a sizable disadvantage. The aliens have better and faster ships with more dangerous weapons, all while being hard to detect. The aliens themselves have superior weapons, better armour, outnumber your soldiers and typically are in strong positions when you arrive at the scene. X-COM may have the best that the world currently can offer but the best just isn't going to cut it in the long run. We're making efforts to start improving our technology to better keep up with the aliens but until that point, we're stuck with the same old projectile weapons that can't hold a candle to the alien's plasma weapons.
That said, it's not all doom and gloom. Some of the starting weapons in X-COM aren't too bad if used well and against some of the weaker enemies, a rifle is a fine enough weapon. The lack of armour is more worrying though, as not having it dramatically reduces our survivability. With this in mind, we need to be extra careful when we face the aliens. Keep soldiers in groups but not too close together, stick to cover if you can manage to and leave enough TUs for reaction shots. Take it slow and cautious and never, ever let an alien get away if you can take it out without much risk. Just remember that while the aliens are numerous and expendable, your soldiers aren't, if only because they cost a lot to replace in the beginning.
Keeping soldiers alive will pay off in the long run, as they get better the more they fight and a better soldier kills aliens faster and thus, is even more likely to survive longer.
The initial videos for this let's play were recorded in one long recording session so I could maintain by uploading schedule around a family funeral. As such, any advice given cannot be acted upon until video 7.
Twitter: / kikoskia
Patreon: / kikoskia

[@sicor94]

Raw footage of X-COM operatives vandalizing the farm of friendly local aliens.

[@adenowirus]

- Bob? - Yes? - This was supposed to be an open-air folk museum, right? - Yes Rob. - Then why are they shooting at us? - It's probably just an reenactment. - They have laser pistols. And they killed Jerry! - Maybe we were supposed to buy tickets before entering. - You're terrible at planing trips. - I know, Rob.

[@crowsbridge]

I can't believe how well that mission went.

[@animex75]

Or both. It was pure luck that the alien missed that shot there at the end, but he's definitely better at troop movement and placement.

[@lokalnyork]

Who is that guy and what he did to real Kiko?

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

That start? Oh most definitely luck. A plasma bomb would have made the game by episode 3.

[@TehCubey]

Too early in the game for aliens to carry explosives, and in general they like to use them far less in Ufo Defense than in Terror From the Deep.

[@emilysong2000]

I can't believe it... ...Awesome Possum is still alive after the first mission?! What madness is this?!

[@Arashmickey]

Awww, they grow up so fast. Awesome Possum, Facing the Eternal Void of Nothingness!

[@Zephaeon]

Your XCOM vids were the original reason I found your channel so it is great to see a new LP of it. Congrats on the successful first mission too! Mikiko was very lucky, and didn't even get a fatal wound! I think the alien you knocked out ended up waking up, so even if you had the containment facility I don't think you'd have been able to get a captive.

[@Solusphere]

Awesome possum is an awesome shot, but you probably want to give the rocket launcher to someone with more than 21 strength. The time unit penalty he's currently experiencing is awful. Angel and Mikiko are probably the best heavy weapons candidates in your current roster.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

If he has weapon mods that added sniper-class weapons, Possum would be perfect for it, but I doubt Kiko's dove into the rabbit hole of expanded content. :P

[@ameno21]

Kiko after a mission press the STATS button to see what stats where increased.

[@Argonova]

Don't overlook the utility of smoke grenades, particularly in the early game. If you equip your lead character with one, you can toss it out of the Skyranger with a delay of 0 then pass your first turn. That way, your characters will deploy under the cover of the smoke and the aliens won't be able to snipe them with impunity. I always have each character carry one such grenade as they are very useful for advancing across open streets in terror missions when your team has no cover from snipers.

[@animex75]

It also wouldn't be a bad idea to give the good Doctor something to throw. Even if he's not using grenades (and who can blame him? One mind-controlled soldier dropping a grenade can take out half the squad), it could be useful with something else since McCoy had an 80% accuracy with the Throw option.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor not a grenadier!

[@gimok2k5]

The unconcious Sectoid was the second one you said "walked out of the door" and then got killed by Guild Pirate. So even if you had the Alien Containment, the alien in question would have been dead regardless. Also, in manufacturing, you got now the option to "sell instantly" so you don't have to manually sell what you produce if the sole purpose for these things is to be sold. You can also produce infinite amounts of something (by setting the amount to 'Minus One') and if combined with insta-sell it basically means 'make me some money'. Worth once you got the Laser Cannons for aircrafts.

[@breathstealer5486]

so this is the bones of modern xcom. I kind of amazed at how much was fit into the bones of it.

[@Arashmickey]

The zoomed out view is so fine! The looting of alien tech is so sweet! The survival of the whole team is so unbelievable!

[@idunbeezasmart1]

Rule of X-COM: The guy with the rocket launcher and standing at the back of the skyranger is going to be the easiest one for sectoids to mind control.

[@Thrythlind]

Mathematically speaking, the auto shot represents a more efficient spending of time units than the snap shot because you have a greater chance of getting one hit out of the three than you are of getting one hit out of one snap shot.

[@iwp112Gaming]

That rocket launcher was handy which is why I don't understand why more people don't use auto cannons with high explosive ammo! (they're really effective as your soldiers don't have to be too accurate :)

[@thatguyontheright1]

Damnit Jim, I'm a Doctor, not a commando!

[@rollymaster16]

you can right click (instead of left clicking) in the research/manufacture screens to set the values to max/min

[@angelfan16]

Here in 2020. Looking to play UFO Defense. Appreciate you uploading the whole series.

[@commander9087]

Mikiko is made of pure indestructium, bouncing a plasma shot off of their face is pretty rad.

[@XarboyMkII]

I've actually found that tanks can be a very good way to tank (no pun intended) shots from recently discovered aliens with generally little danger to the tank, particularly before the aliens start using plasma weapons. And giving the ability for rocket launcher guys to use snap shots is INSANELY dangerous, especially if they're facing towards the front of your space ship. I've very nearly had guys with high Reaction blow up the entire crew because they had a rocket launcher at the back of the Skyranger. Also, you really wanna give someone stronger the rocket launcher, because Awesome Possum is having his time units halved because he's weighted down so badly by all of those extra rockets. Also, you probably know this, but somehow wheels aren't absolute cover. I've had aliens shoot around them before, much to my eternal sadness QwQ

[@eirianrobotto]

I can't imagine what the trial and error would be like if this was a first playthrough.

[@olschoolgamer1869]

Open doors, Kikoskia isn't saying that it's aliens, but it's aliens.

[@JacksawJack]

You should keep your grenades. They're handy for destroying walls instead of risking doors. Of course this applies to human structures mainly, but sacrificing a few bits of alloy for a soldier's life is a better deal.

[@crossyveltross1603]

Guild Pirate doesn't get a promotion to Sargent? This is an outage!

[@DomEReapeR]

Came out of that mission very well considering the shaky start, well done!

[@DeadlyDanDaMan]

"Something is blocking our view there..." Yeah, the giant plume of smoke from the rocket blast. Come on Kiko, you should know this stuff. Also, don't forget that you can do auto selling when you manufacture things, and you can also infinitely manufacture any item by selecting "down" at 0 in Open Xcom. Sooooo many people don't know that's a thing.

[@Kikoskia]

As someone who typically doesn't use explosives or smoke grenades, it's not a mechanic I typically had to deal with and so, not something I'd intrinsically know. You're always learning new things about the games you play, no matter how how long you've previously played them for.

[@WillSatchmore]

There is the sell-button in the manufacture-window, which sells any manufactured item automatically. just another quality of life change.

[@Nightingale1986]

it's a little late, but auto-shot on pistols is great. If there is even no obstacles 18% to hit is converted to 45% on 3 auto-shot. So snap is mostly worse

[@TehCubey]

What probably happened in the building was that the first rocket stunned the alien (it didn't make a noise because it didn't die), but then it woke up a few turns later. Also, why crouch only after firing? Do it the other way around, the increase in accuracy is massive!

[@Kikoskia]

Sometimes cover gets in the way of firing, as far as I remember anyhow.

[@gimok2k5]

Pretty sure the alien wasn't even there as we should have seen it move for two tiles before disappearing - but it was gone without any visuals, so it seemingly moved to the left building instead.

[@TehCubey]

That's true which is why crouching when trying to fire on aliens behind windows, haystacks etc or on different elevation levels may be a poor idea. But if they're on the same level as your soldiers and out in the open, crouching will help a lot. That or just spray and pray with laser autofire. Always fun, just make sure your soldiers aren't close!

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

You can't shoot anything while crouching with a fence in front of you. Alternatively, you can hold ctrl and fire to shoot regardless of line of fire.

[@galley89]

It is nice to see you doing XCOM again Kiko. Have you ever considered doing an LP of the new XCOM games?

[@fella3633]

We've been bugging him to play that game since 2012.

[@galley89]

Yeah, I know. Just figured I would try again. ;)

[@somekindofbirdman6524]

Galley89 or x-com apocalypse !!!

[@CoffeePotato]

Just a note, OpenXCOM added the Sell button to the manufacturing menu, which will allow for infinite trickle income off of lasers. It just auto-sells whatever You make.

[@cliffordnutting1470]

I remember when I watched the original let's play all those years ago keep staying awesome kiko!

[@usejustonce2386]

Kiko using rockets?! Do my eyes deceive me?

[@K-o-R]

Excellent work, Strike-One.

[@SilencerGDA]

The first UFO will always spawn where X-COM has base, the only question is, will you detect it.

[@willhart2188]

Man, I missed this part somehow. Nice to have more to watch though.

[@WuffyWolffoot]

Mind Probe? Already? Why does it feel like in the old version that it came so much later? Either way that's a great grab for your first mission!

[@thrythlindone-shotgames967]

Actually that habit that gave me the most tension in the other let's plays was when you ended turns without activating all your troops and leaving tons in the skyranger like anchovies waiting to be eaten. Giving rookies the xp is one thing but at least disembark and set up a shoot on sight perimeter at the sky ranger.

[@MrShadowtruth]

XCOM .... ufo defence in 720p60HD! too golrious too glorious!!!

[@emberborn3292]

Wow, that's a rough start, but everyone rose to the occasion and you got a lot of good stuff straight away. Hopefully the trend will continue :)

[@DragDenDFO]

9:05 "Power sauce" XD

[@GenuineLolotov]

"Sometimes I just want an explosion to take care of any aliens that are nearby." You know you can accomplish the same thing with grenades a good portion of the time, and they are a lot cheaper than rockets to boot, right?

[@randomusernameCallin]

Also for a 3 auto shoot the odds of getting one or more hits is 1 - (1 - odd for one shot to hit) ^ 3. odd for one shot to hit must be in decimal format.

[@Squidbait7]

Great 1st mission

[@michaelmccarty9569]

13:15 Mikiko was hit with a plasma pistol, the weakest alien weapon. Still, he's VERY lucky to be alive and unscathed!

[@xcomies]

Sometimes u just take no damage sometime

[@DemonDragon000]

that went shockingly well

[@Awoken_Remmuz]

Damn that's a solid start, so much tech to research right of the bat, hope ya get that alloy research done before the first terror mission ;p

[@Rellana1]

When do Chrysalids start appearing,as in part x-com runs Kiko has had somewhat mixed run-ins with them,as no-one becomes a Zombie like Gaston..

[@Rellana1]

At least the game isn't a total asshole and gives some time to prepare for them,at least as far as that's possible.

[@Rellana1]

I believe when kiko has a problem with them in a past play through,was when he encountered 3 of them at once,and they proceeded to turn half his squad into zombies before they could deal with them,as they were out of turns at the time,and from that point it snowballed rather quickly.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

I still get nightmares of the crysalid base mission of his previous runs. Game over, man, game over!

[@marcocappelli2236]

Rellana1 I remember that huge amount of chrysalids...It was a scary episode.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

Radicaldanny Speaking of Ethereals, do they have one passive attack reflection per turn and can a heavily armed soldier suppress it to disable that, or is that purely an Enemy Unknown feature? kek

[@TrueGawa]

Going well so far!

[@MindstormXL]

Oh nice, we are getting more for the weekend!

[@LMMEjsmith]

I'd love to see Kiko do Shining Force, but Sega would never let it happen...

[@Poduke04]

Thanks to you, I started playing it again. When I got my first terror mission, I only had 3 soldiers because the rest were wounded or dead. I let every civy die but I killed all the aliens, including cyberdiscs. How did I pull it off? high explosives, smoke grenades, proximity grenades, and laser pistols. I got a poor rating but that was good enough for me.

[@Xifihas]

First mission was a landed large scout. ZERO CASUALTIES!

[@HovisSteve]

Heather, Mal-gravv, Eyes and William Master Thief need an appearance!

[@ShadowWolfRising]

I don't know if that could have gone better.

[@BirdRaiserE]

I know you already have a list of character names, but I really want to see "Explains" from Diakatana in your squad.

[@rollymaster16]

autopilot! you can right click at a door you're standing near to open it

[@ArmaCustos]

Makiko warped time with the daikatana in front of her and went the shot somewhere else

[@K-o-R]

"We want the more accurate shot." Nah, more dakka is the way forward.

[@Awinnerwasyou]

*SPOILERS* Wow. Awesome Possom actually survived the first mission? The sky is clearly falling.

[@patricpelto]

aaaaand he had the missile launcher... what is going on????

[@gimok2k5]

Him surviving is not a surprise. Barry surviving is.

[@patricpelto]

That.... will be they day he doesn't survive... and kills barry(berry) clone nr 26 with him xD

[@patricpelto]

*Raises the hands of the Poor recruits* Could Raise my own buuuuut, considering the amount of hands in this skyranger i can say that it has happen.... alot xD

[@Bum_Numba_One]

Did you do a 10 year anniversary video? I know I've been watching you since 2009 so you must have 10 years on YT easy.

[@dr_kav2k]

Kiko did a Q&A video on the occasion: kzbin.info/www/bejne/roqVe6ibi6-Bgas (+2 more parts)

[@666Xeres]

Always double-tap. Especially aliens with rockets

[@kukawaki]

Yass! I love this series!

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

You don't actually gain strength from carrying stuff. Some experience is gained through relevant action, however most is gained through kills. This is how each attribute increases: Time Units: kills Stamina: kills Health: kills Bravery: resisting panic when morale is low Reactions: performing reaction fire during aliens' turn Firing Accuracy: hitting shots Throwing Accuracy: hitting targets with grenades Strength: kills So contrary to what you might expect, the best way to have the rocket launcher guy gain strength is actually to take some of that weight off of him and make sure he has enough time units to kill aliens.

[@DragDenDFO]

Aren't time units gained through spending them?

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

They don't appear to be. I have soldiers running all over the map and not scoring kills, and they get no time units or stamina.

[@nebulousviolet6137]

I thought it was missions, not kills.

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

It's tallied at the end of the mission, but it's based on experience gained throughout the mission.

[@metalbyakkoLP]

Wow that was a very good, first mission :D Let's just hope this doesn't mean the others won't turn out so good. Nice LP :)

[@Kikoskia]

That most missions will not go so well is an integral part of what makes X-COM what it is.

[@phillios3257]

Pro tips: Use Smoke Grenades (at your feet in skyranger and base level where you exit skyranger) and Rocket Launchers with Large Rockets.(Nothing turns those alien sims missions into paste quicker) Proximity Grenades are great for locking down an alien craft until you have cleared the map outside. You can frag grenade those "prox" to destroy them when you are ready to assault the craft. Don't Overlook Grenades

[@FullInstall]

Is this running a 1080p mod?

[@dr_kav2k]

You can see Kiko's configuration in video #02 - it's OpenXcom, 1920x1080 fullscreen with 1/3 scaling and pixellize filter.

[@FullInstall]

Cheers matey

[@christophedlauer1443]

I really enjoy playing UFO with the Final Mod Pack. It adds a whole lot to the game, from weapons to a whole new rival faction. Perhaps you would consider doing a playthrough of it ! In the manufacturing screen, there is a category *Profit per month* along with a *Sell* button. Pressing that Sell button will automatically send those things your engineers turn out to their new owners and grant you the Profit per Month mentioned above. Which is negative for the Pistols. Losing 20k per Pistol , while certainly appreciated by earth in general, seems like a poor financial decision.

[@anoh2689]

wow this game looks fun but I am sure I will have hard time when playing it so better just watch it :D

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

It's a bit old, but Open XCom does a good job of making it as easy or as hard as you like. If it intrigues you after a few episodes enough, certainly can't harm you too much to give it a go. Just keep in mind, Open XCom is a modification of pre-existing XCom, so you need a copy of the original game as well. Luckily, it works perfectly with the steam install for example.

[@anoh2689]

Thanks for the information I think i got the steam version from a giveaway last year so i might give it a shot after learning some tips and tricks from this playthrough

[@NIMRODakaNIMROD]

Arrrgh. Friggin KZbin, man! So they oblige you to click that stupid bell icon and to what avail? - Absolutely none! I got no notifcation for this video whatsoever. Well, thankfully I kinda stumbled upon it by chance.

[@guennbrot]

brah, get finalmodpack. it's ten times more fun.

[@Kikoskia]

I'm quite happy with how the game is right now, so I won't be using any mods beyond the alterations I've made with the OpenXCOM options.

[@michaelmccarty9569]

guennbrot I totally agree! I can't ever go back to the original game ever again. However, a final mod pack LP would be 10x longer unfortunately.

[@glenngriffon8032]

Do you really have to explain every single tiny detail of what's going on?

[@BotanicalCreature]

What's with the Aimed Shots? Such a stupid waste of TUs...