Let's Replay X-COM UFO Defence #05: A Desperate Plea

The first mission X-COM went on may have gone well, but remember that the aliens are doing things all across the world while we've only found and taken care of a single UFO. That successful missions means points for X-COM but everything the aliens are succeeding at means points for them. At the start they have a significant advantage because we're still setting up and beginning our research into better technology, but as time goes on that gap may start to close a tiny bit, if we're lucky enough to last that long.
While we can typically only deal with the UFOs we detect, there's one thing that occurs every month without fail unless you somehow manage to prevent it: terror missions. In these missions the sole objective of the aliens is to land in heavily populated areas and cause panic and mayhem by killing every person they can find. Ignoring a terror mission costs nets the alien a huge amount of points so it's always a good idea to answer them. Fortunately you can reach them with your skyranger from almost anywhere in the world provided it's fully fueled and you have enough time to get there upon it appearing. Unfortunately answering it means you have to do a terror mission.
If you're lucky, it's a daytime mission which means good visibility. More often than not however, terror missions take place at night, further stacking the odds against you along with the overwhelming number of aliens.
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

[@dr_kav2k]

As a reminder, this video was recorded in the same batch as the first ones; meaning, Kiko didn't have the opportunity yet to act on watcher advice. Please keep that in mind.

[@Stealthwilde]

Terror missions are the best missions for stun rods. Not for the aliens, oh no, the stun rods are for knocking the civillians out before they wander idiotically into aliens. Especially if it's a terror mission with Chrysalids...

[@zhujik]

Just want to elaborate a bit on why the auto shot is better than all other shots for weapons with unlimited ammo: Auto Shot: 15 % 13 TU Snap Shot: 22 % 10 TU Aimed Shot: 38 % 29 TU Chance to not hit a single shot with Auto Shot: 0.85 * 0.85 * 0.85 = 0.614. This means that you actually have a 38.6 % chance to hit at least a single shot with Auto Shot for 13 TU. Hence it is actually more accurate than Aimed Shot in this example for way less TU (11:08)

[@Shape430]

Mikiko dying because she threw a flare was honestly hilarious.

[@FoxyAlice93]

I must say I liked the slower moving shots of the previous playthrough. It added so much suspense to every shot.

[@dasher98765]

Some useful tidbits of information for UFO: You can dual wield without a loss in accuracy if the weapon is one-handed like a pistol, explosive, and other various items. Two handed weapons are rifles, heavy weapons, and rocket launchers. Three auto shots on a laser pistol is better than one snap shot in most cases as three shots with slightly less percentage accuracy is better than one slightly higher one, especially if the percentages for both shot options is quite low. Explosive damage against a 4-tile unit is effective, as one standard grenade can kill or incapacitate a Reaper as it deals damage to all four tiles instead of one from a shot, and when you account for under armor, which is usually low in comparison to other armor sides... That's pretty devastating. OpenXcom information: In the soldier screen for placing soldiers into a craft, you can actually switch soldier's positions in the craft by clicking the up and down arrows. This allows for placement of certain units at the back, middle, or front of the craft, so if you want a rocket launcher in the middle, you can set the soldier to be placed in the middle. Also, if you want to keep some soldiers that are pretty important alive (such as the highest ranking soldier), you may want to put them in the back, as if they go out first, they are most likely to die first. On the later craft that can be unlocked, the positions can get a bit wonky (like the final craft in the game), but the same rules apply to there as well. Okay and before I keep going with more and more information about OpenXcom/UFO, gonna stop here for now.

[@twiddletime]

Not sure how many people have mentioned it so far, but use auto shots more than the snap shots. Works waaaaay better in my experience. 3 shots with less AP cost. The hit chance difference isn't even noticeable when it's below at least 50% so you may as well spray death everywhere lol. Edit: Ah, okay, I'm seeing at least a few comments about it. Yes, definitely do it with the laser weapons in particular. Unlimited ammo means no worries about running out of ammunition. Level the city! Just have to save the citizens, not their homes. ;)

[@muffinboymcgee7411]

12:39 "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a sniper!"

[@kacpergrochowski5393]

It's ironic that McCoy didn't get a medikit.

[@Bluecho4]

He's a soldier, not a doctor!

[@flatlanders]

RIP Mikiko. You lit up our night. Literally.

[@michaelmccarty9569]

A tip for the battlescape: You can make a soldier 'run' by CTRL clicking a destination. Less TUs and more energy are used. This should only be used for emergencies, as it can tire out the soldier very quickly.

[@Kikoskia]

It's not something I tend to do often, though it is there in the back of my mind. Sometimes it gets forgotten, but it's there.

[@Ixnatifual]

As I recall, you can just wait a few hours for day time before landing at the terror mission.

[@thethegreenmachine]

@Ixnatifual Isn't there a chance you'll be too late and the aliens have already killed everyone and left?

[@SilencerGDA]

I can't say for OpenXcom, but in original there is I belive 8h time frame, but you can extend that. Every 30 minutes or every hour tick game checked if something was en route and extended time, so you could be sneaky and make aliens wait until daytime.

[@dr_kav2k]

Silencer's comment is correct, but it's a pure exploit from gameplay perspective.

[@MultiTwentyseven]

@@SilencerGDA yes, but you'd have to use the fuel of all your ships

[@enkayeff]

Since autoshots are all the rage at the moment: I don't disagree with not using autoshots (especially when lasers are concerned), but really the snapshot is not that bad a firing mode depending on the weapon. In fact the same statistical argument in favour of the autoshot can be applied to the snapshot when comparing it to the aimed shot. Yet that doesn't rule out the usefulness of the aimed shot under certain circumstances despite its cost. All the modes have their place. Weapons that do very well with the snapshot include the basic pistol which is better than the rifle at snapshots thanks to one extra shot. Or the plasma rifle which has by far the most amazing snapshot stats in the game. To see what I mean, give it to someone with 101 or 102 accuracy and kneel. To get the most out of snapshots, kneel as often as you can and attack in numbers. If you do not use OpenXcom's ranged-based-accuracy option then keep a bit of distance between you and the target and 'squadsight' them to oblivion.

[@Zonra64]

You should really use autoshot over snapshot with the laser pistols, the slightly lower hit rate is still way better with 3 shots against one. Aimed shot is a lot better that auto in a lot of cases, yes. But auto is better than snapshot in most cases in turn.

[@kaijin2k11]

Zonra Darkmatter Auto is better in nearly every circumstance. Just using the stats at 8:15, you can fire 6 times for 28 TU vs 1 for 30. Aimed has a 41%, Auto has 67% of hitting at least once (1-.83^6). Aimed is really only better when you have to worry about collateral.

[@Zonra64]

kaijin2k11 on the Lazer pistols yea, just remembered it as aimed is a lot better on the rifle weapons that have a bigger bonus on aimed and more TU costly Auto fire. But don't remember the details as of now

[@kaijin2k11]

On the higher difficulties, a Sectoid terror mission - even in the first month - has a good chance of having a Sectoid Leader. Capturing one in your first month from these terror missions can work magic on your campaign =)

[@robotrobbie2053]

a small tip but during quiet periods I send out interceptors routinely to try and increase radar coverage and chance of finding more ufo's, yes I like to look for trouble🤣

[@Arashmickey]

Poor Mikiko is Awesome Possum this time around. RIP Mikikoooo

[@Edgewalker001]

"The first terror mission *button press* is at night..." All you need to know right there, this is going to be a good episode. XD

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

''this is gonna suck.''

[@Arisorio]

You REALLY should move your remaining soldier to the entrance of the skyranger so they have more opportunities to shoot once they get out.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

I like the looks of this game, and that there are some complex mechanics like time units for everything and the contrast of light and dark affecting gameplay instead of just a change in aesthetics. That said, Firaxis did a good job modernizing the formula and making it more visceral.

[@LovablePWNER]

Loving the videos Kiko but reading the description I'm sorry you had to go to a family funeral.

[@JStankXPlays]

And though shalt thrust thy holy electro-flare at thy foe, thus illuminating him and allowing us to shred him to tiny bits with great zappy pew pews!

[@eirianrobotto]

Okay. This game is intense. Losing people feels bad.

[@shanadir]

Nobody misses the broad side of a barn, lika Gaston

[@michaelmccarty9569]

It's lucky you got a floater terror mission instead of a sectoid one. Reapers are infinitely easier to deal with than cyberdisks, and their no sectoid leaders to worry about.

[@Kikoskia]

Cyberdiscs do have an inherent weakness to laser weaponry, but that doesn't counter the high accuracy the cyberdiscs have with their ranged attacks. Then again, the Reapers do have a terrifying melee attack if they manage to close the distance.

[@michaelmccarty9569]

Kikoskia The thing about cyberdisks is that they're sometimes just as dangerous to their sectoid allies. Their explosive deaths will often take out any unlucky sectoids nearby. That's about the only good thing about fighting them.

[@tonyAJ420]

No need to do a night mission. Just kept sending the interceptor back and forth

[@anders630]

I played this in the 90s using excessive amount of reloads, today I could probably try it with less, but no reloads, thats harsh in this game. Btw we can already see who's the real McCoy. Also, Microprose released this AND Master of Magic in 1994, two of my favourite games.

[@lewisroach8723]

15:00 LOOK AT ME I'M A TARGET! :)

[@jtd786]

That wasn't a very bright move!

[@DragDenDFO]

Yeah, that soldier was way too flashy.

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

Beware the alien, the mutant, the heretic.

[@Argonova]

Tsk Tsk. Still overlooking the advantage of smoke grenades. A field of smoke at the base of the Skyranger's ramp would really improve your soldiers surviveability during deployment. Creating fields of smoke is also a good way to cross the street during Terror Missions when your troops are otherwise totally exposed and in the open. I've been playing on Superhuman Ironman mode and let me tell you, they make a gigantic difference. Targets in smoke are MUCH harder to hit.

[@dhomochevsky5169]

Come on Barry, you can throw stones to that nasty aliens!!!!

[@Kijikun]

Gone, until we CLONE her.

[@Edgewalker001]

Floater: I don't see it as "being outnumbered", I see it as "providing overwatch in a target rich environment"! =p

[@farbekrieg355]

did mikiko at least get a wooden stick?

[@NIMRODakaNIMROD]

Unrelated to this video's content: Is anyone else not getting *any* notifications for this series of videos?

[@DoveAlexa]

Yeah, I forgot I had the bell off (maybe it was always off, maybe it turns itself off because _youtube_ ) but try turning it off, reloading the page, and turning it back on? I had to fuss around with it on other channels to get notifications back.

[@LovablePWNER]

NIMRODakaNIMROD are you ringing the stupid bell? That makes sure you get every notification.

[@thethegreenmachine]

@NIMRODakaNIMROD Last Sunday I got email notifications for the first 2 videos, but not the second 2 (all 4 were X-COM). This Sunday I got email notifications for the first 2 videos (Cthulhu), but again not the second 2 (X-COM).

[@LovablePWNER]

thethegreenmachine I actually had to double check now and i DIDN'T get the notification for the second video even with the bell. Man KZbin is a mess

[@NIMRODakaNIMROD]

*@LovablePWNER:* Yup. The damn bell doesn't do jack. *@thegreenmachine:* exactly the same problem here. Looks like they just won't notify you if more than two videos are uploaded. Well, thankfully Kikoskia's videos are always up at the same time, so if there's no notification, one just needs to check his channel. It's still aggravating as fuck though.

[@thetalkingbear]

Recon by fire. I like it!

[@timedraven117]

Regarding manufacturing, you do know kiko you can just hit the sell button at the top and it will tell you how much you'll make for selling it as your produce it. You don't have to do it the old fashioned way. God knows how painful that was with me.

[@timedraven117]

Also for Terror missions. I had to fight sectoids with mostly cyberdiscs for my first terror mission. No heavy weapon except some rockets heavy cannons and a auto cannon. Desperately we fought and we barely won, the score? -265, all civilians dead just about, more than half my team dead. if we didn't arrive? we get an intimidate -500 modifier. Immediatey rushed laser weapons and gave my team as many heavy lasers as possible. Also yeah, you need to learn the love of spray and pray. Autoshots under 10 tiles for life!

[@dr_kav2k]

Kiko is well aware of this by now, but this video was recorded together with the first batch; he didn't act on advice yet. Starting next week you'll see this improving.

[@timedraven117]

I know that, I was just pointing it i out in case someone else didn't.

[@gimok2k5]

Actually, UFO-1 means it was indeed the first UFO in the game. The number increases for every spawned UFO, not for every detected one. If UFO-2 is flying around undetected and despawns and then you detect UFO-3, then it says UFO-3 for you. I am also not sure why you thought that everyone should hold the electro flare in their hand. First two to four people to go out to light up the nearby area, sure - but everyone? As you said yourself, holding two things in two hands affects accuracy, after all (not that there is much to begin with, given how the game calculates it - which also makes Rapid Fire a very viable way to shoot things)

[@K-o-R]

Pistols are one-handed weapons so there's no accuracy penalty. Second on the autofire. Ammunition is not a concern.

[@gimok2k5]

Except anyone knowing ANYTHING about firearms will tell you that if you want to shoot a pistol: USE BOTH HANDS. ALWAYS use both hands if you can. And this game considers that by giving a penalty to accuracy even if you use a pistol and hold something else.

[@K-o-R]

Unless OpenXCOM has changed it, the accuracy modifier for a weapon when an item is in the other hand is 80% for two-handed weapons and 100% for one-handed. No it isn't realistic. It's a game with a simplistic accuracy formula.

[@Malkuth-Gaming]

and if you know anything about X-com it should be that ITS A GAME :P and pistols dont get an accuracy penalty when holding another item ;) there are 3 types of accuracy penalties. 1. Shotting a 2 handed weapon with 1 hand, 2: loss of hitpoints 3: Critical wounds to head and arm(s) Laser pistols are however really inaccurate. with a 40% base accuracy on snap compared to regular pistols 60% and Plasma Pistols 65%

[@henrywalsh]

I keep finding myself yelling at the screen, "USE AUTOFIRE!!!!"

[@KonfluxGames]

Awesome to see you working on OpenXCOM Kiko :) I'll have to finish my TFTD mod at some point which I hope you'd enjoy :D Something relevant for this one--I believe the Sell button in Manufacturing allows you to automatically sell items once they're made, which is good for Medikits and Laser Cannons

[@DeadlyDanDaMan]

Kiko, auto shot is almost ALWAYS superior in every way. Stop using Snap Shot sooooo much.

[@Ikine557]

Eh, Mikiko deserved it.

[@Texasp12]

Sorry for your loss.

[@emilysong2000]

Poor Mikiko...at least she didn't betray her fellow comrades before she snuffed it.

[@dalmar23]

Hi Kiko. Did u ever played Xenonauts? Its also quite old game meant as X-com upgrade. If u fdid not yet i think its great idea to do so

[@zapcatzach]

Snap shot sucks.

[@morowx9390]

I can't watch this anymore he sounds like a cheap game show presenter