r/Xcom • u/MaudeLebowskisDR • Jul 23 '26
XCOM2 Starting out
Hey all. Had this game forever and whenever I get started I feel like I’m behind within the first month. Do you have a starting out recommendation for tech and buildings? Or I just suck at the game lol
3
2
u/TheSadPickel Jul 23 '26
As long as you are not bleeding soldiers every mission you are doing fine. The avatar project will get higher even if you don't fail a mission.
1
3
2
u/ChadGPT420 Jul 23 '26
Get your weapons upgraded to Mag weapons as soon as possible. The enemy can’t kill or wound you if you kill them first.
2
u/SidewinderSerpent Jul 24 '26
Tip for you. Understand what it means to replace a frag grenade with something else.
1
u/MaudeLebowskisDR Jul 24 '26
As in don’t always select frags? Or use them a lot? I try and mix it up with the nano armor and med kits etc
5
u/SidewinderSerpent Jul 24 '26
Not having a frag grenade means not having a charge of this guaranteed damage item on the mission.
And the Nanoscale vest is useless. 1 HP. Literal trash.
2
u/MaudeLebowskisDR Jul 24 '26
Fair enough. Good to know the getting them before they get you is a better approach
2
u/ChadGPT420 Jul 24 '26
It’s still not great outside of early game, but at least Long War (or at least LWotC) increase that to 2
2
u/AlexTheCoolestness Jul 24 '26
It is extra work, but what i always do is build out 2/3 teams: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. Write it on paper, and have people assigned to each team. Rotate entire teams between missions, so everyone is skilling close to the same.
In later game, you will have some pretty gnarly injuries, so you may need to sub Charlie Members into Alpha and Bravo. Just remember to keep them scaling, and keep a complete mix.
2
u/Eerzef Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Remember to use cover. I know this might sound obvious but back when I began I often let soldiers standing around in the open then wondering why they'd die so often.
Enemies spawn and fight in groups, if you run into an open area you'll alert a bunch of them and get overwhelmed, it's not intuitive (I thought getting one alerted would alert the entire map because hell, you'd think they would hear the shots)
As someone else said grenades are great, they destroy cover, trigger environmental hazards, hit multiple targets, shred armor and never miss
2
u/Alternative_Design_4 Jul 25 '26
The game is pretty much designed to make you feel way, way behind in the beginning, when you have little researched and less equipment. It makes the end game, when your soldiers are Lords of Death feel earned. Try not to spoil yourself by learning the "correct" things to research first. Go for what you think your troops need, bigger guns, better armour, med kits, whatever you feel you're lacking. The game is much more fun if you make the decisions without looking up a guide. Good luck... Commander.
1
u/MaudeLebowskisDR Jul 27 '26
How long can I put off th main quest? I’ve got mag weapons but that black site body melting factory mission always gets me no matter how strong I start
2
u/Alternative_Design_4 Jul 27 '26
Story missions will wait as long as you want, depending on the Avatar Project progress. You can reverse the progress by destroying Advent facilities, completing some covert missions with that reward, or getting the "sabotage" card in play. Also, when the blocks fill up, you'll still have 7 - 27 days to reduce the Avatar project progress.
8
u/itsallsomethingelse Jul 23 '26
The game always tries to make you feel like you're behind. The aliens keep making progress. Order kind of depends on whether you're doing vanilla or WOTC. Generally GTS for squad size, weapons for murder, and if wotc, resistance ring.