tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post3953755745363760526..comments2024-03-26T04:01:20.919-07:00Comments on Vigaroe: XCOM 2 Class Analysis: ReaperVigaroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02405424233776571308noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-9446880577758992482023-10-17T03:06:57.583-07:002023-10-17T03:06:57.583-07:00Oh, that's a fascinating edge case I'd won...Oh, that's a fascinating edge case I'd wondered about.<br /><br />The thing is, XCOM 2 actually does model the height of units in meaningful physical terms; this is seen most obviously with the Wall Smashers, where the Sectopod and Gatekeeper smash HIGHER than an Andromedon, not just wider, and a High Stance Sectopod smashes yet higher. I've long assumed this was true of Faceless as well but had never been sure it mattered to the player since they don't have Wall Smash and XCOM 2 prefers to have building Z-level variability spaced such that a Faceless can fit inside buildings reasonably well...<br /><br />... and you've confirmed their height matters by virtue of affecting their detection space, where they can spot a Reaper by standing next to them even though the Faceless' feet are a full storey down from the Reaper.<br /><br />This is a minor edge case since a Faceless could just hop up next to the Reaper to reveal them, but makes it that little bit riskier to do the climb-blocking trick if Faceless are about. I should add this to the Reaper post or the Faceless post -not sure which it fits best to.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-10176157082039227222023-10-16T23:54:08.590-07:002023-10-16T23:54:08.590-07:00Quote: "Reapers can also be useful for blocki...Quote: "Reapers can also be useful for blocking off climbing locations, which normally lack Cover at the top point and so are dangerous to block off with most other soldier types"<br /><br />Here's what's happened to me: I had placed a reaper in shadow on a billboard, one level above ground and right next to the ladder used to climb ub. Now when a faceless moved to the bottom of the ladder, it spotted the reaper - even though the reaper was adjacent only in horizontal but not vertical terms. Now I'm not sure if the same thing would have happened if, say, an ADVENT trooper had moved there. Maybe the faceless was about to leap onto the exact tile the reaper was standing on, and that's why it spotted the reaper?<br /><br />In another mission, I placed a reaper on the roof a three-storey building, right next to the ladder (or rather, gutter) used to climb ub. He stayed there for numerous turns, and several times an ADVENT trooper moved to the bottom of the ladder/gutter and nothing happened.mbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05460444527983909389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-14912792116439463442022-01-12T07:45:09.192-08:002022-01-12T07:45:09.192-08:00It's also important to note that blowing up a ...It's also important to note that blowing up a Claymore will not reveal the Reaper; so they can solo any Rescue mission by simply blowing up the wall behind the prisoner with a Claymore and, if that isn't enough, wait for the fire to destroy the rest of the wall. You'll be able to pick up the body and immediately evacuate.Veehementiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12580923530437880205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-18865575395859921452022-01-12T02:14:48.616-08:002022-01-12T02:14:48.616-08:00Follow up to this convo regarding Reapers and hack...Follow up to this convo regarding Reapers and hacking. On an early-game mission with my current run, I ended up using the Reaper to hack the objective. I've never actually done that before, since I usually use the Specialist to stand a chance of getting the bonuses. The line that was spoken as the soldier takes out his hacking tablet when I triggered the hack action went something like "Reapers are good with computers"; it was totally out-of-place with the rest of Reaper thematics that actually ended up in WotC, it appears to be another vestige of a spy-hacker role early in their conception. Carlos M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00724030488394241024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-33058398672267011152021-07-27T08:16:19.753-07:002021-07-27T08:16:19.753-07:00This is true. I refuse to do it because Repeater-k...This is true. I refuse to do it because Repeater-killing them is uninteresting, but I suppose someone could do that if they wanted.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-25936557874374667862021-07-27T03:51:30.555-07:002021-07-27T03:51:30.555-07:00Banish makes it very easy to deal with Alien Ruler...Banish makes it very easy to deal with Alien Rulers disregarding any damage simply by strapping on a Superior Expanded Mag and a Superior Repeater, even without the improved weapon upgrades bonus your chance to get an execute is 1-0.85^6=62.3% or 1-0.8^7=79.0% if you have it.test123https://www.blogger.com/profile/03599683466682979043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-34151052580917279392021-07-26T12:18:37.656-07:002021-07-26T12:18:37.656-07:00Aside the 'can still re-position evac if disco...Aside the 'can still re-position evac if discovered' -which I need to test myself and probably update the Covert Op post appropriately- that's all about what I thought/say on the site, yeah.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-23997189247213688552021-07-26T11:49:54.422-07:002021-07-26T11:49:54.422-07:00Just a quick note: I don't know how the probab...Just a quick note: I don't know how the probabilities on hacking are calculated, and I don't know how the door's tech score scales with force level. I did a playthrough on Legendary where I had the rescue Mox mission. I know I sent either a Corporal or Sergeant Specialist, so base hack score of 55 or 60 plus whatever a Mark I Gremlin provides. I had about a 60% chance to succeed. Reapers' final hack scores don't really seem like they would make for decent odds on that hack on Legendary - I forget what the odds are on Commander, though. In any case, you are correct that if a Specialist successfully hacks, even though their Gremlin probably broke the glass on the way in or the way out, you don't get detected. It is definitely possible to perch the Specialist on the roof with line of sight to Mox's door unseen.<br /><br />I should note that even if you fail, it is still possible to get Mox out of there - I did pre-position someone at the door ready to grab him, and it turned out that failing the hack meant we basically got discovered one action point earlier. I did bring flashbangs, and probably should have brought a smoke grenade except I never buy them. I am not sure if it's a bug, but even though I failed that hack, I was able to reposition the evac zone at the door. If I had to run for it, I would probably have taken hits.<br /><br />The other thing to consider with getting a Reaper with Infiltration for that mission is that it takes a while to get someone to Captain. The enemy force level is increasing while you do that. I did a playthrough on Commander where I waited to train my guys more before rescuing Mox. Comparing the two runs, it seemed like there were a lot more enemies on the Commander run, where I think I had at least Lieutenants on the run (not sure how many were at Captain). Definitely the Commander run had some people loitering in the cell lobby and they wouldn't leave, so I just went for it.Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17851789276439393822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-12140378114294427642021-07-11T16:22:58.704-07:002021-07-11T16:22:58.704-07:00Oh yeah, I should update the post. I actually ran ...Oh yeah, I should update the post. I actually ran into that when I tried to double up on Claymores on an Alien Ruler late in a run, but forgot to actually make a note of it.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-8481028251919412572021-07-11T10:44:10.926-07:002021-07-11T10:44:10.926-07:00Here's a minor niche note: you can't attac...Here's a minor niche note: you can't attach two homing mines to the same target. Naturally, you can homing mine, then throw a Claymore next turn and fire. Or if, say, the Hunter is out of range of a thrown Claymore but is engaging a Lost, you could also homing mine the Lost and then Banish the Hunter. Yeah, that was fun.Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17851789276439393822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-9715190455873189342021-06-21T02:43:26.892-07:002021-06-21T02:43:26.892-07:00Successfully Hacking the door will prevent the los...Successfully Hacking the door will prevent the loss of Concealment, avoid the Alert Level changing, and allow you to designate the evac point yourself. (If you're detected or fail the Hack, an evac point generates nearby and the game takes away your ability to request an evac) Picking up the body breaks squad Concealment and maxes out the Alert Level, but you'll be able to have someone else request evac within one movement's distance and evac that turn. (I haven't tested if a Reaper picking up the body breaks Shadow, but it probably does)<br /><br />So yes, Reaper Infiltration makes Reapers a decent choice for retrieving Captured soldiers, as they have okay odds of succeeding at the Hack and can trivially reach the door undetected. I'm doubtful they can solo such a mission per se, not reliably, and I'd rather have a Specialist Hack the door as they have a superior Hack score by a fair margin, but still.<br /><br />Anyway, yeah, the rescue mission is designed to be stealthed. Non-Turret enemies have significantly reduced Detection radii (And Turrets already have a below-standard Detection radius), and cleave to realistic-ish patrol routes instead of there always being one assigned to move between your squad and the objective. (Which, yes, is a standard mechanic on most missions, and leads to pods stalking your squad even though they ostensibly don't know you're there) Additionally, though I really need to get around to testing the details, I know the Alert Level mechanic encourages minimizing fighting, as killing enemies raises it and once it's maxed out reinforcements start spawning in every turn, in addition to the game deciding on your evac point. (Which is usually more than 2 Dashes away from the prison cell)<br /><br />So now that you mention it, yeah, I can buy maybe they had lofty plans to implement more than the one true stealth mission type, and maybe these other mission types would've been designed so an okay Hack score would be useful, making Reaper Infiltration a less confusing bonus to offer.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-59939616192522721342021-06-21T00:59:25.107-07:002021-06-21T00:59:25.107-07:00Follow-up question, something I didn't realize...Follow-up question, something I didn't realize at first (which is why I deleted my original followup): Does hacking the door _still_ break concealment/shadow but simply doesn't raise the facility security if you get the bonus? In that case the hack bonus for Reapers remains dubious, but that still leaves me wondering what else they've planned about the Reaper along these lines thematically speaking.Carlos M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00724030488394241024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-34753473533107010272021-06-20T15:58:39.978-07:002021-06-20T15:58:39.978-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Carlos M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00724030488394241024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-67370366822910737162021-06-20T15:50:18.102-07:002021-06-20T15:50:18.102-07:00I'm on a new Veteran WOTC run now and have jus...I'm on a new Veteran WOTC run now and have just played the mission where you rescue Mox, and just realized what the hacking bonus for Reaper Infiltration might have been intended for. When you hack the door to the prison cell, it's a standard (non-failable) objective hack, but the first ("easier") bonus is to unlock the door without triggering any alarms. The second one appears to be a standard "difficult" hack reward. Meanwhile, it seems that the "soldier rescue" mission type appears to actually actively encourage stealth - as opposed to just offer concealment as way to make the initial advance (and perhaps the first ambush) easier. For one, it actually offers you to get the objective stealthily (albeit behind a dice roll). I also suspect (based on my own run of this mission, and watching other runs of it online) that the game disables the default behavior pods "accidentally" patrolling into you after a few turns of you sitting around to actually make stealth a thing.<br /><br />Perhaps the intention was soldier rescues were supposed to be led, or even soloed, by a Reaper. This kind of makes sense thematically, the WOTC opening cinematic shows you how XCOM found the Commander by showing Elena sneaking into the facility he was found in. I'm guessing there was a much broader range of situations/missions planned where a Reaper was intended to sneak into a high profile objective completely undetected, maybe solo or maybe with XCOM creating a distraction outside. Since WOTC was obviously rushed I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up deciding on the GTS bonus early on and simply never gotten around to updating it; thus in WOTC "as shipped" the bonus ends up being extremely niche.Carlos M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00724030488394241024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-49281559063352415112020-10-13T17:53:42.598-07:002020-10-13T17:53:42.598-07:00... I'll need to test it before I update the p...... I'll need to test it before I update the post, but I do have dim memories of being confused as to why I had a 100% hit chance on an Archon, and that would be consistent with other XCOM 2 mechanics.Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-78108541974764956742020-10-13T15:53:51.700-07:002020-10-13T15:53:51.700-07:00A pretty excellent class breakdown on the Reaper! ...A pretty excellent class breakdown on the Reaper! A small detail to note is that Homing Mine confers a hidden 100 hit chance to the shot that procs it, meaning that you can use abilities from other classes that reduce accuracy with no penalty. This is especially useful for chain shot and deadeye. <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04892883168498243588noreply@blogger.com