#advent shieldbearer

[dailycharacteroption]

Lastwall Sentry (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by GeorgeVostrikov on DeviantArt)

So, two weeks ago we covered both the Knight Reclaimant and Knight Vigilant archetypes, both of which require and are extensions of the Lastwall Sentry archetype. Well, guess what we’re finally covering today?

At the end of the life cycle of 1st edition and the advent of 2nd, the nation of Lastwall, a long-time bastion against not just The Worldwound but also the remnants of the Whispering Tyrant’s forces and the threat of his return was destroyed by the superweapon developed by the returned lich ruler and his resurgent armies.

However, while their bastions have been destroyed and their nation turned into a twisted wasteland of undeath and corrupted life known as the Gravelands, the defenders of Lastwall have not abandoned their post. Instead, those who remained renewed their vows and swore to hold the line and one day be victorious over the forces of darkness.

Whether they join one of the two divinely-empowered factions among their number or stick with their role as guardians and defenders, these warriors remain resolute against evil. Today, in this entry, we’ll see exactly how they do so!

The base dedication of this archetype requires the trainee to first learn how to properly use a shield to block incoming blows, but once they take the dedication, they can do so reflexively. In addition, they train to become more physically fit and learn more about their hated enemy: the undead.

Many also learn to always be ready against the undead, almost never being caught off guard by the classic ambushes and attacks of unquiet souls and necromantic abominations. However, they might be fooled by undead disguised as the living, or vice versa.

Incorporeal undead are the bane of any shieldbearer, but some learn to utter a prayer of protection to instilling their shield, as well as any shield boss or spikes, with just enough power to reach into the ether and block or strike foes with said shield for a few seconds.

For many, the title of sentry isn’t an empty role, and many are especially good at spotting danger or distant threats.

Others become so familiar with undead foes they almost always have a decent chance of recognizing their nature and abilities.

The guardians of Lastwall would rather face total oblivion that rise again as an undead monstrosity and become a threat to the very people they fight for. As such, some learn divine or occult methods of suffusing their bodies with trace amounts of positive energy that lingers after death, preventing all but the most powerful forces from raising them as undead, and making their corpse actually toxic to the unliving.

Similarly, many train to inure themselves to negative energy and harmful necromancy.

Though sometimes others may have differences of opinion or goals that run counter to these sentries, most will not slay the living if they can help it, learning how to better deal nonlethal blows against them when a peaceful resolution cannot be reached.

When one is part of a shield wall, it is often important to know how to push foes back with one’s shield, and so these warriors do, especially if they are also champions with a knack for using both hands to strike with a shield.

Some have fought they undead so long the can sense their presence, giving them an early warning against unseen foes.

The undead hoards just keep coming, and one must often adapt to the quirks of different undead types on the fly, and so these sentries do, recalling their weaknesses and how to pierce them in the same motion as they strike.

Like any foe, the undead are capable of mistakes and poor luck despite their relentlessness, and many of these warriors train to capitalize on that, punishing such fumbles with a mighty shove driving them back.

Rather it be by personal prayer, the blessings of a priest, or sheer willpower-driven occult power, more experienced soldiers of lastwall find their weapons able to strike true against spectral foes.

Some that revere a goodly deity sometimes channel a bit of their god’s blessing into their shield, causing it to flare with positive energy and light to harm and drive back the wicked undead.

Even negative energy is not exempt from their shields, giving them a new way to absorb the harm caused by the undead.

Necromancy is an insidious school of magic on the offense, and as they continue to inure themselves, they learn to better resist such spells which would have a partial effect even when they would succeed.

Those that have honed their senses against undeath can refine them further into a more precise sense, letting them better root them out.

True to their part as members of a shield wall, these warriors can protect others with their shields, not just themselves, and they often reflexively move to interpose the shield if it is an undead assailant.

Death and corruption are old companions of these warriors, and they not only better resist such effects but also try their best to ignore feelings of nausea and unwellness.

Whether it be divine intervention or a spot of uncanny luck in the face of doom, but these guardians sometimes find their shield holding out against one more attack when others would splinter and shatter.

It’s a simple lesson, if evil magic is being cast or manifested nearby, you disrupt it however you can, and some learn to do this with their raw spiritual power alone.

Some of the most powerful sentries are so resolute that they don’t just resist the life-sucking power of the void, but all forms of harm that undead would do to them, standing firmer against the deathly tide.

This archetype is one half improving your shield usage, and one half resisting and retaliating against the undead. As such, it really is meant primarily to be used by champions, fighters, rangers, as well as any sort of class build that makes heavy use of a shield in one hand and a weapon in the other. I will say, however, that a lot of the feats available to the class really are “you resist the deathly effects of undead, but in a different mechanical way”, which gives the homebrewer in me a headache. Even still, if you’re planning on building a shield-based character that fights a lot of undead, and this archetype is available, go for it, and remember it can also be a stepping stone for two other specific archetypes!

It really is inspiring to see heroes emerge from tragedy, to see people be subjected to the absolute worst that life has to offer and say “You will break before I do.” I suppose that’s why such characters are so popular across media.

Long has the Shining Legion stood firm against the horrors of the armies of Kados. However, when the necromancer king recruits a cadre of summoners, the legion will find itself against an unfamiliar foe in the form of hordes of elementals, including massive crystal striders and the like.

Though stout of heart, Pebbo the grippli is an odd choice indeed for a member of the Holy Phalanx, but he insisted he could be of use despite his small size, and he meant it, offering to train his very own underfoot brigade of smaller peoples to supplement the main shieldwall.

With the prestige of both the knights reclaimant and the knights vigilant, it’s often easy to assume that the sentry legion is full of those that couldn’t hack it in either of those groups, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, as most are proud of their role as defenders. However, there are rarely those that live up to the stereotype, and though some learn to move on from those feelings of bitterness, others do not, forming a festering cyst in the unbreakable shell of the legion.

[fan-da-engraver]

Tiny ADVENT calendar - Day 12

[ask-manda-of-the-6]

#XCOM #Inktober Day 13: Guarded. An #ADVENT #shieldbearer punching the ground to activate its forcefield technology. Or maybe it's watched too many superhero movies... #MandaDraws #InkTober2018 #fanart https://www.instagram.com/p/BpQLfBchc9i/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6kfx39wcrij0

[etherealvoidechoes]

XCOM 2 Worldbuilding - ADVENT Soldier Variations Ideas Under the Armor

Ah, more of my brain spew as always.

Also before I begin, I want to say regarding main skin tones(made a post about this way back) I just think the developers  overlooked it being weird that ADVENT pretty much all have the same exact skin tone. And yes I know you can customize Skirmisher skin tones. So in my verse, they have various natural(and unnatural) skin tones, like humanity, that really sells to the public that they are made from various human volunteers. Also like to believe the Elders scattered humanity around once they had a solid foothold to promote diversity and humans to become more homogeneous and peaceful.

(Though I admit it could been done that way because of engine limitations on how many variations could be actively tracked in a mission. Just hope to see that fixed in the future.)

Onward to some ideas of how some ADVENT soldiers look behind their armors. Also may affect some’s base body structures thinking about it. Sectoid and Viper = Thinner and Muton and Berserker = Bigger.

Just doing what’s in-game and no mods. Though one can easily sort mods(like “A Better Advent”) into the appropriate base solider. And this is subject to change as my ideas grow.

Also where I’m drawing my ideas from.

------

Troopers - Purely Sectoid mixed with the Human base.

Advanced/Elite Troopers - Same as Troopers, but may have small hints of other species being spliced in but but don’t show up except for tinges to the skin color.

Officers/Captains - Same as Troopers. Once they excel in their service for a handful of years, the Elders offer them a chance to ‘enhance’ their form. Enhancements can lead to some physical changes, such as head shape/crest changes, new growths(usually beneficial like natural hide armor) from the new DNA, and new skin colors but all can be hidden behind that armor.

Advanced/Elite Officers/Captains - More or less guaranteed additional splicing. Still a “personal” “choice”. (That’s sarcasm btw.)

General - Same as Officers/Captains.

Stun Lancer - Thinking of how reckless they can be and how fast they move, I can see Chryssalid and Muton, and a hint of Viper, being in them. The changes to muscle fiber density that improves both agility and overall suitability(besides those dangerous doses of combat stimulants.) So pink to red to purple tinged skin tones for them. Most have heads that to have plating and patterns similar to Chrysalids. Some lean more towards the Muton features.

Heavy/Elite Stun Lancers - Spliced DNA more expressed and may creep past the hidden portions of their armor. May have additional chitinous growths on their skin.

Shieldbearer - They have far more muscle and bone density than other ADVENT and their bodies remain surprisingly warm to the touch for hours after their death, so I say they tend to be spliced with Mutons and Berserkers. Gives them the added toughness they need, besides the bulkier and heavily reinforced armor. So skin can have a white to pink to red tinge to it. Some of them may get the “armored skin/hide growths” similar to Berserkers. Also a more pronounced head crest that takes more from the Berserker side. Wider around the sides and some ridges.

Elite Shieldbearer - Spliced DNA more  and may creep past the hidden portions of their armor. “Armored skin/hide growths” are a guaranteed. Additional “heat vents”, both natural and cybernetic, are added to their bodies to help regulate their increased body heat.

Purifiers - Changes to their thermoregulatory glands, and increased thickness of the outermost epidermal layer and the unusual capacity for both absorption and retention of moisture to keep them nearly completely immune to intense heat they constantly deal with(besides added protection from their armor) makes me thing their spliced with Mutons and Bersekers and something else(thinking about which of my species would fit.) So tinges of skin tones go from white to pink to red. In addition to those skin changes, I feel like they may have natural heat vents taken from the Mutons and Berserkers(from some concept art, there are holes on their bodies that make me think that’s how they get rid of excess heat(but could also be tribal marks or natural skin patterns))

Advanced/Elite Purifers - Same as above but spliced features becoming more expressed.

Priests - The Secotoid splicing is pushed further than usual, besides the cultivated DNA of more psionically sensitive humans throughout the years. Skin tone tinges vary from gray, gray-ish blue and gray-ish purple, and pink. Eyes and nose to eyebrow ridge greater resemble the Sectoids. The entire eye is nearly pure black, possible black-ish purple to blue, with bare hints of a glow from that yellow iris common to the rest.

Advanced/Elite Priests - Possibly have even more Sectoid features pushed but something else. Hints of the Elders form. Skin color fully pushed to that gray-ish blue. This comes about when XCOM, and the Resistance, is proving to become more troublesome and may jeopardize their AVATAR project. Advanced/Elite Priests become active test subjects on the field.

[justxcomthings]

[image source]

JXT: Shield Can’t Protect from Everything!

[weatherman667]

What I Would Change in XCOM2

I already wrote a post about Unsimplifying XCOM2 Weapons, so this is to add onto it.

1) Stability

It definitely has some stability concerns.

2) Use the Hero Ability System

The “Hero” classes in War of the Chosen replaces the basic binary skills system, every rank you are given a choice between two.  They instead use abilities and ability points, which bleed over into the regular classes through the Training Center, (replacing half of the Advanced Warfare Center).  Instead of having 2 fields, they have three, but the three aren’t complete.  They then have the randomly allotted skills from other classes that can be learned through the AWC.  Sometimes the skills from the old binary system are both essential, sometimes they are both useless, (at least to your playstyle for that character).  It would probably increase the available skills by 1/3.

3) Drones Are for Scouting

For whatever reason, instead of scouting, the first thing the Gremlins can do is create a forcefield.  This is despite the fact that canonically forcefields are not achieved MUCH later in the game.  So, instead, the Squaddie-level ability is Scout, where you send the Gremlin away, (up to the range for the current level of Gremlin), and it reveals the area.  You can then tell it to stay or return, if it stays, the area stays revealed, but you can’t use the Gremlin.

When it’s controller is Concealed, it has 3 radius, (25 square), detection zone.

You can then use a free action to return it.  The cool down is default 1, but increases based on how long it’s held in-place.  You can add Deflector Protocol at Lieutenant level.

4) Electronic Counter Warfare System (ECWS)

Give Specialists’ Gremlins a passive ability that let’s them detect Psi communications between enemy groups.  This works similar to the “you hear noises” function, just more regular and precise.  The more turns you spend and the closer you are to the enemies, the higher the chance you have to specifically identify them.  First level is say, ADVENT / Aliens / Mechanical, with further levels getting more precise.  If you spend enough turns in a map, you will eventually be able to identify and track every enemy.

5) Smoke Grenades provide Cover From Sight

Smoke grenades work weirdly, as it’s not the area of the smoke that is the most affected, by shots through the smoke.  Smoke grenades reduce Aim on shots going through their squares, and dramatically lower their Detection range.  Reapers in Smoke cannot be Detected normally.

6) Hand Thrown Grenades Do Not Break Individual Concealment

Basically, soldiers with Phantom will not break their own concealment when throwing a grenade.  This also applies to missions where everyone has individual Concealment, or at least one charge of Conceal, (or better).

7) Regular Supply Drops Can Include Other Resources

This is a random chance for each region, meaning the more regions you have, the higher the chances.  Building a transmitter increases the chances.  On the EXTREMELY low end you have Engineers and Scientist, on the high end you have basic resources, like Alien Alloys and Elerium.  In the middle you have Elerium Cores, along with various body drops.

8) Chance to Permanently Recruit Aliens

You already have the ability to break their Psi control chips.  Add a way to subdue them afterwards, the difficulty of which will scale with the enemy’s abilities.  They then have to be hauled off to one of the Resistance Factions for deprogramming.  Skirmishers are good for ADVENT Hybrids, Templars are good for basic aliens, like Sectoids and Vipers.  No one is good at Mutons and Archons, and everyone is terrible with the more powerful ones.  The chance to convince them has a chance to completely fail, giving you a mission to come in and clean up the mess or risk losing respect from the faction.

9) Deflector Shield

The game teases you with the WAR suit, by saying you get to copy a Shieldbearer’s ability.  It then gives you a 99.99% useless skill.

Deflector Shield is a utility items that gives you constant +20 Defence.  Good for characters who aren’t fond of taking cover.  The WAR suit includes a cooldown-based version that lasts for one turn, for when you are feeling especially stupid.  Like everything else, make sure you turn it on before you end your turn.

10) Support Teams

Support teams count as one for your squad deployment but are not deployed with your squad.  They are instead deployed off-field, and can be called in.  Calling in support requires two actions, except Specialists require one.  Maybe make it an ability?

Each support team levels up like a Soldier, and can form bonds like a soldier.  The level primarily affects how long the delay is between shots.   They also have their own utility slots.

The Soldier calling them in needs sight of them, except for Marksmen, who can use Squadsight.

All support teams have their own Concealment, which can be broken with every attack, but the chance decreases with level.  Once their Concealment is broken, they have a chance to be attacked that increases with every turn.  They can be told to Withdraw at any time, removing them from the level but also ensuring their safety.  If they do get attacked, their chance to escape unscathed depends upon their rank, but also have a series of skills related to Breaking Contact.  They also have a chance to Hold Contact, meaning they are under attack, but gain an extra turn of usefulness.  This, however, decreases their chances of cleanly Breaking Contact in the next turn.

Grenades, especially Flashbangs, increase their chance to break contact, while Smoke Grenades decrease their chance of being located once Concealment is broken.

Support Teams all have a vantage point off the side of a map that they are shooting from.  Higher level teams let you select an edge of the screen they will be firing from.

Armour affects how likely your team is to extract.  Heavy provides the highest bonus.  Light armour provides the least chance of breaking concealment.  Medium armour provides more utility slots.  The team’s 2nd can equip either an assault rifle or shotgun, and the level of which will affect their chances of getting away.  Assault Rifles are better for Holding Contact while Shotguns are better for Breaking Contact, ensuring a clean getaway.

a) Sniper Team Sniper teams can be asked to Observe and Shoot.  Observe will reveal any part of the map from the direction of the Sniper’s vantage point.  Shoot will have them shoot a single target.  Their rifles are more powerful than a Marksman’s, and can even be upgraded to anti-material rifles.  You can shoot any target that was observed last turn, as long as it is still in the AoE of Observe.

Sniper Teams have the least chance of breaking  Concealment.

b) Mortar Team

Mortar Teams can Shoot mortars, which are basically more powerful versions of Grenades.  As you produce grenades, you will produce equivalent mortars, and Mortar Teams have slots for Special Mortars, but these hold 1 each.

Later in their skill tree they learn Fire For Effect, which can only be used after a previous mortar in a near areas.  This drops multiple mortars on the same spot. Yes, it’s highly likely that enemies won’t wait around for this to happen, just like in real life.  Fire For Effect will destroy any objective.

Their accuracy also starts off pretty shit, so mark sure you aren’t too close.

Mortars teams have mid-concealment and break contact.  They can also let off a parting shot.  Say, a skill called Going Away Present.  This happens BEFORE your turn.

c) AT Team

Team with a MANPAT.  They can fire multiple ammunition types, such as HE, HEDP, HEAT, HESH, APFSDS, etc.  AT teams are direct-fire, meaning, like Snipers they need direct LoS from their vantage point.  But, this said, most of their shots have higher armour shred / penetration, if a smaller AoE, or no AoE at all.

AT Teams have the best chance of breaking contact.

d) Psi-Jammer Team

Unlocked with the Psi-Lab.  They can interfere with enemy communication, give all the enemies a head ache, cancel or relocate reinforcements.  Distract enemies.  They will act like you’ve broken concealment until you get there, and it was just a ghost.  Summon or relocate Lost swarms.

11) ADVENT FLAME THROWER!

[chimerathesquad]

"ARMA!" *cough* "Please release Cherub at once."

Terminal : “Who’s this guy anyways?!” Whisper : “Arma? If I remember correctly, the first ADVENT shieldbearer Xcom managed to capture during the resistance effort...” Arma : “Yup, and his *wife* did it! Congrats by the way! Glad it turned out ok, given how much a shitshow it was when Todd exposed you! Byt the way... I hear the snake is somewhere in town. You kids look out for a weird journalist, he WILL twist your words out of context!”

[noodlegirl-draws]

I'm bored and it randomly came into my head so

Army analysis: advent

So, Advent, the fuckers of XCOM 2. They serve primarily as a peacekeeping organization. Which means they focus on small tactics over huge armies. Which explains alot. They only have 1 heavy armor type (sectopods) and no artillery

They seem to lack long range. Having no dedicated sniper units (besides the chosen)

They do have support, (shieldbearers, and maybe priests) as well as heavy infantry (mutons). And mobile infantry (archeons, basic troopers) so they fill almost all infantry roles. Which is good, since peacekeeping will rarely, if ever require large scale battles. Infantry allows quick responses. Making them ideal for the job

[commanderguixi]

And just to truly complete everything with the hug rating, here are the ADVENT types.

ADVENT Trooper: If you’re someone they’ve been assigned to defend, they might (awkwardly) pat your back. 8/10 shy. They’re just doing their best. If not; 🔊 MOVE ALONG, CITIZEN 🔊  Push away 0/10.

ADVENT Officer: Might be more receptive to hugs for people they’re defending! Known to return it albeit very briefly and even knows how to smile. 10/10. If not; 🔊 UNLESS YOU HAVE AN ISSUE TO REPORT PLEASE DO NOT OBSTRUCT A PEACEKEEPER’S DUTY, CITIZEN, KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. 🔊 0/10.

ADVENT Priest: 🔊 HALT, CITIZEN. DO NOT ENGAGE IN PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH AN ADVENT PRIEST. IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING. 🔊  0/10

ADVENT Purifier: The only time you’d see these is in the Lost-infested cities so, um.. Probably not the best place to hug! 0/10, likely will get burned. Muffled yelling.

ADVENT Shieldbearer: Absolutely hugs. Is a support unit generally, especially for medics. Will hug, though isn’t one to engage it. They big and comforting. 10/10. They might allow hugging on duty, though not if an Officer is present. 7/10.

ADVENT Stun Lancer: Hm! Twitchy boi, will likely freeze up if you hug them whilst they’re just Protecting you. 5/10 needs to Relax. Otherwise, BATON IN THE GUT. Do not engage in contact with an on-duty Lancer. 0/10.

ADVENT Turret: Uh.

ADVENT MEC: Same as the Sparks, but with more shooty. 0/10.

[commanderplease]

So who are the main nerds (aka soldiers) besides the commander on this blog?

Hoooo boy! (hold on I’m not on the right computer my archives are alsewheeeeere...!)

So we have a family photo here : https://commanderplease.tumblr.com/post/143210087290/time-for-more-shenanigans-d-did-you-know-a

and I found that again on my main : http://selemina.tumblr.com/post/140785373029/time-to-finally-meet-the-squad-d-i-have-so-many

This is all so old! XD

Otherwise we have an ADVENT shieldbearer with a short temper called Arma, a ex-officer called Rex, and the viper king names Givre. :)

There are photos of the squad somewhere in the archives if you look through it chronologically, but usually all you need to catch up is in the Avenger Archives tag! :)

Always open for questions to those catching up now by the way! :D

[fan-da-engraver]

Tiny ADVENT   ...... and bonus Elena and Mox

[ask-manda-of-the-6]

Sloshed Noodle Shenanigans: Squad Bode

“Guys, come on... Manda’s in no state to-”

“Joe -my little tower- look she’s the perfect amount of drunk to ask her anything.” Coyote turned the recruit around in her seat so she was facing him and smirked. “Okay Shorty, eyes on me.”

“Y’know who’s got the best eyes?” Manda interrupted the ranger before he could pester her with more ridiculous questions. “Rex!” She pointed in the direction of the former ADVENT Captain, who was now sitting with Rascal and Arma at the other end of the bar. “Rex has the prettiest eyeballs in the whole wide ship!”

Coyote laughed at the conviction in her statement, agreeing nonetheless. “Well what about me, Shorty? You like something on me?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Hightower made a whine of disapproval from behind Manda while she gave the question some thought.

“Hmmm...” She reached her hands out to his jaw. “I like your beard!” She giggled and smooshed his cheeks together. “Scruff-scruff!”

“Oi!” Coyote laughed, pushing her hands away. Apparently he was a bit ticklish there. “You got something that you like in everyone else? We know that you think Lizzie’s got the best butt.” He winked in Undertaker’s direction who gave him a reciprocative death-glare.

Manda tilted her head to the side as she looked at the sniper. “But- that’s not my favourite part of her...”

“Ooh-hoo, it’s not?”

“Nuh-uh.” Manda swung her feet through the air, "I like Lizzie’s lips the best! They’re like...” She drew a heart through the air, “A heart! And she always paints them the right colour and they’re so soft.”

“Uh... Manda?” Hightower shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Cause she kissed me on the forehead for my birthday, remember?” She poked herself above her right eyebrow, turning to face her boyfriend.

“Oh, yeah I guess.” Hightower fiddled with his fingers.

“What about everyone else?” Big Time leaned forward, smiling widely. 

Hopping out of her chair, Manda giggled and hugged Big Time. “You’ve got the nicest hair Biggie T,” she nuzzled the side of the sharpshooter’s head. “So floofy and pretty and soft.”

“Aww... thanks kiddo.” Big Time ruffled Manda’s hair in response.

“And ooh- Rascal’s got nice arms! And his tattoo’s all uh- glowy-glowy!” She hopped up and down on the spot, pointing at the medic’s sleeve which made him chuckle. “Annnnd...” She looked at the former ADVENT shieldbearer seated next to him. “Arma’s got the best smile!.”

That prompted an alarmed shout and dark orange blush from the young hybrid as well as a few snickers from the soldiers.

“No I’m serious!” Manda looked around. “Arma’s got the nicest smile, but he doesn’t use it very much...” 

Stating that truth made Manda a little teary-eyed, but she bounced back from it with a hiccup.

“And Smokey’s waist is like- perfect.” She half-skipped, half-stumbled to the couch which was crowded with the girls. “I dunno it always looks good with your jacket or the belts you wear.”

“Merci~” Smokey giggled, taking a sip from her drink.

“Rogue, I know you don’t like it... but I think your cheeks with your freckles are adorable!” Manda only just held back the temptation to smoosh the combat hacker’s face for fear of getting zapped by her ever-present GREMLIN.

The compliment still had Rogue flushing almost as red as her hair.

“And Blitz has the best legs ever!” Manda was practically vibrating, hopping up and down on the spot. “You make running look like nothing when you’re out on the battlefield or in the gym.”

“And she works for it!” Big Time chimed in agreement.

“Damn straight!” Blitz laughed, toasting her bottle in the air.

Stopping at the end of the couch Manda smiled to Phoenix. “And I like your neck, Amy!”

“My... neck?” Psi Operative raised an eyebrow at the recruit, utterly confused.

“Mmm hmm!” Manda nodded. “It’s so- I dunno... it’s just really nice!” She pointed up and down her neck. “Maybe ‘cause of the way your hair’s cut. But it’s all elegant. Like a swan.” She made her hand into a bird shape and then paused to gasp. “Or a phoenix!!”

“Okay, Manda.” Hightower wrapped an arm around Manda’s shoulders, shepherding her back to her seat at the bar. “I think maaaaybe you’ve had a bit too much to drink...”

“And these...” Manda leaned forward and caught one of Joe’s hands with both of hers. “These are my favourite parts of you, Joey.” She kissed his palm and smiled up to him. “Your hands.”

“Wait-” Hightower flushed, looking over his free hand a bit astonished. “They are? Uh... How come?”

“Cause they’re yours!” Manda stated. “Most people would think big hands couldn’t do delicate work, but yours can! Sure you can wrangle wild horses and lift crates as big as I am but you can also protect a little bitty kitty and make those tiiiiny adjustments on your heavy gun.” 

Opening up the hand that she was holding she pressed her hand against it, nearly dwarfed in comparison.

“The best hands...” She whispered, giving him a bright smile.

Joe pulled her into his arms, rubbing up and down her back and setting his chin on her head. “All the better to never let you go with...”

A chorus of ‘awwwwws’ from their squadmates followed; though some people were teary-eyed as much as they would deny it.

“When’s the wedding you two?”

“Coyote!”

Everyone besides this sappy tiny noodle (c) @commanderplease

[etherealvoidechoes]

A friend asked what ADVENT soldiers, and aliens, Jackal/Lynette prefers to eat when she’s shift stuck. Well truthfully she’ll eat these guys when she’s not shift stuck when food is low. She’s become very desensitized. Can’t believe I’m actually thinking about this in some detail.

Probably the standard trooper and officer are a solid default for her. Tastes fairly sweet to her. Not to tough to tear into.

Priests fall in the same group as the above. But she decapitates them to try and cut off the psionics. Faint psionic echoes from the corpse is no fun while eating.

Finds the stun lancers to be a mixture of tough and stringy and the combat stimulants makes them taste bitter.

The shieldbearer somewhat falls into the same category as the lancers, but some parts of them are tender.

Exploded purifiers are a free cooked meal in her eyes. Once you knock off the burns and soot.

Sectiods reminder of her of jerky that’s impossible to tear and they are beyond bitter. Puts them in the last resort category.

Berserkers are too much of a hassle to get through their thick skin. They’re fairly game-y to her. She leaves those for Flint.

Mutons are less of a hassle but are fairly tough. And game-y.

Vipers are fairly sinewy, kinda flakey, and some what tender to her. Reminds her of fish oddly enough.

Archons barely have any meat left. She just puts the poor things out of their misery.

Chryssilds are a big no. She’s allergic to those buggers and breaks out in hives really badly. Besides eating them raw runs the risk of their venom affecting her system which is something she does not want to experience again.

Faceless are an absolute gummy and rancid mess. So another big no.

Not much left of an Andromedon when its she’ll gets broken. The acid ain’t worth it to her.

Hasn’t had a chance to touch a gatekeeper but will probably fall in the same category as the faceless.

The lost are another big no. Can smell the death and mutation on them and wants nothing to do with them.

[justxcomthings]

[image source]

JXT: Getting a Double Payoff When a Low Health ADVENT Priest Mind Merges with the ADVENT Shieldbearer Who’s Guarding The Other Enemies

[weatherman667]

Rules For Playing Xcom2

The game is tough, but almost fair.  That almost can easily get you wiped.

Don’t take the game too seriously.  Xcom2 100% expects you to fail your first few playthroughs.

Resource management is just as difficult as the combat, and just as unforgiving.

Learn to use the cover system, as it is absolutely essential.   Cover is always directional, and if you can move 90˚ to the side, you are now flanking the enemy.  When flanking an enemy, the cover actually increases your aim and critical strike.  Cover can also keep you concealed.  Hunkering Down while Concealed makes it even hard to be seen.

Whenever you encounter enemies, the first thing they will do is scatter.  When breaking concealment, the game expects you to put all of your soldiers but one on Overwatch, and have the one remaining one break the concealment.  A grenade is a great way to break concealment, or have your soldier with the highest hit chance pick their target.  Sadly, all of the other solders will have to follow standard Overwatch rules.  Getting used to ambushing is a key part of the game.  Sadly, if you are not concealed, you have to predict when to setup the ambush, often with a ticking clock.

The story requires you to make and use a Skulljack item.  Once you do this, a Codex will appear.  Codices will split, “clone”, whenever they take damage.  The damage is split between them.  They can also teleport.  Bluescreen rounds affect them.  If they are moving, they will not clone until AFTER all of the Overwatch attacks are resolved.  If you can catch them in an ambush, you might be able to kill them before they split.  Codices can also open a warp rift.  This rift “disables” all of your weapons, and the next turn the rift will collapse, damaging anyone in it’s range.  Once you get used to them, they really aren’t that bad, unless you are facing a Ruler.  You can upgrade a Skulljack into an item that can be used once every mission.  This gives you a 70% to insta-kill an Advent Soldier, (Soldier, Officer, Stun Lancer, or Shieldbearer).  You then go through hacking to maybe get intel out of them.  Shieldbearrers have two armour, and can create shields for everyone around them.  But, if you kill them, these shields fall.  Stun Lancers can also knock a soldier Unconscious, so even if you can only use it once, it’s still an incredibly useful skill.

The game has a really annoying save game system that’s not really intuitive.   It will auto-save before you start a mission.  It will auto-save the last three turns in a mission.  It will always default to a new same game every single time you try to save.  My honest recommendation is to turn off auto-save, and have a single, master save file, along with one save for the start of missions.  If you fuck up the campaign it’s just better to start over again.

The game will ask you what to enable at the start of a playthrough, but it is really opaque about it.  The first one is difficulty.  Remember that all of the difficulties are hard, this isn’t an easy game.  Even if you like a challenge, you probably don’t want to start off on anything harder than Veteran.  This isn’t cute difficulty names where Veteran is the normal setting, Veteran expects you to be skilled at both the combat and resource management gameplays.  Reminder about 2.  The next option is tutorial, if you check it, it will enable the tutorial.  The tutorial has Central rescuing the Commander, (i.e. you), and will have two of your three basic Rookies die.  It’s highly recommended to make sure this is checked the first time.   Third is Reduce Beginner VO.  If you check it this eliminates two scanning missions from the early game.  Resource management is as difficult as the combat, and this is extremely difficult in the early game, so it’s recommended to leave this unchecked.  Show Subtitles.  Leave this checked to show subtitles.  Ironman Mode.  This auto-saves after everything, (like Souls games), and forces to you live with the consequences of your actions. It should be noted that Xcom2 is NOT QUITE FAIR, and also has some stability issues.  There are missions that I only managed to complete because I was able to save and reload my way out of instability issues.  If you check it, you basically get a Hardcore mode from Diablo.  Optional Narrative Content:  Alien Hunters:  The Nest, and Shen’s Last Gift:  The Lost Towers.  These are the DLC gatekeeping missions.  If you leave them unchecked, the DLC will auto-activate.  If you check them you will have to play through the missions to turn on the content.

Alien Hunters adds an extreme difficulty spike that is made much more manageable in War of the Chosen.  There are three powerful, persistent enemies with high / extremely high / god level health, high armour, and an extremely gamebreaking cheese rule called Ruler Reaction.  The Health and Armour is persistent, and once you deal enough damage they will open a portal to try and escape.  The Ruler Reaction gives them a full turn every time your character takes an action.  It should be noted that most characters take two actions per turn.  These turns count as turns for status effects, so if something says “Stuns / freezes for two turns.” then these include his Ruler Reaction turns.  On the other hand, Burn and Poison will deal their damage every Rule Reaction turn as well.  In Vanilla, once you unlock the mission, you will be facing them pretty much every mission, and once you kill one you move onto the next, more powerful one.  In War of the Chosen, the Ruler Reaction is dramatically reduced, apparently.  Attacks will trigger it 100% of the time, but defensive skills, like overwatch and healing will trigger it 50% of the time.  Other actions, like movement, hacking, and reloading will not trigger it.  Further, in WotC, you will only encounter one after each Avatar facility you take out, giving you a bit of a breather.

Shen’s Last Gift gives you SPARKS, i.e. robot soldiers.  SPARKS are extremely powerful, BUT, a) cannot take cover, which is a very important mechanic in Xcom2, and b) are EXTREMELY expensive.  Resource mismanagement is as likely to tank a campaign as losing too many soldiers, and so while it might seem extremely useful, it’s costs, nevermind the R&D costs, could easily sink your campaign.

If you have a Medic Specialist, you can do a lot of healing really quickly.  If you do not, it can take weeks for a soldier to recover.  This is basically like watching a character die from plot in an RPG with resurrection potions.

If your character falls, be VERY watchful of the text prompts.  The text prompts will disappear VERY quickly, and once it’s gone, there are no obvious prompts in the game.  If a character is Unconscious, they can still die from AoE and executions, and will need to be evaced if you are on an evac mission.  If you are on a kill everyone / control the area mission, you can simply leave them someplace safe and finish your mission.  If they are marked as Bleeding Out, they will die in a few turns if not stabilized.  Anyone with a medkit can take a use to stabilize them instead of healing.  Once stabilized, they are considered Unconscious.  It should be noted that moves that Stun can also knock you Unconscious.  Unconscious soldiers can be healed with a medkit.  Bleeding Out soldiers can be Stabilized with a medkit, so if you have a medic specialist close enough to heal them, you can easily find out what their status is.  Unconscious and Bleeding Out allies can be picked up by any soldier that stands next to them.  This means is that if you did not see the Bleeding Out and assumed it was Unconscious.

Any mission without a set Evac point let’s you call in Evac at any time.  This can be useful to remove a soldier who is about to die without a means to save them.  You can even evac all soldiers.  If you completed the objectives, then you will still win.  If you didn’t, you will fail, but your soldiers will be alive.

Dashing (full move) is extremely dangerous.  Even if you try to use it to rescue civilians, as some of them might be Faceless.  If you do dash, make sure you can see the area first.

When on the map, and it tells you about something, hitting Confirm will have your ship fly there, and this can waste a LOT of time.

[taksynator]

When Xcom 2 revealed aliens.

Viper: Oh the internet is gonna have fun with you. *cries*

Advent Shieldbearer: Oh hey, lets give the enemies a permanant smoke screen. *cries* Chrysalid: Oh you can bury now. I hope you find thoose viper posts *cries two fold*