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Well, okay, they're not absolute magic before you get too excited But useful to move around troops and they can pack quite a punch against lesser UFOs. I had a dimension gate hovering right on top of my base for several days (and alien waves) and then the apcs actually were magic. The first time, the aliens took me by surprise so my valkyrie was launched from the base, the rest of the force scattered in the city. The valkyrie almost was downed during launch and had to flee but the apcs actually turned the tables when they rolled out of my hangar... all in all they must have downed five or six UFOs by now and drew a lot of fire away from the base itself. Just don't forget to unassign your soldiers if you have to send the APCs into battle

[Zaru]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(laiocfar @ Oct 28 2006, 02:50 AM) [snapback]263943[/snapback]</div>

never used APC, i will see how they do.
[/b]

Speaking about erm... "unconventional" vehicles, try hooverbikes. In packs, armed with plasma, they will intercept every large ufo ship. Just be sure to keep those Elirium-115 suplies sufficient to meet the needs of the voracious plasma guns. These goddamn bikes are small like bees and thus they rarely get hit by large enemy cannons. But... if one's hit, you'll have to chop yourself another bike. Just be sure not to use them against more mobile/smaller enemy vessels.

[Eagle of Fire]

What's so unconventional about hoverbikes? I always purchase a bunch at the beginning of every game and they are always present in my main attack force until very late in the game when all my big ships have ship cloacking and shielding...

The hoverbikes is about the best airborne craft you can purchase in the whole game in term of cost VS efficiency.

[Zaru]

What I meant by unconventional is that in X-COM series the most ultimate vehicles were always the most advanced and biggest ones (like Avenger). Here we have something that's available at the very beginning, is very small sized and cheap, which could suggest that's weak but it's on the contrary. And some players don't even use them.

[G ESQ]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Guest_Lt. Razak_* @ Oct 12 2006, 02:51 PM) [snapback]260895[/snapback]</div>

Also I'm having some trouble with the stun-raids. Being only 15 minutes into the game, I only own 7 stunners and can't get all of them. Since the defenders usually are about batallion-strength I just CAN'T keep them all down with seven people with stunners, so usually I just move in with the seven armed only with a stunner and carrying nothing except that stunner and their armour (I was considering to drop it but then an autocannon went off and the trooper carrying it nearly killed himself hadn't he been wearing his armour).
So what I do is I search the facility stunning and disarming guards as I pass them. This, however, can be very annoying as I not only have to rearm troopers to work as stun-troopers for one of these mission. Also, I have to let them drop all the equipment once I return to my homebase, which can be quite time consuming. Also I have to check every room if there is no equipment laying about which needs stealing. So usually I probably miss a good deal of equipment just because the guards keep running off, hiding etc. I'd prefer it if I could just stun the whole lot to win the mission and get all the equipment (and more) that way... much easier.
Is there any advice on how you can stun an entire factory full of people without them waking up all the time? Note: I'm pressed for manpower, 12 soldiers, 7 stunners.

[/b]

I raid Marsec a bunch of times at the start of each game the chief prize is the Marsec body unit which you get once every 5 or 6 raids, but also to get plasma pistols, rocket lauchers, all sorts of weapons to sell off to raise funds. What I do is raid with 12 troops, real time, set each squad to fast speed and agressive mode. There is 15 or so defenders at the Marsec arms factory. with 7 stun grapples what you do is have the 5 squaddies who don't have a stun grapple to stand on top of a stunned Marsec guy, this keeps him from getting up and running around again. Also combine this with putting one of your guys with a stun grapple in the middle of 3 downed Marsec defenders, he'll keep stunning them. You'll be left with 1 or 2 of your guys with stun grapples to hunt down the 1 or 2 remaining Marsec defenders who are hiding, stunning them all and winning the raid, getting all the stuff in the factory.

The other thing I do is raid the Megapol arms factory (same tactics) right at the start of the game to get more stun grapples. There are more defenders at the Megapol factory, so it's a bit like herding cats trying to keep all defenders down. But you can do it with the same tactics - having your unarmed guys stand on the downed defenders leaving your armed guys to stun the defenders who are running around and hiding.

I use this same trick of standing on a stunned enemy to capture live aliens too.

[G ESQ]

... and when I do have all 12 squaddies equipped with stun grapples, I use the same trick, I'll have some of my guys stand on stunned defenders while the rest of my raiders hunt down everyone else. This works really well when raiding the Marsec arms factory, they have the same number or only 1 or 2 more defenders than the 12 squaddies I'm sending on the raid.

One squaddie can stand on a pile of 2 or 3 stunned guys, and they'll all stay down.


Not sure anyone mentioned this either, if you raid Marsec and Megapol with only stun weapons, XCOM's relationship with either organization is not damaged. You can raid them 50 times and they still will be allied to you.

[laiocfar]

The hoverbikes are superbe, they can avoid near anything, the problem is that they carry too low firepower so they are like mosquitos to biggest aliens. About stuning, i use stun grenades, they works well in closed areas like UFOs

Have to admit the standing-on-the-stunnies is a pretty useful tactic. Have to try that one to make sure I get the good aliens back to base.

I like cars better than bikes. Buy up and save the elerium for when lineage and multisystems become available for your Hawks.

Bikes are a fine supplemental unit but once fast attack ships show up, one lucky hit is death for a bike. I don't like losing any vehicles in my games. Week 1 - Cars and valkyrie with lasers. Week 2 - Cars go full evasive with prophet missile systems (janitors seem better but prophets give more range which ='s more survivability) and I've usually raided enough for at least one Air Warrior which gets the multisystem and autocannons (buy/sell bikes for ammo). End of Week 2, Cars usually get upgraded to the weaker of the two single-firing missile systems. All they do is pop up, fire from really far away, and then hide. Once alien missile systems come online it's not worth wasting money on replacing smaller craft. Hawks usually do just fine with the extra missile barrage against harder targets. Once lineage becomes available, everybody gets an upgrade to that until medium disruptors and new X-Com craft.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Guest @ May 10 2005, 06:55 AM) [snapback]105847[/snapback]</div>

TIP.

last time I played this was some 18 months back.. no cheat and in superhuman level.

Heres how i got good soldiers at the very first day:

Since Serus cult will prove to be the constant pain in the behind, I immediately attack their quarters armed with whatever weapons i could use.

Naturarally, sniping weapons is the best to train your guys for marksmanship. So too is a light powered pistol and a stun grenade. stun the enemy, remove their weapon, enclose him so he wont escape, and once he comes to, shoot using pistol. you get to hit him more with the pistol to gain more marksmanship.

after the mission, i restock and went back in again and again till most of my soldiers are so high ranking, they are all very ready for the Final Push.

money wont even be a problem - each raid gives you lots of $$$ selling off those loots - but I suggest to hold on to those loots and sell off in one big batch so price wont go down at once
[/b]

Need money?? 1 easy tip from me:
Go to buy/sell store then buy stuff (not all but as much as possible). After buying ur stuffs then sell them back and u will gain $$. :brain: