XCOM EU Game difficulty unbalanced

[Beriallord]

@ Beriallord: While the new game on normal may provide a measure of challenge not common to current games, Enemy Unknown is still far more forgiving than UFO Defense. This isn't meant to imply that this is necessarily a bad thing though. The old X-com was unforgiving even in beginner difficulty and demanded a hell of lot of micromanagement. The inventory system alone was a time consuming mess.

 

Most older games are more difficult than the newer versions. I'm just saying this was one of those "borderline" games, and I usually don't steer away from a challenge, but this one was almost overboard for me. A game like Dark Souls, I'm fine with because its not determined by randomness. I never played UFO defense, and from the way it sounds, I got no desire to.

 

This game is enormously random, even though I didn't have too many problems with the battle aspects, there were a few times where I just got completely screwed by the RNG. I found out later that 100% isn't actually 100% and could be 99.6%, which means you can miss a 100% shot, and I've seen it happen 3 times. One time was vs a sectopod which proceeded to rocket AOE me next turn because it was still standing when it should have been dead and finished off 2 of my characters because I missed a 100% shotgun to the face attack. Unlucky, yes, but the simple fact that something like that is even possible makes the game broken IMO. My whole strategy relies on 3 shotgun assaults + 2 snipers, and a support. Even if I aggro 2 groups, I should be ok with that group combo. At worst I usually take out one group, and kill 2/3 of the other, then one of my assaults takes a hit from the 1 left over. That strategy is pretty much solid unless I just get completely screwed by the %s and something crazy happens like me missing 3 85% shots in a row, or a deadly enemy like a sectopod survives because I missed a 100% shot and gets to *** **** me next turn.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Beriallord

[Jackal2233]

I'm surprised a 100% shot missed actually - it has to be a glitch - I encountered quite a few especially when going up point blank range and it's 38% hit chance with a shotgun or something. I always have a backup plan in place though, that's pretty much impossible difficulty - have to have multiple plans at the ready.

[SectoidMedic]

When i have a 100% hit (specially with the asault guy) always check the odds with F1. Sometimes you have a 120% (showed as 100%) and then is a sure hit, but a real 100% its not a 100%. Its a 80-90% instead.

You can miss a 103% because the game applies a hidden modifier. Maybe a 10 or 20% in Classic.

Surery, you miss a lot of showed 80% because they are real 60-70%.

[ScriptSyntaX]

this is a classic example of what happens when too many winers complain that the game isn't hard enough

the developers make changes to "balance" what the majority consider "balanced".

 

the trend it seems these days is to design a half asd made "rushed to market" game like a cookie cutter

designed to piss off the average player catered more to xbox console playing teens with 5 second mind spans.

 

rather then taking the time to make a good game simply for the sake of making a good game.. like it used to be.

 

on a positive note: thanks to efforts in making the modpatcher at least the individual now has the ability to modify their game to each individuals taste/preferences...

 

to a certain limited extent anyway.

Edited November 7, 2012 by ScriptSyntaX

[SectoidMedic]

Sometimes, I think the game " toys" with me instead of the opposite: to play myself with the game.

 

I will explain it:

I see a lot of streams of noob people playing. Its impossible to play worse! Rushing and activating new aliens, without points for seek cover, bad tactical choices, bad firing order (holotargeting as last fire of the turn), guys without cover...However, in those games aliens miss all their easy shots or make few damage and the xcom soldiers hit their shity 25% and 30% shots easily! ...amazing!

 

When I play, always advance my squad carefully, all my soldires with points of action for safe responses. Always get heavy cover and chosse places out of range of potential flanking aliens. Always fire with 50+. Most times I ensure 70%, or 80%. But... I MISS A LOT! And the aliens hit me in full cover almost every time, doing heavy damage.

 

I got a ufo recovery mission against Heavy Muttons for first time. I placed everybody in full cover and fired with 60 to 90s%. All misses. The mutton fired and killed the heavy in a single shot. I quit and loaded the game from the base and got the same mission with a new map and a new random seed: Same situation. Impossible to kill the muttons and receive deadly crits in full cover in a single shot. Loading the mission again before the skyranger loadout...and the same situation took place.

 

Finaly, I accepted the kill of one of the guys and kept playing. Suddently, all my shots were hits and the aliens missed all of theirs. The game won that xcom life and I won the mission.

 

Im thinking about this. Is possible that the game has a scripted behavior to aid some “lousy” players and punish the carefully ones? Seems there are some hidden modifiers to aid the aliens with a +20 hit and crit chance, and a -20% for you aim, but they arent permanent ones.When the IA thinks its enough punishiment for you, the odds become even. Or maybe, there are some “dangerous trigered situations”, like the first mission with muttons, or the first mission when invincible sectoids with 100% accuracy raped me in fulll cover again and again. Only when you get a lost or two the chances become fairly.

 

I know there are some positive hidden modifiers in easy and normal if you have few soldiers. I experienced that in the demo. When my first guy died, the remainders turned themselves in Rambos, If you lost three guys, the last one became Chuck Norris. Nobody could hit him. Is possible the same mechanism works favouring the aliens in Classic and Impossible.

 

What do you think?

 

PD:Sorry for my English.

[Jackal2233]

That's why I don't gamble with the numbers anymore, it can be just too random. Hence I never really engage mid-range, either close-range or long-range, and I retreat a lot on impossible diff.