NeoGAF

Originally Posted by Grimsen

Lots of valid points for the heavy and sniper MECs, but what about the support MEC? I was thinking of adding one on Impossible. Great aim+grenades+defense buff means the MEC can just hang back and destroy cover, and move up to buff another unit that is in LOS of a thin man.

The problem with that is, it's only useful of you're being shot. Incidentally, it's also the best way to get yourself killed in Impossible :P

I just find that I often get hammered if I give the enemy a turn to act. Thus, I've had far more success with an offensive strategy on Impossible. A support MEC, while good on paper, simply doesn't fit in when you simply want to kill them before they take a shot.

I usually run a secondary support MEC, but a passive +10 is not actually a very good deal all up really on classic and above. I'll probably switch to a sniper MEC next time around

I love how they've modified and balanced the new abilities. Before, there was only one way to build supports really but the new combat-focused side of that tree is actually pretty fun (tactical rigging and new deep pockets is a part of that).

With the way that Overwatch/Covering Fire/Sentinel works with them now, firing before the enemy gets a shot off instead of only triggering after the shot is fired, you can sort of cheese out a rapid fire with a nearly equivalent accuracy drop off with very little risk. Combining them with Memetic Skin makes them perfect scouts when paired with a MEC. Move them to full cover undetected, find an unalerted alien group, move the MEC into grenade/proximity range, then twiddle your fingers and laugh at all the ways you can ensure that nothing leaves the area alive.

Also - I still love the MEC melee (18 guaranteed damage when fully researched. dios mio) but the flamethrower's incredible panic rate can't be understated. Its such a great way to buy time if you're really up against a wall.

Originally Posted by Clunker

EDIT: A question, since I bumped the thread: I'm the type of player that found Normal fairly easy but Classic generally too difficult for me (it's the Thin Men that ruin me every time I try a Classic run). I haven't really looked too far in to the options for Enemy Within, but are there any modifiers/options people would suggest to maybe strike a balance between Normal and Classic? What I ended up doing in my last EU playthrough was playing Normal but then instantly selling the Officers' Building (whatever gives you the soldier upgrades) and consciously not choosing to set up shop in Asia.

Start a game on Normal and change it to Classic from the in-game menu once in progress.

Patch!

XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within PC Patch Info 12/02/2013

Hello,
This morning we launched a new patch for XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within. Here are the notes:

Features:
• Addition of Traditional Chinese

Bug Fixes:
• Fixed an issue where units would not return to low cover after using suppression.
• Units should no longer become stuck in walls in HQ Assault.
• Aliens entering the map on to a proximity mine will no longer cause the game to crash.

Well that's something I guess.

• Addition of Traditional Chinese

What? Like voice files? FUCK YES. I knew 2K China was on the back-end credits for a reason.

• Aliens entering the map on to a proximity mine will no longer cause the game to crash.

Thank god.

Originally Posted by DY_nasty

the flamethrower's incredible panic rate can't be understated. Its such a great way to buy time if you're really up against a wall.

Never enter a terror mission without one. :) They're awesome against crysalis.

Isn't it guaranteed panic? The problem is some enemies just don't panic properly, like Etherals.

Originally Posted by Jintor

What? Like voice files? FUCK YES. I knew 2K China was on the back-end credits for a reason.

2k forums sez just characters, not voices

Originally Posted by pilonv1

2k forums sez just characters, not voices

aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Col. Yu Ying Lao, you are condemned to speak in a breezy American accent hereafter :(

Originally Posted by Jintor

Isn't it guaranteed panic? The problem is some enemies just don't panic properly, like Etherals.

Other enemies will fire back when panicked, and can actually get some decent shots off.

I don't mind the flamethrower if I don't have a heavy in my squad but otherwise I really think the extra mobility from kinetic strike is the way to go. Terror missions aren't hard anyway.

Originally Posted by Fragamemnon

Other enemies will fire back when panicked, and can actually get some decent shots off.

I don't mind the flamethrower if I don't have a heavy in my squad but otherwise I really think the extra mobility from kinetic strike is the way to go. Terror missions aren't hard anyway.

It disrupts Mind Control and Psi Shields as well. When you're in a severe cluster fuck, its the way to go.

For Sectopods though? Always have the Electro-Stun thingy and the Kinetic Strike handy.

Jesus Christ the base assault. . . How the fuck do I survive this? They just kept coming and coming . .

All this flamethrower talk is making me wonder why I never built one, probably because I wasn't building mechs

Flamethrowers are great early on, though I do miss not having the extra mobility of the robot punch upgrade.

Another "failed" classic run. Thought I'd try not building an uplink on month 1. Did give me MECs and such a bit earlier since I'd have some spare power, but the monthly allowance from the first council report was... disappointing. I've been experimenting with waiting with researching beam / carapace until I've got the interrogations too but I'm usually too slow to get the containment facility up and then successfully capture a sectoid and a floater.

Originally Posted by pilonv1

• Fixed an issue where units would not return to low cover after using suppression.

Oh. I don't know about low cover, but I was wondering why my heavies would suddenly be standing one tile outside of cover in my last game.

Originally Posted by Firebrand

Flamethrowers are great early on, though I do miss not having the extra mobility of the robot punch upgrade.

I went with the Flamer build at first until I took my Mech out for the first run and saw that it had an extremely limited number of uses per mission.

Yeahh... gotta go with that ultra mobile infinite use bionic paunch suit any day of the week. Dat 18 guaranteed damage is unbeatable, not ot mention the awesome cutscenes that occurs when the Mech takes out a Muton Berserker. Plus the extra mobility that stacks with other research and rocket boots that let you quickly traverse any terrain makes the dude a super versatile scouting and killing machine.

My MEC Trooper always ended each mission with the highest number of kills next to my 2 snipers. Without fail.

12*. 18 damage is after upgrades. Due to an oversight, apparently upgrade damage is stacking across playthroughs at present, so... yeah.

Did I also mention that your MEC could also murder groups of aliens from extreme distances using the Grenade Launcher? When upgraded with the Alien Grenade (post research), it's a great way to soften up enemies before they reach your position when combined with a Mimetic Skin Augmented Lookout to scout ahead for groups of enemies. When the pricks come close, just electrocute all of them for nice amounts of damage.

Either that, or use it to Mass Heal your wounded troops using the Healing Mist.

Mah gawd, it's such an OP unit at times. The only thing that really bums me out is the massive amounts of MELD required to fully upgrade just one Suit to the Mark III. That 2nd to 3rd level suit takes ages.

The big value of the flamethrower is that one time when a group of three chryssalids do a total bullshit spawn-in bumrush to within one round of completely annihilating your squad, your MEC just turns, fans them with the flamethrower, then knocks off for the day to go get something to drink. It's quite possibly the best "panic button" in the game for dealing with those situations where a total crapbasket has just fallen in your lap.

Though, yeah, the further into the game you get the more compelling the case for kinetic strike becomes simply due to most enemies having ridiculous amounts of health once you hit the Heavy Floater -> Muton Elite -> Ethereal -> Sectopod tier. There's just not enough enemies left that are good use-cases for the flamethrower by then.

An easy solution is to make a Tier 1 MEC with Flamethrower to start, but when you get the tech to upgrade it, instead make a completely new second MEC with Kinetic Strike and upgrade it from there. As you get the MELD to do so you can then upgrade the original to either have a back-up unit for missions where the Flamethrower would be more useful (why hallo thar Newfoundland) or even get a second MEC Trooper spun up entirely. That lets you have the flamethrower for those early missions where it's ridiculously good, and kinetic strike for the latter missions when it comes into its own, with minimal cost added due to redundancy.

I kinda like building my first MEC suit with a flamethrower, but then never upgrading it. As I unlock the higher tiers I build a fresh suit with the punchy-punchy fist o' fury and take that one to tier 3. You're out the 40 Meld for the initial suit, but the flamethrower is pretty beastly in the early game, whereas the face smasher shines once you have the Foundry project that increases MEC mobility and the damage upgrade that lets it go all Fist of the North Star on Berserkers and Sectopods.

Kinda costly, but I'm all about profligate spending in the defense of the Earth.

I rushed the Mec path in my latest (and most successful!) Classic run. My first Mec I loaded out with the Kinetic Fist, but I found that was only useful to finish off missions. My second one uses the flamethrower, and it is fantastic when you have a swarm of Chryssalids bearing down on your squad.

Originally Posted by bonesmccoy

I rushed the Mec path in my latest (and most successful!) Classic run. My first Mec I loaded out with the Kinetic Fist, but I found that was only useful to finish off missions. My second one uses the flamethrower, and it is fantastic when you have a swarm of Chryssalids bearing down on your squad.

Yeah, the flamethrower is awesome until Sectopods start showing up. Even with Ethereals, they still do the job well because Ethereals aren't really that mobile at all. Mechtoids are chumps too.

(Sectopods are straight up immune to the flamethrower btw.)