Impossible to keep Resistance alive !?

[sirburton]

Hi guys. LW is funny but jeeze it's so freaking hard to keep the resistance alive.
For example. I had a mission with Advent attacking my resistance in messico where I had 13 people working for me.
Well, this mission was incredibly tough, though I sent 6 or 7 xcoms nicely geared. Enemies spawning in many defferent points, some of the rebels turning into faceless aliens and I managed to find only 5 rebels and saved them.
It was clearly impossible to save more than 5 and keeping all my xcoms alive at the same time.

And the worst thing about this is that I'm getting retaliation missions and advent attacking my bases continuously with maximum 4-5 days between each attack.

Is this supposed to be just like this, or is there any way to counter these massive attacks?
Also it's been like 2 months in-game since my the last mission I did to get new rebels.
What tips can you give me?
I'm playing on Normal and no hardcore.
Also a question: can I set all rebels, for example, on intel gathering and changing them all to supplies just 2 days before supply replenishment and still get maximum supplis? Would this work?

[trihero]

- if you only have a total of 4 working rebels in a haven, you should be able to avoid advent retaliations entirely (there's a minimum number of working rebels before they are allowed to trigger those attacks). I believe the avenger's scan actually counts as 4 working rebels so factor that into account.
- you can get missions to counter retaliations before they kick in: they are the missions that say "prevent data leak" so if you keep enough intel rebels in a region you should be able to get these missions in time. They are either kill the relay or hack the workstation type missions.
- you can't get missions to counter mini-retaliations (the ones that target supply/intel/recruit jobs)

Also a question: can I set all rebels, for example, on intel gathering and changing them all to supplies just 2 days before supply replenishment and still get maximum supplis? Would this work?

No, the game keeps track of how many days a rebel has been working per month.

[Devon_v]

You need to use the Recuit job to get new rebels. Don't rely on mission rewards, those are just bonuses.

Rebels only gather supplies when they are on that job. If you change them to Supply the day before the drop you will get one day worth of supplies. Probably 10 or so. The number next to the haven is the supplies they've gathered so far. The number on the income report is what you would get if they gathered supplies non stop until the next drop.

If ADVENT keeps attacking you've made them angry. They know you're there and they will not stop until you are dead. You have to either liberate the region or put most of your rebels in hiding, they won't give up once they find you.

[Randal Miser]

I have similar problems, but less about keeping my squads alive and more about trying to get the enemy pods to fight ME and not focus exclusively on the resistance members.

Seems no matter how suppressed, overwatched and flashbanged the enemy is, they still somehow always find a way to butcher half the haven.

[Devon_v]

I have similar problems, but less about keeping my squads alive and more about trying to get the enemy pods to fight ME and not focus exclusively on the resistance members.

Seems no matter how suppressed, overwatched and flashbanged the enemy is, they still somehow always find a way to butcher half the haven.

They're playing to the objective. They don't need to stop you when they can cut off your support base. You can exploit this by pushing more aggressively in these missions since the enemy is more concerned with targeting the rebels.

Retaliations are supposed to be brutal, losing half the haven isn't an unusual outcome.

[sirburton]

Thx for answers guys.
So if I liberate a region, that won't be target for advent anymore?
I usually put most rebels on supplies. Like for example, 4 on supplies 3 on intel and 1 on recruiting and 1 on concealment. How many intel I need to get prevent retaliation missions and how many recuiters to increase my rebels?
So if I scan with avenger on a zone, that won't be a target for attacks?
Also what are best directors for refuges? Engineers, Scientists or soldiers?

[LordYanaek]

Lots of questions. I'll try to answer to my best. Hopefully people with more knowledge will correct any mistake.

So if I liberate a region, that won't be target for advent anymore?

They won't make retaliations, but they might attempt to invade the region and re-take it. This will only happen if they can get an adjacent region to 7 force level or more and you will have one chance to stop it. Invasions are brutal so you are not totally safe, but you'll be for some time.

I usually put most rebels on supplies. Like for example, 4 on supplies 3 on intel and 1 on recruiting and 1 on concealment. How many intel I need to get prevent retaliation missions and how many recuiters to increase my rebels?

Hiding isn't terribly useful unless you hide all but 4. 1 rebel hiding won't hide the entire haven, he's just not drawing attention. I would suggest you recruit until you have at least 10 rebels. Then put either all on supplies if you need supplies, at least 6 on intel if you want to make missions (like liberate the region) or keep everyone but 4 on hiding. I don't think spreading between all jobs is interesting (thought it's what i used to do)

So if I scan with avenger on a zone, that won't be a target for attacks?

No, it doesn't work that way. Avenger scanning is equal to 4 intel rebels so if you want to avoid retaliations, you need to put everyone on hiding. It will help you detect missions and possibly block retaliations, but it will draw attention.

Also what are best directors for refuges? Engineers, Scientists or soldiers?

Soldier, always soldier. At least early on. They will help you recruit and they will catch the spis Advent puts in your havens (yes, those faceless are actively helping advent out of missions). Engineer could be an option after you liberate a region to gain a lot of supplies.

[sirburton]

Guys a little off-topic question:
My guerrilla center says I require a Colonel to unlock infiltration skill for big xcom teams. How do i get my xcoms to be colonels? Many of them have already reached the max rank but it's not colonel.

[nightwyrm]

Guys a little off-topic question:
My guerrilla center says I require a Colonel to unlock infiltration skill for big xcom teams. How do i get my xcoms to be colonels? Many of them have already reached the max rank but it's not colonel.

You need to train them as Officers in the GTS.

[trihero]

Guys a little off-topic question:
My guerrilla center says I require a Colonel to unlock infiltration skill for big xcom teams. How do i get my xcoms to be colonels? Many of them have already reached the max rank but it's not colonel.

Officer ranks include colonel, I think it's the second to last officer rank. The very last is..field commander I think? But you don't need field commander as a prereq IIRC, just colonel and major (major is one below colonel).

[sirburton]

Guys a little off-topic question:
My guerrilla center says I require a Colonel to unlock infiltration skill for big xcom teams. How do i get my xcoms to be colonels? Many of them have already reached the max rank but it's not colonel.

Officer ranks include colonel, I think it's the second to last officer rank. The very last is..field commander I think? But you don't need field commander as a prereq IIRC, just colonel and major (major is one below colonel).

Ye I just found the new training voice. How many soldiers can i put under this officer training ?

[trihero]

As many as you want and any class can be an officer, but it takes time to train officer ranks and they require a certain regular rank to get higher. Also, having more than one officer in a squad doesn't provide any extra officer bonuses; the highest officer in a squad takes over.

[Valaska]

Its abit frustrating that the rebels aren't armed... They logically should be and at least their position known to us. Advent magically knows where they are so... Level the playing field lol

[trihero]

Retals are definitely depressing missions. The best scenario you can get is things just go on as normal. Worst is you get a lot of people wounded/killed.

[sirburton]

guys another off-topic question, instead of opening a new thread for each question
How to get advanced grenade launcher? I altready did muton autopsy but no project still...
Is there a page anywhere with all the projects and requirements for weps in lw2 ?

[LordYanaek]

As many as you want and any class can be an officer

Thought some classes tend to make better officers (depending on your playstyle they can vary). I found that Shinobi (officer orders don't break concealment), specialists (they have several abilities that don't end their turn, allowing you to use an officer order) and sharpshooters (holotargetting branch - and there is an officer perk that increases the aim of soldiers by 1/2 the difference with the officer) make the best officers. Rangers aren't bad since they can fire and issue an order, but most of the time you really want to fire twice or fire-overwatch with your rangers.

Is there a page anywhere with all the projects and requirements for weps in lw2 ?

Look in the Long War 201 sub-forum and search for LW tech tree.
EDIT : http://www.pavonisinteractive.com/phpBB ... 20&t=23688

[sirburton]

What about gunners as leader?
My main character is a gunner so I want to make him leader.
My second choice would be one of my assaulter or one of my grenadiers?
What do they get when they become leaders?

[LordYanaek]

What about gunners as leader?
My main character is a gunner so I want to make him leader.

If you want it because he's your hero, then do it, but it's certainly sub-optimal which might or not be an issue depending on your difficulty level.
The reason is that officers have a number of useful "orders" (special actions giving bonuses to some soldiers or the entire squad). They require an action to use and several of them end your turn, starting with the "command" ability which you can use several times per mission and gives a bonus action to another soldier. You'll probably rarely end your gunner's turn without firing so you probably won't be able to use command a lot.
A specialist could use Aid Protocol then command, an holotargetter specced sharpshooter could point a target then use command, a shinobi could use command to add an attack without breaking his concealment, but a gunner really want to use his weapon and only Traverse Fire allows him to fire one normal shot then use another action.

My second choice would be one of my assaulter or one of my grenadiers?
What do they get when they become leaders?

If you spec a grenadier to use the support grenades and take rapid deployment he could probably make a good leader : toss a grenade with no action cost then move and use command. Salvo could allow an offensive grenadier to use an order after launching a grenade but comes later. I would avoid an assault officer as he's likely to get hurt and have no ability allowing him to issue an order after an attack apart from Close encounters at tech sergeant rank, but often you want to kill a second alien or move back to cover.

[sirburton]

Is there a page anywhere with all the projects and requirements for weps in lw2 ?

Look in the Long War 201 sub-forum and search for LW tech tree.
EDIT : http://www.pavonisinteractive.com/phpBB ... 20&t=23688

I've done elite muton autopsy and advanced magnetic weapons but still no advanced grenade launcher....bug ?

[LordYanaek]

I've done elite muton autopsy and advanced magnetic weapons but still no advanced grenade launcher....bug ?

Do you have Advanced Grenades? It's the second requirement for the adv grenade launcher in the tree. Looks like it's a PG project and you need Andromedon Autopsy and Plasma Grenades to unlock it.

Note : i'm just looking at the same tree as you, i haven't done it and haven't researched everything either.

[Sir_Dr_D]

I will usually turn into officers , characters who have low stats for their class. So if I get a low aim ranger, making her into an officer allows her to contribute usefully to the combat. She can then ensure the heavy hitters can hit even harder.

Here is question I have about solider advisors. How much does the soldiers rank matter? Does officer ranks matter, or just the characters level? Who would recruit better, a corporal, or a 2nd lieutenant ?

[Alketi]

- you can get missions to counter retaliations before they kick in: they are the missions that say "prevent data leak" so if you keep enough intel rebels in a region you should be able to get these missions in time. They are either kill the relay or hack the workstation type missions.

"Data leaks"
"Find a lead with an Intel package"
"Find a lead with just Intel" (ahh, that's the important one!)

I wish Pavonis didn't throw so much "inside baseball" into the Strategic layer, requiring so many questions from so many players.

"Prevent data leak" and the others could have easily been named something more descriptive of their END EFFECT, even if only enough to help the player understand the larger mechanic.

These missions should either be subtitled more explicitly, or have a '?' with a long-form description of the likely end-effects. I think either would greatly help the general public understand the nuances in the strategic layer.

[sirburton]

- you can get missions to counter retaliations before they kick in: they are the missions that say "prevent data leak" so if you keep enough intel rebels in a region you should be able to get these missions in time. They are either kill the relay or hack the workstation type missions.

"Data leaks"
"Find a lead with an Intel package"
"Find a lead with just Intel" (ahh, that's the important one!)

I wish Pavonis didn't throw so much "inside baseball" into the Strategic layer, requiring so many questions from so many players.

"Prevent data leak" and the others could have easily been named something more descriptive of their END EFFECT, even if only enough to help the player understand the larger mechanic.

These missions should either be subtitled more explicitly, or have a '?' with a long-form description of the likely end-effects. I think either would greatly help the general public understand the nuances in the strategic layer.

Hmm I don't get your point. I mean I don't understand since i'm not motherlanguage english. what are "Find a lead with an Intel package" and "Find a lead with just Intel" ? I think I never had these ones. I keep getting missions like "hack workstation - find a clue"

[Alketi]

Hmm I don't get your point. I mean I don't understand since i'm not motherlanguage english. what are "Find a lead with an Intel package" and "Find a lead with just Intel" ? I think I never had these ones. I keep getting missions like "hack workstation - find a clue"

I think you made my point. The missions in the strategic layer don't offer much clarity via their descriptions as to what effects what.

If you look closely, underneath the mission heading of "Hack Workstation", it will offer either "Intel" or "Intel + package". And it will generally say "Find a Lead".

These are vital missions to the resistance but imply DIFFERENT things whether or not the mission offers ONLY Intel or also an Intel Package.

One of these missions unlocks the Region Liberation chain... Can you guess which one?

[LordYanaek]

Here is question I have about solider advisors. How much does the soldiers rank matter? Does officer ranks matter, or just the characters level? Who would recruit better, a corporal, or a 2nd lieutenant ?

Yes and yes, but base rank is more important (each officer rank is approximately 1/2 a normal rank) and you get diminishing returns once you reach sergeant so it's probably the highest rank you want for an advisor (at least you don't want to level them outside of Rendez-vous missions to more than that).
You can find some numeric data about the effect of soldiers on the faceless detection (and a lot of other mechanics) in this interesting thread from trihero (http://www.pavonisinteractive.com/phpBB ... 16&t=24493)

If you look closely, underneath the mission heading of "Hack Workstation", it will offer either "Intel" or "Intel + package". And it will generally say "Find a Lead".
These are vital missions to the resistance but imply DIFFERENT things whether or not the mission offers ONLY Intel or also an Intel Package.
One of these missions unlocks the Region Liberation chain... Can you guess which one?

I think it's vague on purpose. You are digging for information into Advent operations and you never know exactly what kind of information you'll find, just that you'll find something.
Now, they could be a bit less confusing if they didn't use the word Intel for at least 3 different things

Just know that missions with "Prevent Data Leak" or "Unhindered Operations" are important to protect your havens and rebels safety