XCOM is a rare game in that it really punishes you if you're drunk, tired, distracted or stressed. On ironman, it's not unlike being a little out of it and then choosing to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Making that choice can cost lives. Don't do it. Oh, if only XCOM could put you through some kind of roadside test before loading a save.
Does anyone have a story of playing when you're not calm & focused and things going spectacularly bad?
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Don't know what compelled me, but I tried to get in a game before work. A landed UFO mission with 20 late-game enemies. Not an easy one and I was in a rush, but fool that I am, I was going to try push through it in under 15 minutes with my B-team.
It went okay at first. Instead of going through the front door, I decide to get all my troops on the roof of the ship with plenty of high cover and open space. I keep scouting from on high, but for 6 turns it's nothing but hidden alien activity & overwatch. Then a muton and berserker shows up below, we rain death, and I'm feeling good about my high ground position.
Then next turn, a cyberdisc shows up, I'm unable to take off his last HP and then everything goes pear shaped. He shoots, misses and in one fell swoop destroys the giant block of high cover around me, and makes a huge hole in the floor. Almost every alien in the ship spots me from below and in one turn I'm surrounded on all sides with crappy cover. An Ethereal on the right of me, a sectopod across the gap (they can apparently climb ladders?), 6 floaters above, 4 elites shooting from below, and the cyberdisk hanging back and shooting yellow death lasers.
Now I really have to head out for work, but I can't leave things like this. So after a few valiant turns, I manage to kill all but one floater still on mind-control. But the losses are heavy, even after reviving 3 times with medkits. Could have went worse, but I left for work late and still feeling regret. XCOM is not to be underestimated.
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