For the uninitiated, Ironman mode means you can't save. It just autosaves every turn. Whatever happens, happens. It has been a spectacularly humbling experience, the four or so times I've tried prior to this.
Starting location was Asia! This means half off everything in the Foundry and Officer Training School. I've heard Africa's better, because you get a 30% funding increase, but I'm ALSO gunning for the "beat a game on all continents" achievement that never triggered when I did so with a mixture of EU and EW campaigns. Firaxis didn't exactly knock it out of the park when it came to linking the achievements between expansions.
Current recruits:
- Grath
- Smiler
- Mongrel
- Healy
- Beat Bandito
- Ted Belmont
- Brentai
- Niku
- Minty Ant, my little brother
- Zaratustra
- Angry Beaver
- Patito
- Büge
- Defenestration
- Malikial
and...
YOU
LET'S GET CRACKIN'
I'm going to skip the first three missions because nobody gets enough XP for a name until those are done.
Current base layout is nightmarishly sparse on thermal vents. I sold everything I had to mine my way to the only available one. I plan on buying a thermal and a sat relay next council meeting.
I also have EXACTLY 0 dollars. I am desperately hoping nobody involved in the XCom project notices that there is nothing paying for anything. I just bought a medpack for my team with change I scraped out of my car.
Abduction mission in China is first up.
♬ Mission soundtrack ♪
^ And here we have our first sergeant, Healy. He's the green one. Technically he's a Medic, but the only skill he knows so far is smoke grenade.
Countless plasma-drenched Code Black disasters have taught me to just ride the lip of the map and come in from a corner, rather than running right in. So it's a-righty we go!
We make contact as I move my sniper just two squares too far. Sectoids set up inside the tavern.
I can either take a shot, or have Healy throw a smoke. Countless plasma-drenched Code Black disasters (or CPDCBD's, for short) have taught me to never to try shooting at anything with under a 60% chance to hit.
So! Healy blazes up in a parking lot on turn two.
HOLY SHIT THAT ACTUALLY WORKED
Healy's purple haze just saved our asses.
Annnnd that's all taken care of! Sectoid in the back was mindlinked to the one who took the shot, so he goes down as the one behind him fries. Trying to keep from blowing them to smithereens when I can, so I can have my way with their corpses and sell them to the highest bidder, as is custom for my people.
I probably should have taken a picture of that sweet explosion but I DIDN'T. I'll remember to do that more.
As I moved my sniper into place at the side of the building, the man triggers TWO MORE groups. I am 100% fucked.
Sectoids mindlink and move up to take a shot. But! They spent all their TU's getting there, so the turn ends.
Therrrreee we are!
The second group hides behind that truck on the far right, so I move Healy into the tavern to try to pick him off. In hindsight, I should've just retreated and overwatched. Good to get these things figured out with sectoids, though.
Healy scores a miraculous hit, and takes it down.
Another moves in to take its place.
By the car, further down, the sniper takes a hail-mary pistol shot on the sectoid that was mindlinked to the one I incinerated.
He scores a crit, and kills it. Pretty delightful.
Aliens' turn!
Healy takes one right in the fucking kisser. Somehow, he squeaks by alive with only 4 damage. He's now at 3/7.
My turn, sniper takes a shot...
...whiffs spectacularly.
I move Healy onto the roof for a better angle.
Come on you fat fuck...
ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff thirty f's
Healy takes another fucking 2 damage a LIVES.
He returns fire.
Aaand misses.
Heavy moves up, throws a grenade, blows it to pieces.
Healy hotboxes the Skyranger en route to base, as is his way.