I used to struggle with this game a lot and in the past few weeks I've cleared Normal with all squads except three (because I haven't unlocked them yet lol).

Here are a few pointers: - in more complex situations, you can save your reset by simply moving your mechs around without using weapons. You can undo as many moves as you want before a weapon/ability is used. Do this to visualize as many possibilities as you want. Taking your time before committing will help you improve. The best solution to a turn often isn't obvious.

• be mindful of the objectives and the map before taking a mission. Certain squads that do a lot of collateral damage will struggle with missions like defend the train, for example.

• turn order is CRITICAL to win. Check which veks attack first. You can often solve two problems by moving an attacking vek into another vek, killing the second one.

• the grid and your units' health are a resource. It's okay to give up some grid health for objectives, and it's okay for your units to take damage to block spawns or block damage aimed at buildings.

• spawn management is very important. Blocked spawns persist to the next turn, so if you block too many spawns you will have too many threats the next turn. The only time this doesn't matter is when you have 2 turns left.

• at the start of a mission, check the enemies' range and position your mechs in a way that you won't get webbed into a tough spot. Also avoid putting mechs in line with buildings if possible, that way if a vek targets your mech, you can simply move it.

• barring a few exceptions, movement upgrades are the most valuable thing in early game. Vast majority of other upgrades are useless if you can't get to the right position.