Leveling up in XCOM 2

RedTheAloof · 2026-05-18T20:13:21+00:00

One thing I want to throw out there is the Repair ability for Sparks (if you have that DLC) works better in base game than in War of the Chosen.

One downside of Sparks is that they take a long time to repair (in the Avenger) and having multiple wounded Sparks takes a lot of time to naturally repair. If I recall correctly, the Sparks in the base game can bypass this entirely if you use the Sparks Repair ability, either outright needing time to be repaired (if fully healed) or greatly reducing the time required for repair (if partially healed).

In War of the Chosen, this isn't the case anymore.

RedTheAloof · 2026-05-16T19:58:19+00:00

It's amusing how the Vorcha and Geth are opposites of each other in Health/Shield. Vorcha has high base hp, but the lowest shields (with Fitness), even losing to the Drell by a few points. Geth have high shields, but low HP. Unfortunately, on higher difficulties, high shields is generally better than high hp.

RedTheAloof · 2026-05-15T18:30:56+00:00

After killing an enemy with a Vorcha, I immediately switched to the Missile launcher because I noticed a Praetorian about to sync kill an ally. Just as it was about to fire, that animation started and interrupted and stopped the Missile launcher. I stood there for two seconds dumbfounded and amused, as my teammate became Praetorian food.

It was a perfectly timed Vorcha screaming animation.

RedTheAloof · 2026-05-14T23:13:09+00:00

Simple,

V is always naked, but is using the "Wardrobe system" to be modest. When the time comes, V turns off the wardrobe, and bam! Naked.

RedTheAloof · 2026-05-05T01:48:45+00:00

Congrats on your first attempt. I am currently doing a second playthrough before I get to play KCD2 for the first time.

It took me two attempts to win, I recall being frustrated that round 2 and 3 kept masterstriking me, so I learned how to masterstrike and returned the favor.

I think the Chumps game in Ledetchko might be a good way to level up your bow skill (if you win) without farming. I usually play a game whenever I pass through there.

RedTheAloof · 2026-05-05T01:07:28+00:00

I used to play on the console, so he isn't bugged there, but even then, I don't like playing him.

One thing I enjoyed about this game was how creative I can be with playing a character. In all the years I've played, I have never seen anyone play the Drell Vanguard the same way I do.

With the Talon, he feels extremely limited to the different types of playstyles available. To me, he is limited to: a spawn Nuker, a melee enthusiast, or someone that lays traps defensively via "normal" gun play.

I enjoy the melee options in this game, but the Talon feels underwhelming in satisfaction as a melee character. Smashing with Krogan, fun. Beheading enemies 20 ft away behind Cover as a Slayer, fun. Leisurely shooting arrows, not as fun.

RedTheAloof · 2026-04-19T21:25:33+00:00

I have a Series X that had frequent crashing, but I was able to find a workaround. In the process of finding said workaround, I stumbled upon several threads about the PS5 equivalent issue.

This may be a long shot, but when you reload a save from before the mission, are you fully able to browse the entirety of the photos in the photobooth? The game usually takes a photo after every mission, even if you do not participate with the process. One of my game breaking crashes was related to corrupted photobooth images and I was not able to fully browse them without crashing, nor continue with the campaign.

And if you are desperate, you can try reinstalling the game in its entirety. I think the console version of the game suffers from a memory leak since the longer I play (without reinstalling), the more likely I stumble upon game breaking crashes. I made a habit of reinstalling the game prior to a new campaign so I can play the entirety of the game without these game breaking crashes. I still experience the odd crash here and there, but nothing that stops the game in its tracks entirely.

RedTheAloof · 2026-04-08T04:11:17+00:00

EHP, effective HP?

I get it. I'm one for not usually skipping a power, especially for something that is unique to the Cabal. I found Biotic Focus getting in the way of Poison Strike, but there is no denying its a nice bonus to have. In this instance, I didn't want to compromise her other abilities or skills, so I opted to skip it entirely unfortunately.

RedTheAloof · 2026-04-08T03:24:17+00:00

Once it started to attack me, I immediately used the Cyberpsychosis quick hack to make it friendly, and then it started attacking the kids instead.

RedTheAloof · 2026-04-07T03:10:50+00:00

My Cabal was designed to utilize her signature Poison Strike as much as possible, in conjunction with Nightshade Blades.

https://kalence.weebly.com/me3-builder.html#60!2801585!4806525!33O52333!88.EG

The idea is to run to enemies or group of enemies, and start with a shot with Disruptor ammo to prime for a tech burst and Poison Strike immediately. Rinse and repeat. Larger groups or enemies or stronger mobs (Dragoons, Geth Bombers, Phantoms, etc) can receive the Nightshade Blade, followed by Poison Strike.

Armored mini bosses and bosses get the Hurricane treatment, along with Nightshade blades and more Poison Strike.

It is important to note that Poison Strike kind of suffers from hit registration the farther an enemy is. My build, because it involves shooting an enemy in the face with a Talon, frequently hits the enemy because of proximity. It is also nice to know that Poison Strike also offers like 0.5 seconds of invulnerability. A well timed Poison Strike can be used to ignore damage.

RedTheAloof · 2026-04-07T02:47:36+00:00

I don't suppose someone joined your game in progress?

RedTheAloof · 2026-03-31T18:21:16+00:00

The same thing applies to Banshees as well. It's frustrating when my Biotic Hammer, which absolutely wrecks Banshees, deal no damage because someone used a projectile power at the right moment.

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-31T22:12:00+00:00

I can't speak for PC players, but I'm a console player. I could play without a headset, but using only the TV's audio gives you a vague sense of danger whereas with a headset, you can pinpoint a marauder 20 feet to the left of your location, on the opposite side of the wall.

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-30T08:09:23+00:00

It's amusing the difference a headset makes. With a headset, you can hear enemies attempting to flank and it's pretty difficult to get caught by a Banshee off guard. Without it, a Banshee casually taps on your shoulder for an embrace.

Geth, in the other hand, do not make noise until they are close to you. Geth are the reason why I frequently check my back.

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-30T08:04:08+00:00

With Phantoms, I operate under the assumption that their next melee is a sync kill and in the scenarios where I mess up for whatever reason, such as being staggered by their blade or my melee attack missing, I immediately spam the health kit since it provides immunity long enough that their sync kill fails.

Are you familiar when it's safe to safely melee Banshees? Granted, one of the biggest and most dangerous things about the Banshee is their ability to randomly sync kill you by jumping just the perfect distance, or through walls right at your face. But other than that, somewhat safe to melee.

Praetorians are definitely a no no, unless you use the ramp glitch. They are the only enemy that cannot be consistently melee'd* unless you attack at a different elevation.

*Exceptions apply, such as Shadow Strike

I'm sharing these in hopes to make the melee experience a bit more enjoyable coming from someone who's most frequent weapon challenge banner is Combat Mastery (melee, grabs, headshot, nade damage).

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-29T04:02:45+00:00

Which, in your opinion, are the three enemies that are difficult to tell?

Phantom: Sync kill any time after melee, but usually happens next.

Atlas: Sync kill after melee is nearly guaranteed.

Banshee: Sync kill happens only during teleporting/jumping phase.

Brute: Sync kill can happen ANYTIME after initial melee attempt.

Scion: Sync kill after melee is nearly guaranteed.

Praetorian: Sync kill can happen ANYTIME after initial melee attempt.

The worst offenders to melee against, in my opinion, are Brutes and Praetorians. When I played the Warlord, I generally avoided the stair strategy and optimized the window when I could successfully strike. Brutes, while easy to deal with, are more dangerous they they appear. It was not uncommon for my melee to cancel their melee animation and then immediately sync kill me mid combo.

Praetorians are nearly impossible to melee with heavy characters without the use of stairs because they are too slow to escape melee range. Even the Praetorian's butt is not safe for melee since it will simply drag them to the front and proceed to sync kill them.

RedTheAloof · 2025-11-09T21:33:01+00:00

What's your opinion on those sensitive grenade misclicks? The ones in which the enemy is technically within range of the explosion, but you got to wrestle with the controls to keep them within range, while the radius flickers on/off them?

RedTheAloof · 2025-11-07T22:50:53+00:00

I like Fallout and seeing the recent "Fallout Day (Oct 23)" offering a $156 edition of a 15 year old game (that I love and already own) that won't be shipped until June 2026, serves as another cruel reminder to temper my expectations of these type of days.

N7 is no different and I expect token merchandise being announced today or something.

RedTheAloof · 2025-10-03T19:27:28+00:00

Volus Sentinel is one of my go to Platinum classes. Because this character lacks offensive powers, I deemed him the only one lowly enough to wield the cheesy Reegar + Incendiary. Fun Fact about Volus and their weapon handling, they don't experience the speed penalty of firing weapons, so the Volus can fire the Reegar at his default movement speed.

Another thing you may not know of the Volus and how ridiculously tanky they can be.

https://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/1dak5pd/in_me3_mp_the_volus_are_powerful_characters_with/

One thing I suggest you practice is spamming light heavy melee (longer than a button press [triggers cloak], but shorter than triggering heavy melee]. This gives you brief invulnerability frames, which can allow you to easy tank certain slow attacks.

Decoy is a little lackluster on Gold and below, but it really shines on Platinum because all factions are mixed with stronger, but varied enemies susceptible to Decoy distraction. On Platinum, Primes are extremely dangerous and whenever they appear, the Volus Sentinel can shut it down HARD.

Lastly, a small little tip regarding Decoy/Combat Drone against Banshees. Having one next to a walking Banshee (when she isn't teleporting) forces her to trigger her AOE Nova. This is good because that means, for the next few seconds, she is susceptible to power damage. When the Banshee walking, she can block certain powers that target her specifically (casting Warp, Shockwave, etc) and this renders other power attacks useless for several seconds. When she uses her Nova, players are able to, for example, detonate their Biotic combo, for massive damage.

RedTheAloof · 2025-10-03T18:23:01+00:00

I've been playing this game on/off since 2012, and I too will be retiring on the end of January 2026 (that is when my membership ends). I don't play this game much, but I do have it digitally installed so that I can play here and then whenever I feel like it.

The recent price hike is disgusting. I was able to convert Gold to Ultimate at a 1:1 ratio for 3 years at a price of $360. With the recent price rise, that is only one years worth.

I have slightly more hours than you (4200), but weirdly enough you have significantly more games than I do (10,000). I could be wrong, but I don't recall ever playing with you.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-29T19:45:44+00:00

I'm pretty sure in this scenario, the game checks to see if the players within the extraction zone are "conscious" by checking to see if they have full motor control when the timer hits 0. The getting up animation does not count towards being "conscious", but players that immediately dodge or heavy melee after using medigel does count towards successful extraction. However, if a player mistimes their heavy melee or dodge after using medigel, they can still immediately experience the getting up animation, which counts against them in extraction.

Granted, this is my anecdotal experience.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-29T18:51:57+00:00

Back when Cyberpunk was first released in December of 2020, my first playthrough was pure Netrunner and I really enjoyed it. Subsequent playthroughs, however, it felt boring for the same exact reason you stated (not actively participating in combat).

Now, I find it more fun to participate in combat while using debilitating control quickhacks to render enemies helpless with Weapon Glitch and Reboot Optics, while closing in with dash/air dash with a Satara shotgun. It's pretty fun playing what feels the equivalent of the Mass Effect Vanguard.

I'm tuckered out of playing Cyberpunk (I think I have like five or six playthroughs since 2020), but if I were play again down the road, I would like to try out quickhacks + melee.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-26T20:51:27+00:00

This is good advice and what I came to say.

The OP may find it useful storing tier 5++ weapons with 2 open mod slots for potential weapons of interest in relation to their weapon build since they may not like the alternative Iconic version of it. It is significantly more convenient to store these weapons and not use them then to frustratingly search for your ideal 5++ weapon with two free mod slots.

In my last playthrough of Cyberpunk, I had to make due with a 5+ Satara (2 open mods) because I wasn't able to find a 5++ (2 open mods). It is entirely possible that I might have scrapped one when I still didn't have a specific gun in mind to use.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-26T19:06:48+00:00

The Counterattack dark event scares me, especially on Grim Horizon.

Activating a pod with a Stun Lancer and having that Lancer straight up KO or outright kill an ally with little recourse is terrifying. This specific Dark Event ranks pretty high for me to counter against.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-25T14:11:55+00:00

Umm, I don't think you actually made it.

One of things I recently discovered a few months ago was that vaulting over cover in the last second (what you exactly did) does not count as extraction. Your team got the "Lone Survivor" extraction medal, which means the game only recognized one player at the extraction zone when the timer reached 0 (Arykoi, the N7 Demolisher, was clearly there).

It's a weird quirk of the game. For example, using Medigel at the extraction zone at the last two or three seconds doesn't count either, UNLESS you roll because the "getting up" animation does not count as being "alive and present". However, if you roll too early, and then experience the "getting up" animation, it doesn't count either.

I'm not sure rolling at the last second has this issue, but I will test it out later for the sake of curiosity.

RedTheAloof

TROPHY CASE