Campaign 22
Ironman Commander
Valhalla
Beat the game on Commander+ difficulty in Ironman mode
Unlocked Sep 16 @ 11:02pm
I succeeded at 30 missions (only 3 flawless) and failed 2. The first one I failed was an andromedon I fought with conventional weapons that I just couldn't deal enough damage to. The second one I failed was a supply raid where I decided to skulljack a codex to pop the avatar. I did get the avatar, but I was in such a poor position I decided to cut my losses and leave immediately after. I didn't need the region or the supplies, anyway. I only needed the avatar and the final research to access the last mission.
I lost 5 soldiers overall, including my battle medic during the final fight. I lost Neal as a rookie during the third mission. I sacrificed some squaddie during the Avenger defense mission (which popped crazy early). I also ran through some red shirts trying to train up a second squad.
Tower Squad
Colonel Catriona Setliffe, combat hacker
Colonel Chuck Szeto, assault
Major Lisamaria B, heavy gunner
Last Squad
Colonel Chuck Szeto, assault
Colonel Dave Lung, assault
Colonel Erin Lung, sniper
Magus Vincent Lee-Shue Jr., resonant
Major demolitions expert
Captain battle medic
Did the final fight at 9/29. I could have done it a week or so earlier, but I wanted to let some soldiers heal up first. I wound up leaving Catriona behind on the final fight because I was worried about having enough health. I should have taken more damage with the commander avatar and Magus Vincent Lee-Shue Jr on the run in. The battle medic did get off his last heal before the Sectopod popped him with a crit, but I had a couple hurt soldiers who wouldn't have minded a top-off.
I went into the final fight with mind shields on both of my rangers, which was wise. They also both had wraith armor, but I never used the phase or the dodge. Chuck is the real MVP because he chased the second avatar into the room I had just exited and fought her to a standstill without dying. Having Superior Speed helped. Dave did chunk the third avatar down to death from practically full in one round with Rapid Fire critting twice at point blank range, so I guess it was just a ranger kind of mission.
I wound up pulling my whole squad back through the entrance because I let a codex disable my weapons and I couldn't keep up with onslaught of enemies. Vinny used Void Rift on a muton pack and got a clutch Mind Control. I used the Muton grenade to shred the third avatar's armor and reposition her next to Dave.
I was hurting for elerium cores the entire game. Bad luck with explosives, mostly, though I also was late to Vulture. I don't think I got any random improvement from my AWC at all! I bought it on the third row because it just wasn't useful enough. Dumping money into Guerrilla Tactics is the way to go for the early game.
123 days to first Colonel isn't bad.
I got magnetic rifles at 34 days but no other magnetic weapons. I got beam weapons at 146 days. A few days earlier would have been the correct timing, because then I would have killed the andromedon with them.
The RNG nicknamed Lisamaria 'Big Nasty'. This made me laugh every single time.
Gunslinger and scout are not useful. Hacker is.
I relented some on gunslinger. Until you get that Colonel sniper with Serial, gunslingers are OK for codex engagements, but only after you have upgraded the pistol. I trained the gunslinger mostly for the second sniper rifle in certain mission types without countdown clocks. Once you have Serial, though, it's time to shelve your gunslinger.
I relied heavily on rangers once I unlocked Hunter's Instinct. It's a very reliable damage source. With Untouchable, you can deal it very safely. Chuck and Dave were both assault, but I did take Rapid Fire on Dave. I think it is the better ultimate compared to Reaper.
