XCOM Patch Making Easy Mode Easier

[JonB]

XCOM Patch Making Easy Mode Easier

2k and Firaxis thank fans for their feedback on the game and promise that the patch will release "soon."

The second patch for XCOM: Enemy Unknown will make the game's easy difficulty setting easier, according to information posted on 2k Games' forums. There's some understandable confusion on the change, given that the easy setting already allows you to plow through the game like an angry human bulldozer through a mountain of alien pillows. There's also a certain strangeness to lowered difficulty for a game and genre famous for unforgiving challenge, but since games like XCOM have been out of the limelight for so long there are likely many gamers who have never played anything like it. Given the emphasis that 2k Games and Firaxis have placed on player feedback when talking about their patch, somebody must be telling them it's too hard. The announcement also included a bit of information on the notorious bug where players are left with the defeat screen upon beating the game. "Firaxis is currently aware and researching this issue," said the community coordinator, "We got a couple save files ... that they're looking at."

These are the announced changes:


Major Fixes
-Abductor roof visibility problems resolved
-Interception game hang issues resolved:
if two interceptors are sent after UFO
If Skyranger is returning from combat after an Interceptor was already deployed
-SHIV inaccessible issues resolved
-AI Alien Activity Hang resolution
-Multiplayer connectivity optimization

Other Fixes
-TempleShip optimization: All Soldiers properly spawn when restarting the mission after clearing the second room of TempleShip.
-Snapshot penalty should no longer apply when Overwatching without first moving.
-Easy Difficulty is now easier.


The patch's release date is currently unknown, but the community representative says it will release "soon." It's exciting, however, that SHIVs are being fixed. Maybe now I can see what this mobile cover business is all about.

Source: CVG [http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread.php?177126-XCOM-Enemy-Unknown-2nd-Patch-update]



Permalink

 

[Jeff Grigsby]

They should of just added another difficulty: n00b.

 

[Irridium]

Easy mode was already pretty easy to begin with. Surprised some people had trouble with it. Then again I'm not exactly new to these kinds of games, so maybe I'm not the right person to ask.

Glad SHIV's are being fixed. Wanted to try the things out, but either I couldn't select them when deploying or they deployed without weapons.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

The only reason I could see as to why anyone would want an easier Easy difficulty would be that some people are actually playing XCOM like it's The Sims 3: Aliens and Guns Edition.

"NOOO! Corporal Bunnymuffins! I worked so hard in selecting your face from all of six prefabs, in applying the right skin tone and a generic English North-American voice and with making sure that your armour matches your imagined personality! I CAN'T BEAR TO SEE YOU DIE!" *panic-loads his previous save*

They're all mooks with guns. Glorified lemmings, really. If you play XCOM and get squeamish at the sight of the Memorial wall, you don't have the right mindset. Eliminating the alien threat will take blood. Buckets and buckets of it.

Consider your soldiers as the donors of said blood.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

I did my first play on normal, which felt pretty normal. Not horribly hard, but not easy. Doing stupid stuff got you killed and playing well got your guys back home safe.

Just started an ironman-classic game.

They're all mooks with guns. Glorified lemmings, really. If you play XCOM and get squeamish at the sight of the Memorial wall, you don't have the right mindset. Eliminating the alien threat will take blood. Buckets and buckets of it.

Consider your soldiers as the donors of said blood.

indeed... sometimes things just don't go your way and some guys are going to bleed for it.

I wouldn't consider playing XCOM on easy so I suppose that particular change doesn't mean anything to me.

 

[Doom972]

I guess that today's younger gamers, who are so used to being rewarded simply for making a simple effort, aren't used to facing even a watered down challenge.
I want to make it clear that I'm not saying that those gamers are at fault, I'm just saying that gaming as a whole is in a decline as far as challenging AAA games go.

 

[Silver Patriot]

Abductor roof visibility problems resolved

Thank you. Now if they could fix the issue where upon loading a save enemies will sometimes have new positions I wouldn't have any real problems with this game.

Loading a game one time I had 3 Muton Elites just in the middle of my squad. They were not there when I stopped playing before.

 

[Falterfire]

Having not played this specific game, I can't specifically speak to this instance, but in general I like games where the lowest difficulty allows any player who is putting in at least some effort to be able to beat the campaign. I personally love strategy games even though I'm not very good at them and I appreciate the ability to tank the difficulty if necessary so I can at least see how it all turns out.

 

[Paragon Fury]

STILL. WANT. GAME.

Still too poor to be able to buy it......

 

[Jhooud]

They should of just added another difficulty: n00b.

I, for one, wholeheartedly support n00b mode. In everything. Including relationships and income tax calculations.

 

[ASnogarD]

The real difficulty issue was actually between NORMAL and CLASSIC.

Classic 'cheats' with aliens getting better crit chances and aiming, but normal has a seriously dumbed down AI.

What a lot of players actually wanted was NORMAL stats, with CLASSIC's AI.
Normal was too easy with the dumb AI, but Classic gave the aliens too good stats with the better AI.

Firaxis didnt take in the fans input it just heard , too hard... make easy.

 

[teqrevisited]

Having just finished on classic ironman after beating the same mode on normal I'm wondering just how easy "Easy" really is. I've gone back to normal to get all the research done and keep all funding nations (8 saves and I still never found a blaster launcher) and I'm mowing the little buggers down before they even get a chance.

 

[Yoshisummons]

Considering how some people play the first time around on the easiest difficulty to get the story. Letting those people have their way is perfectly fine with me even though I use the word "story" so loosely I am shocked it is even used in the same sentence of XCOM:EU.

Captacha:
Oh, you

Yes, indeed.

 

[Bindal]

Classic 'cheats' with aliens getting better crit chances and aiming, but normal has a seriously dumbed down AI.

I actually don't mind it that much, it's barely noticable amount anyway on Classic. The thing that DOES annoy me is the way the AI spawns - sometimes, all enemies just pile up in one small area.
Just had to reload a game, because it thought "hey, let's just have ALL ENEMIES IN THE SAME FIFTEEN SQUARE METERS!" Which would've been fine, if 'all enemies' would've been like four to six Sectoids. But nope, three Sectoids, three Thin Men, and SIX Floaters... at once. Within the same round. Result was that after only a total of three rounds in that map, most of my squad was dead.

If anything needs change, then it's that the AI can throw in multiple squads of enemies when it feels like. If it would be single aliens, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but groups is just not fair and the sole reason I refuse to play Ironman currently.

 

[tmande2nd]

So they are going to be giving the aliens nerf guns now?

 

[Dogstile]

Classic 'cheats' with aliens getting better crit chances and aiming, but normal has a seriously dumbed down AI.

I actually don't mind it that much, it's barely noticable amount anyway on Classic. The thing that DOES annoy me is the way the AI spawns - sometimes, all enemies just pile up in one small area.
Just had to reload a game, because it thought "hey, let's just have ALL ENEMIES IN THE SAME FIFTEEN SQUARE METERS!" Which would've been fine, if 'all enemies' would've been like four to six Sectoids. But nope, three Sectoids, three Thin Men, and SIX Floaters... at once. Within the same round. Result was that after only a total of three rounds in that map, most of my squad was dead.

If anything needs change, then it's that the AI can throw in multiple squads of enemies when it feels like. If it would be single aliens, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but groups is just not fair and the sole reason I refuse to play Ironman currently.

Sounds like you're not using enough rockets. Seriously, I took down 6 crysallids, 3 floaters, 3 mutons, a disc and its drones in one turn with just two rockets. Even if you don't kill them, they won't have cover.

 

[StriderShinryu]

As someone who is actually playing the game on easy because I really don't play games like this at all and wanted to get my feet wet.. I'm not really sure an even easier difficulty is required, but I don't have any issue with it. I can already see myself starting a new play on normal mode in another game month of two once I'm confident in my understanding of how things work. The on battle field stuff is pretty obvious, but the base building aspect is definitely a learning experience if you're not familiar with the genre.

 

[antipunt]

So they are going to be giving the aliens nerf guns now?

:I see what you did there:

In other news, I already have easy mode enabled:

it's called save ever other turn D:

 

[Racecarlock]

Well jesus christ, if you don't like easy mode, don't play on easy mode. Simple, but I don't think you would like a game if you got killed 76 times before coming up with even a basic strategy. And if you do, that's fine, but that doesn't mean other people should have to put up with it.