Combat is one of the most important mechanics in XCOM: Chimera Squad and you will spend quite a lot of time fighting with the enemies. It is vital that when it comes to combat, you are always on the top of your game because if your combat is weak, you will not survive much longer in the game. Since XCOM: Chimera Squad is much different than normal shooters, we have curated this XCOM: Chimera Squad Combat Guide for you in which we have some tips and tricks for you to dominate your opponents in combat.
Combat Guide – XCOM: Chimera Squad
Our XCOM: Chimera Squad Combat Guide details everything that you need to know about combat in XCOM: Chimera Squad.
Understanding the Breach Mode
Breach Mode is an integral part of combat in XCOM: Chimera Squad and it is vital that you know everything about it so that you can initiate combat in the game properly. This is the starting phase of combat where you assign the order in which your Agents bust through the doors and attack the enemy. Timing your agents during the Breach Mode is very critical because this order is the same in which they appear on the Timeline. Which means that the first agent to bust through a door is also the first agent on the Timeline.
Depending on the scenarios, you will have multiple breach points. Breach points are simply a fancy name for entry points. Look for doors, broken walls, windows and more. During the Breach Mode, the game will show you all of these Breach Points clearly and what effects will they have on the agents if they use them. If you are lucky, you can also strike some of the enemies during the Breach Mode.
After busting in, your agents will also attack enemies so if you have a lot of enemies in the room and some of them are much tougher, you can give yourself a head start by busting in and attacking these tougher enemies to soften them up for the main combat encounter begins. This will ensure that you have a balanced enemy lineup and you can then start picking them off one by one in the main combat scenario.
Follow the Timeline
The Timeline is an important mechanic of combat in XCOM: Chimera Squad. They will help you in determining which enemy’s move is coming next. This is pretty much just like Final Fantasy’s combat mechanics where the battle plays out in the form of a Timeline and only the unit whose turn is next, gets to act. These timelines are always shuffled so keep your eyes on the enemies coming up next in the timeline. It is represented on the left side of the screen.
You can even prevent the enemy from having a turn because if you manage to kill the enemy coming up next in the timeline, their move is gone and the enemy will then have to wait until their next fighter appearing in the Timeline. Apart from killing enemies, you can also use certain abilities to delay the turn of the enemy. Abilities such as Pin Down do not deal with any sort of damage to the enemies but it pushes back their turn this giving you more slots on the Timeline and giving you time to finish them off before they can actually attack you. This will greatly help you in delaying enemy turns and killing most of them before they even fire a single shot.
Always Go for Auto-Loader Upgrades First
You have to manually load weapons for all your units if you run out of ammo during an encounter. Normally, you have to wait a turn for it to complete but with the Auto-Loader upgrade installed, you can do this at the same time while you are moving around the map. Make sure that all of the members on your team are equipped with Auto-Loaders because this will ensure that you can move, shoot, and reload during the same turn. It makes a vital change in combat and it is something that you should not ignore in the game.
Restart Encounters if You Are Not Happy with the Outcome
Combat is not easy in XCOM: Chimera Squad and there is a big chance that things will not always end up in your favor even if you jump in combat with a clear strategy in your mind. This is one of the best and the most annoying mechanics in any XCOM game that combat is pretty unpredictable. It will only change a single wrong turn to tip it in favor of your enemies. However, all is not lost here because the game allows you to restart battles.
Although not as convenient as an Undo Move option, restarting an Encounter can give you another chance at making things right. If you want to go even back, you can even restart days and try the whole thing again right from the very beginning and try an altogether new approach to achieve favorable results. The game does not punish you for restarting entire days. Only that you have to play through the entire thing again.
Generic Combat Tips
- Without auto-loaders, you will need to waste a whole turn to reload your weapons so you must try and get them as soon as possible.
- Before you take a shot, always consider the value of ‘Chance to Hit’. Enemies far away from you or if they have obstacles in their path or if the enemies are hiding behind cover, will be much difficult to hit. You can try and flank them or try to reduce the distance between them or use special items to increase the chances of hitting them.
- Always try to keep District Unrest lower. Higher the District Unrest is, the harder it will make missions for you. Ensure that you have plenty of Fireteams across all districts and they are maintaining peace in them to keep missions simple and easier.
- Always keep an eye out on your Timeline. It will help you a lot if you continue to deny your opponent his turns.
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This concludes our XCOM: Chimera Squad Combat Guide. If you want to add anything to this guide, feel free to use the comments section below.
