Part 28: Operation Saga

Operation Saga


Picking up right where we left off the team is headed to the ADVENT Plot Site where the vial of green human goo has lead us. It's a long mission, so fair warning, grab a snack and a rootbeer before loading this video up. The facility mission isn't unlike anything we've seen before though. Starting in concealment is a great way to start the mission. No turn timer helps you not rush or panic things, as well as giving you the option to sit and wait a few turns to reload guns or let skills recharge. In theory this is a mission you should be able to take a slow methodical approach to and always maintain control of the situation. It is a long one though, so any mistakes made are going to have to be carried with you for a much longer time than usual.

The only semi-new thing is really the Sectopod. Technically we've seen one before, but that was Julian at the time so this is our first ADVENT controlled Sectopod. It's worth noting that Julian's Sectopod didn't come with any special abilities so we know everything to expect from them. They shoot, they stomp, and they can lay down an artillery barrage. As the fight with Julian showed us a lone Sectopod isn't actually all that dangerous. It's when they are properly supported that they become lethal. Given a turn or two to smash over your cover and shoot soldiers in flanking positions they become deadly. If at long range and supported they can lay down their artillery fire and either pin or damage troops while dealing with smaller regular aliens. By itself the Sectopod is only a heavily armored wall of HP, and one that can be ground down in a single turn by a well equipped squad. The basics of killing any hard target apply here; use shredder attacks first, holo-targeting if you have it, bluescreen rounds work wonders, but other than that just count how many shots you have on target and figure out if you have enough damage to kill it in one round.