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So, you’ve signed up to be part of the XCOM: Chimera Squad, with City 31 now in your care. Peace is a fragile thing, and there’ll be enough of things for you to juggle as you go complete missions and investigations, keeping Agents alive and the city humming along. Without further ado, here are some handy tips and tricks before you Breach XCOM: Chimera Squad!
GEARING UP
Tranq rounds come highly recommended for all your Agents, especially if you’ve only just started the game. They’re cheap, and will allow you to subdue anyone without having to expose yourself without cover. Every captured enemy will grant 20% chance to gain 20 Intel, which suffice to say, is valuable for the early game. You can always swap out these tranq rounds later on.
If you don’t have access to frag or plasma grenades, it’s not a bad idea to pack medikits. All utility items don’t consume action points!
MANAGING RESOURCES
As mentioned, Intel is precious early game. Why?
- Lets you purchase good items from the Scavenger Market
- For recruiting and levelling field teams for districts
- Then increases gain of more Intel, Elyrium or Credits
Elyrium is relatively less useful compared to Intel or Credits, as their primary use is essentially only for research via the Assembly.
Speaking of the Assembly, you should always do some research, whether you have an Agent in place or not. You can remove or swap Agents with no penalty, so you can always have someone there temporarily.
Research we recommend to prioritize are those that increase firepower (e.g. Enhance Shotguns), survivability (e.g. Enhance Armor), increasing training slots, or Spec Ops slots. You can opt to recruit Agents that use the same weapon type, so that one type of research can increase the firepower of the squad as a whole (e.g. Axion with Godmother, Torque with Terminal, Blueblood with Cherub).
THE AGENTS
You should always send your Agents for training, as some awesome abilities are unlocked through the process!
Spec Ops is optional, so don’t worry too much if you have to skip it due to lack of Agents.
As for the Agents we highly recommend:
- Terminal
- Capable of healing every turn
- Can grant an action to an ally every two turns
- Unlocks Guardian after her third Training session
- Also the only healer for the squad
- Blueblood
- One of the best offensive agents you can have
- High Aim allows him to counteract the Deadeye aim penalty
- Obtaining an Epic Pistol with the Lightning Hands ability allows him to increase his offensive capability even higher
- His Faceoff skill is one of the best available to clear tons of enemies at once
Unfortunately, Zephyr is not recommended if you’re new to XCOM. While she may be immune to root and weapon disables, her damage simply isn’t enough. She can obtain the ability to pierce armor when promoted enough, but it can be a tall order to get her there in the first place, making her a difficult investment for beginners. Veterans more familiar with XCOM‘s systems may be able to find the best niche for her.
Last but not least, you may encounter Androids on the field. You should always try to kill it from a distance, especially when they activate their self destruct sequence. Should they get close enough on their next turn, their explosion will be able to shred your armor points.
Armed with these tips, how will you maintain the delicate balance of City 31 in XCOM: Chimera Squad? Good luck, Agents, you’re going to need it. Read about the design changes made to Chimera Squad with lead designer Mark Nauta here, and our review here.
