TFTD Strategy Guide

As there does not seem to be a TFTD strategy guide on this Ufopaedia web site, here is a starting point, which I will call...

Spike's Tentative TFTD Tactics

Initial Actions

Starting Base Location

A good starting location for your base will maximise your ability to protect your sponsoring International Organisations. Good starting locations include:

• The northeast Pacific, covering USA and Alaska.
• The western North Atlantic, covering USA and New Mexico.
• The central Mediterranean, covering parts of Euro-Syndicate, Arabian Bloc, Egyptian Cartel and Africa Corp.

(Not really sure about this yet! -Spike)

As soon as you have selected a base location, go to the Base screen immediately, to stop the game clock.

Research

Before you forget, set your initial research (to Particle Disturbance Sensor, see below).

Facilities

Buy the following immediately:

• Wide Array Sonar ($800K) - crucial to increase intercept opportunities
• Alien Containment ($400K) - crucial so as not to waste research opportunities
• General Stores ($150K) - space is immediately at a premium
• Living Quarters ($400K) - to be able to fully utilise your existing Labs and Workshop.

If you are using the standard starting base layout, which is defensively very poor, build all your new base facilities below the row that contains your airlock. Be sure to build the General Stores and new Living Quarters in the gap between the two existing Sub Pens, as they will be completed first, thus making 2 more building spaces available. The new living quarters will help you dismantle the initial living quarters to isolate the airlock and sub pens. As soon as possible, build 2 new sub pens ($200K each) in the top left and top right parts of your base so that you can dismantle the vulnerable sub pens in the lower left and lower right.

Total cost $1.75M ($2.15M with new Sub Pens)

If you are using an "improved starting base layout" from XComUtil or another mod, you don't need to worry about rearranging your base. But you should still avoid building next to airlocks or sub pens.

Aquanauts

Recruit 7 extra aquanauts to bring your total to 15. Total cost $280K.

Sell all infantry items (Dye Grenades, Dart Guns, Torpedo Launchers, Torpedos) apart from:

• The 2 Gas Cannons (GCs) and all ammo.
• The 13 Magna-Blast Grenades
• The 1 Hydrojet Cannon. Sell half the HjC-AP ammo (3 clips).
• Keep 5 Jet Harpoons to arm your initial aquanauts until the additional GCs arrive (after 24 hrs). So initially sell 3 of the weapons, and half of the clips (10).

This initial sale yields about $18,600. Selling the final Jet Harpoons and ammo nets a further $12.75K, making about $31K in total.

You will be using GC-HE in place of Torpedoes. You might want to hang on to the Torpedo Launcher and torpedoes until the extra GCs and GC-HE clips arrive.

Buy:

• 6 additional Gas Cannons to arm all 8 initial Aquanauts
• Preferably a further 7 Gas Cannons to arm all 15 Aquanauts (total 13 GCs).
• GC-AP and GC-HE ammo, enough for all GCs (in 1:1 or 1:0.5 AP:HE ratio, depending on your tactics)
• Additional Grenades (at least 12 - these are a crucial starting weapon to counteract enemy terrain advantages)
• 2-4 clips of HjC-P (for illumination)
• Between 5-15 Chemical-flares, for illuminating areas not reachable by HjC-P
• Thermal Tazers, for at least half and preferably for all 15 of your Aquanauts (this is essential for alien captures to advance research, and also as an initial counter-measure to alien Molecular Control)
• 2-4 or so Magna Pack Explosives in case you face strong foes early. They will soon be replaced with Sonic Pulsers.
• Particle Disturbance Grenades if they are part of your tactics

• 13 GCs, 9 GC-AP, 14 GC-HE, 12 grenades, 4 HjC-P and 15 chemical flares costs $100K.
• 15 Tazers and 4 Magna Packs costs an additional $25K

If necessary, you can wait 48hrs to order the additional weapons and ammo for your extra 7 Aquanauts (i.e. order them when your new sub weapons arrive), since the extra Aquanauts themselves won't arrive for 72hrs. But if money is the problem, don't count on getting any money in this first 48hr period. You might, you might not.

Submersibles

• Disarm the Craft Gas Cannon from both Barracuda. Sell all 4 cannon and all ammunition. This sale yields about $100K.
• Arm the first Barracuda with Ajax + DUP, arm the second with dual Ajax. Remember which is which!
• The Ajax+DUP re-arming operation will take 4 hours. The dual Ajax re-arming operation will take 7 hours. Consider doing the Ajax+DUP first, then the dual Ajax, to maintain an available interception capability.
• Sell about half of your Ajax torpedoes, keep maybe 12 spares out of 25. This yields about $30K.
• Buy 3 DUP launchers ($51K) first, and (only) then buy as many torpedoes as you can get. Space will be the limiting factor.
• When the DUP launchers arrive, replace all remaining Ajax torps and launchers and sell them (yielding up to about $93K if no torps were fired). The upgrades to dual DUPs will take 4-7 hours, depending on whether you are adding 1 or 2 DUPs. Again, consider staggering the upgrades to maintain intercept cover.

Additional Scientists

Ultimately, scientists win the game, by developing the technologies that will first resist, and then defeat, the alien menace. The faster you can acquire these technologies, the quicker the balance of power moves in your favour, and the more likely you are to survive and succeed.

25 scientists costs $1.5M and fills your initial Living Quarters. To get even more scientists quickly, you could sack some of your 10 starting Technicians and replace them with scientists. 35 scientists would cost $2.1M, using up pretty much your whole budget (assuming no base layout issues).

It's particularly important with scientists to hire them as soon as possible in the month, to get the most value, since they do research every day, but get paid for a whole month regardless of when in the month they were recruited.

SWS

You should have just about enough money left to buy an SWS and its minimum armament, if you wish. Many Commanders swear by SWSs as tough, M.C. immune recon vehicles that can scout and draw fire from human Aquanauts. Others believe instead that an extra 4 Aquanauts in an assault sub give better firepower, better value for money and the possibility of long term skills growth. These Commanders tend to use rookies in the scout / decoy / cannon fodder role. Personally, I am of that school of thought.

If you are buying an SWS, you probably will recruit no more than 2 extra Aquanauts (for a total of 10), and consequently you will also buy fewer Aquanaut weapons.

Research Sequence

• Start work on Particle Disturbance Sensor as noted above. This is mainly to make a little money later on, and to provide your Scientists and Technicians with something to do while they wait for more worthwhile projects.
• As soon as you possess a Sonic Pulser, switch to that (finish researching the PDS if you like as it gives something for your Technicians to do). The Sonic Pulser is a massive equaliser, quick to research, and large numbers are available to loot from the battlefield.
• Once the Sonic Pulser is completed, start the sonic weapon sequence with the aim of getting the Sonic Oscillator craft weapon as quickly as possible. Skip steps wherever you can. The Sonic Oscillator is essential to make progress in the game, as the alien craft are too hard to kill without it. With fewer kills you get fewer missions, limited progress, and a future that is as bleak as it is brief. Fighting missions with Gas Cannon and no armour is better than having no missions to fight at all!
• Once you have the Oscillator, research Molecular Control for M.C. Labs. (and make sure you have captured the necessary aliens by this time). This is more important to Battlescape combat success than researching melee weapons. Without it, the quickly increasing power of alien MC will take your teams apart.
• Your next priority is Transmission Resolver. Intercepts are critical, they are what enable you to progress in the game.

The general approach recommended here is perhaps the opposite of the intuitive, instinctive approach. The instinctive approach is to research tactical equalisers such as more powerful personal weapons and armour for your Aquanauts. The smarter approach is to research more strategic equalisers - sub weapons, USO detection, and MC defences. It's hard to win battles with basic weapons, but it's impossible to win battles without successful interceptions.

Intercept Tactics

• Watch the Graphs for clues as to alien activity. Check them every 24 hours, just after midnight (when you also check your Research progress).
• Send out a Barracuda, about 600nm outside your base's sonar radius, as a picket ship. If the graphs show any alien activity, send it that direction. Keep on Barracuda on picket duty, but ensure you have the other available for intercepts. Check the Interception window every hour on the hour, and as soon as both craft show Ready, re-launch one as a picket. Every extra intercept is a huge bonus, especially early in the game.
• Keep your torpedo inventory light, but reorder torpedos immediately after every engagement, success or failure.
• Similarly, reorder Aquanaut ammunition, grenades, lost weapons etc immediately after every mission. Try to keep a small surplus stock on hand.

Battlescape Tactics

• Avoid direct fire firefights wherever possible, unless you definitely have the upper hand. Use grenades and stay out of line of sight.
• Identify your best grenade throwers (accuracy and strength/range), particularly those with high TUs who will get forward.
• Identify grenade mules with high strength, who can carry a lot of grenades and relay them a long distance.
• Give everyone a GC with at least one clip. Even a weakling can carry a GC preloaded with AP, if he carries nothing else.
• The Gas Cannon is your primary direct fire weapon for all situations. Use GC-HE at long range, GC-AP at shorter range.
• Do NOT bunch up under any circumstances: aliens use grenades freely.
• Distribute as many Tazers as your encumbrance limits allow, to deal with MC incidents and to exploit capture opportunities.
• Once Sonic Pulsers are available, use them in place of grenades, though initially only for tough targets (or multiple targets), until they are in plentiful supply.
• When you see your first Calcinite or Deep One, capture it at almost any cost (as long as your Alien Containment is built!!!!)
• Don't be afraid to fall back and abort if a battle is going badly, particularly if you are falling apart under M.C. The Triton is worth more than the Aquanauts in it, early on.
• Even when direct fire Sonic weapons are available for use, be cautious in arming your Aquanauts with them. They are very expensive to own and operate. That money (from selling the weapons rather than using them) could well be better spent on base facilities, additional bases, or research (Scientists).

M.C. Tactics

As you will go some time without having M.C. Labs to screen your Aquanauts' MC strength, you must take very careful note of anyone who succumbs to MC, or even who is targeted. Remember that the weakest MC Aquanauts are targeted first, and if the enemy see one of your Aquanauts, they see all of them. Keep a ranked list of the weakest Aquanauts. If anyone succumbs to MC, stun them, disarm them, keep them out of combat, and dismiss them when they return to base. Be careful when deploying on missions with Aquanauts who have not been exposed to MC before - keep careful notes of this as well. For Aquanauts who have not been exposed to MC before, consider arming them only with Thermal Tazers until they are MC-proven.

Obviously if you get a really bad progress value when starting Research, you might want to change to a different topic.

Further Bases

Adding a new base early can help you increase your intercept rate, which can give a big advantage to loot and research. It can also help to avoid negative score penalties that can place you in grave difficulty.

You can either add new bases where the Graphs are showing the worst alien activity, or where the Funding charts show the greatest funding that is available (and at risk). Or a combination of both. Reacting to the Graphs by building a base can prove to be a mistake, however, if the aliens change their target area next month, when the new base is operational.

Initial Layout: The most important item in your new base is a sonar. A standard sonar will be operational half a month earlier than a wide array sonar, so build that first. Position the airlock on the 3rd row down from the top, second column from the right. Build the sonar underneath it. If you have additional cash, build a Sub Pen in the top left corner. Before the Sub Pen completes building, you will have time to build a Living Quarters and General Stores on the left and right (respectively) of the Standard Sonar, after the sonar completes building.