Difference between revisions of "Dual-wield"

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In X-Com Apocalypse, agents are able to wield two weapons simultaneously. The effects will vary depending on the game mode.  
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In the original X-COM trilogy, it is possible for soldiers to wield a weapon in each hand at the same time. This is called dual-wielding.
  
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== Real Time Dual Wield ==
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==UFO & TFTD==
  
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In real-time combat, if an agent is wielding two weapons at the same time, the agent's overall firepower will be improved. The agent's right hand weapon will fire at its normal rate while the off-hand weapon will fire at a slightly reduced rate. This will vary depending on the firing mode and the speed of the weapon.  
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In UFO: Enemy Unknown and X-Com: Terror from the Deep, there is no firepower benefit from dual-wielding, as firing weapons uses the same amount of TU regardless of whether a soldier is wielding two weapons or only one (i.e. you cannot fire both weapons "at the same time"). There is a direct penalty, as two-handed weapons will suffer a 20% accuracy penalty (*0.8 accuracy) if the opposing hand is not free. As such, it is generally suboptimal to dual-wield most weapons.
  
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However, as most items can only be used when in hand, and moving objects around in the inventory costs TU, it can be useful to keep two items in hand for the sake of versatility. Usually this consists of a soldier "dual-wielding" a pistol with a flare, grenade or medikit, but wielding two weapons can occasionally be worthwhile if they are sufficiently different (e.g. [[Laser Pistol]] + [[Blaster Launcher]] in UFO, or [[Sonic Pistol]] + [[Vibroblade]] in TFTD).
  
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==Apocalypse (turn-based)==
  
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== Turn Based Dual Wield ==
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In the turn-based mode of X-Com: Apocalypse, there is no TU cost for moving items around in the inventory, but there is an accuracy penalty for dual-wielding most weapons and both weapons cannot be fired simultaneously. As such, it is strictly better to put away or drop whatever is in a soldier's off-hand before firing a weapon and then pick it up afterwards. The only possible exception is if a soldier is using a [[Personal Cloaking Field]], as holding it in hand may prevent reaction fire (even then, reaction fire is uncommon in Apocalypse).
  
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If an agent has a weapon held in each hand, only the currently selected weapon will fire with the standard click and target method traditionally used in the X-Com games.  
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When dual-wielding in turn-based mode, shooting a target or tile repeatedly with Shift+LMB will cause the agent to alternate between the two weapons. However the firing costs are no different than firing each weapon manually.
  
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To make use of both weapons, you need to order the agent to shift-left click the ground or target that you want the agent to shoot at. Continuously firing the weapon this way will cause the agent to alternate the right and left weapons.
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==Apocalypse (real-time)==
  
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Unfortunately this way of firing the weapons offers no real benefit over firing a single weapon as there is no reduction in firing speed in addition to the accuracy penalty.  
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In stark contrast, dual-wielding is exceptionally effective in the real-time mode of Apocalypse, as both weapons can be fired simultaneously. This is obviously a straight firepower boost for pistols (as well as homing missiles, which will always hit regardless of calculated accuracy). Two-handed weapons (those with dimensions more than 2×2) suffer a 40% accuracy penalty (x1.4 inaccuracy) when dual-wielded, but this is a very good deal compared to switching fire modes (switching from Aimed to Snap, or from Snap to Auto, incurs a 100% accuracy penalty (x2 inaccuracy) for the same doubled fire rate). Of course, you do have to pay for the extra gun.
  
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Dual wielding in turn based is therefore not as beneficial as in real-time combat.
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Note that dual-wielding the [[M4000 Machine Gun]] and [[Toxigun]] in Auto mode will not achieve a full doubling of firepower, as this will cap out the game's fire rate limit. It is therefore usually better to use another firing mode when dual-wielding these weapons.
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== Two handed accuracy penalty ==
 
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Two handed weapons held in this way will suffer an accuracy penalty. One handed weapons like the [[Megapol Lawpistol]], [[Megapol Plasma Gun]] and [[Toxigun]] do not incur the penalty because they are one handed weapons. Launchers are also exempt from the penalty even though they are two handed weapons because missiles are homing weapons and do not use the agent's accuracy stat.
 
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Assuming Apocalypse roughly follows its predecessors in its accuracy calculation, two handed weapons will suffer a -20% overall accuracy penalty.
 
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== Firing Mode and Weapon Speed when dual wielding ==
 
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If pairs of identical weapons are used, take into account the weapon's rate of fire when deciding on the firing mode. Toxiguns and M4000 machine guns have very high firing rates. If set to full-auto, the off-hand weapon may not get utilized very often. This wastes the purpose of dual wielding the weapon. To work around this, simply go to a higher firing accuracy mode such as snap or even aimed. The off-hand weapon will get fired much more frequently, so you will be able to combine the benefits of increased rate of fire and increased accuracy, which could be a considerable improvement over firing just one gun on full-auto.
 

Latest revision as of 10:04, 21 June 2020

In the original X-COM trilogy, it is possible for soldiers to wield a weapon in each hand at the same time. This is called dual-wielding.

UFO & TFTD

In UFO: Enemy Unknown and X-Com: Terror from the Deep, there is no firepower benefit from dual-wielding, as firing weapons uses the same amount of TU regardless of whether a soldier is wielding two weapons or only one (i.e. you cannot fire both weapons "at the same time"). There is a direct penalty, as two-handed weapons will suffer a 20% accuracy penalty (*0.8 accuracy) if the opposing hand is not free. As such, it is generally suboptimal to dual-wield most weapons.

However, as most items can only be used when in hand, and moving objects around in the inventory costs TU, it can be useful to keep two items in hand for the sake of versatility. Usually this consists of a soldier "dual-wielding" a pistol with a flare, grenade or medikit, but wielding two weapons can occasionally be worthwhile if they are sufficiently different (e.g. Laser Pistol + Blaster Launcher in UFO, or Sonic Pistol + Vibroblade in TFTD).

Apocalypse (turn-based)

In the turn-based mode of X-Com: Apocalypse, there is no TU cost for moving items around in the inventory, but there is an accuracy penalty for dual-wielding most weapons and both weapons cannot be fired simultaneously. As such, it is strictly better to put away or drop whatever is in a soldier's off-hand before firing a weapon and then pick it up afterwards. The only possible exception is if a soldier is using a Personal Cloaking Field, as holding it in hand may prevent reaction fire (even then, reaction fire is uncommon in Apocalypse).

When dual-wielding in turn-based mode, shooting a target or tile repeatedly with Shift+LMB will cause the agent to alternate between the two weapons. However the firing costs are no different than firing each weapon manually.

Apocalypse (real-time)

In stark contrast, dual-wielding is exceptionally effective in the real-time mode of Apocalypse, as both weapons can be fired simultaneously. This is obviously a straight firepower boost for pistols (as well as homing missiles, which will always hit regardless of calculated accuracy). Two-handed weapons (those with dimensions more than 2×2) suffer a 40% accuracy penalty (x1.4 inaccuracy) when dual-wielded, but this is a very good deal compared to switching fire modes (switching from Aimed to Snap, or from Snap to Auto, incurs a 100% accuracy penalty (x2 inaccuracy) for the same doubled fire rate). Of course, you do have to pay for the extra gun.

Note that dual-wielding the M4000 Machine Gun and Toxigun in Auto mode will not achieve a full doubling of firepower, as this will cap out the game's fire rate limit. It is therefore usually better to use another firing mode when dual-wielding these weapons.

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