Making The Game Harder (EU2012)

This page is intended for players who finish the game frequently on the higher difficulties (Classic/Impossible/Ironman/Second Wave) and would like to keep the challenge alive or to add a little extra spice to their games.

Naturally it is quite easy to handicap yourself while playing the game: using only conventional weaponry, no armor, only pistols, etc. Some of these situations are detailed here, in addition to exploits/cheats/tactics that make the game easier, which you might want to refrain from using.

Feel free to suggest more or try any of these ideas (or all of them!). Some may make the game very hard or even impossible to win. Most of these ideas are based on a similar page for the original game.

Second Wave Settings

These are Second Wave settings designed to enhance specific aspects of gameplay:

• Tactical - Damage Roulette, Red Fog, Absolutely Critical and Total Loss. Essentially damage will vary more, your soldier's stats are affected by wounds, flanking will always cause critical hits and losing units will also eliminate their equipment and weapons.
• Strategic - New Economy, Marathon, Results Driven, High Stakes and War Wariness. This will randomize funding, make the war longer, panic affect funding, randomized rewards from Abductions and gradual reduction of income each month.
• HQ - Diminishing Returns, E-115 and Alternate Sources. This will increase the cost of each additional satellites, cause Elerium loss over time and double the power requirements for the base facilities.
• Soldiers - Not Created Equally, Hidden Potential, The Greater Good and More Than Human. These will vary the starting stats of your solders and gained through promoions. It also make capturing a Psionic alien a requirement for developing the technology and the Psi gift will be much harder to discover in your soldiers.

Psionics

Offensive Psionics

• No use of psionic powers allowed.
• Only 1 Psionic soldier capable of using Psionics
• No Mind Control

Defensive Psionics

• No Mind Shields or Psi Armor allowed (with the exception of the Volunteer for the final mission).

Pacifist

• You may never shoot down any UFOs (but you may assault landed ones) and you may never command any of your soldiers to fire their weapon (with the exception of the Arc Thrower since it won't kill the alien). You may however set your soldiers on Overwatch (self-defense) instead of using Firing.

Firepower/Technology

Technophobe

• You may not use or research any alien related items. All artifacts recovered from missions must be sold immediately, with the exception of those required to progress the storyline. This essentially means that you'll be restricted to only conventional weapons to fight, either on air on on the ground. Good luck.
• You may also never accept scientists or build any Labs.

Conventional Only

• You may only use conventional weapons/armor throughout the entire game.

Laser Squad

• You may only deploy Lasers weapons and Carapace/Skeleton armor on any combat mission.

Rise Of The Robots

• After getting the Foundry (which should be your 1st priority) you'll use as many SHIVs as possible instead of human soldiers.

Limited Squads

• Don't purchase Squad Size I & II and stick to the 4 soldier squad throughout the entire campaign.

Gunslinger

• Only use pistols throughout the entire game (Heavies and several abilities become useless).

Top Gun

• Only use Ravens - don't build Firestorms
• Don't research advanced Air to Air weapons and stick to Avalanches

Classes/Abilities

Trying Something New

Don't choose any of these abilities while leveling up soldiers:

• Squad Sight (Sniper)
• Field Medic (Support)
• Rapid Fire (Assault)
• HEAT Ammo (Heavy)

Voluntary Retirement

• Once a soldier reaches Colonel rank it is immediately retired and dismissed from service as a reward for his/her services fighting the alien invasion.
• Or the same as above but dismiss all commissioned officers, which means everyone from Lieutenant upwards.
• Or you could limit your soldiers to a single "tour of duty" comprising a set number of deployments. 10 is a challenge; 20 is close to a normal game.

Valkyrie Squad

• Dismiss all the ugly XY mutts still alive at the Barracks after the 1st mission and only use female soldiers during the entire game.

Single Class

• Use only one class of soldiers during a mission or the entire game.

V.I.P.s

• Near the start of the game select ten soldiers to be your Very Important People. (or V.I.P.s for short)
• Change their armour or names to indicate that they are V.I.P.s.
• You must bring at least one V.I.P. along to every mission.
• If a V.I.P. is killed you may not replace him.
• If all of your V.I.P.s are dead, you must completely abandon the current campaign.
• In the event that all of your remaining V.I.P.s end up in the infirmary and awaiting recovery you may still play until they recover, after that you must again bring at least one V.I.P. to each mission.
• You may also pull a V.I.P. out of a mission if things get hairy.

The Few

Never was so much owed by so many to so few.

Complete your game without hiring any additional soldiers.

High Five

• Win the game while only performing 5 missions:
  • 1st Mission/Tutorial
  • Capture Live Alien and an Outsider
  • Alien Base Assault
  • Overseer UFO
  • Final Mission