Panic (EU2012)

Base Location

There are many different methods to choosing your initial base location. Here are a few factors to consider:

• Money: Look at the Funding table.

If you choose to start in the USA, you get §180 each month to start the game, in addition to the Base Funding depending on your chosen difficulty level.

If you start in Africa, you actually get an extra 30% to Nigeria's funding and an extra 30% of the Base Funding thanks to the "All In" bonus; plus, you'll be getting an extra 30% from every other funding source as you expand satellite coverage.

Both are worthy options.

• Bonuses: This depends on your play style and gameplan.

If you really want "Future Combat" and "We Have Ways" early in the game, put your base in Asia because it will only take 2 satellites to get S. America vs. 4 satellites if you start in S. America and expand to Asia.

Autopsies and interrogations don't take very long, so "We Have Ways" is probably the one clear-cut choice to not start your base, especially considering you only need 2 satellites to get it through the course of the game.

• Panic: Face it, you can't respond to all 3 Abduction missions.

At some point, you're going to get stuck with covering a country with a satellite just to calm them down, whether it's early in the game to keep everyone happy or late in the game to prevent completing the "Doom Tracker".

You can try to keep an extra satellite and uplink slot available for such cases, though not utilizing such a vital resource also weighs on the mind.

Examples

• Start in Asia (China) for the "Future Combat" Bonus, then spread to either N. America (Total §330 + "Air & Space") or Africa (Total §325 + "All In"); either way it's only 3 satellites.
  • This is a good option if you rely on a short-list of highly perked soldiers for combat.
  • The downside is you have to be careful not to waste precious resources on excessive Foundry projects that you may not use in combat very often.
• Start in Africa for the "All In" Bonus (because it gives you extra credits no matter what play style or strategy you choose) and then spread to N. America for more credits or Asia for even cheaper deals on Foundry and OTS projects.
  • This is a good option if you don't have a particular strategy in mind, or if your strategy is to play it by ear and react to what the game gives you as you progress.
  • The downside is that you'll need a couple more satellites to get the other continent bonuses, which takes time, credits, and Uplinks to accomplish, all in the face of ever-increasing panic.

Choosing a Mission

• Often you will be presented with multiple missions at the same time and asked to choose 1 (e.g., Abduction sites).

While Panic plays a big role in your choice, so does the reward.

The rewards generally consist of either Scientists, Engineers, Soldiers, or credits.

• Engineers are generally better than Scientists – Building things requires a minimum number of Engineers, and that number keeps going up each time you build a type of facility.

So the third Generator needs more engineers than the second, and so on.

Plus, you tend to get enough scientists via monthly bonuses from the Funding Council.