Okay bros, gonna start my first run tomorrow, what tips ya got?
Always exhaust all your scouting means each turn before moving any not concealed soldier into areas that are not secured.
Always do all the movement turns of your squad before taking actions like shooting, overwatch, hunkering down (don't ignore that option, it's useful) etc..
So never rush anywhere except when you already secured the area or are still in concealment.
Dont use overwatch as often as in NuXCOM 1, in fact pretty much ignore overwatch traps as long as you don't use special abilities with them or as long as you don't know that you get a high to hit chance because the enemy is very close. You don't want that aim penalty, seriously. Either freeze them (DLC grenade) or let them take cover. They only take cover relative to the soldier they spotted first and ignore the rest of your squad.
Flank with Rangers, destroy cover with grenades and Grenadiers and try to make every shot count (so utility items or retreating and hunkering down >>>> low percentage shots).
I still use overwatch regularly of course, but only on soldiers that are out of concealment and would have to move into unknown areas without backup otherwise.
... or to get rid of reinforcements easily.
Either take that Ranger ability that lets him go back into concealment (and also pick the phantom trait obviously) or at least take some scanners with you if not. Scouting is extremely important in this game.
Don't spread your team out too much, you want to kill or disable each enemy group you encounter in 1 or max 2 turns.
Firepower > utility, so one Specialist is enough. Snipers aren't that great anymore so take one or even skip that and train the sharpshooter into a pure gunslinger. Pistols are much better than you might think at first. I still prefer the Sniper though, kill zone is just too awesome to pass on.
Use flashbangs. Often. They are great when facing more than 1 enemy pod at the same time. Or when you don't get a good shot. They might in fact be better than all the other grenades (except for the frost grenade) because those don't inflict nearly as useful status effects so if the enemy survives the blast he might kill one of yours.
If an enemy is taking cover behind a car or a gas tank then make that explode. Even though cars take a turn to explode the enemy won't be able to attack you and will either retreat or get blown up too (might only apply to low HP enemies).
Research and build mimic beacons asap (faceless autopsy).
Sectoids are not as dangerous as they seem, get rid of the other enemies before wasting bullets on them. If they took control over one of yours kill the sectoid or throw a flashbang at him.
Research better weapons and armor early.
Don't build science labs, they are incredibly useless.
Workshops are only necessary if you don't get enough engineers through mission rewards or the black market.
The first thing to build is the Guerilla Tactics School for the +1 troop size bonus. Ignore the rest of the upgrades there at first, you need all the supplies for buying weapons, armor, expanding your territory and stuff like that. And train all your remaining rookies there asap.
The second thing to build is the Advanced Warfare Center for the halfed healing duration.
Don't worry too much about that Avatar Project progress. It's not as urgent as it seems.
And don't research story advancing stuff too fast.
Make sure to expand your resistance network relatively fast. You need the income provided that way.
