That’s exactly what I assumed they would do.
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It would help you remember how the character was built.
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I have to say I love this update, so many great changes and additions! Thanks for the update as well as your efforts on bringing this game to life, Snapshot team! There is no thing I could not like here. UI looks better and better, and I’m so excited to know that you are working on AI, too! Soldiers infos already look great, I especially like suggestion with character portrait : it looks so much better than bare class symbols. I hope we could see full posture of our soldier on a full-info screen, similar to OG 
Can’t wait to see all of this in upcoming backer build!
Yeah, please please don’t have fractional action points if you can avoid it. That’s going to be a headache to figure out. Otherwise, I’m avidly looking forward to Backer Build 5!
By the way, what sort of spoiler risk is there supposed to be in the Backer Build 5 content (for the main plot/etc.)?
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very minor spoilers. They are deliberately keeping the entire story, most of the enemies, and the full scope of the systems hidden to avoid spoiling us
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Hey Rook, are you sure about this part? I have heard only about 2 more monsters which were not in BB4, but maybe there is more planned? I definitely hope for more mutations on monsters we already know.
Yeah Yokes, that’s what I remember too. Most but not all Aliens will be available.
Yeah, same here, I forgot if I mentioned this in the Discord or on here, but I agree, just go with double-digit TUs, especially since a lot of us remember those fondly from XCOM. Start with a TU pool of 100 with actions costing 35, 45, 50, etc. rather than 3.5, 4.5, and so on.
I agree. People can struggle with decimals and fractions, whole numbers are a lot easier to calculate, especially if someone is trying to play quickly.
Yes. The devs are deliberately avoiding the problem XCOM 2 had where all the enemies were revealed before anyone started playing so everyone knew what to expect. To that end they’ve only given us a small taste of the enemies.
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New Inverview Video:
https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixPointGame/videos/2065069480264923/Interview Phoenix Point
Beware of Spoilers 
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- 21:11 So game will be more about attachment to your squad. So there will be super heroes killing many aliens in one turn.
- Overall I love these mutations.
Maybe way of Disciples will be a really interesting way. - Mist was upgraded. Now looks better.
- Female barks are already in
- New Jericho haven looks beautiful with new lighting (unless it is boosted screenshot with some art)
- great that there will be more environments
I think the attachment to soldiers is more along the lines of their easier to keep alive. They just will more probably end up with negative traits like a mutation or a crippling effect of a body part rather than outright death. Along with being able to evac after completing your objective means you may find it easier to keep them alive while keeping the challenge. Also being able to travel with your land vehicles on the geoscape (I saw something about it) probably means more mobility in evacing being able to pick up your troops in the middle of a battle and drive off the map. So probably only if you’re on a difficulty inappropriate for your skill level will you have super heroes. (Or you just have high level guys like the backer build is currently. But I think they’ll balance that part out. 
)
That’s a bit of an assumption, though I do remember people’s perspective on how original UFO presented soldiers (unique charcters who can die, or cannonfodder) was divided.
I do feel that if you don’t loose soldiers I get less attatched to them - in Firaxis XCOM, I feel little tension as it dives into power fantasy a bit too hard.
More customisation and progression means more investment. The question is, whenever, PP will want those characters to dominate the battlefield, or fight for their lives.
Speeking of super heroes … last run in Fira XCom 2 WOTC, I had a ranger with lots of health, insane mobility, 100+ dodge, equiped with lots of armor (2+1).
After kills she would get “untouchable” (first shot against you is auto-miss).
With “bladestorm” she would slice any melee alien that would dare come close to her.
When she did take a hit, damage would be divided by 2 (because she would dodge) and mitigated by the armor (remove 3) so she would tank heavy hitter aliens like crazy.
I do hope that this will be impossible to do in PP. Sure it’s fun seeing her take only 2-3 damage from a sectopod, but it is crazy OP.
There shouldn’t be that much difference between a squaddie and veteran soldiers. I think BB4 was not bad from this point of view (except for exertion which should be usable only once per turn).
And … I really hate “return fire” (me or the aliens). It is the ranged “bladestorm” of PP. Free and “unlimited”. I’d rather have a covering fire overwatch. Your guys in overwatch shoot the guy before he shoots or throws a grenade (and only once per turn).
Well. I would say something different. 7th level soldiers are way more powerful than those on level 1 or 2.
- Heavy at beginning can’t run and shoot in the same turn, his jet jump can fumble. When maxed he doesn’t have those issues, he can carry stuff like some half-god, has powerful ram attack, can boost willpower of allies at any moment and can empty full magazine of almost any weapon with 75% of TU.
- Sniper at the beginning also has limited movement capability if he also want to shoot in the same turn and handgun is not his best friend. Maxed he can make 2 mega accurate shots with sniper rifle and then empty whole handgun magazine while spotting enemies on whole map.
- Technician maybe is not so useless at the beginning but his main function which is healing is not available. When maxed he can take care of dying friend and with few turrets deployed from backpack he can obliterate almost any enemy just with few shots.
- Assault at the beginning is not an assault. But later on he is Flash and can also empty whole assault rifle in one turn also throwing few grenades in the meantime.
Maybe it is free but is limited. First of all with enemy magazine, and secondly by perception vs stealth factors.
No supersoldiers please. I know it might be difficult with class and perks system, but not impossible I guess… I spent a lot of time with Xcom and Xcom 2 and tell you this: I loved early hours of each of those games the most. Simply in the beginning soldiers were fragile, had similar stats/equipment and game was not too complicated. And, in contrast to late game, more important and useful was player’s tactical skills rather than each soldier’s personal skills.
X-com games always were about very interesting and dangerous aliens (I am sure Phoenix Point will join the party soon) but too powerful and unique soldiers in Firaxis titles always seem to me like unnecessary distraction from the aliens and a feature simply killing the pace of the game.
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I think the ideal situation would be, when abilities would increase tactical options available to the player, but not necessarly make your units flat out better. If a powerful ability would become available it should have a high cost, or be tricky to pull off.
I think there skills in Firaxis games that work (mostly those which provide unique utility, like suppression, or lightning reflexes) but all too often they simply make your unit flat out better - more granades, more damage, extra shots - at no tradeoff.
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My thoughts exactly!
But still can be dead in 2 shots. Compared to the ranger I spoke about from XCOM2, still need to pay attention to what you are doing. So I should rephrase: “BB4 was better from this point of view”.
I do agree that there is too much speed difference between them. Level 1 soldiers can barely move and shoot in the same turn (unless you want to stay in the open - which is OK if you have only melee opponents). Level 7 can move twice the distance. It’s like you took fat peasants that can barely run and got fitter as they leveled up. Level 1 should be able to go faster, but adding speed should be twice as expensive. From my point of view, mobility is really key in this type of game so it should be more expensive.
- For abilities, assault does in deed have incredible ones (exertion, return fire, free inventory, grenade spam, 3 shots). Lots of free stuff if you keep enough willpower to use.
- Technician is really just a meatbag that tags along to finish off aliens and get enough XP to actually become useful at level 6 (regenerate a body part). He’s so inaccurate and low damage per bullet that he takes return fire twice if he tries to shoot a crab. And turrets are crazy expensive to use (if you don’t pick them up before mission ends).
- The heavy has some situational abilities which are not “that” OP. Your heavy needs to “rocket” himself to level 3 not to fumble jetpack, ram is melee so you are in the danger zone and cost willpower and can do it only once per turn, empty magazine is useful if you have full magazine so you need to keep the willpower and amunition for this queen you want to kill. Not like you can use it every turn and expensive materially speeking. Rally means that if you have two heavies, you can do one rally each turn to give a free exertion each turn to your assaults. Should be limited to one soldier on the mission that plays the “officer” role.
- For snipers, if I didn’t have exertion on them (dual class to assault) they wouldn’t be that much efficient. You get gunslinger (careful with return fire) which is nice to finish lowlifes. And two super shots, when you have the willpower (rally with two heavies each turn ?), maybe should cost 100% TU instead of 75%.
So I would say that they are more powerful, but far from XCOM2 completely OP powerful.
That’s why I’ve put “unlimited” between quotes. If you hit the limit, 2-3 of your soldiers are already dead. When you have 3 of them in a room during a base defense, it is hard to find a spot from where you can shoot without taking return fire. I’d rather see abilities like “suppress” and/or “cover fire as an upgrade to overwatch”. Shooting AFTER the alien is strange. You see him moving out of cover to take a shot but only shoot at him once he is done.