Another play through and I am still aghast at the “cheats” employed by the game, which at times is using definitely using loaded dice. Case in point:
My first Faction Special Mission takes me to a location that is not that close to any Red Mist. Only 19 in-game days and I encounter 2 Sirens, numerous Tritons and an odd Arthron or two. Prior to this I have done 3 haven defenses that have revealed 3 separate nests (all having a very limited range). So imagine my disbelief when I started this Special Mission. I am still limited to a 6-unit squad (levels 4-5). I have been taking my lumps in the previous battles (no losses, but plenty of damage). So the DDA should not be kicking in this heavily.
Since my units are still developing, they aren’t that strong in Will Points. No matter how I attempted to deal with this overpowering attacking force, I always ended up with 2-3 units mind-controlled within 1-2 turns. How many Aces were stuffed into this deck?
So, I did the verboten and save-scummed to a save from the geoscape. This time the deck was stripped of the extra Aces and the dice were not “that” loaded. No Sirens, but still a very decent challenge with 1 Fireworm Chiron, numerous Tritons and grenade launching Arthra (proper plural of Arthron).
Just as I was heading back to base to heal and regain WP, a nearby haven is being attacked by the Pandorans. Valor beating discretion, I opted to lend a hand. Especially since the Haven was overpowering the attackers and I wanted to know where in the hell 2 Sirens would have been coming from. Successful haven defense reveals a nest with a range of 800km. No way could this nest have been sending any units to the Special Mission location. Let alone sending Sirens and Chiron.
Needless to say, this was totally wrong and uncalled for in the context of the lore and what enemies are produced in the different levels of Pandoran colonies. Sure, I understand that a Special Mission is supposed to be “special”, but breaking the core concepts of the game/storyline/lore is why I continue to have a love/hate relationship with PP.
Just another example of how this mail-order bride doesn’t come close to what was promised.