Skipping missions

[markximus]

Hi guys, great work.

I'm finding that I'm skipping a bunch of missions due to lack of resources. Am i missing out on something outside of opportunity cost of XP and mission rewards? Does it expedite alien progression (similar to LW1?)

Thanks!

[johnnylump]

You'll often have more options than you can address. Just remember some missions require a quick response and it's good to have a squad on-call for those, or else be ready to pull one off an existing infiltration.

[mattprice516]

Depends on the mission - if you get one to counter a DE and you skip it, that obviously facilitates alien progression. Supply raid and ambush troop column missions will add 1 advent strength to the region if not countered. There's a couple other examples that you can discover on your own.

Also note that these kinds of activities (DEs, advent strength reinforcement) will proceed even if you don't detect the mission they spawn - advent does things on their timetable.

Many missions on the other hand don't have any penalty for skipping other than missing whatever the reward is. These are typically ones that give VIPs, rebels, that sort of thing.

I found that I'd skip up to ~30-40% of the missions I detected back when I was keeping that close track on my prior campaign.

[Arcalane]

I feel I should also point out the Boost Infiltration option, which allows you to spend Intel (which you will probably be gaining a reasonable amount of!) in order to increase your infiltration rate quite significantly.

Something to keep in mind if you want to hit something hard but are under time pressure for the squad you want to field.

[OhGod]

...else be ready to pull one off an existing infiltration.

Is there a time, or other, penalty for pulling units back? Or can I cancel an infiltration and send that squad straight out on another mission?

[mattprice516]

Only thing you lose for aborting is the time it takes to fly there and get them, and the opportunity cost of having had those soldiers on infiltration for no reward. Don't be afraid to pull out of a mission if you get a much better opportunity though.

That said, do note that in certain... extreme emergency situations, you may not have time to pick up a squad. If you have reason to believe an extreme emergency could come up soon, it may be a good idea to hold a squad back until that threat has passed.

(before I scare people, I'm not talking about missions with 1 day duration like retaliation or anything - the Avenger flies fast enough to pick up an aborting squad and respond to those - I'm talking about an even more urgent need for soldiers that might pop up from time to time)