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Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 2:24 am
by SouthpawHare
I have the option to do a Data Leak mission, base activity of Light, at 0 days 14 hours. As I understand, completing this mission means that I will not get a retaliation, and likewise, failing to complete the mission will mean that I get the retaliation immediately. On the surface, it is tempting to take the preemptive option given to me, as it's supposed to be the easier option. However, I'd basically be doing a near 0% infiltration on it, which means that it could end up somewhere around Swarming.

My gut says that I'm probably better off just letting the retaliation happen, as that mission will actually be easier. Thoughts?

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It's late May, Veteran difficulty. I have basic lasers and plated armor.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:40 am
by Antifringe
It's not really the easier option, it's the "less rebels die" option. I would not do a Swarming timed mission under any circumstances. You caught the mission at the tail end of its duration, which is functionally equivalent to not catching it at all.

Timed Swarming missions aren't strictly impossible, but you will be forced ot take some pretty extreme risks to finish it in time and you will haeve a ton of casualties.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:19 am
by DonCrabio
I always try to kill relay. I field biggest possible combat squad with Sharpshooter, try to fins LOS on relay from afar and snipe it, while other guys defending evac flyer. This is much more controllable environment then retaliation or terror.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:44 am
by Dwarfling
Screw the rebels really. Your soldiers are your most valuable asset. If you lose those soldiers, your chances of completing the campaign go down considerably.

So no. Take the retaliation. If you get Haven Defense you might even save most of the rebels. If you get Terror, well, you might have to spend some time recruiting and letting the region cool off by hiding, depends on how many are left. Or you might even resume operations as usual, since now full retal is on cooldown and you got some time to do as you wish. You will however get some valuable instant experience.

Retaliations can be made easy depending on the team you field (Assaults, Grenadiers, SPARKs). You lose rebels, but they're just a resource.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 4:31 pm
by Jacke
If you're not on an Ironman campaign, I'd say save first then try to run the Data Leak mission. It'll be very very hard and you may need the exact right team to succeed, even with wounds and casualties. Try it once or twice. If you can't get through it, then you can reload and go with the Retaliation.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 12:09 pm
by Saph7
Treat missions with this low a timer not as missions but as information popups. You now know exactly when and where the retaliation will happen. Take the opportunity to install a high-level fully geared Haven Advisor and get a combat team ready to run the retal.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:56 pm
by SouthpawHare
Thanks everyone. I followed the advice here, skipping the Data Leak mission and simply being prepared for the retaliation. I actually got a regular retaliation and an intel retaliation both, one immediately after the other. Both went quite well.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:55 pm
by Antifringe
Glad it worked out. I think that people fear retaliations more than they merit. Even if you don't detect the data leak mission, you still get ~24 hours to prepare, and you get to send ten soldiers with no time obligations. You get experience for your soldiers, and you purge your haven of all spies. It's not uncommon for a haven to actually come out stronger than before.

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:49 pm
by Psieye
Antifringe wrote:Glad it worked out. I think that people fear retaliations more than they merit. Even if you don't detect the data leak mission, you still get ~24 hours to prepare, and you get to send ten soldiers with no time obligations. You get experience for your soldiers, and you purge your haven of all spies. It's not uncommon for a haven to actually come out stronger than before.
Don't you need to attempt rescue of a Faceless-member to eliminate it during a full retal? As in, if you kill the retal aliens/Advent before you rescue all your rebels, do any Faceless in the unrescued keep their disguises?

Re: Should I skip low-time Data Leak mission?

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 2:44 pm
by Antifringe
I don't know, but I always rescue all or nearly all of the rebels in those missions, and I've found the faceless to be a non-issue. I use mass Shinobi to fan out and grab rebels. They can easily support each other and rush down a Faceless that crops up, especially if the Sharpshooter has an angle to help out with. You could get in trouble if you try to rescue a rebel with your very last move, but just don't do that.

EDIT: I just realized that I was talking about evac missions and you were talking about defense missions. In defense missions, if there are any faceless left when the last ADVENT dies, they go ahead and transform. This means that retals of either stripe always purge your havens of spies, 100%. In evac missions, any faceless that you don't discover get left behind, and are lost. In defense missions, they always blow their cover if the ADVENT units can't do the job.