XCOM Base Location (EU2012): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:04, 18 November 2019

In the beginning of the game you have to choose the location of your base. There are five possible options for the location of the XCOM base:

North America
Europe
Asia (not available in the tutorial)
South America (not available in the tutorial)
Africa (not available in the tutorial)

North America

Placing the base in North America, you get a bonus Air and Space: "All aircraft and aircraft weapons cost 50% less to purchase, build and maintain".

Your base will be located in United States

Europe

Placing the base in Europe, you get a bonus Expert Knowledge: "Laboratories and Workshops cost 50% less to build and maintain".

Your base will be located in Poland, but your first satellite will be over Germany

Asia

Placing the base in Asia, you get a bonus Future Combat: "All projects in the Foundry and the Officer Training School cost 50% less".

Your base will be located in Japan

South America

Placing the base in South America, you get a bonus We Have Ways: "Autopsies and Interrogations are completed instantly".

Your base will be located in Brazil

Africa

Placing the base in Africa, you get a bonus All In: "Monthly XCOM funding increased by 30%".

Your base will be located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but your first satellite will be over Nigeria

Notes

If you later cover an entire continent with satellites, then you also get that bonus even if your base is located elsewhere.
The bonus takes effect immediately after you launch the satellites.
You cannot lose your starting bonus, even if you lose all of the countries on your starting continent.

Choosing a Location

There are many different methods to choosing your initial base location. Here are a few factors to consider:

Money: Look at the Funding table.

If you choose to start in the USA, you get §180 each month to start the game, in addition to the Base Funding depending on your chosen difficulty level.

If you start in Africa, you actually get an extra 30% to Nigeria's funding and an extra 30% of the Base Funding thanks to the "All In" bonus; plus, you'll be getting an extra 30% from every other funding source as you expand satellite coverage.

Both are worthy options.

Bonuses: This depends on your play style and gameplan.

If you really want "Future Combat" and "We Have Ways" early in the game, put your base in Asia because it will only take 2 satellites to get S. America vs. 4 satellites if you start in S. America and expand to Asia.

Autopsies and interrogations don't take very long, so "We Have Ways" is probably the one clear-cut choice to not start your base, especially considering you only need 2 satellites to get it through the course of the game.

Panic: Face it, you can't respond to all 3 Abduction missions.

At some point, you're going to get stuck with covering a country with a satellite just to calm them down, whether it's early in the game to keep everyone happy or late in the game to prevent completing the "Doom Tracker".

You can try to keep an extra satellite and uplink slot available for such cases, though not utilizing such a vital resource also weighs on the mind.

Examples

Start in Asia (China) for the "Future Combat" Bonus, then spread to either N. America (Total §330 + "Air & Space") or Africa (Total §325 + "All In"); either way it's only 3 satellites.
- This is a good option if you rely on a short-list of highly perked soldiers for combat.
- The downside is you have to be careful not to waste precious resources on excessive Foundry projects that you may not use in combat very often.
Start in Africa for the "All In" Bonus (because it gives you extra credits no matter what play style or strategy you choose) and then spread to N. America for more credits or Asia for even cheaper deals on Foundry and OTS projects.
- This is a good option if you don't have a particular strategy in mind, or if your strategy is to play it by ear and react to what the game gives you as you progress.
- The downside is that you'll need a couple more satellites to get the other continent bonuses, which takes time, credits, and Uplinks to accomplish, all in the face of ever-increasing panic.

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 == Europe ==
 [[File:EuropeBase.png|right|300px]]Placing the base in Europe, you get a bonus '''Expert Knowledge''': ''"Laboratories and Workshops cost 50% less to build and maintain".''
-Your base will be located in Germany [[image:Flag_of_Germany.png|22px]]
+Your base will be located in Poland, but your first satellite will be over Germany [[image:Flag_of_Germany.png|22px]]
 <br clear="all">
 == Asia ==
 [[File:AsiaBase.png|right|300px]]Placing the base in Asia, you get a bonus '''Future Combat''': ''"All projects in the Foundry and the Officer Training School cost 50% less".''
@@ Line 24: / Line 25: @@
 == Africa ==
 [[File:AfricaBase.png|right|300px]]Placing the base in Africa, you get a bonus '''All In''': ''"Monthly XCOM funding increased by 30%".''
-Your base will be located in Nigeria [[image:Flag_of_Nigeria.png|22px]]
+Your base will be located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but your first satellite will be over Nigeria [[image:Flag_of_Nigeria.png|22px]]
 <br clear="all">
 == Notes ==
 * If you later cover an entire continent with [[Satellite (EU2012)|satellites]], then you also get that bonus even if your base is located elsewhere.
 * The bonus takes effect immediately after you launch the satellites.
+* You cannot lose your starting bonus, even if you lose all of the countries on your starting continent.
-== Continent Bonus Analysis ==
-=== North America ===
-Bonus: '''Air & Space'''<br>
-Details: All aircraft and aircraft weapons cost 50% less to purchase, build and maintain.<br>
-Analysis: One of the more useful bonuses by far, being able to procure [[Firestorm (EU2012)|Firestorms]] for 50% off is incredibly useful, especially if you're down to the wire on materials. If it's your starting bonus, it allows you to spit out a few more interceptors at a very low income time of the game, giving you some more coverage. While a couple of Interceptors is really all you need in the opening days, a couple extra will be there to make you feel safe for when XCOM decides to be XCOM. Also, as a side bonus, North America provides you with the highest monthly funding before satellites at the start on every difficulty except Normal, where starting in Africa has a couple extra bucks per month.
-=== South America ===
+==Choosing a Location==
-Bonus: '''We Have Ways'''<br>
+There are many different methods to choosing your initial base location.  Here are a few factors to consider:
-Details: Interrogations and Autopsies are completed instantly.<br>
+* '''Money''': Look at the [[Situation Room (EU2012)#Funding|Funding table]].
-Analysis: Only really useful if it's your starting bonus or you can get it within the first two months. Interrogations and Autopsies don't take that long to begin with and by the time you pile on a few scientists, they'll only take 1 or 2 days at most. Far more useful however if you're playing with Marathon on from Second Wave, since everything takes a little bit longer. Overall however, not a very pressing bonus to get.
+:If you choose to start in the USA, you get §180 each month to start the game, in addition to the Base Funding depending on your chosen difficulty level.
-=== Europe ===
+:If you start in Africa, you actually get an extra 30% to Nigeria's funding and an extra 30% of the Base Funding thanks to the "''All In''" bonus; plus, you'll be getting an extra 30% from every other funding source as you expand satellite coverage.
-Bonus: '''Expert Knowledge'''<br>
+:Both are worthy options.
-Details: [[Laboratory (EU2012)|Labs]] and [[Workshop (EU2012)|Workshops]] cost 50% less to build and maintain.<br>
+* '''Bonuses''': This depends on your play style and gameplan.
-Analysis: Unless your pounding out Labs in the very early days of the game, or playing with Marathon turned on, Labs aren't that useful while Workshops are only really useful once you've linked a few of them together. Furthermore, neither Labs nor Workshops are going to burn a major hole in your wallet. It's a little more useful as a starting bonus however, as it'll probably allow you to get a 2x2 block of Workshops a little sooner than if you didn't have it. Depending on how you build, it could be more or less pressing.
+:If you really want "''Future Combat''" and "''We Have Ways''" early in the game, put your base in Asia because it will only take 2 satellites to get S. America vs. 4 satellites if you start in S. America and expand to Asia.
-=== Africa ===
+:Autopsies and interrogations don't take very long, so "''We Have Ways''" is probably the one clear-cut choice to not start your base, especially considering you only need 2 satellites to get it through the course of the game.
-Bonus: '''All In'''<br>
+* '''Panic''': Face it, you can't respond to all 3 Abduction missions.
-Details: Monthly XCOM funding increased by 30%.<br>
+:At some point, you're going to get stuck with covering a country with a satellite just to calm them down, whether it's early in the game to keep everyone happy or late in the game to prevent completing the "''Doom Tracker''".
-Analysis: Quite possibly the single most useful bonus there is. Get it, and get it fast if it isn't your starting bonus. That extra money is going to pay dividends in both the long and short run, and the early and late parts of the game. You need money for everything. And you can never have too much money.
+:You can try to keep an extra satellite and uplink slot available for such cases, though not utilizing such a vital resource also weighs on the mind.
-=== Asia ===
-Bonus: '''Future Combat'''<br>
-Details: All projects in The [[Foundry (EU2012)|Foundry]] and the [[Officer Training School (EU2012)|Officer Training School]] cost 50% less.<br>
-Analysis: Asia's bonus is a little weird. When you're not focusing on your Foundry and OTS upgrades, you really don't care that much that you don't have it. But when you start to focus on your Foundry and OTS upgrades, you're going to wish you DID have it. OTS upgrades are just money, so it usually isn't THAT big of a deal, but Foundry upgrades cost money and other materials, making it a bit more of a deal. Can be ignored if you aren't working on your Foundry or OTS upgrades, but you WILL want it for when you start to pound those out. Especially the Foundry upgrades, since those compete for materials ([[Alien Alloys (EU2012)|Alien Alloys]], [[Elerium (EU2012)|Elerium]], [[Weapon Fragments (EU2012)|Weapon Fragments]]) alongside Research and Manufacturing.
+====Examples====
+* Start in Asia (China) for the "''Future Combat''" Bonus, then spread to either N. America (Total §330 + "''Air & Space''") or Africa (Total §325 + "''All In''"); either way it's only 3 satellites.
+** This is a good option if you rely on a short-list of highly perked soldiers for combat.
+** The downside is you have to be careful not to waste precious resources on excessive Foundry projects that you may not use in combat very often.
+* Start in Africa for the "''All In''" Bonus (because it gives you extra credits no matter what play style or strategy you choose) and then spread to N. America for more credits or Asia for even cheaper deals on Foundry and OTS projects.
+** This is a good option if you don't have a particular strategy in mind, or if your strategy is to play it by ear and react to what the game gives you as you progress.
+** The downside is that you'll need a couple more satellites to get the other continent bonuses, which takes time, credits, and Uplinks to accomplish, all in the face of ever-increasing panic.
 ==See Also==
 * [[Situation Room (EU2012)#Funding|Funding]] - for a list of the country/continent funding and bonuses.
+* [[Strategy (EU2012)#Continent Analysis|Strategy]] - for a comparison of the different continent bonuses.
 * [[Difficulty (EU2012)#Starting Funds|Starting Funds]] - for a breakdown of the starting credits by difficulty level and continent.
 * [[XCOM HQ (EU2012)|XCOM Headquarters]]
 [[Category: Enemy Unknown (2012)]]