I was finishing watching recent Marbozir campain of XCOM, and i was thinking: "Man, i wonder - would ChristopherOdd ever be back for XCOM again? I miss his campains and the role-played comments to the videos, it was such a joy to watch this!"... And here i am, and the rest of us are. The new Odd XCOM campain. Mr.Odd, thank you for coming back to this game. Wish you an awesome campain, and - no deaths on first mission! Lets goooooo-o!
Randomly got this recommended, i haven't watched any Xcom in like 2 years. Gotta say i love not only the commentary, but also the hard work your fans put into those backstories, i have never seen that kinda thing from any playthrough
Good luck, Commander! There will be no Firebrand logs this season, but the Skyranger pilot will continue to cheer on the soldiers from the cockpit. God speed, Menace!
Good to see you, Firebrand! Sad you won't be keeping us up to date on the story that TRULY matters, but it must be hard to keep up with. Thanks for the awesome extra fluff you gave us! Was always the second best reason to tune into this series! :D
Good to see you, Firebrand. Like you, Max is gonna sit this one out (mostly just too busy with work, and being late starting to watch the series). Hope the new custodian will keep your baby clean enough.
**Resistance Recording, Log 01: Date - 3/2/35** **Ethan “Ace” White** The commander is back, and my god, he’s even leading troops into battle. I knew nothing about the Commander before except for what Bradford told me, but now, I have a massive respect for this man. It takes a different breed of leader to lead men into combat, and it seems like this Commander Odd is one of them. Right after he was rescued, he got right to work, immediately wanting to strike back against the enemy. He did this despite the fact that Tygan just did brain surgery on him. Bradford wanted him to command from the Avenger, but no, the Commander instead grabbed a bullpup rifle and a sword and hopped on the Skyranger with the rest of the team! You should have seen the look on all of our faces when we saw him board. I watched from the co-pilot seat, almost shocked. At first I thought he had a deathwish or something, but no, he wanted to get in on the action it seems. Talk about setting an example! Alright, so the commander drops into the combat zone with Menace 1-5, and begins leading them into action. Now I’ve had my doubts about the loyalty of some of these new guys and gals, but they all immediately followed his lead without question. The mission ended up becoming a huge success, as the Commander and Menace 1-5 were able to successfully rescue the VIPs from the advent facility. Only casualty, ironically, was Odd himself. Sounds like he got a “not so friendly” hug from a viper if you get what I mean. That’s the crazy thing too. Menace 1-5 was suddenly put under the command of this guy, and followed him into battle. Then, they watch him get injured by a big ugly snake, only for the commander to simply walk it off like nothing happened. Commander, if you’re reading this, you are one crazy bastard, and for that, you got my loyalty and respect. Maybe just get some more practice with that sword before you head out again, ok? This is Ethan “Ace” White, out for today. **End Log**
Alright, the stat spreadsheets are up and running once more, so the periodic soldier scoreboard will continue this season - the first one will be on episode 10. I'm going to be trying out a new stat this season, sort of my attempt at a sabermetric take on accuracy. I'm calling it Expected Accuracy Score (EAS), and it will essentially measure how good or bad a soldier is at hitting shots compared to the "expected" percentage to hit. The way it works is, for each shot a soldier takes, they lose EAS equal to that shot's % hit chance if they miss it, and gain 1 - the shots % hit chance if they hit it. So if a soldier takes a 75% shot, they gain 0.25 EAS if they hit and lose 0.75 EAS if they miss. EAS from all of a soldier's shots (and anything else with a hit % roll, so yes, whiffs with swords count 😏) gets totaled up to give a soldier's overall score. A positive EAS score means a soldier generally hits more than the raw % would indicate, and a negative score means they generally hit less. I'll see how this works over the early part of the season, and if it's interesting enough to be worth the extra hassle of data collection. In case anyone's wondering, all 6 soldiers had a negative EAS for today. 🤣
@@angeljaimes3543 That would be awesome to do, but I just have no idea how I'd figure out a formula for it. The right stat weights for kills, damage, hits, misses...🤔💥
Sad for me that Xcom 2 Wotc is unplayable for me because of game breaking glitches that corrupt my save files. Shame that I just finshed off 2 Chosen Bases
Commander Odd - Always carefully uses full cover with his soldiers Also Commander Odd - Puts himself in near suicidal positions twice in the first mission :D Loving the new series already. Will be especially interesting to see you play this modlist as it's fairly similar to my own
Holy crap, the character pool and bios were fantastic last time around, but everyone has really upped their game this time. Already feel a strong connection to these new characters. This is gonna be such an epic playthrough!
This is what brought me to your channel Odd. The community behind these playthroughs is so dynamic and creative and amazing and dramatic and just superb in every way. I can’t wait to meet the new hero’s of earth. Welcome back Commander.
Broadcast 1: ".... ah! It's on!" "Thank you for tuning in, to the very first broadcast of Loner Radio! My name is Curatas Andayru, the Loner." "To properly introduce myself, I was once a servant of the false gods like many of my brothers and sisters, but now that I have been freed from their enslavement, I shall return the world to the hands of man, and the minds of my brothers and sisters to their own. This will be a personal log of my own travels and news that comes my way." "As for my first piece of news, I bring confirmation of rumors. Xcom has indeed returned. This is a glorious event, a true warriors in the war against the Flase Gods have appeared." "I must also temper expectations however. Xcom has failed the world in the past, and their failure resulted in the way things are now. We should also remember that we cannot expect them to be a savior to us. We must continue our own resistance and look out for our own." "That will conclude my first broadcast. My travels will continue, as well Loner Radio. Thank you for listening, Curatas out."
Those soldier bios were some of my favorite so far in your campaigns! Really digging how many are ex-ADVENT. Been a long time viewer and was excited for the premiere like a movie premiere! You're always top quality. Thanks for the great content Odd!
The new segment of ‘Spot’s Special’ of Brightsky radio, introduced as the ending for each week’s content as of Episode 253, the segment known as ‘Resistance Rundown’. Delivered by Finn ‘Spot’ O’Hara. ------ “I’m going to try to keep our new little bit short and sweet. After all, it isn’t in my usual wheelhouse. Still, I think it’ll be a good segue into the station’s other programming. Might as well let you pick my brain, if only for a little bit, right? There’s a lot of rumors spinning around our cell about a CERTAIN recent act of rebellion. I’m sure you’re all aware at this point, I’ll keep the nasty violence talk out though. That means the most I can commend people for is the basics. Someone really took it to Advent! On Unification Day too, oh the scandal! Normally I’m no hype man, but it’s impossible not to get a little energetic just thinking about it! That’s the sort of thing we needed, I think. All of us, a reminder that no matter how isolated we feel, someone’s out there taking names. If you’d believe the rumors, there’s a tad bit more going on with that recent excursion, but I’ll leave that bit of speculation to my peers of other programs. For now there’s only one thing I really WANT to say. If our dashing heroes from ‘Unification Day’ are listening, we’re all raising our glasses to you tonight. Take some joy in your success, and the positive buzz your actions have caused. Heck, I can say you sure as heck made one radio host’s day when he heard of your little party. Nearly leapt out of my chair when the news came my way! So, from all of us here at Brightsky radio, and the Resistance at large, thank you! And to all my lovely listeners, we’ll be continuing our radio-play adaptation of _The Two Towers_ next week, you won’t wanna miss it! I think we put in some real masterful performances if I do say so myself! Until next time, this is Finn O’Hara, wishing you all sunny days and happy trails!" _A short, peppy instrumental plays Finn out as the episode ends._
Looking for a good example of X-Com, and after looking amongst a bunch of different channels. I finally stumbled across ODDs play throughs. Not only was I impressed with his gameplay. What hooked me was his running commentary on what his thoughts were And what his options were and why he was doing while he was doing. Whilst telling you what be thinks the enemy can or may do. Been on you tube a whole but his was the first channel I finally subscribed to. I dont really care to subscribe. Unless I've watched the content enough. That I know I would like them to stick around.
Hoooo boy, it's great to be back in the saddle! I've missed Xcom, it's been such an important part of my life, thanks in no small part to you, Odd. Now, I'm in. Able to join the resistance, and help see this to victory, or die trying. It's... I'm just glad you're back. Onward!
Okay so I've never seen any of these mods and I'm SO SO DAMN EXCITED to see you use this insane variety of new features and details to make another amazing experience. God I'm so ****ing excited.
1:31:50 Pepabear's got a great adaptation of Sgt. Nicholas Angel's backstory from Hot Fuzz. I really hope he finds a lovable sidekick in the coming episodes.
God I love the updated sound track like the second the mission ends and the guitar hits! I’ve missed X-com so much so glad you’re taking another crack at it!
Oh boy, good luck. I go with mission timer extension mods when I play with Yellow Alert (or Podless). Without them, I find the timers to be too quick because the game devolves into a static firefight. Unless something has been changed in the last year. Good luck though!
So happy for new one! Your last XCOM campaign is what brought me to your channel. I was quite invested in that playthrough and really respected how you took the loss on the last mission. It also made me re-play XCOM 2 for the third time with some of the mods you were using (no major overhauls like new classes but a lot of small quality of life stuff as well as improved AI) Sooo many new awesome memories of both loss and triumph :)
Terrific mod list Chris and well done to your able assistant for getting them all in snyc. You're still the definitive streamer of XCOM2 (Sorry Marbs lol). Here we go again with what has to be one of the most replayable games ever created thanks to a hugely talented modding community and the goodwill of Firaxis to work with them. I'd hazard a guess that this will be your final campaign on XCom2 and its variants though, as good as the game remains there's only so much shelf life to squeeze and we ALL are waiting for XCom3. I've never tried Covert Infiltration though as I'm still married to a heavily modded LWOTC so this should be interesting.
2:25 Untold amount of hype 1:12:25 These are better than half of my One-shot fic experience 1:22:51 Honestly haven't seen a character so visually expressive in a year
*Helen Giroux. Story Mode* The Avenger greeted Helen with smells of exhaust from its engines, swearing of the crew and smiling faces of her squadmates. The smiles didn't address her though. If anything, they seemed to steer away from the Templar. That was fine. She had a job to do here. ____________________________ Pouring rain and violent gusts of wind did little to shake the resolve of the resistance members manning the makeshift barricades of a rebel camp. Even fierce lightning, which teared the storm clouds above, followed by deafening rolls of thunder, could not persuade the drenched fighters to abandon their posts and seek shelter from the elements. Despite the raging thunderstorm, they kept peering into the torrents of rain in an attempt to spot any movement. The Templar that arrived this morning scared their leader to death and he was not someone who gave in to fear easily, so there must have been a good enough reason to keep all armed men on full alert since the appearance of their guest. “Any news, Frank, on who our charming guest is, yet?” Mike asked his neighbor on the barricades, trying to wrap the combat jacket tighter around himself. “None. They are just sitting in our HQ, talking about something,” The burly man replied. “It’s not like our boss to keep secrets from us.” “Yeah,” Marcus joined the conversation, stroking his soaked beard. “If we are to die in this lousy storm, I’d like to know what for at least, like Josh himself always told us.” “Don’t jinx it, bud,” Mike spat. “No one’s dying except our enemies tonight. I’m sure Josh has his reasons, though I wouldn’t mind getting this whole business over with.” The conversation ended as abruptly as it started. The rebels stared into the darkness, being on a lookout for anything suspicious. Suddenly Frank almost jumped up and raised his gun. “Hey, you saw that?” “N-no,” Mike replied, his finger sliding to the trigger. “What did you see?” “Down the road. I swear there was someone standing there.” “Where?” Mike asked in disbelief, scanning the space in front of him with a rifle. “Right in the open?” “Shit, there’s movement at 10 o’clock,” Marcus gave a muffled cry. As he finished, a forked bolt of lightning surged beneath the storm clouds, bathing the surroundings with ethereal glow. A shout came from the far right, immediately drawing everyone’s attention, “Tango at 2 o’clock. Open…” A powerful clap of thunder roared high in the skies like an injured lion holding his last line of defense and the rebels needed no more commands. Their nerves on edge, every fighter pulled the trigger shooting in the direction where they saw the mysterious figure. Flashes of gunfire tore through the night and didn’t cease until the magazines were empty. The guerrillas were shooting in a frenzy, spraying bullets in all directions in front of them, hoping to catch the enemy in crossfire. When the firing stopped, Frank sighed with relief, the jagged sound of his own rifle always boosted his confidence. “Alright, is that it? Should someone go check…” He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. A man in the middle of their group screamed and Frank saw a violet energy blade piercing one of his friends. The rebels only noticed a female figure clad in darkness, disappearing in a blink of an eye into a wall of rain. Another yelp came from behind Marcus, who turned and saw a flash of purple and a fountain of blood gushing out in a wide arc from another butchered soldier. At that moment the fighters lost it and each started shooting chaotically, hoping that it would somehow save their lives. ____________________________ “Still no response from XCOM?” The Templar asked Josh. Both men sat in the relative comfort of the camp’s HQ, pouring over some maps. “No, but with this thunderstorm, I hope they at least received my message,” the rebel leader replied, frowning. Josh opened his mouth again, but was distracted by the sudden sound of a firefight coming from the outside. “She’s here.” The Templar clenched his teeth. “Draw your weapon. I told you it was a mistake to send your men out onto the barricades.” “They’ll deal with it. Thanks to her blunder you noticed her and came prepared.” “No, not her blunder. Her tactic. There are assassins who hide in the shadows, waiting for their chance to strike, knowing that the surprise is their only real advantage. And then there are the Black Ghosts.” “Who?” “Few of our own even know that they exist. Just pray that you survive.” The door to rebel HQ slammed open with a loud bang. Frank stood on the threshold, his eyes whirling. “Frank,” Josh yelled, jerking his rifle and aiming at the rebel, “Report! Why the fuck did you leave your post?” A tip of a purple energy blade emerged from Frank’s throat with a sickening sound and for a moment, Josh and the Templar saw a woman standing behind the rebel. An accurate haircut framed her beautiful face, a faint smile was playing on her lips and her violet eyes were pulsating with otherworldly power, mirroring the color of her psionic swords. For a moment, Josh and his companion stood mesmerized, then they opened fire. Stray bullets only pierced Frank’s already dead body. It fell forward on the floor, splashing in a pool of its own blood. The doorway was empty. Rain kept falling steadily outside, creating a static noise, interrupted only by the howling of the wind. The Templar raised his automatic pistol and fired a short burst at the lamps overhead, sending the room into darkness. Josh saw his guest sliding away into the shadows without making any sound and abandoning him. The rebel leader did not dare to call out to the Templar, afraid to give away his own position. He swallowed, gripping the rifle even tighter with his sweating hands, and started backing slowly towards a wall. That’s not how he imagined he would die. Neglected by XCOM, forsaken by his allies.
Josh smiled weakly. He shouldn’t have helped or trusted his guest. As long as he could remember, others always only sought to use the rebels, but when his group was hard pressed, help was nowhere to be found. And XCOM? Rumor had it that they were reborn. The Templar wanted to contact them, but just like the police in pre-invasion movies, they would come to the rescue too late. His only hope now was that the murderer would not find their families. The rebels could not evacuate them because there was nowhere to run, except into ADVENT’s embrace. So they hoped they would not be discovered during the fight. Until the moment the rebels killed their atta Josh finally reached the wall and leaned against it, feeling a bit more confident. His body jerked. Twin energy blades pierced the frail wooden panels along with the rebel leader. The woman, standing outside in the pouring rain, noted with satisfaction that her swords reached their target. She powered down the weapons and heard a soft thud of a falling body. She was completely soaked. The cold was trying to reach her, but with each death she caused, she experienced an unparalleled euphoria and a surge of power, which helped her shake off any discomfort. Everything that just happened was only a warm-up, however. Now she had to finish off her real target. Her senses were strained to the limit, she did not hear the other Templar attempting to escape, so she concluded that he must have prepared his own ambush. The woman started skirting the building, keeping close to the wall. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement on the rooftop. She swung to the side and raised her blades forming a shield block. The attacker swooped down, aiming a savage strike at her neck. It glanced off the shimmering energy blades. The Templar was already prepping a follow-up strike, but she jumped in close, kicked him in the stomach, and rolled backwards. They stood opposite one another in the storm, bolts of lightning flashing above them and their weapons pulsating with purple energy. A faint smile played on the lips of the woman in black robes. “I know you,” the Templar said. “Helen? We fought together in New Chile, two years ago. Back then you hadn’t yet passed into the night. Never thought you would.” “You’re a traitor, Arjun, and a turncoat. You will not reach the safety of ADVENT. I am here to enforce your sentence.” “Escaping to ADVENT? Is that what they told you? I am to contact XCOM, not ADVENT, they are the only ones who can stop all this madness. The Templars are using you.” Helen shook her head. The negotiations were over. She started reciting the words of her oath, closing the distance with Arjun. “I know no mercy. I know no regrets.” She opened her offense with a ferocious flurry. Her strikes grew in power with every word. “I know no remorse. I know no weakness.” Her blows now turned into a whirling gale. The other Templar could barely keep up with his parries. With every second he gave up more and more ground. “I know no doubts for I am the vengeance.” Helen’s smile twisted into a cruel grin. Arjun couldn’t keep up with the onslaught for long. His defense slipped, if only a little. The woman’s blades pierced his armor. The traitor, however, lured her into a trap deliberately. Allowing the momentum to carry forward his dying body, he sliced at her with one final desperate strike. Helen caught onto his intent a little too late. She sprang back, but the tip of Arjun’s energy sword cut across her chest and shoulder drawing out blood. She powered down her psionic swords and Arjun sagged into the dirt. Helen looked down at the body sprawled in front of her in the mud puddle and spat on it. Blood from her wounded shoulder evaporated in a purple mist. Her task accomplished, it was now time to check that Arjun’s transmission didn’t go through. She turned and headed towards a building with the satellite dish on top. Just then, she heard a wail coming from behind. “Nooooooo! They are all dead. Frank, Mike, Marcus, everyone.” She whirled around and raised up her blades just in time to block a barrage of fire. She didn’t waste a second and charged forward, keeping up her protective barrier. When she reached the attackers, she slashed with her weapons in all directions in wide sweeping strikes. Her wrath blinded her to everything that was happening. She killed one of her assailants. Then another. And then proceeded murdering those who already dropped their weapons. And then the ones who had no weapons and dropped on their knees, pleading to be spared. Her faint smile only left her lips just as the life of her last victim left the body. Helen blinked, having sated her bloodlust. Slender corpses sprawled on the ground in front of her. They were all women. She looked around. The entire camp was dark and silent; the only sounds were those of the storm and her own heavy breathing. The euphoria and psionic power filling her to the brim began receding. Helen worried that she would soon lose all the focus she accumulated during the battle and then... she dreaded not to imagine what would come then. She reached for the injector, but the pocket where she normally stored it was empty. “No,” Helen whispered. She felt panic and fear gripping at her throat. She dashed to the place where she fought Arjun, dropped down into the mud and frantically searched the ground, feeling it with her hands. She crawled through puddles, then ran back to where she killed the women and desperately groped around their corpses. She was covered in muck and blood from head to toe, but her efforts proved futile. The first harbingers of upcoming agony already started creeping from her forearms, clasped in Templar’s gauntlets, up to her chest and spreading through the entire body. Within seconds the burning in her hands became almost intolerable and as the last remnants of psionic energy, which Helen accumulated, dispersed, there was nothing to stop the spasms and seizures that followed. She dropped on her knees trembling. Tears ran down her cheeks, instantly washed away by the torrents of rain. Mad at herself for losing the injector, Helen slammed her fists into the ground in helpless anger and cried out in pain. Her hands were on fire, she wanted to rip the gauntlets off of her arms to stop this torture, but she knew it was impossible. She felt a taste of blood in her mouth, but she could not give a damn any more. The pain was so excruciating that it made it difficult for her to breathe. She collapsed next to her victims and as she fought to keep the last vestiges of consciousness about her, she saw through the blurred vision a little girl pointing a shotgun at her. “D-d-don’t do this…” Helen mumbled through clenched teeth. “Why?” The girl asked in an angelic childish voice. “You killed my ma.” “Don’t b-be-become like me.” Before fainting, Helen clung to a hope that the girl would actually pull the trigger and put an end to all of this. ____________________________ When Helen opened her eyes, the clouds dispersed, the sun was shining high in the skies, the pain was gone and there was a loaded gun lying next to her head. She rose up. The blood of her victims was difficult to discern on her jet black robes, all covered in mud. Her mission was accomplished.
I hope there's some good payoff in the future logs. This whole narrative is well crafted, but feels seriously detached from the rest of the characters and logs.
@@DinnerForkTongue Thank you. I hope you enjoy reading the rest of the logs. I do not write logs in "log" format since we have already seen countless logs gasping at the Blacksite revelations, so logs no longer do it for me. I normally tend to come up with personal stories of characters which run in parallel to actual episodes. There's no reason to describe what happened in the episode, because everyone else has already seen it, but I realize this might not work for many others=) As a general rule, I go for stories which hopefully make you understand better what drives a character you see in the episodes. The reason why this story is detached is because it happened before Helen joined XCOM and it is an introduction to her character. There are more references to other characters and in-campaign events in future Helen's stories for the subsequent episodes=)
There were some great bios and characters here, props to everyone submitting them! Can't wait to see how the campaign unfolds! This setup is nearly identical to how I "play" the game myself, so it should be good fun! Hope you all enjoy the experience - I really appreciate how base XCOM 2 can be so accessible to modding, even for a relative novice like me - and what it's become from all the amazing works modders have created. You're in for a great ride!
Thanks for the Proficiencies... Such a huge upgrade to Vanilla. I think I waited over a year for the final class and it was well worth it. Genius idea and awesome implantation... Great work!
super hyped to be watching you play xcom again! I love all the bios and its on of my fav parts. i found you though xcom enemy unknown years ago and its always a good time when I see you upload xcom. love the vid and keep these soldiers alive and well odd!
XCOM PERSONNEL LOGS OPERATIVE: Rk. Liberty Bell DATE: 02-28-2035 OPERATIVE LOG 01: When someone is created for a sole purpose, and they can no longer fulfill that purpose, what is left for them to do? I know quite a bit about quite a lot, it’s how I was made, but most of that doesn’t really apply here does it? What good is a American history guide in a global resistance movement? Wait, no, that could actually be of some help. It sounds silly when I put the words down on paper, but maybe that was never my concern. Maybe it’s that I don’t know if I’ll fit in. I wasn’t there before the strike team left for Gatecrasher, but standing in the hangar as they walked by I could tell that these people were forged by this fight long ago. Claudius is revered for his crusades by what seems like everyone around me, and he’s got the scars to prove it. Raid and his insane armor, I heard whispers about his exploits on my journey north and he looks every bit the legend they describe. The biggest shock was seeing the Commander walk off with them. The Commander, terrorist- no, hero of the first contact campaign, on the front lines?!? He looked beaten up, and there wasn’t a drop of blood on his blade but that doesn’t matter, Commander Odd’s presence on combat operations would be enough of a boost to morale to turn the tide of any conflict. He seems like the heroes I taught about. Not the propaganda I was forced to teach about, I mean real heroes, like George Washington, Desmond Doss and Henry McCord. I haven’t lied since becoming self-aware, but I’m not going to begin today: that was inspiring. That inspiration couldn’t have come at a better time, I’ve just been given my first assignment. It’s nothing big, I have to accompany Sq. Helen Giroux to a training facility in Russia for “inter-resistance exercises” with another cell. I’m not quite sure what the Commander told her, but when she left the mission brief I could see a dejected expression on her face. She didn’t seem too excited about these joint exercises. It could just be jitters, but a veteran such as herself? Something else has got her like this. That’s not for me to determine though, even if I was able to. The real problem is she called me “Libby”. Everyone has been calling me “Libby” when I’ve informed them that that’s not my name. I guess I can’t blame them since most of them haven’t completed formal education, but that doesn’t mean I like it any more. Regardless, this mission, however menial and insignificant, can prove that I am here to assist and that I can make a difference. Whatever my purpose before, the success of XCOM is my priority now. ---END LOG---
Thank you so much for launching another xcom 2 campaign! I have been having the itch to play again, and watching you try these new gameplay mods has me excited. Wish I remembered to send in a soldier, but can't wait to watch!
Oh my god. I have been subscribed to you for ages and yet, this series never popped up for me until I randomly got episode 86 recommended to me. I got a whole lot of binging to do!
The first playthrough of XCOM 2 was my introduction to you. Now I get to watch a new playthrough with ya. Maybe this shall get me back into it as I haven't played it in quite a long time.
Danil "VARIABLE" Terani Personal Log: X-1. Crew and action squads abuzz. Commander back in play. A little odd, but seems decent. Maybe he'll live up to the rumors and hushed stories. Commander visited armory. Met the others. Nodded my way through. Doesn't know how to pronounce my name. Tempting to use that, but disregarded. Would be awkward for half the crew to call me one thing, the other another. Variable is fine. Danil, (That's Dan-eel, thanks.) works, at least for shorthand. Be anywhere. Hit anyone. Lie, about anything. That's the motto. That's VARIABLE. Always in play, but never constant. Addendum: Techs' screwed up. Fire + aircraft =/= good. Had to put it out. Yay. Personal Log: X-1.1 Covert action. Briefing. "Recover Useful Items". Doesn't define..."useful". Bring Sirran another pack of smokes? Liar, likewise. Noisy. End Personal Log: X-1 (Hyped for the new season, figured I'd write out some of the classic reports in the comments for my character. Threw in a couple of tie-ins, being Danil's name pronunciation, her "firefighter" trait, Danil does go on the "Recover Useful Items" covert op, and that Sirran, aka. "Mrs. Treason" has a 9.2 cohesion with Danil, so why not grab her another pack of smokes? Was surprised to see that cohesion bit, especially since I liked Treasons' bio.)
Hey Spartan Caeca, was curious if you wanted your logs added to the archival doc the writer's Discord server has going? You don't have to join the server if you don't want, but we'd be happy to collect your work!
I DO NOT have time to watch this between work, games and video backlog. But I will, because this is XCOM with ChristopherOdd and it's going to be awesome.
> Accessing Avenger Personal User Database > Please enter Username and Password > Pepa Prochazka > ******** > Access Granted. Welcome P. Prochazka > Please enter Callsign and Rank > Pepabear, Rookie > Starting Audio Recording Program > Begin Audio Recording - This is the Overview of Operation "Gatecrasher" - * Number of XCOM casualties = 0 * Weaponry assigned for Operation = N/A * Equipment assigned for Operation = N/A - Short Debrief of the situation during Operation "Gatecrasher" - "The Operation has gone down with what can be classified as a success. The only injury was the Commander himself, but it is too be expected. He feel as though he put himself on the line to be an example for us and to show the kind of soldiers he needs out in the field. He appears to be a bit rusty with the sword, though it is no stun lance, if he requires a sparring partner to hone his skill I would be more the happy to give a few pointers." - Personal thoughts about Operation "Gatecrasher" - "I have to say, seeing the Commander take to the field is not what I would call textbook. In the Academy we were taught to lead by example, but you achieved those examples as you climbed your way to higher ranks. I guess the Commander feels that since we are all new under his command he has to prove himself in the field. Even though the stories of what he achieved before the Elders and Aliens won were already impressive enough to earn their own merits. Regardless of the situation, it feels good to strike back at the Elders." - Notes since the last transmission - "The rumors and stories amongst the resistances were not kidding. The Avenger is quite an impressive piece of craftsmanship. I believe Shen and her Father is responsible for it, though the latter is unfortunately no longer with us. Though Shen has clearly shown she is quite capable in her field. First day introductions are always a bit uncomfortable. I've yet to be evaluated or given room designation. So I'll probably keep myself scarce and out of the way, maybe brush up on my chess skills." > Ending Audio Recording Program > Signing out P. Prochazka > Thank you for using XCOM OS
pepabears biography is just taken from the movie hot fuzz... "Nicholas Angel : I don't remember a time when I didn't want to be a police officer... apart from the summer of 1979 when I wanted to be Kermit the Frog. It all started with my Uncle Derek. He was a Sergeant in the Met. He bought me a police pedal car when I was five. I rode around in it every second I was awake - arresting kids twice my size for littering and spitting."
Me, who has seen the intro videos so many times I know them more intimately than than my wife of 40 years: Skiiiiiip! Someone who is watching their first Xcom campaign and is interested in the story: Oh awesome, he isn't skipping it :)
I'm so glad XCOM is back! I haven't been able to personally play the game since the new update (something wrong with my PC) so I'm glad there's a new playthrough happening to be able to enjoy. Good luck in this new journey Commander!
One of the best Xcom streamers. Beaglerush and Odd are my two favorite cause there is so much drama and crap that goes on that just makes for very entertaining videos. Keep it coming Commander.
Man. It's been years since I last played/viewed Xcom. Don't even know why it happend but I'm so happy that youtube decided to put this on my play next list right now.
I like The Cook and his part of the bio with cooking grenades, because in R6S I used Grenades on the Recruit and called myself a cool too with the line of “Cooking grenades, Served *very* hot and fresh with a side of shrapnel and gunpowder.” I can safely say that The Cook has the same energy
"Only 218 Mods, in an effort to keep it light" Lol this is such a funny statement to hear. It even better considering that this is in fact true and everybody who has ever modded this game knows that 200+ Mods is in fact actually very little xD
If there weren't a Christopher Odd, we should have to invent him! When game playing becomes reality, the best of the Odd step foreward. Delighted to see this back on the front burner, happier than a squirrel discovering an abandoned nut factory new material is in play as we join you saving humanity!
I went on vacation just before this premiered, now I get the privilege of binge-watching all of the currently-out episodes. Good lord we're spoiled by quantity and quality of content
Not fair, i wasn't on this channel maybe a few days and right before i need to go to bed i discover this amazing new Xcom season. Now im fighting with myself going to bed or gonna pull an all nighter to watch this
Do you know what I'm most excited for? The absolute madlad writers in the comment section with their character logs. Can't wait to see what they spun up this time.
missed you so much.....been knee deep into twitch watching....so glad to get back to the roots i always LOVED your approach to xcom and psyched on binging this
When we needed him the most, he came back.
Cant wait for this xcom season, gonna be wild.
Feel the same
I am glad that I can follow this xcom season instead of binge watching everything
steam xbox 321
ChristopherOdd: "I've got my own soldier".
yeah. try not to get him killed.
I was finishing watching recent Marbozir campain of XCOM, and i was thinking: "Man, i wonder - would ChristopherOdd ever be back for XCOM again? I miss his campains and the role-played comments to the videos, it was such a joy to watch this!"...
And here i am, and the rest of us are. The new Odd XCOM campain. Mr.Odd, thank you for coming back to this game. Wish you an awesome campain, and - no deaths on first mission! Lets goooooo-o!
Totally agree man, although I'd love to see, one man come back, an odd get revenge on them aliens.
Tobias Batch disagrees tho.
Me too Mabozir was just finishing his campaign and i was thinking what to watch now and lo and behold Mr. Odd was back with XCOM. i'm in bring it
Randomly got this recommended, i haven't watched any Xcom in like 2 years.
Gotta say i love not only the commentary, but also the hard work your fans put into those backstories, i have never seen that kinda thing from any playthrough
I love how this first mission was a lot of Odd running in all reckless and the team trying to bail him out.
I swear the hit chance for the swords in this game are incorrect and are straight up cursed.
Every campaign is like that. Except this time it's not figurative.
Chris: 81 percent chance, so basically a miss
Han Solo: never tell me the odds
19 percent chance to get totally shafted. You're reading it wrong.
Good luck, Commander!
There will be no Firebrand logs this season, but the Skyranger pilot will continue to cheer on the soldiers from the cockpit. God speed, Menace!
All man I love the firebrand logs
Eyy the legend is back!
Happy to see you back Firebrand, godspeed
Good to see you, Firebrand! Sad you won't be keeping us up to date on the story that TRULY matters, but it must be hard to keep up with. Thanks for the awesome extra fluff you gave us! Was always the second best reason to tune into this series! :D
Good to see you, Firebrand. Like you, Max is gonna sit this one out (mostly just too busy with work, and being late starting to watch the series). Hope the new custodian will keep your baby clean enough.
**Resistance Recording, Log 01: Date - 3/2/35**
**Ethan “Ace” White**
The commander is back, and my god, he’s even leading troops into battle. I knew nothing about the Commander before except for what Bradford told me, but now, I have a massive respect for this man. It takes a different breed of leader to lead men into combat, and it seems like this Commander Odd is one of them. Right after he was rescued, he got right to work, immediately wanting to strike back against the enemy. He did this despite the fact that Tygan just did brain surgery on him. Bradford wanted him to command from the Avenger, but no, the Commander instead grabbed a bullpup rifle and a sword and hopped on the Skyranger with the rest of the team! You should have seen the look on all of our faces when we saw him board. I watched from the co-pilot seat, almost shocked. At first I thought he had a deathwish or something, but no, he wanted to get in on the action it seems. Talk about setting an example!
Alright, so the commander drops into the combat zone with Menace 1-5, and begins leading them into action. Now I’ve had my doubts about the loyalty of some of these new guys and gals, but they all immediately followed his lead without question. The mission ended up becoming a huge success, as the Commander and Menace 1-5 were able to successfully rescue the VIPs from the advent facility. Only casualty, ironically, was Odd himself. Sounds like he got a “not so friendly” hug from a viper if you get what I mean. That’s the crazy thing too. Menace 1-5 was suddenly put under the command of this guy, and followed him into battle. Then, they watch him get injured by a big ugly snake, only for the commander to simply walk it off like nothing happened.
Commander, if you’re reading this, you are one crazy bastard, and for that, you got my loyalty and respect. Maybe just get some more practice with that sword before you head out again, ok?
This is Ethan “Ace” White, out for today.
**End Log**
Damn, homie, your writing has improved leaps and bounds since the last campaign! Great job here 👍
2019 season ace was there to I think
Alright, the stat spreadsheets are up and running once more, so the periodic soldier scoreboard will continue this season - the first one will be on episode 10.
I'm going to be trying out a new stat this season, sort of my attempt at a sabermetric take on accuracy. I'm calling it Expected Accuracy Score (EAS), and it will essentially measure how good or bad a soldier is at hitting shots compared to the "expected" percentage to hit. The way it works is, for each shot a soldier takes, they lose EAS equal to that shot's % hit chance if they miss it, and gain 1 - the shots % hit chance if they hit it. So if a soldier takes a 75% shot, they gain 0.25 EAS if they hit and lose 0.75 EAS if they miss. EAS from all of a soldier's shots (and anything else with a hit % roll, so yes, whiffs with swords count 😏) gets totaled up to give a soldier's overall score. A positive EAS score means a soldier generally hits more than the raw % would indicate, and a negative score means they generally hit less. I'll see how this works over the early part of the season, and if it's interesting enough to be worth the extra hassle of data collection.
In case anyone's wondering, all 6 soldiers had a negative EAS for today. 🤣
Doing gods work
This is promising. Very interested to see the final numbers.
I know it'd be more complicated but a WAR stat would be hilarious
@@angeljaimes3543 That would be awesome to do, but I just have no idea how I'd figure out a formula for it. The right stat weights for kills, damage, hits, misses...🤔💥
Honestly, a mission EAS might be more interesting - a quantification of luck, to compare to the feeling of whether a mission went well or poorly.
I know there’s many other games out there , but I’ve missed the good old XCOM play through 😎
YES
Same. I subbed to this channel back in the day for the xcom play throughs :'D. Looking forward to this one.
Only XCOM and Age of Wonders series cut it for me
I feel this deeply
Sad for me that Xcom 2 Wotc is unplayable for me because of game breaking glitches that corrupt my save files. Shame that I just finshed off 2 Chosen Bases
Commander Odd - Always carefully uses full cover with his soldiers
Also Commander Odd - Puts himself in near suicidal positions twice in the first mission
:D Loving the new series already. Will be especially interesting to see you play this modlist as it's fairly similar to my own
Every time “Hello Commander,” comes on I get chills.
Holy crap, the character pool and bios were fantastic last time around, but everyone has really upped their game this time. Already feel a strong connection to these new characters. This is gonna be such an epic playthrough!
Yea, these bios were WAY more solid than the previous campaign's. Can't wait to read the logs!
Ace has been in xcom before 2019 season I think
Welcome back Commander, I’m looking forward to having advent burgers again.
XD
Did you ever discover what they're made from?
5554t
@@davidknowles2491 Nooo Advent Burgers is the people!!
Better than Birthdays, anniversaries or any other celebrations. Odd is back with XCOM
This is what brought me to your channel Odd. The community behind these playthroughs is so dynamic and creative and amazing and dramatic and just superb in every way. I can’t wait to meet the new hero’s of earth. Welcome back Commander.
"Say the words, please."
"The words, please."
Hell of a reference.
Had a great laugh at the bio for Pepa Prochazka, being an in universe verson of Sergent Angel from Hot Fuzz! I love these series so much.
"I play video games for a living, and now..... I shoot for XCOM."
10/10 Bio, would recommand and read again!
Thank you man! :D
I was just thinking about how badly I missed XCOM last week, and now I get this absolute treat?! What a day!
Broadcast 1:
".... ah! It's on!"
"Thank you for tuning in, to the very first broadcast of Loner Radio! My name is Curatas Andayru, the Loner."
"To properly introduce myself, I was once a servant of the false gods like many of my brothers and sisters, but now that I have been freed from their enslavement, I shall return the world to the hands of man, and the minds of my brothers and sisters to their own. This will be a personal log of my own travels and news that comes my way."
"As for my first piece of news, I bring confirmation of rumors. Xcom has indeed returned. This is a glorious event, a true warriors in the war against the Flase Gods have appeared."
"I must also temper expectations however. Xcom has failed the world in the past, and their failure resulted in the way things are now. We should also remember that we cannot expect them to be a savior to us. We must continue our own resistance and look out for our own."
"That will conclude my first broadcast. My travels will continue, as well Loner Radio. Thank you for listening, Curatas out."
Oh hell yea, Curatas is back and logging!
not Sure if anyone else has said but Connisus is Latin meaning endeavour eagerly, strive, or struggle. Glad your back Commander
Those soldier bios were some of my favorite so far in your campaigns! Really digging how many are ex-ADVENT.
Been a long time viewer and was excited for the premiere like a movie premiere! You're always top quality. Thanks for the great content Odd!
The new segment of ‘Spot’s Special’ of Brightsky radio, introduced as the ending for each week’s content as of Episode 253, the segment known as ‘Resistance Rundown’. Delivered by Finn ‘Spot’ O’Hara.
------
“I’m going to try to keep our new little bit short and sweet. After all, it isn’t in my usual wheelhouse. Still, I think it’ll be a good segue into the station’s other programming. Might as well let you pick my brain, if only for a little bit, right?
There’s a lot of rumors spinning around our cell about a CERTAIN recent act of rebellion. I’m sure you’re all aware at this point, I’ll keep the nasty violence talk out though. That means the most I can commend people for is the basics. Someone really took it to Advent! On Unification Day too, oh the scandal! Normally I’m no hype man, but it’s impossible not to get a little energetic just thinking about it!
That’s the sort of thing we needed, I think. All of us, a reminder that no matter how isolated we feel, someone’s out there taking names. If you’d believe the rumors, there’s a tad bit more going on with that recent excursion, but I’ll leave that bit of speculation to my peers of other programs. For now there’s only one thing I really WANT to say.
If our dashing heroes from ‘Unification Day’ are listening, we’re all raising our glasses to you tonight. Take some joy in your success, and the positive buzz your actions have caused. Heck, I can say you sure as heck made one radio host’s day when he heard of your little party. Nearly leapt out of my chair when the news came my way! So, from all of us here at Brightsky radio, and the Resistance at large, thank you!
And to all my lovely listeners, we’ll be continuing our radio-play adaptation of _The Two Towers_ next week, you won’t wanna miss it! I think we put in some real masterful performances if I do say so myself! Until next time, this is Finn O’Hara, wishing you all sunny days and happy trails!"
_A short, peppy instrumental plays Finn out as the episode ends._
yes, yes, more, yes
@@rikimaru700 ty very much!
XCOM 2 was the series that got me into Commander Odd can't wait this is exciting!
Looking for a good example of X-Com, and after looking amongst a bunch of different channels. I finally stumbled across ODDs play throughs.
Not only was I impressed with his gameplay.
What hooked me was his running commentary on what his thoughts were
And what his options were and why he was doing while he was doing. Whilst telling you what be thinks the enemy can or may do.
Been on you tube a whole but his was the first channel I finally subscribed to.
I dont really care to subscribe. Unless I've watched the content enough. That I know I would like them to stick around.
Hoooo boy, it's great to be back in the saddle!
I've missed Xcom, it's been such an important part of my life, thanks in no small part to you, Odd.
Now, I'm in. Able to join the resistance, and help see this to victory, or die trying.
It's... I'm just glad you're back.
Onward!
Okay so I've never seen any of these mods and I'm SO SO DAMN EXCITED to see you use this insane variety of new features and details to make another amazing experience. God I'm so ****ing excited.
1:31:50 Pepabear's got a great adaptation of Sgt. Nicholas Angel's backstory from Hot Fuzz. I really hope he finds a lovable sidekick in the coming episodes.
Came here to say this. Was hoping I wasn't the only one to catch the reference.
Also loved & immediately recognised this :D
You all did so good on these character submissions and backgrounds! Such creative fun designs. Gonna make the season run all the better.
Having recently rewatched Hot Fuzz, Pepabear's bio really took inspiration from that movie. Love how they managed to convert it to XCOM.
God I love the updated sound track like the second the mission ends and the guitar hits! I’ve missed X-com so much so glad you’re taking another crack at it!
Your first XCom playthrough is what brought me to this channel and man am I happy to see you going back to that game!
Cannot wait for this campaign to kick-off. Odd is one of the best XCom let's player's.
even Zemalf said so
Oh boy, good luck. I go with mission timer extension mods when I play with Yellow Alert (or Podless). Without them, I find the timers to be too quick because the game devolves into a static firefight. Unless something has been changed in the last year.
Good luck though!
Will keep an eye on it! If it’s too crazy we can always adjust
@@ChristopherOdd Might wanna do that, especially after the last episode :)
I like how you divided up the video so we have the choice to either skip or watch the cut-scenes! Very convenient! Thank you!
So happy for new one! Your last XCOM campaign is what brought me to your channel. I was quite invested in that playthrough and really respected how you took the loss on the last mission. It also made me re-play XCOM 2 for the third time with some of the mods you were using (no major overhauls like new classes but a lot of small quality of life stuff as well as improved AI) Sooo many new awesome memories of both loss and triumph :)
Terrific mod list Chris and well done to your able assistant for getting them all in snyc. You're still the definitive streamer of XCOM2 (Sorry Marbs lol). Here we go again with what has to be one of the most replayable games ever created thanks to a hugely talented modding community and the goodwill of Firaxis to work with them. I'd hazard a guess that this will be your final campaign on XCom2 and its variants though, as good as the game remains there's only so much shelf life to squeeze and we ALL are waiting for XCom3. I've never tried Covert Infiltration though as I'm still married to a heavily modded LWOTC so this should be interesting.
Oh god I just realized that William is the character who was on the menu! I'm so glad he was added! This is gonna be an awesome new season!
2:25 Untold amount of hype
1:12:25 These are better than half of my One-shot fic experience
1:22:51 Honestly haven't seen a character so visually expressive in a year
When I saw "Mrs Treason" I flashed back to that one time you had to scrap a run because one of your soldiers killed everyone else in the squad
I remember that. good times
Yea, that was the debut of the infamous "Squadwipe". Apropos that he became a grenadier.
*Helen Giroux. Story Mode*
The Avenger greeted Helen with smells of exhaust from its engines, swearing of the crew and smiling faces of her squadmates. The smiles didn't address her though. If anything, they seemed to steer away from the Templar. That was fine. She had a job to do here.
____________________________
Pouring rain and violent gusts of wind did little to shake the resolve of the resistance members manning the makeshift barricades of a rebel camp. Even fierce lightning, which teared the storm clouds above, followed by deafening rolls of thunder, could not persuade the drenched fighters to abandon their posts and seek shelter from the elements. Despite the raging thunderstorm, they kept peering into the torrents of rain in an attempt to spot any movement. The Templar that arrived this morning scared their leader to death and he was not someone who gave in to fear easily, so there must have been a good enough reason to keep all armed men on full alert since the appearance of their guest.
“Any news, Frank, on who our charming guest is, yet?” Mike asked his neighbor on the barricades, trying to wrap the combat jacket tighter around himself.
“None. They are just sitting in our HQ, talking about something,” The burly man replied. “It’s not like our boss to keep secrets from us.”
“Yeah,” Marcus joined the conversation, stroking his soaked beard. “If we are to die in this lousy storm, I’d like to know what for at least, like Josh himself always told us.”
“Don’t jinx it, bud,” Mike spat. “No one’s dying except our enemies tonight. I’m sure Josh has his reasons, though I wouldn’t mind getting this whole business over with.”
The conversation ended as abruptly as it started. The rebels stared into the darkness, being on a lookout for anything suspicious. Suddenly Frank almost jumped up and raised his gun. “Hey, you saw that?”
“N-no,” Mike replied, his finger sliding to the trigger. “What did you see?”
“Down the road. I swear there was someone standing there.”
“Where?” Mike asked in disbelief, scanning the space in front of him with a rifle. “Right in the open?”
“Shit, there’s movement at 10 o’clock,” Marcus gave a muffled cry.
As he finished, a forked bolt of lightning surged beneath the storm clouds, bathing the surroundings with ethereal glow. A shout came from the far right, immediately drawing everyone’s attention, “Tango at 2 o’clock. Open…”
A powerful clap of thunder roared high in the skies like an injured lion holding his last line of defense and the rebels needed no more commands. Their nerves on edge, every fighter pulled the trigger shooting in the direction where they saw the mysterious figure. Flashes of gunfire tore through the night and didn’t cease until the magazines were empty. The guerrillas were shooting in a frenzy, spraying bullets in all directions in front of them, hoping to catch the enemy in crossfire.
When the firing stopped, Frank sighed with relief, the jagged sound of his own rifle always boosted his confidence. “Alright, is that it? Should someone go check…”
He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. A man in the middle of their group screamed and Frank saw a violet energy blade piercing one of his friends. The rebels only noticed a female figure clad in darkness, disappearing in a blink of an eye into a wall of rain. Another yelp came from behind Marcus, who turned and saw a flash of purple and a fountain of blood gushing out in a wide arc from another butchered soldier. At that moment the fighters lost it and each started shooting chaotically, hoping that it would somehow save their lives.
____________________________
“Still no response from XCOM?” The Templar asked Josh. Both men sat in the relative comfort of the camp’s HQ, pouring over some maps.
“No, but with this thunderstorm, I hope they at least received my message,” the rebel leader replied, frowning. Josh opened his mouth again, but was distracted by the sudden sound of a firefight coming from the outside.
“She’s here.” The Templar clenched his teeth. “Draw your weapon. I told you it was a mistake to send your men out onto the barricades.”
“They’ll deal with it. Thanks to her blunder you noticed her and came prepared.”
“No, not her blunder. Her tactic. There are assassins who hide in the shadows, waiting for their chance to strike, knowing that the surprise is their only real advantage. And then there are the Black Ghosts.”
“Who?”
“Few of our own even know that they exist. Just pray that you survive.”
The door to rebel HQ slammed open with a loud bang. Frank stood on the threshold, his eyes whirling.
“Frank,” Josh yelled, jerking his rifle and aiming at the rebel, “Report! Why the fuck did you leave your post?”
A tip of a purple energy blade emerged from Frank’s throat with a sickening sound and for a moment, Josh and the Templar saw a woman standing behind the rebel. An accurate haircut framed her beautiful face, a faint smile was playing on her lips and her violet eyes were pulsating with otherworldly power, mirroring the color of her psionic swords. For a moment, Josh and his companion stood mesmerized, then they opened fire. Stray bullets only pierced Frank’s already dead body. It fell forward on the floor, splashing in a pool of its own blood. The doorway was empty. Rain kept falling steadily outside, creating a static noise, interrupted only by the howling of the wind.
The Templar raised his automatic pistol and fired a short burst at the lamps overhead, sending the room into darkness. Josh saw his guest sliding away into the shadows without making any sound and abandoning him. The rebel leader did not dare to call out to the Templar, afraid to give away his own position. He swallowed, gripping the rifle even tighter with his sweating hands, and started backing slowly towards a wall. That’s not how he imagined he would die. Neglected by XCOM, forsaken by his allies.
Josh smiled weakly. He shouldn’t have helped or trusted his guest. As long as he could remember, others always only sought to use the rebels, but when his group was hard pressed, help was nowhere to be found. And XCOM? Rumor had it that they were reborn. The Templar wanted to contact them, but just like the police in pre-invasion movies, they would come to the rescue too late. His only hope now was that the murderer would not find their families. The rebels could not evacuate them because there was nowhere to run, except into ADVENT’s embrace. So they hoped they would not be discovered during the fight. Until the moment the rebels killed their atta Josh finally reached the wall and leaned against it, feeling a bit more confident. His body jerked. Twin energy blades pierced the frail wooden panels along with the rebel leader.
The woman, standing outside in the pouring rain, noted with satisfaction that her swords reached their target. She powered down the weapons and heard a soft thud of a falling body. She was completely soaked. The cold was trying to reach her, but with each death she caused, she experienced an unparalleled euphoria and a surge of power, which helped her shake off any discomfort. Everything that just happened was only a warm-up, however. Now she had to finish off her real target.
Her senses were strained to the limit, she did not hear the other Templar attempting to escape, so she concluded that he must have prepared his own ambush. The woman started skirting the building, keeping close to the wall. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement on the rooftop. She swung to the side and raised her blades forming a shield block. The attacker swooped down, aiming a savage strike at her neck. It glanced off the shimmering energy blades. The Templar was already prepping a follow-up strike, but she jumped in close, kicked him in the stomach, and rolled backwards.
They stood opposite one another in the storm, bolts of lightning flashing above them and their weapons pulsating with purple energy. A faint smile played on the lips of the woman in black robes.
“I know you,” the Templar said. “Helen? We fought together in New Chile, two years ago. Back then you hadn’t yet passed into the night. Never thought you would.”
“You’re a traitor, Arjun, and a turncoat. You will not reach the safety of ADVENT. I am here to enforce your sentence.”
“Escaping to ADVENT? Is that what they told you? I am to contact XCOM, not ADVENT, they are the only ones who can stop all this madness. The Templars are using you.”
Helen shook her head. The negotiations were over. She started reciting the words of her oath, closing the distance with Arjun.
“I know no mercy. I know no regrets.” She opened her offense with a ferocious flurry. Her strikes grew in power with every word.
“I know no remorse. I know no weakness.” Her blows now turned into a whirling gale. The other Templar could barely keep up with his parries. With every second he gave up more and more ground.
“I know no doubts for I am the vengeance.” Helen’s smile twisted into a cruel grin. Arjun couldn’t keep up with the onslaught for long. His defense slipped, if only a little. The woman’s blades pierced his armor. The traitor, however, lured her into a trap deliberately. Allowing the momentum to carry forward his dying body, he sliced at her with one final desperate strike.
Helen caught onto his intent a little too late. She sprang back, but the tip of Arjun’s energy sword cut across her chest and shoulder drawing out blood. She powered down her psionic swords and Arjun sagged into the dirt. Helen looked down at the body sprawled in front of her in the mud puddle and spat on it. Blood from her wounded shoulder evaporated in a purple mist. Her task accomplished, it was now time to check that Arjun’s transmission didn’t go through.
She turned and headed towards a building with the satellite dish on top. Just then, she heard a wail coming from behind. “Nooooooo! They are all dead. Frank, Mike, Marcus, everyone.”
She whirled around and raised up her blades just in time to block a barrage of fire. She didn’t waste a second and charged forward, keeping up her protective barrier.
When she reached the attackers, she slashed with her weapons in all directions in wide sweeping strikes.
Her wrath blinded her to everything that was happening.
She killed one of her assailants.
Then another.
And then proceeded murdering those who already dropped their weapons.
And then the ones who had no weapons and dropped on their knees, pleading to be spared. Her faint smile only left her lips just as the life of her last victim left the body.
Helen blinked, having sated her bloodlust. Slender corpses sprawled on the ground in front of her. They were all women.
She looked around. The entire camp was dark and silent; the only sounds were those of the storm and her own heavy breathing. The euphoria and psionic power filling her to the brim began receding. Helen worried that she would soon lose all the focus she accumulated during the battle and then... she dreaded not to imagine what would come then. She reached for the injector, but the pocket where she normally stored it was empty.
“No,” Helen whispered.
She felt panic and fear gripping at her throat. She dashed to the place where she fought Arjun, dropped down into the mud and frantically searched the ground, feeling it with her hands. She crawled through puddles, then ran back to where she killed the women and desperately groped around their corpses. She was covered in muck and blood from head to toe, but her efforts proved futile.
The first harbingers of upcoming agony already started creeping from her forearms, clasped in Templar’s gauntlets, up to her chest and spreading through the entire body. Within seconds the burning in her hands became almost intolerable and as the last remnants of psionic energy, which Helen accumulated, dispersed, there was nothing to stop the spasms and seizures that followed. She dropped on her knees trembling.
Tears ran down her cheeks, instantly washed away by the torrents of rain. Mad at herself for losing the injector, Helen slammed her fists into the ground in helpless anger and cried out in pain. Her hands were on fire, she wanted to rip the gauntlets off of her arms to stop this torture, but she knew it was impossible. She felt a taste of blood in her mouth, but she could not give a damn any more. The pain was so excruciating that it made it difficult for her to breathe. She collapsed next to her victims and as she fought to keep the last vestiges of consciousness about her, she saw through the blurred vision a little girl pointing a shotgun at her.
“D-d-don’t do this…” Helen mumbled through clenched teeth.
“Why?” The girl asked in an angelic childish voice. “You killed my ma.”
“Don’t b-be-become like me.” Before fainting, Helen clung to a hope that the girl would actually pull the trigger and put an end to all of this.
____________________________
When Helen opened her eyes, the clouds dispersed, the sun was shining high in the skies, the pain was gone and there was a loaded gun lying next to her head. She rose up. The blood of her victims was difficult to discern on her jet black robes, all covered in mud.
Her mission was accomplished.
I hope there's some good payoff in the future logs. This whole narrative is well crafted, but feels seriously detached from the rest of the characters and logs.
@@DinnerForkTongue Thank you. I hope you enjoy reading the rest of the logs.
I do not write logs in "log" format since we have already seen countless logs gasping at the Blacksite revelations, so logs no longer do it for me. I normally tend to come up with personal stories of characters which run in parallel to actual episodes. There's no reason to describe what happened in the episode, because everyone else has already seen it, but I realize this might not work for many others=)
As a general rule, I go for stories which hopefully make you understand better what drives a character you see in the episodes. The reason why this story is detached is because it happened before Helen joined XCOM and it is an introduction to her character. There are more references to other characters and in-campaign events in future Helen's stories for the subsequent episodes=)
@@alexp2667
Cool, now I have some extra perspective. Thanks for letting me know!
@@DinnerForkTongue Absolutely, you're welcome! =)
There were some great bios and characters here, props to everyone submitting them!
Can't wait to see how the campaign unfolds! This setup is nearly identical to how I "play" the game myself, so it should be good fun!
Hope you all enjoy the experience - I really appreciate how base XCOM 2 can be so accessible to modding, even for a relative novice like me - and what it's become from all the amazing works modders have created. You're in for a great ride!
Thanks for the Proficiencies... Such a huge upgrade to Vanilla.
I think I waited over a year for the final class and it was well worth it.
Genius idea and awesome implantation... Great work!
Great to see you back on XCOM, loved all your series since the original!
super hyped to be watching you play xcom again! I love all the bios and its on of my fav parts. i found you though xcom enemy unknown years ago and its always a good time when I see you upload xcom. love the vid and keep these soldiers alive and well odd!
XCOM PERSONNEL LOGS
OPERATIVE: Rk. Liberty Bell
DATE: 02-28-2035
OPERATIVE LOG 01:
When someone is created for a sole purpose, and they can no longer fulfill that purpose, what is left for them to do? I know quite a bit about quite a lot, it’s how I was made, but most of that doesn’t really apply here does it? What good is a American history guide in a global resistance movement? Wait, no, that could actually be of some help. It sounds silly when I put the words down on paper, but maybe that was never my concern. Maybe it’s that I don’t know if I’ll fit in. I wasn’t there before the strike team left for Gatecrasher, but standing in the hangar as they walked by I could tell that these people were forged by this fight long ago. Claudius is revered for his crusades by what seems like everyone around me, and he’s got the scars to prove it. Raid and his insane armor, I heard whispers about his exploits on my journey north and he looks every bit the legend they describe. The biggest shock was seeing the Commander walk off with them. The Commander, terrorist- no, hero of the first contact campaign, on the front lines?!? He looked beaten up, and there wasn’t a drop of blood on his blade but that doesn’t matter, Commander Odd’s presence on combat operations would be enough of a boost to morale to turn the tide of any conflict. He seems like the heroes I taught about. Not the propaganda I was forced to teach about, I mean real heroes, like George Washington, Desmond Doss and Henry McCord. I haven’t lied since becoming self-aware, but I’m not going to begin today: that was inspiring.
That inspiration couldn’t have come at a better time, I’ve just been given my first assignment. It’s nothing big, I have to accompany Sq. Helen Giroux to a training facility in Russia for “inter-resistance exercises” with another cell. I’m not quite sure what the Commander told her, but when she left the mission brief I could see a dejected expression on her face. She didn’t seem too excited about these joint exercises. It could just be jitters, but a veteran such as herself? Something else has got her like this. That’s not for me to determine though, even if I was able to. The real problem is she called me “Libby”. Everyone has been calling me “Libby” when I’ve informed them that that’s not my name. I guess I can’t blame them since most of them haven’t completed formal education, but that doesn’t mean I like it any more. Regardless, this mission, however menial and insignificant, can prove that I am here to assist and that I can make a difference. Whatever my purpose before, the success of XCOM is my priority now.
---END LOG---
Okay… so this is like… a cooler, faster-paced Long War. Damn. I need to get out more. Thank you for introducing me to this modlist.
Thank you so much for launching another xcom 2 campaign! I have been having the itch to play again, and watching you try these new gameplay mods has me excited. Wish I remembered to send in a soldier, but can't wait to watch!
Oh my god. I have been subscribed to you for ages and yet, this series never popped up for me until I randomly got episode 86 recommended to me.
I got a whole lot of binging to do!
I've been missing this so much the lvl of detail he puts into the on going character development is fantastic
The first playthrough of XCOM 2 was my introduction to you. Now I get to watch a new playthrough with ya. Maybe this shall get me back into it as I haven't played it in quite a long time.
Danil "VARIABLE" Terani
Personal Log: X-1.
Crew and action squads abuzz. Commander back in play. A little odd, but seems decent. Maybe he'll live up to the rumors and hushed stories.
Commander visited armory. Met the others. Nodded my way through. Doesn't know how to pronounce my name. Tempting to use that, but disregarded. Would be awkward for half the crew to call me one thing, the other another. Variable is fine. Danil, (That's Dan-eel, thanks.) works, at least for shorthand.
Be anywhere. Hit anyone. Lie, about anything. That's the motto. That's VARIABLE. Always in play, but never constant.
Addendum: Techs' screwed up. Fire + aircraft =/= good. Had to put it out. Yay.
Personal Log: X-1.1
Covert action. Briefing. "Recover Useful Items". Doesn't define..."useful".
Bring Sirran another pack of smokes? Liar, likewise. Noisy.
End Personal Log: X-1
(Hyped for the new season, figured I'd write out some of the classic reports in the comments for my character. Threw in a couple of tie-ins, being Danil's name pronunciation, her "firefighter" trait, Danil does go on the "Recover Useful Items" covert op, and that Sirran, aka. "Mrs. Treason" has a 9.2 cohesion with Danil, so why not grab her another pack of smokes? Was surprised to see that cohesion bit, especially since I liked Treasons' bio.)
Hey Spartan Caeca, was curious if you wanted your logs added to the archival doc the writer's Discord server has going? You don't have to join the server if you don't want, but we'd be happy to collect your work!
@@ashnightshade7125 I'll pop on in, hit me with the link in the discord.
It's always great to see Commander Odd take on another XCom run. I've really missed them. This will be awesome. :)
The music dropping when you say "It's go time." 👌
I DO NOT have time to watch this between work, games and video backlog. But I will, because this is XCOM with ChristopherOdd and it's going to be awesome.
Thanks for bringing this back, Xcom brought me here and its what I look forward to.
> Accessing Avenger Personal User Database
> Please enter Username and Password
> Pepa Prochazka
> ********
> Access Granted. Welcome P. Prochazka
> Please enter Callsign and Rank
> Pepabear, Rookie
> Starting Audio Recording Program
> Begin Audio Recording
- This is the Overview of Operation "Gatecrasher" -
* Number of XCOM casualties = 0
* Weaponry assigned for Operation = N/A
* Equipment assigned for Operation = N/A
- Short Debrief of the situation during Operation "Gatecrasher" -
"The Operation has gone down with what can be classified as a success. The only injury was the Commander himself, but it is too be expected. He feel as though he put himself on the line to be an example for us and to show the kind of soldiers he needs out in the field. He appears to be a bit rusty with the sword, though it is no stun lance, if he requires a sparring partner to hone his skill I would be more the happy to give a few pointers."
- Personal thoughts about Operation "Gatecrasher" -
"I have to say, seeing the Commander take to the field is not what I would call textbook. In the Academy we were taught to lead by example, but you achieved those examples as you climbed your way to higher ranks. I guess the Commander feels that since we are all new under his command he has to prove himself in the field. Even though the stories of what he achieved before the Elders and Aliens won were already impressive enough to earn their own merits. Regardless of the situation, it feels good to strike back at the Elders."
- Notes since the last transmission -
"The rumors and stories amongst the resistances were not kidding. The Avenger is quite an impressive piece of craftsmanship. I believe Shen and her Father is responsible for it, though the latter is unfortunately no longer with us. Though Shen has clearly shown she is quite capable in her field. First day introductions are always a bit uncomfortable. I've yet to be evaluated or given room designation. So I'll probably keep myself scarce and out of the way, maybe brush up on my chess skills."
> Ending Audio Recording Program
> Signing out P. Prochazka
> Thank you for using XCOM OS
So hyped right now! Best of luck comander and so good to see you back!
pepabears biography is just taken from the movie hot fuzz... "Nicholas Angel : I don't remember a time when I didn't want to be a police officer... apart from the summer of 1979 when I wanted to be Kermit the Frog. It all started with my Uncle Derek. He was a Sergeant in the Met. He bought me a police pedal car when I was five. I rode around in it every second I was awake - arresting kids twice my size for littering and spitting."
Commenting while watching the premiere - love this format for watching!
HYPE! Thank you very much for a new campaign ODD!
XCOM soldiers: In the middle of an intense firefight
Odd: Never dangle yourself. Ever.
Me, who has seen the intro videos so many times I know them more intimately than than my wife of 40 years: Skiiiiiip!
Someone who is watching their first Xcom campaign and is interested in the story: Oh awesome, he isn't skipping it :)
Marb recently finished a new xcom run and now you've just started one. Just what the world needs!
Started playing this again last week , thought I'd see what you been up to and your playing it again, unreal .. Great games never die :)
I purposely accumulated some episodes to marathon this weekend. Hopefully this doesn’t upsets the algorithm, Odd. Love your work!!!
I'm so glad XCOM is back! I haven't been able to personally play the game since the new update (something wrong with my PC) so I'm glad there's a new playthrough happening to be able to enjoy. Good luck in this new journey Commander!
Oh Wow new campaign! It's such a treat to come back to this but so excited with the new characters and mods and seeing what's changed!
I missed 2 95% attacks in a row on gatecrasher when I decided to try this modlist out. Ah, how I've missed you and all your glorious quirks xcom
Welcome back, Odd. Been looking forward to the classics.
Good Luck commander ODD! This is gonna be hard and some much fun to watch!!! And shout out to all the char creations and there AMAZING bio's!!!
One of the best Xcom streamers. Beaglerush and Odd are my two favorite cause there is so much drama and crap that goes on that just makes for very entertaining videos. Keep it coming Commander.
Man. It's been years since I last played/viewed Xcom. Don't even know why it happend but I'm so happy that youtube decided to put this on my play next list right now.
I like The Cook and his part of the bio with cooking grenades, because in R6S I used Grenades on the Recruit and called myself a cool too with the line of “Cooking grenades, Served *very* hot and fresh with a side of shrapnel and gunpowder.”
I can safely say that The Cook has the same energy
Hell yes been waiting for some more XCOM 2!!!!!!!!!! Super stoked for this!!!!!!!!! Also 218 mods lmao!!!!
"And again! Again! Again I'm in a really bad position!"
Never again
Is what you swore
The time before
I like these
"Only 218 Mods, in an effort to keep it light"
Lol this is such a funny statement to hear.
It even better considering that this is in fact true and everybody who has ever modded this game knows that 200+ Mods is in fact actually very little xD
It's about time! I've missed this kind of entertainment so much >.
"Never dangle yourself...ever..." - ChristopherOdd, 2021. Very wise words!
X-Com is what brought me to this channel many years ago, and I'm super stoked for this run. Let's GOOOO 🤘
Me: bored
This video: I’m about end this boredom’s whole career
Thank you Odd
If there weren't a Christopher Odd, we should have to invent him! When game playing becomes reality, the best of the Odd step foreward. Delighted to see this back on the front burner, happier than a squirrel discovering an abandoned nut factory new material is in play as we join you saving humanity!
I started watching you back when Xcom 2 first released. Interested to see the modified campaign. Welcome back Commander Odd
I can already tell this season is going to be memorable.
I was told to comment for the algorithm. Good luck for this campaign! Makes me want to start up the game again myself, too addicting...
Amazing bios, you have an amazing community, the stats bloke is also incredible.
I went on vacation just before this premiered, now I get the privilege of binge-watching all of the currently-out episodes. Good lord we're spoiled by quantity and quality of content
Not fair, i wasn't on this channel maybe a few days and right before i need to go to bed i discover this amazing new Xcom season. Now im fighting with myself going to bed or gonna pull an all nighter to watch this
Oh SHIT, you started another XCOM run? Bro, I'm gonna be back in about 3 days, I need to catch up man =O lol
For real, this is better than Netflix lol
The sheer number of chapters is solely applaudable.
Bravo pour cela monsieur Odd
I love this campaign already! With Christopherodd as a soldier, it's going to be SOOOOO much FUN!
Do you know what I'm most excited for?
The absolute madlad writers in the comment section with their character logs.
Can't wait to see what they spun up this time.
missed you so much.....been knee deep into twitch watching....so glad to get back to the roots
i always LOVED your approach to xcom and psyched on binging this
Those characters all look amaaazing, I am seriously so impressed with everyone's creativity!
I was missing thi good "old" XCOM 2 Battle-Grounds.. thanks for bringing them back.. : )
That. Episode. Was. AMAZING!!! Wicked start to an excellent campaign! Good luck, Commander!
Welcome Commander, looking forward to your new playthrough. Your`s are my favorite playthroughs!
its been forever! I am so happy to see this game again!
Derava and Odd both starting a series on the same day is so pog
When ever I play or watch xcom 2 I feel that I am old seeing their birthdays