7 Tips for surviving in XCOM: Enemy Unknown

I've been playing a lot of XCOM: Enemy Unknown recently and to begin with, I really struggled. It's frustrating when you take a soldier out on several missions, he gets some nice shiny promotions and then takes a plasma bolt to the face. So, here are some of the ways I've managed to increase my survival rates:

1. Never "Dash" unless absolutely necessary 

Sure, "dashing" covers more ground, but you'll be sorry if you run in to a pack of angry Mutons and have no option of retreat.

2. You don't always have to move.

Can't get "troop A" in to cover without dashing? Don't move it if you don't need to. Scout the area out with a unit that's able to get in to cover near the position you want to move to "troop A" to. If you can't do this, consider which unit you'd least miss should they be KIA, which leads me nicely on to point 3...

3. Personalise

Name your troops after friends and family, make them look as much like them as possible. It's fun telling people about their exploits in the XCOM world (at least, for me it is -_-). It makes you more committed to keeping them alive. On the flip-side, recreate that bitch from work that you hate and use her as cannon fodder.

4. Invest in Snipers

Whilst I found these to be the initially weakest class, towards the endgame, they're invaluable. A good Sniper is worth 2 of any other unit type. With all of the abilities unlocked, a sniper is easily capable of 2 kills per turn.

5. Use Snipers like Snipers

Hang back with your Snipers, try to get them on high ground where possible. Always keep them in cover.

6. Overwatch

So, you've moved and can take a shot with a 30% chance to hit, or you can Overwatch and have a much higher chance of a hit if the little green dude moves. I know which I'd choose. Always use Overwatch if in doubt.

7. Research what you need to survive, not what you need to progress.

My first play-through ended in an embarrassing defeat, see the screenshot for proof. This is because I gave priority to the research that said **PRIORITY**. The bad dudes got bigger and better while I was still rocking standard weapons and armour. A big no-no. Second play through I had Carapace Armour and Laser Weapons before I even considered fulfilling the first story objective.

I'd like to say it was going well up to this point....

So, there's my 7 tips. There is an 8th tip, but it only applies if you have the Elite Soldier Pack DLC, and that is to colour-code your all of troops' armour by class. It helped me no end learning to identify which troops were able to do what.