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The very first battle will be one of the most dangerous encounters because the starting rookies have no additional specialized abilities to level the battlefield to their advantage! The sections provide detailed steps on how to eliminate the 3 pods effectively for flawless performance!

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I enjoy helping others and wanted to also preserve the key findings before they are forgotten. Also, other guides do not seem to have the same high standards as mine and are missing key details in having successful runs.

The guide is for everyone, but much more friendlier to new players. Everything will be explained to be on the same level as those who are the most experienced. The writing will be easy to follow with plenty of screenshots for those who are too lazy to read everything!

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An additional pod consisting of a Sectoid will join the battle as a welcoming gift for this difficulty.
Pod composition is consistent with multiple runs and do not change.

The new feature in XCOM2 is the ability to stay invisible until making the first strike, which reveals the entire squad.

Squad concealment must be used very wisely because such ability can not be regained once broken. More will be explained later in great details to most effectively use it.

The first objective is to locate the map edges to engage the enemy, one pod at a time.
A large building is always present in front of the statue but cannot always be used.
The next step is to locate the enemy and determine their movements.

The soldier closest to the Elder Statue will scout and move in the blue tiles only.
More area is covered with the selected soldier and will have the ability to move back if too close to the enemy.

The trooper pod will most likely be found first and usually patrols in front of the statue.
Another pod can be discovered simultaneously and must be avoided to avoid alerting both pods.
The second pod usually patrols towards the rear or the sides of the statue.

The rest of the squad will find cover in a safe area while observing the enemy.
They must move in unison to get into versatile firing positions when needed.
The scout will follow suit to reduce chance of being detected.

Note: The height difference with buildings limit enemy vision more than an open terrain.

Squad concealment allows a giant spring trap to be set ahead of time that will result in a full clean wipe. The first strike must be initiated on a full 3-enemy pod to inflict maximum damage!

The new information will narrow down on the safest angles to attack from.
The green markings indicate the best direction while the red ones do not.
All pods are on patrol duty and will require fresh analysis of their new positions each turn.

Note: More time can be spent to study their behaviors prior to engaging because of no urgency to finish quickly.

Each game run varies with how close the enemy patrols near the building to determine its use.
The height advantage gives a 20% accuracy bonus against the enemy.
Three soldiers will need to get on the roof with all of them setting up overwatch.
Overwatch randomly targets anyone in line of fire and is more effective if the shot is lethal to attack the entire pod!

The initiating attack must always involve a grenade to gravely injure all 3 enemies.
The enemies will not react and run for cover until after the explosion because of concealment.

Each overwatch shot will most likely connect and bring the entire pod down!

The same can be done on the street with the caveat of not having accuracy bonuses.

The overwatching soldiers must hug the enemy without being detected and cover is not needed as their entire pod will most likely be wiped.

There are two more pods to take care of without squad concealment. No advanced knowledge can be gained to properly position before the enemy returns fire.

The rest of the run becomes a guessing game of where the enemy might show up to fire at them first with overwatch shots. Tactics will change considerably to a much more defensive one to avoid being detected first.

The different orders of the squad's actions can produce a completely unique outcome on each turn because of predetermined results.

For example, a miss can be a hit and vice versa despite the percentage chance to hit if a different soldier moved and fired instead. The same logic applies to when aliens return fire and whether their shots meet their mark.

For the above reasons, save-scumming will be recommended for this legendary difficulty, especially when alerting multiple pods by accident.

To bypass Ironman restrictions, copy both the profile and save files to redo any turn. It is best to have only one single active campaign to avoid confusion.

Their location is: C:\Users\<userid>\Documents\My Games\XCOM2\XComGame\SaveData

The enemy patrols revolve around the statue and eventually reach halfway to the front.
Close enemy movement will be detected as yellow-orange waves that can be triggered at a moment's notice. There are two scenario options to take.

The next tier enemies have double+ health that require more attacks to bring them down.
The Officer is quite dangerous as his mark ability increases the chance of enemy shots connecting!

The ground soldier will station near the statue with Overwatch while the rest stays put.
Once discovered, the soldier should retreat back and hunker down to avoid being focus fired.
The enemy will begin to chase after the lone soldier that will trigger the entire squad's Oversight.
The Officer has a chance of being taken down along with anyone else caught in the fire.

The other option is set up closer to the statue a bit and set up Overwatch indefinitely.
The formation must be an a straight line parallel to the front of statue for everyone to shoot.
One enemy may be critically injured or killed that would make the next turn easier.

The rear most soldier in the desired direction will determine the squad's pace.
The furthest blue movement must end with oversight and a preferred cover in the event of enemy contact.

The difficulty of finishing the remaining enemies will depend on how last turn ended.
Soldiers can advance a little bit but should not use the furthest blue move as it will have the chance of triggering the last pod too soon.

Enemies in high cover are very difficult to hit and may waste a soldier's turn.
Grenades will be an alternative option instead to injure the target.
Objects that provide partial cover can be targeted instead if the enemy is not within range.
Their full exposure without any cover enhances any critical shots taken against them.

The Sectoid prefers to use random Psi attacks first before the plasma pistol.
His abilities are relatively harmless except mind control and raising a Psi zombie.

The early primary goal is to rapidly promote the starting group of soldiers to not only unlock larger squad size but enhance combat effectiveness with their additional abilities.

To accomplish such milestone, soldiers must not be injured as their full recovery takes up to a month, which makes successive missions that much harder when using the less experienced.


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