Terrorists. The world has seen her nations rise and fall because of these guys. Whether they overthrow governments or spread fear among communities, they exist and press on the fight against the ones they see as unfavorable. In the multiverse of fictions, terrorists take form in many shapes and sizes. There are those who wish to take power through death and violence, such as the White Masks, Cobra, and the Ultranationalists. There are also those who intend to restore order and peace, such as the Golden Path, the Resistance, and the Rebel Alliance. Today, two factions from the opposing sides of terrorists go head-to-head in a sci-fi battle! Will the ominous EXALT score victory against their new unknown enemy, or will Kamino's Anti-Troopers show why the Imperials can't put them down with ease?
EXALT, a mysterious terrorist organization that rose in the midst of the Alien Invasion, butting heads against XCOM and the aliens themselves to gain global supremacy!
VS
Anti-Troopers, the Kaminoans' answer to the Empire's Stormtroopers: a legion of clone troopers designed to drive Palpatine's puppets out of their planet!
In this battle between terrorists of Dark and Light...
Who is Deadliest?
Faction Information[]
EXALT[]
| “ | Scientia Potentia Est
— EXALT motto
|
” |
EXALT was a secret paramilitary society that sought to seize the power of the world's governments in the midst of the recent alien invasion. Though not allied with the invaders themselves, EXALT sympathized the aliens' efforts to evolve the human race. A dark reflection of XCOM, EXALT also operated within the shadows as they disrupted XCOM's activities via clandestine missions. As the story progressed, EXALT became more and more advanced as they began to implement their own gene mods and laser weaponry. Unfortunately, EXALT would be outclassed by XCOM forces and their base was assaulted, ending their reign of terror.
Anti-Troopers[]
| “ | Officially, there never was a 'clone rebellion' on Kamino. Unofficially, approximately twenty years after we were created, a special detachment of the Imperial 501st Legion was dispatched to Kamino, with orders to eradicate an army of clones that had been bred to take arms against the Empire.
— Anonymous 501st Legion Stormtrooper
|
” |
The anti-imperial clone troopers, otherwise known as the Anti-Troopers were clone troopers grown by Kaminoans in their effort to drive the Galactic Empire off their world. Equipped with Clone Wars-era arms, the anti-troopers were a formidable yet outdated army. Despite that, the anti-troopers were fierce fighters and were heavily trained in a similar vein to their predecessors. The Jango Fett-template clones were put to use when the Empire discovered the Kaminoans' plot. In Tipoca City, they engaged in combat with the 501st Legion who managed to defeat them and put an end to the clone rebellion.
Weapons[]
| Category | EXALT | Anti-Troopers |
|---|---|---|
| Main Rifle | Laser Assault Rifle | DC-15A Blaster Rifle |
| Sniper Rifle | Laser Sniper Rifle | DC-15x Sniper Rifle |
| Machine Gun | Heavy Laser | Z-6 Chaingun |
| Grenade |
Alien Grenade Smoke Grenade |
Thermal Detonator |
| Special | Rocket Launcher | DC-15s Sidearm Blaster |
| Utility |
Gene Mods Medikit |
Jetpack |
EXALT[]
The EXALT Laser Assault Rifle is the organization's twist on XCOM's laser rifle. It has the same power as its counterpart which means that for a regular weapon for a regular grunt, this thing is surprisingly devastating. When normal assault rifles and shotguns can easily break down walls and outright demolish soft cover, the laser assault rifle chalks this up by destroying parts of UFOs, metal pillars, and injuring tough enemies like the LMG-tanking Chryssalids and the near-impenetratable Muton Elite.
Raw power is what this weapon is all about and it can easily take out Sectoids, Thin Men, Seekers, and Floaters in one shot. All those creatures can take a regular pistol shot and live through the day and if lucky, a burst of assault rifle round. Yes, this thing is only a damage away from the future's assault rifle, but it does its job well. The laser assault rifle can damage alien alloy-made armor and even harm the person wearing it. If it happens to hit the weak spot of an enemy, this gun can easily weaken stronger mechanical enemies such as the Mechtoid and Heavy Floater.
It features a handy flashlight attachment and whatever kind of scope that is. They're wielded by EXALT elite operatives and medics. As far as how they work, the laser assault rifle uses a familiar detachable magazine system albeit with power cells instead of bullets. Counting how much ammo this thing is a pain to do, but approximating it with its XCOM 2 counterpart means that it has four rounds. Problem is, unless you disrupt their communications network, EXALT forces almost never seem to be reloading their weapons. This is quickly remedied by using their multiplayer version, which indeed has four shots. For a gun of its power though, I say it's worth the balance. Oh it's semi-automatic as well and requires bit of a charging before blasting it.
Also a rip-off, the EXALT Laser Sniper Rifle is an effective long-range anti-personnel weapon. It shares its damage model with the Heavy Laser but has a greater chance of dealing critical damage. Due to its greater power than the laser assault rifle, expect this thing to be even more destructive. Even when used in the long run, the laser sniper rifle is a wonderful weapon that can kill Mutons in a single headshot and obliterate a Cyberdisc down to one health with a critical hit. It also has a "magazine capacity" of four, but fires at a slower rate.
Like the laser assault rifle, the laser sniper rifle needs to be charged up before unleashing its full might upon unsuspecting foes. Its operation closely resembles a semi-auto sniper but it has delays between shots that need to be fulfilled. For a sniper, this thing is supposed to have a longer range than an assault rifle. Problem is, only Squadsight snipers can truly use a sniper like this at true sniper ranges. An EXALT elite sniper is a Snap Shot sniper so the gun's range is quite limited compared to regular snipers wielded by non-XCOM warriors. Like other weapons in EXALT's arsenal, use this thing to hit a car and the car will explode. As for how you reload this thing, it shares the same reload as most weapons in-game: mag-fed. Just don't worry about reloading, EXALT's basic weapons are all quick to reload. They need only like, half a second to do so.
The EXALT Heavy Laser is the most destructive laser weapon in EXALT's armory. Due to how machine guns act in game (as building-busting wrecking balls), the heavy laser benefits by having a large ammo capacity that can easily pin down enemies and shred aliens into bloody puddles. The game doesn't allow you to fire off more than three to four shots with this thing, but clicking the fire button once upon the enemy will make the wielder unleash a hailstorm of lasers that are definitely beyond four meager lasers.
While it is clearly sleeker than XCOM's heavy laser, EXALT's heavy laser is still unwieldy though more portable. It is fired with absolutely no focused accuracy whatsoever like the ordinary LMG the two factions use. It's the most inaccurate weapon used by EXALT but the sheer volume of its volleys compensate for this problem. Besides, this thing deals the same exact damage as the laser sniper rifle so an entire barrage of this thing should easily kill people. In addition to its features, the EXALT elite heavy's training allows the gun to somewhat "mark" the intended target, increasing the accuracy of the next teammates who wish to fire upon the same person as well.
Alien Grenade[]
Alien grenades are what their name says. These grenades are used by the invaders yet for some reason EXALT managed to recover some of them and gives them to all their operatives and heavies. It has the same blast radius as a frag grenade which in turn closely resembles an M67 frag grenade. It also operates similarly to XCOM's frag grenade as both of them has varying detonation periods. Depending on how far it's thrown, the grenade will explode according to the enemy's distance. If it is thrown straight at an enemy, then it will detonate like an impact grenade. If it is thrown into an enemy far away, the grenade will beep as it travels before exploding right into the target's face.
Like normal grenades, the alien grenades can break open walls, alien ship hulls, detonate cars, destroy Meld canisters, annihilate alien weapons, and destroy cover overall. It is stronger than the frag grenade however, as it can seriously harm the likes of Chryssalids (a frag grenade simply stumbles it, an alien grenade cuts its health from eight down to three) and Sectoid Commanders (cuts their health in half while they can easily withstand plasma shots). Overall a powerful and versatile grenade that can wreak havoc upon enemy positions.
Smoke Grenade[]
Brought by EXALT elite medics, the Smoke Grenade is your classic vision-obscuring gadget. Despite technically also obscuring the medic and his allies' own vision, the smoke grenade does not affect the aim of EXALT's soldiers. The smoke grenades brought by the medics produce dense smokes which allow more operatives to benefit from it. Nothing much to say here, each medics bring one smoke grenade for this battle. The grenade can be used to cover flanks and block off enemies, but a stray thermal detonator can simply sway off the smoke.
The bane of aliens, the only conventional weapon that can make it to the Temple Ship, and the killer of XCOM rookies. The EXALT Rocket Launcher is your stereotypical bunker buster weapon that can launch rockets in a straight trajectory to annihilate anyone standing in your way. Whether they're Carapace Armor-using XCOM soldiers or pesky aliens, the rocket launcher will reliably kill weaker creatures while injuring moderately strong creatures.
As a conventional weapon, the rocket launcher is soundly outgunned by most of EXALT's laser weapons. But with its ability to dish out consistent damage, the rocket launcher warrants its worth to EXALT forces. XCOM rookies can survive getting shot by a rocket launcher with kevlar armor, albeit down to one health AKA barely living, but do not expect anyone to survive such occasion realistically. It looks like a modified AT-4, so perhaps it has the same attributes as the weapon. Unfortunately, EXALT heavies only bring a single round to their rocket launchers, limiting their usage.
Gene Mods[]
Gene mods are what make EXALT elite soldiers so terrifying against under-equipped foes. By tampering their own genetics with alien DNA fused with Meld, EXALT soldiers gain four distinct traits according to their classes. The gene mods of EXALT's doing make their soldiers have paler, sickly skin tones however. Despite their scientists' unethical practices, they end up being somewhat more influential than XCOM's own gene mods as they're seemingly more direct and practical. Their gene mods also inadvertently turns them tougher, increasing their endurance.
- Adrenaline Surge: When an EXALT elite operative survives an attack, he will experience an extreme case of adrenaline rush that increases his aim and perception, increasing his chances of hitting a critical hit. This thing stacks multiple times so the best way of preventing this effect is by killing the operative while time permits it. If the elite operative is healed, this thing will not expire and continue, permanently.
- Iron Skin: EXALT elite heavies have skins tougher than normal humans', reducing the damage they take. This basically turns the power of assault rifle rounds into mere toy guns and make them more resilient towards energy weapons. Despite that, a sufficiently powerful energy bolt to the brain will kill these guys.
- Depth Perception: Also available to XCOM operatives, EXALT elite snipers gain an aim bonus and critical chance if they target an enemy below them. Combined with their training, this mod makes EXALT elite snipers even more dangerous when they're on elevated ground. If the sniper is already on the high ground and suddenly somebody flies above him, the mod will not work on him.
- Regen Pheromones: This mod is arguably the most useful one as it allows the EXALT elite medic to heal both himself and his allies in close vicinity. The pheromones recover damage equal to a single pistol shot which makes it pretty useless in the long run when a medic's allies take too much damage. It doesn't revive injured teammates, though. Still, make sure the medic's alive and this mod will keep on healing. For a period of time, of course.
Medikit[]
The Medikit is a medic's best friend. No matter where you come from, a medikit will quickly patch up some of those nasty wounds you receive in-battle. EXALT's medics are no exception as they constantly use this thing in conjunction with their regen pheromones to keep their teammates in good shape. But for some reason these medics are so obsessed with keeping them and their teammates alive that they'll retreat and heal them even if they've only received minor scratches. It won't fully restore a soldier from a full-blown rocket explosion, but it'll keep him alive long enough to sustain the battle. EXALT elite medics bring three of these into battle.
Anti-Troopers[]
Just like their predecessors, the anti-troopers' regular infantries are armed with the DC-15A Blaster Rifle. Though outdated, the DC-15A still packs a punch and can reliably bring down stormtroopers as if they're nothing. It is designed to destroy droids, after all. Stopping power and range favors the DC-15A at the cost of weight and accuracy, as on maximum power setting this thing can hit people five kilometers away and leave half a hundred centimeter hole in a ferroconcrete wall.
The DC-15A's cartridge allows the wielder to unleash 500 shots, but apparently it still needs reloads just like normal guns. The gun's equivalent of a magazine is called charge pack, and a single DC-15A charge pack contains 50 shots before having to reload. If set to max power, the charge pack will still fire 50 shots but the overall amount of shots contained by the cartridge is reduced to 300. Nevertheless, reloading won't be too much of a problem since they have a crap ton of ammo.
It is fired in both semi-automatic and fully-automatic modes, the former being the most favorable. Pulling the trigger allows for sustained fire, but the DC-15A's full-auto accuracy is horrendous. It is kind of unwieldy as well, weighing 9.5 pounds and having a long barrel. This gun definitely suits medium-to-long range confrontation, and its power to penetrate armor and demolish droids is phenomenal.
The DC-15x Sniper Rifle is utilized by anti-trooper snipers to pick off pesky Imperials from afar. Though the DC-15A has a sniper scope, it's not a true sniper rifle. The DC-15x is the answer to the clones' lack of long range infantry weapons and boy, do they do their job well. Design-wise the gun is basically a heavily modified DC-15A, but the increased firepower of its hyper-ionized plasma bolts reduced their charge pack capacity to six shots.
It fires semi-automatically and easily has more power than the DC-15A. When several shots are required to bring down a B2 Super Battle Droid with a DC-15A, you only need one shot with the DC-15x. Its scope has a magnification of 10x, and anti-trooper snipers have no problem going short range. That, is because they have a sidearm unlike EXALT snipers.
The Z-6 Chaingun is a variant of the Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon. Though used differently, the chaingun has all the power of its original version as well as its drawbacks. The original Z-6 is already unwieldy enough that intensive training is required to properly handle it, and the Z-6 Chaingun adds up to its unwieldiness by being operated by the shoulder. The Rail ARC Troopers that use these weapons within the anti-troopers' ranks are skilled, but this gun literally needs to be worn on one's shoulder. It needs to be charged for a few seconds before unleashing its hellish bolts.
Luckily, underhand models that are wielded like miniguns exist and they will be brought alongside the shoulder version. The chaingun's power pack lasts 200 straight shots without having to be reloaded. It weights 16 kilograms but the firepower within the gun is even heavier. With the power to break down durable droids into mere circuits within seconds, the Z-6 is a deadly killer of many things. Not even "heroes" with supernatural endurance can stand long against the Z-6. Its rate of fire means that it has a high recoil, and combined with how it's worn on the shoulder and this gun is as much of a disaster to the ARC trooper as it is to the enemy. At least the wielder's other hand is free to hold the sidearm. It reaches up to 750 meters and its optimum range is 75 meters.Though not specified, the anti-troopers definitely bring V-1 Thermal Detonators in their fight against the 501st Legion. The Star Wars universe's M67, the thermal detonator is a reliable sci-fi grenade with the power to obliterate anyone from pesky rebels to battle droids. It has a large blast radius of six meters and a meager weight of one kilogram. It detonates within six seconds of its safety disarmament and is used by both Separatist and Republic forces. Though powerful, ultimately it is overshadowed by the likes of the Death Troopers' own thermal detonators which can annihilate an entire vessel thanks to the upgrades done to them.
Pitting a rocket launcher against an energy pistol seems like a stomp, but these two things have different functionalities. While EXALT focuses on hammering down the opposition without no real back-up plans, the DC-15s Sidearm Blaster the anti-troopers bring give them more option in more precise combat. You might be thinking, "Wait MD, isn't the DC-15s supposed to be a pseduo-E-11 instead of a pseudo-DH-17?" Oh boy, the anti-troopers used a modified version that's basically both of those things combined.
Like the DC-15A, the DC-15s' charge pack lasts 50 shots and it has 500 shots available overall. It can be set to stun or max power mode which basically makes this gun an armor-piercing sidearm. It is weaker than the DC-15A but more compact than the regular DC-15s carbine. It can fire in both semi-automatic and fully-automatic modes like its larger counterpart but has more overall accuracy. It may have a bigger fire rate, but it's easier to handle and has more devastating full-auto damage thanks to the accuracy.What the anti-troopers lack in the weapons department they compensate with the presence of jetpacks. While they're not the same type of packs Boba Fett used in-battle, they still do their job well and can hold a trooper in the air for around twenty seconds. They can be used to escape sticky situations, gain height advantage, or take the anti-troopers to unexpected flanking routes. They don't fire missiles, but every anti-troopers are equipped with this thing and they're damn good at using them.
X-Factors[]
For groups of advanced terrorists, both factions' training is virtually unknown. EXALT troopers are definitely not untrained as even their lowly operatives are capable of flanking tactics and using cover to their advantage. They are adept in using explosives and squad tactics, as they are capable of even giving plasma-wielding XCOM soldiers trouble with their numbers. But if we are to examine the likelihood of them hitting their targets, their training starts to show some cracks. Even in Impossible, EXALT has some of the worst aim among XCOM's opponents. Discounting lucky shots and the elite sniper's modified eyes, these guys virtually nearly have Stormtrooper-level aim. Even an EXALT elite heavy can miss a close-range shot with his laser machine gun in near-point blank range!
The Anti-Troopers didn't see any combat since their inception years before their demise, but they are trained intensively and extensively in the ten-year gap. This is proven by how they were able to hold their own against the Empire's dreaded 501st Legion with Boba Fett's backing for quite a long period of time and every troopers' ability to utilize the flight packs. Such training is done to ensure their superiority over their older clone brothers who managed to edge out the Separatists in the Clone Wars. They're intellectually advanced and the tactics of old clone troopers are embedded in their heads. As for their marksmanship, these guys are no stormtroopers, and the 501st Legion aren't your regular stormtroopers.
EXALT and the Anti-Troopers have different yet remarkably limited experiences. EXALT became active in the first months of the war and waged active fights against XCOM and occasional alien troops in nearly a year before getting shut down. They've faced humanity's best gene-modded and cybernetic warriors in addition to some of the aliens' tough contenders. Though ultimately defeated, EXALT still gave XCOM hectic problems with their disruptive activities. Not to mention how they could still keep up with laser-wielding XCOM soldiers while they're still using ballistic guns.
Anti-Troopers became active later than EXALT and saw no combat prior to the 501st Legion's arrival. Their lack of experience was compensated by the training they undertook and when they fought their first and last battle, they were annihilated. Yes, they gave the elite 501st Legion stormtroopers, Boba Fett, and a few detachments of dark troopers. But nevertheless they lost the fight they were supposed to win. The 501st Legion are the Empire's best fighting force in their early years, so holding them back for a while is quite a feat.
None of these guys are standard sci-fi grunts who simply fall and die from a single pistol round to the face. On the contrary, each and every one of EXALT's troopers and Anti-Troopers are soundly more resilient than their contemporaries. An ordinary EXALT operative is as tough as an XCOM rookie, and these mooks can tank some plasma shots and continue the fight as if nothing happened. An ordinary stormtrooper goes to Hell when a single blaster bolt hits their armor, but to truly kill an anti-trooper means that one has to rain him down with a barrage of E-11 blaster rifles.
You may argue that game mechanics are bullshit, and you're not wrong. Anti-Troopers are equipped with Phase 1 clone trooper armor and that thing can't even save a regular clone trooper from a droid blaster rifle. Droid blaster rifles are absurdly stronger, but my point still stands. Meanwhile, EXALT's near-supernatural level of endurance is not a result of game mechanic bullshit. EXALT's elite soldiers are gene-modded, making them certainly stronger than a normal person. Take an elite operative for example. They can't take a lot of light plasma rifle shots, but the amount of shots required to kill him equates to those required to take down a Muton. They're literally as tough as the brutish Mutons and can survive a freaking frag grenade to the face like they're nothing. An EXALT elite heavy brings endurance to a whole new level as their gene mod specifically reduces the damage they take from all weapons. Assault rifle rounds simply tickle them and they're the only time of EXALT soldier to be able to withstand a single plasma rifle burst. And a burst of plasma rifle can cut down half of a Cyberdisc's life.
EXALT came from an Earth where the aliens' presence inadvertently opened the gates to unlocking futuristic weapons. Indeed, from reverse-engineered alien tech and their own ingenuity they manufactured working laser weapons and discovered the effects of integrating alien DNA into the human body, all those equal to XCOM's own tech. They were outstripped by XCOM in the war's later stages, but the fact that their scientists replicated XCOM's holo-globe, laser weapons and unlock the secrets of the Meld, meant that EXALT wasn't just a normal group of stupid insurgents.
Anti-troopers wielded the same type of tech as the rest of the galaxy. Since having energy weapons is fairly unremarkable in the Star Wars universe, the anti-troopers really have nothing special that they bring to the table. EXALT's laser weapons are supposedly unremarkable as well if we are to put them in the Star Wars universe. But anti-troopers don't know how to gene mod themselves. Do remember that EXALT is a fully-fledged organization while the anti-troopers are, well, just a fighting force.Notes[]
- Voting starts on the 11th of November, 2018 and ends on the 29th of November, 2018.
- You know what votes I want. Just keep it straightforward, and you don't need to go ten or more sentences to get your vote counted.
- This battle will be a 15-on-15. For EXALT, there will be three elite medics, three elite heavies, three elite snipers, and six elite operatives. For the Anti-Troopers, there will be four Rail-class ARC troopers, three snipers, and eight regular troopers.