XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[Sir Moody]

a few helpful tips when it comes to equipment which helps when playing classic

Which armour should I be using

Ghost > Titan

Titan armour may seem great - the massive hp boost would make this the best armour right? well no...

Ghost armour has a grapple, can phase (hiding you) and comes with a built in +30 defense - the equivalent of being in low cover when in the open... better still you can use one of the hp boosting items to put it ahead of titan in hp... its win win

The same is true of skeleton and Carapace - Skeleton comes with a grapple and +15 defense

Who should be equipping the Arc Thrower

I spent most my first run through giving this to my shotgun wielding assaults - I realized part way through my second run through I was doing it totally wrong - by giving the Assaults Arc throwers I couldn't give them HP boosting equipment which meant they would often spend more time in the med bay (when your soldiers take damage if the damage is less than the Armour + Item hp boost they wont have to go to the med bay) since they were nearly always the closest to the aliens and thus drew more fire.

The best soldier to receive the Arc Thrower is the Support (preferable with Sprint) - why? once they level enough you can give them a med kit and a arc thrower - allowing them to fill both roles - and with sprint they don't have to be quite so close so they will (hopefully) draw less fire

alternatively they should be used by Recruits/Squadies since they are more "disposable"

How do I maximize my Psi soldiers

the power of a Psi trooper is directly related to their will - the higher their will the stronger their psi attack (and defense).

if you want to maximize the Psi troopers (to mind control an Ethereal for example) you will want to give them Psi Armour and a Mind shield (which doesn't just add to psi defense - it is actually the equivalent of the psi amp from the classic game) and use the Psi Inspire ability the turn before

truthfully however this isn't required

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

outside of the final mission where having +will is incredible helpful

Most of the time you don't need more than the occasional Mind fray for a hard to hit biological and it is generally better to not focus on Psionics at all