Line of sight is all your snipers usually need.
Rockets do not depend on your aim attribute, they are a fixed 90% I believe. Unless you are playing a mod.
I can tell you this much though... you're really not getting everything out of the game playing it the way you are
Of course, anyone should feel free to play however they enjoy playing, that said, XCOM is designed to be played at a level which you find difficult. It's supposed to have many 'That's XCOM baby!' moments where you get squad wiped, or lose your best guy, or lose entire continents due to flubbing a terror mission.
I would strongly recommend moving up to Classic difficulty and turning on Ironman. You will have to play more carefully (with or without 2nd wave options, that's up to you). You will quickly learn the hard way that tactics that you can get away with on Normal simply no longer work.
Put another way, you're supposed to die, horribly, in a fire
Thanks for the tip about rockets. Use the jet jumps to get elevation so you have line of sight with rockets. Cool idea.
I usually begin playing any new game at easier levels. This way I have opportunity to get a feel for the options, consequences of choices made, and enjoy the story line. This is especially necessary for me as the documentation for X-com is almost non-existent. For example, just go look for where it tells you how to save a game. They don’t. What do the icons mean? If I move the soldier one move, what does that leave for choices? What resources are needed for that new weapon? What’s the tradeoff with producing that new weapon, a foundry project, or researching a new tech? The info is just not there, and blindly making choices that preclude other choices is not fun. The fun is in making interesting choices / tradeoffs, not blind choices with unknown consequences. You actually have to play A-com to find out. So I work my way up.
Classic level, already have. I just finished my second play through - Classic level - New wave - created unequal. I lost one nation. Soldiers spent much more time in the infirmary. I was forced to have two squads worth of soldiers. Did much better with shooting down ufos – even though it’s a more difficult level. Lost one soldier in the throne room. He heroically jetted up to draw fine so the rest could concentrate on the chief ethereal. Many battles were hair rising. Surprised me. Lots.
Next play thru will be at more difficult level, and with Iron. Maybe explore the marathon game, etc. What’s your take on all the choices in the ‘new wave’ menu?
BTW, horrible fiery death is what you serve to the enemy. The main task of soldiers is to make it easier for enemy soldiers to die for their country. Keep the tips coming... I'm learning.
