The combat and encounters in Chimera Squad have been revamped, particularly through the introduction of the ‘Timeline’, which is the new method of assigning the turn order for your agents. This XCOM Chimera Squad Timeline guide will help you better understand the Timeline so you’ll have an easier time deciding the turn order for your agents.
XCOM Chimera Squad Timeline
During Breach Mode (the start of the encounter), you set up your Timeline; which determines your agents’ turn order in the encounter. The first agent you put in the line-up will the first to burst through the entrance and act first in the Timeline, and so on.
The Timeline basically shows which agent is going to be the next one to act in the encounter. It’s displayed at the right side of your screen and the enemy and agent on the top are the ones that are going to act next.
After their turn is completed, they move all the way down to the bottom of the Timeline and everybody else goes up a slot. To view the position of the enemy or agent, click on their icon in the Timeline.
How to Manage the Timeline
Most of the encounters in XCOM: Chimera revolve around stopping the enemy from attacking you.
Look at your Timeline to see which alien is going to attack next and then assess their and your agent’s position to predict if you’ll be able to attack them or not.
If you won’t be able to do so, go down to the next alien on the Timeline.
You need to stop an enemy from performing their turn by eliminating them, or using a special ability to move them down the Timeline.
When making the Timeline, take your time and evaluate the encounter, entry points and your agents’ abilities and weapons to make the perfect Timeline.
The entry points can have some bonuses allocated to them which can affect what agents you put first, so keep an eye out for those as well.
