I finished a C/I playthrough of the new patch and kicked off a Legendary game right after.

In that C/I playthrough, I never once saw a Mimic Beacon get crit. I think the Mimic Beacon change in the last patch changed the crit mechanics against them.

Now I can know exactly how many shots my beacons can tank unlike pre-patch where a lucky crit would throw all my plans out the window. In fact, vs. melee aliens which would inevitably negate beacon cover bonuses by flanking anyway, the new beacons feel significantly stronger since they can withstand quite a few melee blows now.

Obviously the trade-off is that ranged aliens (which are a majority) are much stronger vs. the beacon.

I'm really enjoying the Mimic Beacon changes even more now having gone through an entire campaign with them. Rangers are still OP. :P

Also, the last stage seems much more optimized after the patch. I didn't have any graphical glitches or crashes during my grueling 2 hour final mission.