XCOM: Enemy Unknown Game Guide & Walkthrough

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Game Guide contains key information about the new Firaxis Games' production. The information contained in it will be very useful for both players who have never played turn-based strategic games, as well as others who want to take up the challenge and save Earth from the alien invasion.

The guide contains:

• Basic information about the game;
• The list of key bindings in the game;
• The exact description of the combat mechanics;
• Information about how the XCOM base works;
• Description of available classes and character progress;
• Examples of useful tactics during combat.

XCOM Base

Move the cursor around the menu or the available options

Select the highlighted option

Return to previous menu / cancel the selected option

Quick-save

Mission - Camera

Move the camera

Turn the camera 90 degrees to the left

Turn the camera 90 degrees to the right

(While holding down the mouse wheel and moving it forward / backward)

Zoom in / out of the battlefield

(Move the mouse wheel forward / backward)

Raising / lowering the battlefield level (e.g. to see the roofs of the buildings)

Center the camera on the currently selected soldier

Center the camera on the first visible target

Center the camera on the second visible target

Center the camera on the third visible target

Center the camera on the fourth visible target

Center the camera on the fifth visible target

Center the camera on the sixth visible target

Center the camera on the seventh visible target

Center the camera on the eighth visible target

Center the camera on the ninth visible target

Center the camera on the tenth visible target

Mission - Controlling the squad members

Select the next squad member

(left shift)

Return to the previous squad member

Confirm selected action (shooting / hiding / throwing a grenade, etc.)

Cancel selected action (shooting / hiding / throwing a grenade, etc.)

Move the squad member (walk or sprint) to the selected location

(left mouse button on the alien)

Order the currently selected squad member to shoot the highlighted alien

(left mouse button on the door/device)

Open door / activate or deactivate a device

Change the currently used weapon

Reload the weapon

Overwatch mode

(selected squad member)

Additional information about the selected soldier

(before confirming an action)

Additional information about the action (accuracy of the shot etc.)

Select the first ability on the skill bar

Select the second ability on the skill bar

Select the third ability on the skill bar

Select the fourth ability on the skill bar

Select the fifth ability on the skill bar

Select the sixth ability on the skill bar

Select the seventh ability on the skill bar

Select the eighth ability on the skill bar

Select the ninth ability on the skill bar

Select the tenth ability on the skill bar

Quick-save

End your turn

Before you start the game in the XCOM: Enemy Unknown , you will have to choose from several options that will have impact on your struggles with the aliens. The game has four different difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Classic and Impossible, as well as two additional advanced features: Enable Ironman and Tutorial. Difficulty affects the amount of hit points of our soldiers, the number of aliens during missions and their resistance to fire. Beginners should start their adventure with XCOM: Enemy Unknown from Easy or Normal, while the veterans could well start with the Classic mode. Impossible is so difficult that it should be played only after mastering to perfection the rules governing the gameplay.

Impossible difficulty level and Ironman - will you be brave enough?

The other two options do not directly affect the statistics of soldiers and enemies, but can either facilitate or hinder the game experience. In the Tutorial mode for the first few mission we will be guided and we will receive information about all the basics of the game. On the other hand, Ironman is aimed at more advanced players. By selecting it, you will not be able to save the state of the game at any time, so each of your decision will be final and irrevocable.

After selecting all options and starting the game, we have to make another very important choice: determine the location of our base. We can locate it on one of the five continents. Each of them will give us not only a unique bonus, further affecting our game, but also one free satellite. A description of the location and its benefits can be found in the section Base, Satellites and funds.

The choice of start location affects the first bonus we receive, so it's worth to think it through.

When you select a start location, you get a few recruits and you'll be immediately thrown into the fray. The time has come to test your command skills on the battlefield.

Final preparations before the mission. It's high time to shoot a few aliens

Combat in XCOM: Enemy Unknown is based on a standard turn-based system: first, the player performs all the movements with the soldiers he controls and then hands over the control of the battlefield to the enemy, so that he can perform his actions. In one round, each soldier can perform two actions, one of them being usually the movement phase to a new position, while the second is shooting from the currently equipped weapon. However, this principle has a lot of exceptions, which will be described below.

Two large arrows indicate the action points of your soldier.

Soldiers can move in two ways. First of all, you can move around the battlefield within the blue box (normal movement). Choosing this option, you use only one action point and afterwards you can perform a shot, secure the area or hide behind an obstacle, thus reducing the chances of getting hit. The second method uses two movement action points, but allows you to reach a distance twice long, at the same time increasing the ability of the soldier to avoid enemy fire. This method is usually used to quickly move around the map and evacuate soldiers that are under enemy fire. Later in the game, if we can research the right armor type, a third option becomes available. It consists in moving vertically, i.e. flying, which will completely change your approach to the combat. It is worth noting that there are a few abilities that affect the movement of your soldiers: Run & Gun ability of the Assault class allows you to shoot even if your soldiers have run in the same turn, and the Sprinter ability of the Support class increases the distance that can be run in a single action.

Moving within the blue box costs one action. Moving in the yellow box (Dashing!) costs two.

In addition to the movement, action points are also used to perform various maneuvers such as shooting or hiding. Most of these abilities automatically consume all remaining points after using, so this mechanics is commonly referred to as "move - action. "Of course, as in the previous case, there are skills thanks to which the soldier can move. These exceptions will be described in the upcoming chapters of this guide.

After shooting and using all action points, your soldier has to wait for another turn.

Every combat should be start by checking how big the battlefield is. Simply move the mouse cursor in the search for the red border, which indicates the end of the map, and try to determine its probable size. In this way, we are also able to determine where your soldiers currently are and from where the alien attack will supposedly come. Usually the opponent starts the game in the open field, so if we start close to one of the corners of the map, this area is likely to be safe.

Corner of the map. From this direction the enemy attack is unlikely.

The next step you need to take is to detect the enemy. To do this, we must move slowly in a chosen direction, each time using the temporary obstacles as protection against fire. One of the most effective methods is to move at normal pace (one action point) and use the second action point to move the soldier into Overwatch mode, thanks to which he will attack the first alien that comes within his shooting range.

Enabling the Overwatch mode, your soldier will not be defenseless during the enemy activity.

To detect an alien, you should know how they move around the map. They almost always appear in small groups. Starting with their first turn, some of them begin patrolling the map, while the rest maintains the current position. In some cases, it is possible to hear the enemy before the eye contact thanks to an appropriate animation.

The alien moved around an abandoned car - we do not see him, but we hear him very well.

When XCOM soldier sees the enemy, another animation will appear, showing us the type of opponent you encounter. Then the aliens will have one free move, which they can use to find an adequate cover for themselves. It is at this point that the Overwatch ability will be used. Every commando who observed the first line will shoot to one of the aliens detected. It is worth noting that, depending on the alien type you encounter, their reaction may vary: cowardly Sectoid or Thin Man will look for cover as far away from our troops, while the Floater will try to set a good position to attack.

Our soldiers discovered a group of Sectoids.

The game allows us to easily check which soldier sees the enemy. In the lower right corner of the screen, you can see displayed heads of the aliens currently observed. They are different for each soldier, so it often happens that only one or two characters will be able to attack the target, while the rest will have to change their position. Move the mouse pointer on an icon not only to see the position of an alien on the main screen, but also a chance to hit him with the currently-equipped weapon.

Hovering your mouse over the alien head icon will show him to us on the main screen.

Regardless of the location of aliens, the situation is going to escalate quickly and regular shooting will begin.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown offers a very well-thought and simple combat system. In most cases, the chance of hitting an opponent located at an average distance on the open filed will be equal to the Offense statistic (F1 in combat) of a soldier. However, the game in which each soldier hits the target with the same frequency would not be exciting. Therefore, the game contains certain types of modifiers that increase or decrease the accuracy of our soldiers.

77% chance of hitting - this is probably the last turn for this alien.

The first and most important is the cover modifier. A soldier or an alien can be located in three different locations: in the open air, behind a light cover and behind a heavy cover. As mentioned earlier, the chance of hitting a target in the open field is equal to the Offense statistic. Cover reduces this chance depending on its quality cars, flower pots, low walls, i.e. a light cover, reduce the chance of hitting a character hidden behind it by around 20%.Hard cover (high walls, corners, trucks) is even more effective, as the a chance to hit an enemy hidden behind it drops by 40%. To see what elements affect your accuracy you can press the F1 key when aiming at an alien.

Summary (F1) of the chance to hit from the previous image.

In order to benefit from the protection from an element of the battlefield, you can use one action point to hide a soldier directly behind it. A shield that appears half-full or completely full means a weaker or better protection received by a soldier standing at a given position. A soldier not directly in contact with the cover is considered being in the open field!

An example of using the elements of the terrain: heavy and light cover.

The effectiveness of cover can be increased by using Hunker Down maneuver. The soldier that uses it will not be able to do anything else in the round, but in this way he obtains a double bonus to hiding: light cover reduces enemy fire accuracy by 40%, while the hard one by 80%. This means that virtually all of the shots will miss. Hunker Down maneuver is a great solution when your soldier meets an overwhelming enemy force and will not be able to withdraw. There's a good chance that he will survive to the next turn and you will save him.

Soldier performing a Hunker Down maneuver, which doubles the effectiveness of a nearby cover and grants immunity to critical hits!

Problems begin when an alien is hiding around the corner of the building or a car wreck and shoots accurately, while your soldiers are not able to hit him. There are several methods to reach such an enemy, the most commonly used is flanking. If you flank an alien from a side in such a way that the cover behind which he is hidden will not stand in your way, the soldier will be able to give a clean shot. Yellow shield icon over the alien will tell you that you're in a good position to shoot. The yellow-head icon has the same meaning.

Yellow shield and icon-head: the target is flanked and does not receive bonuses from the shield.

Although the cover is the most common modifier of the chance to hit, it is not the only factor affecting the accuracy of our shots. Another important factor, depending on your current weapon, is the distance from the enemy. Rifles quickly lose accuracy with increasing distance, while in the case of sniper rifles the situation is reversed: the target of a sniper that is located closer will be more difficult to hit than the one in the distance. Rifles and machine guns are the most versatile in this regard, since the purpose of being in the firing line of sight does not reduce the chance to hit. Moreover, in the case of the two abovementioned types of weapons and shotguns, reducing the distance improves their accuracy: standing next to an alien we have an almost guaranteed shot.

100% chance to hit - this alien is already dead.

Equally important is the height at which your soldier is located. Attacking an alien in advance you will receive a bonus 20% chance to hit, and therefore we should always try to climb a nearby roof when possible. Even better if you put a sniper out there: he will almost always hit the target.

The next three factors that reduce the accuracy of our soldiers are shooting while in Overwatch mode (-10%), shooting to a dashing target (-20%) and to an opponent who is in the air (-20%).Flying armor or sprint are able to increase the survival rate of our soldiers. They cumulatively lower the accuracy of the enemy and allow us to run by an alien guarding the site.

Other modifiers are directly related to gear used and skills of our soldiers. SCOPE, laser and plasma rifles, or abilities such as Tactical Sense or Damn Good Ground increase the defense of your squad members. Some of them will be described in the following sections of the guide.

Equipment can also affect the accuracy of our soldiers.

Hitting the target makes it lose a certain number of hit points. The amount of damage done depends on the weapon, and although it is somewhat random, it has a very specific damage range.

Shot does up to 7 points of damage unless ...

Sometimes, while looking at a number of hit points of some opponents (e.g. Muton or Chryssalid), we can wonder how we can kill them before they kill our troops. However, in this case, the game offers a mechanism that helps us to fight the strongest aliens. Some accurately placed shots are able to hit the sweet spot the enemy and thus inflict far greater damage than the game tells you. They are called critical hits. When shooting, you are told what is the overall chance to perform a more effective attack. When you press the F1 key, you can find out what elements affect it.

Pressing F1 gives us information about the possibility of a critical hit.

As in the case of shooting the enemy, there are several modifiers here that can increase, reduce or completely eliminate the possibility of a critical hit. One of them comes from the type of weapon used. The choice of a weapon determines whether and how often your character will be able to inflict damage bonus. Sniper rifles have basically a 25% chance to critically hit, shotguns and rifles: 20% and 10%, respectively. Pistols and machine guns have 0% chance of additional damage, so using them it is necessary to use other modifiers.

Machine guns are not in able to inflict critical hits without additional modifiers.

The most important modifier, which you shall try to get in almost any situation, is a bonus for shooting a flanked enemy or an enemy located in the open terrain. It can amount to as much as 50%, which means that every second shot fired will be able to do much more damage! More importantly, it can be combined with other bonuses, so a sniper who shoots an enemy located in an open area has 75% chance of a critical hit. Only the stronger aliens will survive to their next turn.

Laser Sniper + Sniper Rifle + Headshot = dead alien.

Just as during the aiming, the calculation of the critical strike chance can be influenced by skills that increase both the frequency and the amount of additional damage. More detailed information can be found in the description of each class of soldiers.

XCOM base in all its glory.

After winning the first encounter with the aliens, your soldiers will be transported to the previously established base on the continent of your choice. Before your eyes appear the underground installations of the XCOM army headquarters, and deeper the empty terrain you can use for further development. This is the place where you pass a large part of the time spent on the game: expanding the complex, inventing new technologies to produce more and better weapons or training your soldiers. All elements included in the fully functional XCOM base will be discussed below.

One of the most important rooms in the underground complex is the Situation Room. It is there that we observe the alien progress in conquering Earth, control the distribution of satellites around the globe, check the finances of the organization and access the black market, where you can get rich quickly by selling extraterrestrial technology. Here, too, you learn what tasks you have to perform to successfully repel the invasion.

General view of the Situation Room.

The first tab is the Launch Satellite tab . By clicking on it, you will get detailed information about:

the level of panic in the regions. If it reaches a critical value, the country will withdraw permanently from the XCOM project financing.

bonuses we receive for sending a satellite to get over the territory of a particular country. Not only you receive additional monthly funds, but also the additional effects, depending on the continent:

If your satellite network will cover the entire continent, the added bonus is activated (the first is activated automatically when the base is set up in the location). The following table summarizes the benefits that can be obtained:

Continent

Bonus

1 satellite

2 satellites

3 satellites

4 satellites

Africa

All In

XCOM monthly contribution increased by 30%.

+1 engineer

+1 engineer

+1 scientist

+2 engineers

+1 scientist

South America

We Have Ways

Autopsies and interrogations are carried out immediately.

+1 scientist

+1 engineer

+1 scientist

North America

Air and Space

Costs of maintenance and purchase of new fighters and their weapons are 50% lower.

+1 scientist

+1 engineer

+1 scientist

+1 engineer

+2 scientists

Asia

Future Combat

All projects in the foundry and officers' school cost 50% less.

+1 engineer

+2 engineers

+3 engineers

+4 engineers

Europe

Expert Knowledge

The costs of maintenance and construction of new workshops and laboratories are 50% smaller.

+1 scientist

+2 scientists

+3 scientists

+4 scientists

current status of The Doom Tracker : if eight or more countries withdraw from the XCOM project, you lose the game!

amount of satellites that can be stored and launched (you produce them in Engineering - Build / Buy Items). If the number of active satellites is equal to the maximum, we have to build another Satellite Uplink room.

The next tab is the View XCOM Finances, showing the balance of incomes and losses of our organization.

If we lack the funds, you can get quickly rich using the option Visit the Gray Market. There you can quickly sell extraterrestrial technologies and obtain quite a large amount of money, but we must be careful not to accidentally get rid of items that have not yet investigated! Fortunately, the game informs us about which technologies we can safely put into the hands of others.

The last tab is Pending Requests, where we carry out tasks entrusted to us occasionally by the member states of the XCOM project. Typically, they consist of manufacturing sufficient modern equipment and deliver it ahead of schedule. As a reward, we receive the money, engineers or scientists. If we are able to perform the tasks we are carried with, we should do so. The more personnel, the better!

One of the many missions that we may receive from the XCOM project member countries.

The next location that should be noted is the hangar. When you press the option List View Ship, you receive information about the owned aircrafts, their location, and their armament. You have two options: buy new vehicles (Option Order Interceptors) or move the fighters you already own to an airport located on another continent. The latter option is particularly important when we cover a remote country with a network of satellites. It is necessary to have a local air force to intercept aggressive unidentified flying objects, as they are able to destroy our equipment and thereby increase the level of panic in the world. When you lose all satellites, you will not be able to detect subsequent UFOs, so the defense of the airspace is one of the fundamental tasks of XCOM!

In addition to that, when you press the left mouse button on an aircraft owned, you get detailed information about the weapons (with the option to change to a more modern equipment), and eventually you will be able to wreck it and free some funds.

Detailed information on one of our fighters.

In order to compensate the technological gap with the aliens, it is necessary to carry out research on new weapons, armor or vehicles. All the discoveries we make in the lab are available when you press the button Research.

The most important option is Start New Research Project . After selecting it, you see the list of available research projects. At the top of the list, you will usually find elements that are necessary to develop in order to continue the main storyline and thus move forward the action of the game. They are marked with green color and additional description ** PRIORITY **. Below the priorities there are other inventions that are not necessary to research, but make the game much easier later on. Research typically lasts a few days, but we can speed it up by hiring new scientists (i.e. receiving a reward for the successful completion of the task and launch of the satellites) or earning credit research (as described below).

The priority projects are located on the top of the list of inventions.

The second option available on the lab panel is Access Research Archives. This is a list of completed research projects along with their detailed description and unlocked objects or buildings.

The last tab (Review Credits Research)shows you if you can perform the test in a shorter time. You receive research credits by interrogating the captured aliens. Each race will give us a different bonus. For example, Sectoids facilitate our development of laser technology and Floaters reveal information that help produce body armor. If the research project will use the bonuses received, you will be informed about it in its description.

Project summary: time study, cost, potential cost in research credits.

Each available project costs a number of resources: Elerium, Alloys or Weapon Fragments . You gain them by penetrating wrecks of downed UFOs. In addition, to start some studies, such as the plasma weapons, you need to get at least one copy of the equipment. As the alien equipment breaks down right after shooting its user, it is necessary to catch a live alien. For this purpose it is necessary to develop two projects: Xeno-Biology (available from the start of the game) and the Arc Thrower (appears after researching Xeno-Biology).Then you can just make a copy of Arc Thrower (i.e. large taser) and give it to the soldier in the slot available for grenades. In addition, we need a cell for the alien. This means we need to build (in Engineering - Build Facility) the Alien Containment room.

Arc Thrower in the soldier's inventory.

After sending troops to the mission, we have to isolate one of the aliens from the rest, then weaken it for two or three points of life. Pistols are perfect for this task. Then you have to hit the wounded enemy with an Arc Thrower. Unfortunately, this weapon has a limited range, and if an alien uses Overwatch mode, coming close to him can be deadly. Therefore, the best way is to force a shot from the enemy (Assault-class soldier with the Lightning Reflexes ability is best suited for this purpose, as he automatically avoids the first alien attack) and then use another soldier to run to the enemy and use the paralizator. The hit alien stranger falls to the ground and will remain unconscious to the end of battle. After moving him to the base, he will be automatically placed in a cell - Alien Containment. In addition to the live alien, we obtain in this way the weapon he held. This is the best way to get new items.

Alien Containment with the captured aliens waiting to be interrogated.

You can then interrogate the captures alien, using the same panel as when selecting new research projects. Simply browse the list for interrogate, and then select which of the captured aliens are going to be interrogated. After the project is completed, you automatically get research credits, and sometimes even a new invention.

Carrying out continuously scientific research and speeding up the arms race is a must-do in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. If you fail to keep up with the aliens, it is possible that at some point you'll meet so powerful enemies that your obsolete weapons will not be able to cause them significant damage. Clashes with Mutons will be a nightmare if you don't have at least laser weapons, and Chryssals will kill your squad instantly.

XCOM soldiers can rearm in two ways: obtaining the plasma gun from an alien stunned with the Arc Thrower, or faster and safer: producing it at the base. For this purpose you can use the Engineering Bay, which is a production center for the development of our database, production of new hardware and upgrades of the existing elements.

The first and most commonly used option is to Build / Buy Items. It allows you, as the name suggests, to build or buy new items. The production panel is divided into three tabs: weapons and equipment, armor, and vehicles and their equipment - when you select any of them will display a list of possible items to produce. Each item has its price (which may be reduced by hiring more engineers, or building another workshop), the minimum number of people required for its production, and - in case of more advanced design - a list of the components that we have in stock. All additional items we obtain from tactical missions: Alien Alloys and Weapon Fragments, which are available after each match played, while Elerium and other components needed for the construction of fighters (such as UFO, or UFO Power Source or Flight Computer) can be obtained only after an attack on a grounded enemy vehicle.

Production of modern fighter aircraft requires more advanced elements.

After selecting a specific product, go to the next screen where you can choose how many copies of an item are going to build. It is worth to note that higher number of copies does not increase the production time! Building one or five satellites will always take 20 days.

Whether you need one or three fighters, the production will take 14 days.

Another equally important option is Build Facilities. When you press it you will see a whole XCOM base plan including yet undiscovered subterranean. There are four types of locations: Solid rock, cave, vapor (steam) and an existing building. New facilities can be put only in cavities, which have to be excavated in the rock - just hover your mouse cursor on it and when you select to excavate, pay small fee and wait a few days: you will enlarge our complex for another installation. Locations where there is water vapor are so unique that they can build a Thermo Generator - one of the most efficient power plants in the game, which you can access right from the start of the game.

When you start playing the XCOM base consists of only few rooms.

In order to use the deep will have to build an elevator (Access Lift) to the next level. Since the preparation of land for development is not too expensive, you might want to think about it ahead of time and prepare some empty caves. This allows construction of new buildings and will not require the dedication of additional days for the development of an appropriate amount of space. In addition, it is necessary to have a surplus of electricity, because every room needs a power supply - it is convenient to use one of the wings of our base to build more power plants. At the beginning of the game you should as soon as possible dig up at least one jet of steam and put on the thermo generator - it takes only one field and is more efficient than three normal Power Generators.

An extensive database of XCOM, some areas are still under construction.

While expanding the base, you should carefully plan the location of each room, as some of them will work more efficiently if you put them side by side installations of the same type. For example, all plants produce more power when they are next to each other. Below is a list of available bonuses:

Buildings

Bonus

Power Generator

Thermo Generator

Elerium Generator

+2 To electricity generation for each generator next to each other

Satellite Uplink

Satellite Nexus

+1 to the satellite control for each building next to each other

Laboratory

+10% the speed of carrying out research projects for each neighboring lab

Workshop

+7% to the refund of production costs for each workshop next to each other

Properly operating set of rooms generates higher results.

The last tab, i.e. The Foundry, is active only after the construction of proper installation - Foundry. It allows you to build various improvements in the existing inventory. The visible list is similar to that seen during a visit to a research laboratory: there you can see the costs of implementing innovations, the required components and the minimum number of engineers needed to start the project. The speed of introducing the upgrades can be sped up by hiring new workers or building another workshop (with him also get five engineers).After completion of the study the new version automatically replaces the older inventory items.

List of improvements from The Foundry is confusingly similar to the Build / Buy Items, but is governed by different rules.

As the use of Foundry consumes large quantities of components and the money here is the list of the most interesting and useful improvements that should be discovered in virtually every game. Some of them will be available from the start, some will appear when getting better equipment from enemies and carrying out research in the laboratory:

• Heavy Weapons Platform - gives us access to the S.H.I.V. rover, which perfectly complements our strike team
• S.H.I.V. Laser / Plasma - arms the rover with more effective weapons
• Improved Arc Thrower - increases the effectiveness of stun guns
• S.C.O.P.E. Upgrade - increases the chance of a critical hit when using the S.C.O.P.E. targeting system
• Alien Grenades - gives access to much stronger alien grenades
• Ammo Conservation - Increases the amount of ammo for each weapon type

Other improvements are also useful, but dependent on the chosen tactics. The ones listed above are universal and will be useful for all XCOM commanders.

Barracks are the last room associated with the strategic part of the game. It is here that we will be arming soldiers, promote them or, at a later stage of the game, develop their psionic abilities.

The first tab available from the start is View Soldiers. After selecting it you get a full list of available soldiers along with their current status (active, training, injured), rank, class, as well as possible psionic abilities.

Browsing the list of men we can easily figure out the forces at our disposal.

Clicking on the name of a soldier will display more detailed description. In addition to the aforementioned information, we will also know in how many missions he or she participated, how many aliens he or she killed, the soldier's special abilities and statistics. There are four of them:

• HP - the number of hit points. HP bonus depends on the armor worn by the soldier.
• Will - the strength of will, increasing the chance of having a psionic abilities, their effectiveness, the ability to defend against hostile psionics, and resistance to panic
• Defense - the ability to avoid enemy attacks, without modifiers from the battlefield. Typically, this statistic is zero, and the bonus points depend on the armor worn.
• Aim - the accuracy of our soldier .Bonus points are taken from their weapons and additional equipment (such as the S.C.O.P.E.)

Sniper and his stats and skills. The Commando is one of the few veterans.

In addition to the abovementioned information, the soldier window also allows us to consult his current skills, and assign a new ones (Abilities), but if he has psionic abilities, we can check their status by pressing the Psi-Abilities button. Loadout will allow us to change the currently used equipment, while Dismiss removes the soldier permanently from the list of available characters. The last option, Customize, allows us to personalize our soldier. We can change the name, surname and nickname, and we can customize almost every detail on the appearance of your character: race, voice, head, skin color, hair (or helmet), hair color, beard / mustache, extra decorations on armor and shade armor. This allows each of our soldiers to become similar to our friends or be completely unique, invented for the game. Of course, if we do not want to play in changing the appearance, we can leave the original, randomly generated character.

The XCOM: Enemy Unknown can freely customize each of the soldiers.

Another tab becomes available only after the construction of the Officer Training School (officers' school). It is one of the most important installations in the XCOM base, because in it you can buy some upgrades that directly affect our soldiers. After opening a new window we can buy upgrades that affect the rate of healing of our subordinates, the number of experience acquired in combat and, most importantly, we can enlarge our group strike with two people! Thanks to this our firepower on the battlefield will increase twofold and thus the fight against aliens will become much easier. Other available skills are no less important - the following is a list of them with bonuses received:

Improvement

Effect

Squad Size and

Allows you to send 5 commandos on a mission

Squad Size II

Allows you to send 6 commandos on a mission

New Guy

New soldiers get automatically promoted to the rank Squaddie (their specialization is also unlocked)

Rapid Recovery

Soldiers wounds heal twice as fast

Do not Die On Me

The higher the rank of the commando, the greater the chance that it will be critically wounded (he remains one life point) rather than die in combat

Wet Work

+25% Experience for killing an alien

Iron Will

Soldiers get a bigger bonus to Will at every promotion

The next option is also associated with the additional training of our soldiers. Visit the Psi Labs is activated only after the construction and installation of Psionic Labs allows us to detect potential mental capacity of our soldiers. Simply select up to three soldiers and wait a few days to see results. During the time of research, we need to ensure replacement soldiers for our strike team, as interrupting the training will force us to repeat the whole process over again. After ten days we get an indication of whether we will be able to use commando psionic abilities (Gifted) or not (No Gift). Before you start testing, it may be useful to unlock the Iron Will bonus in the officer school and get some promotion for every soldier, as a higher the rate of Will increases our chance to have a "gift".

Unfortunately, the soldiers have the ability to use psionic powers rarely occur.

Visit the Memorial allows us to see the face of the fallen: we mention our best soldiers, and to see how effective they were in battle with the invaders.

One bad decision and the whole unit is only a memory.

The last option available from the barracks is Hire Soldiers. When you select it you can choose how many soldiers are going to hire, and we know how much is left available to us in the barracks. New recruits will go to our base after 3 days. It is worth mentioning that the ability of New Guy (to unlock the school officer) works both on the characters which have employed before, as well as those who have just arrived.

Casualties have to be replaced: 15 new recruits should be enough for this month.

The most important room in a XCOM is the Mission Control. Here we will spend a considerable amount of time provided for the strategic part of the game, scanning in search of UFOs and waiting for the next mission. In the center of the screen is a view of the globe, which we can rotate freely (just hold down the left mouse button and move the cursor), but the information obtained will not be complete. For critical data, which is the level of panic in the world, press the icon in the bottom left corner of the screen: the globe will receive a superimposed grid with interesting information. Thanks to it we are able to determine which regions of the earth requires immediate action, but that can wait.

The more red, the worse. Fortunately, you can reduce panic by launching satellites.

In the right part of the screen is a list of coming events: meetings with council, research, production, construction of new facilities - when their time will come, the time is automatically stopped and we are able to see the results. In some less important cases, such as rearming fighters or transfer of soldiers, the information will be shown in the lower left corner of the screen, but the game will not pause. If we, for example, want a fast new soldier training, we have to pay attention to these special events.

List of upcoming events, we can easily control the XCOM project.

The most important element is the Mission Control Scan for Activity. When we press it, we accelerate the passage of time while searching for aliens on Earth. When we detect a UFO, we get opportunity to launch fighter jets to intercept an enemy vehicle.

Advanced detection methods give us more information about UFOs: the need to shoot a bandit.

Once approved, we will see our plane attack, chasing the enemy. When a contact with UFOs is made, we will be transferred to the screen of air combat. Clash is automatic: our fighter will try to get close to the alien ship for a shot, and then attack it with its weapons. We can watch the battle and the state of our fighter (an icon shows the received damage), give the order to retreat or use one of the three bonuses (available at a later stage of the game) to enhance the effectiveness of our vehicle during clashes.

Fight in the air is not always fair: XCOM fighter should give a chance aliens.

If your vehicle will prevail, UFO crashes on the ground and we will be able to send a strike force to finish survivors and collect the wreck. This is the perfect time to prepare our team for fighting and saving the game. When we are ready to select a mission from the list that appears next to the icon Scan for Activity and approve the departure of our transport vehicle - the Skyranger. After reaching the place the fighting will start. We should know its principles from the previous chapters of the guide.

Time to send the Skyranger with the strike group aboard.

In addition to the missions that consist in shooting down UFOs and collecting their wreckage, there is a whole range of other random events, which we have to face:

• UFO Crash Site - the above-mentioned mission of securing the downed UFO crash site. We need to catch or kill all the aliens are in the area. Damaging the components inside the ship reduces the amount of components gained after the battle.
• UFO Landing Site - as in the case above, we have to secure the area of the UFO landing. This time, the ship is intact, so we have to approach it with caution, and use minimal amounts of explosives to collect as many components as possible.
• Alien Abduction - the most common type of missions in the game, which consists in shooting / catching all aliens (the first event in the game, it was Alien Abduction). Since there are no civilians or equipment, all tactics are allowed.
• Alien Terror Attack - mission appears more or less once a month. Aliens are attacking a city, and our goal is to save the greatest number of people. This can be done in two ways: either by eliminating all aliens, or running up to each individual civilians: after putting a soldier on an adjacent field, it will be evacuated.
• Extraction - one of the missions ordered by the Council. It involves getting to our destination and then ensuring that a VIP is escorted back to the Skyranger. In this type of missions, the aliens often receive additional reinforcements, appearing in random places on the map.
• Rescue - mission commissioned by the Council. The tasks placed before us are the same as in Extraction - we need to get to the VIP and allow him to escape. Again alien may obtain additional reinforcements during the mission.
• Bomb Disposal - another type of mission commissioned by the Council. This time the strike team has to disarm the bomb, which the aliens control. We have to do reach the explosive device and deactivate it before it explodes. It is possible to gain extra time by turning off the smaller power sources. Just put a soldier on the field next to the generator (or bomb) and then, if you have at least one action point to the device, press the left mouse button.
• Asset Recovery - the last type of mission commissioned by the Council. This task is similar to that which occurs in the case of Alien Abduction: it is sufficient to eliminate all the alien forces.

Mission: Bomb Disposal. Remaining time: three rounds. Objective: in sight. Time to act!

Completing the mission involves a lot of benefits. Not only we slow down the alien invasion and prevent the spread of chaos in the world, but also often reduce panic in some countries, and even continents around the world at the same time! In addition, we receive for work performed by different types of awards: scientists, engineers, experienced soldiers, and money. Not counting bonuses offered by individual countries and the international board, ground mission execution guarantees us a large amount of foreign components and equipment. Plasma weapons, parts of weapons and spacecraft, alien bodies, even living aliens, which we can then interrogate: all this thing we can receive only by fighting directly with the enemy. If this is possible, it is worth sending our team on every mission, so that we do not fall behind in the arms race.

Our trophies after the mission. Soon you will be able to rearm commandos.

What would the XCOM be if not for the tens of soldiers who join the organization to fight the invaders? As already mentioned, the player has full control over the soldiers, both during tactical missions as well as the strategic part, through the barracks menu. It is worth to get acquainted with the forces available to us and find out how much we can squeeze out of them.

Dream team just before heading out on a mission.

Our team consists of up to four soldiers, and after buying improvements - of up to six characters. It may include both new recruits, as well as soldiers of one of four specializations and the S.H.I.V. rover, made specifically at the request of the XCOM organization. As you progress in the elimination of aliens, every soldier will gain new levels of experience, here called promotions. Recruits who survive the baptism of fire will be promoted to the rank of Squaddie and unlock their specialization - unfortunately it is random, so we do not always get the class we currently need. There are a few ways to fix this: we can recruit more commandos and send them to a simple mission, to give them a promotion - this method is very time-consuming. Much more convenient is to build Officer Training School and then unlock the New Guy bonus, which gives every soldier a free promotion to the degree of Squaddie and thus unlock the specialization. The last method consists in choosing the appropriate location from the list of Alien Abduction or by completing the missions ordered by the council - often in the pay we get well-trained commando of particular class.

Major Zoe White has been promoted.

Unlocking specializations is only the first stage of development of our soldiers. Next promotion will allow us to gain access to various kinds of special abilities that will not only select the corresponding fighting style but also allows us to clash with the ever-stronger opponents. In the game there are four character classes: Assault, Heavy, Sniper, and Support.

Assault class has access to pistols, rifles and shotguns: the weapon of choice depends mainly on the role assigned to the soldier. This specialization focuses on the fight on short and medium range, attacking enemies hidden behind obstacles, and inflicting as much damage as possible (often with a critical hit). Commando skills available to further enhance the effectiveness of the above-mentioned areas:

Rank

Skill

Description

Squaddie

Run & Gun

Allows the shot or Overwatch mode, even if both consume action points to move. Reusing possible after 2 rounds.

Corporal

Tactical Sense

+5 To defense for every visible enemy (up to 20)

Corporal

Aggression

10% chance to critical hit for each visible enemy (up +30%)

Sergeant

Lightning Reflexes

The first alien shot in the round using Overwatch mode automatically misses.

Sergeant

Close and Personal

30% chance to critical hit on nearby enemies. Bonus decreases with distance.

Lieutenant

Flush

Soldier fires a shot that forces the enemy to abandon his position. This shot is easy to hit, but it inflicts little damage.

Lieutenant

Rapid Fire

Makes two shots to the target: each shot is -15 to chance to hit.

Captain

Close Combat Specialist

Shoots each enemy that approaches the commando for a distance of 4 fields. Does not require Overwatch mode.

Captain

Bring 'Em On

Increases the critical damage inflicted by one point for each branch seen by the enemy (up to 5 damage).

Major

Extra Conditioning

Increases hit points depending on the armor worn. Heavier armor gives bigger bonus.

Colonel

Resilience

Soldier becomes immune to critical hits.

Colonel

Killer Instinct

Activating Run & Gun increases critical damage done by 50%.

Assault Commando specializing in fighting in the front line of the strongest opponents.

Skills of the Assault class give us a wide range of possibilities. We can create a front line soldier, who runs forward and detects enemies. With skills such as Tactical Sense, Lightning Reflexes, Flush, Close Combat Specialist, Extra Conditioning and Resilience our soldier is practically resistant to fire and becomes perfectly able to defend oneself using both shotgun and rifle. In addition, he or she can force the enemy to escape from behind cover, exposing them to fire the rest of the team.

The second option is to create a killing machine. By selecting all the skills that increase the damage, such as Aggression, Close and Personal, Rapid Fire, Bring 'Em On Killer Instinct, we can be sure that the alien hit is a dead alien. The setting is much less resistant to fire than the previous set of skills, so you can select the version centered: having some skills that increase your damage and help others survive.

Combination of Tactical Sense, Lightning Reflexes, Rapid Fire, Close Combat Specialist and Killer Instinct can kill almost every alien using one action (only the most resilient Heavy Mutons and Sectopods are able to resist it), while granting enough resistance to allow the soldier to reach the goal.

The soldier with Heavy specialization have access to heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers in place of a gun. The soldiers of this type have huge firepower, which should be used to stop alien attacks (especially in Overwatch mode) and have a large quantity of explosives that are useful in the destruction of large clusters of enemies or opening a new paths on the map. Well-aimed missile can raze a small building to the ground.

Rank

Skill

Description

Squaddie

Rocket Fire

The character can fire a rocket on a mission once. To give a shot the soldier cannot move.

Corporal

Bullet Swarm

The shot as the first action in a given round uses only one point of action. Commando can therefore shoot twice per turn.

Corporal

Holo-Targeting

Shooting for foreign or suppression fire give the other members of the team +10 to hitting the opponent.

Sergeant

Rocket Shredder

Fires the weaker missile that causes the opponent gets hit by 33% more damage for the next 4 rounds.

Sergeant

Suppression

Fire barrage - the opponent gets a -30 points penalty to accuracy. If a stranger moves, commando give in his direction one shot.

Lieutenant

HEAT ammo

Offers 100% bonus damage against robots.

Lieutenant

Rapid Reaction

If the first shot in Overwatch mode killed the alien, the soldier will be able to make another attack against another target.

Captain

Grenadier

Allows you to carry two grenades instead of one.

Captain

Danger Zone

Increases the area of ??missiles and the Suppression of the two fields.

Major

Will to Survive

If commando is hidden and has not been flanked, received his injuries are reduced by 2 points.

Colonel

Rocketeer

Allows you to use a rocket launcher on a mission twice.

Colonel

Mayhem

Increases the damage done by the Suppression and area attacks, depending on the level of technology of the weapon.

Heavy was here... and still is.

Like the Assault class, the Heavy can be developed in several ways. We can create a typical grenadier, used to destroy enemy groups: extra grenades and additional rockets will allow us to eliminate large numbers of aliens, while thanks to HEAT Ammo we will be able to cope with Cyberdiscs and Sectopods.

Players who prefer to use the class as a heavy fire support can choose from a whole range of skills to increase the effectiveness of suppression fire. Holo-Targeting, Suppression, Rapid Reaction, Danger Zone and Mayhem effectively stop any enemy attack, reduce the effectiveness of fire conducted by aliens and facilitate targeting of other team members (Note: Suppression in conjunction with the Danger Zone is the area of effect ability, and the Holo-Targeting increases the chances of hitting each of the enemies who we have fired at).

As always, there is a middle path: a combination of skills in both categories gives us a universal character, but slightly weaker than the soldier who opts for one specialization. This figure will be less effective in conducting Suppression or using explosives, but will be able to easily adapt to changing conditions on the battlefield.

Who does not know this class? The king of long distance combat, one-shot kills and elimination of a perfectly hidden enemy. Armed with a sniper rifle and a pistol, used for self-defense, the sniper will cover the team from behind and attack critical targets.

Rank

Skill

Description

Squaddie

Headshot

Shot 30% chance of having the task of increased critical damage. Reusing possible after 2 rounds.

Corporal

Snap Shot

Allows the sniper to fire or turn on Overwatch mode when you move up. In this case, the accuracy drops by 20 points.

Corporal

Squadsight

A sniper can shoot at goal, which he sees another soldier.

Sergeant

Gunslinger

Increases the damage done by 2 points.

Sergeant

Damn Good Ground

Increases Accuracy and defense by 10 points if soldier is above its target.

Lieutenant

Disabling Shot

The shot damages the main weapon of the opponent (reload fixes it). Do not ask critical damage. Reusing possible after 2 rounds.

Lieutenant

Battle Scanner

The device, which, when you stop at 2 turns increases the field of view soldier. They can be used 2 times per battle.

Captain

Executioner

+10 To accuracy against opponents holding below 50% hit points.

Captain

Opportunist

Reduces the penalty to accuracy and lets you ask critical injuries during Overwatch mode.

Major

Low Profile

Partially cover (20%) counts as the total (40%).

Colonel

In the Zone

Killing a flanked alien or located in an open area does not cost action points.

Colonel

Double Tap

If the soldier did not move, he or she can make two shots in the round. Reusing possible after 1 round.

Now go to Hell!

It would seem that only a sniper can shoot at long range. This is not true: the marksmen in XCOM: Enemy Unknown have several possible paths of development. The classic sniper will use all skills to work with team and kill individual targets: Headshot, Squad Sight, Damn Good Ground, Disabling Shot and Double Tap will kill even the toughest opponent in one turn. The disadvantage of this setup is the area itself in which we will face with the enemy. If we do not have a position providing view of the entire battlefield, our sniper is useless.

Another way to develop a sniper, with no disadvantages as the one before, is to select skills to fight the move, along with other members of the team. Snap Shot, Gunslinger, and the most important the Battle Scanner ability will enable the sniper to keep up with the team and detect enemies. The In the Zone ability works best if you work with a sniper class or Heavy Assault: soldiers on the front line forces opponents to leave the cover, while the support soldier uses explosives to remove the enemy hideouts. In this case, the sniper is shooting at exposed enemies as long as he or she has enough ammo.

The last class available in the game is the support soldier, whose skills influence the whole team. Armed with a rifle and a gun, it is a great addition to the team, and several specializations of Support can quickly change the situation on the battlefield.

Rank

Skill

Description

Squaddie

Smoke Grenade

Smoke grenade, increasing defense of all the characters are in the area of ??effect by 20 points.

Corporal

Sprinter

Increases range of motion of the 3 fields.

Corporal

Covering Fire

Overwatch mode is also enabled when the opponent will give a shot.

Sergeant

Field Medic

Allows you to use first-aid kits 3 times during the mission.

Sergeant

Smoke and Mirrors

Lets you use smoke grenades twice during the mission.

Lieutenant

Revive

Using the first-aid kit on critically wounded soldiers gives them 33% of their hit points instead of just stabilizing them.

Lieutenant

Suppression Rifle

The opponent gets -30 points penalty to accuracy. If alien moves, the soldier gives one shot in his direction.

Captain

Dense Smoke

Increases defense as contained in the range of the smoke grenade by another 20 points.

Captain

Combat Drugs

Smoke grenades increase Will by 20 points and critical strike chance by 10% for all units in the area of ??operation.

Major

Deep Pockets

Allows you to use two different objects.

Colonel

Savior

First-aid kits heal an additional 4 points of life.

Colonel

Sentinel

Allows you to make two attacks in Overwatch mode instead of one.

Smoke grenades will save lives sometimes other members of the team.

Support class is the most versatile class available in the game. We can create a medic, who due to their abilities: Sprinter, Field Medic, Revive and Savior will keep the rest of the team alive. In addition, the ability Combat Drugs increases the statistics of other team members.

The second option is to choose military abilities. Covering Fire, Smoke and Mirrors, Rifle, Suppression, Dense Smoke and Sentinel will allow us to respond with fire to any movement of the aliens, and smoke grenades will increase the ability of the rest of the defensive team.

Very interesting solution is to mix both skills trees: Sprinter in conjunction with the Smoke and Mirrors, Rifle Suppression and using Deep Pockets to hold two grenades can hit anywhere on the field of combat (through increased movement), and eliminate a group of enemies with explosives or create a fire barrage against a stronger opponent. And how many possibilities give us several Support class soldiers, each with the Sprinter ability and two hand grenades!

As already mentioned above, the construction of the Psionic Labs allows us to examine all soldiers for psionic abilities. Chance that he will be able to use mental attacks is all the greater the higher the rate of Will, so before you start testing it is worthy to unlock bonus Iron Will in the officers' school and get a few levels of experience. After receiving confirmation from the lab that the soldier has a gift of using psionic powers, we can begin his training.

Killing with eyes? This is the purpose of psionic powers.

In the information about the soldier we will see a new tab: Psi-Abilities. Selecting it will take us to a miniature tree of psionic skills. At the beginning, we will be able to choose only the first skill: Mindfray. In order to unlock the next level you will have the ability to use already received. But this is not a big problem because the very Mindfray is a very powerful skill that not only seriously hurts aliens but also reduces their accuracy and strength of will. After playing a few missions, we will get access to the second and then the third level psionic skill tree, greatly expanding the effectiveness of our soldiers in combat.

Mindfray in use. Not very spectacular, but very effective.

The effectiveness of psionic abilities depends only on the Will of the attacker and the target. No cover is will protect against damage, so fighting with alien, who have access to psychic powers (Ethereal, Sectoid Commander) the soldiers with the highest force of will must be selected. Below is a list of psionic abilities along with their description:

Level

Skill

Effect:

1

Mindfray

Inflicts 5 damage and reduces Aim, Will and mobility of the target. Does not work on robots. Reusing possible after 2 rounds.

2

Dog Inspiration

Eliminates Mindfray and the panic from all allies within 3 squares and increases their Will for 30 points on 2 turns. Reusing possible after 4 rounds.

2

Dog Panic

If the attack is successful, target panics. Reusing possible after 2 rounds.

3

Telekinetic Field

Produces a force field, increasing the defense all on the inside as on 40 points. Reusing possible after 4 rounds.

3

Mind Control

If the attack is successful, the player will assume full control over the target for 3 rounds. Reusing possible after 5 rounds.

Psionic powers are very strong and used properly can really facilitate the fight, even with the strongest opponents. Take control over the Muton Elite or frying the barin of a Floater hidden behind a cover with a Mindfray gives us new tactical options and allows for much more aggressive game than before. In addition, it is rumored that in the game there is another psionic power, much stronger than those that are available to soldiers. The method of gaining it is described in the section main storyline.

Mind Control allows us to capture the mind of even so great a alien as Muton Elite.

The following are general advice on both the strategic and tactical game, too small to form a separate chapter for in the guide, but so important that they are worthy mentioning. I hope that they will help win the fight against the aliens and completing the game.

• When choosing a location, we should focus on the continents with more regions, and then use satellites to cover those who have less. One of the better starting location is Europe or Asia, and the worst (and therefore the easiest to take into account in the global network) South America.
• Once you start playing, we should immediately start production of one satellite to launch it before the end of the month. If you do not have to use it to reduce panic, you might want to send it to watch the air space over one of the richest countries (e.g. USA)
• Always accept all missions and send fighters to capture all UFO. Refusing to perform a task causes more panic, and the alien vehicle can shoot down our foreign satellites, spreading more chaos in the world.
• Always try to send several recruits on a mission. You never know when they will have to replace injured veteran, hence having more trained soldiers is always included.
• Sell ??unwanted items on the Gray Market. In the initial phase of the game it is the main source of income for the XCOM.
• Engineers are more important than academics and money, especially in the beginning of the game! During the first Alien Abduction missions, we necessarily have to choose engineers, otherwise our progress will be much slower.
• S.H.I.V. is useful, but it takes one place in the Skyranger, instead of a possible rookie. The robot unfortunately does not gain experience, a rookie does.
• Using Mind Control on a Muton often ends by taking control of the alien. Mutons carry grenades, so... BOOM!
• The greatest damage in the team is inflicted by the Assault class with the Run & Gun, Close and Personal, Aggression, Killer Instinct and Rapid Fire. Right behind it is a sniper with Double Tap. Suitable choice of targets will allow us not to waste the marksman shot on a Sectoid when next to it there is a Muton Elite.
• If we lose your best soldiers, we shouldn't despair - we can always catch up by playing carefully and training new soldiers from scratch. In this case, S.H.I.V. is very helpful in the team, because it has more firepower than a rookie.
• If all else fails, we can always play at a lower level of difficulty and often use the option to save and load the game. NOTE: save the game before the shot and then load it if you miss does not change the outcome of our attack! Best to save the game at the start of turn, and if we fail, play it differently.

This section is devoted to the various maneuvers that can be used on the battlefield in order to minimize loss of life and help eliminate what more resistant aliens. It assumes that we conduct research on an ongoing basis when new types of aliens appear and that we have assimilated the basic information about the gameplay mechanics in the tactical game.

With well-chosen tactics we will send aliens back where they came from!

One of the basic maneuvers, which are used in the initial phase of the battle, is getting the correct unit when you do not yet have detected the enemy. As mentioned earlier in the section Detecting opponent, one of the key steps is to know the size of the map where you are, and any attack path of the aliens. After this, the next step is to find a field shield behind which we can hide the soldiers. I would recommend to turn first to those who are just one move, saving the second action point to a possible exchange of fire with aliens (if we are unlucky and aliens were close) or Overwatch mode (if we have not yet discovered the enemy).

At the end of the round, all the soldiers are hidden behind terrain obstacles.

The next step is to choose one point (preferably at the edge of the map) and moving in its direction. We should always start with a single point of soldier's action, saving the other for when the enemy appears. I do not recommend running blindly using both action points - a soldier is exposed to fire, and his death could cause panic and his companions continued loss of life. In the first phase of the fight very useful is the ability of the sniper: Battle Scanner. Thrown like a grenade, it reveals invisible so far for us the area - this is a really great skill reduces the risk of falling into the trap in the first few rounds of the game.

Immediately after discovering the XCOM team, the aliens occupy defensive positions.

Sooner or later, we detect a cluster of aliens who hide behind the nearby obstacles. At this point, the saved action points become useful: soldiers located at the back can shoot aliens (especially useful here are rocket launchers and sniper rifles), and the Rangers closer to the enemy can choose between throwing grenades or running Barrage hiding behind obstacles (Hunker Down). If the opponent ran us out of the field of view can also be used Overwatch mode - but he has some huge flaws. First, enables the soldiers to shoot with a reduced accuracy, not only wasting ammunition, but also losing a movement (if an alien stopped in an open area, a normal shot would be more effective). Second, it often happens that if you set the number of soldiers in Overwatch mode, everyone would give a shot to the same alien. This ensures a better chance to kill him, but the other two aliens can escape from our attack. Personally, I recommend using only Overwatch mode with a Sniper (before you reach the maximum level of experience and will be able to give two shots per turn), Heavy with the ability to Rapid Reaction and Support with the ability Sentinel. The remaining soldiers should rather save action point to perform a normal attack.

Scout on the front protected by a sniper and Support soldier in Overwatch mode.

During the fight we shouldn't attack blindly. Aliens often try to get closer to our soldiers, and therefore they can be drawn into the trap, if the soldiers withdraw from the first line of fire. In addition, it gives us a wider room for maneuver, because the use of the skills of the Assault class - especially Run & Gun - on newly discovered alien may help us discover another alien group. But if we use it after the retreat, we will return to previous position without the risk of stepping on a larger enemy forces.

This usually is the end of a frantic race towards one opponent.

Another problem we may encounter are aliens hiding behind heavy terrain barriers. As far as possible we should use an outdoor area for flanking them. If this is not possible, I recommend you just change the terrain using grenades and rocket launchers. If the enemy is hiding behind a car wreck, the situation is even simpler - you can go ahead and attack him. Some missed shots set fire to the vehicle and the next round will be an explosion that will kill aliens. We have to be careful, because it works both ways - target shooting aliens may ignite our cover. It is then time to withdraw the explosion, and later you can go back to the previous position.

If this turn soldier does not withdraw, he will probably be killed by the explosion.

In addition, we can use the terrain. Shooting from a higher position increases our chance to hit, so the Sniper or the Support class on the roof have a much easier task to shoot on an opponent behind the cover. Approximately in the middle of the game we will gain Skeleton Suit armor with built-in grappling hook - just select the appropriate capacity and aim at the above location located and our soldier change its position. As the alien (except for Floaters) rarely use rooftops as sniper position, it allows us to flank most of the opponents. The attack from the flank in conjunction with a dominance from above will quickly end each turn.

Taking advantage of the height is important to the outcome of battle.

Fighting within closed spaces (e.g. foreign ship), we should wait 1-2 rounds opening the door and set up the so-called firing squad, i.e. two soldiers along the edges of the door, the rest directly in front of them. We set a number of soldiers in Overwatch mode, we open the switch and watch the scene. Typically, one or two will kill newly discovered alien already in the preliminary clean up, while the rest we will kill with the Assault class or (less often, because you can destroy valuable items) throwing a few grenades inside. Surprisingly, the most difficult task for a soldier - entering closed rooms - in XCOM: Enemy Unknown is extremely safe and easy.

Team preparing to clean the next room.

We should also remember about using military skills. Despite the fact that dead alien is not able to harm us, will not always be possible to eliminate all opposition. A well-thrown grenade with the ability Dense Smoke is as effective as the hard cover - a soldier in the open air suddenly becomes very difficult to hit. Suppression not only reduces the accuracy of the enemy but it gives us the opportunity to fire when he moves. In conjunction with the ability Danger Zone of the Heavy class, we can virtually exclude from fighting the alien group.

At the end: armor. It increases the number of life points we have on our marines (most importantly, the armor gives 5 ??points of life, so only after receiving 6 damage will cause the soldier to be hospitalized!) and often provide access to unique abilities: the aforementioned Skeleton Suit and its grappling hook, the ability to fly, or to become invisible - armor is just as important as modern weapons.

In the background: a soldier in the Ghost Armor detects enemy while being cloaked.

Sectoid

The weakest enemy in the game, which will meet in the first challenge. Usually comes in larger groups, often after the injury or the loss of a number of allies runs away. Accuracy of its attacks is small and can only be dangerous to XCOM recruits. Their strongest ability is Mind Merge - psionic power another alien life improves by 1 point and critical strike chance by 25%. But it has a huge flaw: the death of an alien using this power causes the enhanced target to die.

Floater

The second enemy that we will face in the game. In contrast to Sectoids, he is much more aggressive and often charges on positions taken by the XCOM soldiers. His name comes from his ability to float over the battlefield, making the accuracy of the attacks against him be reduced by 20%. In addition, he can make a jump, automatically moving to any point of the battlefield.

Thin Man

Resembling humans, these aliens are extremely fast and have a very good ability to climb - it allows them to shoot our soldiers in the direction you least expect. In addition, they have the ability to spit poison at a distance (this is an area attack!) and after his death they leave behind a cloud of toxins. Most of these aliens meet during the attack on UFOs and various missions commissioned by the council, in particular with the VIP escort.

Muton

Main striking force of the aliens - very resistant to fire, with an impressive firepower. He has the Blood call ability, which allows him to increase the accuracy, speed and willpower of other Mutons. In addition, he is perfectly equipped for battle, and can use either plasma rifles (regular shelling or barrage) and alien grenades (make five points of damage). Responds to the fire with a roar that could inspire panic in soldiers who are mentally weak.

Chryssalid

Fast, strong, ruthless. Most common during the Alien Terror Attack, he can move at long distances and overcome steep hills to hunt down their prey. He attacks with claws that poison enemies, and if he manages to kill a human, he leaves an alien embryo within the corpse. The corpse returns to life as a zombie to soon turn into a new, fully-fledged Chryssalid and start the whole cycle over again. Because of this ability, each such alien should be eliminated first, before the plague can get out of control.

Heavy Floater

More resilient brother of the Floater. Just like his predecessor, he is able to quickly move around the battlefield and float in the air indefinitely. However, he is much more resilient, has better accuracy and can attack XCOM soldiers with grenades. He is one of the biggest risks that they may come across: you can not afford that a Heavy Floater begins a turn next to our soldiers, mainly due to the use of his explosives.

Commander Sectoid

When we first meet him during the attack on the alien base, he will then appear mainly in the UFOs and during the most difficult missions. In contrast to a Sectoid, he is much more resistant to fire, but it's not his strength that is his greatest asset. It can use much more advanced psionic powers than its predecessor: the default Mindfray damage, the Psi Panic that causes panic, and the most dangerous Mind Control. What's worse, Commander Sectoid just loves to take control of XCOM soldiers, so have to kill him as fast as it is possible as soon as we detect him. If the attack is successful, we can regain control over our soldier by killing the alien commander.

Elite Muton

If Mutons have been a problem for us, this aliens will be a nightmare. In general, they can be described as: more of everything. More points of life, greater resistance to fire, larger caliber of weapons. Like his predecessors, he can put the suppression fire and throw grenades over a long distance. Fortunately Muton Elites are quite slow, so do not always have to be eliminated first.

Berserker Muton

The toughest of Mutons, a melee fighter. He can break through walls, has a huge number of hit points and, if he is attacked, he often runs in the direction of the enemy. He is still more dangerous than Chryssalids and he should never be allowed in the vicinity of our soldiers. We should focus on him the fire of the entire team, especially the most powerful character classes: assault and sniper. If you allow him to attack, the soldiers will be killed like flies.

Drone

A small flying robot capable of rapid movement and attacks from the flank. It is poorly armed, so eliminating it should not cause any difficulties. His arrival, however, usually announces troubles, because it often occurs in tandem with...

Cyberdisc

Cyberdisc, an airborne arsenal hidden inside a disc. He shoots accurately, using grenades and inflicting great damage. He can also withstand the fire response. A large number of points of life and increased resistance to critical hits often allow him to eliminate the goal - our soldiers. In addition, he is quite fast and the destruction explodes injuring all around. The only way to fight him is to attack him from a distance and never allow him to arrive to our lines.

Ethereal

The commander of the largest alien ships, a perfect psionic and, unfortunately, very resistant to fire. Like Sectoid Commander, he can use the abilities Mindfray and Mind Control. Unfortunately, this is not the end of his ability. Ethereal is able to attack the soldiers with pure psionic energy: Psi Lance, and use the strongest attack in the game: Rift. He is the number one target. If we meet this alien, we should fall back on pre-determined positions, or try to kill him in one turn. We can not ever let him carefree attacking our soldiers.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown, in addition to randomly generated missions, also has a main storyline that leads us to the final victory over the visitors from outer space. It includes both tasks at the tactical level (missions involving the elimination or catching certain foreign) as well as those that can be completed in a strategic part of the game: the establishment of appropriate installation or starting certain tests. In order to complete the storyline, it is necessary to perform the following tasks:

Conducting research on the project Xeno-Biology. This project is available from the very beginning of the game and requires four Sectoid bodies. After collecting the appropriate amount of ingredients simply select it from the list available in the lab and wait a few days. As a result of research that will allow us to capture live soon aliens is probably the most important thing on which we should work from the very beginning of the game.

Build the Alien Containment Facility. The room is a kind of prison for captured aliens - without it you can not interview the captured alien. In addition, we need more equipment to allow the enemy onslaught, which is our next goal.

Inventing and building the Arc Thrower. This object is the only weapon that allows the capture of foreign and creates a kind of a pair with the Alien Containment Facility.

Capture a live alien. It does not matter what alien we can catch, the important thing is to catch him alive. It is a task easier to accomplish during the clashes, such as Alien Abduction and UFO Crash Site. You can also capture the other types of alien missions, but with, for instance, the Alien Terror Attack mission, we will probably be more busy fending off attacks and defending civilians from the Chryssalids than finding the time to weaken and stun one of the aliens. Remember: you need to capture foreign bring it to 3 or fewer hit points, get closer to the 2-3 distance fields and use the Arc Thrower.

Interrogating a live alien. Interrogating is carried out as a research in the laboratory. Simply select from the list the alien caught and wait a few days.

Catching a live Outsider. This alien usually commands alien scout ships. We have to shoot the vehicle or discover its landing site and then send Skyranger with a striking group armed with Arc Thrower. Before we get into the ship, I would recommend to clean the entire area, and then prepare for the final assault soldiers. One soldier detects the Outsider and the rest tries to hurt him a bit (I would recommend using pistols).When the alien is at the end of life, there our "catcher" armed with a stun gun comes into play. Aliens will be delivered to the base in the form of crystal.

Outsider examination section. The next step is to examine part of the previously captured alien. With it, you will unlock a plan of attack on the alien base.

Build a Skeleton Key. The only way to get into the underground alien base is to use the appropriate key. The project will be automatically sent to the Engineering department, and we need to collect the right amount of components and start production. In addition to a small amount of cash, we will need: 10x Elerium, 10x Alloys, 1x Outsider Shard and 15 engineers. At this stage of the game we have a problem with the appropriate number of staff: the easiest way to collect their missions while selecting the Alien Abduction or building additional Workshops, as each of them provides us with 5 engineers. After gathering all the necessary key components, we can begin the construction.

Attacking the alien base. This is the only mission in the game that allows us to deal with the enemy within its own complex. Despite a very large area, the task is not too difficult: the base is made up of rooms separated by doors, and aliens are not willing to move on against us. We should put the soldiers at the door, waiting for a new round, then open the switch and eliminate everything that appears in front of our weapons. Carefully check the other corners and go to the next door. Last chamber is slightly larger than the other and contains a Sectoid Commander. During the fight with him, we have to be very vigilant, because he is able to take control of the minds of our children. Top to attack and remove the larger group in one turn without risking a long battle. Courageous players can attempt to capture him alive, which is a much more difficult task. After removing the Sectoid Commander, the mission will be successful.

Making autopsy of the Sectoid Commander or interrogating him (if we captured him alive). Whatever option you choose, we get the opportunity to build Psionic Labs. Although the design is not yet needed us, we should start the construction as soon as possible, because the psionic abilities to greatly facilitate the game.

Conducting research on the project Hyperwave Communication. These studies will allow us to decipher the alien communications between ships. Completion of installation allows you to build Hyperwave Relay. At this point we might be interested in the development of our fleet: soon we will need a strong armed fighter, so it is necessary to invent and build a Firestorm class aircraft and the plasma cannons. It would be useful to build one of each bonuses for the airfight.

Build Hyperwave Relay and use it to scan the sky. Nothing more simple: we start the construction (remember to ensure adequate amounts of power, and free space), after which we go to Mission Control and press the well known button Scan for Activity. With a bit of luck, we can receive a signal from the Overseer class ship.

Intercepting the Overseer UFO. This time, our task is to shoot down the alien ship. Unfortunately, this fight is so demanding, that we need a well-equipped fighter. If you listened to my earlier advice, you should have at least one Firestorm armed with plasma gun - the aircraft should deal with the Overseer ship without much problem.

Protection class Overseer UFO wreckage. Another mission which requires us to eliminate all the aliens. I recommend to approach this fight with more caution, because there may be previously unknown alien: Elite Muton Sectopod and the Sectopod robot. Inside the foreign vehicle is also the commander, an Ethereal. This alien is very resistant to fire and has a lot of hit points, it has a range of up to psionic powers. Before opening the last room we need to gather the whole group and then send them to clean it in one turn. If possible, you can catch the Ethereal alive - interrogating him will speed up all of our research projects.

Examine the Ethereal Device. Another research project, which should take no more than a few days. After completion of the study, go to the next step.

Build Gollop Chamber. Like any other building, it requires one free room and appropriate amount of electricity.

Increasing the psionic power of our soldiers. As it has been described in section Psionics, the fastest way for increasing the psionic power of our soldiers is to invent the bonus Iron Will in the officers' school as soon as possible. Then, it is necessary to examine the soldiers and find a few who have the gift. In the meantime, it is worth to build at least one piece of Psi Armor and give it to the soldier with the highest coefficient of Will. If we can reach an adequate threshold, Dr. Vahlen tells us that we can use the Gollop Chamber.

Using Ethereal Device. NOTE: After completing this task, stop the flow of time in the game! Research will not continue, the soldiers will not be treated! Simply click the new button in the main menu of the XCOM base: Gollop Chamber, and then select our most talented soldier. After watching a short cutscene, we will be able to go on one last mission.

Attack Temple Ship. This is the last mission in the game. Its purpose is to provide an escort to our soldier-volunteer on the way to the bridge - this mission is quite long and during the duration of the encounter we meet all kinds of enemies. Fortunately, we get at the disposal of the new psionic power: Rift. This attack creates a vortex of psi energy, causing tremendous damage over a wide area and the continuing existence for several turns. Using our best soldiers and newly acquired skills, we will clean all the rooms. Often it convenes to reload your weapon and wait for Rift to be ready before entering into unknown territory. Opponents will appear in small groups and the biggest threat are: groups of Mutons with Berserker, Sectopods, and the final boss with his Ethereal bodyguards. Fortunately, just focus on the main opponent to end the game and watch the latest movie.

In most cases, new research projects are unlocked after getting a new alien artifact (weapons, pieces of UFOs construction, alien bodies or living aliens), but some of them, such as the armor for soldiers, require the invention of the items. The following tech tree has been divided into several groups to facilitate the reading:

General and story-related technology

Project

Required project

Required Components

Results:

Experimental Warfare

Foundry

Phoenix Cannon

Alien Grenades (Foundry)

Weapon Fragments

5x Weapon Fragments

S.C.O.P.E.

S.C.O.P.E. Upgrade (Foundry)

Alien Materials

5x Weapon Fragments

Nano-Fiber Vest

UFO Power Source

1x UFO Power Source

building Elerium Generator

Xeno-Biology

4x Sectoid Corpses

Alien Containment Building

Arc Thrower

Xeno-Biology

10x Weapon Fragments

Arc Thrower

Outsider Shard

Xeno-Biology

Skeleton Key

Elerium

1x UFO Power Source, 10x Elerium

Improved Arc Thrower (Foundry)

Alien Nav Computer

2x UFO Flight Computers

Satellite Nexus building

Stealth Satellites (Foundry)

Hyperwave Communication

Alien Nav Computer

Hyperwave Beacon, Alloys 30x, 30x Elerium

building Hyperwave Relay

Ethereal Device

Psi-Link

Gollop Chamber building

Weapons

Project

Required project

Required Components

Results:

Beam Weapons

10x Weapon Fragments, 5x Alloys

Laser Pistol

Laser Rifle

Improved Pistol II (Foundry)

Heavy Lasers

Beam Weapons

Weapon Fragments 5x, 5x Alloys

Heavy Laser

Laser Cannon

SHIV laser (Foundry)

Precision Lasers

Beam Weapons

Weapon Fragments 5x, 5x Alloys

Scatter Laser

Laser Sniper

Plasma Pistol

Captured Plasma Pistol, 40x Weapon Fragments, 5x Elerium

Plasma Pistol

Improved Pistol III (Foundry)

Light Plasma Rifle

Captured Light Plasma Rifle, 40x Weapon Fragments, 10x Alloys, 5x Elerium

Light Plasma Rifle

Plasma Rifle

Captured Plasma Rifle, 40x Weapon Fragments, 10x Alloys, 5x Elerium

Plasma Rifle

Heavy Plasma

Captured Heavy Plasma Weapon, 40x Plasma Weapon Fragments, 10x Alloys, 10x Elerium

Heavy Plasma

Plasma SHIV (Foundry)

Plasma Sniper

Plasma Rifle / Heavy Plasma

50x Weapon Fragments, 10x Alloys, 10x Elerium

Plasma Sniper

Alloy Cannon

Plasma Rifle / Heavy Plasma

40x Weapon Fragments, 25x Alloys, 5x Elerium

Alloy Cannon

Guided Fusion Launcher

Captured UFO Battleship Class Fusion Core, 75x Weapon Fragments, Alloys 20x, 10x Elerium

Blaster Rocket Launcher

Armor

Project

Required project

Required Components

Results:

Carapace Armor

Alien Materials

10x Alloys

Carapace Armor

Alloy SHIV

Skeleton Suit

Carapace Armor

15x Alloys

Skeleton Suit

Titan Armor

Carapace Armor

15x Alloys, 5x Elerium

Titan Armor

Ghost Armor

Titan Armor, Hyperwave Communication

15x Alloys, 15x Elerium

Ghost Armor

Archangel Armor

Titan Armor, New Fighter Craft

15x Alloys, 15x Elerium

Archangel Armor

Dog Armor

Interrogation of an Ethereal or a Sectoid Commander

10x Alloys, 10x Elerium

Psi Armor

Fighters

Project

Required project

Required Components

Results:

Experimental Warfare

5x Weapon Fragments

Phoenix Cannon

Heavy Lasers

Beam Weapons

5x Weapon Fragments, 5x Alloys

Laser Cannon

Plasma Cannon

Light Plasma Rifle

30x Weapon Fragments, 10x Elerium

Plasma Cannon

New Fighter Craft

Alien Navigation Computer, UFO Power Source

75x Weapon Fragments, 10x Alloys, 10x Elerium

Fighter Firestorm

Hover SHIV

EMP Cannon

New Fighter Craft, Plasma Cannon

20x Elerium

EMP Cannon

Interrogations and autopsies

Alien

Autopsy

Interrogation

Sectoid

Targeting Uplink (fighters)

credit: Beam Weapon

Floater

Defense Matrix (fighters)

credit: Armor Research

Thin Man

Improved Medikit (Foundry)

credit: UFO Technology

Muton

Ammo Conservation (Foundry)

credit: Plasma Weapon

Chryssalid

Chitin Plating

Heavy Floater

Advanced Repair (Foundry)

credit: Flight

Commander Sectoid

Psi Lab

credit: Psionics, required for Psi Armor

Elite Muton

credit: Plasma Weapon

credit: All Weapon Tech

Berserker Muton

Combat Stims

credit: Armor Research

Drone

Drone Capture (Foundry)

Cyberdisc

UFO Tracking (fighters)

Ethereal

Mind Shield

credit: All Tech, required for Psi Armor

Sectopod

Advanced Construction (Foundry)

Foundry

Project

Required Components

Results:

Heavy Weapons Platform

5x Engineers

S.H.I.V.

Alien Grenades

Captured Alien Grenade, 20x Engineers, 20x Weapon Fragments, 25x Alloys, 10x Elerium

Alien Grenades

Improved Medikit

15x Engineers, 20x Weapon Fragments, 4x Thin Man corpses

Medikit heals 50% more life points

Improved Arc Thrower

10x Engineers, 20x Weapon Fragments, Alloys 20x, 20x Elerium, 4x Drone wrecks

Arc Thrower has a better chance to stun foreign

Advanced Repair

20x Engineers, 30x Alloys, 10x Elerium, 4x Heavy Floater corpses

Reduces repair time fighters and S.H.I.V.

S.H.I.V. Laser

10x Engineers, 15x Weapon Fragments, 30x Alloys

S.H.I.V. is armed with a laser gun

Plasma S.H.I.V.

20x Engineers, 30x Weapon Fragments, 45x Alloys, 30x Elerium

S.H.I.V. is armed with a plasma gun

S.H.I.V. Repair

10x Engineers, 15x Alloys, 15x Elerium

Arc Thrower can repair the S.H.I.V. rover

S.H.I.V. Suppression

15x Engineers

S.H.I.V. can cause suppression fire

Drone Capture

10x Engineers, 20x Weapon Fragments, 4x Drone wrecks

Arc Thrower can take control of the Drone

Ammo Conservation

15x Engineers, 20x Weapon Fragments, Alloys 90x, 6x Muton corpses

Each weapon has more ammo

Advanced Construction

30x Engineers, 20x Weapon Fragments, Alloys 50x, 30x Elerium, 2x Sectopod corpses

Faster installation and construction vehicles

Advanced Flight

25x Engineers, 50x Alloys, 50x Elerium

Longer duration of floating in the air for S.H.I.V Hover and Archangel Armor

Improved Pistol I

5x Engineers, 5x Weapon Fragments

The increased critical strike chance for all guns

Improved Pistol II

10x Engineers, 25x Weapon Fragments, 20x Alloys

Increased accuracy of all guns

Improved Pistol III

20x Engineers, 50x Weapon Fragments, 10x Alloys, 10x Elerium

Increased maximum damage of all guns

Stealth Satellites

20x Engineers Alloys 20x, 20x Elerium, 3x UFO Flight Computers

Reduced chance of satellite detection by UFO

S.C.O.P.E. Upgrade

10x Engineers, 15x Weapon Fragments

Increased critical strike chance for SCOPE