Engaging the Enemy (Apocalypse)

Battlescape Tactics as the Game Progresses

• Relevant mainly for real-time game mode. Turn Based Tactics are also available.
  

As progress is made by slowly fighting, understanding, and defeating the alien menace after each mission, each new alien encountered may need a new method of battle tactics developed from the experiences in the earlier parts of the game; fine tuning those that worked and disregarding ones that got your agents killed.
Understanding the aliens is not as important as understanding the weapons and devices available to X-Com. Know your tools.

In General

Note: All alien lifeforms mentioned in Common are the usual types used throughout the whole game. The aliens mentioned in Uncommon only start to appear after Week 4 and are used mostly in a supporting role.

• Listen to the aliens! The sounds they make identifies who and where they are on the battlescape, what tactics to use, what weapon is needed, and if it is safe to be on the ground.
• Flying agents are better to suited to combat since they have more freedom to move, can fly up to avoid melee units, avoid ground explosions if high enough, infiltrate buildings by unconventional access, can drop explosives onto hostiles instead of trying to throw them, are able to hide in more areas, can quickly reach the best sniper positions, can do alot more things than an agent limited to the ground.
• Moving flying agents to new locations when in overhead battlescape view, will give a location as normal but it will end at ground level (destination icon will be a circle instead of a cross). eg: an agent airbourne at level nine is moved to a new location in flat terrain (in overhead view), they will finish the move at level one.
• Stun gas clouds make units run in all directions, will knock out entities easily, briefly negates their offense and should be used often
  against anything hostile everyone. (even when stun-capture-recovery is not possible ie: building security)
• If an agent can see an unconsicous unit and you want that agent to stand on the body (in overhead view) Alt-LMB in the body since just clicking LMB will attempt to select that unit.
• Standing on an unconsicous unit will prevent them from becoming active.
• Any unconscious unit can be shot at via forced fire to kill them before they wake up (or, explosives and fire will inflict damage quickly. Stun gas and, if vunerable, smoke will prolong their sleep).
  

Note: when manually shooting with direct fire at a knocked-out entity, if the ammunition impact makes a ricohet sound, the ground was shot; your agent missed! Any fleshy impacts will not make a sound when the body is hit (once dead, message bar: "Hostile Unit has died). Your agent's position and posture should be changed to get a better shot if it is difficult to hit a oddly positioned entity. When prone, shooting 'past' the alive body will cause the 'thing in the way' to be hit instead. Caution with Poppers, however.

Aliens: Common

Common alien threats are brainsuckers, poppers, anthropods, spitters, multiworms and hyperworms, alien eggs, and (appearing later) skeletoids.

Aliens With Grown-In Weapons

• Brainsuckers are the most serious of threats on the battlescape, but are a zero threat if only using Android agents. Brainsuckers must be killed immediately and without much thought into how. A lone or isolated agent can only use three certain actions, besides weaponry, when faced with a brainsucker: go prone (need space) and don't turn until it is too tired to keep trying, fly upwards (need marsec armor) five or higher levels from the terrain below and side features (not at level five), standing under (not crouch) or flying directly under any ceiling/roof/structure/doorway (need a building) so that your agent's head "touches" the top and will not give enough room for the brainsucker to attach. If an X-com unit does not have any other option and is fast (drop heavy items), moving them quickly and randomly may cause the brainsucker to get too tired from constantly missing the agents head. Stand on the alien and don't move until your agent has armed back up... or just don't move! (if your trooper is alone on the battlescape, good luck!)
  
• An agent mid-suck cannot be selected (inventory access is blocked for the agent, but this can be circumvented). Using others to shoot at or near the victim with explosives may kill it quickly. If possible via inventory access, a 0.25 second grenade (stun or explosive) on the ground may remove the brainsucker threat and possibly injure the agent.
  
• If an agent is lost via a 'brainsuck', the 'alien' is now the most severe threat since Megapol or Marsec Armor is resistant to damage from early weapons, and those very same weapons and explosives are now pointed at your troops! A stun grapple hit or sustained auto-shot fire from stronger weapons (autocannon with armor piercing rounds, or plasma gun etc.) will eventually kill the contaminated agent. Beware of ammunition/explosives cooking-off.
  
• Brainsuckers come from pods, pods come from launchers, launchers are carried by foot soldiers (Anthropod and Skeletoid lifeforms). If a pod is heard to have cracked open but the brainsucker is not sighted, turn your agents (RMB) in all directions until found, which being so dangerous, agents could (should?) ignore other aliens types until the brainsucker is dead. Pods under an agent will not hatch, pick them up.
  
• Poppers are the very close second serious threat to your troops. A popper is the fastest alien encountered for its only tactic is to find the nearest hostile, get as close as possible at full speed, then pop (explode)! Choosing between a brainsucker or popper as the immediate threat to be dealt with is a matter of how close the popper is to your troops. A popper hit with armor piercing, explosions, or incendiaries will explode when its health reaches zero. The explosion being powerful enough to detonate other poppers nearby, often resulting in a chain-reaction of explosions, heavily wounding others caught in the blasts. If this opportunitistic tactic can be used when a crash recovery is in progress and within a corridor, the aliens may be too infured and demoralised to fight and all may start to panic. This one action of chained explosions may turn the battle quickly against the alien horde.
• A popper leaves a trail of smoke whenever moving. This many conceal others behind it. A popper on motion scanner is easily picked out since the speed it moves at leaves a strong signature on the scanner minimap. Any of them are seen running on open ground, it may be possible to lead-the traget with an explosive thrown or shot.
• Any aliens grouped together with a popper: throw an explosive into the group or aim for the popper with weaponry taht causes it to pop. A wounded and unconscious popper is best avoided since it may explode at anytime. It is unknown if the wounds are bleeding so it may be wise to blow it up with a weak explosive but only if it is an obstruction or too close to proceed past safely.
• The threat of the large explosion when a popper 'pops' is entirely avoided by flight. Flying above the ground (same method as with Brainsuckers) completely negates any threat from this creature if the environment allows flying so high.
• Spitters have inaccurate aim but when it impacts, the enzymes eat armor and flesh only weakly, posing a minimal danger unless a group has targeted a single agent, thus, any groups of these should be broken up with explosives. They usually don't attack first when a battle starts and prefer to wait until others have 'had a go', hence, they may be already panicking by that time which a lone agent can rush them to kill them easily.
  
• Multiworms will burst open when killed. birthing four Hyperworms. The multiworm is has high health but a short range enzyme spit. Use the environment to be at an elevated level, if possible, and engage it with hard-hiting weapons such as the laser, plasma gun, or heavy launcher with explosives from a medium distance to avoid the spit and its melee babies. If in close with a multiworm, retreating further away is the best tactic since they are slow moving. Explosives (autocannon) from multiple agents will wear down the creature until it 'bursts', with continued fire (or a stronger AP-grenade explosion) to also kill the babies. An injured multiworm can be bombarded with stun (grapple or gas) until unconscious which will not cause the creature to 'birth'. Standing on (until mission end?) any part of the worm will keep it subdued.
  
• Hyperworm is a fast 'snake' and quickly needs to get close to eat (melee combat). Its high speed makes a hyperworm the last threat which needs urgent attention. Shooting at the hyperworm with autocannon high explosive rounds is the best tactic since, where there is one...
  If an agent can fly and is out of the hyperworms melee range, the worm now is just a nothing but a mere annoyance that needs to be silenced. If face-to-face with a hyperworm, use the brainsuck-in-action tactic of dropping a live grenade, or run!
  
• Alien Eggs are easily avoided since they cannot move, have a weak enzyme projectile and pose a minimal threat. Distance is the only problem with eggs since an agent turning a corner may come in close range to its weapon. A motion scanner should be used to limit any surprises.
• Chrysalis is no threat whatsoever. A chrysalis is a coccoon like alien usually found together with alien eggs, located in less travelled areas of a building or UFO. It has no offensive capabilties, does not move, and does not 'hatch'.
  

These two alien lifeforms (egg and coccoon) may block corridors which may prevent other aliens from proceeding into battle. Shoot the others first. The egg and coccoon do not need to be killed for a mission to end successfully (ie: eliminate all aliens) since they are both recovered (when possible) alive at mission completion, if not dead.

Aliens Who Carry Weapons

There are only two alien lifeforms in the whole game which can carry any (alien or earth-based) weapons, grenades and devices. The blue Anthropod and the yellow Skeletoid. Tactics against these two types are the same with the only difference is that the skeletoid can fly.

• Anthropods' and Skeletoids are the foot soldiers' of the alien menace and can use any weapon available on the battlescape since they can pick up anything dropped when needed (some weapons they won't bother with because they don't cause death, hence, will not pick them up). When these two use the inaccurate brainsucker launchers, they will shoot the pods only in the general direction of your troopers. With this one weapon, they are the second most dangerous alien ...until all pods have been fired! Anthropod and Skeletoids themselves, are completely harmless without a weapon or grenade. They have no in-grown weapons! Concentrate on the brainsuckers instead when they are about (careful with those poppers, too). Kill the foot soldiers before they can launch more pods. If they are in a corridor, they may be unable to aim high to shoot over your agents' heads. Approaching an alien body which used a brainsucker launcher may cause the dropped pods to break open and then you'll have a brainsucker face-to-face!
  
• As the game progress these two aliens will acquire better weaponry and eventually start using exotic devices also.

Aliens: Uncommon

• Megaspawn
• Micronoids
• Psimorph

Aliens: Unique

• Queenspawn

Early Game: Humans

This varies widely, as the different groups are armed differently, but what you really have to worry about are cultists, gang members, Marsec troops, and Megapol, as these are the most dangerous.

Cultists wear Megapol armor, and have autocannons, grenades, plasma guns, rocket launchers, and basically everything Megapol sells.

Gang members are equipped with a wide array of guns, though plasma guns are somewhat rare. Diablo members are equipped with incendiary grenades on occasion.

Marsec troops have Marsec gear.

Megapol troops have Megapol's inventory of lethal weaponry.

In all cases your main advantage is that you can employ grenades frequently. Explosive autocannon fire is also of great value, as your enemies tend to clump. Target rocket launchers first, then shoot whoever is shooting at you. Inflict maximum collateral damage, as a bankrupted foe can't counterattack.

Be warned, Diablo, Marsec, Osiron, Psyke, Solmine start at Tech Level 4. Being infiltrated by the Aliens gives +3 to tech level. That means that, if these organizations are infiltrated, you can see Tech Level 7 in week 1. And 8 in week 2, meaning they get Devastator Cannons. And Personal Disruptor Shields in Week 3. So, possibly a good idea to keep these organizations free from infiltration. Unless you have a devious plan to obtain advanced alien tech before the aliens have access to it themselves?

Mid Game: Humans

This is much easier, as you are now equipped with the most lethal weaponry. In almost any battle, X-COM troops should shred any resistance, though you must still be wary of rocket launchers and plasma guns.

Late Game: Humans

By this point, humans will usually be complete pushovers. Protected by X-Com disruptor armor and personal shields, even taking direct hits from rocket launchers will do little to slow your agents down, and with devastator cannons and dimension missile launchers, you'll make short work of whatever human enemies try to take you out.

Storming UFOs

This can be tough, even early on. Early in the game, you'll start facing your first manned alien craft: transports and fast attack ships. Most of these follow the same basic design, a central gravity lift with the ship's control center on the upper floor. Ship entrances can vary significantly; transports have two exits on opposite sides of the craft for example, whilst others have only a single exit. Agent positioning at the start of the battle can mean the difference between a turkey shoot and a chaotic fight on open terrain.

A good - though slow - tactic is to position your agents in a rough half-circle or quarter-circle around the exit door(s) at around a dozen squares away as terrain permits and wait for the aliens to come to you, rather than wading into a deathtrap. Snipers can be further; less accurate troops or those using grenades should be closer. Do not bunch up - grenades ruin your day as much as they ruin the alien's', and the monstrous Megaspawn has a very powerful missile launcher you do not want to be hit by.

Cover outside tends to be sparse so make the most of dips or rises in the terrain for height advantage/hard cover, and use trees/bushes as 'soft' cover. Only if the aliens refuse to leave their camping spots should you risk venturing inside - if the aliens haven't left the craft yet, you'll run into a few of them as soon as you enter the ship's hallway. Be careful not to get bunched up entering or a well-placed boomeroid can cause some serious harm to your troops.

Eventually, you'll want to secure the bottom of the lift, then move upward to the control center. One useful technique, if you can pull off the throw, is to lob a smoke or gas grenade up onto the upper floor from below. Smoke will help you move your agents into position without coming under fire, while gas grenades will ensure that there are no aliens (especially brainsuckers) lying in wait right at the top of the lift.

Once you enter the control room, be prepared for a real fight. Unless you were met by a large number of alien attackers in the entryway, the bulk of the ship's crew is likely to be up on this level, and most of the time they're entrenched behind barricades or up on elevated catwalks, giving them a tactical advantage. Making use of gas grenades here to flush aliens out of their cover can greatly improve your odds of coming away without casualties.

It's important not to get complacent. Even late in the game, when you're wearing the best armor and toting devastators and shields, alien incursions in buildings can seem like cake, but UFO crews will almost always be as well-armed as you are and will have the tactical advantage in many cases.

Tactics for human buildings

X-COM Base

See Base Defense (Apocalypse) for more info.

The layout is of course dependent on how you've designed your base, so make sure you use Security Stations! Pull your civilian personnel into a safer part of the installation with a squad to guard them, then start sweeping for any intruders that might have escaped your security net.

Temples of Sirius

All indoors, with fairly large open rooms split apart by thin walls with double doors at the corners, and small, tunnel-filled basements or small offices on the lowest level. Unpleasant to fight in but far from the worst terrain. Rows of pews and low walls offer plenty of 'soft' cover from small arms fire, while many pillars and the occasional altar present harder full cover that can absorb one or more Devastator shots.

Walls are thin and easily breached if you want to make your own doors.

Corporate Headquarters

The corporate headquarters are almost the closest thing you'll get to an open-field battle in any of the maps in Mega-Primus. Be glad, because they're also the alien's preferred target. There are three major layouts.

First and most common is a single solid building with a large lobby, with a gravlift and a horde of aliens in it. Enter the lobby with all your troops at once and gun down the aliens inside. Other aliens will swarm down the gravlift and out the nearby doors, so most aliens will be involved.

After that, hunt the rest down with squads of troops; they prefer hiding upstairs.

Second, there's a pathway with small towers lining it. Most aliens will emerge onto the pathway and can be cut down by mass fire. Again, hunt down the survivors in the towers afterwards.

Last but not least there is a sprawling building with numerous entry points. Sadly, there is no area that the aliens will reliably swarm towards when you open fire.

Slum

The slum is either an obstructed field, a brutal room to room hunt for aliens in some large buildings, another obstructed field with small buildings, or a building wrapped around a clear area, which you need to get cleared of enemies while dealing with enemies on the balconies. The building missions tend to have some mostly empty levels and some levels filled with enemies. The field missions... you remember the farm and forest terrain from X-com1? kinda like that, with more trees.

Be on the lookout for supported structures like the water tanks. They are fairly lightly supported and stray fire could easily bring them down on top of your men.

Apartments

These are all small rooms with open common areas and fairly long hallways, ideal for being ambushed and separated... in other words, these suck. On the other hand they offer decent flanking opportunities to offset their many bottlenecks; if an enemy has you pinned down in a corridor (or vice versa) there is generally a good way to flank them nearby, and smoke grenades can be used to make things a little easier.

Cover is pretty sparse, but columns here and there offer fairly good protection from small arms and you only ever need to cover a single floor. Agents can also duck into the apartments if you're setting up an ambush, or to recover from their injuries using a Medi-Kit. Eggs and Chrysalis' may often be found tucked in bathrooms.

Megapol Stations

If you thought Apartments were bad, these are a hundred times worse. Extremely tight corridors with many small rooms and an abundance of doorways. Do not go into battle in one of these unless you are exceptionally well-prepared and armed with end-game tier equipment like shields, alien weapons, and manufactured armour, unless it is the early game and aliens are not packing lethal ranged weapons. Motion sensors are useful.

Game Modes In-Depth

Androids and Hybrids

Two opposites, androids are physically strong, while hybrids are physically weak but are the only race that can effectively use psionics. Ideally, androids will have lots of extra equipment to either demolish everything or to replenish teammates supplies, while hybrids travel as light as possible but with a Mind Bender even if they haven't received adequate psionic training.

At the start of the game androids will have the best aim of your troops, so should be given the best weapons. With some training and experience your human soldiers will surpass them. Androids' high HP and immunity to brainsuckers and psionics makes them good scouts and shock troops, since turning a corner in to something unpleasant is less likely to result in their death than a human. Also, while by no means expendable, androids are more easily replaced than an experienced human. As such, once you have humans with good accuracy that can take over fire support, equip your androids for short range combat and/or demolition and use them in the front line. Another advantage of androids' immunity to psionics and brainsuckers is that they can safely be given heavy weapons like launchers, since there is no way for the aliens to take control of them. You can sometimes use androids as "bait" for brainsucker launchers, as brainsuckers will not attempt to brainsuck them, but anthropods and skeletoids will still fire brainsucker pods at androids (I think)

In the late game once you have disruptor armor and advanced, lighter weaponry hybrids really come in to their own. The lighter equipment makes a hybrid's strength disadvantage less of a problem, and the toughness of disruptor armor and shields makes their lack of HP less of an issue as well. Meanwhile, a hybrid's high psionic defence is an asset even if you don't use offensive psionics much, and their proficiency with weapons is comparable to a human.

TB WIP

The multiworm death spawn is significantly more dangerous in TB than in RT mode, because spawned hyperworms in TB will pop up with a large amount of TU. I have had multiple instances where I was killing a multiworm with autoshot machinegun, holding down the RMB, and when the multiworm popped, my agent fired one last round into the corpse for 1 TU, and the birthed multiworms immediately spent their TUs on reaction by rushing up to my (fully megapol armored) agent and killing him before he could fire another shot. STUNNING a hyperworm will bypass the spawning of hyperworms, which can be VERY helpful!

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