Overview

Your agents are your lifeblood when it comes to close combat engagements with the enemy. Agents are highly adaptable soldiers trained in all the arts of - well - urban warfare. They come in all races, creeds colours and shapes. X-COM does not discriminate and is an equal opportunity employer. Come one, come all, if you can survive the night - or your first mission - then you will go far in the organisation.

The Races

Though most X-COM commanders end up utilising humans in the majority because they are the most well rounded race and have larger numbers available for recruitment, a good mix of Hybrids and Androids does allow for different tactical advantages that are normally not available to a team consisting entirely of one race.

Humans

Humans are fundamental trooper material. They will probably make up the largest of your soldier population. They start with strong to average abilities and can become very skilled soldiers fairly quickly. The only thing that humans lack are good psionic skills. Their starting statistics tend to vary widely. Be sure to screen those otherwise superb recruits for psi-defense or bravery deficiencies!

* Pros: Wide availability of recruits means you rarely run out of human agents. Relatively fast statistical improvement means that even subpar agents can increase to respectable levels, with time.
* Cons: Psionics, morale, brainsucking. Humans are also fragile.
* Recruitment: You can't really lose recruiting options with humans, but it's generally a good idea to keep people in your good books anyway. And specially if you keep Grav Ball League happy.

Hybrids

Hybrids are the result of a crossing between humans and sectoids. No one's certain why they end up bald and with ridges on their head, but they take on the qualities of their sectoid bretheren. They are mentally powerful while frail in the flesh. However, being part human, they have the potential to become as powerful as their pure human cousins on top of their psionic skills.

* Pros: Psionic capabilities are useful, but suffer from drawbacks in Apocalypse.
* Cons: Pretty much the same as human troopers, though often even more fragile. However, due to the psionic "nerf" (they only function on a line-of-sight basis, at least for untrained psions) hybrids are less effective than they could be.
* Recruitment: You must be on good terms with Mutant Alliance to ensure a healthy quantity of Hybrid recruits.

Androids

The Androids are the oddball of the three species that are employed by X-COM. The androids make a valiant attempt to eke out their virtual existence in the physical world by doing their best and taking as much advantage of their cybernetic bodies as they can. Unfortunately, they are not able to improve physically in any way or form. While this may sound like a big detriment at first, they start their life of service as combat hardened soldiers and have a semblance of immunity towards brainsucker and psionics.

* Pros: Good starting stats - especially health and morale. A shot that could kill a new human or hybrid recruit may merely critically wound an android. Brainsuckers and psi capable enemies do not deliberately target androids.
* Cons: Inconsequential stat progression. No psionic attack capability. Can be brainsucked, though only by accident.
* Recruitment: Few or no android recruits will be available if you don't keep S.E.L.F. - the Sentient Engine Liberation Front - happy.

Ranks

Rank	Notes
Commander	The Big Man
Colonel	1 Colonel per 2 Captains
Captain	1 Captain per 3 Sergeants
Sergeant	1 Sergeant per 4 Squad Leaders
Squad Leader	1 Squad Leader for every 5 Agents
Squaddie	A rookie will be promoted to squaddie when he/she earns enough experience points
Rookie	Starting rank for all new recruits