Alien Life Forms (LWR)

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Alien Pods

Pod Composition

Pods are sometimes comprised of one Leader (often possessed with noticeably more stats and perks) and several regular troopers whose type is often related to the leader. Later in the game, high level leaders with noticeably larger models and massive HP pools make an appearance in missions.

Pod composition is dependent upon the leader, with leaders tending to contain supporting troopers of the same or lesser type. For instance, Mechtoid pods tend to contain several Sectoids, whose Mind Merge ability can empower the Mechtoid with a powerful Psi Shield, while Cyberdisc pods tend to contain Drones which focus on repairing damage dealt to the Cyberdisc; conversely, pods led by Sectoids often contain units of the same type as the leader. The quantity of aliens in a pod is dependent upon overall Alien Level as well as the total number of aliens on mission; pods are rolled randomly and random numbers of aliens are added to said pods until all available units have been assigned.

Pod Behaviour

All pods begin not activated, that is, aliens move or stay together and don't attempt to take cover or shoot XCOM soldiers (though they may shoot civilians, if any). An exception is drop-in pods, arriving during a mission, which activate immediately upon arrival if they see any XCOM soldier, but may activate or not, randomly, otherwise. Activation can't ever be undone, even if line of sight to XCOM soldiers is completely broken. XCOM is aware of every activation, with a close-up scene playing, even if none of the pod aliens are seen by soldiers. Upon activation, a pod scampers, which may cause chain activation of other pods in the area.

A pod activates immediately if and only if ^{please verify and correct} any of its members at any point in time: sees an XCOM soldier (but the reverse visibility doesn't matter) or a mimic beackon, sees another activated alien, notices a corpse of an alien killed during the mission (but not as the result of air combat), is significantly affected by anybody (direct hit, explosive damage including friendly fire, suppression, holo, etc., but not battle scanner), is shot at and missed. Note that unactivated pods are not activated by aliens calling for help nor by bumping into other unactivated pods.

While members of an activated pod do not coordinate among themselves any better than disparate aliens from different pods would, there is one significant mechanic which is pod-dependent: retreat mode. If a large portion of aliens of a given pod are destroyed (usually all but 1-3, depending on the original size), the surviving members of the pod will begin to fall back, retreating out of sight of XCOM and toward good cover or other, unactivated pods. The aliens will remain in retreat mode at least until they can see XCOM again, though destroying more units from the pod is sufficient to resume the retreat. Aliens entering into retreat mode will be identified by visual and auditory cues; the camera will pan toward the alien shouting or talking, and one of your soldiers will mention that they're falling back. Note that retreating aliens never call for help, but they activate any pods they run into all the same, see chain activation.

Conversely, if XCOM is pushed back and out of sight of the aliens, they'll call for reinforcements to hunt XCOM soldiers down. In general, if active aliens exist on the map, aren't in retreat mode, and none of them has any XCOM operatives in sight range at the end of the aliens turn, they'll call all unactivated pods on the map (aside from the Command Pod, if any) to help them hunt down XCOM. Each unactivated pod will begin moving toward XCOMs current location inexorably, will activate at some point in a normal way and attack the soldiers, and short of retreating or being wiped out, the only possibility left for XCOM is to defeat all such enemies.

Pod Size & Distribution

Pods have a number of aliens that are generally dependent upon difficulty:

• Easy and Classic: max 4 aliens per pod
• Brutal: max 6 aliens per pod
• Impossible: max 8 aliens per pod

While increases in pod sizes do not necessarily lead to more aliens on missions, extra aliens rolled that can't fit into any available pod are discarded. This has the largest effect during early Large UFOs, which typically call for way more aliens than can fit in their Small Pods. To partially compensate, missions taking place while pod sizes are small typically get an extra pod or two to work with. Larger pod sizes typically means the same amount of aliens overall, just compacted into less pods.

As well, while most of the time these pod restrictions are followed, various factors can lead pod sizes to vary from the general trend.

The number of aliens on every mission is restricted to between 3 x Num_pods to 8 x Num_pods, and a minimum of 6 aliens.

Pod Types

Pods come in three basic types: Soldier Pods, Terror Pods, and Command Pods. Soldier pods pull from a pool of most aliens and comprise the vast majority of pods encountered on all missions; Terror Pods pull from a slightly different pool. Command Pods only appear in UFOs and have relatively rigid compositions. Lastly, for Covert Operations, Exalt have special mechanics which govern the quantity and size of their pods.

• Soldier Pods: Soldier Pods are the most common type of pod, appearing as the majority pod type in every mission except Terror Sites & Covert Operations.

• Terror Pods: Terror pods are a special type of pod that only appear in Terror Sites, Large UFOs, Alien Base Assault, and Retaliation missions. They tend to have a greater probability of being higher-mobility aliens and are the only pod which contains Chryssalids and Zombies, which in turn occur only in terror pods, at any level. Exalt also make an appearance in later months.

• Command Pods: UFOs additionally have a special pod called the Command Pod which contains a fixed number of aliens based on UFO type. They consist entirely of Outsiders. Larger UFOs can contain multiple Command Pods. Be warned: if a Command Pod spots XCOM and activates, it will immediately call all remaining alien forces on the map to its current location; this makes an early engagement against the command pod a risky affair.

• Exalt Pods: While Exalt have a chance of appearing in Terror Pods, they appear most often in Covert Operations. All covert operations include drop ins of lone Exalt operatives who may or may not appear in cover and may or may not overwatch (Note: On Normal and Classic difficulty they will never overwatch).

Alien Appearances

Each pod created in the game has a chance to consist of different alien types. This changes the higher the Alien Level is (based on accumulated alien research). Below are the Alien Appearance Tables that describes the chance each alien has of appearing at each Alien Level.

In the Alien Appearance Weightings table, the number in brackets beside each alien type is their relative weighting. As an example, at Alien Level 3, the chance a pod will be a seeker pod is: (9 + 1) / (10 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 9 + 9 + 1 + 1 + 14 + 9 + 1) = 10 / 59 = 0.169. So each pod will have a ~17% chance of being a seeker pod at Alien Level 3. You can see all the calculated appearance chances in the Alien Appearance Chances table.

Note that certain aliens can be scripted to appear on missions and will not rely on this table. An example of this is cyberdiscs, mechtoids, sectoid commanders, and ethereals appearing on UFO missions based on the number of months passed instead of alien level.

Alien Appearance Weightings

Alien Appearance Weightings
Alien Level	Cumulative Weighting	Alien Type (Weighting Change)
Level 1	17	Sectoid (10)	Drone (3)	Thinman (2)	Floater (2)
Level 2	38	Floater (8)	Thinman (8)	Muton (5)
Level 3	58	Muton (10)	Seeker (10)
Level 4	73	Cyberdisc (15)
Level 5	103	Mechtoid (15)	Berserker (15)	Thinman (5)	Muton (-5)
Level 6	147	Muton Elite (25)	Sectoid Commander (25)	Thinman (10)	Floater (-2)	Sectoid (-7)	Muton (-7)
Level 7	162	Heavy Floater (20)	Floater (-5)
Level 8	168	Sectopod (6)
Level 9	173	Ethereal (1)	Sectopod (4)
Level 10	175	Ethereal (2)
Level 11	178	Ethereal (3)
Level 12	182	Ethereal (4)

Alien Appearance Chances

Levels 1 to 5 Alien Appearance Chances Alien Level Alien Type (Chance to Appear) -- rounded to nearest percentage Level 1 Sectoid 59% Drone 18% Thinman / Floater 12% Level 2 Sectoid / Thinman / Floater 26% Muton 13% Drone 8% Level 3 Muton 26% Seeker / Sectoid / Thinman / Floater 17% Drone 5% Level 4 Cyberdisc / Muton 21% Seeker / Sectoid / Thiman / Floater 14% Drone 4% Level 5 Mechtoid / Berserker / Thinman / Cyberdisc / Muton 15% Muton / Seeker / Sectoid / Floater 10% Drone 3%

Levels 6 to 12 Level 6 Muton Elite / Sectoid Commander / Thinman 17% Mechtoid / Berserker / Cyberdisc 10% Seeker 7% Floater 5% Muton / Sectoid / Drone 2% Level 7 Muton Elite / Sectoid Commander / Thinman 15% Heavy Floater 12% Mechtoid / Berserker / Cyberdisc 9% Seeker 6% Floater / Muton / Sectoid / Drone 2% Level 8 Muton Elite / Heavy Floater / Sectoid Commander / Thinman 15% Heavy Floater 12% Mechtoid / Berserker / Cyberdisc 9% Seeker 6% Sectopod 4% Floater / Muton / Sectoid / Drone 2% Level 9 Muton Elite / Sectoid Commander / Thinman 14% Heavy Floater 12% Mechtoid / Berserker / Cyberdisc 9% Seeker / Sectopod 6% Floater / Muton / Sectoid / Drone 2% Ethereal 1% Level 10 Muton Elite / Sectoid Commander / Thinman 14% Heavy Floater 11% Mechtoid / Berserker / Cyberdisc 9% Seeker / Sectopod 6% Ethereal / Floater / Muton / Sectoid / Drone 2% Level 11 Muton Elite / Sectoid Commander / Thinman 14% Heavy Floater 11% Mechtoid / Berserker / Cyberdisc 8% Seeker / Sectopod 6% Ethereal 3% Floater / Muton / Sectoid / Drone 2% Level 12 Muton Elite / Sectoid Commander / Thinman 14% Heavy Floater 11% Mechtoid / Berserker / Cyberdisc 8% Seeker / Ethereal / Sectopod 5% Floater / Muton / Sectoid / Drone 2%

Alien Leaders

Chance for an Alien Leader

The percent chance for an Alien Leader to appear in each pod is:

2/3/4/5/6 [for Easy/Classic/Brutal/Impossible/Pain] x (Alien Level + 10)

Alien Leader Chance is reduced by half for the following Aliens: Cyberdiscs, Mechtoids, Sectoid Commanders, Sectopods, Ethereals.

Alien Leader Chance is reduced by half if the Alien Level is equal to 2.

Alien Leader Chance is set to 100% on the following missions: Alien Base Assaults, Terror Missions, the Exalt Base Raid, and the Temple Ship Assault.

Alien Leader Chance is set to 0% if the alien level is the first level this alien appears, regardless of mission type.

Multiple Alien Leaders:

At AL6 and later there is a small chance for multiple leaders to appear in each pod. This percent chance per non-leader unit is:

Alien Level - 5

This chance is set to 0% if the alien level is the first level this alien appears, regardless of mission type.

Alien Leader Level

The formula to determine Leader Level is:

Leader Level = (Alien Level + Rand(Alien Level))/2 + Modifiers

Difficulty Modifier:

• Easy: -3 leader levels
• Classic: -2 leader levels
• Brutal: -1 leader levels
• Impossible: 0 leader levels
• Pain: +1 leader levels

UFO Size Modifier:

• Medium: +1 leader level
• Large: +2 leader levels
• Extra Large: +3 leader levels

Terror Site Modifier:

• +1 leader levels

Exalt Base and Temple Ship Assault

• Automatic leader level 8

Abductions, Council Missions, and DLC missions all have leader levels then reduced by 50%.

Bonus Leader Levels and Alien Level cannot make the Leader Level go higher than 8.

Champion (Level 9) Alien Leaders

After determining leader level, if the level is 8, there is a 10% chance to be promoted to level 9 (max), which will produce a champion.

Temple Ship Assault Champions

On the Temple Ship Assault specifically, there is a much higher chance to find Champions. The chance for each alien to be a Champion on the Temple mission is 100%/70%/50%/40% (for Impossible/Brutal/Classic/Easy).

Features of Alien Leaders

Aliens leaders have purple HP and are identified in the HUD by taller alien head. Champion aliens (level 9 leaders) have gold HP. Both types of leaders usually have a plethora of bonus stats and perks, including Leader, which provides defense and crit resistance to nearby non-leader allies.

Killing or capturing an alien leader provides the squad with additional xp.

Alien Armour and Red Fog

Alien forces are susceptible to taking injuries when losing health similar to XCOM forces. Like XCOM, aliens will begin to suffer 'red fog', penalties to their statistics as they take damage. Certain alien and Exalt soldiers will have a portion of their overall health converted into armour health, meaning they will only be affected by red fog once they start taking damage into their base health.

The conversion ratio will round down the final result. For example, Alien Level 1 Floaters have a base health of 7, 30% of their overall health is converted into armour, this would translate into 2.1, which is then rounded down to 2. Meaning an Alien Level 1 Floater will have 5 base health, and 2 armour health.

Each individual enemy type listed below will indicate what their armour health is.

Enemy Health to Armour Conversion
Health Converted To Armour	Enemies Affected
No Armour	Sectoids, Sectoid Commanders, Ethereals, Zombies, Thinmen, Uber Ethereal
20%	Outsiders
30%	Floaters
40%	All Exalt Forces
50%	Drones, Chryssalids, Seekers, Mutons, Cyberdiscs, Berserkers, Heavy Floater
60%	Sectopod, Mechtoid, Muton Elite

Alien Types

Note: All stats shown here are without difficulty modifiers or perk effects, so some values may differ ingame.

Sectoid

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Psi Panic

Mind Merge

Mind Fray

Psychic Storm

Sectoids have low mobility, HP, and aim. They have access to Mind Fray, Psi Panic, and Mind Merge. All Sectoids have the Ranger perk so they have no aim penalty when shooting with their plasma pistols at a distance. Additionally, Gunslinger allows them to fire twice if they stand in place; don't underestimate their firepower in close quarters!

Their signature Mind Merge ability is significantly more powerful, now granting the target +25 to aim, crit, and will, but has a long cooldown.

Bounty: 2 Elerium

Armor: Sectoids have no armor.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.0	5	0	5	4	55	0	60	0	0	Ranger,  Gunslinger
Level Upgrades	2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14	0	+3	0	+3	+0.5	+4	0	+5	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+3	0	+3	+2	+16	0	+20	0	0

Leaders:

Sectoid Prodigy

Sectoid Executioner

Sectoid Shadow

Reticulan

Sectoid leaders get Psi Mastery, allowing them to double their psionics if they stand still, and Countercharge, zapping unfortunate soldiers if the Sectoid remains at full health. Higher level leaders also have significantly more threatening pistols and become harder to hit.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Sectoid Prodigy	1	+1	0	0	0	Sprinter,  Psi Mastery,  Countercharge
Sectoid Executioner	3	+5	+20	+15	+40	Executioner,  Low Profile
Sectoid Shadow	6	+6	+30	+30	+60	Tactical Mobility
Reticulan	9	+8	+20	+50	+70	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Ready For Anything

Drone

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Flight

Repair

Death Explosion

Drones can be encountered right from the beginning of the game. They can come in groups of their own or attached to Sectoid squads, and later they will accompany more powerful mechanized units like Cyberdiscs and Sectopods.

Their holo rounds are effective at making your units easier to hit and they can be quite deadly against early game SHIVs due to their anti-mechanical perks (especially the early leader Assault Drones).

Drones, like all mechanized units, have some damage reduction and are hardened. Their constant defense from flying with damage reduction and ability to mutually repair can make them difficult to kill.

Bounty: 2 Alloy

Armor: Drones have 50% armor converted from their health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	6.6	2	2	4	3	60	0	0	0	10	Master Mechanic,  Robotic,  Hardened,  Holo Rounds,  Orbital Ray  Sentinel  Opportunist
Level Upgrades	2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14	0	+1	+1	+2	+1	+3	0	0	0	+2
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1	+1	+2	+4	+12	0	0	0	+2

Leaders:

Assault Drone

Battle Drone

Orbital Drone

Omega Drone

Drone leaders have significantly higher firepower, particularly against mechanical units. Later leaders also become decently tanky with extra health and defensive perks.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Assault Drone	1	+2	+5	+10	0	Sprinter,  Critical System Targeting
Battle Drone	3	+3	+15	+10	0	Light 'Em Up
Orbital Drone	6	+4	+25	+20	0	Squadsight,  Hive Mind
Omega Drone	9	+5	+35	+30	0	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Awareness

Thin Man

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Acid Spit

Hunker Down

Thin Men have high mobility and good stats all-around, albeit low health. They can also jump to any height making them extremely dangerous when fighting at varying elevations. They can spit acid clouds at your units, leading to a corrosion effect.

Thin Men also have the Shadowshot ability, making Overwatch ineffective against their shots. While Overwatch is still effective against them if they move, it is often best to steady and/or shoot at them instead.

Council missions tend to have disproportionally high numbers of Thin Men -- it is advised to bring ample medikits on these missions to help remove corrosion from your units.

As the game goes on, Thin Men prove quite competent foes; their large crit growth and high mobility can easily punish a soldier that's out of position.

Bounty: 2 Weapon Fragments

Armor: Thin Men have no armor

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	10.0	8	0	8	6	60	5	35	0	0	Shadowshot,  Acid Immune,  Tactical Mobility,  Leap
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+5	0	+5	+1	+6	+6	+10	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+5	0	+4	+4	+24	+24	+10	0	0

Leaders:

Thin Man Duelist

Whisper

Sidewinder

Typhon

Thin Man leaders tend to be more slippery foes while also possessing increased firepower both up close and afar.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Thin Man Duelist	1	+2	+8	+10	+10	Sprinter,  Shadowstep,  Acid Tech
Whisper	3	+5	+13	+20	+25	Squadsight,  Hive Mind
Sidewinder	6	+8	+25	+30	+40	Sentinel,  Opportunist,  Indomitable
Typhon	9	+8	+35	+30	+50	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Ready For Anything

Floater

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Flight

Launch

Hunker Down

Floaters tend to fly (granting +30 defense) and gain the Tactical Mobility ability, granting them +15 defense while in flight or in cover. This makes them quite elusive. They also get +20 bonus aim when at an elevation meaning their aim can be quite high. In combination they can be quite deadly as accurate and difficult to hit enemies.

When engaging floaters at a distance, steadying your weapons can make it easier to hit them when they are flying high. Another effective counter is using rockets as none of the floater's defense will help it against explosives.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Floaters have 30% armor converted from their health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	7.3	7	3	10	6	60	15	5	0	0	Tactical Mobility
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+2	+1	+3	+1	+4	+4	+3	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+2	+1	+3	+4	+16	+16	+12	0	0

Leaders:

Floater Ace

Floater Sentry

Floater Reaver

Reaver Lord

Floater leaders alternate between more offensive and defensive perk gains, but also gain large amounts of health at later levels, making them difficult to take down.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Floater Ace	1	0	+5	+10	+10	Sprinter,  Light 'Em Up
Floater Sentry	3	+3	+25	+15	+18	Sentry,  Deflection Shield
Floater Reaver	6	+4	+45	+25	+28	Aggression,  Critical System Targeting
Reaver Lord	9	+4	+75	+25	+38	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Alien Shred

Outsider

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Outsiders are quite dangerous. They have passive HP regeneration, high aim, and decent HP. You'll first encounter them shepherding their UFOs, waiting inside for you to approach (unless you play on Brutal or Impossible difficulties where they will also be present on the first mission). Their DR, HP pool, and regeneration means that it will take a concerted effort from the whole squad to take them down early game. Be careful though, they all have Close Combat Specialist, meaning moving too close to them can be extremely dangerous.

Their Growth ability causes them to gain increased stats as the mission goes on (per turn growth chance is based on difficulty), beginning from the start of mission. Leaving them alone until the end of the mission is ill-advised as they can become too strong to fight. On larger UFOs, Outsiders will be much more common, sometimes appearing in large groups. They will occasionally patrol and are not always found in the command room.

When you first meet them, fighting Outsiders in a war of attrition across cover is a bad idea, since their HP regen, relatively high damage, and accuracy with their Alien Carbines means they may well win. Neutralizing the Outsider with concussion grenades and suppression while you move your troops up to set up for a one turn kill is more effective.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Outsiders have 20% armor converted from their health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	6.0	4	0	4	6	55	5	80	0	10 2 Regen	Dampening Shield,  Close Combat Specialist,  Growth,  Muscle Fiber Density,  Adaptive Bone Marrow,  Impact,  Vital Point Targeting
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+1-2	+0-1	+2	+1	+4	+4	+10	0	+10 +0.5 Regen
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1-2	+0-1	+2	+4	+16	+16	+40	0	+10 +2 Regen

Leaders:

Outsider Navigator

Outsider Engineer

Outsider Old Guard

Outsider Pioneer

Gladius

Outsider leaders gain a bit of everything, and effectively act as mini-bosses. Lower level leaders focus more on offense while higher level leaders gain much more defense, but most levels have a a bit of both (not to mention great stat gains).

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Outsider Navigator	1	+0	+0	+0	+0	Sprinter,  Indomitable,  Lock N' Load
Outsider Engineer	3	+0	+0	+0	+0	Critical System Targeting,  Holo Rounds
Outsider Old Guard	5	+0	+0	+0	+0	Sentinel,  Opportunist
Outsider Pioneer	7	+0	+0	+0	+0	Squadsight,  Hive Mind,  Grit
Gladius	9	+5	+50	+50	+50	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Ready For Anything

Chryssalid

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: unlimited

Skills

Melee Attack

Chryssalids have great mobility and defense, and gain the Hardened ability, making them extremely agile armored threats. They also have significant penetration and will corrode any unit they get close to or hit, meaning you should attempt to kill them before they can get too close.

Since their attacks will penetrate all DR, high DR units are not effective in negating their attacks.

Using explosives and concussion grenades from out of line of sight is recommended as their Fleet perk will allow them to dodge area of effect attacks from within line of sight.

Pursuit will, as the name implies, allow Chryssalids to pursue soldiers if they attempt to move away from them. A clever commander may be able to use this to their advantage, but otherwise it will be difficult to keep Chryssalids away once they've closed the distance.

Damaging them can drastically reduce their lethality, once you eliminate their armor, thanks to Red Fog lowering their mobility and melee damage.

Bounty: 2 Alloy

Armor: Chryssalids have 50% armor converted from their health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	10.6	3	3	6	5 Pen All	100	0	20	30	0	Hardened,  Stun Immune,  Acidic,  Leap,  Agile,  Pursuit
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+1-2	+1-2	+3	+0.5	0	0	+10	0	+5
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1-2	+1-2	+3	+2	0	0	+40	0	+5

Leaders:

Chryssalid Charger

Chryssalid Warrior

Hive Queen

Hive Empress

Chryssalid leaders do more damage but also become much harder to take down at later leader levels due to great HP gains and defensive perks.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Chryssalid Charger	1	+1	+5	0	+5	Skitter,  Sprinter
Chryssalid Warrior	3	+3	+5	0	+15	Grit
Hive Queen	6	+3	+20	0	+25	Dampening Shield,  Iron Skin
Hive Empress	9	+6	+30	0	+35	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Advanced Perception

Zombie

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: unlimited

Skills

Melee Attack

Zombies are melee units with a large health pool. However, they are not hardened and do not take cover so you can usually crit them for high amounts of damage. They can occasionally spawn as a member of Chryssalid pods on any mission, and it is also be possible to encounter them as a special pod spawn during Terror missions.

Unlike in LW 1.0 and EU/EW, Zombies in Long War Rebalance do not transform into Chryssalids at the beginning of some turns.

Damaging them can drastically reduce their lethality thanks to Red Fog lowering their mobility and melee damage.

Armor: Zombies have no armor

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8	12	0	12	3	100	0	0	0	0	Stun Immune
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+7	0	+5	+2	0	0	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+7	0	+5	+8	0	0	0	0	0

Muton

Appears	Level 2
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Suppression

Overwatch

Alien Grenade

Hunker Down

Blood Call

Mutons are sturdy aliens that gain a lot of DR when protected by cover. They start with Alien Carbines and later upgrade to Alien Rifles.

Mutons have a Deflection Shield ability which activates when they end their turn on a move or with AP remaining, granting them defense and crit resistance against ranged attacks that scales with distance. They have access to the Blood Call ability which will grant various stat increases to allies in range, including double mobility. This can catch an unwary player off guard as a Muton moves many tiles to flank one of their soldiers.

Overall, Mutons create resilient roadblocks in the enemy formations that are best dealt with by flanking or removing their cover.

Unlike some of the other aliens, Muton intelligence is low and can lead to poor strategies like: running out into the open, performing poor attacks, or even retreating early if some of their squad mates have been killed.

Bounty: 2 Weapon Fragment

Armor: Mutons have 50% armor converted from their health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	7.3	7	7	14	7	60	5	10	0	0	Will to Survive,  Tenacious Defense,  Mayhem,  Deflection Shield
Level Upgrades	4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14	0	+2-3	+2-3	+5	+1	+5	0	+6	0	+5
Final Upgrade	15	0	+2-3	+2-3	+5	+4	+20	0	+24	0	+5

Leaders:

Muton Optio

Muton Sentry

Muton Centurion

Sargon

Muton leaders are especially dangerous due to Taunt, which makes retreating difficult. This combos will with their overall resilience making them effective units at pinning XCOM units in an engagement.

Muton leaders focus on becoming offensive powerhouses through Shredder and several perks that enable them to fire more often. They also gain large amounts of HP at later leader levels, which will be especially rough if Will to Survive is able to provide DR.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Muton Optio	1	0	0	+10	+10	Taunt,  Alien Shred,  Sprinter,
Muton Sentry	3	0	+10	+20	+20	Sentinel,  Opportunist
Muton Centurion	6	0	+25	+30	+40	Light 'Em Up,  Ready For Anything,  Lock N' Load
Sargon	9	+2	+35	+30	+60	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Repulsor

Seeker

Appears	Level 3
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Strangle

Flight

Stealth

Seekers can be found both in pods made up entirely of Seekers, and accompanying squads of other aliens. This makes them dangerous, since a Seeker itself isn't much threat, but a Seeker supporting other aliens can be a deadly distraction. As mechanized units they have some damage reduction and are hardened. However, if they happen to get close to your units they may strangle them, incapacitating them and dealing significant damage. Each turn the incapacitated units that are being strangled will be shredded and take ~half their remaining health in direct damage. It is advised to try to kill them before they strangle as the damage can be quite significant.

The Proximity Sensor item can detect and uncloak nearby Seekers, providing an early counters to Seekers. They have a habit of going into overwatch while in stealth, so if you're waiting out Seekers without a detection, try moving a soldier, one might reveal itself to take a pot shot at you. They can only stay cloaked for up to 3 turns before revealing themselves. Any explosive/area effect attacks (bar the MEC Flamethrower; Seekers are fireproof - though an 'IMMUNE' popup will still appear) that catch an invisible Seeker in their area will force them to decloak.

Due to their low crit rates they are not as deadly when flanking compared to many other alien units.

Bounty: 2 Alloy

Armor: Seekers have 50% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.0	5	5	10	3	70	-50	0	0	10	Robotic,  Hardened,  Ranger,  Penetrator
Level Upgrades	4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14	0	+2	+2	+4	+0-1	+2	0	0	0	+5
Final Upgrade	15	0	+2	+2	+4	+2	+8	0	0	0	+5

Leaders:

Stalker

Wraith

Battle Wraith

Hydra

Seeker leaders possess much more threatening weapons, and gain a mix of offensive and defensive perks alongside high HP growth for later leader levels.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Stalker	1	+4	+5	+0	0	Sprinter,  Tactical Mobility
Wraith	3	+5	+20	+20	0	Sentinel,  Opportunist
Battle Wraith	6	+8	+35	+30	0	Close Encounters
Hydra	9	+9	+40	+50	0	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Ready For Anything

Cyberdisc

Appears	Level 4
Ammo: 5

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Alien Grenade

Flight

Transform

Cyberdiscs are usually accompanied by two to three Drones, and usually prefer to throw their grenade if an eligible soldier is in range rather than shooting.

Cyberdiscs pose a significant threat throughout the game due to high aim and high damage (further bolstered by their high crit chance, especially as the game goes on). They can transform between open and closed states: their open state is required to act and their closed state will grant them hardened, crit immunity, and +20 defense. If they take damage in their open state, they will automatically close. However, they must open in order to act. Thus, they are best dealt with through high damage single attacks (e.g. a Magnum sniper) when open.

If they're not dealt with quickly or retreated from, they are very likely to flank and hit you with raw firepower or simply toss explosives at you.

The Drones escorting a Cyberdisc are quite dangerous as well, for two reasons. First, they can tag a target with Holo Rounds, making it easier for the parent Cyberdisc (and any other enemies, for that matter) to hit the victim. Second, they can fix any damage you have done to the Cyberdisc with their Repair ability.

Bounty: 20 Alloys

Armor: Cyberdisks have 50% converted armor from their health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.0	14	14	28	7	95	30	0	0	10	Transform,  Robotic,  Hardened (when closed),  Fortified (when closed),  Death Explosion,  Explosive Shots,  Penetrator  Sentinel  Opportunist
Level Upgrades	5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+2	+2	+4	+2	+10	+10	0	0	+10
Final Upgrade	15	0	+2	+2	+4	+8	+40	+40	0	0	+10

Leaders:

Cyberdisc Rover

Cyberdisc Gunship

Dreadnought

Cyberdisc leaders turn an already scary enemy into an even scarier one. Basic leaders (Rovers) gain a defensive perk, while the later leaders gain offensive perks focused on Overwatch and crits (in addition to each having stat increases).

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Cyberdisc Rover	1	+2	+10	+10	0	Sprinter,  Repair Servos
Cyberdisc Gunship	5	+4	+15	+20	0	Aggression
Dreadnought	9	+4	+25	+20	0	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Ready For Anything

Mechtoid

Appears	Level 5
Ammo: 5

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Mortar Barrage

Mechtoids will appear with Sectoid escorts, and later with Sectoid Commanders. They are very resilient units that deal high damage and have moderate aim.

Mechtoids are one of the few "big" units vulnerable to psionics - Mind Fray will restrict their movement and prevent them from charging to flank as well as reducing their accuracy. Psi Panic will completely disable a Mechtoid. Their will is a little higher than regular troops, but not stellar, so they are excellent targets for psionic abilities. Chem Grenades are also useful as Mechtoids have a significant amount of flat DR and the corrosion will lower their accuracy.

The Psi Shield granted to Mechtoids by Mind Merge grants a massive amount of temporary health. As a result, it is ideal that you find and kill the Sectoid that set up the link (helpfully indicated by the psionic streams) before targeting the Mechtoid.

While Mechtoids do not explode for damage, a Mechtoid that falls backwards in a fight it will crush cover it lands on. Be careful not to destroy your own cover in close quarters combat.

Bounty: 20 Meld, 20 Alloys

Armor: Mechtoids have 80% armor converted from health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8	8	32	40	8	80	10	50	0	50	Robotic,  Hardened,  Psi Shield,  Damage Control,  Light 'Em Up,  Sentry,  Absorption Fields,  Explosive Shots,  Lock N' Load
Level Upgrades	6, 8, 10, 12, 14	0	+0-1	+3-4	+4	+2	+5	0	+7	0	+10
Final Upgrade	15	0	+0-1	+3-4	+4	+8	+20	0	+28	0	+10

Leaders:

Vulcan Mechtoid

Leviathan Mechtoid

Colossus

Mechtoid leaders become significantly scarier all around, possessing much stronger weapons and gaining solid defensive power through perks and HP.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Vulcan Mechtoid	1	+4	+10	+0	+20	Sprinter
Leviathan Mechtoid	5	+4	+20	+20	+40	Repair Servos
Colossus	9	+6	+30	+50	+50	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Reactive Targeting Sensors,  Dampening Shield

Berserker

Appears	Level 5
Ammo: unlimited

Skills

Melee Attack

Berserkers commonly appear as Squad Leaders, meaning the first Berserkers you see could be very dangerous.

Like Chryssalids and Zombies, anything you can do to slow down a Berserker will greatly reduce its threat. They are Hardened and as such, will have a reasonable amount of DR. They are particularly weak to psionics due to their low will (though the leader Berserkers are not so susceptible). Concussing a Berserker will reduce its movement range to well below Concussion throw range, so is a good way to neutralize a Berserker you're not ready to kill.

Also, like Chryssalids, their attacks will penetrate all DR so high DR units are not effective in negating their attacks.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Berserkers have 30% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	9.3	18	8	26	10 Pen All	100	0	10	0	0	Bloodlust,  Brute,  Hardened,  Muscle Fiber Density,  Indomitable,  Brawler
Level Upgrades	6, 8, 10, 12, 14	0	+5-6	+2-3	+8	+1	0	0	+4	0	+10
Final Upgrade	15	0	+4	+5-6	+2-3	+4	0	0	+16	0	+10

Leaders:

Alpha Berserker

Juggernaut

Mongo

Berserker leaders possess Taunt, which can be difficult to work around at times given that the Berserker is liable to chase anyone who damages them to break it. They also gain significant bulk from defensive perks and deal much more damage, although notably don't gain very much HP to go along with those perks. Mongos also possess much higher will, making them quite resilient to psionic attacks.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Alpha Berserker	1	+4	+10	0	+10	Sprinter,  Taunt,  Grit
Juggernaut	5	+8	+15	0	+20	Dampening Shield,  Iron Skin
Mongo	9	+12	+20	0	+70	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Deflection Shield

Muton Elite

Appears	Level 6
Ammo: 5

Skills

Standard Shot

Suppression

Overwatch

Alien Grenade

Hunker Down

Muton Elites are looking similar to Mutons, but with a red armor and a helmet.

They have a lot of firepower at their disposal. Their heavy plasma weapons are both destructive and highly damaging, and they still benefit from Blood Call. Their leaders have the Shredder ability which means your units should take care to avoid their shots and mayhem suppression.

They are even sturdier then their regular and berserker counterparts as they have more defensive perks and more innate DR.

Bounty: 10 Meld

Armor: Muton Elites have 60% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.0	15	21	36	8	70	0	10	0	20	Will to Survive,  Tenacious Defense,  Indomitable,  Mayhem,  Deflection Shield,  Penetrator
Level Upgrades	7, 9, 11, 13	0	+2	+3	+5	+1	+8	0	+6	0	+10
Final Upgrade	15	0	+2	+3	+5	+4	+32	0	+24	0	+10

Leaders:

Muton Elite Centurion

Muton Elite Praetorian

Bashar

Leader Muton Elites are much like their regular counterparts, in that they gain the ability to fire more shots (although not quite as many) and possess Shredder and Taunt. Unlike their regular counterparts, however, they also gain defensive perks against both conventional and psionic attacks.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Muton Elite Centurion	1	+3	+20	+10	+20	Taunt,  Danger Zone,  Alien Shred,  Sprinter
Muton Elite Praetorian	5	+3	+20	+20	+60	Light 'Em Up,  Lock N' Load,  Neural Dampening
Bashar	9	+7	+30	+30	+70	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Iron Skin

Sectoid Commander

Appears	Level 6
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Greater Mind Merge

Mind Control

Psi Panic

Mind Fray

Psychic Storm

Telekinetic Field

Sectoid Commanders represent a substantial step up from their early game counterparts, and a substantial step up in terms of difficulty. An unprepared player could easily have their entire squad decimated by a Sectoid Commander.

They carry new psionic abilities as well as much better statistics. Sectoid Commanders are brave, and greatly prefer using psionic abilities over shooting, making them even more effective in their role. Leaders have the Psi Mastery ability, and will be able to use multiple psionic abilities each turn.

Their Distortion ability makes them very difficult to take down as your damage against them will be significant reduced and split among other aliens within 8 tiles.

Their Greater Mind Merge is now quite powerful, granting multiple targets both +100 aim and +100 crit in addition to the +25 will and healing. They can also use Mind Control which will turn one of your soldiers against you.

Everything considered, these will likely be the most difficult aliens you fight when they are first revealed.

Bounty: 10 Elerium

Armor: Sectoid Commanders have no armor

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.0	12	0	12	7	60	0	90	0	0	Low Profile,  Ranger,  Gunslinger,  Distortion,  Countercharge,
Level Upgrades	7, 9, 11, 13	0	+1	0	+1	+2	+5	0	+20	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1	0	+1	+8	+20	0	+20	0	0

Leaders:

Sectoid Master

Sectoid Lord

Reticulan Commander

Like regular Sectoids, Leader Sectoid Commanders gain Psi Mastery, greatly amplifying their psionic potential, and also become more threatening with their pistol as well at later leader levels.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Sectoid Master	1	+3	+5	+10	+20	Psi Mastery,  Sprinter
Sectoid Lord	5	+5	+10	+20	+30	Tactical Mobility
Reticulan Commander	9	+8	+15	+30	+50	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield

Heavy Floater

Appears	Level 7
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Alien Grenade

Flight

Launch

Hunker Down

The Heavy Floater is a significant improvement over the original Floater. Unlike regular Floaters, Heavy Floaters can throw grenades.

Bounty: 10 Meld

Armor: Heavy Floaters have 50% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.0	15	15	30	7	65	50	10	0	20	Sentry,  Penetrator,  Iron Skin,  Tactical Mobility
Level Upgrades	8, 10, 12, 14	0	+2-3	+2-3	+5	+1	+5	+5	+3	0	+5
Final Upgrade	15	0	+3	+2	+5	+4	+20	+20	+12	0	+5

Leaders:

Heavy Floater Ace

Aircobra

Archon

Like regular Floaters, the leader variant gains a mix of offensive and defensive perks, but also gains a very large amount of health at later leader levels. Archons are also highly resistant to psionic attacks.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Heavy Floater Ace	1	+0	+5	+0	+10	Light 'Em Up,  Sprinter,  Indomitable,  Deflection Shield
Aircobra	5	+4	+20	+15	+20	Close Encounters,  Critical System Targeting
Archon	9	+4	+50	+15	+80	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Alien Shred

Sectopod

Appears	Level 8
Ammo: 5

Skills

Cannon Fire

Overwatch

Mortar Barrage

Cluster Bomb

Sectopods are massive mechanical war machines. They represent one of the two late game enemies that are extremely dangerous. Taking them down without suffering casualties may not be possible. As with all aliens, their strength and power progresses with time, making them even more dangerous as the war drags on.

They have 3 main attacks: their chest cannon, their green turret cannon, and their cluster bomb rockets. The green turret cannon does -50% weapon damage and will activate for reaction shots.

The cluster bomb rockets will require a turn to prepare. When they prepare, there will be a popup warning you of the imminent attack and a target location. On the next turn, the attack will deal half damage multiple times in a 5 tile radius area to a spot within 5 tiles of the target location (thus, the damage could reach up to 10 tiles from the target location). Note that this attack may break through any roof or ceiling so being inside is not guaranteed to protect a unit.

Sectopods are not inhibited by terrain. As such, they can and will break down walls and terrain as they move. This makes it difficult to use cover to try to block line of sight as they will often just walk through the cover.

Sectopods have extremely high damage and extremely high aim. Tanking their shots should only be done by very resilient units, and they will still likely lose the majority of their health.

Not only do they output incredible offensive power, their HP and flat DR is extremely high. It is almost mandatory to bring some form of corrosion when fighting them in order to do reasonable amounts of damage.

Bounty: 80 Alloys

Armor: Sectopods have 80% armor converted from their health

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.0	9	36	45	18	90	10	0	0	60	Robotic,  Death Explosion,  Hardened,  Absorption Fields,  Fortified,  Damage Control,  Critical System Targeting,  Reactive Targeting Sensors,  Explosive Shots
Level Upgrades	9, 11, 13	0	+0-1	+3-4	+4	+3	+10	0	0	0	+15
Final Upgrade	15	0	+0-1	+3-4	+4	+12	+40	0	0	0	+15

Leaders:

Sectopod Destroyer

Sectopod Titan

Atlas

As one would imagine, Sectopod leaders are even scarier than their base form, possessing much more firepower at the later leader levels while also becoming incredibly tanky. An Atlas will almost never miss its 30+ damage shots with its huge aim bonus, and Titans aren't far behind.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Sectopod Destroyer	1	+2	+10	+10	0	Sprinter,  Opportunist,  Dampening Shield
Sectopod Titan	5	+5	+20	+20	0	Squadsight,  Hive Mind,  Repair Servos
Atlas	9	+9	+30	+60	0	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Alien Shred

Ethereal

Appears	Level 9
Ammo: unlimited

Skills

Psi Lance

Mind Control

Psi Panic

Mind Fray

Rift

Psychic Storm

Telekinetic Field

The Ethereals are the floating psionic leaders of the alien race -- they represent the pinnacle of danger a Commander will encounter. Using a Psionic Lance attack that does damage based on will and hit chance based on aim, as well as the feared Mind Control and Rift abilities, Ethereals represent the pinnacle of psionic deadliness. Moreover, leaders have Psi Mastery they can perform 2 attacks each turn.

Just like Sectoid Commanders they have the Distortion ability, reducing any damage dealt to them. They also regenerate health, have innate defense, and the Psychic Tether ability. Overall, this makes them extremely resilient.

They are the other late game enemy that is extremely dangerous and likely to cause fatalities and/or full squad defeats. Fighting an ethereal often results in a pyrrhic victory, if a victory at all. Take great care when engaging one as there are no aliens more deadly.

Bounty: 40 Elerium

Armor: Ethereals have no armor.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	9.3	24	0	24	0	140	0	100	70	1 Regen	Insentient Crush,  Psychic Wave,  Distortion,  Psychic Tether,  Adaptive Bone Marrow
Level Upgrades	10, 12, 14	0	+4	0	+5	0	+20	0	+20	0	+1 Regen
Final Upgrade	15	0	+4	0	+5	0	+80	0	+30	0	+1 Regen

Leaders:

Ethereal Primus

Ethereal Overmind

Like Sectoids and Sectoid Commanders, leader Ethereals gain Psi Mastery, which makes their psionics some of the strongest you will come across in your campaign. Leaders also possess a significantly stronger Psi Lance, both from the higher will as multiple actions a turn.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Ethereal Primus	1	0	0	0	0	Psi Mastery,  Sprinter
Ethereal Overmind	9	0	+20	0	+40	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield

Uber Ethereal

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: unlimited

Skills

Psi Lance

Mind Control

Psi Panic

Mind Fray

Rift

Psychic Storm

Telekinetic Field

The Uber Ethereal is the ultimate threat of every campaign. As one would expect, they are essentially an uber-powerful version of a regular Ethereal.

The Uber Ethereal has the Uber perk, which upgrades a few abilities and provides immunity to Red Fog and maiming. Distortion is upgraded, having a 200 tile radius that also doesn't care about line of sight or if its allies are mechanical; you won't be hurting the Uber Ethereal very much until all of its allies are gone across the entire map. Mind Control is upgraded to no longer inflict any kind of penalty on the Uber Ethereal while it's controlling someone. Finally, the Uber Ethereal is able to more freely use Psychic Storm, even before it has seen you; once you get close, engaging quickly would be wise.

The Uber Ethereal is accompanied by four random high-level leaders, all of which will be upgraded to champions on impossible.

Good luck Commander; you'll need it.

Bounty: Campaign victory

Armor: The Uber Ethereal has no armor.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	12.0	70	0	70	0	180	0	140	90	5 Regen	Uber,  Insentient Crush,  Psychic Wave,  Distortion,  Psychic Tether,  Adaptive Bone Marrow,  Psi Mastery,  Sprinter,  Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield
Level Upgrades	10, 11, 12, 13, 14	0	+10	0	+10	0	+30	0	+20	0	+2 Regen
Final Upgrade	15	0	0	0	0	0	+120	0	+20	0	+2 Regen

Exalt

Exalt Operative

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Exalt Operatives are versatile frontline soldiers that are particularly strong in close combat because of Close Encounters, similar to XCOM's Assaults. Operatives aren't a major threat when at a distance outside of Opportunist overwatches, but if they can close the gap and deliver a point blank double flank, very few soldiers will survive.

Operatives share a few common traits with all Exalt:

• They have Lock N' Load, which primarily reduces the power of relay hacks, but also lets them put on continuous pressure in a long firefight.
• They can panic in a similar manner to XCOM's soldiers.
• They feel a strong urge to move towards the objective, often to the point of staying out of cover to get closer.

Because of their tendency to move towards the objective, Overwatch is a very powerful tool against most Exalt soldiers, and the Operative is no exception.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Operatives have 40% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	7.3	4	2	6	4	60	20	20	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Close Encounters,  Opportunist
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+0-1	+0-1	+1	+0-1	+6	+6	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	0	+1	+1	+2	+24	+24	0	0	0

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Operative)

Exalt Sergeant (Operative)

Exalt MSGT (Operative)

Exalt Operative leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as large crit damage increases through Critical System Targeting and Aggression.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Corporal (Operative)	1	+1	+5	+5	+20	Sprinter,  Ranger,  Steadfast
Exalt Sergeant (Operative)	3	+2	+10	+10	+40	Critical System Targeting
Exalt Master Sergeant (Operative)	6	+3	+20	+20	+60	Aggression

Exalt Marksman

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Exalt Marksmen are pure glass cannons just like XCOM's Snipers; they boast the lowest health, will, and mobility of any enemy in the game, but can pelt away at you from Squadsight range with high-damage strike rifles that can very easily wound or kill an unprepared soldier. If you can directly attack them in almost any way, they'll die quite quickly, but the longer they sit in the backlines, the more likely it is that they'll get that critical shot they need to kill a soldier. Just like XCOM soldiers using long rifles, Exalt Marksmen have poor aim at close range, so if you can close the distance they'll be unlikely to have a good chance to hit you, even after moving.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Marksmen have 40% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	6	2	1	3	5	70	20	5	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Squadsight,  Executioner,  Holo Rounds,  Impact
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	0	0	0	+1	+8	+8	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	0	0	0	+4	+32	+32	0	0	0

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Sniper)

Exalt Sergeant (Sniper)

Exalt MSGT (Sniper)

Exalt Marksman leaders gain a modest amount of stats (primarily offensive), Low Profile, as well as large situational damage increases.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Corporal (Sniper)	1	+1	+3	+10	+20	Sprinter,  Low Profile,  Steadfast
Exalt Sergeant (Sniper)	3	+2	+6	+20	+40	Bring 'Em On
Exalt Master Sergeant (Sniper)	6	+3	+9	+30	+60	Vital Point Targeting

Exalt Heavy

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 4

Skills

Standard Shot

Suppression

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Exalt Heavies are very similar to XCOM's own Tank Gunners. Will to Survive makes them difficult to take down through cover, and the combination of Suppression, Danger Zone, and Holo Rounds offers incredible offensive support. The addition of Light 'Em Up notably increases their offensive threat greatly, as very few soldiers are comfortable tanking two holo'd shots from a big gun. If flanks aren't an option, Psionics or Supports may help you survive until you can push aggressively behind their cover.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Heavies have 40% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	4.6	6	4	10	6	45	0	10	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Will to Survive,  Danger Zone,  Holo Rounds,  Bulletstorm
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+0-2	+0-1	+2	+0-1	+4	0	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1	+1	+2	+2	+16	0	0	0	0

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Heavy)

Exalt Sergeant (Heavy)

Exalt MSGT (Heavy)

Exalt Heavy leaders gain a modest amount of stats (mostly defensive) as well as becoming more threatening overall with Shredder and eventually Critical System Targeting, and are even bulkier in cover.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Corporal (Heavy)	1	+1	+7	+5	+20	Sprinter,  Alien Shred,  Steadfast
Exalt Sergeant (Heavy)	3	+2	+14	+10	+40	Tenacious Defense
Exalt Master Sergeant (Heavy)	6	+3	+21	+20	+60	Critical System Targeting

Exalt Medic

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Medikit Heal

Smoke Grenade

Exalt Medics are similar to XCOM's own Support Medics. They provide solid defensive support in the form of Medikits (boosted by Field Medic) and Smoke Grenades (boosted by Dense Smoke) while also being quite tanky due to Grit and relatively strong against Psionics and panic because of decent will. Offensively they're the weakest of Exalt's forces, but can still be a nuisance due to Ready For Anything providing automatic Overwatches.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Medics have 40% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8	4	2	6	4	60	20	40	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Field Medic,  Smoke and Mirrors,  Dense Smoke,  Ready For Anything,  Grit,  Deflection Shield
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+0-1	+0-1	+1	+0-1	+2	0	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	0	+1	+1	+2	+8	0	0	0	0

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Medic)

Exalt Sergeant (Medic)

Exalt MSGT (Medic)

Exalt Medic leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as gaining extra defensive prowess in the form of Savior and Shadowstep.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Corporal (Medic)	1	+1	+4	+5	+20	Sprinter,  Savior,  Steadfast
Exalt Sergeant (Medic)	3	+2	+8	+10	+40	Shadowstep
Exalt Master Sergeant (Medic)	6	+3	+12	+15	+60	Sharpshooter

Exalt SHIV

Appears	Level 1
Ammo: 2

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Exalt SHIVs act much the same as their XCOM counterparts, even gaining many of the same perks that modules and SHIV Advancements normally provide. Just like XCOM's variant, they can be used as cover by both Exalt and XCOM alike, although that cover won't benefit you from the shots that the SHIV itself takes at you.

Exalt SHIVs are the only mechanical enemies that show up on Exalt missions, so it may be worth carrying a spare Arc Rifle or Arc Pistol to manage them. Exalt SHIVs will prove to be very tanky if the squad lacks a clear anti-mechanical solution, and they output much more damage compared to regular Exalt soldiers, especially the leader variants.

It's also worth noting that Exalt SHIVs are just as immobile as XCOM's, and cannot access high ground in any way besides a ramp, stairs, or small ledges (unless they happen to already be there at mission start). As you might expect, they also cannot panic, nor trigger panic in other Exalt soldiers upon destruction.

Bounty: Shiv Chassis

Armor: Exalt SHIVs have 50% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	7.3	12	12	24	6	55	0	0	20	30 40 (SHIV MK II-IV) 50 (UHIV)	Hardened,  Repair Servos
Level Upgrades	3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13	0	+1	+1	+2	+1	+3	0	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1	+1	+2	+4	+3	0	0	0	0

Leaders:

SHIV Mk II

File:SHIV Mk II (LWR).png

SHIV Mk III

File:SHIV Mk III (LWR).png

SHIV Mk IV

File:SHIV Mk IV (LWR).png

UHIV

File:UHIV (LWR).png

Exalt SHIV leaders gain a suite of both offensive and defensive perks, letting them shoot more frequently and with greater effect while also being much tankier. They're likely to be the biggest individual threat you come across on your typical Exalt mission.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
SHIV Mk II	1	+1	+2	+10	0	Sprinter,  Holo Rounds
SHIV Mk III	3	+3	+4	+10	0	Alien Shred,  Lock N' Load,
SHIV Mk IV	6	+5	+6	+20	0	Reactive Targeting Sensors  Damage Control
UHIV	9	+7	+25	+50	0	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Light 'Em Up  Absorption Fields,  Sentry,  Opportunist,  Fortified

Exalt Elite Operative

Appears	Level 6
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Exalt Elite Operatives are much like their regular counterparts, but with improved stats all-around and the addition of Enhanced Metabolism. This makes them significantly more deadly when on Overwatch, and can also make them difficult to finish off without sources of guaranteed damage or large accuracy bonuses if they can't be killed from above half health in a single shot.

Exalt Commander Iago Van Doorn deserves a special mention here, as he serves as the boss of the Exalt HQ Assault and exclusively shows up there. Packing immensely increased stats, most gene mods, Overwatch immunity, and his own powerful Overwatches, Iago is a menace for any squad, prepared or not. Suppression and Concussion Grenades are invaluable for locking him down, and a strong tank will be necessary to mitigate his damage. Like other champions, the Plasma Shield will ensure that he gets a chance to act, especially given that the Exalt HQ often forces players to fight from the helipad with little room for retreat. Enhanced Metabolism is even more concerning here, given the sheer durability of Iago; activating this at the wrong time can spell death for your squad. Iago is likely to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest individual enemy you encounter before the final mission, so be careful Commander.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Operatives have 50% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8	6	6	12	6	70	20	30	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Close Encounters,  Opportunist,  Enhanced Metabolism
Level Upgrades	7, 9, 11, 13	0	+1	+1	+2	+0-1	+8	+8	0	0	+5
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1	+1	+2	+2	+32	+32	0	0	+5

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Operative)

Exalt Captain (Operative)

Exalt Major (Operative)

Exalt Commander Iago Van Doorn

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Operative leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as large crit damage increases through Critical System Targeting and Aggression. Iago as mentioned above is an exception to this, gaining just about everything one unit could want.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Lieutenant (Operative)	1	+1	+5	+5	+20	Sprinter,  Ranger,  Steadfast
Exalt Captain (Operative)	3	+2	+10	+10	+40	Critical System Targeting
Exalt Major (Operative)	6	+3	+20	+20	+60	Aggression
Exalt Commander Iago Van Doorn	9	+11	+40	+40	+120	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Deflection Shield,  Ready For Anything,  Sentinel,  Shadowshot,  Shadowstep,  Grit,  Iron Skin,  Neural Dampening,  Smart Macrophages,  Adaptive Bone Marrow,  Advanced Perception,  Muscle Fiber Density

Exalt Elite Marksman

Appears	Level 6
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Exalt Elite Marksmen are much the same as their non-elite counterparts, with improved stats and the addition of Muscle Fiber Density allowing for more high-ground use and more flanks. Very few soldiers can survive a flank shot from an Elite Marksman, so be on the lookout!

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Marksmen have 50% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	6.6	3	3	6	7	80	35	15	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Squadsight,  Executioner,  Holo Rounds,  Impact,  Muscle Fiber Density
Level Upgrades	7, 9, 11, 13	0	+0-1	+0-1	+1	+1	+10	+10	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1	0	+1	+4	+40	+40	0	0	0

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Sniper)

Exalt Captain (Sniper)

Exalt Major (Sniper)

Exalt General (Sniper)

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Marksman leaders gain a modest amount of stats (primarily offensive), Low Profile, as well as large situational damage increases. Generals become much more offensively threatening due to Light 'Em Up allowing two shots per turn.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Lieutenant (Sniper)	1	+1	+3	+10	+20	Sprinter,  Low Profile,  Steadfast
Exalt Captain (Sniper)	3	+2	+6	+20	+40	Bring 'Em On
Exalt Major (Sniper)	6	+3	+9	+30	+60	Vital Point Targeting
Exalt General (Sniper)	8	+4	+12	+40	+80	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Light 'Em Up

Exalt Elite Heavy

Appears	Level 6
Ammo: 4

Skills

Standard Shot

Suppression

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Exalt Elite Heavies are like the other elites, in that they're an improvement on their regular form but not all that much different. Heavies are blessed with Iron Skin which makes them significantly tankier, even against flanks. A bit of penetration on your weapons will go a long way, as well as crit chance increases.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Heavies have 50% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	5.3	10	10	20	9	55	0	20	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Will to Survive,  Danger Zone,  Holo Rounds,  Iron Skin,  Bulletstorm
Level Upgrades	7, 9, 11, 13	0	+0-2	+0-2	+3	+0-1	+6	0	0	0	+10
Final Upgrade	15	0	+2	+1	+3	+2	+24	0	0	0	+10

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Heavy)

Exalt Captain (Heavy)

Exalt Major (Heavy)

Exalt General (Heavy)

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Heavy leaders gain a modest amount of stats (mostly defensive) as well as becoming more threatening overall with Shredder and eventually Critical System Targeting, and are even bulkier in cover. Generals gain Sentry, making their Overwatches more threatening in addition to being yet another defensive bonus.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Lieutenant (Heavy)	1	+1	+7	+5	+20	Sprinter,  Alien Shred,  Steadfast
Exalt Captain (Heavy)	3	+2	+14	+10	+40	Tenacious Defense
Exalt Major (Heavy)	6	+3	+21	+15	+60	Critical System Targeting
Exalt General (Heavy)	8	+4	+28	+20	+80	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Sentry

Exalt Elite Medic

Appears	Level 6
Ammo: 3

Skills

Standard Shot

Overwatch

Hunker Down

Medikit Heal

Smoke Grenade

Exalt Elite Medics follow the same pattern as the other elites, being a stat improvement and the addition of a gene mod. In the Elite Medic's case, this takes the form of Smart Macrophages, making shred and corrosion useless against them and boosting heals on themselves. When combined with Grit, this can make finishing off Elite Medics difficult; make sure to have a plan for when they get low, or burst them from full health to begin with!

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Medics have 50% armor converted from their health.

	Levels Applied	Mobility	Base HP	Armor HP	Overall HP	Damage	Aim	Crit	Will	Defense	Base DR	Perks
Attributes	1	8.6	6	6	12	6	70	20	60	0	0	Lock N' Load,  Field Medic,  Smoke and Mirrors,  Dense Smoke,  Ready For Anything,  Grit,  Deflection Shield,  Smart Macrophages
Level Upgrades	7, 9, 11, 13	0	+1	+1	+2	+0-1	+4	0	0	0	0
Final Upgrade	15	0	+1	+1	+2	+2	+16	0	0	0	0

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Medic)

Exalt Captain (Medic)

Exalt Major (Medic)

Exalt General (Medic)

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Medic leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as gaining extra defensive prowess in the form of Savior and Shadowstep. Generals become a much more relevant offensive threat due to the addition of Sentinel and Opportunist to accompany Ready For Anything.

Leader Name	Leader Level	Cumulative Damage	Cumulative HP	Cumulative Aim	Cumulative Will	Additional Perks (carries into higher leader levels)
Exalt Lieutenant (Medic)	1	+1	+4	+5	+20	Sprinter,  Savior,  Steadfast
Exalt Captain (Medic)	3	+2	+8	+10	+40	Shadowstep
Exalt Major (Medic)	6	+3	+12	+15	+60	Sharpshooter
Exalt General (Medic)	8	+4	+16	+20	+80	Combined Arms,  Plasma Shield,  Sentinel,  Opportunist