Alien Life Forms (Long War)

Much like in vanilla, aliens deploy in "pods", which are "activated" by seeing them. Unlike in vanilla, alien pods are frequently made up of several different types of aliens, such as a Thin Man leading some Sectoids, or some Mutons with Floater scout.

One alien in a pod will be a squad leader, with improved stats and sometimes new abilities. They can almost always be identified by their higher health than normal, and they are often (slightly) physically larger as well. This effect can be best observed with Chryssalid pods, as they are most often made up purely of Chryssalids.

The aliens will continually improve their technology as the war goes on, which will grant them extra stats, HP regen and in some cases unlock new abilities, so the aliens in your individual game may differ a little than described below.

Sectoid

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-
Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	3-20
Defense	0-15
Aim	65-115
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	12
Flight Fuel	0
Will	5-105

Sectoids behave in much the same way as you'd expect from vanilla, with low Mobility, HP and Aim, and mediocre Will. Basic Sectoids have access to a few more psionic powers than before, being able to Mind Merge, Mind Fray and Psi Panic. The good news is that Mind Fray has been altered to only do 1 damage. Be aware that Mind Merge has been altered so it does some damage to the merged target if the merger dies, but doesn't kill outright. Sectoid squad leaders get the Low Profile perk.

Sectoid Abilities

Ability	Description
Suppression	Can fire a special shot that grants reaction fire at a single target if it moves. The target also suffers a -30 Aim penalty and limited AOE range.
Mind Merge	Psionically assist an ally, granting the ally an array of stat bonuses.
Mind Fray	Causes the target to lose grip on reality, inflicting penalties to Aim, Will, mobility and AOE range, as well as doing 1 base damage. Robotic units are immune. Lasts 2 turns. 1 turn cooldown.
Psi Panic	Cause target to panic if the target's Will is overcome. Robotic enemies are immune. 2 turn cooldown.

Possible Squad Leader Abilities

Ability	Description
Low Profile	Makes partial cover count as full.
Gunslinger	Confers +1 extra damage to all pistol type weapons. Furthermore eliminates any range penalties for pistols.
Bring 'Em On	Grants +1 damage on critical hits for each enemy that the squad can see. (Up to +5)
Rapid Reaction	Allows an additional shot to be fired on Overwatch if the first Overwatch shot hits.
Opportunist	Negates aim penalties for Overwatch shots.
Regeneration	Allows the unit to restore a small amount of HP each turn. Amount increases based on alien tech progression.
Combined Arms	Allows the squad that this unit belongs to to ignore 1 point of DR.

Possible Navigator Abilities

Ability	Description
Low Profile	Makes partial cover count as full.
Regeneration	Allows the unit to restore a small amount of HP each turn. Amount increases based on alien tech progression.

Drone

Drones will be encountered right from the beginning of the game, even in the first mission. 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. Drones behave similarly to vanilla, but, like most mechanized units, have some damage reduction. Their constant light cover from flying with damage reduction and ability to mutually repair can make them extremely frustrating to kill. Drones have Holo-Targeting, making them a bit more dangerous when supporting other aliens.

Possible perks for Drone squad leaders

Holo Targeting

Absorption Fields

Light 'Em Up

Outsider

Long War Outsiders are enormously more dangerous than vanilla Outsiders. They start with 9 HP and 3 HP regeneration per turn, meaning it will take a concerted effort from the whole squad to take them down early game. Like vanilla, Outsiders are mostly found in charge of UFOs, usually holed up on the bridge, but not always. You should be careful not to activate a UFO's Outsider until you're ready for it, since their HP regen means they can easily take on 1 or 2 XCOM soldiers without even taking damage. On larger UFOs Outsiders spawn in larger groups than in vanilla.

When you first meet them, fighting Outsiders in a war of attrition across cover is a bad idea, since their HP regen and relatively high damage and accuracy with their plasma carbines means they may well win. Neutralising the Outsider with flashbangs and suppression while you move your troops up to set up for a one turn kill is more effective. Note that their regenerative abilities will increase over the course of your game.

Possible perks for Outsider squad leaders

Regeneration

Ready for Anything

Squadsight

Thin Men

Thin Men are quite similar to vanilla, with high mobility, mediocre aim and low Will. The main change is that their poison has been replaced with Acid, which lowers aim and mobility as poison does, and affected units take slightly more damage from attacks, but acid no longer causes damage directly. Instead, acid inflicts damage to a victim as they take actions, so moving, reloading, firing, overwatch, etc will all cause an affected unit to take 1 damage (dashing will cause 2 damage). A unit that goes on overwatch will take the damage when they go on overwatch, not when they fire. Hunkering Down is safe and a unit that simply remains still and hunkered for the duration of acid will take no damage at all. Acid clouds dissipate within 2 turns and the acid debuff lasts 2-5 turns. Robotic units and soldiers with medikits or sealed armour are immune to the mobility effects of acid and won't take damage from actions, but will still take more damage from attacks and have reduced aim while affected by acid.

Possible perks for Thin Man squad leaders

Executioner

Close and Personal

Sharpshooter

Bombard

Squadsight

Rapid Reaction

Sprinter

Lightning Reflexes

Aggression

Tactical Sense

Combined Arms

Floater

Floaters behave identically to vanilla floaters. Floater squad leaders gain the Damn Good Ground ability, which, given their ability to fly, makes them significantly more dangerous than regular floaters. Squad Leaders will have Close Combat Specialist.

Possible perks for Floater squad leaders

Damn Good Ground

Close Combat Specialist

Danger Zone

Sprinter

Mayhem

Rapid Reaction

Ready for Anything

Regeneration

Aggression

Tactical Sense

Combined Arms

Chryssalid

Chryssalids are similar to vanilla Chryssalids. A big difference is that Chryssalid squad leaders have Lightning Reflexes, which can seriously reduce the amount of damage a charging Chryssalid squad will take from overwatch fire since the squad leader moves first, and is thus the most likely to trigger overwatch fire depending on positioning. Like Thin Men, the Chryssalid's claw poison has been replaced with acid.

AP/frag grenades are an effective early counter to Chryssalids, since they'll frequently charge in a tightly packed group on first sight, and the grenades will do full damage since Chryssalids don't benefit from cover. Similarly, flashbangs can debilitate a whole group of Chryssalids by reducing their move by half, which brings it considerably under the range a flashbang can be thrown. Taking out the Chryssalid leader will make reaction fire effective against them; a Close Combat Specialist Assault can frequently finish off leaderless Chryssalids.

Possible perks for Chryssalid squad leaders

Lightning Reflexes

Regeneration

Sprinter

Shock-Absorbent Armor

Zombie

File:Zombie 2 (EU2012.png

Brains?

Not even zombies are immune to getting tweaked in Long War - whilst they don't gain any perks, they do become faster at first, and then tougher later, whilst their melee damage steadily ramps up over time. It may also be possible to rarely encounter them as a special pod spawn only during Terror missions, in which four to five identical zombies will spawn in a group. Unlike regular zombies, the members of this zombie 'pack' do not seem to spawn chryssalids if left to their own devices for too long.

Seeker

The Seeker

Seekers can be found both in pods made up entirely of Seekers, and accompanying squads of other aliens. This indirectly makes them more dangerous than vanilla, since a Seeker itself isn't much threat, but a Seeker supporting other aliens can be a deadly distraction. Seekers have had the shackles taken off their AI, and will happily decloak and strangle 4 of your soldiers at once. As mechanized units they have some damage reduction, which makes them difficult to damage with low power weapons like pistols and carbines. Seekers only cause 1 initial damage when strangling, but this damage doubles every turn they remain attached, so quickly knocking a Seeker off will result in minimal damage, but if left it will cause massive damage in 3-4 turns.

Battle Scanners are available to any soldier as carried items in Long War, giving an early counter to Seekers. They have a habit of going into Overwatch while in stealth, so if you're waiting out Seekers without a Battle Scanner, try moving a soldier, one might reveal itself to take a pot shot at you.

Possible perks for Seeker squad leaders

Unlimited cloaks

Holo Targeting

Repair Servos

Automated Threat Assessment

Platform Stability

Shock-Absorbent Armor

Close Encounters

Muton

Mutons are similar to vanilla Mutons, and will start with Plasma Carbines and later upgrade to Plasma Rifles. Muton squad leaders have significantly more HP than regular Mutons, as well as a number of Overwatch enhancing perks.

Possible perks for Muton squad leaders

Covering Fire

Opportunist

Heat Warheads

Bombard

Will to Survive

Sentinel

Light 'Em Up

Aggression

Tactical Sense

Combined Arms

Cyberdisc

Cyberdisc - open assault form

Cyberdisc - closed disc form

Cyberdiscs are similar to vanilla Cyberdiscs. They get the Automated Threat Assessment perk, which given their habit of immediately going on overwatch when seen will often give them extra defense at least for the first turn. Cyberdiscs are usually accompanied by drones. Cyberdiscs usually prefer to throw their grenade if an eligible soldier is in range rather than shooting.

Cyberdiscs pose a significant threat throughout the game. Early on their 20 HP pool makes them difficult to kill unless you have more than one soldier with HEAT ammo/warheads, or a soldier with Shredder ammo/rockets. In the later months Cyberdiscs gain the Reactive Targeting Sensors perk, allowing them to return fire.

Possible perks for Cyberdisk squad leaders

Automated Threat Assessment

Bombard

Damage Control

Repair Servos

Aggression

Reactive Targeting Sensors

Light 'Em Up

Combined Arms

Mechtoid

The Mechtoid

Mechtoids behave identically to vanilla Mechtoids. Like vanilla, they will appear with Sectoid escorts, and later with Sectoid Commanders.

Mechtoids are very 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. Chem grenades will hurt their accuracy a bit. Like the Cyberdisk, the Mechtoid will eventually gain access to Reactive Targeting Sensors.

It is worth noting that the Psi Shield granted to Mechtoids by Mind Merge also grants a significant amount of extra Damage Reduction on top of the added temporary health. As a result, it is absolutely essential that you find and kill the sectoid that set up the link (helpfully indicated by the purple streams) and eliminate them.

Possible perks for Mechtoid squad leaders

Executioner

Platform Stability

Advanced Fire Control

Shock-Absorbent Armor

Repair Servos

Rapid Reaction

Reactive Targeting Sensors

Absorption Fields

Berserker

Berserkers can also be Squad Leaders, meaning the first Berserkers you see could have terrifying amounts of health.

Like Chryssalids, anything you can do to slow down a Berserker will greatly reduce its threat. Flashbanging a Berserker will reduce its half-movement range to well below flashbang throw range, so is a good way to neutralise a Berserker you're not ready to kill. It will also reduce its movement from Bloodlust, so you can also shoot a couple of times after flashbanging (but don't go overboard).

Since it's possible to have multiple soldiers with Rift outside of the Temple Ship, using their aggression against them to make them wander in and out of the psionic storm will make quick work of them, if you can set up the situation. With a few other AoE attacks, a cluster of them becomes a comedic slaughter: excellent payback for all the times they will crush your soldiers under their fists.

Two well placed Close Combat Specialist Assaults (Optionally with Shredder Ammo) can also quickly make short work of even a group of Berserkers while a grenade or rocket makes them to run all at once towards the CCS trap. Beware of low ammunition shotguns.

Possible perks for Berserker squad leaders

Shock-Absorbent Armor

Regeneration

Neural Damping

Sprinter

Tactical Sense

Heavy Floater

Similar in appearance to the Floater species, this upgraded variant can pose a significant offensive threat to mechanized units as well as units behind cover when accompanied by other aliens. As the Heavy Floater will most probably already have access to Heat Ammo when you first encounter it, it is advisable to take on a more defensive position with MEC's and Shiv's, ideally concealing them behind full-cover until the enemy has been dealt with. Quite like the Muton Elite, the Heavy Floater also has access to Bombard and Alien Grenades, rendering clustered up firing lines ineffective.

Due to the Tactical Sense perk, inherent defenses and elevation bonuses, it is possible for a Heavy Floater squad leader to reach a maximum of 80 Defense during flight, making them extremely hard to hit foes on the battlefield. While psionically enhanced soldiers should have little trouble dealing with one thanks to their low will, accuracy enhancing perks and rockets are king against this species whenever the better alternative is unavailable. Furthermore, with the way Tactical Sense works, it can prove effective to temporarily move targets out of his sight radius so as to achieve better shots.

Possible perks for Heavy Floater squad leaders

Repair Servos

Heat Ammo

Close and Personal

Bombard

Tactical Sense

Ready for Anything

Will to Survive

Mayhem

Danger Zone

Sectopod

Massive mechanical war machines, Sectopods are similar to their original incarnation - only more deadly, of course. Approach with extreme caution. As with all aliens, their strength and power progresses with time, making them significantly more dangerous as the war drags on.

Possible perks for Sectopod squad leaders

Repair Servos

Automated Threat Assessment

Sentinel

Reactive Targeting Sensors

Light 'Em Up

Absorption Field