Difference between revisions of "Alien Life Forms (Long War)"

Revision as of 04:52, 24 March 2015

This page may be outdated. It is up-to-date for version b13. The latest version is 1.0.

A Chryssalid squad leader compared to its smaller brethren.

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.

Each "pod" will be led by one squad leader alien, possessing both improved stats and new abilities. Each leader has a chance to be accompanied by a navigator alien in addition to its other podmates which usually acts as a scouting unit of sorts, often possessing perks suitable for this role. Squad leaders can easily be identified by their larger health pool and increased physical size.

All pods now make noise when they move, but some pods will choose to lurk rather than patrol. The percentage of pods that hide out in this fashion is different per mission - on Abductions, it is 50%, on Large UFO's, 40%, and on small UFO's, 10%.

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. Squad Leader and Navigator perks are unlocked in the order in which they have been recorded here. Please note that the maximum stats for each species listed below can only apply to squad leaders of that species with all possible upgrades. Abilities tagged with an asterisk(*) are only unlocked on regular aliens during later stages of the war.

Sectoid

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	3 - 15
Defense	0 - 28
Aim	65 - 89
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	12 - 13
Will	5 - 120

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. All Sectoids technically have the Gunslinger perk to cancel their offset from using pistols, but do not gain extra damage.

Unlike most alien types, Sectoid pod leaders do +1 damage over regular sectoids at the start of the game without requiring extra research.

Rewards: Sectoids carry plasma pistols (which explode into weapon fragments/alloys if not captured alive) and leave corpses. After Xenobiology is researched, the council will request Sectoid Corpses from time to time. Typical requests exchange 6 sectoids for 1 or 2 scientists, plus a very slight boost to the requesting nations defense against panic.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	4	3	65	0	0	12	5
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	+1	+1	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Gunslinger	-
0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Suppression	-
0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Mindfray	-
0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Mind Merge	-
0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Psi Panic	-
15	-	+1	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-
30	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-
30	-	-	+3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20%
75	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	-
120	+1	-	+4	-	-	+4	-	+10	-	-	-
180	-	+1	-	-	-	-	-	+5	-	-	-
180	-	+1	-	-	-	-	-	+5	-	-	20%
240	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+5	-	-	-
270	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Low Profile	-
300	-	-	+4	-	-	+4	-	+5	-	-	-
300	-	+1	-	-	-	-	-	+15	-	-	15%
300	-	+1	-	-	-	-	-	+10	-	-	20%
360	-	-	-	-	-	+4	+1	+5	-	-	-
420	+1	+1	+4	-	-	-	-	+5	-	-	-
510	-	-	-	-	-	+4	-	+5	-	-	-
600	+1	+1	+4	-	-	+4	-	+5	-	-	-
690	-	-	-	-	-	+4	-	+5	-	-	-
720	-	+1	-	-	-	-	-	+5	-	Adaptive Bone Marrow	-
800	-	+1	-	-	-	+4	-	+5	-	-	-
900	+1	+3	+4	-	-	-	-	+15	-	-	-
1200	+1	+3	+4	-	-	-	-	+15	-	-	-
0	+1	+1	-	-	-	-	-	+5	-	Low Profile	Level 1
0	-	-	+4	-	-	-	-	+5	-	-	Level 2
0	+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	+5	-	-	Level 3
0	-	+1	+4	-	-	-	-	+5	-	Executioner	Level 4
0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+5	-	Rapid Reaction	Level 5
0	-	+1	+4	-	-	-	-	+5	-	-	Level 6
0	+1	-	+4	-	-	-	-	+5	-	Tactical Sense	Level 7
0	+1	+5	+4	-	-	-	-	+5	-	Adaptive Bone Marrow	Level 8
0	+1	+2	+4	-	-	-	-	+5	-	Combined Arms	Level 9
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Drone

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	3
Defense	0
Aim	60
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	12
Flight Fuel	32
Will	0

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.

Rewards: Drones primarily drop Drone Wrecks, the autopsy of which (10 required) grants access to the SHIV Repair Foundry project and the Holo-Targeter. Later-game, drone wrecks are required for several foundry projects including Drone Capture and Improved Arc Thrower.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Outsider

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	10-33
Defense	0-25
Aim	75-130
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	12-18
Will	20

Long War Outsiders are enormously more dangerous than vanilla Outsiders. They start with 10 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. In Long War, they will occasionally patrol. 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. On larger ships and later encounters, Outsiders spawn in pods of 3 or 4.

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.

Rewards: Outsiders captured alive grant outsider shards, which can be fashioned into skeleton keys. These are essential for initiating base assault missions, a requirement for ending the game. They also carry light plasma rifles.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Notes

Spotting an Outsider during a UFO landing will cause the remaining contingent of the crew to advance towards you. This does not only include the commanding crew of said ship, but also any randomly spawned Outsiders that you may encounter.

Thin Man

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	5 - 22
Defense	0 - 35
Aim	70 - 105
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	14 - 19
Will	25 - 55

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. 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.

Rewards: Thin Men carry light plasma rifles (with the standard dead-man switch) and leave corpses. These can be spent on the Improved Medkit Foundry project (10x) after completing an autopsy (10x). The Thin Man interrogation gives a 25% research credit towards laser weaponry.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Floater

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	5 - 16
Defense	0 - 16
Aim	65 - 90
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	14 - 21
Flight Fuel	32
Will	20 - 44

Floaters behave identically to vanilla floaters. Floater squad leaders often gain the Damn Good Ground ability, which, given their ability to fly, makes them significantly more dangerous than regular floaters.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Chryssalid

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	8-62
Defense	10-30
Aim	∞
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	20-25
Will	120

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 40%, which brings it considerably under the range a flashbang can be thrown. Chryssalids are immune to acid, so Chem Grenades won't reduce their mobility. Taking out the Chryssalid leader will make reaction fire effective against them; a Close Combat Specialist Assault can frequently finish off leaderless Chryssalids. The MEC Flamethrower is also quite effective; aside from the damage (especially with the Jellied Elerium upgrade) it can cause the Chryssalids to panic, and they may then run away from your soldiers instead of towards them.

Chryssalids on a terror mission will always spawn Zombies from civilians they kill offscreen - normally, this only occurred on higher difficulties in vanilla. As such, expect to have to deal with many additional zombies during terror missions that focus on the deployment of chryssalids. Additionally, Chryssalid pods may occasionally contain a number of Zombie units regardless of the mission type.

Some Chryssalid Squad Leaders may be particularly large. Beware, as these monsters often have upwards of 40-50 health on top of the fact they are escorted by several more chryssalids and have augmented damage.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Zombie

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	12-23
Defense	0
Aim	∞
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	9-13
Will	120

Not even zombies are immune to getting tweaked in Long War - At first, they become faster, and later tougher, whilst their melee damage steadily ramps up over time. 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, 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.

Zombies that have been spawned through a victim implanted by a Chryssalid will spawn a "baby" Chryssalid after two turns, easily recognized by their slightly pink skin color. This Chryssalid variant will have the same stats as an adult Chryssalid and can both move and attack during the turn it emerges. It will furthermore always emerge at full health regardless of how much damage the Zombie has taken.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Seeker

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	4-53
Defense	0-15
Aim	65-89
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	16-22
Flight Fuel	32
Will	0

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. Ground-hugging Seekers can also be 'detected' by scanning for seemingly empty tiles that cannot be moved into; 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.

If Seekers have no valid targets for their strangulation attack (as MECs and SHIVs are immune, and several armours and items grant immunity also), they will most often go into Overwatch (which will not decloak them until they have fired), or attempt to flank soldiers in cover and try to score a critical hit with their plasma gun. A Seeker who does not cloak on pod activation will usually try for this approach. Like Sectoids, Seekers possess the Gunslinger perk and suffer no range penalties for their plasma shots, but do not deal extra damage from base. In Terror missions, they prefer to hunt down any remaining civilians if all XCOM units are immune; if a Seeker is the last enemy active on a terror mission, focus on rescuing the civilians. Once the Seeker has no civilian targets remaining, its AI will switch to focusing on the squad instead.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Muton

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	8-40
Defense	10-29
Aim	70-110
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	12
Will	10-47

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.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Cyberdisc

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	18-55
Defense	0
Aim	70-92
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	18-21
Flight Fuel	32
Will	0

Cyberdiscs are similar to vanilla Cyberdiscs; even their deployment behaviour is largely unchanged. 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 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. Early on their high health pool makes them difficult to kill unless you have more than one soldier with HEAT ammo/warheads, or a soldier with Shredder ammo/rockets. Their movement range can take you off guard as it's close to that of a chryssalid; if they're not dealt with quickly or retreated from, they are very likely to flank and hit you with raw firepower, move up next to you and use their powerful Death Blossom attack, or simply fire long-range explosives at you. In the later months Cyberdiscs gain the Reactive Targeting Sensors perk, allowing them to return fire.

The drones escorting a Cyberdisc are of course more dangerous as well (see the main Drone entry), primarily because they can tag a target with Holo Targeting, making it easier for the parent Cyberdisc (and any other enemies, for that matter) to hit the victim. Drones can be distracted by damaging the Cyberdisc (in which case they will fly back to repair it) but this is hardly an ideal strategy.

One important note about the Cyberdisc is that they only have the "Hardened" trait as long as they're closed. A Cyberdisc must open up in order to attack with its cannons or grenade, and will immediately return to closed form if hit by an incoming attack.

In close range, Cyberdiscs explode for damage upon death, a trait that can be used against the aliens in tight packed groups. The Long War mod has also made efforts to better calculate the discs "Death Blossom", so be cautious not to engage too closely.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Mechtoid

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	25-50
Shield HP	6-16
Defense	0
Aim	75-93
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	14-15
Will	0

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 Cyberdisc, the Mechtoid will eventually gain access to Reactive Targeting Sensors.

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.

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.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Berserker

Appears
Normal	March
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	25-78
Defense	20-30
Aim	∞
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	17-21
Will	80

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). Another good piece of equipment to use against them are chem grenades, not only does it reduce their damage reduction and limit their movement, but it also deals damage to them each time they move after being shot.

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.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Sectoid Commander

Appears
Normal	Late
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	15
Defense	20
Aim	85
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	12
Will	90

Sectoid Commanders represent a substantial step up from their first-month brethren, and carry new psionic abilities as well as better statistics. Sectoid Commanders can use Mind Control.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Heavy Floater

Appears
Normal	-
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	-
Defense	-
Aim	-
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	-
Will	-

An improvement over the original floater.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Muton Elite

Appears
Normal	-
Terror	-

Damage	{{{damage}}}
HP	20-23
Defense	20
Aim	75-80
Crit Chance	{{{crit}}}
Movement	12
Will	40-49

Similar looking to Mutons, but with a red armor and a helmet.

They appear as Pod Leaders first, usually in pairs like normal Mutons, in the late game they entirely replace Mutons on missions. Care must be taken, because they have a lot of innate defense and Tacical Sense, as well as a lot of firepower at their disposal. Their Heavy Plasma Weapons are both destructive and highly damaging, and even though they lost Initimidate, they still benefit from Bloodlust. As they appear as pod leaders, a lot of their good perks trigger earlier than they actually appear in hordes, making Muton pods very dangerous.

Their Overwatch becomes lethal with Oppurtunist, Covering Fire and Sentinel, they can fire twice with Light' Em Up and further with Squadsight, crit with Aggression and Bring 'Em On and respond to fire with RTS. Watch out for Bombard-Grenades, HEAT and Tandem Warheads as well as well. A encounter with them can only be done without losses by using advanced Technology like MECS or Psionics or very good tactics, forcing the player to speed up their research.

One using Psionics to attack them should take care as well, as they gain high will and Neural Damping.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

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.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance

Ethereal

The floating psionic leaders of the alien race are substantially more deadly and no longer trade frailty for their power. Using a psionic lance attack that is based on will as well as the feared Mind Control and Rift abilities, Ethereal's represent the pinnacle of psionic deadliness. Ethereals regenerate health, and an Ethereal who recieves damage from conventional weapons has a chance to reflect the attack, dealing 33% damage to the attacker. The Ethereal's Psionic Lance is a cross between psionic power and weapon. It has no cooldown, and its effectiveness is reduced by Suppression, but it can't be disabled with Disabling Shot.


Base Stats and Difficulty Modifiers
Difficulty	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	Defense	Mobility	Will
Base Stats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Normal	-	-	-10	-	-	-	-
Classic	-	-	-5	-	-	-	-
Brutal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Impossible	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Stat/Perk Progression
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance
Alien Research	Base Damage	HP	Aim	Crit. Chance	DR	Defense	Mobility	Will	Bonus Regen	Perk	Leader Level / Navigator Chance