Difference between revisions of "Alien Missions (Long War)"

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{{Toc (Long War)|55}}
 
{{Toc (Long War)|55}}
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==Overview==
  
 
During the long war against the alien threat, the skies are also part of the battlespace. Aliens will dispatch sorties of UFOs to further their goals during the war, and XCOM may respond in kind by sending out interceptors and the Skyranger to foil their missions in the air or on the ground. In other words, an '''alien mission''' always starts with an UFO sortie.
 
During the long war against the alien threat, the skies are also part of the battlespace. Aliens will dispatch sorties of UFOs to further their goals during the war, and XCOM may respond in kind by sending out interceptors and the Skyranger to foil their missions in the air or on the ground. In other words, an '''alien mission''' always starts with an UFO sortie.
  
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There are eight types of regular alien missions scheduled on a monthly basis. The type of each mission is determined by the [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources the aliens have]], and how [[Threat_(Long_War)|threatening XCOM is perceived to be]]. There are also two special mission types that occur irregularly. All ten mission types are listed and discussed below, followed by a table detailing the scheduling of regular missions.
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There are eight types of regular alien missions scheduled on a monthly basis. The type of each mission is determined by the [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources the aliens have]], and how [[Threat_(Long_War)|threatening XCOM is perceived to be]]. There are also two special mission types that occur irregularly. All ten mission types are listed and discussed below, followed by a table detailing the scheduling of the regular missions.
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The aliens' choice of UFOs is limited by their research and resources, with the actual ship sent on a mission being chosen randomly - with equal probability for each - from the available pool. For example, if the aliens have little resources, then they will randomly send either a Scout or Raider for research; if they have plentiful resources, however, then the large Abductor and Terror Ship will be added to the pool for the same mission. Any damage and casualties sustained by the UFOs will [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)#Cost_of_Repairing_.2F_Replacing_UFOs|cut into the aliens’ resources]], likely limiting their options in the following month.
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The aliens like to focus on countries and continents near their [[Alien Deployment (Long War)#Alien Bases|established bases]]. High panic countries are most likely going to be the target of panic-generating missions, in order to push them over the edge and induce them to withdraw. And they will likely target one continent at the beginning of the game.
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===Mission Scheduling===
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At the beginning of every month, the aliens schedule all of their UFO missions for the month. They determine what missions to do, which countries to do them in, what day and time to do them in, and which UFOs to use.
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Which missions to do are determined according to a table, based on [[Alien Resources (Long War)|resource levels]] and [[Threat (Long War)|perceived XCOM threat]]. See [[Alien Missions (Long War)#Mission Occurrences|Mission Occurrences]], below.
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Which countries to do them in are determined semi-randomly, with each mission type having its own logic. '''Abduction''', '''Command Overwatch''', and '''Infiltrate''' missions always pick countries totally at random; '''Scout''', '''Hunt''', and '''Research''' missions always target a random country with a Satellite; '''Bomb''' and '''Terrorize''' missions target random countries (but prioritize those with already high panic); '''Harvest''' missions target random countries but may reroll if they target a country with a satellite. '''Retaliate''' always targets XCOM bases: it's Interceptor bases or the HQ itself.
  
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The aliens' choice of UFOs is limited by their research and resources, with the actual ship sent on a mission being chosen randomly - with equal probability for each - from the available pool. For example, if the aliens are weak then they will randomly send either a Scout or Raider for research; if they are strong however, then the large Abductor and Terror Ship will be added to the pool for the same mission.  
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What day and time to do them in appears to be completely random. Missions can be scheduled back-to-back or they can be spread out along the length of a month. Always keep a healthy barracks and interceptor bay ready for consecutive ground or air sorties.
  
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Conversely, any damage and casualties sustained by the UFOs will [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)#Cost_of_Repairing_.2F_Replacing_UFOs|cut into the aliens’ resources]], likely limiting their options in the following month.
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''Dynamic War'' changes mission scheduling from vanilla to occur more or less frequently than once per month in order to produce more or less missions, depending on the INI scaling value used.
  
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The aliens have a strategy in Long War, and tend to focus on geographic locations. Expect to fight them the most in the continent where they build their first base. [http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/1692208-take-it-outside/page-13#entry16970104]
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===UFOs Used===
  
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==Resource Costs==
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While some missions have a predetermined UFO or set of UFOs that can appear, many missions select one randomly. Which UFOs are deployed may depend on up to four factors: the mission type in question, the [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|level of resources]] the aliens have, and the [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|level of research]] the aliens have, and randomness. All of this is evaluated at the time the mission is scheduled (beginning of the month for standard campaigns).
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Missions themselves do not require [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|Alien Resources]] to run if left unchallenged, but shooting down or damaging the UFOs conducting them [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)#Cost_of_Repairing_.2F_Replacing_UFOs|''does'' cost the aliens resources]]. Crucially, though, which UFOs are deployed depend indirectly on the [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|alien resources]] as well as the [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|Alien Research]] at the time the mission is scheduled (end of the previous month). Specifically, Aliens add stronger UFOs to a pool if they have sufficient resources, choosing randomly from the pool when the mission is scheduled (with equal probability for each UFO type); Alien Research reduces the amount of resources the Aliens must have for the stronger UFOs to be added to the pool.
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Specifically, many mission types have its own pool of UFOs that it can field, with each UFO in the pool equally likely to be randomly selected. As the aliens gain more resources, additional UFOs can be added to the pool (again, depending on the mission type). And as the aliens gain more research, the resource thresholds required to add these additional UFOs to the pool are decreased. Specifically:
  
 
* If Alien Research > 0, new types require <span style="color:green">100%</span> of their base required resources.
 
* If Alien Research > 0, new types require <span style="color:green">100%</span> of their base required resources.
 
* If Alien Research > 360, new types are possible at <span style="color:orange">72%</span> of required resources.
 
* If Alien Research > 360, new types are possible at <span style="color:orange">72%</span> of required resources.
 
* If Alien Research > 720, new types are possible at <span style="color:red">40%</span> of required resources.
 
* If Alien Research > 720, new types are possible at <span style="color:red">40%</span> of required resources.
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Missions themselves do not require [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|Alien Resources]] to run if left unchallenged, but shooting down or damaging the UFOs conducting them ''does'' cost the aliens resources [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)#Cost_of_Repairing_.2F_Replacing_UFOs|to repair or replace the UFOs]].
  
 
==Mission Types==
 
==Mission Types==
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===Scout===
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A UFO will fly '''low''' and around the target country, attempting to confirm the existence of XCOM satellites there. Successful scouting missions will be '''followed up''' by a new sortie to [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Hunt|hunt]] the compromised satellite. It is possible that the hunting UFO will be stronger or weaker than the scouting one, so the priority to intercept this mission can vary.
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===Individual UFO Sortie===
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Individual UFO sorties are missions conducted by a solitary UFO. Shooting down the UFO (or assaulting it if it lands) is always sufficient to prevent the mission from succeeding. Dealing damage to the UFO sometimes, but not always, can affect the outcome.
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====Scout====
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:Target: Semi-random country with satellite coverage<br>
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:UFO Signature: Low<br>
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:Flight Pattern: Air patrol<br>
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:Success: Spawns a bonus free [[Alien Missions (Long War)#Hunt|Hunt]] mission<br>
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:Failure: Shoot down UFO; also, randomly due to damage, country defense, or bad luck<br>
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:UFO Pool:
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Scout|Scout]] (Small): Always in pool
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]] (Medium): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">50</span> / <span style="color:orange">36</span> / <span style="color:red">20</span> resources
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Destroyer|Destroyer]] (Medium): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">225</span> / <span style="color:orange">162</span> / <span style="color:red">90</span> resources
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]] (Very Large): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">300</span> / <span style="color:orange">216</span> / <span style="color:red">120</span> resources
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A UFO will fly '''low''' and around the target country, attempting to confirm the existence of XCOM satellites there. Successful scouting missions will be '''followed up''' by a new sortie to [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Hunt|hunt]] the compromised satellite. It is possible that the hunting UFO will be stronger or weaker than the scouting one, so the priority to intercept this mission can vary depending on how tough the UFO is; if the UFO sent to scout is tough (e.g. an early game Raider), you could gamble that the UFO being sent to hunt is weak (i.e. a Fighter). Conversely, you could be punished if a Destroyer follows up instead.
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The aliens will prioritize scouting and shooting down satellites over withdrawn '''ex-council-members''', as they have bases in such countries and without a satellite over them XCOM cannot assault it. Next, the aliens prefer downing satellites that protect '''panicking nations''', and in doing so potentially forcing said nations to withdraw XCOM support, and to be controlled by them.
  
 
A scout mission can fail in four ways: 1) the UFO is shot down, 2) the UFO could botch the mission due to sustained damaged, 3) the target country could fend off the mission by itself, or, if all else fails, 4) the UFO could simply get unlucky. The odds of these failures happening are as follows:
 
A scout mission can fail in four ways: 1) the UFO is shot down, 2) the UFO could botch the mission due to sustained damaged, 3) the target country could fend off the mission by itself, or, if all else fails, 4) the UFO could simply get unlucky. The odds of these failures happening are as follows:
  
 
* Downed: ''100%'' - if it's shot down they will always get nothing.
 
* Downed: ''100%'' - if it's shot down they will always get nothing.
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* Damaged: ''(100 - RemainingUFOHP)%'' - this means XCOM can commit less and gamble on merely damaging the UFO.
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* Damaged: ''UFO Damage% x 2'' - this means XCOM can commit less and gamble on merely damaging the UFO; the UFO can be prevented from being able to find the satellite if reduced to 50% of its maximum HP or less.
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* Defended: ''(CountryDefense/2)%'' - the shield representing a country's defense is shown in the Situation Room and is improved by fulfilling their requests; maximum chance is 50% with 100% CountryDefense.
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* Defended: ''([[The_Council_(Long_War)#Requests|Country Defense]] / 2)%'' - the shield representing a country's defense is shown in the Situation Room and is improved by fulfilling their requests; maximum chance is 50% with 100% CountryDefense.
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* Damned: ''(60 - AlienResearch/15)%'' - this means when the aliens have 900 research points, an unfettered scouting mission will always succeed.
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* Damned: ''(60 - [[Alien Research (Long War)|Alien Research]] / 15)%'' - this means when the aliens have 900 research points, an unfettered scouting mission will always succeed.
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The aliens will '''always''' send ''at least three scouting sorties per month'', and more if they have resources to spare and perceive XCOM to be a credible threat, up to a maximum of ''six sorties per month''. So long as the aliens don't have enough resources to field a battleship, Scout missions will comprise a sizeable proportion of your monthly income.
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====Hunt====
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:Target: Semi-random country with satellite coverage
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:UFO Signature: High w/ purple strobe effect
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:Flight Pattern: Air patrol
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:Success: Satellite is downed
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:Failure: Shoot down, or randomly due to damage
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:UFOs:
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Fighter|Fighter]] (Small): Always in pool
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]] (Medium): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">100</span> / <span style="color:orange">72</span> / <span style="color:red">40</span> resources
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Destroyer|Destroyer]] (Medium): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">100</span> / <span style="color:orange">72</span> / <span style="color:red">40</span> resources & > 75 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|alien research]]
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]] (Very Large): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">225</span> / <span style="color:orange">162</span> / <span style="color:red">90</span> resources & > 75 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|alien research]]
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A UFO will fly at '''high''' altitude over a previously scouted satellite-covered country, seeking to destroy the satellite. A Scout mission, if successful, is always ''immediately'' followed up by a Hunt mission, with a potentially different UFO. Thus, if a Scout mission presents you with a tougher UFO than you can handle, you can gamble on the followup Hunt mission being easier. Likewise, fail to shoot down an easy Scout mission and you could get a much tougher Hunt mission.
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Much like with Scout missions, aliens will prioritize getting rid of satellites over withdrawn '''ex-council-members''', as they have bases in such countries and without a satellite over them XCOM cannot assault it. Next, the aliens prefer satellites that protect '''panicking nations''', and in doing so potentially forcing said nations to withdraw XCOM support, and to be controlled by them.
  
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The aliens will '''always''' send ''at least three scouting sorties per month'', and more if they have resources to spare and perceive XCOM to be a credible threat, up to a maximum of ''six sorties per month''.
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Successful hunts will destroy the [[Air_Combat_(Long_War)#Aircraft|satellite]] in question, setting XCOM back about §200 in replacement costs and removing the associated [[The_Council_(Long_War)#Country_satellite_bonuses|country satellite bonus]]. The base chance of success is 60%, or 90% on the second pass (30%/50% respectively if [[Foundry (Long War)#Aerospace Improvements|Stealth Satellites]] is researched). Damage sustained by the UFO will reduce this chance further, with 50% or less HP leading to an automatic failure. Pertinent to this, a 50% HP UFO will start '''flaring up''' in the aerial combat screen, as if it was being hit by multiple missiles continuously. When this happens, XCOM can order their interceptor to disengage if need be, preventing further risks while stopping the hunt mission.
  
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UFO Pool:
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The loss of satellite in question imposes a hidden but potentially far more important cost as well: while the satellite coverage is down, all '''Research''', '''Harvest''', and '''Bomb''' missions that were otherwise scheduled for that target country automatically succeed, and XCOM is robbed of the opportunity to recover materials from any '''Scout''' or '''Hunt''' missions that were scheduled to target that country as well. Research, Scout, and Hunt missions account for a very large portion of your monthly income in a campaign, as they normally always target satellite-controlled countries (regardless of how many satellites you have). Particularly in the early months, when you don't have much satellite coverage and the vast majority of such missions are concentrated on 1-3 countries, the loss of a single such countries satellite can set you back a ton of resources and XP for your soldiers.
  
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Scout|Scout]]: Always in pool
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Note that the Aliens intelligence on your satellites is abstracted somewhat, and Hunt missions can randomly spawn without immediately being preceded by a successful Scout mission. These can only be scheduled if XCOM is seen as a threat (2+ threat) and depending on the amount of resources the aliens have this may be only a 50% chance to see one at all. The more threatening XCOM is and the more resources the aliens have, the more direct hunt missions are sent, up to a maximum of four per month.
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">50</span> / <span style="color:orange">36</span> / <span style="color:red">20</span> resources
 
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Destroyer|Destroyer]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">225</span> / <span style="color:orange">162</span> / <span style="color:red">90</span> resources
 
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">300</span> / <span style="color:orange">216</span> / <span style="color:red">120</span> resources
 
  
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===Hunt===
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====Research====
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A UFO will fly at '''high''' altitude over a previously scouted satellite-covered country, seeking to destroy the satellite.
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:Target: Random country with satellite coverage
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:UFO Signature: NoE
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:Flight Pattern: Landing
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:Success: If UFO takes off after landing - awards [[Alien Research (Long War)|research]] to aliens
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:Failure: Shoot down or assault UFO (unaffected by damage)
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:UFO Pool:
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Scout|Scout]] (Small): Always in pool; generates +3 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|research]] if allowed to take off
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]] (Medium): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">75</span> / <span style="color:orange">54</span> / <span style="color:red">30</span> resources; generates +5 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|research]] if allowed to take off
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Abductor|Abductor]] (Large): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">125</span> / <span style="color:orange">90</span> / <span style="color:red">50</span> resources; generates +8 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|research]] if allowed to take off
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Terror_Ship|Terror Ship]] (Large): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">250</span> / <span style="color:orange">180</span> / <span style="color:red">100</span> resources; generates +10 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|research]] if allowed to take off
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]] (Very Large): Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">300</span> / <span style="color:orange">216</span> / <span style="color:red">120</span> resources; generates +?? [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|research]] if allowed to take off
  
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The aliens will prioritize getting rid of satellites over withdrawn '''ex-council-members''', as they have bases in such countries and without a satellite over them XCOM cannot assault it. Next, the aliens prefer satellites that protect '''panicking nations''', and in doing so potentially forcing said nations to withdraw XCOM support, and to be controlled by them.
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A UFO will fly '''NOE''', '''land''' for a while, and then fly off. These missions are always conducted within regions that XCOM maintains a Satellite presence, and mission will grant the aliens [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|research]] if successful, which will slowly but '''permanently''' increase the capabilities of their ground troops and UFOs; the quantity of research earned is directly proportional to the quality and size of the UFO used to conduct them.
  
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Successful hunts will destroy the satellite in question. The base chance of success is 60%, or 90% on the second pass (30%/50% respectively if [[Foundry (Long War)#Aerospace Improvements|Stealth Satellites]] is researched). Damage sustained by the UFO will reduce this chance further, with 50% or less HP leading to an automatic failure. Pertinent to this, a 50% HP UFO will start '''flaring up''' in the aerial combat screen, as if it was being hit by multiple missiles continuously. When this happens, XCOM can order their interceptor to disengage if need be, preventing further risks while stopping the hunt mission.
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To stop the aliens, simply allow the UFO in question to land, and assault it; you'll prevent them from gaining any research if you manage to succeed, and you'll make out with a large amount of resources from the intact UFO. Shooting down the UFO is not necessary and even counterproductive, as it reduces the number of corpses, materials, and XP you can harvest. That said, when assaulting UFOs that have successfully landed, always be wary of [[Threat (Long War)#Trap UFOs|trapped UFOs]]: such UFOs can have massive increases in the number of aliens that crew them, proportional to the amount of UFOs XCOM has shot down so far this month. Shooting down the UFO does stop it from being a trap, so it's an option, but you're robbing yourself of lots of resources, corpses, and kill XP by doing so.
  
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Note that the Aliens intelligence on your satellites is abstracted somewhat, and Hunt missions can randomly spawn without immediately being preceded by a successful Scout mission. This will only occur if XCOM is seen as a threat. The more threatening XCOM is and the more resources the aliens have, the more direct hunt mission is sent, up to a maximum of four per month.
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If the aliens have no resources (<50 resources) to spare, the aliens will never schedule research missions; conversely, if they already have too many resources (200+ resources), then the maximum amount of research missions will be scheduled (three per month). Otherwise, the aliens will adjust the amount of research mission attempts depending on XCOM’s threat level and the amount their resources. If the aliens do not recognize XCOM as a real threat, they will be content with the tech they are currently fielding, thus will carry out fewer research missions; but as XCOM is perceived to be more threatening, the aliens will try to keep up via research as much as they can afford it.
  
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UFO Pool:
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====Harvest====
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:Target: Semi-random country (priority: unprotected by satellites)
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:UFO Signature: NoE
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:Flight Pattern: Landing
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:Success: UFO takes off after landing - awards [[Alien Resources (Long War)|resources]] to aliens
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:Failure: Shoot down or assault UFO (unaffected by damage)
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:UFO Pool:
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Transport|Transport]] (Large): always in pool; generates +37-40 [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources]] for the aliens
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Harvester|Harvester]] (Large): Aliens must have > 75 resources; generates +27-30 [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources]] for the aliens
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]] (Medium): Aliens must have > 125 resources; generates +17-20 [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources]] for the aliens
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:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Scout|Scout]] (Small): Aliens must have > 225 resources; generates +10-14 [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources]] for the aliens
  
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Fighter|Fighter]]: Always in pool
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A UFO will fly '''NOE and land''' in a randomly selected country. An unimpeded harvest grants the aliens [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources]], which will allow the aliens to field more missions per month as well as use greater quality UFOs.
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">100</span> / <span style="color:orange">72</span> / <span style="color:red">40</span> resources
 
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Destroyer|Destroyer]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">100</span> / <span style="color:orange">72</span> / <span style="color:red">40</span> resources & > 75 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|alien research]]
 
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">225</span> / <span style="color:orange">162</span> / <span style="color:red">90</span> resources & > 75 [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|alien research]]
 
  
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===Research===
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Harvest missions are one of the few UFO missions in the game (alongside Bombing missions) that can be fully completed without XCOMs knowledge or awareness, and thus XCOM may not have an opportunity to prevent them from succeeding. In addition to picking the country entirely at random, they also tend to avoid locations in which XCOM has satellite coverage. Specifically, if the targeted country has a satellite, there is a 10% chance for every 2 full points of [[Threat_(Long_War)|of threat]] (i.e. 0% at 0-1, 10% at 2-3, 20% at 4-5, 30% at 6-7, and a max of 40% at 8+) that the aliens will re-roll the target country to one without satellite coverage, paying a flat 5 [[Alien Resources (Long War)|resources]] in the process. This represents the power projected by a strong XCOM forcing the aliens to settle for sub-optimal harvests. As the aliens' first choice for harvest is randomized, more satellite coverage means a higher chance that the aliens need to waste resource to even start a harvest mission.
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A UFO will fly '''NOE''', '''land''' for a while, and then fly off. These missions are always conducted within regions that XCOM maintains a Satellite presence, and mission will grant the aliens [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|research]] if successful, which will slowly but '''permanently''' increase the capabilities of their ground troops and UFOs.
 
  
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If the aliens have no resource (0/4) to spare, the aliens will never undertake research missions; conversely, if they already have too many resources (4/4), then the maximum amount of research missions will be performed (three per month.) Otherwise, the aliens will adjust the amount of research mission attempts depending on XCOM’s threat level and the amount their resources. If the aliens do not recognize XCOM as a real threat, they will be content with the tech they are currently fielding, thus will not carry out research missions; but as XCOM is perceived to be more threatening, the aliens will try to keep up via research as much as they can afford it.
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If you manage to detect the UFO, you can assault it after it lands, preventing the aliens from obtaining the resources and bringing home a large haul of materials, more than you would for a crashed UFO. That said, always be wary of [[Threat (Long War)#Trap UFOs|trapped UFOs]]: such UFOs can have massive increases in the number of aliens that crew them, proportional to the amount of UFOs XCOM has shot down so far this month. Shooting down the UFO does stop it from being a trap, so it's an option, but you're robbing yourself of lots of resources, corpses, and kill XP by doing so.
  
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UFO Pool:
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Note also that the UFO pool for harvest missions becomes ''less'' threatening the more resources the aliens, and isn't affected by higher [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|Alien Research]]; this is the opposite of all other missions with random UFO pools. As a result, it's entirely possible (albeit unlikely) to see a [[UFOs (Long War)#Transport|Transport]] carrying 30+ aliens in the first few months; it's also entirely possible to defeat this mission, even in March, but attempting this isn't recommended for newer players - it will be very long, extremely difficult and potentially require some degree of luck and/or cheese tactics. You could also encounter some Harvest missions in the midgame, but again it is less likely as you will likely be threatening enough for the aliens to try and reroll, though completing landed Transports and Harvesters is entirely possible and recommended if you want to snowball. Only when you've got the majority of the globe covered should you expect to be able to routinely disrupt alien Harvest missions, but at that point the aliens will have [[Alien Deployment (Long War)#Alien Bases|alien bases]] and a [[Alien Resources (Long War)#Minimum_Monthly_Resources|monthly free minimum amount]] of resources to sustain them.
  
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Scout|Scout]]: Always in pool
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The aliens' tendency to perform harvest missions is the exact reverse to their tendencies to send out research missions. If the aliens have minimal resources (<50 resources), then a maximum amount of harvest mission is attempted (three per month); if they have too many resources (200+), then no harvest will occur. Additionally, the aliens also prefer doing harvests when they are not threatened; in the presence of a strong XCOM they prefer more aggressive missions instead.
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* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">75</span> / <span style="color:orange">54</span> / <span style="color:red">30</span> resources
 
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Abductor|Abductor]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">125</span> / <span style="color:orange">90</span> / <span style="color:red">50</span> resources
 
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Terror_Ship|Terror Ship]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">250</span> / <span style="color:orange">180</span> / <span style="color:red">100</span> resources
 
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">300</span> / <span style="color:orange">216</span> / <span style="color:red">120</span> resources
 
  
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===Harvest===
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====Bomb====
−
A UFO will fly '''NOE and land''' in a randomly selected country. An unimpeded harvest grants the aliens [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|resources]], which will allow the aliens to field UFOs in ''greater quantity and quality''.
+
:Target: Semi-random country (priority: high panic)
 +
:UFO Signature: NoE w/ purple strobe effect
 +
:Flight Pattern: Air patrol
 +
:Success: Generates up to 10 panic in target country (reduced by % damage dealt)
 +
:Failure: Shoot down UFO
 +
:UFO Pool:
 +
:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Fighter|Fighter]]: Always in pool
 +
:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Destroyer|Destroyer]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">75</span> / <span style="color:orange">54</span> / <span style="color:red">30</span> resources
 +
:* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">175</span> / <span style="color:orange">126</span> / <span style="color:red">70</span> resources
  
−
If the targeted country has a satellite, there is a 12.5% chance per [[Threat_(Long_War)|XCOM threat level]] (up to 50% at level 4) that the aliens will re-roll its target once and will pay a price in the process. This represents the power projected by a strong XCOM forcing the aliens to settle for sub-optimal harvests. As the aliens' first choice for harvest is randomized, more satellite coverage means a higher chance that the aliens need to waste resource to even start a harvest mission.
+
A UFO will fly '''NOE''' and around the target area bombing civilians, generating up to 10 panic in the target country if successful. Uniquely, this is one of the few NOE mission types that doesn't land, and the '''only''' way to completely stop it is to shoot the bombing UFO down; although, damaging the UFO will reduce the amount of panic created at the end of its mission. An unfettered air raid generates 8 panic in the country raided, with damage to the UFO reducing the panic proportionally; half-damaged means half panic, and a shoot down means no panic. An additional 2 panic is added, if the UFO is ignored.
  
−
The aliens' tendency to perform harvest missions is the exact reverse to their tendencies to send out research missions. If the aliens have minimal resources (0/4), then a maximum amount of harvest mission is attempted (three per month); if they have too many resources (4/4), then no harvest will occur. Otherwise, the aliens will harvest more when they are shorter on resource.
+
Bombing missions, like Harvest missions, are one of the few UFO missions in the game that can be completed without XCOMs knowledge and awareness, and thus XCOM may not have an opportunity to prevent them from succeeding. Bombing missions pick countries at random, and without satellite coverage over a country, XCOM will not be able to see and engage the UFO. Successful bombing missions will be reported in the scrolling news ticker of the [[Situation Room (Long War)|Situation Room]], however. In the early and mid game, there will likely be one or two bombing missions per month taking place in countries you have no satellite presence in, and so expanding your satellite coverage can help you earn some additional resources and XP from the shoot downs and prevent panic from spreading.
−
Additionally, the aliens also prefer doing harvests when they are not threatened; in the presence of a strong XCOM they prefer more aggressive missions instead.
 
  
−
UFO Pool:
+
The aliens will send out more bombing missions if they have spare resource and perceive XCOM as a threat; both more resources and more threat will cause the aliens to engage in more bombing campaigns. With maximum resource and threat level they will conduct three bombing missions per month. The only exception to this trend is when the aliens have maximum resources and completely unthreatened, in which case they will divert more of all those resources into bombing missions, spawning four per month instead.
  
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Transport|Transport]]: always in pool
+
====Abduction====
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Harvester|Harvester]]: Aliens must have > 75 resources
+
:Target: Random country
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Raider|Raider]]: Aliens must have > 125 resources
+
:UFO Signature: NoE
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Scout|Scout]]: Aliens must have > 225 resources
+
:Flight Pattern: Landing
 +
:Success: UFO arrives at destination - spawns an [[Missions (Long War)#Alien Abductions|Abduction]] mission.
 +
:Failure: Shoot down UFO (unaffected by damage)
 +
:UFO: [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Abductor|Abductor]]
  
−
Note that the UFO pool for harvest missions becomes ''less'' threatening the more resources the aliens have, and isn't affected by higher [[Alien_Research_(Long_War)|Alien Research]] as others do.
+
An [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Abductor|Abductor]] will fly '''NOE''' to the target area and generate an [[Missions (Long War)#Alien Abductions|Abduction site]], giving you an opportunity to defeat the alien ground forces in exchange for a cash bonus from the Council. A successful abduction will increase panic in the country by 25, and panic across the continent by 20 (in all difficulties but normal). Thwarting the abduction will decrease panic in the country by 2.
  
−
===Bomb===
+
The true motivations behind these abductions are not made clear; it doesn't increase alien research, nor does it gain them any resources, and it certainly isn't the most efficient way to spread panic compared to [[Alien Missions (Long War)#Terrorize|Terror Missions]] if it's about strategic warfare. Treat it as a good way to get some cash, corpses, and XP.
−
A UFO will fly '''NOE''' and around the target area bombing civilians. This mission will cause a lot of panic if successful. Uniquely, this is one of the few NOE mission types that doesn't land, and the '''only''' way to completely stop it is to shoot the bombing UFO down; although, damaging the UFO will reduce the amount of panic created at the end of its mission. An unfettered air raid generates 8 panic in the country raided. An additional 2 panic is added, if the UFO is ignored.
 
  
−
The aliens will send out more bombing missions if they have spare resource and perceive XCOM as a threat. With maximum resource and threat level they will conduct three bombing missions per month. The only exception to this trend is when the aliens have maximum resources and completely unthreatened, in which case they will divert more of all those resources into bombing missions, spawning four per month instead.
+
In many ways abduction is the least aggressive mission type; perhaps due to this, the aliens will scale back on abduction attempts somewhat if they feel threatened by XCOM, and especially if they have low resources (<50), down to a minimum of 2 per month. Conversely, moderate resource values (100+) can allow them to hit a cap of up to 5 Abductions per month at low threat (0-1), and high resources (200+) can allow them to maintain 4-5 Abductions even in the face of a highly threatening XCOM (8+).
  
−
UFO Pool:
+
===Command Overwatch===
 +
:Target: Random country
 +
:UFO Signature: Low w/ Blue Colored UFO
 +
:Flight Pattern: Air Patrol
 +
:UFO: [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Overseer|Overseer]]
  
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Fighter|Fighter]]: Always in pool
+
This is a special mission. An [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Overseer|Overseer]] will fly '''low''' around the target area. This mission does not do anything for the aliens, and its only purpose is to allow XCOM the opportunity to shoot down an Overseer to continue the story. It only technically spawns after the [[Hyperwave Relay (Long War)]] is first constructed, as the Overseer is invisible to XCOM without it.
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Destroyer|Destroyer]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">75</span> / <span style="color:orange">54</span> / <span style="color:red">30</span> resources
 
−
* [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]]: Aliens must have > <span style="color:green">175</span> / <span style="color:orange">126</span> / <span style="color:red">70</span> resources
 
  
−
===Abduction===
+
===Multiple UFO Sortie===
−
An [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Abductor|Abductor]] will fly '''NOE''' to the target area and generate an [[Missions (Long War)#Alien Abductions|Abduction site]]. A successful abduction will increase panic in the country by 25, and panic across the continent by 20 (in all difficulties but normal). Thwarting the abduction will decrease panic in the country by 2.
 
  
−
The true motivations behind these abductions are not made clear; it doesn't increase alien research, nor does it gain them any resources, and it certainly isn't the most efficient way to spread panic if it's about strategic warfare.
+
Multiple UFO sorties are individual missions that involve multiple UFOs working in concert. To prevent the mission from succeeding, a specific UFO must be shot down, though the other UFOs may cause problems in the mean time.
  
−
In many ways abduction is the least aggressive mission type; perhaps due to this, the aliens will scale back on abduction attempts if they feel threatened by XCOM. But the aliens still dispatch more abduction missions if they have more resources, up to a maximum of 5 per month while unthreatened with max resources. Conversely, if the aliens are short on resources, and deem XCOM to be a priority, only a minimal 2 abductions per month is attempted.
+
====Terrorize Populace====
 +
:Target: Semi-random country (priority: high panic)
 +
:Sortie: Terror Ship (Air Patrol) + Assault Carrier (Landing)
 +
:Success: Assault Carrier arrives at destination - spawns an [[Missions (Long War)#Terror Site|Terror]] mission.
 +
:Failure: Shoot down Assault Carrier (unaffected by damage)
  
−
===Terrorize Populace===
+
This is a double sortie mission: At first, a [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Terror_Ship|Terror Ship]] will fly '''NOE''' and hover over the target nation scouting and planning for the actual mission (and giving XCOM some advanced warning). After a week or two an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]] will fly '''NOE''' to the target area and finally generate a [[Missions (Long War)#Terror Site|Terror site]]. This means anyone with satellite coverage and interested in stopping the mission will have plenty of time to set up, though actually executing that is a different matter entirely.
−
This is a double sortie mission: At first, a [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Terror_Ship|Terror Ship]] will fly '''NOE''' and hover over the target nation scouting and planning for the actual mission. After a week or two an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]] will fly '''NOE''' to the target area and finally generate a [[Missions (Long War)#Terror Site|Terror site]]. This means anyone with satellite coverage and interested in stopping the mission will have plenty of time to set up, though actually executing that is a different matter entirely.
 
  
−
The aliens will terrorize the most panicked nation within the same continent as an alien base roughly 85% of the time, seeking to push them over the edge. Terror missions increase panic by +3 in the targeted country/+1 continent-wide per civilian killed, so these missions are always highly likely to see at least some benefit for the aliens. Losing or ignoring the mission, however, will cause the immediate construction of an Alien Base in the country, and increase panic continent-wide by 20.
+
The aliens will terrorize the most panicked nation within the same continent as an alien base roughly 85% of the time, seeking to push them over the edge. Terror missions increase panic by +3 in the targeted country/+1 continent-wide per civilian killed, so these missions are always highly likely to see at least some benefit for the aliens. Losing or ignoring the mission, however, will cause the country to immediately leave the XCOM project, and increase panic continent-wide by 20.
  
−
There are only two ways to completely foil this kind of terrorism: by saving every single civilian during the engagement, or by shooting down the [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]] before it could even deploy. Neither of these scenarios are likely to happen, and will probably be cost prohibitive to even try. Only an exceptionally advanced and exceedingly experienced XCOM can pull either option off agreeably. Otherwise the best a commander can do is to minimize the damage and make up for it elsewhere.
+
There are only two ways to completely foil this kind of terrorism: by saving every single civilian during the engagement, or by shooting down the [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]] before it arrives. Neither of these scenarios are likely to happen most of the time, and will probably be cost prohibitive to even try. Only an exceptionally advanced and exceedingly experienced XCOM can pull either option off. Otherwise the best a commander can do is to minimize the damage and make up for it elsewhere: countries that leave the XCOM project due to panic or failed terror missions can eventually be returned to the fold if XCOM manages to locate and [[Missions (Long War)#Alien Base Assault|assault]] the [[Alien Deployment (Long War)#Alien Bases|alien base]] installed within the country.
  
−
Nonetheless, terror missions are quite costly for the aliens as well. In fact, they cannot even afford it when they have the minimal level of resources. Otherwise they will always conduct ''one'' such mission per month, at the very least. In the presence of a threatening XCOM, the aliens will try to scrounge up enough resource to deploy a ''second'' terror mission per month. This means unfortunate commanders may see four terror missions near the turn of the month, as the scheduled missions are stacked at the end of the current month and beginning of the next. Though one can prevent such an onslaught by depriving the aliens of resources which they desperately need for this kind of strategy.
+
Terror missions are quite costly for the aliens as well. In fact, they cannot even afford it when they have the minimal level of resources (<50 resources). Otherwise they will always conduct ''one'' such mission per month, at the very least. In the presence of a threatening XCOM (6+ threat), the aliens will try to scrounge up enough resource to deploy a ''second'' terror mission per month, at the expense of other missions. This means unfortunate commanders may see four terror missions near the turn of the month, as the scheduled missions could be stacked at the end of the current month and beginning of the next by random chance.
  
 
Shooting down the forward scouting [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Terror_Ship|Terror Ship]] doesn't actually hinder the scheduled mission in any way. However, it's a lot easier to achieve, and it forces the aliens to pay dearly in resource cost for each such Terror attack they perform. In addition, it will grant XCOM a lot of looted resource and battlefield experience if the downed terror ship is successfully raided. It may not stop the looming terror attack, but it may very well help in the future.
 
Shooting down the forward scouting [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Terror_Ship|Terror Ship]] doesn't actually hinder the scheduled mission in any way. However, it's a lot easier to achieve, and it forces the aliens to pay dearly in resource cost for each such Terror attack they perform. In addition, it will grant XCOM a lot of looted resource and battlefield experience if the downed terror ship is successfully raided. It may not stop the looming terror attack, but it may very well help in the future.
  
 
===Infiltrate===
 
===Infiltrate===
−
A [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]] and [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Transport|Transport]] will fly around the target area, followed by an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Overseer|Overseer]] inserting in to the target city. This mission will cause the target country to leave XCOM immediately if successful. Note that the final Overseer can only be detected if XCOM has the Hyperwave Decoder, so without one the country will appear to leave for no reason.
+
:Target: Random country
 +
:Sortie: Transport (Air Patrol) + Battleship (Air Patrol) + Overseer (Landing)
 +
:Success: Overseer arrives at destination - Country leaves the XCOM project and an [[Alien Deployment (Long War)#Alien Bases|Alien Base]] is Constructed.
 +
:Failure: Shoot down Overseer (unaffected by damage)
 +
 
 +
A [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Battleship|Battleship]] and [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Transport|Transport]] will fly around the target area, followed by an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Overseer|Overseer]] inserting in to the target city. This mission will cause the target country to leave XCOM immediately if successful, and the aliens will construct [[Alien Deployment (Long War)#Alien Bases|a base]] in the target country. This base can be [[Missions (Long War)#Alien Base Assault|assaulted by XCOM]], which in addition to providing large amounts of resources for the war effort will allow the country in question to return to XCOM and resume its financial and material support of the XCOM project. Note that the Overseer can only be detected if XCOM has the [[Hyperwave Relay (Long War)|Hyperwave Relay]], so without one the country will appear to leave for no reason.
  
−
This is a very expensive option for the aliens, and as such they can only afford it with maximal resource available. And even then, the aliens won't yet try if XCOM is perceived to be too threatening, being too focused on hunting down XCOM satellites instead.
+
The aliens will always perform this at least once in a campaign, in the very first month (constructing the plot-necessary guaranteed minimum of at least one Alien Base for you to assault in order to progress the main story missions); they will always select a country in a continent that is not your starting country. Following the first month, this is a very expensive option for the aliens, and as such they can only afford it if they have maximal resources (200+ resources), and only when they're not too distracted dealing with XCOM (<8 threat).
  
 
===Retaliation===
 
===Retaliation===
−
This is a special mission. An UFO will fly to your main base or to one of your interceptor bases and immediately start an [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Base Defense|XCOM Base Defense]] mission or an [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Air Base Defense|Air Base Defense]] mission.
+
:Target: XCOM HQ or Continental Interceptor Base
−
 
+
:Sortie:
−
Aliens usually send an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]] to main base assaults. The aliens can only field [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Base Defense|XCOM Base Defenses]] if they have a lot of resources and they consider XCOM a high threat; specifically, for every 3 months (not necessarily in a row) that the aliens are at maximum threat level (4) and maximum resource level (4), an [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Base Defense|XCOM Base Defense]] will spawn. Additionally, if XCOM has yet to encounter a base defense yet in the campaign, one will always occur exactly one year into the campaign in March.
+
::XCOM HQ: Battleship ([[Alien Missions (Long War)#Hunt|Hunt]]) + Assault Carrier (Landing)
 +
::Interceptor Base: Overseer (Landing)
 +
:Success: UFO arrives at destination - spawns an [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Base Defense|XCOM HQ]] or [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Air Base Defense|Air Base]] defense mission.
 +
:Failure: Shoot down landing craft (unaffected by damage)
  
−
If the aliens win a base defense it will damage resources and kill personnel - but it is not the end of the game, and can be recovered from. XCOM will lose the following resources on a failure:
+
This is a special mission. An UFO will fly to your main base (or to one of your continental interceptor bases) and immediately start an [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Base Defense|XCOM Base Defense]] mission (or an [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Air Base Defense|Air Base Defense]] mission).
  
−
* 450-550 cash
+
Aliens send an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Assault_Carrier|Assault Carrier]] to XCOM HQ Assaults. The aliens can only field such missions if they have a lot of resources and they consider XCOM a high threat; specifically, for every 3 months (not necessarily in a row) that the aliens are at the maximum threat (8+) and maximum resource (200+) tiers, an [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Base Defense|XCOM Base Defense]] will spawn. Additionally, if XCOM has yet to encounter a base defense yet in the campaign, one will always occur exactly one year into the campaign in March.
−
* 50-60 alloys
 
−
* 50-60 elerium
 
−
* 100-110 meld
 
−
* 20-30 scientists (capped to 1/3 of current staff)
 
−
* 20-30 engineers (capped to 1/3 of current staff)
 
−
* all alien captives
 
−
* interceptor damage
 
  
 
For Air Base assaults, aliens will send an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Overseer|Overseer]]. The cost of failure of these missions is the destruction and/or severe damage of all stationed interceptors. [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Air Base Defense|Air Base Defenses]] are much cheaper, and have a chance to trigger every month that Aliens have at least threat level 3 and resource level 3. Air Defenses missions only begin spawning after XCOM constructs its first [[Air_Combat_(Long_War)#Aircraft|Firestorm]] interceptor.
 
For Air Base assaults, aliens will send an [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Overseer|Overseer]]. The cost of failure of these missions is the destruction and/or severe damage of all stationed interceptors. [[Missions (Long War)#XCOM Air Base Defense|Air Base Defenses]] are much cheaper, and have a chance to trigger every month that Aliens have at least threat level 3 and resource level 3. Air Defenses missions only begin spawning after XCOM constructs its first [[Air_Combat_(Long_War)#Aircraft|Firestorm]] interceptor.
  
−
===Command Overwatch===
+
==Mission Occurrences==
−
This is a special mission. An [[UFOs_(Long_War)#Overseer|Overseer]] will fly '''low''' around the target area. This mission does not do anything for the aliens, and its only purpose is to allow XCOM the opportunity to shoot down an Overseer to continue the story.
+
At the beginning of each calendar month, aliens plan all missions to be carried out that month based on their [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|current resource level]] and perceived [[Threat_(Long War)#Threat_Category|XCOM threat level]]. Most monthly missions are directly dependent upon these two variables, with two exceptions: [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Command_Overwatch|Command Overwatch]] and [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Retaliation|Retaliation]] (see below). Note that if an [[Missions (Long War)#Alien Base Assault|Alien Base]] was raided in the previous month, ''threat is automatically treated as being in the highest tier (8+) for the purposes of mission scheduling''.
−
 
 
−
==Mission Occurences==
 
−
At the beginning of each calendar month, aliens plan all missions to be carried out that month based on their [[Alien_Resources_(Long_War)|current resource level]] and perceived [[Threat_(Long War)#Threat_Category|XCOM threat level]]. Most monthly missions are directly dependent upon these two variables, with two exceptions: [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Command_Overwatch|Command Overwatch]] and [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Retaliation|Retaliation]] (see below).
 
  
 
===Common Missions===
 
===Common Missions===
−
The following table indicates which missions the aliens will plan to run at the beginning of each month, given the aliens current [[Alien Resources (Long War)|Resource counter]] at the beginning of the month and the [[Threat (Long War)|Threat counter]] XCOM's anti-UFO operations accrued last month. If a range is provided, i.e. 3-4 of a mission, each possibility (either 3 or 4) is equally likely.
+
The following table indicates which missions the aliens will plan to run at the beginning of each month, given the aliens current [[Alien Resources (Long War)|Resource counter]] at the beginning of the month and the [[Threat (Long War)|Threat counter]] XCOM's anti-UFO operations accrued last month. Resources and Threat are divided into 5 "tiers" each, and the intersection between those two levels determines the monthly missions.
  
−
Note that if an [[Missions (Long War)#Alien Base Assault|Alien Base]] was raided in the previous month, threat is automatically set to the highest level (i.e. the final 8+ column is used).
+
If a range is provided for the number of missions run, i.e. 3-4 Abductions, each possibility (either 3 or 4) is equally likely.
  
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
Line 170: Line 244:
  
 
===Retaliation Mission===
 
===Retaliation Mission===
−
Once three (3) months have passed (not necessarily in a row) in which the aliens have both 200+ resources and 8+ threat, a [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Retaliation|Retaliation]] mission [[Missions_(Long_War)#XCOM_Base_Defense|targeting XCOM headquarters]] will be generated at some point in the month. Furthermore, if no XCOM Base Defense mission has occurred yet in the campaign so far, one will automatically happen in March of the 2nd year.
+
Once three (3) months have passed (not necessarily in a row) in which the aliens have both 200+ resources and 8+ threat, a [[Alien_Missions_(Long_War)#Retaliation|Retaliation]] mission [[Missions_(Long_War)#XCOM_Base_Defense|targeting XCOM headquarters]] will be generated in the month. Furthermore, if no XCOM Base Defense mission has occurred yet in the campaign so far, one will automatically happen in March of the 2nd year.
  
 
Strikes against [[Missions_(Long_War)#XCOM_Air_Base_Defense|XCOM's continental interceptor bases]] occur more frequently, with a chance each month starting at 150+ resources and 6+ threat once XCOM has constructed it's first [[Air_Combat_(Long_War)#Aircraft|Firestorm]].
 
Strikes against [[Missions_(Long_War)#XCOM_Air_Base_Defense|XCOM's continental interceptor bases]] occur more frequently, with a chance each month starting at 150+ resources and 6+ threat once XCOM has constructed it's first [[Air_Combat_(Long_War)#Aircraft|Firestorm]].

Revision as of 05:18, 4 November 2021

Overview

During the long war against the alien threat, the skies are also part of the battlespace. Aliens will dispatch sorties of UFOs to further their goals during the war, and XCOM may respond in kind by sending out interceptors and the Skyranger to foil their missions in the air or on the ground. In other words, an alien mission always starts with an UFO sortie.

There are eight types of regular alien missions scheduled on a monthly basis. The type of each mission is determined by the resources the aliens have, and how threatening XCOM is perceived to be. There are also two special mission types that occur irregularly. All ten mission types are listed and discussed below, followed by a table detailing the scheduling of the regular missions.

The aliens' choice of UFOs is limited by their research and resources, with the actual ship sent on a mission being chosen randomly - with equal probability for each - from the available pool. For example, if the aliens have little resources, then they will randomly send either a Scout or Raider for research; if they have plentiful resources, however, then the large Abductor and Terror Ship will be added to the pool for the same mission. Any damage and casualties sustained by the UFOs will cut into the aliens’ resources, likely limiting their options in the following month.

The aliens like to focus on countries and continents near their established bases. High panic countries are most likely going to be the target of panic-generating missions, in order to push them over the edge and induce them to withdraw. And they will likely target one continent at the beginning of the game.

Mission Scheduling

At the beginning of every month, the aliens schedule all of their UFO missions for the month. They determine what missions to do, which countries to do them in, what day and time to do them in, and which UFOs to use.

Which missions to do are determined according to a table, based on resource levels and perceived XCOM threat. See Mission Occurrences, below.

Which countries to do them in are determined semi-randomly, with each mission type having its own logic. Abduction, Command Overwatch, and Infiltrate missions always pick countries totally at random; Scout, Hunt, and Research missions always target a random country with a Satellite; Bomb and Terrorize missions target random countries (but prioritize those with already high panic); Harvest missions target random countries but may reroll if they target a country with a satellite. Retaliate always targets XCOM bases: it's Interceptor bases or the HQ itself.

What day and time to do them in appears to be completely random. Missions can be scheduled back-to-back or they can be spread out along the length of a month. Always keep a healthy barracks and interceptor bay ready for consecutive ground or air sorties.

Dynamic War changes mission scheduling from vanilla to occur more or less frequently than once per month in order to produce more or less missions, depending on the INI scaling value used.

UFOs Used

While some missions have a predetermined UFO or set of UFOs that can appear, many missions select one randomly. Which UFOs are deployed may depend on up to four factors: the mission type in question, the level of resources the aliens have, and the level of research the aliens have, and randomness. All of this is evaluated at the time the mission is scheduled (beginning of the month for standard campaigns).

Specifically, many mission types have its own pool of UFOs that it can field, with each UFO in the pool equally likely to be randomly selected. As the aliens gain more resources, additional UFOs can be added to the pool (again, depending on the mission type). And as the aliens gain more research, the resource thresholds required to add these additional UFOs to the pool are decreased. Specifically:

  • If Alien Research > 0, new types require 100% of their base required resources.
  • If Alien Research > 360, new types are possible at 72% of required resources.
  • If Alien Research > 720, new types are possible at 40% of required resources.

Missions themselves do not require Alien Resources to run if left unchallenged, but shooting down or damaging the UFOs conducting them does cost the aliens resources to repair or replace the UFOs.

Mission Types

Individual UFO Sortie

Individual UFO sorties are missions conducted by a solitary UFO. Shooting down the UFO (or assaulting it if it lands) is always sufficient to prevent the mission from succeeding. Dealing damage to the UFO sometimes, but not always, can affect the outcome.

Scout

Target: Semi-random country with satellite coverage
UFO Signature: Low
Flight Pattern: Air patrol
Success: Spawns a bonus free Hunt mission
Failure: Shoot down UFO; also, randomly due to damage, country defense, or bad luck
UFO Pool:
  • Scout (Small): Always in pool
  • Raider (Medium): Aliens must have > 50 / 36 / 20 resources
  • Destroyer (Medium): Aliens must have > 225 / 162 / 90 resources
  • Battleship (Very Large): Aliens must have > 300 / 216 / 120 resources

A UFO will fly low and around the target country, attempting to confirm the existence of XCOM satellites there. Successful scouting missions will be followed up by a new sortie to hunt the compromised satellite. It is possible that the hunting UFO will be stronger or weaker than the scouting one, so the priority to intercept this mission can vary depending on how tough the UFO is; if the UFO sent to scout is tough (e.g. an early game Raider), you could gamble that the UFO being sent to hunt is weak (i.e. a Fighter). Conversely, you could be punished if a Destroyer follows up instead.

The aliens will prioritize scouting and shooting down satellites over withdrawn ex-council-members, as they have bases in such countries and without a satellite over them XCOM cannot assault it. Next, the aliens prefer downing satellites that protect panicking nations, and in doing so potentially forcing said nations to withdraw XCOM support, and to be controlled by them.

A scout mission can fail in four ways: 1) the UFO is shot down, 2) the UFO could botch the mission due to sustained damaged, 3) the target country could fend off the mission by itself, or, if all else fails, 4) the UFO could simply get unlucky. The odds of these failures happening are as follows:

  • Downed: 100% - if it's shot down they will always get nothing.
  • Damaged: UFO Damage% x 2 - this means XCOM can commit less and gamble on merely damaging the UFO; the UFO can be prevented from being able to find the satellite if reduced to 50% of its maximum HP or less.
  • Defended: (Country Defense / 2)% - the shield representing a country's defense is shown in the Situation Room and is improved by fulfilling their requests; maximum chance is 50% with 100% CountryDefense.
  • Damned: (60 - Alien Research / 15)% - this means when the aliens have 900 research points, an unfettered scouting mission will always succeed.

The aliens will always send at least three scouting sorties per month, and more if they have resources to spare and perceive XCOM to be a credible threat, up to a maximum of six sorties per month. So long as the aliens don't have enough resources to field a battleship, Scout missions will comprise a sizeable proportion of your monthly income.

Hunt

Target: Semi-random country with satellite coverage
UFO Signature: High w/ purple strobe effect
Flight Pattern: Air patrol
Success: Satellite is downed
Failure: Shoot down, or randomly due to damage
UFOs:

A UFO will fly at high altitude over a previously scouted satellite-covered country, seeking to destroy the satellite. A Scout mission, if successful, is always immediately followed up by a Hunt mission, with a potentially different UFO. Thus, if a Scout mission presents you with a tougher UFO than you can handle, you can gamble on the followup Hunt mission being easier. Likewise, fail to shoot down an easy Scout mission and you could get a much tougher Hunt mission.

Much like with Scout missions, aliens will prioritize getting rid of satellites over withdrawn ex-council-members, as they have bases in such countries and without a satellite over them XCOM cannot assault it. Next, the aliens prefer satellites that protect panicking nations, and in doing so potentially forcing said nations to withdraw XCOM support, and to be controlled by them.

Successful hunts will destroy the satellite in question, setting XCOM back about §200 in replacement costs and removing the associated country satellite bonus. The base chance of success is 60%, or 90% on the second pass (30%/50% respectively if Stealth Satellites is researched). Damage sustained by the UFO will reduce this chance further, with 50% or less HP leading to an automatic failure. Pertinent to this, a 50% HP UFO will start flaring up in the aerial combat screen, as if it was being hit by multiple missiles continuously. When this happens, XCOM can order their interceptor to disengage if need be, preventing further risks while stopping the hunt mission.

The loss of satellite in question imposes a hidden but potentially far more important cost as well: while the satellite coverage is down, all Research, Harvest, and Bomb missions that were otherwise scheduled for that target country automatically succeed, and XCOM is robbed of the opportunity to recover materials from any Scout or Hunt missions that were scheduled to target that country as well. Research, Scout, and Hunt missions account for a very large portion of your monthly income in a campaign, as they normally always target satellite-controlled countries (regardless of how many satellites you have). Particularly in the early months, when you don't have much satellite coverage and the vast majority of such missions are concentrated on 1-3 countries, the loss of a single such countries satellite can set you back a ton of resources and XP for your soldiers.

Note that the Aliens intelligence on your satellites is abstracted somewhat, and Hunt missions can randomly spawn without immediately being preceded by a successful Scout mission. These can only be scheduled if XCOM is seen as a threat (2+ threat) and depending on the amount of resources the aliens have this may be only a 50% chance to see one at all. The more threatening XCOM is and the more resources the aliens have, the more direct hunt missions are sent, up to a maximum of four per month.

Research

Target: Random country with satellite coverage
UFO Signature: NoE
Flight Pattern: Landing
Success: If UFO takes off after landing - awards research to aliens
Failure: Shoot down or assault UFO (unaffected by damage)
UFO Pool:
  • Scout (Small): Always in pool; generates +3 research if allowed to take off
  • Raider (Medium): Aliens must have > 75 / 54 / 30 resources; generates +5 research if allowed to take off
  • Abductor (Large): Aliens must have > 125 / 90 / 50 resources; generates +8 research if allowed to take off
  • Terror Ship (Large): Aliens must have > 250 / 180 / 100 resources; generates +10 research if allowed to take off
  • Assault Carrier (Very Large): Aliens must have > 300 / 216 / 120 resources; generates +?? research if allowed to take off

A UFO will fly NOE, land for a while, and then fly off. These missions are always conducted within regions that XCOM maintains a Satellite presence, and mission will grant the aliens research if successful, which will slowly but permanently increase the capabilities of their ground troops and UFOs; the quantity of research earned is directly proportional to the quality and size of the UFO used to conduct them.

To stop the aliens, simply allow the UFO in question to land, and assault it; you'll prevent them from gaining any research if you manage to succeed, and you'll make out with a large amount of resources from the intact UFO. Shooting down the UFO is not necessary and even counterproductive, as it reduces the number of corpses, materials, and XP you can harvest. That said, when assaulting UFOs that have successfully landed, always be wary of trapped UFOs: such UFOs can have massive increases in the number of aliens that crew them, proportional to the amount of UFOs XCOM has shot down so far this month. Shooting down the UFO does stop it from being a trap, so it's an option, but you're robbing yourself of lots of resources, corpses, and kill XP by doing so.

If the aliens have no resources (<50 resources) to spare, the aliens will never schedule research missions; conversely, if they already have too many resources (200+ resources), then the maximum amount of research missions will be scheduled (three per month). Otherwise, the aliens will adjust the amount of research mission attempts depending on XCOM’s threat level and the amount their resources. If the aliens do not recognize XCOM as a real threat, they will be content with the tech they are currently fielding, thus will carry out fewer research missions; but as XCOM is perceived to be more threatening, the aliens will try to keep up via research as much as they can afford it.

Harvest

Target: Semi-random country (priority: unprotected by satellites)
UFO Signature: NoE
Flight Pattern: Landing
Success: UFO takes off after landing - awards resources to aliens
Failure: Shoot down or assault UFO (unaffected by damage)
UFO Pool:
  • Transport (Large): always in pool; generates +37-40 resources for the aliens
  • Harvester (Large): Aliens must have > 75 resources; generates +27-30 resources for the aliens
  • Raider (Medium): Aliens must have > 125 resources; generates +17-20 resources for the aliens
  • Scout (Small): Aliens must have > 225 resources; generates +10-14 resources for the aliens

A UFO will fly NOE and land in a randomly selected country. An unimpeded harvest grants the aliens resources, which will allow the aliens to field more missions per month as well as use greater quality UFOs.

Harvest missions are one of the few UFO missions in the game (alongside Bombing missions) that can be fully completed without XCOMs knowledge or awareness, and thus XCOM may not have an opportunity to prevent them from succeeding. In addition to picking the country entirely at random, they also tend to avoid locations in which XCOM has satellite coverage. Specifically, if the targeted country has a satellite, there is a 10% chance for every 2 full points of of threat (i.e. 0% at 0-1, 10% at 2-3, 20% at 4-5, 30% at 6-7, and a max of 40% at 8+) that the aliens will re-roll the target country to one without satellite coverage, paying a flat 5 resources in the process. This represents the power projected by a strong XCOM forcing the aliens to settle for sub-optimal harvests. As the aliens' first choice for harvest is randomized, more satellite coverage means a higher chance that the aliens need to waste resource to even start a harvest mission.

If you manage to detect the UFO, you can assault it after it lands, preventing the aliens from obtaining the resources and bringing home a large haul of materials, more than you would for a crashed UFO. That said, always be wary of trapped UFOs: such UFOs can have massive increases in the number of aliens that crew them, proportional to the amount of UFOs XCOM has shot down so far this month. Shooting down the UFO does stop it from being a trap, so it's an option, but you're robbing yourself of lots of resources, corpses, and kill XP by doing so.

Note also that the UFO pool for harvest missions becomes less threatening the more resources the aliens, and isn't affected by higher Alien Research; this is the opposite of all other missions with random UFO pools. As a result, it's entirely possible (albeit unlikely) to see a Transport carrying 30+ aliens in the first few months; it's also entirely possible to defeat this mission, even in March, but attempting this isn't recommended for newer players - it will be very long, extremely difficult and potentially require some degree of luck and/or cheese tactics. You could also encounter some Harvest missions in the midgame, but again it is less likely as you will likely be threatening enough for the aliens to try and reroll, though completing landed Transports and Harvesters is entirely possible and recommended if you want to snowball. Only when you've got the majority of the globe covered should you expect to be able to routinely disrupt alien Harvest missions, but at that point the aliens will have alien bases and a monthly free minimum amount of resources to sustain them.

The aliens' tendency to perform harvest missions is the exact reverse to their tendencies to send out research missions. If the aliens have minimal resources (<50 resources), then a maximum amount of harvest mission is attempted (three per month); if they have too many resources (200+), then no harvest will occur. Additionally, the aliens also prefer doing harvests when they are not threatened; in the presence of a strong XCOM they prefer more aggressive missions instead.

Bomb

Target: Semi-random country (priority: high panic)
UFO Signature: NoE w/ purple strobe effect
Flight Pattern: Air patrol
Success: Generates up to 10 panic in target country (reduced by % damage dealt)
Failure: Shoot down UFO
UFO Pool:
  • Fighter: Always in pool
  • Destroyer: Aliens must have > 75 / 54 / 30 resources
  • Battleship: Aliens must have > 175 / 126 / 70 resources

A UFO will fly NOE and around the target area bombing civilians, generating up to 10 panic in the target country if successful. Uniquely, this is one of the few NOE mission types that doesn't land, and the only way to completely stop it is to shoot the bombing UFO down; although, damaging the UFO will reduce the amount of panic created at the end of its mission. An unfettered air raid generates 8 panic in the country raided, with damage to the UFO reducing the panic proportionally; half-damaged means half panic, and a shoot down means no panic. An additional 2 panic is added, if the UFO is ignored.

Bombing missions, like Harvest missions, are one of the few UFO missions in the game that can be completed without XCOMs knowledge and awareness, and thus XCOM may not have an opportunity to prevent them from succeeding. Bombing missions pick countries at random, and without satellite coverage over a country, XCOM will not be able to see and engage the UFO. Successful bombing missions will be reported in the scrolling news ticker of the Situation Room, however. In the early and mid game, there will likely be one or two bombing missions per month taking place in countries you have no satellite presence in, and so expanding your satellite coverage can help you earn some additional resources and XP from the shoot downs and prevent panic from spreading.

The aliens will send out more bombing missions if they have spare resource and perceive XCOM as a threat; both more resources and more threat will cause the aliens to engage in more bombing campaigns. With maximum resource and threat level they will conduct three bombing missions per month. The only exception to this trend is when the aliens have maximum resources and completely unthreatened, in which case they will divert more of all those resources into bombing missions, spawning four per month instead.

Abduction

Target: Random country
UFO Signature: NoE
Flight Pattern: Landing
Success: UFO arrives at destination - spawns an Abduction mission.
Failure: Shoot down UFO (unaffected by damage)
UFO: Abductor

An Abductor will fly NOE to the target area and generate an Abduction site, giving you an opportunity to defeat the alien ground forces in exchange for a cash bonus from the Council. A successful abduction will increase panic in the country by 25, and panic across the continent by 20 (in all difficulties but normal). Thwarting the abduction will decrease panic in the country by 2.

The true motivations behind these abductions are not made clear; it doesn't increase alien research, nor does it gain them any resources, and it certainly isn't the most efficient way to spread panic compared to Terror Missions if it's about strategic warfare. Treat it as a good way to get some cash, corpses, and XP.

In many ways abduction is the least aggressive mission type; perhaps due to this, the aliens will scale back on abduction attempts somewhat if they feel threatened by XCOM, and especially if they have low resources (<50), down to a minimum of 2 per month. Conversely, moderate resource values (100+) can allow them to hit a cap of up to 5 Abductions per month at low threat (0-1), and high resources (200+) can allow them to maintain 4-5 Abductions even in the face of a highly threatening XCOM (8+).

Command Overwatch

Target: Random country
UFO Signature: Low w/ Blue Colored UFO
Flight Pattern: Air Patrol
UFO: Overseer

This is a special mission. An Overseer will fly low around the target area. This mission does not do anything for the aliens, and its only purpose is to allow XCOM the opportunity to shoot down an Overseer to continue the story. It only technically spawns after the Hyperwave Relay (Long War) is first constructed, as the Overseer is invisible to XCOM without it.

Multiple UFO Sortie

Multiple UFO sorties are individual missions that involve multiple UFOs working in concert. To prevent the mission from succeeding, a specific UFO must be shot down, though the other UFOs may cause problems in the mean time.

Terrorize Populace

Target: Semi-random country (priority: high panic)
Sortie: Terror Ship (Air Patrol) + Assault Carrier (Landing)
Success: Assault Carrier arrives at destination - spawns an Terror mission.
Failure: Shoot down Assault Carrier (unaffected by damage)

This is a double sortie mission: At first, a Terror Ship will fly NOE and hover over the target nation scouting and planning for the actual mission (and giving XCOM some advanced warning). After a week or two an Assault Carrier will fly NOE to the target area and finally generate a Terror site. This means anyone with satellite coverage and interested in stopping the mission will have plenty of time to set up, though actually executing that is a different matter entirely.

The aliens will terrorize the most panicked nation within the same continent as an alien base roughly 85% of the time, seeking to push them over the edge. Terror missions increase panic by +3 in the targeted country/+1 continent-wide per civilian killed, so these missions are always highly likely to see at least some benefit for the aliens. Losing or ignoring the mission, however, will cause the country to immediately leave the XCOM project, and increase panic continent-wide by 20.

There are only two ways to completely foil this kind of terrorism: by saving every single civilian during the engagement, or by shooting down the Assault Carrier before it arrives. Neither of these scenarios are likely to happen most of the time, and will probably be cost prohibitive to even try. Only an exceptionally advanced and exceedingly experienced XCOM can pull either option off. Otherwise the best a commander can do is to minimize the damage and make up for it elsewhere: countries that leave the XCOM project due to panic or failed terror missions can eventually be returned to the fold if XCOM manages to locate and assault the alien base installed within the country.

Terror missions are quite costly for the aliens as well. In fact, they cannot even afford it when they have the minimal level of resources (<50 resources). Otherwise they will always conduct one such mission per month, at the very least. In the presence of a threatening XCOM (6+ threat), the aliens will try to scrounge up enough resource to deploy a second terror mission per month, at the expense of other missions. This means unfortunate commanders may see four terror missions near the turn of the month, as the scheduled missions could be stacked at the end of the current month and beginning of the next by random chance.

Shooting down the forward scouting Terror Ship doesn't actually hinder the scheduled mission in any way. However, it's a lot easier to achieve, and it forces the aliens to pay dearly in resource cost for each such Terror attack they perform. In addition, it will grant XCOM a lot of looted resource and battlefield experience if the downed terror ship is successfully raided. It may not stop the looming terror attack, but it may very well help in the future.

Infiltrate

Target: Random country
Sortie: Transport (Air Patrol) + Battleship (Air Patrol) + Overseer (Landing)
Success: Overseer arrives at destination - Country leaves the XCOM project and an Alien Base is Constructed.
Failure: Shoot down Overseer (unaffected by damage)

A Battleship and Transport will fly around the target area, followed by an Overseer inserting in to the target city. This mission will cause the target country to leave XCOM immediately if successful, and the aliens will construct a base in the target country. This base can be assaulted by XCOM, which in addition to providing large amounts of resources for the war effort will allow the country in question to return to XCOM and resume its financial and material support of the XCOM project. Note that the Overseer can only be detected if XCOM has the Hyperwave Relay, so without one the country will appear to leave for no reason.

The aliens will always perform this at least once in a campaign, in the very first month (constructing the plot-necessary guaranteed minimum of at least one Alien Base for you to assault in order to progress the main story missions); they will always select a country in a continent that is not your starting country. Following the first month, this is a very expensive option for the aliens, and as such they can only afford it if they have maximal resources (200+ resources), and only when they're not too distracted dealing with XCOM (<8 threat).

Retaliation

Target: XCOM HQ or Continental Interceptor Base
Sortie:
XCOM HQ: Battleship (Hunt) + Assault Carrier (Landing)
Interceptor Base: Overseer (Landing)
Success: UFO arrives at destination - spawns an XCOM HQ or Air Base defense mission.
Failure: Shoot down landing craft (unaffected by damage)

This is a special mission. An UFO will fly to your main base (or to one of your continental interceptor bases) and immediately start an XCOM Base Defense mission (or an Air Base Defense mission).

Aliens send an Assault Carrier to XCOM HQ Assaults. The aliens can only field such missions if they have a lot of resources and they consider XCOM a high threat; specifically, for every 3 months (not necessarily in a row) that the aliens are at the maximum threat (8+) and maximum resource (200+) tiers, an XCOM Base Defense will spawn. Additionally, if XCOM has yet to encounter a base defense yet in the campaign, one will always occur exactly one year into the campaign in March.

For Air Base assaults, aliens will send an Overseer. The cost of failure of these missions is the destruction and/or severe damage of all stationed interceptors. Air Base Defenses are much cheaper, and have a chance to trigger every month that Aliens have at least threat level 3 and resource level 3. Air Defenses missions only begin spawning after XCOM constructs its first Firestorm interceptor.

Mission Occurrences

At the beginning of each calendar month, aliens plan all missions to be carried out that month based on their current resource level and perceived XCOM threat level. Most monthly missions are directly dependent upon these two variables, with two exceptions: Command Overwatch and Retaliation (see below). Note that if an Alien Base was raided in the previous month, threat is automatically treated as being in the highest tier (8+) for the purposes of mission scheduling.

Common Missions

The following table indicates which missions the aliens will plan to run at the beginning of each month, given the aliens current Resource counter at the beginning of the month and the Threat counter XCOM's anti-UFO operations accrued last month. Resources and Threat are divided into 5 "tiers" each, and the intersection between those two levels determines the monthly missions.

If a range is provided for the number of missions run, i.e. 3-4 Abductions, each possibility (either 3 or 4) is equally likely.

Resources Threat
0-1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8+
50 or less 3-4 Abduction
3 Scout
3 Harvest		 3-4 Abduction
3 Scout
3 Harvest
0-1 Hunt		 3 Abduction
3 Scout
3 Harvest
1 Hunt		 2-3 Abduction
3 Scout
3 Harvest
1-2 Hunt
1 Bomb		 2 Abduction
3 Scout
3 Harvest
2 Hunt
2 Bomb
50-99 4-5 Abduction
1 Terror
3 Scout
3 Harvest		 4 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
3 Scout
2 Harvest
0-1 Hunt
0-1 Bomb		 3-4 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
3 Scout
2 Harvest
1 Hunt
1 Bomb		 3 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
3-4 Scout
2 Harvest
1-2 Hunt
1-2 Bomb		 2-3 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
3-4 Scout
2 Harvest
2 Hunt
2 Bomb
100-149 5 Abduction
1 Terror
4 Scout
2 Harvest		 5 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
4 Scout
2 Harvest
1 Hunt
1 Bomb		 4-5 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
4 Scout
2 Harvest
1 Hunt
1 Bomb		 4 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
5 Scout
2 Harvest
2 Hunt
2 Bomb		 3-4 Abduction
2 Terror
2 Research
5 Scout
1 Harvest
2 Hunt
2 Bomb
150-199 5 Abduction
1 Terror
4 Scout
2 Harvest
1 Bomb		 5 Abduction
1 Terror
1 Research
5 Scout
1 Harvest
1 Hunt
2 Bomb		 5 Abduction
1 Terror
2 Research
5 Scout
1 Harvest
2 Hunt
2 Bomb		 4-5 Abduction
2 Terror
2 Research
5 Scout
1 Harvest
3 Hunt
3 Bomb		 4 Abduction
2 Terror
2 Research
5 Scout
1 Harvest
3 Hunt
3 Bomb
200+ 5 Abduction
1 Terror
3 Research
5 Scout
4 Bomb
1 Infiltrate		 5 Abduction
1 Terror
3 Research
5 Scout
1 Hunt
3 Bomb
1 Infiltrate		 5 Abduction
1 Terror
3 Research
5 Scout
2 Hunt
3 Bomb
1 Infiltrate		 5 Abduction
2 Terror
3 Research
5 Scout
3 Hunt
3 Bomb
1 Infiltrate		 4-5 Abduction
2 Terror
3 Research
6 Scout
4 Hunt
3 Bomb

Retaliation Mission

Once three (3) months have passed (not necessarily in a row) in which the aliens have both 200+ resources and 8+ threat, a Retaliation mission targeting XCOM headquarters will be generated in the month. Furthermore, if no XCOM Base Defense mission has occurred yet in the campaign so far, one will automatically happen in March of the 2nd year.

Strikes against XCOM's continental interceptor bases occur more frequently, with a chance each month starting at 150+ resources and 6+ threat once XCOM has constructed it's first Firestorm.

Command Overwatch Mission

Command Overwatch occurs in one random country anywhere on the globe, 2-3 times per month, starting when the Hyperwave Relay is first built.

See also

Head red 2.png Long War: Aliens 
Aliens

Alien Life Forms • Alien Missions • Alien Deployment • Alien Artifacts • Alien Research • Alien Resources • UFOs • XCOM Threat

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