Equipment (Enforcer)

NOTE: This entire section is just one big dump of NKF's personal (and opinionated) notes on the weapons as he was playing through the game. As such, treat this entire article as a stub page - with bells, whistles and other nifty but not terribly essential whirligigs.

Weapons

The Enforcer comes with way too many overkill weapons for you to choose from. There are a few that can prove to be a hindrance if they were to randomly spawn in front of you as you're moving. Though there are many weapons to unlock and choose from, it's often better to stick to a core set of weapons so that you can benefit from the upgrades, and there will be less chaotic spread in random weapon spawn drops to choose from.

When choosing to unlock a new weapon (with the exception of the Nuker), try not to buy it unless you've got enough data points to get some or all of the upgrades as well. It is far less effective at its default level than at its mid or full level.

Laser Rifle/Autocannon

Nothing special about this weapon except that you come armed with it when you're out of ammo for the other weapons. The Autocannon upgrade doubles the rate of fire and makes the shots a bit more erratic. It sounds like it spews out more ammunition than it really does, but still a vast improvement over the laser rifle in every way, and can stack up on its own when souped up with the damage intensifier. Upgrade as quickly as you can, but not at the expense of other more important upgrades or power ups. As the Enforcer is quite taller that most common enemies, you often have to use mouse-look to lower the aim a little.

Blade Launcher

Default unlocked weapon. Probably one of the more useful unavoidable pre-unlocked weapons due to its homing ability and data point pickup. It's weak, but its ability to home in on targets targets and boomerang on them means that you can fire a series of them into a mob and clear them out fairly quickly. Best upgraded as quickly as possible. A good lazy weapon to run into if you've in between your super weapons.

Flame Thrower

Everyone wants a flamethrower in X-Com apparently - so we've got one. Default unlocked weapon. Probably one of your weakest unavoidable weapons as you may find yourself cursing it the most. It's very annoying if you're in the middle of a hot streak with your rocket launcher when a randomly spawning flame thrower suddenly appears in your path. It should be maxed as quickly as possible as you do not want to be slowed down during a heated battle. When upgraded it chews through ammo faster as it fires three jets of flame. Visually impressive, good against mobs of low hit point enemies. Less so against tougher enemies and bosses. Enemies can block flames. Not particularly hot-streak friendly.

Shotgun

A great weapon and often a favourite. Fires a bunch of pellets that spread out as they travel. Quite powerful up close and a good way to pelt groups of easier enemies. This weapon benefits from the mouse-aim, as firing at a downward angle allows you to catch a nearby enemy with more pellets, which would usually just fly off over their heads. Best avoided on harder levels as it becomes less effective against mobs. On easier levels, it's a great way to lazily attack a bunch of weak enemies in front of you. Ammo lasts a fair while. Do not recommend getting this on harder levels, and there are much more powerful weapons available.

Freeze Gun

The freeze gun is a weapon that freezes enemies. These enemies subsequently take some damage when they thaw. Frozen enemies are solid and prove to be a hindrance to both aliens and the Enforcer.

It doesn't excel at dealing a lot of damage like most of the weapons, but it is a good weapon for stalling groups of enemies when you are fleeing from them, and is quite effective against very weak aliens like Sectoids and Snakemen. On harder difficulties like XtraSpicey, it can be quite useful as enemies often appear in very large mobs.

Each upgrades increases the area of effect of the weapon and the damage done when the enemies thaw. Note that its area-effect nature only kicks in when the main projectile hits an enemy. Hitting a wall or floor in between several enemies will not freeze enemies in the blast radius.

This weapon is best used in open situations where you can flee and re-target a new set of enemies as the frozen aliens fall behind. However it is very dangerous to use in close quarter combat if you are surrounded by enemies as the freeze gun will often re-target enemies that have already been frozen but not those that may be attacking you.

It does little to bosses and isn't a particularly efficient hot-streak weapon.

Mass Driver

Linear beam rifle. Moderately powerful, instantaneous so is very accurate. Upgrades add small explosions when hitting walls and later when hitting enemies. Sniper-rifle, if you will. Good for cutting paths through mobs of enemies. Reminds me of a particular Unreal Tournament linear energy beam weapon (unsurprising as Enforcer uses the Unreal engine). Can benefit from activating mouse-look to get the aiming cross hairs to make more precise attacks.

Fusion Rifle

Fires little purple balls that bounce off walls. Upgrades increase bounce, rounds shot per attack and ammo capacity. Fully upgraded it's like a shotgun and can rapidly pound out energy balls - however immensely more powerful than the shotgun. Great indoors, and amazing against mobs of enemies. Not terribly powerful against bosses, but them's the breaks. Only downside is that ammo runs out very quickly. Reminds me of Contra's Spread gun, with added bounce.

Lightning gun

Quite an unusual but extremely useful short range weapon. It stuns enemies that it catches in its purple electric beam as long as the electricity is flowing. Upgrades allow it to zap more nearby targets. Fully upgraded, as many as nine enemies can be caught this way. Lots of ammo so it can last quite a long time before you need to pick up another weapon. Works well at taking small chunks of health out of bosses but will not stun them. Although there are better weapons available, it can be used on harder difficulty levels to great effect as it can methodically wipe out chunks of mobs easily. It is reasonably good for hot streaking as most enemies will not be able to fight back, thus keeping the hot streak bar safe.

Vibroblade XL

XL probably means X-tra Large, but that's just speculation. A propeller blade that rips apart anything that the Enforcer runs into. Part defensive, part offensive. Does continuous damage as propeller spins. Upgrades allow the propeller to deflect light enemy fire back at them. That's not very powerful in itself, but is mainly to deflect the damage away from you- which is useful against Sectoid plasma fire or rapid fire enemy weapons. You can cut a channel through easier enemies with the Vibroblade XL effortlessly. Tougher enemies will require more persistence. Really tough enemies should be avoided and engaged with ranged weaponry.

Grenade Launcher

Arguably one of the most entertaining weapons in your arsenal in addition to being quite a formidable weapon. Definitely a weapon you should try in at least one of your play-throughs. It launches small grenades that detonate on contact. The more upgrades, the more grenades are launched per shot. Individually, the grenades aren't very powerful, but as more grenades come out, the faster enemies will fall. Good speed and jumping can let you jump over mobs of enemies while raining down grenades over them. Works reasonably well on higher difficulty levels. Mini bosses fall easy to it - major bosses need more damage.

Rocket launcher

Your stock powerful weapon. Each successive upgrade adds more missiles that are fired (and spent) in each attack. Each upgrade adds different missiles, from the standard missile, seeker missiles and drunken missiles. The net effect is that a lot of firepower is thrown out at once. Not as powerful on a wide scale as the Nuker, but formidable nonetheless and a bit longer lasting. Great against mobs as missiles are fired everywhere.

Psi Cannon

A slow but moderately powerful weapon that fires a psionic blast that travels through targets. Projectile is misleading as it looks smaller than it really is. Enemies caught near the projectile can get hurt. The attack itself is quite strong and upgrades will make it detonate on hitting a solid wall into a big psionic explosion. Another upgrade will cause it to toss enemies away that don't get destroyed by the blast (except for really big enemies like the giant reaper and bosses). Useful against large mobs. Powerful, but probably not worth the data points spent to unlock and upgrade it as there are cheaper alternatives as well as the Nuker.

Nuker

Way-WAY too powerful, thus probably the most fun to use weapon. Literally wipes out mobs of enemies in one shot, thus great for combo kills and hot streaking. Balanced by having a low ammo count, but upgrades and enforcer ammo upgrades can increase amount. The mouse-look can be used effectively to drop a nuker missile right at your feet in order to clear the air around you quickly. You don't need to upgrade it too much if you're low on data points as the upgrades only add more ammo, which can be added via the enforcer's extra ammo upgrade for less the cost. Also due to the rapid respawn rate of weapons, you'll have another fresh Nuker in no time. Use in combination with the hot-streak helper when fighting mobs of basic enemies, and the damage intensifier when fighting bosses if at all possible.

Power Ups

Repair Pack

The most useful power up available. Upgrade it a few times to make each pickup more effective. Combined with the self-repair upgrades, this will keep the Enforcer alive and happy for the rest of the game. Concentrate more on this than the self-repair upgrades at first, as this is cheaper. This power up is unlocked for free.

Hot Streak Helper

Increases the rate that the hot streak bar increases. Hot streaking gives you a random powerup at set intervals as long as hot streak is in effect, with the exception of the Lazarus system, Bio Magnetic Pulse, Missile Strike, Stasis field and Invulnerator. It also temporarily upgrades weapons that have are not fully upgraded yet. Though not an essential power up, the free temporary upgrades you get while in hot streak mode are very helpful. Note that any upgrade you get will be at the same level as what you've upgraded them to. Unlocked power ups are treated as level 1.

Speed Booster

Increases your running speed. A free power up that does not need to be unlocked. Not the most important upgrade available, but handy and you do not have to upgrade it unless you have the data points to spare.

Damage Intensifier

Increases damage. Each upgrade increases the multiplier, up to a maximum of 8 times the normal attack. Definitely worth unlocking and upgrading as quickly as you can as it allows weaker weapons that aren't mob friendly like the laser rifle/autocannon and shotgun make a complete turn around. Not as important with overkill weapons like the nuker or fully upgraded rocket launcher, but extra damage cannot hurt against bosses.

Lazarus System

This power up refills your health if the Enforcer just happens to get killed during the game. A free life if you will. It's not needed, but if you find yourself getting the Enforcer killed regularly, then it can be useful. Otherwise there are better upgrades and power ups to spend data points on.

Data Point Multiplier

This power up multiplies every data point you pick up. At maximum level you can multiply data points up to 5 times their amount. Definitely well worth getting this on your first few times playing through the game as more data points will mean you can buy more upgrades and goodies.

Bio Magnetic Pulse

This power up simply wipes out every enemy in your area in an instant. Handy but considering how much damage you'll be doing to the enemies already, may be redundant.

Stealth

This power up hides you so that enemies won't be able to acquire you so easily. Could be handy for building up the hot streak bar as you won't get shot at so much. Best obtained if data points permit.

Missile Strike

Launches an air strike and the area is blanketed in missiles. Similar to the Bio Mag Pulse in function, but not as instantaneous.

Stasis field

Freezes enemies around you. A great power up to give a few sucker punchs. Not strictly necessary but useful all the same.

Attack Bot

Those familiar with side scrollers like Gradius will be familiar with these. An independent weapon pod will orbit around the Enforcer. It is equipped with a laser rifle and will fire every time the Enforcer pulls the trigger, effectively increasing firepower. Upgrades increase the amount of laser beams. Worth getting - and as usual data points permitting.

Invulnerator

Since the time of mindless shooters incarnate, there have been invulnerability devices. This power up temporarily makes you invincible - except against falling into an endless pit.

Enforcer Upgrades

Max Speed

Upgrades the Enforcer's moving speed. You'll rarely need to buy any upgrades, but if the Enforcer just isn't moving fast enough for your play style, then it's worth spending some data points on a few speed upgrades.

Jump Jets

Increase your jumping height. Worth upgrading as much as possible for the purpose of dodging incoming fire. You have to upgrade these in order to get to some hard-to-get-to places to get BONUS balls or Researchable Items.

Ammo Capacity

Increases ammo. Due to the frequency that weapons respawn, probably not necessary. Some low ammo weapons like the Nuker would benefit from the increase, and some weapons that eat through ammo like the Grenade Launcher and Mass Driver could benefit from a larger ammo cap.

Auto Repair

Repairs the Enforcer slowly over time, up to but not beyond 100 hitpoints. If you often get your hitpoints knocked under 100 and are constantly on the run for a repair pack, then having auto repair would be beneficial. Otherwise, spending data points on repair pack upgrades would be more efficient at first.

Armour

Increases hitpoint capacity. You do not have to have more than the base 250 capacity to beat the game, it's always good to have more hitpoints. Concentrate on other upgrades first.

Professor's Choice

A set of variable one-off upgrades. The first increases your starting hitpoints to 200. The second upgrades your laser rifle into the autocannon. The final upgrade increases random weapon respawn rate. It's worth upgrading to the autocannon, though concentrate on your major weapons first.