Missions (EU2012)

Mission Types

Alien Abductions

• Mission Objectives
  • Sweep the abduction site and identify threats
  • Neutralize all hostile targets
• An Alien Abduction is any battle where no civilians are involved and aliens of most any type can be found terrorizing a town. There is no UFO crash or UFO landing involved, so you will not be recovering a lot of artifacts from this type of battle. You should expect aliens to be spread throughout the entire map and sweep it accordingly.

UFO Crash Site

• Mission Objectives
  • Locate the crashed UFO
  • Sweep the area for surviving crew and neutralize them
  • Avoid additional damage to the craft if possible; some components may be recoverable
• A UFO crash site occurs when your Interceptor or Firestorm successfully shoots down a UFO. There are many different UFO types: Small Scouts, Large Scouts, Supply Ships, Battleships, and Overseer. A Skyranger is sent immediately after downing the UFO. The battlescape is usually set at night in a remote area (there are usually no buildings involved).
• The aliens are usually not too far from the actual crash site but they will be expecting you since you shot them down. You may encounter aliens as close as your first move when you step away from the Skyranger. You'll encounter any alien type in a crash site battle. Once the UFO is found, you will notice substantial damage. This damage is reduced once you start using EMP cannons on your aircraft. Aliens are almost always found closely guarding the UFO and it is almost guaranteed that you will found Aliens somewhere in the UFO, including the current commander type aliens (at the start of the game Outsiders)
• Be careful not to use explosives inside the UFO so you do not damage artifacts that bring big bucks on the Gray Market or can be used for constructing your own weapons.

UFO Landing Site

• Mission Objectives
  • Locate and neutralize all enemy forces
  • Locate and gain entry to the UFO
• Instead of this battle beginning with a dogflight in the skies, a UFO landing site is discovered via the Council of Nations or by an orbiting satellite. The aliens are not aware that you are closing in on them so they could be anywhere on the map around the UFO doing whatever it is that they do. You often find aliens much further from the UFO site in comparison to a UFO Crash Site. Expect to see any of the Alien race types. The UFO is undamaged, so try to keep it that way. Many undamaged artifacts can be found on this type of mission. Expect to always find Aliens somewhere on the UFO.

Alien Terror Attack

• Mission Objectives
  • Approach civilians to enable evacutions
  • Minimize civilian casualties
  • Neutralize all hostile targets
• Alien Terror Attacks, or Terror missions, have made a return from the original game. In this missions, the civilians will be spread randomly throughout the map. As you approach them nearby aliens will engage both you and the civilians. Each civilian lost counts against your final score. To rescue a civilian all you need to do is get close to them. Necessary proximity is indicated by a circle around each civilian. *Although there is no timer or countdown on this type of mission, you need to be very quick without being reckless. Too slow and you lose civilians which can then be turned into zombies by a Chryssalid and then eventually hatch into a new Chryssalid. Too reckless and you'll lose your troops to the overwhelming forces in these fights.

Council Missions

This missions will appear periodically and you'll be given resources (credits, soldiers, etc.) in exchange for completing these missions, in addition to reducing the panic level of the country where it takes place.

Rescue

• Mission Objectives
  • Find the Target
  • Escort the target safely to the extraction point
  • Protect the target at all costs
• Rescue missions will be given to you by the Council of Nations and involve a VIP of the council, typically a politician or other ranking official. The mission will start with a bodyguard or soldier within view of your starting point. Moving near this person will grant you more information on where the VIP is currently located. Once you make it to the VIP you will need to escort them back to the rendezvous coordinates marked on your map. More aliens will appear once you have acquired the VIP, so do not rush the VIP to the coordinates unprotected. Sometimes instead of a VIP, you are rescuing an escaped prisoner from the aliens. In this case, no bodyguard or soldier to give you pointers will be present,
• If you succeed at rescuing the VIP, you need to eliminate any remaining hostiles. At this point, no new aliens will appear. If you already cleared all of them, mission will immediately end in a success.
• If the VIP dies, mission is aborted and you need to return your units to the extraction point.

Extraction

• Mission Objectives
  • Escort the target to the extraction point
  • Protect the target at all costs
• Similar to the Rescue missions, extraction mission involves bringing a VIP to the extraction point safely, and can have a variety of scenarios, from escorting a VIP of the council, to convoying a person suspected in collaboration with aliens. Unlike rescue missions, you start with the VIP already at your command, and at the opposite side of the extraction point. Additional enemies will appear every several turns, in the same manner as they do on Rescue missions, which makes a big difference, since you have to fight enemies already present on the map as well.
• If you succeed at escorting the VIP, you need to eliminate any remaining hostiles. At this point, no new aliens will appear. If you already cleared all of them, mission will immediately end in a success.
• If the VIP dies, mission is aborted and you need to return your units to the extraction point.

Asset Recovery

• Mission Objectives
  • Sweep the area of operations
  • Eliminate all opposition
• This mission type is rare, but occasionally the Council will ask you to remove all the aliens from a particular area. This mission is nothing more than an Alien Abduction mission assigned to you by the Council. There is no one to escort, no one to rescue, no bombs to deactivate and no civilians involved.

Bomb Disposal

• Mission Objectives
  • Deactivate the bomb before it goes off
  • Delay the detonation countdown by deactivating the bomb's power sources
  • Prevent reactivation by eliminating all remaining opposition
• Bomb Disposal missions require quick actions to prevent the detonation of the bomb. When you arrive, you will have a limited number of turns before the bomb detonates and there is no way to reach it in time. Fortunately, there are power nodes throughout the map that, when deactivated, will grant additional turns. Each disabled power node counts for one extra turn. Disabling several in one turn, provided they are close enough together and you aren't spreading your forces thin, is more beneficial than disabling one per turn.
• Once you reach the bomb there is no need to continue disabling power nodes. Disable the bomb and kill the remaining enemies to complete the mission. Be sure to guard the bomb to prevent the aliens from reactivating when you are across the map and without turns to spare. Disabling nodes and bombs counts as a free-action, similar to opening doors, so perform this action before taking a shot or otherwise ending that soldier's turn.
• If you fail to deactivate the bomb on time you'll be given 3 turns to return your squad to the Skyranger extraction point. To save your soldiers you need to hit the abort button when the timer hits 1, otherwise the extraction will not take place and not only you'll lose the soldiers who didn't made it to the extraction point but also the ones present there.

Storyline Missions (spoilers)

These are special missions that you'll need to complete in order to progress in the storyline. Failure to complete either the Alien Base or Temple Ship missions will be considered a game loss.

Alien Base

• The Alien Base assault is unlocked once you've captured an Outsider and researched it. You will also need to build the Skeleton Key artifact before assaulting it.
• The Alien Base can be expected to contain all of the aliens you've encountered so far, and at the end a single Sectoid Commander guarding a Hyperwave Beacon.
• The Alien Base is considerably longer than most missions you'll have done so far, so pack for the long haul.
• Because the Skeleton Key can only be used once, failing this mission will lose the game.

Overseer UFO

• Once you've built a Hyperwave Relay base facility you will gain the ability to detect the Overseer UFO. This can only be shot down with a Interceptor/Firestorm with a powerful weapon.
• The Overseer UFO is then a standard medium-sized UFO crash site, with the exception that its commander is an Ethereal with Muton Elite guards protecting a Psi-Link device.
• If you can't shoot down the Overseer UFO or choose not to assault it after it crashes it will reappear later on.

Temple Ship

• The final mission of the game. Your mission is to get to the end of the Temple, kill the Uber Ethereal there and keep the Volunteer alive.
• Your Volunteer soldier is granted a new psionic ability (The Rift) and must survive - if he/she dies you'll lose the game.
• You can expect to see at least one of every type of alien in this mission. Highlights are a room with two Sectopods, and the final room featuring an Uber Ethereal with two Ethereal guards and several Muton Elites.
• Killing the Uber Ethereal wins the game immediately, with no need to kill any remaining aliens.

See Also

• UFOs - For more information regarding salvage from landed/downed UFOs.
• Maps - For details on the types of terrain for each mission.
• Managing Panic - For more information regarding country and world panic.