Missions (EU2012)

Mission Types

Mission Response Times

Each mission will have a window of opportunity of 1-2 days, specific values below:

Mission	Deadline (Hours)
Abductions	48
Terror Site	30
Crashed UFO	30
Landed UFO	30
Council	??

Mission Difficulty

• Certain missions (Abductions, Terror Sites) appear with four levels of difficulty, Easy/Moderate/Difficult/Very Difficult.
• These indicate the number of aliens and packs present on the mission, with Easy usually having 2 packs and Very Difficult around 4.
• Keep in mind that the actual number of aliens may vary since packs can have 1-3 aliens, depending on game stage. Usually the aliens will deploy a maximum of 12 units on a Very Difficult setting on Terror sites or Abductions.

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.
• Alien Abduction missions only appear to occur in nations where you do not have satellite coverage. Thus, once you have satellite coverage over every remaining nation, you will no longer get anymore of these missions.

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, Abductors, Supply Ships, Battleships, and the Overseer UFO (a modified Large Scout). 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.
• Once the Hyperwave Uplink is active, you are told the number and composition of the aliens that will be present.

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.
• As with crashed UFOS: once the Hyperwave Uplink is active, you are told the number and composition of the aliens that will be present.

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.
• Civilians still alive when all aliens are dead are automatically counted as rescued; they do not all have to personally rescued, although that makes them immune to further attack.
• All civilians count as dead if you lose or abort the mission, even ones that you've rescued.
• Explicitly rescuing civilians is not really necessary. Once you've extended your front line ahead of them you've essentially made them safe from the aliens anyway. Civilians the aliens can't reach are just as safe as civilians who are rescued. If anything, keeping civilians around is good, since a dead civilian hurts your cause less than a dead or wounded soldier. Whenever a civilian gets shot, think to yourself "better him than me".
• Unlike original XCOM, there is no additional penalty for X-COM killing a civilian if such an unfortunate event does happen (with explosives, primarily). Remember, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few! ;)
• Any civilian count at 14 or above is considered "Excellent", so there's some room for error, depending where the civilians spawn.

Council Missions

This missions will appear periodically and you'll be given resources (credits, soldiers, etc.) in exchange for completing these missions, in addition it may also reduce the panic level of the country where it takes place. Council missions may be ignored without any effect on your monthly score but if you accept any your results will affect the Council's score.

Extraction

In an Extraction mission, your squad will have to locate the target and escort him/her to the extraction point. You must protect the target at all cost, else the mission will be considered lost and you must return your squad to the extraction point. Some missions may have Non-Playing Characters (NPCs) that will give you directions to the target once you approach them. Once the target is rescued, you will need to eliminate any remaining hostiles or any additional aliens that may appear.
Mission Objectives

• Locate the target
• Escort the target to the extraction point
• Protect the target at all costs
• Eliminate any remaining hostiles

General Peter Van Doorn

• Highway Fallen map

Reports indicate an UN official and his associates were caught in the middle of an alien attack in *country name*. If this official is killed or abducted by the aliens, t would undoubtedly spread panic and reduce the effectiveness of XCOM. We need a squad of your soldiers to escort the target safely to the extraction point.

Anna Sing

• Boulevard map

We've intercepted a signal indicating that an abductee was able to escape alien captivity, and there is a limited window of opportunity to attempt an extraction. By the time your troops are on the ground, Central should have our compete intelligence report available.

Thomas Hutch

• Museum map

A friend of this Council has come under attack by aliens in *country name*. It would reflect poorly on our efforts if we were to allow our ally to be captured by hostile forces. We'll need you to ensure his safe return to XCOM HQ; we should have further details by the time your troops reach the extraction site.

Escort

In an escort mission the player will have an additional unit in the squad, the target of this mission will be to move this unit into the extraction area. As with the rescued units on the previous mission, this unit will not have any offensive abilities, only a version of the Hunker Down ability. As the player moves along the map, enemies will drop onto the map preventing the player to leave the escort behind. If the target is lost the XCOM squad must proceed to the extraction point to safely end the mission.
Mission Objectives

• Escort the target to the extraction point
  • Protect the target at all costs
• Eliminate any remaining hostiles

Dr. Marazuki

• ResearchOutpost map (reverse)

One of the scientists serving in a remote observatory used for tracking and motoring UFO activity in *country name* has come under attack. We cannot allow the aliens to threaten any personnel contributing information to the XCOM project. We'll need you to deeply a squad and ensure his safe return.

Sgt. Carlock

• PierA map (reverse)

We've gotten a report that a combat engineer unaffiliated with the XCOM has come under attack while investigating possible alien contamination of a local water supply. We'd like you to retrieve this gentleman in order to find out what he's learned. Central should have our complete briefing by the time our troops reach the site.

Thorne

• Commercial Alley map (reverse)

We've received an interesting report that a politician from *country name* who once advocated cooperation with the aliens has now come under attack. We'd like you to retrieve this man alive, so that we may... speak... with him. We will transmit the specific details of his position to Central. - Escort local politician.

Asset Recovery

• StreetOverpass map - Recover helicopter
• Truckstop map - Recover cargo
• Industrial Office map - Recover data servers
• CemeteryGrand map - Prevent alien grave robbing
• PierA map - Recover cargo
• ResearchOutpost map - Secure facility
  • Mission Objectives
    • Sweep the area of operations
    • Eliminate all opposition
• 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, no alien reinforcements falling from the sky and no civilians involved.
• The first mission (Recover Helicopter) is the only Council mission where you'll face Mutons instead of Sectoids/Thin Men, so be prepared!

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 at the end of the round where the timer marks 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.
• Maps:
  • Cemetery Grand
  • Convenience Store
  • Highway Bridge
  • Slaughterhouse A
  • Train Station
  • Trainyard

Slingshot Missions

• Friends in Low Places
• Confounding Light
• Gangplank

Storyline Missions

These are special missions that you'll need to complete in order to progress in the storyline. Failure to complete certain missions will be considered a game loss. For more details see the Storyline page (massive spoilers!).

(Spoiler) Alien Species Deployment Table

Mission	Sectoid	Thin Man	Outsider	Drone	Floater	Muton	Chryssalid	Sectoid Commander	Heavy Floater	Muton Elite	Cyberdisk	Bezerker	Ethereal	Sectopod
Abductions	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	?
Terror Site	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES
UFO Crash Site	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
UFO Landing Site	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Council	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Slingshot	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Storyline	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES

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.
• Mission Names - For a list of the names used while generating missions.

References

• Marazuki Escort Mission