Missions (EU2012)

Tactical missions are XCOM's main operations and can be generated through either Mission Control or the Situation Room. Each mission will have a codename, and will have a Brief and Objectives for XCOM to achieve. At the end of the mission the XCOM Commander will be shown an After Action Report detailing the success/failure of the mission.

Mission Factors

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 alien "packs" (also named "pods") 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.

Mission Types

Alien Missions

Missions envolving the aliens are the bread and butter of XCOM. You'll be asked to either stop alien activity in specific countries or to recover landed/crashed UFOs. Ignoring any of those missions will increase Panic levels on the country where they occur, with the exception of Crashed UFO sites.

• Alien Abductions
• Crashed UFO
• Landed UFO
• Alien Terror Attack

Council Missions

These 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 mission, its results will affect the Council's score. The most difficult Council missions are usually the Bomb Disposal sites because of the time window involved to deactivate the alien bomb. After a player has reached the mid/late game the Council missions will turn into training runs since your advanced weapons and armor will be more than a match for the usual Thin Men found in those missions.

In the game's scheduling for a month, there are two dates for "Council Events" in place. When one comes around, there is a chance to receive a mission, a request, or nothing at all. If a mission is gotten for the first event, a second mission will not be given for the second, with the exception of Slingshot and Progeny missions.

• Target Extraction
• Target Escort
• Asset Recovery
• Bomb Disposal

Slingshot DLC Missions

Slingshot is a DLC available for Enemy Unknown which consists in a series of 3 missions that unlock a playable soldier Zhang along with additional resources. The Slingshot missions will only be offered once in the first month of the game. After each mission appears available on the Situation Room it is possible for the player to delay it indefinitely by choosing the 'Not Now' option.

• Friends in Low Places
• Confounding Light
• Gangplank

Enemy Within DLC Missions

Covert Operations Missions

• Covert Extraction
• Covert Data Recovery
• EXALT Base Assault

Progeny Missions

• Portent
• Deluge
• Furies

XCOM Base Defense

• XCOM Base Defense

Council Missions

• Site Recon

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 Missions page (massive spoilers!).

Progeny vs. Slingshot

Slingshot		Progeny
Friends in Low Places	Council Rewards: 2 Engineers 2 Scientists §200 Zhang (Heavy Lieutenant) Enemies: Sectoids Thin Men Chryssalid, or 1 Muton on Impossible Difficulty Note: May be as early as 2 weeks into the game Thus, for Classic/Impossible, Zhang will probably unlock OTS construction	Portent	Council Rewards: 1 Engineer 1 Scientist §150 Enemies: Thin Men Note: Appears to have priority appearance over Slingshot As a part of a "Portent" [1], is inherent to EW's storyline, as it features an EXALT agent, and Annette's abilities, taken by the aliens, are reported to be the cause for the attack on XCOM Base.
Confounding Light	Council Reward: 2 Engineers Enemies Thin Men Mutons (w/Plasma Rifles) Note: 10 turn limit, placing devices does not extend time Arguably the most difficult of all DLC missions, perhaps the most difficult of all early-game missions Wounds suffered here may put soldiers out of commission for the next few missions, particularly Gangplank Possible early Muton capture can give you a massive early lead on Plasma weaponry research Can be done as early as April	Deluge	Council Rewards: §100 Annette (random class, Lieutenant) Enemies: Sectoids Thin Men Mechtoids Note: Will not occur until after you do the Alien Base Assault Level is on a damaged dam, with a turn limit. Opening valves will extend time by 1 turn each (similar to a Bomb Disposal Mission). Only one soldier needs to reach the target area at the end of the dam
Gangplank	Council Reward: 2 Engineers Enemies: Sectoids Thin Men Chryssalids 1 Cyberdisc 1 Muton Note: Will often occur within days of completing Confounding Light (and thus: April) Spoils of Victory: ~500 Alien Alloys ~300 Elerium 5x Elerium Generators 6x Alien Nav Computers 2x Fusion Cores	Furies	Council Rewards: §100 Possibility of acquiring all three abductees as Psionic Lieutenants, if their pods aren't destroyed by the aliens or by accident Enemies: Sectoids Thin Men Mechtoids Berserker Note: Level is in a snow field in the Alps with a landed Abductor. Target is a unique console in the central room of the UFO, just before the door to the bridge

(Spoiler) Alien Species Deployment Table

Enemy Unknown

Mission	Sectoid	Thin Man	Outsider	Drone	Floater	Muton	Chryssalid	Sectoid Commander	Heavy Floater	Muton Elite	Cyberdisc	Berserker	Ethereal	Sectopod
Abductions	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
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

Enemy Within

Mission	Sectoid	Thin Man	Outsider	Drone	Floater	Muton	Chryssalid	Sectoid Commander	Heavy Floater	Muton Elite	Cyberdisc	Berserker	Ethereal	Sectopod	Mechtoid	Seeker
Abductions	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
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	YES	YES
UFO Landing Site	YES	YES	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	NO	NO
Slingshot	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Progeny	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Storyline	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	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.