Missions (LW2)

Overview

Enemy Activity Level

Enemy Activity level refers to the quantity of enemies deployed on a map. Activity Level is described as "light", "heavy", etc; these categories correspond to the table below. When preparing to infiltrate, base Enemy Activity is an estimation of the strength of the enemy forces you will encounter at 100% infiltration; the actual Enemy Activity level depends on your infiltration rate (for more information, see the Infiltration page). In general, at 0% infiltration, enemy strength will be several steps higher than the baseline; at 200% infiltration, it will be a few steps lower, to a minimum of "Extremely Light".

Activity Level	Enemy Units
Extremely Light	6-9
Very Light	10-12
Light	13-15
Light-Moderate	16-18
Moderate	19-21
Moderate-Heavy	22-24
Heavy	25-27
Very Heavy	28-30
Extremely Heavy	30-32
Swarming	33+

ADVENT Activity

The missions in Long War 2 are defined through ADVENT activities, which are performed by the aliens on each regional to achieve their goals, which will then result in tactical missions, if the alien activity is detected by the Resistance.

Each Activity can have several settings or requirements for it to be activated:

• Priority - weight for mission to be chosen
• Rebel Income - amount of detection collected by rebels with Intel jobs for the mission to be detected
• Detection - daily pct of the mission being detected, once the Rebel Income requirement is achieved
• Force & Alert Modifiers - the effect the activity will have on the ADVENT Force and Alert levels
• Min/Max Vigilance - the range of Vigilance values were the activity is available for ADVENT to perform in a region
• Min/Max Alert - the range of Alert values, as the previous setting
• Mission Tree - the number and sequence of missions generated by the Activity
• Mission Families - the type of missions generated
• Duration - the amount of hours that the mission can be detected, once it is active
• EVAC Modifier - the number of turns added to Skyranger evacuation
• Infiltration Modifier - the number of hours added/removed from infiltration requirements

AI Activity	Priority	Rebel Income	Discovery	Force Mod	Alert Mod	Min/Max Vigilance	Min/Max Alert	Mission Tree	Mission Families	Duration	EVAC Modifier	Infiltration Modifier	Notes
Protect Region Early	3	110	40					0	Recover, Hack	216 + 24	1
Protect Region Mid	4	135	35		3			0	Extract, Rescue	192 + 48	0
ProtectRegion	5	160	30		3			0	Neutralize, Destroy Object	192 + 48	0
								1	Assault Network Tower	Infinite	0
								2	Assault Alien Base	Infinite	0
Counterinsurgency*	30	60	31			4/NA	4/NA	0	Destroy Object	144+48			COIN*
								1	Terror, Defend	24+5			Force Activity Detection
Reinforce*****	40	75	4		3			0	Supply Line Raid	144+144
COIN Research	45	95	7			3/NA	NA/8	0	Recover, Hack, Destroy Object, Neutralize, Rescue	Infinite
COIN Ops	50	65	11			3/NA	3/NA	0	Recover, Hack, Destroy Object	Infinite	1
Build Research Facility	10	850	13				NA/5	0	Supply Line Raid	1080+72
Regional Avatar Research	15								Sabotage	Infinite		96	Makes Doom
Reinforcements***	25	100	5	1	1			0	Recover, Hack	120+96	1
								1	Secure UFO	144+24
Emergency Reinforcements	38	100	30		1			0	Recover, Hack	120+96	1
								1	Secure UFO	144+96
Super Emergency Reinforcements	37	80	34		2			0	Recover, Hack	120+96	1
								1	Secure UFO	144+96
Invasion	15	70						0	Supply Line Raid	96+96
								1	Invasion	24+0			Force Activity Detection
Propaganda	55	32				NA/8	6/NA	0	Sabotage CC, Neutralize	216+72		-12
Protect Research	50	120	17			NA/10	NA/10	0	Hack, Recover, Rescue, Extract	216+72
Protect Data	55	5	35			NA/12		0	Hack, Recover, Destroy Object, Rescue, Extract	216+96
Troop Maneuvers	55	5	20*			4/15	NA/15	0	Troop Maneuvers	216+72		-24
High Value Prisioner	55	60	18			NA/12	NA/6	0	Extract, Rescue	216+96
Political Prisioners	55	40	28			NA/12	NA/7	0	Jailbreak	216+96
Logistics	55	90	60			NA/12		0	Smash N Grab	216+96
Intel Raid	41					2/NA	3/NA	0	Intel Raid	24+5			Force Activity Detection
Supply Convoy	42					1/NA	4/NA	0	Supply Convoy	24+5			Force Activity Detection
Recruit Raid	43					1/NA	4/NA	0	Recruit Raid	24+5			Force Activity Detection
Snare	26	0	85	1	1	5/NA	7/NA	0	Hack	216+72
Foothold	3	0	70	18**	12**			0	Secure UFO	96+24		-60
								1	Invasion	24+5			Force Activity Detection
Rendezvous			2	-2	-2			0	Placeholder	504+168			Special (see below)
								1	Rendezvous	24+5	2		Force Activity Detection

Notes.

• Rendezvous. Normal rebels don't contribute intel towards the detection of the Rendezvous missions, only soldier advisors do. This mission's entry doesn't specify the required Intel Income before you can start detecting it so maybe it's immediate, however the very low discovery chance (the lowest of any mission) makes it quite hard to detect. It's coded as a 2 part mission where you detect the first part (it has the longest duration of any mission) but then the mission immediately moves to the second part which is automatically detected. The final mission is that second part which explain why you never detect Rendezvous with long durations.

Generating Missions

Missions spawn automatically as the days pass, and expire after a given window of time. The mission is not visible at this time; the local haven must collect enough intel to reveal the mission. Assigning more resistance members to the "intel" job can make missions considerably easier by discovering missions earlier and allowing more time to infiltrate. A mission's expiration timer starts when it is created, not when it is discovered; most infiltration missions have a base duration of 18 days, which is randomized by a few days each time a mission is created.

Havens each generate "intel points" from having personnel assigned to intel gathering. These points are applied to undiscovered missions in the region at certain update intervals, currently 4 times a day (every 6 hours). Each mission keeps a pool of collected intel points. The difficulty of discovering a certain type of mission is controlled by two numbers: "required intel" and "percent chance per day". A mission cannot be detected until you generate intel equal to the "required intel" value. Once the minimum is reached there is a random chance to discover the mission at every update. The probability is based on the mission's "percent chance" stat, multiplied by the number of intel points collected past the required minimum.

In the table below, a basic level-0 resistance member is defined as one "intel point" per day. A level-1 resistance member is worth 1.5 points, a level-2 is worth 2, and the Avenger scanning is worth 4. Faceless are worth negative 0.5 points. A scientist assigned as haven liaison adds an extra 20% bonus to the entire haven.

Category	Research	Data	VIP	Prisoners	Liberation 1
Mission Types	Hacking	Hacking, Destroy	Rescue/Extract	Jailbreak	Hacking
Required intel (points)	24	1	12	8	22
Discovery Chance (per point)	0.85%	1.75%	0.9%	1.4%	2%

Example: A haven with six level-0 resistance members and one level-1 assigned to intel, plus a scientist liaison, generates 9 "points" per day. The first mission in the liberation chain spawns. The haven can't detect this mission until it generates 22 points, which takes just under 2.5 days.

One day after that, the haven has an 18% chance to detect the mission: it has 9 intel points in the pool (subtracting out the 22 needed for the required intel) times 2% per point. One day later, the haven has 18 points and has a 36% chance.

Types of Missions

The type of mission affects a variety of factors: what the primary objective is, what type of rewards will be received, how long the squad has to complete the objective, how strong of a force the enemy will tend to field relative to other missions in the region, whether the squad starts concealed or not, and even where the squad can extract from.

Perhaps the most important factor is whether or not a squad needs to infiltrate or not, and how long the squad has to do it. For more information on infiltration mechanics, see the Infiltration page for details.

Guerrilla Operations

These missions will generate regularly regardless of ADVENT activity in a region. XCOM will infiltrate some city and complete some useful objective, typically acquiring personnel and/or intel in the process.

• Jailbreak – XCOM must infiltrate an ADVENT jail and rescue 2-4 Resistance members. Success increases the strength of the Resistance in that region. Concealed.

• Rescue VIP - XCOM must lead a VIP (a soldier, scientist, or engineer) to the extraction point. No concealment.

• Hack a Workstation - XCOM must hack a particular workstation. Awards intel upon completion. Concealed.

Retaliation Missions

Retaliation missions trigger with increasing frequency and severity as XCOM takes action in a particular region and draws attention towards it. Retaliation missions have no infiltration timer. The Haven Advisor of a region, if a soldier, will typically be present at these missions, alongside various resistance personnel outfitted with the basic weapons and equipment that rookie XCOM personnel deploy with.

• Rendezvous: When XCOM rescues or recruits resistance members, there is a chance that they may be Faceless; when a Faceless disguised as a member of the Resistance is detected as it goes to meet with its ADVENT handlers, Resistance personnel from the local haven will deploy to the scene and hunt it down. You will not be able to arm or equip a squad to this mission. XCOM must detect Faceless by stationing a solider as the Haven advisor. Concealed.

• Supply Raid: XCOM must deploy a squad to defend a supply convoy and its Resistance personnel from ADVENT attacks. No concealment.

• Intel Raid: ADVENT attacks a Resistance listening post and XCOM must deploy a squad to defend its equipment and Resistance personnel. No concealment.

• Recruitment Raid: ADVENT forces attack Resistance recruiters within a region. XCOM must deploy a squad and extract those Resistance members. No concealment.

• Full Retaliation: XCOM must defend the Haven and it's Resistance members against an onslaught of ADVENT forces until the Skyranger can get into position for extraction. No concealment.

1. Many advent in the AO trying to kill members of your resistance haven. You must rush to kill them to save resistance members. This mission can yield corpses.
2. Advent drops unlimited reinforcements and you must rally all resistance members and soldiers to the EVAC zone to save them. This mission will not yield corpses.

• Region Invasion: ADVENT attempts to retake a liberated region by assaulting a city center. XCOM must destroy a psionic relay that summons continuous reinforcements, then eliminate any remaining forces. No concealment.

Liberation Missions

As part of its attempts to liberate a region from ADVENT control, XCOM will conduct a set sequence of five operations. The early missions are difficult to detect and the later missions receive an substantial bonus to activity level, over and above the strength value of the region.

• Liberation 1: Hacking Guerrilla Op. The mission objectives won't actually have the word "liberation" in the title. But you can tell Liberation 1 from the rewards. It will just be a certain amount of Intel (with no listed Intel package). Concealed.
• Liberation 2: Rescue Defector. XCOM must rescue a VIP from a car and move to the extraction point. Concealed.
• Liberation 3: There are at least 2 possible mission types. One is a Dark VIP mission (which seems to be more common) and also a Destroy the Relay mission. Either mission type you get will have "Liberation" as part of the objective. Now do take note, Lib3 will also have an Advent strength bonus (above the regional base) meaning the baseline activity will be a decent amount higher as well as the tech you'll be facing. So go in nice and prepared for this one.
• Liberation 4 - Regional Network Tower Liberation: XCOM must deploy to and liberate an advent network tower. This will not expire once unlocked, and is quite difficult. Concealed.
• Liberation 5 - ADVENT Facility Assault: XCOM must deploy to and overtake a well-defended ADVENT facility. This will not expire once unlocked, and is quite difficult. Concealed.

Note that failing or skipping a liberation mission does not reset the path. You'll just have to detect it again (unless it's the tower or base, which are persistent once you unlock them).

Collecting Enemy Corpses

Long War 2 uses the correct term for military equipment and supplies: materiel.

Most missions in Long War 2 require you to evacuate and you do not keep the bodies of fallen Advent or Aliens. As corpses are much more valuable in Long War 2 players should make special consideration for missions which do allow them to keep the corpses of fallen foes. Missions that let you keep corpses will list the reward of "enemy materiel".

The following mission types allow collection of enemy materiel:

• Ambush troop column
• Supply raid
• Intel raid
• Haven Defense
• Invasion
• Rendezvous

Strategy

As Vahlen has taught us, explosives destroy all recoverable materiel when delivering the killing blow as both a possible loot drop and the corpse will be destroyed. Flamethrowers also destroy corpses if the initial hit kills the target, though burning damage will leave a collectible corpse and drop timed loot if carried. Consider using the Needle Grenades perk for grenadiers if you are in need of explosives use.

It may be beneficial to sabotage your infiltration percentage to increase the enemy presence if you feel you will be victorious. You are allowed to start any infiltration mission early from the geoscape. Note that enemy readiness will also be boosted if you begin prematurely, increasing their detection range, evac delay, and reinforcements strength.