Psionics (Apocalypse)

X-Com agents use their latent psionic powers to attack an enemy with their mind.

In General

• A naturally gifted unit can use a Mind Bender to telepathically manipulate any unit on the battlescape. The victim cannot be injured or killed outright but can be anally probed, stunned, demoralised, or mind-controlled.
• An agent who has been trained in a Psi-Gym will become adept in the use of psionic projections.

Psi Attributes

An agent has three psionic traits that govern their ability to either project or to resist 'mind games'.

Psi Energy

Agent's psionic energy available to project onto a victim. Slowly recharges.

Psi Skill

Agent's aptitude of performing the particular choice of psionic projection.

Psi Defence

The agent's ability to resist psionic manipulation.

Agents For Hire

Humans: Humans have very low psionic attributes and need maximum training to perform even the easiest of psionic projections.(Probe Unit).
Hybrids: Sectoid-Human hybrids are best suited for training due to their high base-level psionic attributes. To have the best Psi-Troops, hybrids available for hire should be selected for the best natural psionic ability levels, since training will triple the base values.
Androids: Androids cannot use psionics which also makes them immune to any projections.

Training

An agent's ability to perform psionic projections is very weak even for hybrids. Abilities will become much more powerful and with a greater chance of success when a suitable agent is trained to completion.

• Psionics ability is trained inside the base facility: Psi-Gym.
  
• The training of attributes will cease when the original psionic-skill-set values have tripled.

Psionic Targets

• Any unit to be manipulated must be directly visible to the agent which will be performing the projection.
• The percentage chance to succeed is best when above 75% otherwise energy levels may be needlessly depleted until slowly recharged for another try.
• Projections will not work on entites that are immune or those which have naturally strong psionic resistance. The easiest function of a mind bender projection: Probe Unit, may have little chance to succeed on resistant entities and other projection choices available on the mind bender will mostly fail when attempted. (mind-control at 13% has been successful ...only once)
• Projections can be used with a good chance of success on any unit that can carry a weapon: humans, anthropods and skeletoids since their resistance is low.

Broken Projection

To avoid X-Com agents being the subject of mind games, any unit must quickly break visual contact with the hostile which has succeeded in performing a projection of "Stun Unit" or "Panic Unit" since these are timed based, dependant on the hostiles Psi Energy. A "Control Unit" (mind control) projection performed by a hostile either works or doesn't, thus, is unavoidable.
If Psi Energy is depleted, any active projections will immediately fail.
A psi projection will cease if the target goes outside of the psi-trooper's line of sight ...according to the game manual, but this is wrong.

Psionics Against Neutrals

Building security are commonly the target of mind manipulation when performing a raid.
Any mind-controlled entity is classed as an X-Com unit. If you place that entity into a very dangerous situation then cease the mind-control, it is of no concern to X-Com why that unit decided to detonate a grenade at their feet or jump off from a very high roof.
If any unit is injured while under mind control, this is viewed as an X-Com agent being hurt, however, if the mind-controlled unit is killed, it is classed as friendly fire and not direct enemy action. If the majority are killed off, others on the map may start to panic.

Psionics And You

• Only 'weapon carriers' should be attacked with psionics. Others are strongly resistant.
• Hire hybrids that have a higher than average psionic skill set and assign them to Psi Gym training immediately. When capable, they can assist is battle and gain comabt experience if using a weapon (preferabily a light-weight pistol) along with the mind bender.
• If possible, some hybrids can do combat training and some learn in the psi gym, swapping them over occasionally (eg: every four weeks). Accuracy training proceeds faster if they can shoot and hit something on the battlescape.
• Mind controlled entities should be convinced to throw their weapons away to somewhere out of reach, drop primed grenades at their feet, play 'catch' with a live proximity mine with their old friends, see how far they can jump fly when up high on a roof, run into stun-gas clouds, go play in a fire, and go find other hostiles to show X-Com how many friends they have.

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