Storyline (EU2012)

WARNING: EXTREME SPOILERS!

Storyline Structure

The storyline structure is divided into five narrative parts, each with is own soundtrack and specific news items:

1. Agnostic
2. Act 1 - after capturing first alien and obtaining the Outsider Shard.
3. Act 2 - after assaulting the Alien Base.
4. Act 3 - after building the Hyperwave Relay/Psi Link.
5. Final mission.

XCOM's Objectives

In order to progress in the storyline there are certain milestones that need to be reached. The table below lists the path to completing (and winning the game). Each objective consists of a number of subobjectives that need to be completed before moving to the next.

Game Objectives

Objective	Subobjective	Description
Capture A Live Alien	* Construct the Alien Containment Facility * Research the Arc Thrower * Build an Arc Thrower * Capture a Live Alien * Interrogate the Captive Alien	* "An Alien Containment Facility is required to safely house an alien captive. From Engineering, select Alien Containment Facility from the list of available options to begin construction." * "The Arc Thrower is needed to disable a potential alien captive without killing it. From the Research Labs, select Arc Thrower from the list of available research options to begin the process." * "With the necessary research completed, return to Engineering and select Arc Thrower from the list of available items to fabricate the device." * "After equipping one or more of your soldiers with an Arc Thrower via the Soldier loadout screen in the Barracks, you can deploy and begin seeking out an alien target for capture. The Arc Thrower has a limited range, which will require our troops to get very close to the intended target." * "With the alien captive retrieved from the field, we should begin the interrogation as soon as possible. From the Research Labs, select the Interrogate alien option to begin."
Capture an Outsider Alien	* Capture an Outsider Alien * Research the Outsider Shard * Build the Skeleton Key	* "Using an Arc Thrower, stun an Outsider alien to retrieve it for further study. Outsiders have been spotted in close proximity to UFO crash sites." * "With the Outsider Shard retrieved, we should begin researching it immediately. From the Research Labs, select Outsider Shard from the list of available research options to begin. * "Now that we fully understand the capabilities of the Outsider Shard, Dr. Shen can fabricate the Skeleton Key. From Engineering, select Skeleton Key from list of available build options to begin."
Assault the Alien Base	* Assault the Alien Base	"* With Dr. Shen's newly developed Skeleton Key, we can now attempt to infiltrate the alien base. From Mission Control, accept the Alien Base mission."
Trace the Hyperwave Signal	* Research the Hyperwave Beacon * Construct the Hyperwave Relay * Scan with the Hyperwave Relay	* Dr. Vahlen is eager to begin studying the alien device recovered from their base. From the Research Labs, select Research Hyperwave Beacon to begin." * "After researching the Hyperwave Beacon, we'll need a facility to house the device in before we attempt to activate it. From Engineering, select the Hyperwave Relay from the list of available choices to begin construction." * "With the Hyperwave Relay in place, we should begin scanning for new contacts from Mission Control. It's possible the relay will detect something we've missed in our previous scans."
Intercept the Overseer UFO	* Research an Advanced Fighter Craft * Build the Firestorm * Intercept the Overseer UFO * Assault the Crashed Overseer UFO	"Without a more powerful jet of our own, we have little chance of shooting down the alien Overseer UFO. Select Research Advanced Fighter Craft from the Research Labs to begin developing the necessary schematics." * "Having completed our research into the advanced fighter prototype, we can now begin fabricating our new jet in Engineering by selecting Build Firestorm." * "We'll need to shoot down the Overseer UFO if we hope to gain access to the systems onboard that ship." * "With the Overseer UFO shot down, we'll need to deploy our troops to the crash site as soon as possible. From Mission Control, accept the Crash Site mission to begin the assault."
Use the Ethereal Device	* Research the Ethereal Device * Construct the Gollop Chamber * Study a Psionic Alien * Build the Psi Labs Facility * Test Soldiers for Psionic Powers * Increase our Soldiers' Psionic Strength * Use the Ethereal Device	"The device recovered from the Ethereal alien species is ready for testing. From the Research Labs, select the Ethereal Device from the available options to begin the necessary research." * "In order to fully test the capabilities of the Ethereal device we recovered, we'll need a specialized facility to house it in first. From Engineering, select the Gollop Chamber facility from the list of available options to begin construction." * "We should begin studying a Psionic alien in order to gain a better understanding of these strange abilities. From the Research Labs, conduct an autopsy or interrogation on one of the Psionic alien species." * "We should begin studying a Psionic alien in order to gain a better understanding of these strange abilities. From the Research Labs, conduct an interrogation on one of the Psionic alien species." * "In order to begin testing our troops for any sign of psionic powers, we'll need to build the appropriate facility first. From Engineering, select the Psi Labs from the list of available options to begin construction." * "Having constructed the Psi-Labs, we can now begin testing our soldiers for psionic abilities. From within the Barracks, select the Psi-Labs option. You can test up to three soldiers at the same time. We'll need to continue these tests until we find a suitable candidate." * "Before a psionic soldier can use the Ethereal device, we must augment their psionic defense against whatever dangers they may encounter. Equip a psionically-gifted soldier with a suit of Psi Armor." * "We believe the only way we can activate the Ethereal device is by strengthing our soldier's psionic abilities by equipping the psi-armor." * "We now have a soldier powerful enough to attempt activation of the Ethereal device. Enter the Gollop Chamber and select the soldier who will attempt to use the device."
Assault the Temple Ship	* Assault the Temple Ship	"Having located the Temple ship and identified our Volunteer, we've made all of the necessary preparations to assault the alien craft. Proceed to Mission Control and accept the final mission. The Volunteer must survive."

Storyline Specific Missions

Assault the 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. Chryssalids and Drones will show up regardless of current progress. Warning: losing this mission will result in losing the game.

Assault the crashed 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 and equipment aids. 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. Sectopod(s) will show up regardless of current progress. If you can't shoot down the Overseer UFO or choose not to assault it after it crashes it will reappear later on.

Assault the Temple Ship

The final mission of the game. Your mission is to get to the bridge of the Temple Ship, 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. (But you can restart mission even on Ironman) 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. Warning: losing this mission will result in losing the game.