Strategies for Troops (Apocalypse)
Battlescape Fighting Strategies and Tactics against the Aliens.
Battlescape General
- The battlescape will be identical for the type of crashed UFO, but the aliens will be placed randomly at the start. eg: it is possible to have eggs spawn outside.
- The terrain in which the UFO rests is not owned by anyone and its destruction does not influence the 'Damage to City' score.
- Craft armaments are visible on the hull and may explode from further damage.
UFO Crash Landscape
Alien crash-recovery battlescapes typically have a basic layout of:
- Access somewhere at ground level and always via a door (with only one single exception).
- External armaments visible on the perimeter and on the roof.
- Sections of the outer skin and roof coloured differently to the general colour of the whole UFO to resemble 'windows' (some are translucent).
- Roof typically has large circular darker skin sections which are more resistant to damage.
- Grav lift access to higher levels inside the UFO.
- Armaments visible inside the craft near the perimeter, typically near 'windows'.
- A UFO that is also eqipped with missile weapons, the weapon's ammunition is stored in exposed areas inside the craft.
- Craft devices located in small rooms in the upper sections.
- Multiple engines, fuel stores, and control systems.
- A trench in the terrain usually with spot fires and smoke.
Destruction
Everything but the grav-lifts inside a UFO can be destroyed resulting in collapse, small fires, explosions, gas clouds etc. Fuel stores, missiles, engines etc. are especially dangerous due to massive explosions when hit from even the lightest weaponry, often resulting in complete destruction of the immediate area including breeches of the hull ...which can be an alternative entry point into the UFO.
Note: Craft devices (shield modules, cloaking device, teleporter, etc.) will be present inside the alien craft even though such devices were not activated in cityscape combat. Recovery of these technologies is only possible when they used first by the alien menace, which depends on UFOs Shot Down score.
Skin Breech
- Unconventional access is prefered if faced with difficult or deadly lifeforms.
- External weapons (perimeter or roof) can be destroyed to create a hole.
- Roof access from a hole in the (exact) center is usually directly above the main grav-lift which may allow bypassing an ambush.
- The 'windows' at the perimeter can allow direct access to the floorplan if breeched (instead of cutting through multiple layers of thick hull at randoms area).
- Detonation of the craft's internal engines/fuel store (caution falling debris) which are close to the external wall may produce large holes and may collapse internal platforms, walkways, etc.
- Craft armaments (one of each) will always be recovered irrelevant of damage sustained to the hull.
Starting An Assault
Note: real-time discription
There are two main scenarios for battlescape crash recovery: the aliens are already outside, or the aliens are still inside!
Develop tactics that work for you! ...depending on loadout, agent quantity or type etc. This is only a basic suggestion.
Outside
The UFO crash site is always in terrain which contains alot of trees. Agents walking and cautious will fire on anything hostile and use cover, unless flying. Sweep the battlescape (including the roof when skeletoids are present) to kill off any surprises. Locate the doors...
Inside
...at first opportunity, throw a primed proximity mine near each door. Poppers love proximity mines! One door is commonly in a trench, so position your agents on the ridge on both sides of the door, however if not in a trench, position your agents in a large semi-circle facing the door and wait for the mine to go off. When the commotion starts, throw a stun grenade where the door was and kill any that try to escape the cloud. Keep refreshing the stun gas cloud to diminish any smoke grenade effect. When it the initial rush of aliens slows, kill the stunned via forced fire which are not needed for research (with agents that need experience) or stand on the alien body to 'save it' for live recovery. Careful of Poppers! If no more aliens are willing to get killed exit the craft, use Cautious Attitude (green) then walk troops into the UFO. A motion scanner is useful. Find the chrysalids and you should find the rest of them. Usually when there are no coccoons or eggs, all aliens will exit their craft.
UFO Crash Recovery
Tactics specific for each UFO, check each page for: Battlescape Information.
Transporter
Fast Attack
Destroyer
Assault
Bomber
Escort
Battleship
Mothership
Buildings In Mega-Primus
- When fighting inside any building, conservative use of explosives is recommended, unless the building is owned by a hostile organisation.
- Small X-Com cleanup crew = Small battlescape (if not heavily infested).
- Time is not an issue. Don't rush.
- Motion scanner is essential. No surprises = no ambush.
- Civilians are good target practice!
Slums
All slums are nine levels high with terrain which is diverse. Flat open areas of dirty woodland to large derelict buildings for squatters.
Aliens will move about in large loose groups unless eggs or coccoons need protection. Searching rooms can become (very tedious in Turn-Based combat) easier if a motion scanner is used. Trapping a hostile in a building by demolishing parts of it is an easy method to isolate an alien if needed for a later stun, or target practice if not. Hit-and-run style of fighting may be a better option within areas such as grasslands (weak cover) or roads (no cover) if not using smoke. Flying and dropping bombs/gas, hiding on the roof with snipers or grenadiers, ambush with swords in a corridor is an easy method to neutralise dangerous units. Splitting a hostile force into smaller groups is possible by removing walkways, stairs, etc. since some units cannot jump.
A dirty blight on the sterile city of Mega-Primus.
Temple Of Sirius
Indoor church-like terrain with large rooms seperated by weak walls, doors in some corners and some with small tunnels underneath.
The rooms are not complicated and offer many areas of cover. The divider walls are easily destroyed and allows a more direct route for long range weapons. Maximum height is four levels so flying is not important. Tunnels offer the better movement option since open areas above may allow missiles to fly cleanly or your troops to be flanked by the cultists.
Zealots and guns!
Corporate Headquarters
Large. Expensive. Modern. Three styles of executive buildings with open areas of sparse wooded grasslands.
One style of battlescape is a single large building with massive entrance staircase and large lobby which commonly is the area of battle due to the grav lift able to move a large force without restriction. The upper levels will often hide the remaining hostile units if they are not hiding amongst the trees.
A second style of battlescape a wide, long thoroughfare lined with numerous multi-level small office bloocks. Hostiles usually are loitering on the main route with some in the upper office levels. Any isolated enemy may be found in the tunnels between the offices.
The last style contains office blocks with banked grassy slopes. The scattered placement of the offices governs a more methodical approach when sweeping the battlescape since tunnels and corridors allow easy flanking movements or ambushes.
The coffee doesn't taste right.
Apartments
A hotel style of battlescape with grid like pattern of repetitive two-level rooms with garish wallpaper and carpets.
Clean and simple hallways connecting the budget rooms allows long range firefights interspread with hostile ambushes when searching the rooms for stragglers. Flight is restricted and not necessary. Smoke will allow cover in longer hallways. Aliens are usually grouped in one part with roaming poppers being a deadly threat due to limited height. A motion scanner should be used to check the rooms. Any anomalous traces inside should be destroyed with explosive thrown from outside to blow out the walls. The doors are choke-points.
No room service!
Megapol Police Station
A convoluted design of flammable corridors connecting many rooms of various size providing ambush opportunities within the three-level battlescape.
Fighting is common to the room level since tunnel access is usually restricted to just a single door. A sweep with higher reaction skilled X-Com troopers is recommended due to the small offices and narrow corridors limiting evasive movement from explosives. Tunnels are straight and can be level-long; rockets being the deadliest since no opportunity to dodge except at intersections. Removing the floor above hostiles in the tunnels limits their ambushes.
No criminals in the cells!
Lifetree Schools
The ultimate in convoluted design! A small squad usually gets a 3-level battlescape, large squads get double height of the segments (the 3-level segments are mixed again, then placed on top of the original 3). Thats why everyone says school sucks!
Large classrooms with hallways allowing entry via grav lift into basement corridors (sub-floor space of segments). Aliens are commonly found moving throughout the level via these spaces and will flank agents from multiple directions. Methodical clearance of each segment needs a larger than usual X-Com force to remove surprises. If double height, these sub-space corridors are now 'above their heads' which can be made impassable by explosives from below.
Arms Factory
A concrete shell of large areas manufacturing and testing missiles of various types, storage rooms big and small, small office areas and occasionally a Autotrans vehicle for deliveries.
Missile testing rooms and scattered missile parts are common in many factory segments and are very explosive! Office segments are compact and flammable.
No smoking!
Sewage Works
A complicated design of large pipes, round ponds full of 'chocloate bars', restrictive access for ground-based units but ideal for ambush.
Smells like flowers!
Power Station
A simple and clean design of wind and hydro generators with backup gas burning power facilities. Overhead view looks like a circuit diagram.
Senso & Astro Domes
Large open areas with stadium seating and dining rooms. Sensovision contains television production rooms, Gravball League contains locker rooms.
Industrial And Manufacturing
Robot Factory, Appliances Factory, Construction Factory, Large Flyer Factory, Flyer Factory, Car Factory. Open-plan factory floor with numerous conveyor belts, worktables, process machinery, storage, with many robotic workers...
Hydro Farms
Food production facility by Nutrivend for an organic plant-based diet. No meat! Large structures of tiered greenhouses for vertical farming.
Recyclotoriums
A waste processing facility of all of garbage generated in Mega-Primus. A long snaking trough filled with trash. Small overhead walkways and the occasional power cabinet. Recycles all matter.