UFOs (EU2012)

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UFO Types

The UFOs deployed by the aliens range in size and the mission profiles they are most commonly seen on, and have other parameters yet to be determined. The exact aliens each craft carry can vary considerably due to timeline, story progression and difficulty level.

Amount of aliens on crashed UFO mission will always be lesser than on a UFO that landed on its own. Usually you get the least possible amount on your first time you get a mission, and it goes up from there (for example, first Large Scout landing will usually have 3 groups of aliens, while latter ones will have 4. Difficulty levels seem to act as a limit on how far this can go - for example, on Classic you will never get more than 5 enemy packs on a Supply Barge mission, however on Impossible it may as well go up to 7.

Salvage is also highly variable, so the numbers below reflect a heavily damaged UFO (lower numbers) versus a pristine UFO (higher numbers). Take note that destroying UFO walls by use of explosives or stray shots will further deduce from the amount of salvage you're going to get, as well as fires started by weapon fire or cyberdisk explosions will eat up walls and even destroy flight computers or power sources they come in contact with, also reducing the amount of salvage you will get, so act accordingly.

First appearance information (in which month UFO appears for the first time) is based on Classic/Impossible difficulty (may be different on lesser difficulties) and on the assumption that player handles every UFO that appears (intercepts every flying UFO and assaults every UFO landed on its own will). Failing to handle a UFO may spawn a larger UFO on Destroy Satellite mission, which will allow larger UFO's to appear earlier than usual. UFO's first appearance is always in its flying state, and its second appearance is mostly in its grounded state, meaning, that your second detected Small Scout, Large Scout, Abductor, Supply Barge is usually grounded. However, Battleships seem to never land naturally.

  • Groups of alien troops refer to any alien other than outsiders, sectoid commanders and ethereals. Number before slash is the number of groups when UFO crash landed after being shot down, number after slash is when UFO landed on its own.
  • Command aliens are outsiders, sectoid commanders or ethereals with muton elite guards. These will vary depending on whether you have assaulted the base or overseer UFO, respectively.

Small Scout

The most basic UFO, which can be easily handled by the default Interceptor with minimal damage sustained.

First appearance

  • Month 1

Complement

  • 2 / 3 groups of alien troops.
  • 1 command alien on the bridge.

Salvage

  • X - 72 Alien Alloys
  • X - 31 Elerium
  • 0 - 2 UFO Flight Computers
  • 0 - 1 UFO Power Sources

Large Scout

Can be handled by a default interceptor, with heavy damage sustained.

First appearance

  • Month 2

Complement

  • 2-3 / 4-5 groups of alien troops.
  • 1 command group on the bridge.

Salvage

  • 120 - 172 Alien Alloys
  • 50 - 56 Elerium
  • 0 - 4 UFO Flight Computers
  • 0 - 2 UFO Power Sources

Overseer

This UFO only appears after the Hyperwave Relay is built and will never appear again once it is shot down and assaulted. It has about the same size as a Large Scout but with a different inner design, consisting of a central bridge that can only be accessed through one door, unlike the disposition of the scout craft.

First appearance

  • Appears immediately after Hyperwave Relay goes online (which takes unspecified amount of time after it is built)

Complement

  • 3-4 groups of alien troops (always crashed).
  • 1 Ethereal and 2 Elite Mutons on the bridge.

Salvage

  • 73 Elerium
  • 128 Alien Alloys
  • 3 - 4 navigation
  • 4 power sources
  • Ethereal device

Abductor

This UFO will be announced by Central as being "much larger than the UFOs we have previously encountered". You'll need an interceptor with an upgraded weapon to take one down consistently (4 x Avalanche, 2 x Phoenix Canon or 1 x Laser Canon should be enough). The UFO itself is composed of multiple levels, including operating tables and stasis pods.

First appearance

  • Month 3

Complement

  • 2-3 / 4-5 groups of alien troops.
  • 1-2 command aliens on the bridge.

Salvage

  • 172 - 207 Alien Alloys
  • 56 - 76 Elerium
  • 3 - 4 UFO Flight Computers
  • 1 - 2 UFO Power Sources
  • 4 - 6 Alien Stasis Tank
  • 2 - 3 Alien Surgery

Supply Barge

Larger than an abductor and only seems to show up after abductors. It will be very difficult to down one of these without laser or plasma weapons on your interceptor. One interceptor with EMP is usually enough. This UFO is composed of multiple levels, with the majority of the ship devoted to a series of massive cargo holds.

First appearance

  • Month 4

Complement

  • 4 / 5-7 groups of alien troops.
  • 1-2 command aliens on the bridge.

Mission: Harvest live specimens

Salvage

  • X - 235 Alien Alloys
  • X - 120 Elerium
  • X - 4 UFO Flight Computers
  • X - 4 UFO Power Sources
  • X-2 alien surgery
  • X-8 stasis tanks

Battleship

An advanced large UFO. Engage only with a Firestorm armed with an EMP Cannon, Plasma Canon or Fusion Lance. Using the latter guarantees a win, otherwise expect one Firestorm to be unsufficient. One Firestorm with EMP Cannon and 1 use of Dodge is enough. Expect to take moderate-heavy damage. Unless you make good use of dodge while closing in and then aim to ensure it is downed in 2-3 shots.

First appearance

  • Month 6

Complement

  • 7-9 groups of alien troops (always crashed).
  • 2 command aliens on the bridge.

Salvage

  • 167 - 331 Alien Alloys
  • 93 - 138 Elerium
  • 1 - 4 UFO Flight Computers
  • 0 - 4 UFO Power Sources
  • 2 Fusion Core

Temple Ship

The final challenge. For more details see the Storyline page (massive spoilers!).

UFO Missions

UFOs can be found on a variety of missions, however you will be unable to see what missions they are on until you have built a Hyperwave Relay in your HQ.

Scouting

The UFO will roam around in the region it is patrolling. If left unattended, may trigger arrival of a UFO on Destroy Satellite mission in the following several days.

Notice that following UFO will be a larger-class UFO. This can be used to your advantage: by letting scouting UFO get away on purpose, you are increasing amount of loot you can get from a successful crash recovery mission. However, be prepared to take down the larger UFO and win a harder tactical mission.

It is not yet known how the size of the following UFO is chosen, but there are several observations:

  • Letting Small Scout go spawns Large Scout (in the first month)
  • Letting Abductor go spawns Battleship

Destroy Satellite

The UFO will hunt for and destroy a satellite in the country it is patrolling. You will be told that "New contact that gives off a distinct signature, as if it is looking for something". Researching Stealth Satellites from the Foundry reduces chance of the UFO to succeed.

This mission can only happen if you let go an airborne UFO or ignore grounded (not crashed) UFO on Scouting mission, and is a good way of getting more battleships in order to harvest more Fusion Cores for your Blaster Launcher production.

Harvest Live Specimens

Conducted by Supply Barge and Abductors (and possibly other UFO)

Final Preparation

Final Preparation is the mission undertaken by the Overseer UFO.

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