UFOs (EU2012)
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.
The amount of aliens on a crashed UFO mission will always be lesser than on a UFO that Landed UFO 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 Cyberdisc explosions will eat up walls and even destroy UFO Flight Computers or UFO 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 (or 'bridge) aliens are Outsiders, Sectoid Commanders or Ethereals with Muton Elite guards. These will vary depending on whether you have assaulted the Alien Base or Overseer UFO, respectively.
For additional information, check the links below and the maps section for the appropriate UFO.
- Small Scout
- Large Scout
- Overseer
- Abductor
- Supply Barge
- Battleship
- 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 Blaster Launcher production.
Harvest Live Specimens
Conducted by Supply Barges and Abductors (and possibly other UFO)
Final Preparation
Final Preparation is the mission undertaken by the Overseer UFO.