UFOs (Long War)
UFOs come in a variety of different sizes and configuration, knowing what works well against what UFO, can make the difference between victory and defeat. Below is a short general description of the types of UFOs that the player can encounter in the Long war. Unlike Vanilla, Long War UFOs get better over time. Just as the player researches and upgrades his or her interceptors, so too does the Aliens upgrade their UFOs. This means that new tactics need to be employed during later stages of the game, as Late game UFOs can vary wildly from Early game UFO of the same type.
Small UFOs.
Scout
Durability: Low.
Armor: None.
These will be the first UFO's that the player will encounter. They will start appearing during the first half of the first month and continue to show up, throughout the game. Scouts are unarmoured and lightly armed, but fast moving, meaning that the interception window is very small. However, they are, easily (as easy at it gets in Long War) shot down by interceptors. Although they give very little in terms of Alloys and Elerium, they offer a great opportunity to train new soldiers, Avalanche Missiles work well against this type of UFO.
As the war progresses, it is sometimes wiser to let Scouts fly away and save Interceptors for bigger, more important interception targets.
Fighter
Durability: Low.
Armor: Light.
These UFOs, appear during the first month and the can be recognised by a purple strobe, emanating from their blip. Unlike the Scout, the Figther can pose a serious threat to Interceptors. As they are armoured, it is highly advised to use Stingray missiles to punch through their armor. If a Fighter is in high orbit, it is likely searching for a country's satellite, therefore it is a good idea to check its altitude, before deciding to engage a fighter or not. As the war progresses, Fighters become much more dangerous towards interceptors, with increases to armor and a much faster fire rate, making them a nightmare to shoot down in the later stages of the war.
Medium UFOs.
Raider
Durability: Moderate.
Armor: Very light
These UFOs usually start appearing during the latter half of the first month. Tougher and better armored than the scout, the Raider serves a similar purpose. With a larger chassis and bigger guns, several interceptors are required to reliably bring one down. Both Avalanche and Stingray missiles work well against this UFO. Raiders are a good way to gather Alloys and Elerium, as the crew contingent is rather small.
Destroyer
Durability: Moderate.
Armor: Moderate.
Well armored and well armed, this aptly named UFO will destroy unprepared Interceptors. Usually appearing during the second month, the Destroyer requires a concerted effort to bring down, while not impossible it is usually not worth it. Use Stingrays against this UFO, as Avalanche Missiles will do little damage against its armored shell. Ideally higher tier weaponry such as the Phoenix Coilgun or Laser Cannon should be used.. When engaging Destroyers, it is a good idea to have at least one or two foundry projects completed, that increase the survivability of interceptors. A full contingent of (unupgraded) Interceptors, can bring down a Destroyer but doing so, will most likely mean that there are no interceptors left to defend the airspace. Unless prepared for, think twice before trying to shoot down this UFO.
Overseer
Codename: Fulcrum.
Durability: High.
Armor: Very Heavy.
As of Beta 10, a gamebreaking bug that caused the Overseer to always explode has been fixed, so a full game is now playable.
Functions nearly the same as in Vanilla, and still roughly tied with the Battleship as the hardest to take down. At minimum, an experienced Firestorm with EMP cannons and all three modules used, may have a chance of taking it down in lower diffculties. In harder diffculties, 2-3 Firestorms will be needed, along with a score of modules each.
However: now expect other Overseer UFOs to pop up on occasion.
Large UFOs.
Abductor
Durability: High
Armor: Moderate/Heavy
These UFO's will pop-up randomly and fly towards a country. You won't be able to take these on during the early stages of the war. You'll need some experienced pilots in upgraded interceptors, equipped with high tier weaponry, such as Laser Cannons or Plasma Cannons to have a fighting chance. It is somewhat possible to take them down with 1 Interceptor, with generous Module use, luck, and about 20 seconds of sustained Phoenix Coilgun fire.
However, they can be avoided, as they will not go after Satellites or go on bombing runs over cities. Abductors, as their name implies, spawn Abduction missions, unless they are shot down before this happens.
It is signifcantly harder to shoot down an Abductor, than it is to let it land and then handle the Abduction mission (in countries with lower levels of Panic, at least). The reward for shooting down and successfully assaulting one of these crafts are plenty (though not enough) of Alloys and Elerium, as well as damaged equipment, which can be sold on the Grey Market. The difference between the credits received from this, versus the Council Reward for the Abduction response, can be minimal (to signifcantly-in-favor of shooting it down, in the case of some artifacts surviving). So, if it's within your ability, the choice may come down to risking damage on 1-3 Interceptors and handling 2-3 reduced pods of aliens in a crash site (and maybe getting some functional artifacts), or letting it go and handling a larger number of full pods in a city.
Supply Barge (Harvester)
Durability: High
Armor: Low/Moderate
These UFOs sometimes pass through airspace with a satellite, during the early stages of the war. Like Abductors, going against one early is a very unwise decision as it can decimate interceptors rather quickly. You'll need some experienced pilots in upgraded interceptors, equipped with high tier weaponry, such as Laser Cannons or Plasma Cannons to take one down reliably. These UFO's fly around and gather materials, meaning that sometimes there is a chance to assault one, while it is landed. During the early months this can be a suicide mission, but if successful, you gain quicker access to higher tiers of weaponry and research, aswell as distrupt alien research, making them take longer to research new weapons and armor.
If you can reliably clear out landed ones, but not fast enough to get to the Meld canisters on this lengthy UFO: don't worry. As that if you are doing this well; the canisters will only have 3 Meld each at this point.
Transport
Durability: Very High.
Armor: Heavy.
This UFO, is functionally identical to the Abductor, it is heavily armored and packs quite the weaponry. You're liable to have one land before you can shoot one down, giving an opportunity to assault it and take one intact, giving rewarding you with loads of alloys and elerium, though you have to remove the contingent of aliens first.
Very Large UFOs.
Battleship
Durability: Very high
Armor: Heavy
As the name implies, these massive ships are some of the most dangerous craft an interceptor can go against. They are highly armored, and packed to the teeth with laser cannons. Having several firestorms, with the best Air weapons available, with almost all foundry upgrades, aswell as a surplus of Dodging, aiming and tracking modules gives a slight chance to shoot one down. They sometimes spawn as transports for terror missions, DON'T engage them, Don't even try as it is not worth it and they can one-shot interceptors and sometimes two-shot firestorms.
Unless well prepared, DO not engage these ships.