UFOs (Long War)
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UFOs come in a variety of different sizes and configuration, and 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, 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.
It is also important to note that a new 'UFO Analysis' Research will become available after raiding a crashed or landed UFO, matching the type of the UFO. Once this Analysis project is completed, your fighters will have better chances of quickly taking down UFOs of the same type in future. This is essential if you intend to engage the tougher craft more than once!
Small UFOs.
Scout
Firepower: Low (1x Single Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +7
Durability: Low (750)
Armor: None (0)
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. They are, at least, easily (for 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
Firepower: Moderate (1x Single Plasma)/(2x Single Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +7
Durability: Low (850)
Armor: Light (12)
These UFOs appear during the first month and the can be recognised by a purple strobe emanating from their blip. Unlike the Scout, the Fighter 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
Firepower: Moderate (1x Single Plasma)/(2x Single Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +7
Durability: Moderate (1500)
Armor: Very light (5)
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
Firepower: High (1x Single Plasma)/(1x Double Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +15
Durability: Moderate (1600)
Armor: Moderate (18)
Well armored and well armed, this aptly named UFO will annihilate unprepared Interceptors. Usually appearing during the second month, the Destroyer requires a concerted effort to bring down, and while it's not impossible it is usually not worth the risk early on. As the Destroyer is well-armoured, Stingray Missiles will be more effective than Avalanche Missiles - though higher tier weapons such as the Phoenix Coilgun or Laser Cannon should be used if available. Interceptor Upgrade Projects are essential to ensuring swift and effective takedowns - otherwise a full contingent of unupgraded Interceptors may be required, and doing so will most likely mean that there are no interceptors left to defend the continent's airspace for several weeks.
Overseer
Firepower: Very High (1x Double Plasma, 1x Single Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +25
Codename: Fulcrum
Durability: High (2500)
Armor: Very Heavy (40)
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.
One thing to keep in mind is that additional Overseers can appear, as opposed to it being a one-time plot event. Given the risk/challenge of shooting this craft down, compared to the material rewards, one may wish to ignore these additional Overseers.
Large UFOs.
Abductor
Firepower: High (1x Double Plasma)/(1x Double Plasma, 1x Single Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +2
Durability: High (3000)
Armor: Moderate/Heavy (30)
These UFO's will pop up randomly and fly towards a country, though 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 are almost exclusively used for either abduction or research missions, so they will almost always either land or spawn an abduction mission, either way allowing you to thwart its mission with a ground assault.
It is significantly 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, but the difference between the credits received from salvage versus the Council reward for the abduction mission can be minimal, so only shoot it down if you really want the alloys and elerium, or can easily afford the damage to your interceptors.
Supply Barge (Harvester)
Firepower: Moderate (1x Double Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +3
Durability: High (2500)
Armor: Low/Moderate (20)
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, and you'll want experienced pilots in well-equipped interceptors to have a good chance of taking them down. 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, as well as disrupt 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. The elerium and alloy supplies will probably be more useful to you.
Transport
Firepower: High (1x Double Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +0
Durability: Very High (2800)
Armor: Heavy (32)
This UFO is functionally identical to the Supply Barge, but it has even heavier armor and packs some pretty formidable 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'll have to remove the contingent of aliens first, of course.
Terror Ship
Firepower: High (1x Double Plasma)/(1x Double Plasma, 1x Single plasma)
Durability: Very High (3200)
Armor: Heavy (25)
Structually the same as a Supply Barge, you may encounter these in high-panic continents, but won't be able to take them on until late game. If you wish to try your luck, let UFOs on Harvest missions go unimpeded, and eventually they'll be sent out. As they are the precursors to Terror Missions expect large numbers of high-level enemies even if you bring it down.
Very Large UFOs.
Battleship
Firepower: Very high (1x Fusion Lance)
Armor Penetration: +25
Durability: Very high (5000)
Armor: Heavy (36)
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 weaponry. They sometimes spawn as transports for terror missions, DON'T engage them early game, since they will one-shot interceptors without upgrades.
They can be taken down with several Firestorms with Plasma or EMP Cannons with max foundry upgrades and consumables. Once you've downed one, you can use the fusion cores to build Fusion Lances to make it easier to take down more, but realistically you can win the game more easily than you can build an air force that can routinely take down battleships.
Assault Carrier
Firepower: High (1x Double Plasma, 1x Single Plasma)/(2x Double Plasma)
Armor Penetration: +18
Durability: Highest (4500)
Armor: Heavy (28)
A variant of the Battleship. It has slightly less firepower in exchange for more durability and more aliens on the craft itself. Use your best ships and plenty of modules. With luck, you might even bring it down. Now try assaulting it and bringing in the goods. Godspeed, soldier.
UFO Accuracy
UFO accuracy is based on the weapon, not the UFO class.
Single Plasma: 33% + 2% per 30 points of alien research (roughly 1 month)
Double Plasma: 40% + 2% per 30 points of alien research
Fusion Lance: 45% + 2% per 30 points of alien research
The stances provide a +15%/-15% modifier. (Aggressive boosts alien aim, Defensive penalizes it)
The UFO countermeasures project provides a -15% modifier to alien aim.
Note that alien accuracy upgrades have no cap, unlike other forms of research. If you let the war drag on long enough, you'll have a hard time maintaining your air force against near-perfect alien accuracy.