User:Hobbes/Sandbox page
Strategy
User:Hobbes/Sandbox_page/Strategy
Damage Ranges
Each weapon has a predetermined Damage stat and in the game files it is called iDamage. The iDamage value is then used to calculate the actual damage inflicted, which is called BaseDamage and this value represents the quantity of Health Points (HPs) that will be removed from the target.
With firearms (pistols, rifles, etc.) the BaseDamage value can vary between -1 and +1 of the iDamage value, determined randomly, and there's also the possibility of inflicting a critical hit (BaseCritChance). If the critical hit is successful the game will calculate and apply instead a CritDamage value to the target instead of the BaseDamage value.
The damage ranges displayed in the Barracks can be found at the XComGame.upk file, XGItemCards class:
{ kItemCard.m_iBaseDamage = kWeapon.iDamage; kItemCard.m_iBaseDamageMax = -1; kItemCard.m_iBaseCritChance = -1; kItemCard.m_iCritDamage = -1; kItemCard.m_iCritDamageMax = -1; } else { minDamage = int(FMax(1.00, float(kWeapon.iDamage - 1))); maxDamage = int(FMax(1.00, float(kWeapon.iDamage + 1))); kItemCard.m_iBaseDamage = minDamage; kItemCard.m_iBaseDamageMax = maxDamage; kItemCard.m_iBaseCritChance = kWeapon.iCritical; minCrit = int(FMax(1.00, float(int(float(maxDamage) * 1.50) - 1))); maxCrit = int(FMax(1.00, float(int(float(maxDamage) * 1.50) + 1))); kItemCard.m_iCritDamage = minCrit; kItemCard.m_iCritDamageMax = maxCrit; }
During the game, the value displayed in the Barracks for each weapon/item is its iDamage stat. On Enemy Within DLC, the info will show instead the possible ranges for both BaseDamage or CritDamage.
Explosives
The first part of the function checks to see if the weapon/item (rockets, grenades, etc.) is of explosive type. If the answer is positive it then sets the BaseDamage value to be the one found in the weapon/item iDamage stat, without variation or the possibility of inflicting CritDamage.
Firearms
The second part applies to all other weapons (pistols, rifles, etc.) and determines that minimum and maximum BaseDamage can vary in a range between -1 and +1 of the weapon's listed damage value. As an example, an Assault Rifle has a damage value of 3 and its BaseDamage can vary between 2 and 4, with the final damage value being determined by a random roll between those 2 values.
The CritDamage possible values are calculated using the BaseDamageMax value determined previously, and can vary between -1 and +1 of its vlue, determined randomly. An Assault Rifle with a BaseDamageMax of 4 can inflict
The game first verifies if a critical hit has been made, according to the weapon's Critical Chance and any additional modifiers given by soldier's abilities, difficulty levels, etc. If so, it proceeds to calculate the CritDamage value.
Damage System
- Regarding the different numbers seen in the Armory info and the actual game values, it seems that the Base Damage range can vary, i.e. a weapon listed with a 9 damage can vary between 8 and 10 and you see the Maximum Damage listed onscreen during the game before firing.
- If the shot is a hit the game will then check to see its Critical Chance.
- If the Critical Chance roll is successful, the game will then calculate the Critical Damage.
- In addition, there are also specific Class perks that can increase Damage (both Base and Crit), such as:
- Headshot (Sniper) +2/4/6 Damage to Sniper Rifle, depending on weapon tech value
- Gunslinger (Sniper) +2 Damage to pistols
- Shredder (Heavy) +33% Damage from all sources to the target
- HEAT Ammo (Heavy) +100% Damage against robotic enemies(has been lowered to 50% damage in Enemy Within)
- Mayhem (Heavy) +1 to +3 Damage, depending on the weapon tech level
- Bring 'Em On +1 to +5 bonus Critical Damage, depending on the number of enemies
- Killer Instinct +50% Critical Damage
- Damage is rounded down.
- For example rocket to shredded target will do 6*1.33=7.98 -> 7 damage, and Mindfray to stimmed target will do 5*0.5 = 2.5 -> 2 damage.
- There seems to be a Damage cap (at least for explosives) - Rocket Launchers will deal 16 max damage using HEAT and Mayhem, regardless of using Shredder rockets or not.
Critical Damage
The game code that calculates Critical Damage is:
if(bCritical) { iDamage += 1; iDamage = int(float(iDamage) * 1.50); iDamage += class'XComEngine'.static.SyncRand(3, string(Name) @ string(GetStateName()) @ string(GetFuncName())) - 1; return iDamage; }
- Critical Damage is simply calculated by increasing the iDamage (Base Damage) roll by a factor of 1.5 before applying the bonuses/penalties from abilities/perks.
- The range for the actual iDamage seems to be a random roll with a range of -1 to apparently the integer that precedes the Critical Damage value. Thus, Base Damage from an Assault Rifle can vary between 3 and 4 while with a Plasma Sniper Rifle it can vary between 8 and 12.
Soldier Management
- Use the first 3 missions to bring all the 12 initial soldiers and reveal their classes.
- The focus is on building a poll of soldiers - it should be around 10-12 soldiers being rotated on missions, plus a number of replacements.
- A basic setup is to have 2-3 officers of each class, depending on personal preferences - your favorite build(s) for that class and his/her replacement, plus an alternative build for more specialized missions.
- To get the Squad Size increase, you can get later a Sergeant as a reward in an abduction mission.
- Try to get as soldiers as rewards during Abduction missions (although you may lose countries) - money and resources are easy to get, high rank soldiers take a lot of time to build up. Even if you have already 2 officers from that class
- Usually the distribution of classes will not be balanced. Use Abduction missions to make up with any shortfalls.
1) Maps 2) Type and number of aliens.
The first criteria is if XCOM or the aliens are capable of killing their opponents with 1 shot. At the beginning the aliens will have the upper hand, specially in Classic/Impossible but that will keep changing back and forward as XCOM deploys new tech and the aliens bring more races. There's something of a ratio: if you're facing 3 lesser opponents or 2 similar ones or 1 superior alien you're outnumbered and your soldiers can be severely injured or killed.
With this in mind you may face three types of scenarios everytime you'll go on an Abduction/Terror/UFO missions. Council missions are predictable since you'll be facing always Sectoids or Thin Men.
Class/Type | Corporal | Sergeant | Lieutenant | Captain | Colonel | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Support (Medic) | Sprinter Covering Fire |
Field Medic | Revive | Dense Smoke Combat Drugs |
Savior | |
Support (Scout) | Sprinter | Smoke and Mirrors | Rifle Suppression | Dense Smoke | Sentinel | |
Support (Rifleman) | Covering Fire | Field Medic Smoke and Mirrors |
Rifle Suppression | Dense Smoke Combat Drugs |
Sentinel | |
Assault (Charger) | Aggression | Close and Personal | Rapid Fire | Bring 'Em On | Killer Instinct | |
Assault (Flanker) | Tactical Sense | Lightning Reflexes | Rapid Fire Flush |
Close Combat Specialist | Resilience | |
Assault (Rifleman) | Tactical Sense | Lightning Reflexes Close And Personal |
Rapid Fire Flush |
Bring 'Em On | Resilience | |
Sniper | Squad Sight | Gunslinger Damn Good Ground |
Disabling Shot | Opportunist | Double Tap In The Zone |
|
Sniper (Scout) | Snap Shot | Gunslinger Damn Good Ground |
Battle Scanner | Executioner | Double Tap In The Zone |
|
Heavy (Support) | Holo-Targeting | Shredder Rocket | HEAT Ammo | Grenadier | Rocketeer | Demolition/Squad Support |
Heavy (Rifleman) | Bullet Swarm | Suppression | Rapid Reaction | Danger Zone | Mayhem | Requires a lot of ammo. |
Heavy (Antiarmor) | Bullet Swarm | Shredder Rocket | HEAT Ammo | Danger Zone | Rocketeer | |
Heavy (Grenadier) | Bullet Swarm | Shredder Rocket | HEAT Ammo | Grenadier | Mayhem | |
' |
Class Builds
Each class has been designed with two main builds, Alpha (left side) and Beta (right side). Although experienced players will design soldiers according to their own preferences, this article will focus on the basic builds available to each class.
Normal Weapons Kill Table
Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Critical Chance | Maximum Damage (Base + Crit)? | Sectoid Thin Man Outsider Drone |
Floater | Muton Chryssalid |
Zombie Sectoid Commander |
Heavy Floater | Muton Elite | Cyberdisk | Bezerker Ethereal |
Sectopod |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 30 | |||||
Pistol | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (I) |
2 | 3 | 10 30 |
5 | CRIT | CRIT | |||||||
Laser Pistol (I & III) | 3 | 3 | 30 | 6 | BASE | CRIT | |||||||
Plasma Pistol Assault Rifle Plasma Pistol (I) |
3 | 4 | 0 10 20 |
7 | BASE | CRIT | |||||||
Plasma Pistol (I & III) | 4 | 4 | 20 | 8 | BASE | BASE | CRIT | ||||||
LMG Sniper Rifle Shotgun |
4 | 6 | 0 25 20 |
10 | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | |||||
Laser Rifle Plasma Light Rifle |
5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | ||||
Heavy Laser Laser Sniper Rifle Laser Scatter |
6 | 9 | 10 30 20 |
15 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | |||
Plasma Rifle | 7 | 10 | 10 | 17 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | ||
Heavy Plasma Plasma Sniper Rifle Alloy Cannon |
9 | 13 | 10 35 20 |
22 | BASE | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT |
Classic Weapons Kill Table
Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Critical Chance | Maximum Damage (Base + Crit)? | Sectoid | Thin Man Floater |
Outsider Drone |
Chryssalid | Muton Zombie |
Heavy Floater Muton Elite Sectoid Commander |
Cyberdisk Bezerker Ethereal |
Sectopod |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 30 | |||||
Pistol | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (I) |
2 | 3 | 10 30 |
5 | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | |||||
Laser Pistol (I & III) | 3 | 3 | 30 | 6 | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | |||||
Plasma Pistol Assault Rifle Plasma Pistol (I) |
3 | 4 | 0 10 20 |
7 | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | |||||
Plasma Pistol (I & III) | 4 | 4 | 20 | 8 | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | ||||
LMG Sniper Rifle Shotgun |
4 | 6 | 0 25 20 |
10 | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | |||
Laser Rifle Plasma Light Rifle |
5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | |||
Heavy Laser Laser Sniper Rifle Laser Scatter |
6 | 9 | 10 30 20 |
15 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | |||
Plasma Rifle | 7 | 10 | 10 | 17 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | ||
Heavy Plasma Plasma Sniper Rifle Alloy Cannon |
9 | 13 | 10 35 20 |
22 | BASE | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT |
Impossible Weapons Kill Table
Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Critical Chance | Maximum Damage (Base + Crit)? | Sectoid | Outsider | Thin Man Floater |
Drone | Chryssalid | Muton Zombie |
Sectoid Commander | Heavy Floater | Muton Elite | Cyberdisk | Bezerker Ethereal |
Sectopod |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 25 | 30 | |||||
Pistol | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||
Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (I) |
2 | 3 | 10 30 |
5 | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | |||||||||
Laser Pistol (I & III) | 3 | 3 | 30 | 6 | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | |||||||||
Plasma Pistol Assault Rifle Plasma Pistol (I) |
3 | 4 | 0 10 20 |
7 | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | ||||||||
Plasma Pistol (I & III) | 4 | 4 | 20 | 8 | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | |||||||
LMG Sniper Rifle Shotgun |
4 | 6 | 0 25 20 |
10 | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | |||||||
Laser Rifle Plasma Light Rifle |
5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | |||||||
Heavy Laser Laser Sniper Rifle Laser Scatter |
6 | 9 | 10 30 20 |
15 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | |||||||
Plasma Rifle | 7 | 10 | 10 | 17 | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT | ||||||
Heavy Plasma Plasma Sniper Rifle Alloy Cannon |
9 | 13 | 10 35 20 |
22 | BASE | BASE | BASE | BASE | CRIT | CRIT | CRIT |
Notes on Damage
- BASE = alien can be killed with 1 shot; CRIT = alien requires either 2 normal shots or 1 critical hit with usually maximum critical damage.
- Regarding the different numbers seen in the Barracks info and the actual game values, one theory is that the damage range can vary, i.e. a weapon listed with a 9 damage can vary between 8 and 10 and you see the maximum damage before firing.
- How the critical damage is applied isn't clear/proven. The model above assumes that there are separate rolls, 1 for normal damage, then it is added the value of another roll for critical damage.
- The other model is that the maximum damage for a critical hit is the one listed but that doesn't fit with actual combat results, since I've seen Heavy Plasmas dealing 16 damage to a flanked soldier.
Discussion
- Apologies for intruding, but are we sure that Critical damage completely stacks with Base damage? So far as I've seen, critical damage OVERLAPS base damage, IE, a critical hit uses the higher "Critical damage" number in the randomizer, instead of the Baze Damage number.
- I appreciate the feedback. Good question - my current impression is that damage is dealt in two rolls, one for hit (base damage) and a 2nd one which seems to be randomized within the critical damage ability. I've made kills that also support this model, like 1 Alloy Cannon shot killing an undamaged Muton Elite that has been flanked. Hobbes 18:51, 6 November 2012 (EST)
- Also, the Base Damage, as found elsewhere, seems to be able to be modified by one (and possibly more)in either direction. So Guaranteed kills may not quite count unless the damage is high enough that even -1 is still enough to one-shot. (IE, 4 base damage LMG, -1=3: Still enough for a Sectoid) Arrow Quivershaft 18:41, 6 November 2012 (EST)
- I've checked the damage on my current Classic game. From what I've researched there's no change to it on the difficulty levels. Which makes a lot of sense since it's a lot easier to learn the game if you always play with the same weapon stats. Hobbes 18:51, 6 November 2012 (EST)
- What I mean is that it randomizes damage on a hit, not by difficulty, just a bit of basic randomizing so that things aren't always the same. Sorry for being unclear. Arrow Quivershaft 02:23, 7 November 2012 (EST)
- I've switched my game settings to show the alien's health bars (so far I was developing this model based on the results from hits to my soldiers. Yesterday I saw an Alloy Cannon dealing 22 damage points to a Sectopod so the basic assumption, game damage = (base damage roll) + (critical damage roll) is correct. The question is how the critical damage roll is distributed: on Base Damage the deviation seems to be slight (the values displayed on the Armory correspond to average base damage, while on missions the damage displayed while firing is the maximum base damage. On critical damage the distribution of results seems to follow a growing pattern: the bigger the critical damage inflicted the lesser the chance you'll get that result.Hobbes 08:57, 14 November 2012 (EST)
- Regarding zombie HP, I edited it because I saw 10hp zombie in impossible, but was a bug like 3hp thin man in impossible. 14 is right :) - Moyang
May be worth noting (sorry if this section is outdated anyways): I did once get a soldier in starting armor take a flanking crit (with Absolutley Crititcal on, no less) from a Thin Man's LPR, for 1 damage (In EW). Wasn't fast enough/didn't think to screencap, don't think I had a save to rety it anyways. And a few times, I remember for sure on EW, and possibly-but-I-don't-recall in EU, a plasma bolt connecting, but no "miss" 'popup', but no damage popup either-- in all cases, I have Damage Roulette on . --Xuncu (talk) 05:48, 30 December 2013 (EST)
- Noted. I think I've seen the same behavior when using Damage Roulette, although it contradicts the info on the Second Wave page, which is supposed to come directly from the game code. Hobbes (talk) 07:47, 30 December 2013 (EST)
Alien Types Distribution Table
Mission | Sectoid | Thin Man | Outsider | Drone | Floater | Muton | Chryssalid | Sectoid Commander | Heavy Floater | Muton Elite | Cyberdisk | Bezerker | Ethereal | Sectopod |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abductions | YES | YES | NO | YES | YES | YES | YES | NO | YES | ? | YES | YES | NO | ? |
Terror Site | NO | NO | NO | YES | YES | YES | YES | NO | YES | NO | YES | YES | NO | YES |
UFO Crash Site | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
UFO Landing Site | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
Council | YES | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
Alien Numbers Distribution Table
Mission | # Alien Packs | # Aliens | Alien Species |
---|---|---|---|
Abductions | ? | 2-12* | ALL |
Terror Site | ? | 6-12* | YES |
Crashed Small Scout | 3 | 5-8 | YES |
Crashed Large Scout | ? | 8-12 | YES |
Crashed Abductor | ? | 12? | YES |
Crashed Supply Barge | ? | ? | YES |
Crashed Battleship | ? | 23 | YES |
Crashed Overseer | ? | 8-12? | YES |
Landed Small Scout | 4 | 6-10 | YES |
Landed Large Scout | ? | 8-12? | YES |
Landed Abductor | ? | 23 | YES |
Landed Supply Barge | ? | ? | YES |
Council | ? | ? | YES |
Game Files Info
AI Behaviour
Moving vs static packs
- Moving packs will roam the battlefield until spotting XCOM or civilian units.
- Static packs will be hunkered down and waiting for enemy units to be seen.
- Ambush packs are aliens that will appear active but on Overwatch.
- The AI will 'teleport' either type of packs from one map location to the other, if they are still 'unactivated' (haven't seen XCOM units)
Active vs passive aliens
- Active aliens are alerted to XCOM's presence and will take action immediately upon sight.
- Aliens can be activated in 3 ways:
- By spotting XCOM units - the run for cover animation will be played - this requires for the XCOM unit to move into a visible square. However due to Line of Sight mechanics it is possible to spot a group of passive aliens while moving diagonally without activating them.
- By being activated by other already active aliens - the individual alien seems to emit a specific sound that can activate passive packs without the 'run for cover' animation.
- By firing and hitting any of the aliens with indirect fire by using Rocket Launchers, Squad Sight snipers, etc.
Swarming
- The AI seems to respond to scouts by pulling back some units to 'alert' other alien packs and/or 'teleporting' aliens closer to the position of last seen XCOM units. If those aliens are already activated this will result in very nasty surprises for XCOM.
- This can be visible on the amount of packs that are teleported and activated in terror/abduction missions in the first turns.
Tutorial/Council/Temple Ship Missions
- All packs are static or ambush
- Active aliens will not activate passive packs
- No teleporting
Abduction/UFOs/Alien Base Missions
- Moving/Static packs
- Active aliens will not activate passive packs
- Teleporting
Terror Missions
- Moving/Static packs
- Active aliens can activate passive packs
- Teleporting
Damage Values
Damage Values
Assault Damage Values
Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Base (Bring 'Em On) | Crit (Bring 'Em On) | Base (Killer Instinct) | Crit (Killer Instinct) | Base (Shredder) | Crit (Shredder) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pistol Pistol (III) Laser Pistol |
1 | 2 | ||||||
Pistol Pistol (III) Assault Rifle Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (III) Plasma Pistol |
2 | 3 | ||||||
Pistol (III) Assault Rifle Shotgun Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (III) Plasma Pistol Plasma Pistol (III) |
3 | 4 | ||||||
Assault Rifle Shotgun Laser Pistol (III) Laser Rifle Plasma Pistol Plasma Pistol (III) Plasma Light Rifle |
4 | 6 | ||||||
Shotgun Laser Rifle Laser Scatter Plasma Pistol (III) Plasma Light Rifle |
5 | 7 | ||||||
Laser Rifle Laser Scatter Plasma Light Rifle Plasma Rifle |
6 | 9 | ||||||
Laser Scatter Plasma Rifle |
7 | 10 | ||||||
Plasma Rifle Alloy Cannon |
8 | 12 | ||||||
Alloy Cannon | 9 | 13 | ||||||
Alloy Cannon | 10 | 15 |
Heavy Damage Values
Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | HEAT Ammo | Mayhem | Shredder Rocket |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LMG | 3 | 4 | |||
LMG | 4 | 6 | |||
LMG Heavy Laser |
5 | 7 | |||
Rocket Launcher Heavy Laser |
6 | 9 | |||
Heavy Laser | 7 | 10 | |||
Heavy Plasma | 8 | 12 | |||
Heavy Plasma Blaster Launcher |
9 | 13 | |||
Heavy Plasma | 10 | 15 |
Sniper Damage Values
Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Headshot | Gunslinger | Shredder Rocket |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pistol Pistol (III) Laser Pistol |
1 | 2 | NA | +2 | |
Pistol Pistol (III) Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (III) Plasma Pistol |
2 | 3 | NA | +2 | |
Pistol (III) Sniper Rifle Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (III) Plasma Pistol Plasma Pistol (III) |
3 | 4 | +2 | +2 | |
Sniper Rifle Laser Pistol (III) Plasma Pistol Plasma Pistol (III) |
4 | 6 | +2 | +2 | |
Sniper Rifle Laser Sniper Rifle Plasma Pistol (III) |
5 | 7 | +2 +4 |
+2 | |
Laser Sniper Rifle | 6 | 9 | +4 | NA | |
Laser Sniper Rifle | 7 | 10 | +4 | NA | |
Plasma Sniper Rifle | 8 | 12 | +6 | NA | |
Plasma Sniper Rifle | 9 | 13 | +6 | NA | |
Plasma Sniper Rifle | 10 | 15 | +6 | NA |
Support Damage Values
Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Base (Shredder) | Crit (Shredder) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pistol Pistol (III) Laser Pistol |
1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Pistol Pistol (III) Assault Rifle Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (III) Plasma Pistol |
2 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
Pistol (III) Assault Rifle Laser Pistol Laser Pistol (III) Plasma Pistol Plasma Pistol (III) |
3 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Assault Rifle Laser Pistol (III) Laser Rifle Plasma Pistol Plasma Pistol (III) Plasma Light Rifle |
4 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
Laser Rifle Plasma Pistol (III) Plasma Light Rifle |
5 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
Laser Rifle' Plasma Light Rifle Plasma Rifle |
6 | 9 | 8 | 12 |
Plasma Rifle | 7 | 10 | 9 | 13 |
Plasma Rifle | 8 | 12 | 10 | 16 |
Classes Tables
Left Side Abilities | Right Side Abilities | Additional Shot | Improves Reaction | Extra Movement | Additional Equipment | Change Unit Aim | Decrease Enemy Aim | Increase Damage Given | Decrease Damage Taken |
Assault
Heavy
Sniper
Support
Action | Aim | Damage | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Squad Roles
There are 3 squad roles that each soldier can assume during a fight to achieve its tactical objectives, regardless of their class and/or abilities. They are:
- Maneuver - the capacity for the squad to move and reach favorable positions during your turn;
- Move/Dash - usual game actions;
- This role involves detecting the enemy (scouting), retreating and/or outflanking it;
- It also involves dislodging enemies from their own positions during your turn.
- Fire - to weaken and/or eliminate enemy targets during your turn;
- Fire/Throw - usual game actions.
- This role also involves removing enemy cover or boosting up a soldier's Aim/Critical Chance stats.
- Security - to prevent enemy actions during your and their turns.
- Cover/Overwatch/Suppress/Hunker Down - usual game actions;
- Security also involves healing wounds since they prevent KIAs.
The 3 roles are tightly interlinked together. A soldier moving to outflank an alien will increase squad security since it may force it to withdrawal from its position.
General vs Specialized Soldiers
Some soldiers are more inclined for specific squad roles than others due to their stats, class/abilities and equipment carried. The trade-off when selecting a soldier is between generality (for instance, a Rookie) and specialization (i.e. a Colonel). The more specialization, the better a soldier will be able to perform that specific role but if it is absent due to injury or incapacitated/killed, then your game play may be affected. In contrast, a more generic soldier will not be as effective in a specific role but it can more easily be replaced.
The choice between both types of soldier also reflects itself on the choice of class abilities at each rank. Each class is designed to favor 1 or more roles and the individual abilities reflect that design. Some abilities may also apply to two roles.
Assault
- Maneuver (Run & Gun, Lightning Reflexes, Flush)
- Security (Tactical Sense, Close Combat Specialist, Extra Conditioning, Resilience)
- Fire (Aggression, Close And Personal, Rapid Fire, Bring 'Em On, Killer Instinct)
Heavy
- Maneuver/Fire (Bullet Swarm)
- Security (Suppression, Rapid Reaction, Will To Survive)
- Security/Fire (Danger Zone, Mayhem)
- Fire (Fire Rocket, Holo-Targeting, Shredder Rocket, HEAT Ammo, Grenadier, Rocketeer)
Sniper
- Maneuver (Snap Shot, Battle Scanner)
- Maneuver/Fire (In The Zone)
- Security (Disabling Shot, Opportunist, Low Profile)
- Security/Fire (Damn Good Ground)
- Fire (Headshot, Squad Sight, Gunslinger, Executioner, Double Tap)
Support
- Maneuver (Sprinter)
- Security (Covering Fire, Field Medic, Revive, Rifle Suppression, Dense Smoke, Sentinel, Savior)
- Security/Fire (Smoke Grenade, Smoke & Mirrors)
- Fire (Combat Drugs)
- All (Deep Pockets)
Items
- Fire/Security (S.C.O.P.E, Mind Shield, Arc Thrower)
- Fire (Frag Grenade, Alien Grenade)
- Maneuver/Security (Combat Stims)
- Security (Nano-Fiber Vest, Chitin Plating, Mind Shield)