XCOM: Enemy Within DLC (EU2012)

On August 21st, Producer 2K revealed during Gamescom 2013 a new expansion/DLC for XCOM: Enemy Unknown called XCOM: Enemy Within. It is available also for consoles and was released on November 12th, 2013 on the US, and November 15th internationally.

An initial list of details was revealed on August 21st on this video, along with these articles from Polygon and IGN. For the latest details check the official Enemy Within FAQ thread on the 2K's forums [1]. For what looks like a tutorial on the various new components see [2].

You can also take part in an interactive trailer here.

Warning: this page is being updated as new info is gathered from the game. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** - Read at your own risk!

General Details

• The PC version costs 30$ and the Console 40$.
• The PC edition is sold as traditional DLC through Steam but the console owners will have to buy the Commander's Edition, consisting of Enemy Unknown, plus the Elite Soldier Pack, Slingshot and Enemy Within DLCs.
• Currently Firaxis has no plans to launch Enemy Within for iOS, due to the already large file size of the original game for the device.
• When launching the game it is possible to select between playing vanilla Enemy Unknown or the new Enemy Within.

The Meld

• The Meld is a new alien resource that is present in canisters on several maps (Abductions and UFOs). Meld can also be recovered from Mechtoid and Heavy Floater bodies.
• Meld is composed of organic nanomachines and needs to be researched (Meld Recombination) to be used.
• Meld cannot be sold at the Grey Market.
• All the abductions and UFO maps have been redesigned to include 2 Meld canisters.
• The 2 Meld canisters need to be captured during a certain timeframe, otherwise they will self-destruct forcing a player to move swiftly to find and capture them. 1 canister is located on a location easy to reach, another in a hard location. The canisters can be hidden to force a player to look for them.
  • Additionally, the Canisters are reported to spawn once per applicable map per playthrough: there will only be a certain number of canisters in a given campaign (unconfirmed - see [3]).
• When Meld canisters self-destruct they will explode and cause damage to any player units nearby.
• Meld canisters can be destroyed with explosives.
• When you kill all aliens on a mission you'll automatically recover any unexploded Meld containers, including still hidden ones.
• The Meld can be used to create either MEC Troopers (a new class) or to genetically increase any class abilities (Gene Mods).
  • In consideration of the limited number of Canisters, it's also been revealed that this leads to a choice of quality vs quantity for how you will spend the upgrades.
• The Meld also brings 2 new base facilities: Genetics Lab and Cybernetics Lab. Both cost §50 and require 3 power and 10 days to build. The Cybernetics Labs count as workshops and the Genetics Lab with Laboratories for adjacency bonus.
  • For consideration on building them early or late; whether you want 5 engineers, or low-level Mech troopers, with what limited resources you'll have early on, for example.
  • There are reflective Meld 'crystals' in the Antfarm view. Zooming in on them, angled facets show a brick wall with a window, facets facing the camera seem to be reflecting a sprite of a green-irised eye.
• There is a small tutorial (optional) to show how Meld works.
• Some aliens, particulary Mechtoids and Heavy Floaters, do drop small quantities of Meld, as well.

• 

  Meld Canister with 5 turns remaining

• 

  Meld Molecule

Gene Mods

Gene Mods are unlocked after capturing Meld and finishing research on the Meld Recombination project. It is also required to build the Genetics Lab before it is possible to apply any Gene Mods to your soldiers.

Gene Mods cost both credits (§) and Meld and be can applied to the following categories: Brain, Eyes, Chest, Skin, Legs, with 2 options available for each (and that can be swapped at a cost).
Gene Modding

• Up to 3 soldiers (from Squaddie upwards) can be modded each time on the Genetics Labs and it takes 3 days for each individual mod, installing 5 on a soldier will take 15 days to complete.
• Modded soldiers will have a specific icon, with their class icon superimposed over it (unless they are Rookies).
• Modded soldiers have a different appearance than regular soldiers, with less armor plating being shown.

• 

  Gene Mods

• 

  Modded Soldier

MEC Trooper

A MEC Squad

MEC Trooper

The MEC Trooper is a new class of soldier that is introduced by the Enemy Within DLC. A MEC Trooper requires Meld and can be created from any of your existing soldiers (from any class, except Psionic) after building the Cybernetic Lab. It costs §10 and 10 Meld to transform a soldier into a MEC Trooper. The soldier will lose all of its existing abilities but see its HP increase and will have its own abilities tree, starting with Collateral Damage.

MECs are walking tanks that are usually used for either Fire Support or Close Combat. Tactically they're a mixture of the Heavy and Assault classes, being built for frontline roles. Since MECs can't use Cover like regular soldiers they're equipped with specialized armor to be deployed, in the form of the Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit (MEC Suit). MECs can't carry regular items but the MEC Suit offers a choice of two different Tactical Subsystems at each tier level.

Primary Weapon: Minigun, Railgun and Particle Cannon.

Tactical Subsystems:

MEC-1 Warden: Kinetic Strike Module or Flamethrower, §25, 40 Meld

MEC-2 Sentinel: Grenade Launcher or Restorative Mist, §32, 60 Meld, 10 Engineers

MEC-3 Paladin: Proximity Mine Launcher or Electro Pulse, §106, 100 Meld, 25 Engineers

The MEC's Ability choices are mainly divided between Fire Support or Survivability stats/abilites on each tier, giving the player the choice of either going full defence, high damage or a trade of between both. MEC Troopers gain a total of +10 Aim points upon reaching Colonel rank, together with a total of +4 HP and +14 Will through promotions.

Abilities

As part of the conversion process, each soldier turned into MEC will gain a bonus ability based on its former class and will retain its previous rank, replacing its previous abilities with MEC ones:

• - Assault: Shock-Absorbent Armor - Damage received from enemies within 4 tiles is reduced by 33%.
• - Heavy - Body Shield - The nearest visible enemy suffers -20 Aim and cannot critically hit this unit.
• - Sniper: Platform Stability - Any shots taken without moving have +10 Aim and +10% critical chance.
• - Support: Distortion Field - Nearby allies in cover receive +10 Defense.

Rank	Ability
Squaddie	Collateral Damage Area of effect attack that destroys most cover and hits all eligible targets for 34% damage. This attack cannot cause critical hits.
Corporal	Advanced Fire Control Shots from Overwatch no longer suffer any Aim penalty.	Automated Threat Assessment Confers +15 Defense when in Overwatch. Cancelled when the MEC fires.
Sergeant	Vital-Point Targeting Confers 2 bonus damage against targets that have been autopsied.	Damage Control When the MEC takes damage, all further damage will be reduced by 2 on the following 2 turns.
Lieutenant	Jet Boot Module When activated, confers the ability to jump to normally inaccessible heights for the rest of the turn. Has an unlisted 1-turn cooldown.	One For All When activated, the MEC becomes a high cover element. Moving or using an arm-based weapon will return the MEC to standard posture.
Captain	Repair Servos Confers 2 health recovery at the start of each turn. A total of 6 health can be regenerated per battle.	Expanded Storage Allows additional uses of Restorative Mist, Grenade Launcher and Proximity Mine Launcher in each mission, and increases primary weapon base ammo by 50%.
Major	Overdrive Firing the MEC's primary weapon as the first action no longer ends the turn.
Colonel	Absortion Fields Any hit that makes 33% more damage to the MEC's maximum health is reduced to that number.	Reactive Targeting Sensors MEC gets a free shot back at the first enemy who attacks the MEC each turn, providing there's enough ammo do to so.

Tips & Trix

• MEC Troopers can be created from any soldier above rookie rank, but they'll lose all abilities they previously had. For example, if player sacrifices a Sergeant-ranked soldier, he/she would get a Sergeant-ranked MEC, along with the ability to choose skills from the first three ranks.
• A MEC Trooper who is converted will retain their stats from before conversion, meaning you may want to put off augmenting your (non-Heavy) soldiers until already high ranked, since the Support, Assault and Sniper classes have better stat progression than the MEC Trooper class.
  • Heavies are best augmented at Lieutenant rank to ensure additional stats, especially with Second Wave options enabled.
• The Cybernetics Lab can augment 3 soldiers at a time and it costs §10 and 10 Meld units. The process takes 3 days and soldiers will lose all Gene Mods when augmented. The process is irreversible. Take note that wounded soldiers can also be augmented.
• Any soldiers tested positive with Psionic ability are automatically excluded from MEC conversion, and MEC soldiers can not be tested whether or not they are gifted.
• Any medals given will remain after conversion, and MEC soldiers can still be awarded medals (remember that a MEC can't go into cover, so giving it the defensive bonus while in cover is pointless).
• If the damage suffered is in excess of the MEC Suit's HPs then the soldier will have to endure wound recovery time.
• If the MEC Trooper is killed, the MEC Suit has to be repaired with small cost.
• MECs are very expensive to purchase, costing up to 200 Meld to create a MEC and equip it with the most advanced MEC Suit.
• MEC Suits came with the Minigun as its default Primary Weapon: more advanced primary weapons need to be manufactured in Engineering before being deployed.
• They are immune to fire, strangulation, and poison but can still be psi attacked (and mind controlled) by Psionic units.
• MEC Troopers can be healed with Medikits, Restorative Mist, Improved Arc Thrower and by captured Drones. Repairing with Arc Throwers is arguably more efficient, since if you don't stun any enemies, an Arc Thrower could be used to heal your MECs and save Medikits for your other soldiers. Deep Pockets will increase Arc Thrower usage to three, which could allow for seven healing uses between Field Medic and Medikits.
• MECs can't use Cover (so they can't be flanked). To compensate that they have Hardened ability present on S.H.I.V.s and alien robotic units that gives increased protection against critical hits.
• MECs can climb over half cover berms and up ledges, but are too heavy to use ladders and drainpipes to scale buildings, they can however use alien grav lifts.
• MECs rely on the Foundry for several essential upgrades through different projects:
  • Mobility: Advanced Servomotors - gives +3 movement points.
  • Armor: Shaped Armor - gives 3 additional HPs.
  • Flamethrower: Elerium Jelly - increases weapon's damage from 6 to 9.
  • Kinetic Strike Module: MEC Close Combat - increases weapon's damage from 12 to 18 and using the Kinetic Strike as first action doesn't automatically end the MEC's turn.
• MEC Troopers get monotone, Robocop-esque voice.

MEC Trooper Rank Progression

Rank and Stats Bonuses

Class	Squaddie	Corporal	Sergeant	Lieutenant	Captain	Major	Colonel	Total
MEC Trooper	Health Points + 1 Aim + 0 Will + 2	Health Points + 0 Aim + 1 Will + 2	Health Points + 1 Aim + 1 Will + 2	Health Points + 0 Aim + 1 Will + 2	Health Points + 1 Aim + 2 Will + 2	Health Points + 0 Aim + 2 Will + 2	Health Points + 1 Aim + 3 Will + 2	Health Points + 4 Aim + 10 Will + 14

Primary Weapons

Description

Effective range: Medium; 4-6 base damage, 10% critical chance, 8-10 critical damage Only equipped by MEC troopers Risk of catastrophic overheating precludes suppression with this weapon

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Description

This high-powered, recoiless slugthrower can be fired in short bursts to devastating effect, although the sizes of its housing and power supply require it to be mounted on a MEC. Prior to our research on heavy lasers, we had no access to a small enough power source. Effective range: Medium; 6-8 base damage, 10% critical chance, 11-13 critical damage Miniaturized power supply derived from laser tech. Only equipped by MEC troopers Risk of catastrophic overheating precludes suppression with this weapon

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Description

Applications of our heavy plasma technology permit the creation of a burst-style particle beam, capable of unprecedented focused energy output. Its heat dispersal would be highly dangerous to an unmodified soldier, but a MEC suit is capable of mounting the necessary systems. Effective range: Medium; 9-11 base damage, 10% critical chance, 15-17 critical damage Devastating plasma-based MEC weapon Only equippable by MEC Troopers Risk of catastrophic overheating precludes suppression with this weapon

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

MEC Suits

Description

MEC Troopers wear their cybernetic base augments when not in combat The arms and legs lack the necessary flexibility for use in the field; hence their removal when the MEC Trooper interfaces with a MEC cybersuit Ideally, they will permit MEC Troopers to resume normal lives should XCOM defeat the invaders

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

After a soldier is converted into a MEC he/she will wear a metal endoskeleton called Base Augments as its body Instead of armor, MEC Troopers use the Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit into battle. It is not possible to deploy a MEC Trooper without a suit.

MEC Suits are built in Engineering. There are 3 tiers of MEC Suits which can be customized, each unlocks a choice between two new tactical subsystems, allowing for 8 different builds of MEC Suits. The first suit, MEC-1, can be built immediately after the first soldier is augmented on the Cybernetic Lab but the next suits require further research in order to be developed. If a MEC Trooper is killed the MEC Suit will become damaged and will have to be repaired on Engineering.

MEC-1 Warden

Description

The Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit, or MEC, has access to heavier primary weapons than unaugmented soldiers can use As XCOM's MEC technology improves, MECs will gain access to a variety of useful upgrades Soldiers must undergo cybernetic augmentation to become MEC Troopers before they can wear a MEC in combat A MEC's combat profile is too large to make effective use of battlefield cover

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Meld Recombination
Base Costs	§25 40 Meld
Health	+8
Defense	+10
Movement	0
Will	+10
Systems	Kinetic Strike Module Flamethrower

Tactical Subsystems

System	Description	Tactical Info
Kinetic Strike Module	A powerful arm upgrade for the MEC, allowing the wielder to pulverize adjacent cover and enemies. Also boosts mobility.	*Powerful melee attack that can damage an enemy unit as well as any intervening cover *Can knock most enemies back, causing additional environmental damage *Supporting joint and skeletal reinforcements enhance the MEC's mobility, allowing it to close to melee range more easily *Unlimited use, deals 12 maximum damage *Increases movement by +4 points (3 tiles)
Flamethrower	Allows MEC to lay waste to a cone-shaped area. Flame can spill outside the aiming area.	*Devastating cone-shaped flame attack *Burns the area the MEC can see and that is within the aiming template *Flame will then spill up to 1 tile further, if unimpeded *Does not affect robots or other flame-immune units *Affected units will run in panic *Can be used twice per mission, 6 maximum damage to units in the cone

MEC-2 Sentinel

Description

The MEC-2 is capable of deploying a wider variety of weapons and devices than its predecessor Soldiers must undergo cybernetic augmentation to become MEC Troopers before they can wear a MEC in combat A MEC's combat profile is too large to make effective use of battlefield cover

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	UFO Power Source
Base Costs	§32 60 Meld 10 Engineers
Health	+12
Defense	+10
Movement	0
Will	+15
Systems	Grenade Launcher Restorative Mist

Tactical Subsystems

System	Description	Tactical Info
Grenade Launcher	MECs can make for their lack of thrown grenade capability with a long-range grenade launcher.	*Launches grenades much further than an unmodified soldier can throw them *Uses regular grenades, but will automatically upgrade to alien grenades if that technology is developed in the Foundry *2 grenades carried, each deals 4 damage
Restorative Mist	Medikits require fine motor control; instead, the MEC can spray Restorative Mist to heal all nearby allies.	*Releases a cloud of mist that heals, similar to the Medikit *Affects all nearby allies instead of a single target *Single use only, heals 4 HP to all units in the cloud

MEC-3 Paladin

Description

The MEC-3 is capable of deploying several powerful weapons and devices in addition to the main gun Soldiers must undergo cybernetic augmentation to become MEC Troopers before they can wear a MEC in combat A MEC's combat profile is too large to make effective use of battlefield cover

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Titan Armor
Base Costs	§106 100 Meld 25 Engineers
Health	+16
Defense	+10
Movement	0
Will	+20
Systems	Proximity Mines Electro Pulse

Tactical Subsystems

System	Description	Tactical Info
Proximity Mine Launcher	Proximity mines can be deployed at medium range, and will wait nearby enemy movement before triggering their explosive charges.	*Deploys an explosive mine *The mine will detonate when an enemy enters its activation radius *If the mine is in any explosive's blast radius, it will detonate *3 Mines carried, each deals 8 damage
Electro Pulse	MECs can stun organic enemies and damage robotic ones with this area-of-effect electric shock device	*Discharges a violent electromagnetic pulse *Damages all nearby organic units, including allies *Stuns robotic units for one turn *Deals 5 damage to all units on its radius

• 

  The MEC Trooper

• 

  The MEC Suit

• 

  Burn baby burn

New Aliens

Mechtoid

The Mechtoid is a MEC developed by the aliens for the Sectoids that appears on Enemy Within DLC. The Mechtoid has an ability called Plasma Barrage which allows it to fire twice in a turn if it doesn't move and Sectoids (including Commanders) can mind merge with it and give it a 6 damage reducing shield. The Mechtoid won't die if the merger is killed, but it will lose the shield and take damage.

Mechtoids can be fearful foes due to their resilience and firepower and will start appearing halfway through the game, with 1 or 2 Sectoids. After the Alien Base is assaulted you'll see them on the company of Sectoid Commanders, which turns them into a deadly combination of firepower and psionic powers.

Seeker

The Seeker is a biomechanical hover unit with a squidlike design, somewhat visually similar to TFTD's Tentaculat (reinforcing this, the Autopsy's project name is "Lovecraft", whose writings were a primary inspiration for TFTD). Its specialty is the ability to become invisible to your soldier's eyes. It was introduced in the Enemy Within DLC.

Seekers operate as hit and run units that will use their stealth (a.k.a. Cloak) to approach lone soldiers (such as Snipers with Squad Sight) and then use their special grappling attack. The victim will not die immediately, but cannot undertake any actions and will take damage each turn until the Seeker is killed or releases its victim. After a soldier is released from strangulation they will have to catch their breath, taking heavy penalties for the next two turns. Seekers also have a weapon similar to a Plasma Pistol that they will use on any target they cannot effectively isolate or grapple.

Seekers are immune to the Flamethrower. They can be detected through the Battle Scanner and the Bioelectric Skin. The Cloak depletes during movement, behaving rather like the flight mode of Archangel Armor than the cloak of Ghost Armor.

This last characteristic can also favor mobile squad tactics rather than fighting from a fixed position since it forces Seekers to spend more of their Cloaking ability to approach a soldier and risk running out of cloak upon open sight of your troops. That is, assuming soldiers are running away from the hidden Seeker rather than towards it.

The Seeker's Strangle ability cannot be used when the Seeker is visible, and it is the only enemy that can occupy the same space as another unit. It cannot grapple the heavier late-game armours, and MEC Troopers are also immune.

Other Alien Changes

• Muton Elites Health Points have been increased to 18 on Classic (from previous 14) and 20 on Impossible difficulties (up from 14).
• The first Mech alien was based on the Muton but the idea was dropped because of the Muton's already big size.
• Sectopods have also been improved to balance the addition of the new features. Sectopod get a new passive ability called Reinforced Armor which will cut all incoming damage in half. Additionally, the tactic of having an MC'ed alien suicidally stand right next to a Sectopod no longer works: it will not receive the splash damage.
• Additionally, AI for old enemy types has been slightly tweaked.
• Existing aliens are getting more "death" animations as development team had to create a new set of MEC related death sequences
  • Berserker: brawl and Achievement.
  • Mechtoid: headgrab
  • Sectopod: Donkey Kong's Smash Bros attacks, basically. (warning, Sectopod explosion now does 5 damage)
• Sectoids (normally phased out within a few months) and Sectoid Commanders (normally only in UFOs after the Alien Base Assault, but before capturing the Ethereal Device) will now be regularly fielded alongside Mechtoids (the Commanders, of course, only after the assault).

EXALT (New Faction)

• EXALT is a new global human threat. They will carry out anti-XCOM operations until their base is found and destroyed.
• EXALT is a paramilitary secret society that seeks to use alien tech to enrich and technologically change themselves and gain world domination.
• EXALT wants the aliens to genetically perfect mankind and sees XCOM as an obstacle to that. While EXALT agrees with the aliens, it will avoid working with them and instead and disrupt XCOM efforts's to fight the invasion.
• Despite sharing some common goals, the Aliens and EXALT will not cooperate together and appear together on any mission.
• The first EXALT mission takes place on May, the day depends on the difficulty level.

EXALT in-game Briefing

1. EXALT operates with cells. Initiate covert ops missions to neutralize individual cells. Eliminating those cells will recover intel you will need to locate the EXALT base.
2. EXALT cells are not always visible. Purchase an intel scan to reveal them. Hidden cells can hurt XCOM or the countries they are operating in.

EXALT Operations

• Intel scans cost 50§ (the first each month, the 2nd will cost §100) and will reveal any additional cells to the ones already revealed.
• Revealing EXALT cells will postpone their ability to hurt XCOM operations. Only hidden EXALT cells can conduct operations.
• After a while an exposed EXALT cell will relocate to another country and become hidden.
• Hidden EXALT cells can conduct 3 types of operations:
  • Propaganda - Increases Panic on the targeted country.
  • Sabotage - Reduces XCOM's money supply.
  • Research Hack - Slow down XCOM's current research.
• Also, if you turn down an abduction in Africa and there's an exposed EXALT cell on that country then the resulting panic from the Abduction is further increased.
• Building Labs can provide a guard against Research Hacks. Each Lab recovers 20% of the data that was lost.

Covert Operations Missions

• To stop a revealed EXALT cell, XCOM may perform a Covert Mission on the country where the cell is based.
• There are two types of Covert Missions, Cover Extraction and Covert Data Recovery, with about 10 maps for each type (20 total).
• The mission consists of two parts, the insertion of the Covert Operative (through the Situation Room) and later its extraction through a tactical mission.

. If the tactical mission is ignored after the XCOM soldier is inserted, the Covert Operative will be lost.

• There's no Meld in Covert Missions maps.
• If the Covert Mission is a failure the EXALT cell will disappear and go into hiding into another country.

Covert Operative Deployment

Covert Operative in-game Briefing

1. Covert operatives are limited to pistols; pistol tech and Foundry upgrades may be useful.
2. Covert operatives have a powerful in-mission ability. "EXALT Comm Hack". If you can find an EXALT comm array, you covert operative can hack it, disabling all EXALT forces weapons for a short time.
3. Heavy soldiers and MEC Troopers are ineligible for covert ops duty.

• With only a Pistol as a weapon, Covert Operatives will depend a lot on their specific class abilities like Low Profile, Sprinter or Lightning Reflexes.
• Operatives deploy with no armor and only 1 item slot, but they can be upgraded to 2 item slots if the necessary Foundry upgrade is purchased.
• Covert operatives have a powerful in-mission ability. "EXALT Comm Hack". If you can find an EXALT comm array, you covert operative can hack it, disabling all EXALT forces weapons for a short time.

Covert Extraction

• During the mission there are 4 Transponders present on the map, and 2 specific ones (they are marked) will have to be hacked by your covert operative.
• EXALT will try to capture Transponders as well, and if they successfully capture 2 the mission will be a failure for XCOM.
• After the operative hacks the 2 specific Transponders it will have to get back to the extraction area for the mission to be complete.

Covert Data Recovery

Mission Briefing

1. The covert operative has finished setting up the encoder and transmitter, but EXALT is inbound. Protect the intel assets by eliminating all EXALT forces in the AO.
2. Protect Intel assets (encoder and transmiter). Encoder can be used by EXALT to determine location of the Transmitter. The transmitter is the key of the mission.
3. EXALT Comm Arrays can be hacked by the operative to delay EXALT's operations and slow down their offense.
4. Your Covert Operative is not essential

• During the mission there are both an Encoder and a Transmitter located on the map with a marked area around both. XCOM's Covert Operative starts close to the Transmitter.
• EXALT will first try to gain control of the Encoder for 3 turns, by having one of its agents on the marked area encircling it, without any XCOM soldiers also present on the area.
  • Having an XCOM soldier also in the "Capture" field blocks the hack, keeping the encoder and transmitter secure.
    • Naturally, with such small areas involved; the risk is that of close-quarters combat and easy flanking.
• After EXALT gains control of the Encoder, it will know the location of the Transmitter and will try also to place 1 agent on the marked area around it for 3 turns. If EXALT is successful in controlling the Transmitter, the mission will be a failure.
• The player is warned whenever an EXALT agent enters any of the marked areas, with counters indicating the number of turns remaining for EXALT to control those marked areas.
• Besides the Encoder and Transmitter, there are EXALT Comm Arrays on the area. If the Covert Operative reaches one of those Arrays, it can hack EXALT's agents, causing all their hand weapons to jam for 1 turn.
• Survival of the Covert Operative is not required for mission success. Those Rookies may look good on the Covert Operative's new jacket look...

EXALT Base Raid

• Every successful mission where you recover EXALT intel will give a clue about the EXALT HQ.
• Once you get 3 clues you may make an accusation (raid) against a country.
• If the accusation is correct then you'll assault EXALT's base and end their menace for good.
• If you're wrong the country will leave the council. You can get additional clues to narrow it to a single country. Some examples of clues:
  • "The EXALT base is not in a English speaking country"
  • "The EXALT base is not in Africa"
• If you accuse a country which already left the council, the penalty for guessing wrong is a continent-wide panic increase.

EXALT forces

• EXALT operates with a similar class structure as XCOM, fielding 4 types of soldiers: Sniper, Heavy, Operative (like Assault) and Medic.
• Later there are Elite versions of all classes, using additional tech improvements.
• EXALT weaponry is conventional at first but they will also upgrade their weapons to Laser/Plasma and use Gene Mods to enhance their units.
• They however do not gain MECs
• EXALT agents can't be captured since they'll suicide with a syringe if hit by an Arc Thrower. Their weapons however can be recovered and used instead of XCOM's models or sold at the Grey Market.

EXALT Stats & Weapons

Check each individual unit's page:

• EXALT Operative
  • EXALT Assault Rifle
• EXALT Sniper
  • EXALT Sniper Rifle
• EXALT Heavy
  • EXALT LMG
  • EXALT Rocket Launcher
• EXALT Medic
  • EXALT Assault Rifle
• EXALT Elite Operative
  • EXALT Laser Rifle
  • Alien Grenade
• EXALT Elite Sniper
  • EXALT Laser Rifle
• EXALT Elite Heavy
  • EXALT Heavy Laser
  • EXALT Rocket Launcher
  • Alien Grenade
• EXALT Elite Medic
  • EXALT Laser Rifle

XCOM Changes

Classes

• Barracks capacity is now limited to 70 soldiers instead of the 99 possible on EU.
• Assault's Close and Personal has now been redesigned to - The first standard shot made within 4 tiles of the target does not cost an action. Cannot combine with Run And Gun.
  • You can run up to an enemy shoot it and then run back into cover.
• Support's Covering Fire now fires before the enemy uses its weapon.
• Sniper's Snap Shot aim penalty reduced from -20 to -10.
• Sniper's Squad Sight only gives Critical Damage if Headshot is used.
• Support's Deep Pockets now gives +1 charge to Grenades, Arc Thrower, Medikits or any other item with limited uses.
• Heavy's HEAT Ammo doesn't double damage, but only adds 50% now.
• S.H.I.V.s can also be further upgraded, based on the new MEC abilities.
• Heavy's Grenadier now gives extra (+1) damage to Frag, Needle and Alien grenades.

Soldier Rank Progression

Soldier rank progression has been delayed to balance the new MECs and GMods.

In general, Experience Points (XP) requirements have been increased from 20 to 30%. MEC soldiers gain only 50% of the normal experience points received through kills. Psionic XP requirements have not been changed.

XP Required per Rank

Rank	Points Required	Points Required (EW DLC)
Rookie	0	0
Squaddie	90	90
Corporal	300	480
Sergeant	510	700
Lieutenant	745	925
Captain	1100	1380
Major	1560	1840
Colonel	2150	2550
Psionic*	0	0
Specialist	50	50
Operative	120	120

Medals

• Medals can now be assigned to soldiers on the Enemy Within DLC. They appear as a new option in the Barracks menu.
• Medals will be received upon completing certain objectives on missions. There is a cap on the number of medals that can be present on the entire pool of live soldiers.
• The name of the medals can be changed and there is a choice between 2 options that will increase the soldier's stats upon receiving it.
• There is a limit of the number of medals that can be issued. However, if soldiers with medals are killed the medal will be available again for awards 2 missions afterwards.
  • Soldiers who are dismissed (rather than killed) take their medals with them, effectively removing those medals from your pool forever.
• Will bonus from medals does not affect psi combat.
  • Thus, if your soldiers are immune to panic due to Defender's Medals or Neural Damping, you can consider ignoring medal effects that improve will.
• If using savescumming and Hidden Potential to get the most out of leveling, keep in mind that some of the medal powers will change the stats of your soldiers.

Names and Types of Medals

• Urban Combat Badge
  • +5 Defense when in cover.
  • +5 Aim against enemies in full cover.
  • Maximum of 5 medals issued. Each medal is unlocked after 3 missions have passed?

• Defender's Medal
  • Never panic as result of allies getting wounded or killed.
  • Medikits and Restorative Mists heal 2 HP more when used on this soldier.
  • Maximum of 3 medals issued. Each medal is unlocked after 3 missions take place? Can be given after a successful mission where a soldier is killed or critically injured. Sometimes, you can get it when a soldier is injured but not critically.

• International Service Cross
  • +2 Will per different nationality in the squad.
  • +2 Aim per continent bonus XCOM has earned.
  • Maximum of 2 medals issued. Unlocked after 7 missions take place? Requires performing missions on 3 different continents.

• Council Medal of Honor
  • +1 Aim and Will for each mission completed with no soldier deaths, up to a maximum of +10.
    • Bonus is dependent upon when soldier is awarded and each mission awarded soldier participates in. If awarded soldier only participates in two missions out of X missions, the soldier will only receive +1 Aim & Will on the second mission. The awarded soldier must participate in eleven missions without any soldier deaths to receive maximum benefit (+10 Aim & Will).
    • Bonus can take effect on the second mission after being awarded, and does not take into account missions completed prior to award.
  • Provides 10 Aim and Critical Chance if not within 7 tiles of an allied unit.
    • Bonus offers instant utilization without much drawback or relying on soldier mission attendance. Best awarded to MEC Troopers, Shotgun Assaults or Squad Sight Snipers as these soldiers tend to be apart from other soldiers.
  • Maximum of 2 medals. Unlocked after 10 missions take place? Complete 3 Terror/Council/Covert Operations missions?

• Star of Terra
  • Entire squad receives +5 Will and +5 Defense in battle. Robotic units receive only the Defense bonus.
  • All soldiers in the squad at Lieutenant rank or lower gain +25% XP for completing missions.
  • Maximum of 1 medal. Complete XCOM Base Defense mission.

New Items

Needle Grenade

Description

A variant on the Frag Grenade, this weapon does equivalent damage over a much larger area but the projectiles cannot damage cover. Thus units in cover related to the center of the blast area will be unaffected. Increased blast radius compared to standard frag grenade Like frag grenade gives 3 base explosive damage to units in radius Units in cover relative to center of blast radius will not take damage

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Chryssalid Autopsy
Base Costs	§40 5 Alloys 2 Chryssalid Corpses 7 Engineers
Abilities/Stats	See Description

• The blast will not destroy cover or terrain.
  • So, feel free to fling these around inside a UFO without worry of destroying precious Power Sources or Nav Computers.
• The blast radius is about 2 to 2.5 times the size of a normal grenade, and about the same size or slightly larger than a Danger Zone rocket.
• Think carefully about producing these. Chryssalid corpses are fairly rare and difficult to acquire, and also necessary for Chitin Plating.

Flashbang Grenade

Description

Enemy units inside the blast radius suffer significant Aim and movement penalties during their next turn. Robotic and advanced psionic enemies are immune. Enemy units inside the blast radius suffer significant Aim and movement penalties during their next turn. Robotic and advanced psionic enemies are immune.

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Experimental Warfare
Base Costs	§35 5 Engineers
Abilities/Stats	See Description

• Although the alien will have an Aim penalty it will still be able to shoot.
• The penalty is 50% movement and -50 points of Aim. While the alien may still be able to shoot, if you're in cover, it probably can't hit you.
  • Units under the effect of a Flashbang Grenade show a distinctive tendency to suppress enemy units instead of attacking them outright.

Gas Grenade

Description

Our advanced research in alien physiology has allowed us to synthesize a modified version of the poison projected by the Thin Man, and containerize it in grenade form. Creates a poison gas cloud at impact site Affects all targets in blast radius Poison lasts 1-3 turns, doing 1 damage each turn. It also reduces Aim by 20 points.

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Thin Man Autopsy
Base Costs	§35 2 Thin Man Corpses 7 Engineers
Abilities/Stats	Poison Cloud

• Robotic units, Thin Men, and MECs are immune.
• The poison cloud will still affect your soldiers moving through it, unless they have a Respirator Implant or Titan Armor.
  • As opposed to the fairly low damage over time, it's probably better to use this for the -20 Aim that poison status inflicts.

Ghost Grenade

Description

This grenade contains elerium-infused particles that, when diffused into our soldiers, causes them to become invisible. These particles will lose their elerium charge after a brief time, and competing energy sources - such as weapons fire - will disrupt them. Confers temporary stealth on all friendly units in blast radius Stealth lasts until the start of the unit's next turn Attacks from stealth receive a substantial bonus to critical chance Does not affect Seekers or units with Mimetic Skin

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Seeker Autopsy
Base Costs	§200 25 Elerium 4 Seeker Wrecks 10 Engineers
Abilities/Stats	Ghost

• Gives friendly units on its area of effect the ability to become invisible for a turn.
• A cheap alternative to Mimetic Skin or Ghost Armor. However, after you've developed and deployed either one of those improvements, you may want to bring another item instead.

Mimic Beacon

Description

This device has been programmed to mimic the auditory cues the invaders appear to use in the field. It can be used to attract their attention to an area. Thrown like a grenade Emits sounds that correspond to alien tactical cues Causes aliens within radius to approach the beacon for 2 turns Enemies already in combat are less likely to be fooled

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Sectoid Commander Autopsy
Base Costs	§50 5 Engineers
Abilities/Stats	See Description

• These "grenades" will show as two when equipped, allowing an additional use despite not being clarified in purchase screen.
• Can be thrown on the map into a square within the player's moving range.
• The mimic beacon will send out a signal that tricks aliens, drawing them towards it and away from any nearby player units.
• Robotic and psi enemies aren't fooled.
  • EXALT is not fooled either. The story does imply that EXALT does not seek to interfere with aliens and their work.
• Very useful for terror missions as aliens will spend both actions to move towards beacon, even to the point of being out of cover.

Reaper Rounds

Description

Experimental ballistics have led to this specialized conventional weapon load. It can cause substantial extra damage to affected targets, but the additional casing elements make it less accurate at long range. The rounds will not work with pistols, though. Affects conventional weapons only Adds 20% to critical chance against organic targets Doubles the weapon's range penalty

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Experimental Warfare
Base Costs	§30 6 Engineers
Abilities/Stats	+20% Critical Chance

• Reaper Rounds are designed to balance the increased research time of laser weapons and more varied early game tech tree allowed by Enemy Within, allowing you to deal with slightly tougher enemies (particularly Chryssalids) without lasers.
  • When your first terror mission appears, if you don't yet have laser weapons then equipping your troops with these is recommended to allow you to take down the comparatively high HP Chryssalids and zombies you'll encounter.
• Snipers with Squadsight are not hampered by weapon range penalty, although Squad Sight still prevents the crit bonus. However, the bonus will be applied if enemies move within visual range or if Headshot is used with Squad Sight, allowing for an even higher crit chance.
• Soldiers will not be able to equip this weapon if they are using Laser or Plasma weapons. If Reaper Rounds are equipped, switching to non-conventional weapons will automatically unequip Reaper Rounds.

Respirator Implant

Description

We can fabricate a module that will automatically detect chemical and physical threats to a soldier's oxygen supply, and deploy uncomfortable but potentially life-saving oxygen tube shunts in a matter of seconds. This module will fit all of XCOM's armor designs. Confers immunity to poison and Strangle Confers 2 extra health

Source: XCOM: Enemy Within DLC

Notes

Research Required	Seeker Autopsy
Base Costs	§35 5 Engineers
Abilities/Stats	See Description

• After Titan Armor is developed and deployed, this device is still useful with Psi armors. Even with Titan Armor you may want to bring it for the extra 2 Health Points it provides.
  • Thus, they supersede Nanofiber Vests in utility. Particularly on harder difficulties, it may be more cost-effective (and quicker) to skip vests and go for the Implant first, especially in light of Seekers being able to sneak attack past the starting armor's +1 health, putting your soldiers into recovery time, and the many Thin Men you'll be facing (and be at risk of poisoning from) for a while.

Foundry Changes

• The Foundry now gives adjacency bonus if built near a Workshop or the Cybernetics Lab.

New Projects

• Sentinel Drone
  • We've been able to adapt an alien drone into a repair module for the SHIV. While we had to sacrifice its autonomous movement functions, we've been able to retain its repair capability and use its spare AI cycles to improve the SHIV's situational firing heuristics.
  • Requires Drone Autopsy Research.
  • Cost: §80, 10 Engineers, 20 Alloys, 10 Elerium, 7 days.
  • Gives S.H.I.V.s an ability akin to Assault's Close Combat Specialist.

• Tactical Rigging
  • Increasing need for tactical flexibility has driven us to develop tactical rigs that apply to all of XCOM's individual soldier protection systems. These will enable soldiers to bring a second item into battle.
  • Requires Experimental Warfare Research.
  • Cost: §200, 5 Engineers, 4 Days

• Shaped Armor
  • The invaders' mechanized cybersuits are of course somewhat more advanced than our own; by examining the interfaces between the armored shells and the cores, we could improve our overall armor design. This has the potential to increase tactical survivability for all of our mechanized forces.
  • Requires Mechtoid Autopsy Research.
  • Cost: §300, 20 Engineers, 40 Alloys, 20 Elerium, 14 days.
  • Increases MEC stats by 3 HP. S.H.I.V. HP increase unknown.

• Advanced Servomotors
  • After a careful examination we've been able to replicate the articulated joints of the Mechtoid, allowing for mobility improvements on both our cybersuits and SHIV Units.
  • Requires Mechtoid Autopsy Research.
  • Cost: §300, 30 Elerium, 30 Alloys, 20 Engineers, 10 days.

• Elerium Jelly (new project)
  • Using Elerium in tactical situations is quite risky; in the absence of a full sized craft's regulator and fuel management systems, adding it to our flamethrowers would be too dangerous. With some additional investment, though, we could devise a formula to increase flamethrower effectiveness without risking our soldiers.
  • Requires Elerium Research.
  • Cost: §200, 50 Elerium, 15 Engineers, 10 days.

• MEC Close Combat
  • Our advancements in heavy armor technology have enabled us to install better actuators and support structures in the Kinetic Strike Module. This should increase its force output by 50%.
  • Cost: §200, 30 Alloys, 5 Engineers, 7 days.

Officer Training School

• The Iron Will perk now only requires Sergeant rank instead of Major.
• The Don't Die On Me perk has been removed, due to the addition of the Secondary Heart Gene Mod.

• Instead there's a new ability: Lead By Example (§50 cost, Lieutenant rank required) - The squad leader substitutes his or her Will for that of all nearby lower Will squadmates.

Gameplay Changes

Difficulty

• Difficulty in Classic and Impossible modes has been slightly increased. Tech costs have been increased dramatically for both levels. Plasma weapons cost will also be increased on these difficulties.
• Eliminating the Alien Base now only removes 1 point of panic in all countries rather than 2 on Classic and Impossible difficulties.

Research Times

• Research times have been increased by +40% on Classic and by 70% on Impossible difficulties.
• This applies to all techs, except:
  • Xenobiology
  • Weapon Fragments
  • Alien Materials
  • Experimental Warfare
  • Meld

Plasma Weapons Cost

• Building Costs for all plasma weapons have been increased, with the exception of the Plasma Pistol, in the Classic/Impossible difficulties:

Plasma Light Rifle	Plasma Rifle	Alloy Cannon	Heavy Plasma	Plasma Sniper Rifle	Blaster Launcher
Old: §125, 15 Elerium, 20 Alloys New: §180, 30 Elerium, 30 Alloys	Old: §200, 20 Elerium, 30 Alloys New: §300, 40 Elerium, 50 Alloys	Old: §200, 20 Elerium, 50 Alloys New: §300, 40 Elerium, 75 Alloys	Old: §250, 30 Elerium, 30 Alloys New: §375, 60 Elerium, 50 Alloys	Old: §250, 25 Elerium, 30 Alloys New: §375, 60 Elerium, 50 Alloys	Old: §275, 65 Elerium, 50 Alloys New: §400, 120 Elerium, 75 Alloys

New Second Wave options

The Second Wave settings can be consulted during a game but it can't be changed. Second Wave also has new options:

• Training Roulette - After a soldier is assigned to a class and receives the starting ability the choice of abilities afterwards will be from its own class perks, mixed with abilities from other classes. This applies only to abilities that are not dependent of class weapons, such as Rockets.
  • Does not affect the Psionic and MEC ability choices.
• Save Scum – Saving a game will reset the RNG seed for the shots.
• Aiming Angles – the closer you get to flank an alien, the more its cover bonus declines (works also against your soldiers).
• Itchy Trigger Tentacle - non-cover aliens have a 50% chance of firing or going into Overwatch when discovered.
• Mind vs Matter - Psi soldiers can't be gene modded and gene modded soldiers can't be psi tested. [4]

Training Roulette Random Abilities

All other abilities not listed below are still available as choices on the usual ranks. A Heavy Colonel will still have Rocketeer and Mayhem available, for instance.

• Assault: Aggression, Tactical Sense, Lightning Reflexes, Flush, Bring 'Em On, Close Combat Specialist, Extra Conditioning, Resilience
• Heavy: Bullet Swarm, Holo-Targeting, Suppression, HEAT Ammo, Rapid Reaction, Grenadier, Will To Survive
• Sniper: Damn Good Ground, Gunslinger, Battle Scanner, Executioner, Opportunist, Low Profile
• Support: Sprinter, Covering Fire, Field Medic, Suppression, Revive, Deep Pockets, Savior, Sentinel

Tactical

• Non-Cover Aliens (Sectopod, Cyberdisc, Mechtoid) will go on Overwatch when they are activated after the soldier who discovered them has finished moving.
• Critical bonus of stealth attacks reduced from 100 to 30, likely to balance out the Ghost Grenade.
• Panicked soldiers will have chance to hit decreased, so friendly fire is less deadly.
• Alien starting areas have been changed.
• The orange sound wave has been replaced with a blue one, while the orange one is now used as a Meld Locater like thing.
• On Terror missions, AoE attacks will have the "Friendly Fire" warning for civillians.

New Maps

• Maps: Some maps have been "tweaked", some to address exploding car issues and to add Meld Canisters.
• The old and new maps are mixed together but the game is set so that you'll see more of the new maps during a gameplay.
• There's four new maps that deal with crashed UFOs in a destroyed city and in a Farm. There's also a Dam map on the Progeny campaign.
• There are 44 new maps.
• A snow covered map is used in the final Progeny mission.
• Other maps include a Bank, Ice Cream Shop, Road House, Coffee Shop, Construction Site and a new Truck Stop. There's also a Tire Shop map (both for Abductions and Covert Operations missions) and an Highway Construction outdoors map which is a combination of forest and construction environments.
• One of the new Council missions is on a coastal whaling station.
• Office Paper can now be the site of a terror mission.
• There are more ways for soldiers to enter battlefield (for example they can use ropes instead of slowly walking out of Skyranger).
• The Museum map has been removed for both Abductions and the Council mission.
• GasStation and Demolition maps have been replaced by new versions.

List of Maps

New Maps	Redesigned Maps	Covert Extraction	Covert Data Recovery
Small Scout Farm Small Scout Nuked City Small Scout Roadhouse Large Scout City Pier A Terror Office Paper Terror Portent (Progeny) Deluge (Progeny) Furies (Progeny) EXALT HQ Assault XCOM HQ Assault XCOM HQ Multiplayer Meld Tutorial - a.k.a. Ice Cream Shop Chryssalid Hive	Demolition (EW) Fast Food (EW) - now it is a Bank Office Paper (EW) Highway Construction (EW) Street Overpass (EW) Gas Station (EW) Research Outpost (EW) Convienience Store (EW) Truck Stop (EW) Commercial Alley (EW)	Military Ammo Liquor Store Trainyard Highway Construction (EW) Convienience Store (EW) PierA Terror Street Overpass (EW) Commercial Alley (EW) Research Outpost (EW) Portent	Industrial Office Rooftops Const Boulevard Gas Station (EW) Truck Stop (EW) Demolition (EW) Highway Construction Office Paper (EW) Police Station Commercial Restaurant

Council Extraction Mission Map

• Street Hurricane Terror now replaces the Museum map (which has been completely removed on EW) for the Thomas Hutch mission.

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• 
• 
• 
• 

New Missions

Operation Progeny

• Progeny, the 2nd planned (and cancelled) DLC has been included in EW, adding a new Council campaign like Slingshot is included with Enemy Within.
• Both Slingshot and Progeny can be played on the same game.
• The Progeny narrative has suffered changes to adapt it more with the EW expansion.
  • Progeny introduces Annette, a French character who is kidnapped from French protection by EXALT, and the 3 missions involving her will include both EXALT and the Aliens at some point.
  • Annette has a special power that makes her interesting to XCOM, the aliens and EXALT. Annette appears on the Security Breach trailer.
• If the operation is successful Annette can become a soldier that the player can control, like Zhang on Slingshot.
  • There is a possibility that she may not always be recruited after the Operation.
• According Ananda Gupta about Slingshot and Progeny [5]: "they have different triggers. The first part of Progeny happens early. Prob done w/Slingshot by the time Progeny part 2 happens".
• Progeny consists of 3 missions:
  • Portent
  • Deluge
  • Furies

• Successfully completing Progeny can give you Annette as a Support Psionic soldier, plus 3 additional soldiers, all Lieutenant rank and gifted.

XCOM HQ Base Defense

• The Aliens can now attack the XCOM HQ once during a game, resulting on a Base Defense mission against the aliens.
• While scanning for activity sections of the XCOM HQ will start being attacked by humans and you'll have to defend against an alien attack using a random group of soldiers consisting combat veterans and rookies (base security personnel). A section of the base has been cut off and you'll have to defend it from the aliens until reinforcements can arrive. The aliens will attack in waves.
• If you lose the mission you'll lose the game.
• Your combat soldiers are equipped with what they have at the moment in the Barracks for their last mission and the base security will have conventional weapons. You'll get 3 waves of reinforcements each time the security door is opened.
• The aliens will invade Delta section through 4 locations: Command Center/Rear Guard Station/Mech Bay/Forward Access Tunnel.
• At the end of the mission Bradford will comment that "we still need to find how this was possible", although you'll need to play the Progeny campaign to learn about it.
• Base Defense can take place after May and at least until September.
• Although Base Security personnel may be promoted at the end of the mission, you won't get to keep them as soldiers.
• Mission Briefing - Operation Ashes and Temples
  • The invaders have infiltrated XCOM HQ in unknown numbers. Limited reinforcements, including XCOM Base Security personnel, are available. Failure will mean the end of XCOM.
• Mission Objectives
  • Eliminate all alien forces within XCOM HQ
    • Reinforcements are currently unavailable
    • Latest alien wave in *location*.

• 

  The Ethereal seems about to escape Alien Containment

• 

  The Skyranger gets thrashed

• 

  Bradford about to shoot a mind controlled XCOM technician

Council Missions

• Site Recon - Our sources indicate a developing incident in Newfoundland, up the coast from St. John's. A fishing village has gone dark: reports from intel sources suggest alien involvement. We should send a team to investigate the site and figure out what happened.
  • This mission involves a Chryssalids hive. C-Hive is always the first Council mission after you fight Chryssalids for 1st time. After it, it becomes a random Council mission like the others.

Interface Changes

• There is an inventory button to strip away all items from Soldiers not in the squad lineup ("Make items available").
• You can now personalize your soldier's voice according to its nationality (French soldiers can speak in French or any other language) using the available audio packs for the current language editions (following languages were confirmed: Spanish, German, Italian, French, Polish, Russian). The personalisation applies to soldiers nicknames as well.
• As part of the previous, Saudi Arabia has been replaced with Poland in the list of countries where you can recruit your soldiers.
• Memorial (place where you see fallen soldiers) will have additional information shown: cause of death.
• A.C. Clarke's quote at the beginning of the game has been replaced with one from the futurist Buckminster Fuller: Those who play with the devil’s toys will be brought by degrees to wield his sword.
• Color customization options now apply also to weapons being carried by the soldier, as well as armor.
  • MEC Troopers have a new customization feature allowing to choose between tiger stripes, flames or spiral decorations.
  • More helmets, armor decos and colors.

Advanced Options

Before starting a game it is possible to choose between a number of options:

• Tutorial
• Meld Tutorial
• Operation Slingshot
• Operation Progeny
• Ironman
• Reduced Beginner VO - To shut up Drs. Vahlen and Shen.

New Steam Achievements

The following achievements are available on Steam ([6])

MECs and GMods

• Anger Management

Proc Combat Rush on the entire squad (min. 4)

• Rise of the Machines

Field a squad consisting entirely of augmented soldiers and SHIVs (min. 4) and win the mission

• Mutatis Mutandis

Field a squad where all members have at least two modifications (min. 4) and win the mission

• Mental Minefield

Kill an enemy as it is psionically attacking you in single player

• Tingling Sensation

Kill an unseen enemy detected by a specially modified soldier in single player

• Steel Martyr

Deploy three tactical subsystems on a single soldier in single player

• Enemy Within

Get a Soldier to have 5 modifications in single player

• Who Needs Limbs?

Augment a soldier in single player

• A Little Bit Alien

Modify a soldier in single player

• Mind the Step

Jump two stories in one move in single player

• Someone Your Own Size

Kill a Muton Berserker in melee combat in single player

• The Meld Squad

Field a fully enhanced squad and win the mission

• By Our Powers Combined

Field a squad with 4 augmented soldiers, each with a different base ability and win the mission

• Nice Cover

Use Collateral Damage to blow up a car in single playe

Mechtoids and Seekers

• Taking A Load Off

Stop a squad member from suffocating in single player

• Shieldbuster

Eliminate an enemy's shield and kill it on the same turn in single player

Gameplay

• Guardian of Earth

Designate a highly decorated soldier as the Volunteer

• Pain in the Neck

Cause an enemy to suicide

• An Army Of Four

Beat the game without buying a Squad Size upgrade (Classic+ difficulty)

Operation Progeny

• Solid Prospect - Progeny (Slingshot type Council mission)

Complete Deluge

• Ours are the Furies - Progeny (Slingshot type Council mission)

Complete Furies

EXALT

• Remington… Max Remington

Have your special-duty soldier kill three enemies in the same mission

• Elite Defense

Beat a new special mission without losing any assets

• G’day

Kill an elite enemy Sniper with one of your own snipers in single player

• Regenerate This

Kill an elite enemy Medic with explosive damage in single player

• Apotheosis Denied

Deal with the newest global threat

• Where in the World

Make certain of the new threat's location

Base Defense

• All Hands on Deck

Get at least 4 kills with XCOM Base Security personnel

• They Shall Not Pass

Eliminate all alien waves

Council

• Zom-B-Gone

Eradicate the infestation

Bug Fixes

Several issues have been fixed, including Line of Sight.

• Teleporting of aliens has been removed.
• Flanking bugs have been fixed.
  • This includes the 'glitch' of a cornered alien that's flanked and being Overwatched going into "panic" (a.k.a. "Overwatch Freeze") and no longer taking actions.

Modding

• In one of the interviews there's a mention by the lead designer that they moved more settings to the game's .INI files rather than the Unreal script to help modders.

Multiplayer

• You can now edit your squad on offline mode.
• 8 more maps for Multiplayer.
• Grenades/Rockets and XCOM Rookies cost have been reduced, because they're considered overpriced.
• EXALT units can be used.

Easter Eggs

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

William Carter

• Giving a soldier the name William Carter will bring forth an XCOM Hero in homage to the main character on the Bureau.
• Carter's fedora hat is now available as a new hair style.

Name	William Carter
Nickname	"Old Timer"
HP	20 + 8
Aim	100
Defense	0 + 20
Will	80
Movement	12

William "Old Timer" Carter is a unique American Assault class soldier and the main protagonist in the prequel, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.

Carter loadout:

• Ghost Armor
• Alloy Cannon
• Plasma Pistol

As a Colonel, he will have the following abilities:

Abilities

Squaddie	Run and Gun
Corporal	Tactical Sense
Sergeant	Close and Personal
Lieutenant	Rapid Fire
Captain	Close Combat Specialist
Major	Extra Conditioning
Colonel	Resillience

He is capable of MEC conversion and Gene Mods, but cannot undergo Psi testing (presumably because Asaru is no longer connected to him). His voice pack is a generic one, and not Mark Hildreth [7].

Other

• The Meld Recombination research project states on the project results description: "While searching our records for any references to a material with similar properties, I uncovered a number of redacted data stores created in the 1960s, but much of that information appears to be lost".

X-COM: Terror From The Deep

• During the mission on the Chryssalid Hive, which takes place on a small fishing village off Canada, Bradford will comment "That ship didn't just run aground... it looks like it was overrun. I'd say that's the likely source of our Chryssalid problem... I guess we should just be thankful it wasn't a cruise liner."
• Afterwards, if the mission is successful, the debriefing will say: "We've got a hint of how at least one of the aliens would transform the Earth, if given the chance. We'll have to assess future risk to the world's oceans from the Chryssalid reproductive processes the squad documented."