XCOM Base Location (EU2012)

In the beginning of the game you have to choose the location of your base. There are five possible options for the location of the XCOM base:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia (not available in the tutorial)
• South America (not available in the tutorial)
• Africa (not available in the tutorial)

North America

Placing the base in North America, you get a bonus Air and Space: "All aircraft and aircraft weapons cost 50% less to purchase, build and maintain".

Your base will be located in United States

Europe

Placing the base in Europe, you get a bonus Expert Knowledge: "Laboratories and Workshops cost 50% less to build and maintain".

Your base will be located in Germany

Asia

Placing the base in Asia, you get a bonus Future Combat: "All projects in the Foundry and the Officer Training School cost 50% less".

Your base will be located in Japan

South America

Placing the base in South America, you get a bonus We Have Ways: "Autopsies and Interrogations are completed instantly".

Your base will be located in Brazil

Africa

Placing the base in Africa, you get a bonus All In: "Monthly XCOM funding increased by 30%".

Your base will be located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but your first satellite will be over Nigeria

Notes

• If you later cover an entire continent with satellites, then you also get that bonus even if your base is located elsewhere.
• The bonus takes effect immediately after you launch the satellites.
• You cannot lose your starting bonus, even if you lose all of the countries on your starting continent.

Choosing a Location

There are many different methods to choosing your initial base location. Here are a few factors to consider:

• Money: Look at the Funding table.

If you choose to start in the USA, you get §180 each month to start the game, in addition to the Base Funding depending on your chosen difficulty level.

If you start in Africa, you actually get an extra 30% to Nigeria's funding and an extra 30% of the Base Funding thanks to the "All In" bonus; plus, you'll be getting an extra 30% from every other funding source as you expand satellite coverage.

Both are worthy options.

• Bonuses: This depends on your play style and gameplan.

If you really want "Future Combat" and "We Have Ways" early in the game, put your base in Asia because it will only take 2 satellites to get S. America vs. 4 satellites if you start in S. America and expand to Asia.

Autopsies and interrogations don't take very long, so "We Have Ways" is probably the one clear-cut choice to not start your base, especially considering you only need 2 satellites to get it through the course of the game.

• Panic: Face it, you can't respond to all 3 Abduction missions.

At some point, you're going to get stuck with covering a country with a satellite just to calm them down, whether it's early in the game to keep everyone happy or late in the game to prevent completing the "Doom Tracker".

You can try to keep an extra satellite and uplink slot available for such cases, though not utilizing such a vital resource also weighs on the mind.

Examples

• Start in Asia (China) for the "Future Combat" Bonus, then spread to either N. America (Total §330 + "Air & Space") or Africa (Total §325 + "All In"); either way it's only 3 satellites.
  • This is a good option if you rely on a short-list of highly perked soldiers for combat.
  • The downside is you have to be careful not to waste precious resources on excessive Foundry projects that you may not use in combat very often.
• Start in Africa for the "All In" Bonus (because it gives you extra credits no matter what play style or strategy you choose) and then spread to N. America for more credits or Asia for even cheaper deals on Foundry and OTS projects.
  • This is a good option if you don't have a particular strategy in mind, or if your strategy is to play it by ear and react to what the game gives you as you progress.
  • The downside is that you'll need a couple more satellites to get the other continent bonuses, which takes time, credits, and Uplinks to accomplish, all in the face of ever-increasing panic.

See Also

• Funding - for a list of the country/continent funding and bonuses.
• Strategy - for a comparison of the different continent bonuses.
• Starting Funds - for a breakdown of the starting credits by difficulty level and continent.
• XCOM Headquarters