

                      XCOM2: Terror from the Deep

                     The UN-official Strategy Guide
                                  and
                 Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

                            Updated Apr-15/95

                 Maintained by Kuo-Sheng (Kasey) Chang


0.1 Introduction

    Thanks for the tremendous response for XCOM:USG!  I've received
    feedback all over the world and I thank you all.  This is the first
    rev of the XCOM2:USG.  Undoubtably lots of things are missing but
    with your help details will be filled...

    Many of you may have read my bad preview of XCOM2.  XCOM2 is a nice
    game, but I cannot realistically call it a good simulation of
    underwater combat.  My rating for it is 4.5...  But it is STILL a
    must-buy.  :-)  And it IS HARD!

    This guide is VERY similar to XCOM:USG since most of the strategy
    and tactics STILL apply.  In fact, they are more important than
    ever, since the game is much harder, much less forgiving of your
    tactical blunders.

0.2 Credits where credits are due

    Thanks to MicroProse and Mythos Games for bringing us such a nice
    game...  I can't wait to see XCOM3!

    Thanks to all the people who have contributed to previous editions
    of the XCOM:USG, whom include but are not limited to: William Kang,
    CMDR; Tim Chown, CMDR; Doug Osborne, SG; Stuart Lamble, SG; Seth
    Cohn, SG; Bill Soo, SG; Jeff Shaffer, Economist; Rob Eiben, SG; Jim
    Muchow, SG; Menachem Pasteich, architect; Paul Close, publicist and
    simulation expert; JGrif36366, Researcher, and fellow XCOM players
    all over the world discussing the game on USENET, America On-line
    and elsewhere.

    Lots of thanks goes to Jeff James (CGW columnist), who shared his
    knowledge of the game with me and provided a lot of exclusive
    information (non-MicroProse), including the Julian Gollop interview.

0.3 Notes on the USG

    PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark...

    If you find an question about the game that is not covered in the
    USG, I'll include it in the next update.

    The USG should be available at the Game Domain WWW

      WWW : http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain

    Any quick updates can be found on my own homepage

      http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kschang

    Which is up "most of the time".  If it cannot be found, try at a
    different time of the day...

    If you are on America On-Line, look in the PC Games Forum (keyword:
    PCGAMES). Go into the file library, and search under XCOM or XCOM2.

    If you REALLY can't find it, don't have FTP or WWW, not on AOL,
    can't read news, etc., (i.e. there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY you can get
    to it) (how did you know about this in the first place?) then send
    me e-mail (see below) and I'll try to get back to you.

    Please don't just mail me and ask "it's nice and do you have an
    update and if so please send it to me".  If I have an update I can
    release I would have released it already.

    I maintain this at home on my PC and I only have a UNIX shell
    account which this won't fit with other stuff I need.  So don't
    expect too fast of an answer if you request this by e-mail.

0.4 The author

    I?  I am just a game player who didn't like the existing FAQ's and
    strategy tactics collection available out there, and decided to
    write my own. Lots of people like what I did, so I kept doing it.

    You can contact me at:

    Internet  1     : kschang@sfsu.edu (preferred)
    WWW Homepage    : http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kschang
    Internet  2     : ksc1@aol.com (only if you must, see below)
    America On-Line : Ksc1
    US Mail         : Kasey Chang, 2220 Turk Blvd. Apt.6,
                      San Francisco, CA 94118, USA

    If you contact me via Internet e-mail I usually reply within two
    working days.  Please use the preferred e-mail address if possible,
    not BOTH.  I only sign onto America On-Line (2nd address) twice a
    week so you won't get a prompt reply if you contact me there.


Table of Contents

1.0  XCOM2 General Information
     What is this game?  What about bugs?  Patches?  Expansions and
     future versions?  How do I win or lose?
2.0  The GeoScape Screen and General Hints
     How do I use GeoScape?  Any tricks or tips?
3.0  XCOM2 Bases
     Where do I put my first bases?  How to I build bases that are easy
     to defend?  How much defense do I build?
4.0  XCOM2 Hardware
     What kind of weapons are available?  Which ones are the best?
5.0  Finance
     How do I make more money?  How do I spend less money?  How do I
     cheat and get more money?
6.0  Research and Manufacturing
     What do I research?  What do I build?
7.0  Intercepting alien subs
     How do I intercept alien subs?  What weapon should I use against
     alien sub type X?
8.0  Soldiers, Movement, and Combat
     Who do I send on missions?  How do I avoid casualties?
9.0  The aliens
     Who are these & *#%*!?  How do I kill them most efficiently?
10.0 Ground Assaults
     What do I do in subs assaults and recoveries?  What is the best way
     to defend my base?  Assaulting alien bases?
11.0 Mastering Cydonia -- The Final Assault
     How do I win the "final confrontation"?
12.0 Misc Stuff
     Any other questions?
     (if information you are looking for is not listed, e-mail me and
     I'll give you an answer, and I'll include it in next update)


BEGIN XCOM2 UN-official Strategy Guide

1.0 XCOM2 General Information

    1.1 What is XCOM2: Terror from the Deep?

        XCOM had defeated the alien invasion which threatened Earth
        about year 2000.  Their Martian base at Cydonia was destroyed.
        But not all of it...

        Deep in the ruins of the Cydonia base, a tachyon beam came to
        life, sending out a signal...  To Earth.

        Deep in the oceans, machinery buried for millenia came back to
        life, unseen by human eyes...

        [cut to]

        It is the year 2040.  New aliens in flying subs have appeared
        all over the world, often attacking ships and terrorizing
        coastal cities.  Only one force stand in their way: the XCOM
        Underwater Experimental Facility.

        Again, you are in overall command of XCOM.  You will launch and
        control fighter subs to attack marauding alien flying subs, send
        aquanauts to attack crashed or landed subs, raid alien colonies
        and other targets on Earth (if you can find them), keep the
        sponsor alliances happy and alien subs out of their territories,
        buy the ammo and weapons you need in the war, research and build
        better weapons as your aquanauts bring in captured alien
        artifacts for analysis and eventually manufacture our own
        copies, pay for everything by contributions from sponsor
        alliances and selling stuff, and eventually figure out the alien
        threat's origin and end the threat once and for all.

        If you say "this sounds just like XCOM", you're absolutely
        right.

    1.2 How does XCOM2 play?

        In three words, "just like XCOM".  MOTS (more of the same).
        If you've never played XCOM, here's a description:

        The game is divided into two main segments: GeoScape and
        BattleScape.  GeoScape is a 3-D view of the globe, rotate-able
        and zoom-able.  This is where you control your various bases
        around the world (with sonars), your fighter and transport subs
        (carrying your aquanauts), your inventory at each base, the subs
        and alien bases/targets currently in sight, and so on.  Once
        ground contact is made (transport landed next to subs, you
        attack alien base, aliens attack your base, etc.), the game
        switches to Battlescape.

        Battlescape is an isometric tile-based 3-D combat with viewpoint
        similar to SimCity 2000 and Syndicate.  The combat is turn-based
        with opportunity fire on the opponent's round (provided you have
        enough TimeUnits [TUs] and reaction), with plenty of different
        weapons and terrains to choose from.  Everything is mouse-driven
        so game is very easy to learn yet hard to master.

    1.3 What type of PC do I need? Is a Demo available?

        You need a 386 or better, minimum of 4 MB RAM, VGA, Mouse,
        MS/PC-DOS 5.0 or higher.

        It comes on 4 3.5" HD disks, and needs about 15MB of hard drive
        space to install (more if using disk compression software such
        as Stacker or DoubleSpace).

        There's a CD version which has a much longer animated beginning
        and ending, but is otherwise the same game that takes up only
        about 4 megs of hard drive space.

        You need a double-speed CD-ROM drive in order to see the
        animated beginning and ending, or you'll see the slide-show
        instead.  See the README.TXT file for details.  (Note: there
        appears to be a bug on some computers so even if you have the
        right hardware slideshow will play instead of animation)

        You CAN install the CD version onto the hard drive if you have
        enough space.  There's an install option for that.

        All major soundcards including Gravis Ultrasound are supported.
        Gravis owners must have FULL set of patches available on HD.

        The game uses 32-bit protected mode, so it would not run under
        Windows.  No compatibility claims was made to any other versions
        of DOS such as DR DOS, Novell DOS 7, or even OS/2.

        There is a playable demo available on most on-line services such
        as America On-Line in the MicroProse forum /SIG/ roundtable/
        whatever.  For Internet access, try ftp.microprose.com.  Beware
        that it is often quite busy and thus hard to get in...

    1.5 What about any bugs?  Any patches?

        Some freeze-ups and occasional "blue text bug" has been
        reported, though not as pervasive as XCOM1.  Some situation can
        be caused by "hacking" of data files, so keep a backup!

        Many have reported problems using the General MIDI sound option.
        If you have problems with General MIDI, use regular FM sounds.

        There is a known problem regarding SB16 with Waveblaster
        daughterboards.  Select 8-bit SB for sound and General MIDI for
        music should allow the game to work.

        On some computers the CD version plays the slide show intro
        instead of the full animation even though the hardware is
        present (i.e. 280K+ on CDSPEED test).  This can also happen if
        you install the whole game onto the HD.

        Many have reported the "missing commander" bug (they captured
        one but cannot research).  Try checking your base stores and
        transfer out some existing prisoners.

        One player have reported funding problems, larger than expected
        expenses.  MPS is looking into that.

    1.6 Any plans on sequels?  Mission disks?  Other computers?
        How about XCOM fiction?  Can I write my own?

        XCOM3 is in the works...  See CGW's exclusive interview with
        Julan Gollop, designer of XCOM.  (http://www.ziff.com)

        There is current NO PLAN on porting XCOM2 to other computers.
        If you want to see a native version, tell MicroProse.  One
        address to try is MicroProse@compuserve.com.

        Regarding XCOM Fiction, here's the OFFICIAL word from
        MicroProse:

        ----BEGIN EXCERPT----
        From our official people, you need to write a letter giving
        a clear outline of a proposal to submit to our marketing/P.R.
        folks.

        Keep in mind that we do our stories (although that in itself
        is no reason you couldn't do your own), so you may want to
        see what we have done so far by looking at our Web page.
        [http://www.microprose.com, which is impossible to get in...]

        You may want to outline things like potential storylines,
        your intent for distributing (free, Web page, for money,
        etc.), and similar things.

        Tim Patterson, MicroProse Software
        ----END EXCERPT----

    1.7 How do I win?  How do I lose?

        You win by finding the sources of the alien threat and "deal
        with it" once and for all...  For some ideas...  See H.P.
        Lovecraft's works.

        You can lose by several ways:

        1) You were in debt for over $1,000,000 for two months.  Your
        sponsors had had enough of your mismanagement and terminated the
        XCOM project.  Earth was conquered by aliens not long after.

        2) You had two consecutive "badly losing" months (big negative
        score), and your sponsors had had enough and terminated XCOM
        project.  Just how bad is a "badly losing" month depends on your
        score and difficulty level

        3) You lost all of your bases to the aliens.

        4) You lost a certain number of sponsor to alien infiltration.
           (not sure of exact number, maybe all?)

    1.8 How is scoring calculated?

        Like XCOM, score is kept for both sides.  You get positive score
        for conducting successful research, capturing and/or killing
        aliens, grounding and/or destroying alien subs, destroying alien
        bases, grabbing alien equipment, and more. You get negative
        score for losing XCOM aquanauts, crafts, SWS, and civilians.

        Aliens score points by overflying your sponsors, lands in the
        oceans (for whatever sinister purpose that they may have),
        conduct terror raids and hoping that you ignore it (so NEVER do
        so since this REALLY scores big for them!), sign pact with
        funding alliances (which means those countries don't pay you any
        longer!)

        Your net score is (your_score - alien_score), which is the score
        you see on the monthly performance report (and the graph). The
        funding changes are affected by your total score.

    1.9 If I have XCOM, should I buy this game?

        Yes!  If you think XCOM is easy, you'll get CREAMED in this
        game!  Graphics are better.  There's more use of shading and
        lighting effects, sound is better too, with more cards
        supported.  Even though the physics are goofy (see section
        14), it's still a great game.


2.0 The Geoscape Screen

    The GeoScape screen is where you will control the interceptions and
    provides access to the BattleScape and the base controls.

    2.1 Sub Intercepts

        If you send multiple crafts after one subs and the subs gets
        shot down or destroyed, the shooter will go home, but other
        crafts will continue onto the crash site, THEN return to their
        base. So make them return to base manually.  They will return
        faster, and thus be refueled/rearmed/repaired for next sortie
        faster.  Click on its icon on GeoScape and select "return to
        base".

        If an alien sub has landed/bottomed, keep a fighter sub on top
        of it. That way, if it takes off before your transport get
        there, you still have a chance of taking it down.

        Since the best weapons have a chance of blowing a smaller alien
        sub totally to pieces, you may want to keep one fighter armed
        weaker than the rest for intercepting smaller alien subs.
        (Assuming that you even WANT to go after small alien subs)

    2.2 Finding Alien Colonies

        XCOM agents have a chance of finding an alien colony for you,
        but chances are pretty slim.  So do not rely on that.  Usually
        the game will reveal an alien colony only if you did VERY VERY
        BAD that month.

        Watch for high alien activity (check the graphs) yet no
        interception: there's probably an alien colony in the area.
        Note: alien colonies can be VERY CLOSE to each other, which
        should be a bug.

        Send something slow like a Triton to patrol the area.  An empty
        Triton has pretty good range and therefore is good in
        spotting alien bases.

        Watch alien subs, esp. where they land. Trail it and follow it
        to their base. After it lands, patrol nearby and you should see
        the alien colony.  If there are multiple subs landing of appearing
        at the same locations, there is probably a base nearby.

        Transmission Resolvers can find alien subs on supply runs.
        Follow that will usually lead you to a base.

        Of course, you do NOT have to take out that colony...  You go
        after the supply subs instead.  Just be careful...  Some alien
        subs have firing ports!  One Disruptor pulse and...

    2.3 Base Management

        [also see 3.0 for XCOM Bases]

        Since it takes several weeks before additional modules to the
        base can be brought online, you need to build them ahead of
        time.  See the base status to see how full are your facilities
        getting.  If they are getting close, start building additional
        facilities so that they'll be ready by the time you need them.

        Examine base status at least twice every month, check living
        quarters, workshops and labs, etc, and determine your expansion
        schedule.  Dismantle extra stuff before end of month so you
        don't pay maintainence on them.

        Hire engineers and scientists at the last hour of the month so
        that they get delievered early NEXT month, so you get maximum
        research from them while not paying an extra penny in salary.

    2.4 GeoScape Tricks and Tips

        Many people don't realize that click on the SUB's icon will bring
        up all known info about the subs.  If you detected it via
        Transmission Resolver, you'll know A LOT about it.

        Alien sub crash sites usually disappear in a few days.  If you
        have no soldiers available, you can let it sit for a day or two.

        Landed subs will take off in a few hours (less than a day).

        Terror Sites disappear in less than a day (which mean you have
        to get to one ASAP, even if it means skipping subs and landing
        at night!)

        This is even more important now that your transport subs cannot
        go on more than one mission at a time.  After a Battlescape
        mission, they MUST return to base.

        Landed/crashed subs still has info, such as size.

        Check your graphs regularly to determine where to build your
        next base.  Watch for high-paying sponsors with high alien
        activity, then check how much did they pay you via the Funding
        screen and see if they are worth defending.

        Areas with high alien activity activity probably have an alien
        colony.

    2.5 Target Selection

        If several targets presents itself, which one should you attack?
        Here are some of my general guidelines:

        2.5.1 Alien subs in flight

              Attack the biggest subs you can handle.

              Launch from the closest base FROM ALIEN SUB'S INTENDED
              TARGET if it is known or can be deduced from sub's path.
              Launching from the closest base at the time of contact
              will result in a tail chase, resulting frequently in lost
              tracking and waste of fuel and time.

              If the landing site is on the dark side (i.e. night), you
              may want to patrol nearby and wait for light.  Of course,
              in the meanwhile the landed alien sub may take off again.

              Keep a fighter sub on top of a landed alien subs in case
              it takes off before your transport sub can get to it.

        2.5.2 Downed/Landed alien subs

              Attack the biggest alien sub you can handle.  (How many
              times did I say that?)

              Larger subs have more aliens and more artifacts to
              recover, so risk and reward are proportional.

              If you have a choice, attack a landed alien sub instead of
              a shot-down alien sub.  Landed subs are undamaged and
              therefore have more artifacts (plus Zrbite).  Of course,
              it also has more enemies.

              Some veterans have reported that they can finish game
              faster by attacking landed subs only.  While score may
              not be as spectacular, they also have less risk of
              retaliation and can get more research done and have more
              money (from the extra booty).  Of course, land combat is
              significantly harder...

              Don't follow an alien subs around with a loaded transport
              (with soldiers and equipment).  They are wasting fuel and
              time and they may not have enough endurance to finish the
              race and not able to respond to a different emergency
              (such as a terror site suddenly popping up elsewhere)

              This is ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT since transports now can go
              on ONLY ONE MISSION at a time, even though it has plenty
              of fuel remaining.  It MUST return to base after mission.

        2.5.3 Terror sites

              Attack one ASAP, no exceptions.  Divert from other subs or
              base attacks if necesary, and definitely attack at night.
              The penalty for ignoring a terror site is simply too large
              to ignore, and can cause loss of sponsors.

              Some terror sites are now "long missions" (two-parter), so
              take along LOTS of reloads...  Or grab every alien ammo
              you can.  (One more reason to research fast and furious)

        2.5.4 Alien colonies

              Depending on your soldiers, you should attack an alien
              colony as soon as you are able to (don't take rookies)
              or people have low MC strength/bravery.

              You may want to consider leaving an alien colony alone
              nearby so you can keep attacking the supply subs that
              drops by. Just make sure you can handle the alien
              retaliation.

              Also, aliens build colonies like CRAZY in XCOM2.  They
              build MORE THAN ONE PER MONTH, almost geometric growth!
              You have to take out a few or else...

              Alien colonies are A LOT TOUGHER in XCOM2.  It's a
              "two-parter" meaning you have to fight your way INTO the
              base, then fight to destroy the heart of the base.  You'll
              see LOTS of enemies, including the really deadly ones.
              Take no mercy...  No stun weapons, at least in first half.

              Confirmed by MicroProse: all aliens captured in the first
              half of a two-part mission are considered DEAD if you win
              in the final briefing.


3.0 XCOM Bases

    3.1 Where should I put my first base?  Additional bases?

        There are several things to consider while placing your first
        base.  Keep in mind that your first base will be your only base
        for a while, so make sure you place it where you get maximum
        coverage of the sponsors, who also pays the most.

        The problem is how to maximize the country coverage WHILE
        maximizing the covered countries' total payment.  We know that
        the US pays the most (always), so a base near US is usually a
        good idea.

    3.2 How should I name my bases?

        I personally name bases based on the ocean they are in, plus the
        COM suffix (stands for Command).  Ex: PacCom (Pacific), AtlanCom
        (Atlantic), IndCom (Indian), etc.  If there are more than one,
        one gets No (North), So (South), etc. prefixes.

        Naming bases is important because it means less confusion on the
        Intercept screen on choosing which base to launch the fighters
        and transports.  Launching from the wrong one means the craft
        will not get there in time, run out of fuel before getting there
        (never get there since it will come back first), etc.  This is
        important since XCOM crafts seems to have shorter ranges.

    3.3 What types of bases should I build?

        I use about 5 types of bases.  You can "grow" from one to
        another, but usually finances will limit your growth...

        3.3.1 Sonar base

              The sonar base just have sonars, and later, Transmission
              Resolvers. Remember to put in a storage space (for SWSs
              and their ammo) and a living quarter (for expansion and a
              few aquanauts as guards).  Stock it with a SWS and a few
              aquanauts for defense, add one defense station when you
              can afford it.

              Each sonar has a 5 percent chance of detecting an subs
              within its detection radius (just like the UFOpedia says),
              so you don't need both small and large sonars, just large
              will do (unless you run out of money!).  Ten sonars means
              50% chance of detection, etc.

              I suspect that Transmission resolver detects 100% of alien
              traffic in the effective range, but cannot confirm it.

        3.3.2 Intercept Base

              Sonar base with a hangar housing a fighter sub. Watch the
              storage space since fighter subs needs its own weapons and
              ammo.  Add one if needed.

              Consider adding defense now (or assign more guards and
              SWSs) since aliens may get mad seeing their alien subs
              getting destroyed in your area.

        3.3.3 Strike Base

              Intercept Base with a second hangar housing a transport
              Remember to add storage (weapons and ammo, plus loot) and
              alien containment (prisoners) when needed.

              Consider adding more defense, esp. when the aliens will
              get really mad as you attack more of their alien subs and/or
              bases in the area.

        3.3.4 Research Base / Manufacture Base

              Base should specialize in either research or manufacture,
              not both (doing so is putting too many eggs in one
              basket).  Add living quarters and either workshop or
              laboratory as needed.  Manufacture base needs more storage
              space or an empty hangar (if building crafts) so make sure
              you have enough or use TRANSFER a lot.

              You shouldn't have to build a lot of defenses here, esp.
              if you build the 3.3.5 variant.

        3.3.5 Special Research Base or Manufacture Base

              Alien subs will start looking for your base if their
              brethrens keeps getting attacked and destroyed in the
              area.  This suggest that if you build a base at North or
              South pole, only stock it with soldiers and needed
              equipment (no crafts or sonars, or maybe a hyperwave
              decoder), and wait until alien subs enter a different zone
              before attacking them, you can keep a base pretty safe.
              Many people have employed this tactic and it seems to work
              quite well.  This is also great for MC labs.

    3.4 How do I design secure base easy to defend?

        The truth is, it doesn't matter really now.  In XCOM2, they do
        NOT come through the sub pens and airlocks now.  They just
        appear randomly within the base.  (EEEEEKKKK!  Did MicroProse
        read this section or what?)

        Following is a theoretical way to counter that.

        To counter that, cut base up into sections.  One central
        corridor with airlock, then links off into different sections
        via more corridors to sections of workshops, labs, and so on.
        This will allow you to block off different sections of the base
        and allow you to concentrate on clearing out one section at a
        time with overwhelming firepower.

        Here's a very general and theoretical idea:

        SSASSD  Key: S = Sub pen  G = General Stores  A = Airlock
        SSQSSX       Q = Quarters L = Laboratories    D = Defenses
          Q          W = Workshop C = Alien Containment X = Misc
        CGLGLD
          Q          2 Sub pens, 5 Quarters, 2 Labs, 2 Workshops
        DQGQWW       3 Gen.Stores, 3 defense, 1 Alien Con, 1 Misc.

        How does this work? I hope you have plenty of particle
        displacement grenades available. Any way, notice that there are
        basically five sections of the base (sub pens, left and right
        labs, left and right workshops). Your plan is to isolate each
        section with ParDisGre's and you concentrate on one section at
        a time. Quarters are located at the chokepoints so you have fast
        reaction time, and Gen.Stores are spread throughout the base so
        you have equipment available elsewhere.

    3.5 What should I add to my base at first?  Later?

        Initial modifications you need for the main base are: alien
        containment (prisoners), general stores (ammo and captured
        artifacts), and long range sonar (detection).  Later, with more
        money, add labs, llving quarters, workshops, and defense, in
        approximately that order.

        Defenses comes last usually since you can defend with aquanauts
        and SWSs.  Of course, don't clog up the 80-items list.

        If you have lots of money and the necesary techs to build a
        craft, try to keep an sub pen available,

    3.6 How should I defend a base?  How much defense is enough?

        Defending a base against alien raids is tough.  Fortunately,
        unless you are doing terribly well, aliens usually don't bother
        your bases for a while.  But near the end, alien battleships and
        dreadnaughts will come after your bases, then you have a
        problem...

        To defend against that, you need a high defense rating.  I don't
        know how much is enough yet, but I would suspect about 3000,
        which is what I recommended for XCOM1.

        On the other hand, if you don't have fighter subs to fight large
        alien subs, you may want to let it land and take it out on the
        ground (i.e. at your base).  Remember you will see A LOT of
        aliens on a base raid, I hope you have a lot of USABLE equipment
        (i.e. GOOD stuff in the first 80 items)...

        Small subs usually scout ahead of the large subs that will
        actually raid your base.  If you can destroy the scout before it
        detects your base, you can prevent the base attack.  M.C.
        Generator will also decrease chances of detection.

        Clean out old inventory! Old inventory will prevent you from
        getting to the GOOD weapons since you are still limited to 80
		items during base defense, and base have lots of stuff...

        The 80 items are pulled from inventory in the order on the SELL
        screen, top to bottom in order.  So if you have lots of harpoon
        rifles and pods you'll never got to sonics and disruptors.

        If you really ran out of space and do not want to conduct a fire
        sale, stuff the extras into the transports, though selling them
        is much easier and gains you money.

        Particle Displacement Grenades are vital in base defenses.  Dump
        a few near entrances and doors, and get ready for the alien
        death screams.  Of course, aliens are now tougher...

    3.7 Base modules

    Name         DaysBuild  Cost Maint Remark
    Airlock             1   300k   4k  Entrance to floating base
    Living Quarters    16   400k  10k  Sleeps 50
    Laboratory         26   750k  30k  Allows 50 research
    Workshop           32   800k  35k  Allows 50 manufacture (1)
    Sonar Array        12   500k  10k  300 km range, 5% detect/10 mins
    Wide Sonar Array   25   800k  15k  450 km range, 5% detect/10 mins
    Torpedo Defense    16   200k   5k  Def value  500, Accuracy 50%
    General Stores     10   150k   5k  Holds 50 units of equipment (2)
    Alien Containment  18   400k  15k  Holds 10[!?] live aliens
    M.C.Generator      33  1300K   5K  Makes base harder to find
    Gauss Defense      24   400k  10k  Def value  600, Accuracy 60%
    Sonic Defense      34   600k  12k  Def value  900, Accuracy 70%
    P.W.T. Defense     34   800k  14k  Def value 1200, Accuracy 80%
    Bombardment Shield 38  1200k  15k  Gives defense an extra shot
    M.C.Lab            24   750k  16k  For troop MC training
    Trans. Resolver    26  1400k  30k  Evaluate alien sub missions
    Sub Pen            25   200k  25k  Maintains 1 craft

    (1) In a workshop, the object being manufactured takes up some
        space. So you will not be able to cram all 50 technicians in
        there.
    (2) For exact composition, see base information / stores

    NOTE 1: Defenses are noticeably cheaper to build in XCOM2

    NOTE 2: You can dismantle a facility, even when it is under
            construction. Simply click on the facility, and the program
            will ask you do you wish to dismantle it, select OK

    NOTE 3: To dismantle a base, you must remove all facilities
            (transferring all people and equipment elsewhere if needed)
            then finally remove the airlock itself.


4.0 XCOM2 Hardware

    Here's the comprehensive list of all the toys you get to play with.
    Of course, most of them requires research.

    4.1 XCOM Crafts and their weapons

        XCOM crafts comes in two flavors: traditional, and alien-based.
        traditional, besides using conventional tech, also requires
        MONTHLY RENT, so replace them with alien-based crafts as soon as
        possible.

        XCOM weapons also comes in two flavors: built vs bought.

        4.1.1 XCOM Crafts

                    Speed  Accel  Fuel  Weapons  Hull  Cargo SWSs Note
        Triton       790      2   1400     0     160    14    3
        Barracuda   2400      3    800     2     120     0    0
        ----Research required----
        Manta       4600      9  30(Z) 6?  2     400     0    0   (1)
        Hammerhead  4030      9  60(Z)12?  1     960    12    0   (2)
        Leviathan   5400     10  50(Z)10?  2    1250    26    4   (3)

        (Z) Uses Zrbite for fuel      (1) new fighter
        (2) new fighter/transport     (3) ultimate craft

        Speed   : maximum speed of craft, determines if it can keep up
                  with subs during interception.
        Accel   : maximum acceleration of craft, determines whether subs
                  will stay in range
        Fuel    : amount of fuel carried, endurance terms
        Weapons : number of weapon pod mounts available
        Hull    : amount of damage the craft can take
        Cargo   : number of "spaces" craft can carry.  Each soldier is
                  one space and each SWS is four spaces (see SWSs also)
        SWSs    : maximum number of SWS this craft can carry.

        NOTE: in Fuel, 30(Z) 6? means 30 units of fuel (from UFOpedia,
          probably Zrbite), and 6? means estimated Zrbite units used.


        4.1.2 Craft General Advice

              None at this moment, except to note that Leviathan has
              LESS fuel capacity than Hammerhead

        4.1.3 Craft Weapons

                        Damage   Range   Accuracy  Reload  Shots
        Craft Gas Cannon   15       8       25%       3s     200?
        Ajax torpedo       60      32       70%      17s       6
        D.U.P torpedo     110      50       80%      21s       3
        ----Research required----
        Craft Gauss Cannon 90      20       35%       4s      50?
        Sonic Oscillator  150      55       50%       5s      99
        P.W.T. Launcher   200      60      100%      28s       2

        Damage   : damage done to target if hit
        Range    : max range of weapon, Kilometers
        Accuracy : hit probability when fired
        Reload   : seconds needed to fire next shot
        Shots    : number of shots available

        NOTE 1: Match the weapon to the target.  You want to force the
                alien to land so you can board it and recover artifacts
                and prisoners, not blow it into smithereens (though it
                might make you feel good)

        4.1.4 Craft Weapons General Advice

              You don't want Ajax torpedoes.  Replace with DUP's ASAP.
              Dump the Gas cannon too.

              Sonic Oscillator is a good weapon, kind of "toned down"
              underwater plasma cannon.


    4.2 XCOM Ground Weapons

        Ground weapons accuracy is further modified by free hands,
        kneeling /standing, and soldier's shooting accuracy.  Time Units
        used is always expressed as a percent of a soldier's total TU.

        Also see 8.6.X on battle notes for each type of weapon.

                     (Accuracy / TU% needed)
                      Aimed    Snap    Auto  Dam Type  Ammo (Capacity)
Dart Gun              80/40   40/20           16  AP   Dart Pod (12)
Jet Harpoon           90/70   60/35   40/40   32  AP   Harpoon pod (20)
Gas Cannon            90/75   60/40           60  AP   GC-AP (6)
                                              65  HE   GC-HE (6)
                                              60  I    GC-P  (6)
HydroJet Cannon   *   80/80   50/35   40/40   40  AP   HC-AP (14)
                                              50  HE   HC-HE (14)
                                              40  I    HC-I  (14)
Torpedo Launcher  *  110/80   50/40           80  HE   Small Torpedo
                                              90  HE   Large Torpedo
                                              80  I    Phosphorus Torp.
Magna-Blast Grenade                           50  HE
Dye Grenade                                   10  HE
Particle Disturbance Grenade                  70  HE
Magna-Pack Explosive                         100  HE
Thermal Tazer                                 80  Frez
--Research required---
Gauss Pistol          70/50   40/25   30/30   45  Gau  GP clip (20?)
Gauss Rifle          100/60   65/30   50/40   60  Gau  GR clip (15)
Heavy Gauss           90/80   50/40           75  Gau  HG clip (10?)
Sonic Pistol          85/50   65/30           80  Sonc SP clip (20)
Sonic Blasta Rifle   110/60   75/40           95  Sonc SBR clip (15)
Sonic Cannon         115/70   80/50          130  Sonc HP clip (10)
Disruptor Pulse Lchr 120/75                  210  HE   Disruptor Ammo
Thermal Shok Lchr    120/70   70/50           90  Frez Thermal Shok Bomb
Sonic Pulser                                 120  HE
Vibroblade                                    80  AP   HTH
Thermic Lance                                110  AP   HTH
Heavy Thermic Lance                          150  AP   HTH

        AP = Armor piercing  HE = High Explosive  I = Incendiary
        Gau = Gauss  Sonc = Sonic  Frez = Freeze HTH = hand to hand

        Note 1 : Accuracy for two-handed weapons is decreased 20% if
                 other hand is not empty (i.e. holding something)
        Note 2 : Accuracy is increased 10% if the soldier is kneeling,
                 which takes only 4 TUs

    4.3 SWS Types
                              Shots Dam  TU   ArmorF/S/R/U   He
    Coelacanth/Gas Cannon       30   50  70  90/ 75/ 60/ 60  90
    Coelacanth/AquaJet Torp      8   90  70  90/ 75/ 60/ 60  90 *
    --Must research and build--
    Coelacanth/Gauss Cannon     50  120  70  90/ 75/ 60/ 60  90
    Displacer/Sonic Cannon     100  130 100  130/130/130/100 90
    Displacer/Pulse Wave Torp    8  140 100  130/130/130/100 90

        Note 1 : The displacers "fly" both above and below water.
        Note 2 : The displacers do not have more "health" compared to
                 the Coelacanths, but does have more TUs
        Note 3 : Coelacanth/ Aquajet Torpedo only works underwater.

    4.4 Armor
                              Fr/ Sd/ Rr/ Bt
        None                   5/  3/  2/  2
        --Must research and build--
        Aqua Plastic Armor    60/ 35/ 30/ 25
        Ion Armor            132/ 70/100/ 55
        Magnetic Ion Armor   142/ 80/110/ 65

        NOTE 1 : Mag. Ion Armor "flies", like "flying suit"

    4.5 Equipment

        Equipment are non-combat items that you may need to use in
        BattleScape.

        4.5.1 Equipment list

                       TUs    Usage
 Chemical Flare        25%    Use at dark places for illumination
 --Must research and build--
 Medikit               10     heal fatal wounds, raise morale, revive
                              unconscious people, add energy
 Particle Displacement 25%    registers movement within 8 squares
   Sensor                     see UFOpedia for instructions
 Molecular Control     50%    allows you to see alien's status screen
   Reader                     (ID, TUs remain, health, + other stats)
 Molecular Control     50%    allows panic or control of aliens
   Disruptor                  with M.C. training

        4.5.2 Very General Advice

              None at this time.  :-)


        4.5.3 How do I use...

              Check your UFOpedia.  Below are some additional tips:

              Chemical Flare
              --Chuck one inside the building through a window to see
                inside.  You may have to kneel to angle one in.
              --Carry one for each soldier for "night" underwater
                fights.  Visibility underwater is horrible.
              --You can pick up an existing flare and throw it again.

              Medikit
              --Heal fatal wounds first, worry about unconscious and
                morale later.  If necesary, use TWO people's medikits.
              --To revive a person, keep administering stimulant until
                s/he no longer shows up on the ground in the inventory
                screen.  Should appear immediately at an adjacent square.
              --Stimulant also raises energy. So if you marched an
                aquanaut all across the map, add some stimulant or they
                won't walk very far...

              Particle Displacement Sensor
              --Use this to look around corners and behind doors.
                Aliens hardly ever stay still between rounds.

              Molecular Control Reader
              --Usually you would use this to ID a target for capture
                but here's a trick that you can use if you do NOT have
                one: try to pick up the unconscious alien on the ground
                will also identify alien's rank and position.

    4.6 Stuff that can be bought, hire, or leased

        These are the stuff you can buy, usually not very interesting.

        Item              Category         Cost    Note
        ---------------------------------------------------------
        Aquanaut          Personnel        40000   hiring bonus
        Scientist         Personnel        60000   hiring bonus
        Technician        Personnel        50000   hiring bonus
        Triton            Craft           500000   hiring bonus
        Barracuda         Craft           600000   hiring bonus
        Ajax Torpedo lchr Craft Weapon     16000   6 rounds
        Ajax Torpedo      Craft Ammo        3000
        D.U.P. Torp lchr  Craft Weapon     17000   3 rounds
        D.U.P. Torpedo    Craft Ammo        9000
        Craft Gas Cannon  Craft Weapon     30000
        Cannon Ammo (x50) Craft Ammo        1240
        Coelacanth/GC     SWS             420000   30 rounds
        Solid Harp. Bolt  SWS Ammo           200
        Coelacanth/AJT    SWS             480000   8 rounds
        AquaJet Torp      SWS Ammo          3000
        Dart Pistol       Weapon             800   12 rd/clip
        Pistol Clip       Ammo                70
        Jet Harpoon       Weapon            3000   10 rd/clip
        Harpoon pod       Ammo               200
        Gas Cannon        Weapon            6400   6 rd/clip
        GC-AP             Ammo               300
        GC-HE             Ammo               500
        GC-P              Ammo               400
        AquaJet Cannon    Weapon           13500   14 rd/clip
        AC-AP             Ammo               500
        AC-HE             Ammo               700
        AC-P              Ammo               650
        Torpedo Launcher  Weapon            4000
        Small Torp        Ammo               600
        Large Torp        Ammo               900
        Phosphorus Torp   Ammo              1200
        Magna-Blast Grde. Weapon             300
        Smoke Grenade     Weapon             150
        Part.Disp.Grenade Weapon             500
        Magna-Pck Explo.  Weapon            1500
        Thermal Tazer     Weapon            1260
        Chemical Flare    Equipment           60

        --Personnel have monthly salary of half of hiring bonus
        --Craft have month lease payment same as hiring bonus

    4.7 Stuff that must be researched and manufacturered

        See 5.4 for profitability study of these items.
        Note that costs have remained virtually UNCHANGED.

                  Engineer       Workshop          Aqua    Sale
                   Hours   Cost   Space   Zrbite   Plas.  Price
[Equipment]
Par.Disp.Sensor      220    34k      4       -      -     45600
Medikit              420    28k      4       -      -     46500
M.C.Reader          1200   262k      4       1      1    304000
M.C.Disruptor        500   160k      4       1      -    194700
[Armor]
Aqua plas. armor     800    22k     12       -      4     54000
Ion Armor           1000    42k     16       5      5     85000
Mag. Ion Armor      1400    58k     16      16      5    115000
[SWS]
Coelacanth/Gauss    1200   500k     25       -      -     59400
Gauss ammo             ?                                    200
Displacer/Sonic     1200   850k     30      30      5    980000
Hovertank/launcher  1400   900k     30      25      8   1043000
SWS Pulse Wave Torp  400    15k     25       5      8     31500
[weapons]
Gauss pistol         300     8k      2       -      -     20000
Gauss pistol clip     20     1k      3       -      -      1050
Gauss rifle          400    20k      3       -      -     36900
Gauss rifle clip      45     2k      4       -      -      1950
Heavy gauss          700    32k      4       -      -     61000
Heavy gauss clip      70     4K      4       -      -      3220
Sonic pistol         600    56k      3       -      1     84000
Sonic pistol clip     60     2k      4       1      -      4440
Sonic blasta rifle   820    88k      4       -      1    126500
Blasta power clip     80     3k      4       2      -      6290
Sonic Cannon        1000   122k      4       -      1    171600
Cannon power clip     80     6k      4       3      -      9590
Dis. Pulse l'cher   1200    90k      5       -      1    144000
Dis. Pulse ammo      220     8k      3       3      -     17028
Thermo Shok l'cher   900    78k      3       -      1    120000
Thermo Shok bomb     200     7k      2       1      -     15200
Sonic Pulser         200   6.7k      2       2      -     14850
Vibroblade           150     7k      3       1      -      1500
Thermic Lance        220    12k      3       2             1800
Heavy Thermic Lance  300    20k      3       2             2000
[Crafts]
Hammerhead         14000   400k     30       -     65         -*
Manta              18000   600k     34       -     85         -*
Leviathan          34000   900k     36       -    120         -**
[Craft Weapons]
Gauss cannon         300   182k      6       -      -    211000
Gauss Ammo             5    200      2                     1012
Sonic oscillator     500   226k      8      15      -    267300
P.W.T. launcher      400   242k      6       -      -    281100
P.W.T. ammo          600    28k      6       4      -     53300
[Misc]
Aqua plastic         100     3k     10       -      -      6500
Zrbite                 -      -      -       -      -      5000***
Ion Beam Accel.     1400   130k     22      16      5    250000
Mag. Navigation     1600   150k     18       -      3     80000

*   needs 1 Ion Beam Accel. + 1 Mag. Navigation
**  needs 2 Ion Beam Accel. + 1 Mag. Navigation
*** Zrbite can ONLY be captured as parts of sub or base, which makes
    it extremely valuable, so NEVER sell or waste any of it


5.0 Finance

    5.1 What really eats up money at XCOM?

        The answer is: maintenence, and salary.  If you have 100
        scientists, their monthly salary is $3 million (!).  Add that to
        your bases (the BARE MINIMUM sonar base costs over $1 million a
        month to maintain!), and you will go broke pretty quick.

        Sponsors' money will barely make a dent in your expenses, as
        they only pay you a few million, probably not even enough for
        base maintainence.

    5.2 How do I earn more money?

        Three (real) ways to make money in XCOM:

        Make your sponsors -- so they will increase their payments.  The
        problem is: they don't pay much to start with, and the increase
        is just enough to sneeze at.  Their payments may be enough to
        buy some ammo and stuff, but don't expect much of an increase.

        Manufacture arms for sale -- (still trying to come up with a
        reliable profitability chart!)

        Sell captured/surplus equipment -- most of your money will be
        made this way.  Dump off all your obsolete equipment (pistols,
        rifles, etc) and surplus and you will get LOTS of money.  You
        will usually end with with plenty of surplus heavy sonic, and
        those fetch very good prices on the market.  :-) Doing this also
        means you need less storage space (and less maintainence) and
        more "real" weapons on base defense (due to the 80 item limit)
        Keep only one item of each type for research, sell the rest. You
        need the money and the space for more useful stuff.

        As a last resort, you can always cheat.  See the last section
        for how.

    5.3 How do I cut expenses?

        *  Cut Maintenence -- dismantle any unused facility. Trans.
             resolver detects 100% of UFOs in range, so get rid of all
             sonars once you have one.

        *  Build your own crafts -- Tritons and Barracudas have a
             monthly rental fee, your own crafts do not.  Of course,
             this means you have to research subs construction and
             things.

        *  Minimize salary -- use the salary transfer trick! (see 5.5)

    5.4 What do I manufacture to make more money on the arms market?

        XCOM2 Profitability study -- by Kasey Chang
          original by Jeff Shaffer

        We assume that you, as XCOM supreme commander, are willing to
        support technicians long-term in order to make a profit.  I
        calculated results for a hypothetical 2 workshop operation. You
        would get slightly better results with larger facilities, due to
        the economy of scale.

        Technician actually costs $25000 a month, and scientist $30000 a
        month.  Check your base information screen.

        [some numbers are rounded down to nearest 1000 (K) for space]

                        Work  Eng  Raw            Sale Unit|Monthly|Net
      Item              Space Hrs  Material Cost Price   P R O F I T
      -----------------------------------------------------------------
      Par. Disp. Sensor  4     220    -      34K   45K  11K 3765K 1275K
      Medikit            4     420    -      28K   46K  18K 3146K  656K
      M.C. Disruptor     4     500  1E      160K  194K  29K 4242K 1752K
      Aq.plas. Armor    12     800     4A    22K   54K   6K  491K     -
      Ion armor         16    1000  5E+5A    42K   85K    -    -      -
      Mag. Ion armor    16    1400 16E+5A    58K  115K    -    -      -
      Aqua Plastic      10     100    -       3K    6K   3K 2343K    3K
      Gauss Pistol       2     300    -       8K   20K  12K 2916K  376K
      Gauss pistol clip  2      20    -       1K  1050    -
      Gauss Rifle        3     400    -      20K   36K  16K 3049K  534K
      Gauss rifle clip   4      45    -       2K  1950    -
      Heavy gauss        4     700    -      32K   61K  29K 2958K  468K
      Heavy gauss clip   4      70    -       4K  3220    -
      Sonic Pistol       3     600     1A    56K   84K  21K 2586K   71K
      Sonic Pistol Clip  4      60  1E        2K    4K    -    -      -
      Sonic Blasta Rifle 4     820     1A    88K  126K  32K 2787K  297K
      Blasta Power Clip  4      80  2E        3K    6K    -    -      -
      Sonic Cannon       4    1000     1A   122K  171K  43K 3078K  588K
      Cannon Power Clip  4      80  3E        6K    9K    -    -      -
      Dis. Pulse L'cher  5    1200     1A    90K  144K  47K 2797K  332K
      Dis. Pulse ammo    3     220  3E        8K   17K    -    -      -
      Thermo Shok l'cher 3     900     1A    78K  120K  35K 2846K  331K
      Thermo Shok bomb   2     200  1E        7K   15K   3K 1166K     -
      Sonic pulser       2     200  2E        6K   14K    -    -      -
      M.C. Reader        4    1200  1E      262K  304K  37K 2202K     -
      Ion beam accel.   22    1400 16E+5A   130K  250K   7K  310K     -
      Mag Navigation    18    1600     3A   150K   80K    -    -      -
      P.W.Torp l'cher    6     400     1A   242K  281K  36K 6294K 3874K
      P.W.T ammo         6     600  4E       28K   53K   5K  617K     -
      Gauss Craft Cannon 6     300    -     182K  211K  29K 6904K 4434K
      Gauss Cannon ammo  2       5    -      200   200    -    -      -
      Sonic Oscillator   8     500 15E      226K  267K    -    -      -
      Coelacanth/Gauss  25    1200    -     500K  594K  94K 4371K 2406K
      Displacer/sonic   30    1200 30E+5A   850K  980K    -    -      -
      Displacer/P.W.T.   0    1400 25E+8A   900K 1043K    -    -      -
      P.W.T. SWS ammo   25     400  5E+8A    15K   31K    -    -      -

        The 'Unit Profit' column is sale price minus cost, minus the
        cost of any Zrbite/Aqua plastic used in manufacture.  A '-'
        means a net loss, no further analysis.  Of course, Zrbite is of
        alien manufacture and can be hard to find...

        'Monthly Profit' column is based on an "XCOM Month" of 24*31 =
        744 hours. The calculation is number of technicians that fit in
        two workshops times 744 times unit profit, divided by the hours
        required to make one item.  For example, the monthly profit for
        Motion Scanners is 96*744*11600/220 = 1275993 (1275K).

        'Net Profit' column is the bottom line.  Monthly expenses are
        the salaries of as many engineers as fit in the workshops times
        $25K, plus the maintenance on 2 workshops and 2 living quarters
        (70000 monthly).

        As you can see, Guass Craft Cannon is the winner, closely
        edging out PWT Launcher.  A profit can be made early in the
        game on particle displacement sensors, however.

        One final note:  It costs roughly $7M to hire engineers and
        build the facilities, so you'll need to 'borrow' some money
        (preferably from alien supply ships :) to get started.

        [Editor's note: don't forget the "transfer salary trick" below]

    5.5 The "Transfer Salary Savings" trick

        Have two bases approximately equivalent to each other, like both
        research (or manufacturing), about same living quarters, and
        scientists (or engineers).  Just before end of the month (last
        day, last hour), transfer ALL of the scientists (engineers) to
        the other base, and do the same on the other base (i.e. they
        swap their contingent).  When the end of month comes along,
        NEITHER side has their scientists (engineers) (they are in
        transit), no salary is paid.  If you have like 100 scientists
        moving each way, you save $30,000x100x2 = $6 million!

    5.6 Aliens signed pact with XXX who stopped paying me!

        Nothing you can do.  One of the Infiltration subs got through.
        (See 9.8 Alien Missions) and now the sponsor stopped paying you.
        Consensus on the net is you can NOT get them back (i.e. nullify
        the pact).  And if enough sponsors left you, you lost.


6.0 Research and Manufacturing

    6.1 What should I start researching first?

        I recommend all gauss weapons for the starting projects. Dart
        pistols and Jet Harpoons are pitiful against sonic rifles and
        sonic pulsers (grenade!).  :-P

        After that, research all dead bodies you can find.

        As for later, you need to capture aliens ASAP.  Without captured
        aliens you would have nothing to research, which is VERY BAD.
        Capture would be hard since you don't have enough firepower...
        Go for kills until you nab a couple Thermal Shok Launchers and
        Thermal Shok Bombs, and research them ASAP.

    6.2 Overall strategy

        Keep roughly 100 scientists in your employment.  You need that
        much research to discover things in reasonable time, though you
        can probably get by with 50-75.

        Due to the way research works, concentrate on one project at a
        time so you can start on later topics faster.

        Research prisoners AND dead aliens ASAP.  They now lead to other
        technologies.

    6.3 Research Tree [probably incomplete]

        These research trees are to the best of my knowledge.  If you
        believe I have made an error, please document YOUR sequence and
        and submit them to me for review...

        The "tree" is in pieces, some parts are repeated due to space
        and organization concerns.

        <item> means item researches to self (i.e. can be used)
        <item1> -- <item2> means item1 and item2 are related, and must
          be both researched before either can be used

        Gauss
        Weapons
          |_________
          |         |
        <Gauss >__<Gauss Pistol>
        <Pistol>  <Clip        >
          |_________
          |         |
        <Gauss>___<Gauss Rifle>
        <Rifle>   <Clip       >
          |_________
          |         |
        <Heavy>___<Heavy Gauss>
        <Gauss>   <Clip       >

        <Sonic Pulser>

        <Sonic Pistol> -- <Sonic Pistol Clip>

        <Sonic Blasta Rifle> -- <Blasta Power Clip>

        <Sonic Cannon> -- <Cannon Power Clip>

        <Thermal Shok Launcher> -- <Thermal Shok Bomb>

        <Disruptor Pulse Launcher> -- <Disruptor Ammo>

        Calcinite
        Corpse
          |
        Vibroblade
          |
        Thermic
        Lance
          |
        Heavy
        Thermic
        Lance

        <Alien Cryogenics>  <Alien Cloning>  <Alien Learning Arrays>

        Live navigator -+-> "Ultimate threat"
                        |
                        +-> Magnetic navigation
                             |    |
                             V    V
             Magnetic ion armor  Transmission Resolver
                                  |
         +------------------------+
         |
         V                            PWT Launcher
        Alien sub construction         |
         |                             +-> Displacer/PWT
        New fighter flying sub  ---------> +PWT Ammo
        (Manta, Coelacanth/Gauss)
         |
        New fighter/transporter         Live Commander
        (Hammerhead, Displacer/Sonic)     |
         |                                V
         +--------------------------------+
         |
         +------------------------+
         |                        |
        Latest Flying Sub      T'Leth, alien city
        (Leviathan,               |
        Bombardment Shield)       |
                        |         |
                        +----+----+
                             |
                             V
                    "The Final Mission"

        Live Deep One Terrorist
        (or Live Calcinite?)
          |
          +-> Alien origins
          |                            Live Tasoth
          +-> M.C. Lab -> M.C. Reader      |
                  |           |            V
                  +-----------+------------+
                              |
                        M.C.Disruptor

        NOTE: Following must be complete in this specific sequence!

        Deep One corpse -> aqua plastics -> aqua plastic amor
          -> zrbite -> ion beam accelerators -> deep one terrorist
          -> ion armor


    6.4 Any hints on manufacturing?

        Only manufacture thing that you REALLY need, like crafts, etc.
        almost NEVER manufacture ammo since most require Zrbite, which
        is always in short supply. Captured ammo is much cheaper and
        don't use your precious Zrbite supply.

        OTOH, Zrbite appears to be a bit more plentiful in XCOM2...  So
        go ahead and make 20 Thermal Shok Bombs for your raids...

        NEVER let any engineers go idle.  If you don't need anything
        built, build something that makes money.


7.0 Intercepting alien subs

    Don't forget to check section 4 for info on XCOM crafts.  Some of
    these hints and related hints are also listed in Section 2.

    7.1 Tracking alien subs

        Remember that alien subs have specific targets and they do NOT
        change missions in mid-air

        They also head STRAIGHT for their targets on the inbound leg.

        If you see an alien sub and lost tracking, try to extrapolate
        its course and send interceptors to their estimated NEXT
        location instead of going toward the last known location.

        Interestingly, they sometimes abort their mission (just leave),
        esp. in cases where they can't find your base to attack.

        If you have Transmission Resolver, you can see alien sub's
        destination directly as it comes into range.

    7.2 Alien Sub Attack methods

        Once you got a craft in range of the subs, it's time to attack.
        Here's what different attacks mean:

        Cautious Attack: causes least damage per attack but remains at
        the longest range and therefore has the least chance of getting
        counter-attacked.  Useful when you want a not too badly damaged
        alien sub (just enough to "sink" it).

        Normal Attack: average damage per attack, enough for most
        attacks if your weapon outranges the alien subs.

        Aggressive Attack: close to point-blank and let them have it in
        the face!  Causes the most damage per attack, but exposes craft
        to counter-fire.  Good for brave/suicidal charges (toward an
        alien battleship or dreadnaught, for instance)

    7.3 Weapons

        Replace Ajax and Gas Cannon with D.U.P launchers ASAP.  Gauss
        cannons are okay but I would go for Sonic Oscillators
        (equivalent to Plasma Cannon in XCOM, though far less accurate)

    7.4 Go Home Early

        When you send multiple crafts after one subs and the subs gets
        shot down, the shooter will go home, but other crafts will
        continue onto the crash site and THEN return.  Instead, click on
        them and turn them back early (Return to base).  They will
        return earlier, thus be refueled and rearmed faster for the next
        mission.

    7.5 Keep Landed alien subs covered

        Even if subs has landed, keep a fighter sub on top of it until
        your landing craft arrives for the action.  That way, if the
        alien sub takes off, you still have a chance to shoot it down.

    7.6 Weapon vs subs analysis

        Before attacking, click on the VIEW subs button to take a look at
        your target before deciding whether to attack or not.  Attacking
        with wrong weapons means either the loss of your fighter sub or
        the alien sub totally destroyed so that nothing can be recovered.

        For this reason, if you WANT to go after the smaller alien subs,
        keep a fighter around with "wimpy" weapons.

8.0 Soldiers, Movement, and Combat

    8.1 Soldiers

        8.1.1 Soldier Statistics

              We recommend that instead of using the default names, you
              adopt a naming system for your soldiers that will help you
              to know at a glance who to take on a mission.

              System One reflects a trained specialty, such as scout
              (SC), heavy weapons (HW), demolitions (DM), MC combat
              (MC), sharpshooter (SS), etc.  For example, "Steve Rogers
              HW/MC" has lots of strength and nice time units for
              carrying the heavy weapons (and shooting them).  His
              MCStr and MCSkl is also pretty high so he also carries a
              MCAmp for MC combat.

              Here's some suggested specialties
              Scout (SC)             -- carry motion sensor
              Medic (MD)             -- carry Medi-Kit
              Intelligence (IT)      -- carry MC Reader
              Heavy Weapons (HW)     -- carry "heavy" stuff
              Molecular Control (MC) -- carry MC Disruptor

              You can also cross-train, of course.  There's no limit in
              the number of spots each person can hold...  And real-life
              SEAL teams are all cross-trained any way.

              System Two just places the numbers in the name.  Use just
              the first digit (if rating is 42, just use 4)

              To change the name, go to the soldiers screen (the one
              base display) that displays their stats.  Click on their
              name, and a cursor comes up, allowing you to change them.

        8.1.2 Recruiting Aquanauts

              Sack weaklings ASAP.  You want high strength, reaction,
              bravery, and shooting accuracy, and when you get MC, MC
              strength. So recruit lots of rookies, use them for scouts
              (they are cheap when compared to SWSs).  If they survive,
              keep them, else, oh, well, they've done the world a great
              service.  :-)

              Why those traits?  High strength means they can carry more
              (and heavier) stuff.  High reaction means they can get
              opportunity fire (reaction shots) while enemy is moving.
              High bravery means they are less susceptible to panic, and
              shooting accuracy is obvious.  :-)  Other characteristics
              are not as important.

              Aquanauts only get promoted if there are enough of them to
              warrant a promotion.  So hire a lot of seamen, send them
              out to missions. The ones that survive are able seaman,
              and when you have enough able seamen, you have officers.
              Feel free to sack the bad able seamen later to save on
              salary.

        8.1.3 How do I improve stats of soldiers?

              Try to always take a couple of rookies along to give them
              experience to boost their stats.  In XCOM, you learn by
              doing. You want more strength?  Carry heavy stuff.  More
              accuracy?  Take more shots.  Soldiers with kills gain more
              than those without kills.

        8.1.4 Dividing up specialties (with help from Jeff James)

              Assuming 10 soldiers and 1 SWS (normal for a Triton)
              you should have the following:

              2 medics/pack mule (carry medikit + reloads + grenades)
              2 grenadiers (pistol and lots of grenades) + MC stuff
              2 rifleman (rifles, maybe heavy)
              2 heavy weapons (heavy stuff, including disrupt pulse)
              2 scout (high TUs + react, carry grenade and pistols)

              If you decide to go to 14 soldiers, add two more rifleman
              and 2 more grenadier/MC weapons.

        8.1.5 How do I get more officers?

              Ensigns come from able seamen, and able seamen come from
              Seamen who survived a mission and gotten at least one
              kill.  For exact numbers, see the manual.


    8.2 Movement

        8.2.1 Deployment from Transport into Battle

              Always send an SWS out first...  Just past the wing of the
              Triton so it can see past it, then look "up" and "down".

              Prime a grenade for most soldiers and be ready to throw.

              Move the initial soldiers at least 8 squares away before
              deploying the next two so you don't invite grenades or
              torpedoes.

              If you have mag. ion armor, fly up and stand on top of
              the transport to clear the "blind side"

        8.2.2 Use the terrain!

              You can use the terrain in other ways than just hiding
              behind something.  Use secondary explosions to your
              advantage!  If alien is standing next to volatile object
              like fuel drums, blow THAT up!

              Aliens DO shoot through each other, so if you have NOWHERE
              to hide, hide BEHIND an alien and pray.  (It was reported
              that one alien shot itself when attempting to shoot down
              the gravlift)

              Kneel whenever possible.  It increases your accuracy and
              decreases the enemy's (make you a smaller target)

              Always hide behind something; it could mean the difference
              between a wound vs. death!  Of course, that also means
              that you have to have enough TUs

              If you have magnetic ion armor, do not stay off floor
              unless you have something to hide behind also.

        8.2.3 Alien Movement and visual range

              >> Do the aliens have better night vision? <<

              Yes, a few squares more

              >> Why they can shoot at you but you don't see them? <<

              They can see you...  And the AI XCOM cheats slightly: it
              REMEMBERS your position(s).

              Aliens capitalize on this by moving forward, spot you,
              then move back out of range.  Then for next X turns those
              aliens in range shoot at you out of your visual range.

                   visible
                    range
                A-----|-->A
                      |   |             YOU
                   A<-|---+

              This is why soldiers may get mind-blasted even if no
              aliens are in sight.

              WARNING: aliens are a lot sneakier now and shoots from
              different levels (guns, grenades, and disruptors), and
              often hides behind things to stay invisible.


        8.2.4 Listen and watch

              Watch carefully in alien movement phase. Sometimes you CAN
              spot them moving around.  TRY to remember the surrounding
              terrain, then go to overhead map or scroll around and see
              if you can spot where that was.

              Watch carefully where the shots came from.  Aliens use TUs
              when they move, just like you do.

              Sound can give you important clues to alien locations. If
              you hear door sounds, you know alien moved in/out of a
              door.  Different door makes different sounds.

              Aliens also have no manners.  They leave doors open after
              they go through.  Watch doors carefully.

              The length of the alien movement phase is proportional to
              the number of hostile aliens left on the map.  Just keep
              in mind that stunned aliens can wake up, though rather
              unlikely.  Those that drop unconscious from taking a shot
              (not a stun shot) is more likely to wake up.

        8.2.5 Spread out and cover each other

              Bunch up invites enemy attack you with sonic pulsers, or
              worse, disruptor bolts.  Stay AT LEAST eight squares
              apart.  Sonic pulsers (alien grenades) are now HE damage
              of 120, 33% more powerful than alien grenades in XCOM1...
              Which means ONE grenade can kill LOTS more soldiers...
              Same goes for Disruptor pulse torpedoes...

              Here's a simple demonstration with a four person fire
              team:

               A ----------> A

                     C -----------> C

               B ----------> B

                     D -----------> D


              They should be at least six squares away from each other.

        8.2.6 Retreat (Tactical withdrawal)

              Sometimes you can't win and it's time to cut your losses.

              To retreat from a landing assault (sub recovery or
              assault, terror site), move any many units as you can back
              into the transport, then hit the dust-off button.  Any
              units left behind are "missing in action".

              If the only solider onboard the transport is unconscious
              and you select dust-off, s/he's also missing in action,
              and you lose the transport.  Fortunately, if the remaining
              unit is an SWS, you WILL get the transport back. (that's a
              bug, IMHO)

              To retreat from a base defense mission, just hit dust-off.
              You will lose the whole base to the aliens, of course,
              including the crafts (no home elsewhere for them)

        8.2.7 Alien movement habits?

              Nowadays, aliens usually do not charge you unless they
              have HTH capability, like Lobsterman, or they have HTH
              weapons like vibroblade.  If they only carry a gun, they
              may just walk around...

        8.2.8 Stairs as safe haven?

              Some have reported that if you stand on stairs you will
              not be attacked, while you can keep shooting.  This is
              UNCONFIRMED.


    8.3 General Combat Tactics

        8.3.1 SWS usage

              SWSs should be used for "beating the bush" and flush
              aliens out for soldiers to shoot.  Since Aqua Jet
              Torpedoes only work underwater, the early preference is
              Coelacanth/Gas Cannon.  Later, use Coelacanth/Gauss, and
              later Displacer/Sonic.

        8.3.2 Grenade usage

              Grenades should be used for firepower supplement.  If you
              suspect an alien in the area, drop a grenade in the area.
              This important if you see aliens toss grenades or take
              shots at you but you don't see them.  Toss a grenade in
              the area, and see if you hear screams.  If not, send an
              SWS slowly into the area.

              You CAN equip someone with ALL grenades, but with only 80
              items in inventory for more than 10 soldiers you won't get
              a very good distribution.

              Rookies can be effective grenadiers since grenades are
              area weapons and grenades don't miss by very far.  Of
              course, make sure their MC Strength and/or bravery is
              high, or...

              Magna-Pack Explosive is just a very heavy grenade, and you
              will have problems tossing it.  Toss it a short distance
              or drop it on ground, then RUN away from the area.  This
              would mean you need to set it for multiple turns.

              It appears that the timer mechanism has changed slightly.
              Setting of 0 means it goes off at the end of your turn,
              and setting of 1 means it will go off at the end of the
              alien's turn, which is a little different from XCOM1.

              Particle Displacement grenades are great for traps.  Use
              them to prevent aliens coming up behind you, and/or pin
              aliens (toss one on either side of it and it can't move
              without setting one off)  Just remember where you threw
              them (check the map) and don't walk near them yourself.

              Par.Dis.Grenades cannot be "destroyed" now.  Many have
              tried to set one off by dropping grenades on top of it,
              but the safest way is to save the game, and reload it.
              All ParDis Grenades will be primed but will NOT explode
              when you walk up to them.  (This is better than XCOM1,
              when all Prox.Grenades disappear after saved game)

              You can toss grenades to upper levels and through windows,
              though you may have to kneel down to do it, and it
              requires a bit of extra "height" available.

              Sonic pulsers can punch holes in outer hull of alien
              subs, so save disruptor pulses for other uses.

              This of course, means that your transports can be hit by
              aliens, and if a grenade explodes OUTSIDE, aquanauts
              INSIDE can be killed.


        8.3.3 Disruptor pulse usage

              Disruptor pulse is equivalent to blaster bomb in XCOM1,
              except this one ONLY works underwater (HEY! I want my
              blaster bombs for land use!)

              Like blaster bomb, it can shoot around corners, has
              wonderful damage (210 points!) and is very effective.  Of
              course, it is also EXPENSIVE, and so is its ammo.  So, use
              them carefully (don't save them either).

              Remember that disruptor pulse do NOT explode when they
              reach their last waypoint.  They explode when they
              actually HIT something.  If you just fly a DB into an
              empty spot, it will NOT explode.  I typically make them
              fly overhead, then DIVE straight down at the target.
              And for completeness' sake, I add a few waypoints all
              around the impact zone just to make SURE it hit something.

              Use sonic pulsers to open holes in alien subs, not DPs.

        8.3.4 Rookie Sonic Fodder

              One possible if cruel tactic is to use rookies instead of
              SWSs as scouts.  A rookie is a smaller target, though have
              less armor and a lot less TUs.  On the other hand, they
              cost about 1/9th as much.

              Just make sure you give them weapons that won't cause too
              much damage if it turns out they are susceptible to alien
              MC...

        8.3.5 Leave opportunity for shots

              To make opportunity shots in the enemy movement phase, you
              need TU's left unused, as well as a high reactions rating
              (over 50 preferred).

              BUG: underwater-only weapons fire on land during op. fire.


        8.3.9 Saving ammo

              XCOM has a peculiar way of counting ammo usage: any clip
              that was fired (even just one round!) is consider "spent"
              at the end of the scenario UNLESS unloaded from the
              weapon.  So, if you just fired one round, unload it when
              the end of battlescape is near (you DID time the alien
              movement phase, didn't you?)

              Interestingly, the same thing applies to the aliens as
              well!  If you panic the aliens and they drop their
              weapons, you should pick them up and unload them, toss the
              ammo clip aside.  That way you gain a clip independent of
              the gun you got (plus clips the alien was carrying).

              Do this with disruptor pulse launchers later.  Lots of
              aliens carry them later (almost ALL aliens on base
              attack missions carry disruptor pulse launchers)

    8.4 Capturing Aliens

        8.4.1 How to I capture an alien?

              You can capture aliens in three ways, so let's discuss
              advantages and disadvantages.

              Shoot an alien and hope it drops stunned instead of dead:
              Since smoke inhalation produce stun damage, if alien had
              inhaled smoke for a while, and you shot it later, it may
              drop stunned.  This is too much of a guess work though,
              and is dangerous if alien is armed.  On the other hand,
              Lobsterman, having so much health, does this a lot.

              Use thermal tazer on the alien:  Dangerous since thermal
              tazer is a hand-to-hand weapon, but it's all you have
              early on. Remember to stand RIGHT NEXT to the target, and
              DIRECTLY FACING the target, or you cannot stun! Dangerous,
              of course, but Lobsterman are pretty dumb, so if you
              double-team, you can probably stun it before it realizes
              that you're next to it.

              Use thermal shok bombs and launcher: safest way to capture
              an alien, shoot and scoot.  Still double/triple team to be
              sure though...

              [Has any one been able to stun an alien with dye grenades
              yet?  I can't do it so far...]

        8.4.2 So what's your recommendation?

              Several ways to make captures safer:

              Double/triple-team on capture: at least two soldiers
              should carry thermal shok bombs/launcher and ready to
              fire in salvoes in case the alien does not drop after
              one hit.

              Combine MC combat with capture: panic it with MC to make
              it drop its weapon (repeat if necesary), then stun it.  Be
              careful since alien WILL pull out any other weapon that it
              has on it, including GRENADES.  After it is out of weapons,
              and if it does not have HTH attack, you can use thermal
              tazer on it safely.

              WARNING: it is now IMPOSSIBLE to get to the alien's
              inventory screen, so you canNOT make it drop all its
              weapons.

              WARNING: release molecular control on the alien (wait one
              full turn), THEN stun it, or otherwise it is NOT captured!
              Somehow computer counts molecular-controlled alien as
              "friendly" and not "captured".

              If a stun attempt fails, shoot the alien with a light
              weapon like a pistol.  The addition damage may cause the
              health to drop below stun damage, which ALSO counts as
              "stunned". Just don't kill it (yet).

        8.4.5 Do you HAVE an alien containment facility?

              Does the home base of the transport have alien containment
              facility available?  If not, all aliens you captured will
              DIE upon end of ground battle.

              Periodically check your base inventory.  If you have too
              many alien soldiers, transfer some out so you can research
              the high-ranked stuff (UNCONFIRMED)


    8.5 Molecular Control Combat

        See research tree on how to gain Molecular Control.

        General observation: aliens STILL do NOT pick up dropped
        weapons.

        Offensive tips:

        Panicked aliens drop their weapons (just as panicked XCOM
        soldiers) Of course, they will pull out anything else they got
        left on them as well as use their natural abilities (HTH or M.C.
        attacks) if any.

        Aliens under M.C. control then stunned does NOT count as
        captured. It appears that the computer counts mind- controlled
        aliens as "friendly", which they sort of are.

        You can NO LONGER access inventory of an alien under your MC
        control.  It was possible under XCOM (as a "feature").

        To get more ammo, M.C. an alien, and have it throw its weapon
        toward you.

        Panic has a much better chance of success than control.

        M.C. strength is more important than M.C. skill.  MCStr
        determines resistance to MC attacks as well as potential with
        training


        Defensive tips:

        The only REAL way to protect yourself against MC attacks is to
        kill the attackers quickly.  While some soldiers at the
        beginning may be more resistant to MC attacks (i.e. high MCStr,
        without MC labs to help you identify them it is by chance.  Once
        you get M.C.Labs, sack those with low MCStr.

        If a solider was MCed more than once in a battle and s/he
        survives, sack him/her immediately after.  S/he probably has low
        bravery and/or low MC strength, bad combination.

        Get rookies with high bravery ensures they are more resistant to
        alien panic attacks (though they may not be as resistant to mind
        control, that has a inherent lower chance of success).  I
        recommend sacking all bravery below 30, maybe even 40.


    8.6 Battle Notes on weapons

        8.6.1 General Weapon Notes

              With smaller magazines in XCOM2 (10-15), ammo and reloads
              are becoming a problem, esp with Gauss weapons, and
              dart/harpoon weapons which may have auto-fire mode.  Watch
              your ammo load carefully.  Sonic weapons are less of a
              problem since they do NOT have auto-mode and you can
              usually find reloads.

              Use SWSs (and rookies?) to "beat the bush" and spot
              enemies, then shoot them.  Once an alien is found,
              everybody can take a shot.

              If you can, take a aimmed shot. "One shot, one kill" is
              not a bad motto.  On the other hand...

              If you have the ammo, use auto shot whenever you can.
              Why?  It ensures a kill.  Let me explain:

              Auto shot fires three rounds, but is the least accurate of
              the three shots.  On the other hand, when you use the laws
              of probability, you actually come out ahead using an
              auto-shot, since each shot is calculated independently.

              For example, let's say chance of hitting in auto shot is
              25%, and snap shot is 30% (average).  The chance of
              getting at least one hit out of three is 1-(chance of no
              hits).  So 25% hit prob AND no hit in three tries is

              0.75 * 0.75 * 0.75 = 0.42

              Chance of getting at least one hit is then

              1 - 0.42 = 0.56, or 56%

              Which is much better than 30% (but no higher than the
              aimed percentage).  When your accuracy improves, you
              increase your chances of hitting the target multiple
              times, which ensures a kill, and you use less TUs than ONE
              aimmed shot.

              It is not unknown to see three aliens line up in a row,
              you fired auto, and each shot killed one alien.

        8.6.2 Dart Pistols and Jet Harpoons

              Use them only when you have to, sniper style.  Dump them
              for gauss weapons as fast as possible.  They use small
              clips and does little damage.  Auto-fire with Jet Harpoon
              is a waste of ammo.

        8.6.3 Gas Cannon and HydroJet Cannon

              Gas Cannon is slightly more accurate than the HJ Cannon
              and a bit more damage, but less effective with only six
              shots and no auto-fire mode.

              On the other hand, HydroJet Cannon does NOT work above
              water, so for normal use, you would probably want the Gas
              Cannon. HJ Cannon is pretty good, but since it only works
              below water, makes it rather ineffective.

        8.6.4 Torpedo Launcher

              Torpedo Launcher packs your biggest punch in the early
              game, BUT IT ONLY WORKS UNDERWATER!  :-P  I would NOT
              carry one of these.  Carry grenades instead unless you
              have room to spare, then carry one with two reloads.

              Try to have another team member carry reloads.  When you
              got to a good firing point, have that guy drop the reloads
              on the ground, then you stand on top of the reloads.

              Don't give torpedo launcher (or any hi-power weapons) to
              rookies with low morale. If they go berzerk or gets
              M.C.ed by aliens, you may lose a lot of people.

        8.6.5 Gauss Pistol, Gauss Rifle, and Heavy Gauss

              Forget the heavy gauss.  The 25% more damage that it does
              is offset by having no auto mode and decreased accuracy.
              You can probably forget the gauss pistol also, but you
              need to research it to get gauss rifle.

              You also need to heavy gauss to get gauss defense and
              craft gauss cannon, the most profitable item in XCOM2.

        8.6.6 Grenades and Magna-Pack Explosive

              Use sonic pulsers when you can...  They are MORE THAN
              TWICE as powerful as your regular grenades.  Throw it
              REALLY FAR away.  They also have enough power to punch
              through UFO's outer hull.

              For suicidal attacks, carry a primed grenade around as you
              attack.  If you die, everyone close to you goes POOF.

              Particle Displacement grenades should be used to block off
              doors and stuff so nothing can sneak up behind you.  They
              appear to have a 2-square blast radius and 1-square
              sensing radius, so do NOT throw them next to the door!
              Throw them one square away from the door so when the alien
              have to come out before it blows up.  For example:

              (D=Door     P=PD Grenade     A=Alien)

              Alien just behind door, does NOT trigger the grenade since
              not in radius of 1.  Then Alien steps through the door,
              and BOOM!

                 |                          |
                AD P                        DAP
                 |                          |

              [Jim Muchow's variation]

              Throw one in front of medium/large scout's exterior door,
              one off like above, then hide near the doors in the
              shadows so you are not visible.


              |   X = YOU          Just stand there, keep others out of
              |                    sight.  After a few turns, alien
              |                    will come out and take a peek,
              \----\               wondering where did you go.  And as
                   |               soon as it steps out the door, BOOM!
                   |
                   D P = PD        Repeat as needed.  They are dumb...
                   |   Grenade


              I haven't found dye grenades to be that useful.  I've
              tried it in covering my deployment, but it doesn't seem to
              work that well, but it was listed in the sourcebook...

              No comment on magna-pack explosives yet.  Supposedly it's
              good in inner city fighting, but I use sonic pulsers.

              Sometimes kneeling down will allow you to throw where you
              cannot before

        8.6.7 Sonic Pistol, Sonic Blasta Rifle, and Sonic Cannon

              Sonic weapons are good weapons, and virtually all aliens
              carry them. Later they all carry Sonic Cannons only...

              These are the weapons you should sell to raise cash. You
              should have captured lots of them.  Ammo may be a problem
              if you don't capture that many, but in that case, usually
              one reload is enough, sometimes none, since you can
              usually FIND reloads.

        8.6.8 Disruptor pulse launcher and Thermal Shok launcher

              Disruptor pulse launcher is probably one of the greatest
              weapons in the game.  It is expensive, its ammo is
              expensive, but it is VERY useful, but it ONLY works
              UNDERWATER.  You can blow up things in ANY direction, turn
              around corners, go up and down stairs, flatten entire
              buildings, even punch a hole in subs's outer hull!  Each
              aquanaut can carry up to 5 reloads (2 on belt and 3 in
              backpack).

              One XCOM trick is to leave the soldier and the launcher
              inside the craft kneeling on top of the ammo on the floor.
              That way there's more than 5 rounds available.  Or you can
              have other soldiers carry more ammo, drop them on the
              ground, then have the launcher guy stand/kneel on top of
              them.  You can use this trick on torpedo launchers too,
              but it's not as useful.

              Use a disruptor pulse to enlarge a standard door so you
              can fit a tank through by targeting the wall next to the
              door.


        8.6.9 Vibroblade, Thermic Lance, and Heavy Thermic Lance

              XCOM players asked for hand-to-hand weapons and they got
              them!  These weapons are NICE!  Sneak up on a Lobsterman
              and Zzzzzzziiiiiiippp!  Fried lobster!

              Thermic Lance is the best compromise between weight and
              potential damage.  You need TUs to get close to the enemy
              so give it to one with high reactions, or try to bait the
              enemy and get it to spend its reaction shots on someone
              else so you can sneak in and poke it full of holes.


9.0 The Aliens

    Most information here can be accessed via the UFOpedia.

    9.1 Average Alien Stats (on easiest level!)

    [not ready yet...]

                                                     ---- Armor ----
             TUs Ene Hea Bra Rea Fir Thr Str MSt MSk Fro Sid Rer Und
Aquatoid
Gillman
Lobsterman
Tasoth
Calcinite
Deep One
BioDrone
Tentaculat   100
Triscene
Xarquid
Hallucinoid
Zombie

      [Pending]

TUs = time units        Ene = energy/stamina     Hea = health
Bra = bravery           Rea = reaction           Fir = firing accuracy
Thr = throwing accuracy Str = strength           MSt = MC Strength
MSk = MC Skill          Armor = front/side/rear/under


NOTE 1: you can get info on particular alien stats by using a M.C.
        Reader on them.  Leaders and commanders are 10 to 20% higher,
        and there appears to be random modifiers, depending on rank and
        position. Stats are also higher on higher difficulty levels

NOTE 2: higher rank aliens also have higher "intelligence", which means
        they will remember your location longer.  Some alien species are
        also more intelligent than others.


    9.2 Alien attack/defense summary

        [incomplete]

        Alien        Attack       Defend    Vulnerable
        -------------------------------------------------
        Aquatoid     weapon
        Gillman      weapon
        Lobsterman   weapon, HTH
        Tasoth       weapon
        Calcinite    HTH?
        Deep One     bio ray?
        BioDrone     sonic beam
        Tentaculat   HTH
        Triscene     plasma
        Xarquid      energy beam
        Hallucinoid  freeze
        Zombie       HTH

        HTH=hand to hand combat    IC =incendiary/fire
        AP =armor piercing         SO =sonic
        HE =high explosive         GA =gauss

        Alien      : alien name
        Attack     : attack method
        Defend     : resistance to type(s) of attack
        Vulnerable : esp. vulnerable to type(s) of attack


    9.3 Alien specialties and information possible from them

        Alien Soldier            ----- mission (harvest, base, etc)
        Alien Medic              ----- Species information *
        Alien Navigator          ----- lots of research **
        Alien Technician         ----- sub stats (of that sub)
        Alien Squad Leader       ----- alien origin
        Alien Commander          ----- see research tree

        *    alien medics can give information on species other than
             their own
        **   navigators are VERY important, as they can allow research
             of LOTS of stuff, like magnetic navigation, transmission
             resolver, and more.

    9.4 Alien Missions

        Alien Probe -- testing area for resources

        Alien Interdiction -- attack areas to drive out human presence

        Alien Resource Raid -- grab for resources such as raw materials

        Alien Infiltration -- infiltrate sponsor nations

        Colony expansion -- build new colonies

        Surface attack -- terror raid

        Floating base attack -- attack XCOM base

        Colony Resupply -- resupply other colonies from main base


    9.5 Battle Notes on individual aliens

        Kill Tentaculus ASAP at a terror site.  Kill them ASAP, even if
        it means wiping out the civilians near it.  Use all heavy
        weapons on it freely.

        If you are REALLY worried about Tentaculus (or don't want any
        one die without making a kill), have everyone carry a PRIMED
        grenade around (prime it first).  If your soldier got turned
        into a zombie, or killed, all equipment gets dropped, and the
        grenade should go BOOM at the end of the turn


    9.6 subs floorplans

    [none at this time, sorry! Coming soon!]


    9.7  subs speed, range, etc.

    [not quite finished, sorry!]

                   Max   Hull    Weapon*    Range  Ship   Max**
             Size Speed Damage Power Range  in km? Width  Crew
Survey ship   VS  2000    60      0     0      0
Escort         S  2800   300     30   104     13
Cruiser        M  2600   300     25   280     35
Heavy cruiser  M  3800   450     60   160     20
Hunter         M  4500   500     50   144     18
Battleship     L  4200  1400    140   400     50
Dreadnaught   VL  4500  3400    120   480     60
Fleet Sup. Cr  L  3400  2000     70   304     38

*  Weapon Range should be divided by 8 for range in KM, see 7.5
?  Range in kilometers are estimated based on XCOM1 data, not
   confirmed.  Please let me know if this is not correct!
** Maximum crew is absolute maximum reported in one mission.  Number is
   in format of X/Y (Z) where X is host race (race the subs belongs to),
   Y as terrorists and Z as number of leaders (L) or commander (C) in
   the host race.  Any 4-space creatures counts as 4 aliens for this.




10.0 Ground Assaults

     10.1 Packing Advice

          The 80-item limit is always a problem, especially on an
          Avenger and Lightning when you can carry LOTS of soldiers.
          While the OSG gave some hints on what to take, here's a couple
          more hints to see you through the 80-item Crunch:

          * If you are short on ammo clips, use sonic weapons, which
            use less ammo.
          * Carry only ONE clip for your sonic weapons.  You should
            be able to find plenty of reloads during battle, esp. for
            heavy sonic (which seems to be used by all aliens near the
            end of the game)
          * Carry uniform weapons.  Don't mix pistols and rifles,
            sonics and slug-throwers. Instead of a pistol/clip and
            rifle/clip, bring an extra clip for the rifle.
          * Bring less misc. equipment such as MC Readers, medikits,
            particle displacement sensors, M.C. Disruptors, and so on.
            You don't need everything on every person (except Medikits)
          * Bring SWSs if you can.  SWS is one item yet has plenty of
            firepower. Too bad it takes FOUR soldier's space.  Still,
            they are quite useful in the early parts of the game
          * Don't fight at night so that you need to take along all
            those stupid electro-flares which you end up throwing all
            over the place (exception: Attack Terror Sites ASAP)

     10.2 The Great Pistol vs Rifle debate
                          Pro                 Con
          Rifles     more powerful       use more TUs
                     more accurate       two-handed weapon
          Pistols    uses less TUs       less powerful
                     one handed weapon   less accurate

          As you can see, they are exact complements of each other.
          Very often, using a pistol is called for, since using a pistol
          would mean you still have enough TUs to duck into cover.

          Give pistols to heavy weapons people for when they ran out.


     10.3 [under revision]


     10.4 Basic Loadout for Transports

          Triton : 1 SWS / 10 aquanauts  or  14 aquanauts

            The SWSs early on carry more firepower and has more TUs than
            soldiers, which makes them good scouts, and more survivable.
            Switch to only soldiers later.

          Hammerhead : as many soldiers as you can fit

            Hammerhead doesn't take SWSs, too bad.

          Leviathan   : 14 soldiers / 3 SWSs or 18 soldiers / 2 SWSs

            As the end of game draws near, your best soldiers should be
            as fast as SWSs and carries just as much (if not more) fire-
            power.  SWSs are there to simply scout ahead, esp. the PWT
            and/or Sonic versions (one each).  Feel free to add more
            soldiers if you can distribute 80 items okay.

     10.5 General Combat Notes

          There is no penalty for destroying civilian property, so go
          ahead and wreck the whole place like "The Dirty Pair" (anime).

          If the only person inside the craft is unconscious and you
          abort mission, s/he's MIA and the transport is lost as well.

          In the early game, you want gas cannon and/or Hydrojet cannon
          as your heavy weapons, and plenty of greandes (mix of regular
          and proximity).

          Later in the game, you want almost exclusively heavy sonic
          (except for the heavy weapons people carrying disruptor pulse
          launchers, who would carry sonic pistols)

     10.6 Alien Sub Recoveries and Assaults

          [Definition: attack on subs shot down is "recovery", attack on
           landed alien subs (not downed) is "assault"]

          SWSs CAN enter an subs with a single-width door if you help
          make the door wider with a disruptor pulse launcher and/or a
          sonic pulser, but most subs now have two-wide doors. Just
          target the panel beside the door with a sonic pulser or
          disruptor pulse.

          Sonic pulsers and disruptor pulses can be used to punch a
          hole in the outside wall of an subs, creating an alternate
          entrance.  This will allow you to surprise the aliens inside
          since usually they gather by the doors waiting for you.

          Corollary: if you have mag. ion armor, on a multi-level subs,
          consider attack from top down by blasting a hole in the roof
          or top level, posting guards near the sub doors or use
          proximity grenades.  You can do this easily with the "Fleet
          Supply Cruiser" since that one has top entrances.

          Post guards outside an alien sub when attacking inside.  Any
          aliens outside will attempt to return, and getting shot from
          behind is not fun.

          One trick you can pull is ALLOW an alien base on Earth once
          you've pinpointed its location, and keep assaulting the supply
          ships that comes to keep the base supplied.  They just keep
          coming and coming, and the alien subs you take out more than
          offsets the "base on Earth" penalty, not to mention all the
          Zrbite and other goodies you get that you can sell later.  Of
          course, watch out for the retaliation missions...

     10.7 Colony assaults

          The trick in colony assaults is use a lot of grenades and
          disruptor pulses.  Use grenades to clear corners, part.disp.
          grenades to block corridors so no one can come up behind you
          (esp. Tantaculus!), disruptors to open walls so you don't
          have to go extra distance around things.

          Colony assualts are now "two-parters".  You have to fight
          your way into the base, then into the heart of the base
          deep underground.

          The "into" part isn't that bad, except almost all aliens to
          be armed with disruptor pulse launchers.  Others use lots
          of grenades and carry HTH weapons.  Of course, there's always
          those biological nightmares like Tentaculus and Hallucinoids.

          Note: according to MicroProse, all aliens stunned on "top"
          (first part) are counted as DEAD.  Only aliens captured in the
          second level count.

     10.8 Anti-Terror Missions

          Your top priority is self-preservation.  Killing 9 out of your
          10 soldiers to save a city or ship is NOT worth it.  If given
          a choice to save your soldier or to save a civilian, save the
          soldier.

          Consider stunning the civilians.  Stunning the civilians makes
          them "unpalatable" to the alien terrorists, and they count as
          saved at the end of the mission.  (WARNING: when they wake up,
          they count as ENEMY and you must kill them!)

          Do NOT mind control any of the civilians.  They count as ENEMY
          after you release control and you must kill them!

          Kill Tentaculus ASAP.  If necesary, kill the civilian near it
          so that the civilian will not be turned into a zombie that
          will attack you.  Have two persons watch each other.
          Tentaculus have 100 TUs (that's right, 100) so be VERY
          careful.

          If necesary, carry a primed greande one each person.  If the
          person becomes a zombie, all equipment are dropped, INCLUDING
          THE LIVE GRENADE.  (boom!)

          Aliens that use HTH (hand-to-hand) combat only such as
          Lobsterman and Tentaculus cannot attack someone in mid-air (by
          a flying suit or hovertank). They also cannot attack someone
          through a Window.  Of course, Lobsterman can carry weapons
          too...

          Feel free to blow up oil drums, esp. with aliens next to one.
          They make great secondary explosions.

     10.9 XCOM Base Defense

          You DID plan your base as mentioned in Chapter 4, didn't you?
          Unfortunately, aliens now show up EVERYWHERE.

          You must use ParDis Grenades to isolate parts of the base so
          the aliens cannot converge on you, so do that first.  Then,
          gather and clean out one module at a time.


11.0 Mastering T'leth-- The Final Assault

     [It's just a very long mission, no specific hints at the moment]

     11.1 Preparation


     11.2 Getting in : level 1


     11.3 Base Interior : level 2


     11.4 Final Confrontation : level 3


12.0 Misc Questions and their answers

     Equipment

     * Why do I lose ammo that was fired only a few times?

       After combat all clips that had been USED in the battle and left
       in their rifles/pistosl/cannons are lost, no matter only 1 round
       fired or totally empty.  UNUSED clips are NOT affected (even if
       they are loaded), as are clips separate from weapons.

       HINT: You should unload any weapons that had fired and use
       valuable ammo before the battle ends.

       HINT: You can tell when the battle is almost over by judging how
       long the alien movement phase takes.

       HINT: You can get MORE clips if you unload captured alien weapons
       that you come across

     * Why should I need grenades when I have heavy weapons?

       Heavy weapons such sonic cannon, hydrojet cannon, and gas
       cannon weigh A LOT.  For the same weight you can carry a
       lighter weapon plus a couple grenades, and move faster and
       further as a result.

     * How do I wake up unconscious soldiers?

       See UFOpedia on Medikit.

       HINT: Heal any fatal wounds first before attempt to revive.

       HINT: After applying shot of stimulant, exit medikit screen and
       check your inventory.  If "body" is still on ground, apply another
       shot of stimulant until the "body" is no longer on ground. S/he
       should appear in an adjacent square.

       HINT: Stimulant also raises ENERGY.  If you had soldiers running
       all across battlescape, add some stimulant if they can't move.

     * How do I use motion scanner?

       See UFOpedia on Motion Scanner

       HINT: They are useful to detect that one last alien you can't
       find, esp. at night when visibility is less, or city blocks (but
       there you have civilians)

       HINT: They are somewhat useful for looking behind closed doors
       that you would like to enter.

     * How do I use the Disruptor Pulse Launcher or Displacer/PWT?

       When you select Launch, you can specify a series of up to 9
       "waypoints" which can go around any thing, climb and dive, even
       fly in circles.  The final waypoint is the explosion point,
       UNLESS it runs into something solid first.

       NOTE: There MUST be something solid at the last waypoint or the
       "torpedo" will NOT explode!  I usually fly the pulse overhead,
       then dive.  If not, fly the pulse all around the impact zone to
       try to make it run into SOMETHING.

       HINT: You can UNset a waypoint by right-clicking

     Movement

     * Some of my soldiers have TU's used before I moved them.  Why?

       Each soldier has a physical weight limit to the amount of "stuff"
       he or she can carry, usually known as "encumberance".  If you
       carry less than or equal to the encumberance, no penalty is
       assessed.  For each weight unit over the limit, you get a TU
       penalty.  Carry too much and you can't move at all!

       I haven't found the weight table yet, but I expect to soon.

     * How can I fire on aliens in their movement phase?

       This is called "opportunity fire".

       Leave enough TU's after your move for at least a snap shot, then
       if your trooper saw an alien and has good enough reactions s/he
       will fire at the alien.

       HINT: Use the 4 icons near the bottom left of screen to reserve
       the TUs. Reactions usually need to be above 50.

     * How do I open doors?

       Target your soldier to move up to the door.  Turn to face the
       door (right click behind door), then right click one more time.

       HINT: Do not open doors without plenty of spare TU's or expect to
       DIE.  Using a motion scanner will help to see if any aliens moved
       beyond the door.

       HINT: When you are not sure, create another door!  Either shoot a
       hole in the wall or blow up the entire wall with sonic pulser,
       HE, Sonic Cannon, or Disruptor Pulse.


     Molecular Control Combat

     * How do I get Molecular Control?

       See Section 8.5

     * What is MC strength and MC skill?

       MC strength is a person's physical talent for MC and cannot be
       improved.  It is also a measure of resistance against enemy MC
       attacks.

       MC skill is a person's skill at USING the MC strength.  It can
       be improved with usage (so use it!) and training at a MC lab.

     * Help! My soldiers kept getting MC blasted!

       Fight harder, make more kills, don't get killed.  Low morale
       invites more MC attacks.

       If you survive the fight, sack the ones who's not very good and
       kept getting panicked or controlled.

       Sack newbies with low bravery (i.e. below 40).

       After you get M.C. Lab, sack everyone who has MC Strength of
       less than, say, 60.  Those have 80+ will be your MC specialists.


     Soliders

     * What's with troops missing in action (MIA)?

       If one of your troopers in under alien control at the end of a
       battle s/he counts as MIA; therefore try to wait until s/he is no
       longer in control before finishing off aliens.

       If you abort a mission, any soldiers you leave behind is MIA.  On
       missions with a transport, any one not on the transport are "left
       behind".  On an alien base assault, any one not on the lifts are
       "left behind".

       Yet another way to get people MIA is to try (abort mission) with
       only an unconscious soldier in the transport.  You'll lose that
       person as MIA as well as the transport  (strangely, a SWS counts
       as a "soldier", and you can't stun an SWS)

       HINT: use MediKit to wake them up (stimulant) then march them in if
       that happens to you.

     * How do my soldiers improve?

       By doing things.  They improve firing accuracy by shooting at
       things, strength by carrying more things, and so on.

       Those getting kills will improve more than those who did not.
       Therefore, try not to let SWS get a kill since you will lose a
       chance to let a soldier improve, and leave the easy shots
       (against panicked aliens, for example) to the rookies.  MC skill
       also improves with use.  (MC Str does not increase though)

     * How do I get more officers?

       See Section 8.1.5


     Miscellaneous

     * How do I cheat?

       If you REALLY want to cheat, here's how to add TONS to money into
       your accout.  Yes, you are embezzling the world to support XCOM.
       You are twisting arms, and it is for a GOOD cause.  :-D

       Use a sector editor (such as Norton DiskEdit) and edit LIGLOB.DAT
       in your saved game's directory. Overwrite the first 8 bytes with

       64 64 64 64 00 00 00 00...

       You should get about 1.68 billion dollars. (In case you are
       wondering, 64646464h is a hexadecimal number.  In decimal it is
       1,684,300,900.)  You can also use

       FF FF FF 7F 00 00 00 00...

       Which will give you about 2.1 billion dollars. (7FFFFFFFh =
       2,147,484,647)

       If you need more help, I've found FOUR different editors.
       Unfortunately, I cannot honor mail requests.  I got it from
       ftp.uwp.edu /pub/incoming/xcom, but that's a temporary location.

       XC2EDIT  -- works under windows?  Did not test

       XC2WEAP  -- XCOM2 weapon editor, create your custom weapons!

       TFTDEDT  -- Mephisto's TFTD editor, not always works

       XCOMUT03 -- XCOM Utility 0.3 beta by Scott Jones
                   XCOMUTIL can be used on XCOM, XCOM 1.4, and
                   XCOM:TFTD. This can edit the intelligence and
                   weapon pattern of aliens.  Change all alien
                   rifles to pistols?  Sure.  Maybe change them
                   all to blaster bombers or disruptor pulses?
                   This can do that and much more.

