Xcom guide: Guide for XCOM: Enemy Within

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Management

The default mouse and keyboard controls are listed below. These control commands can be configured by selecting item Settings → Interface → Keys in main menu .

TACTICS
Firing mode/action confirmation	Space or Return (↩)
Cancel/Pause	Escape (esc)
Move to cursor	PKM
Route mode	Control (ctrl) + RMB
Actions with objects	V
Next fighter/target	Tab (⇥)
Prev. fighter/target	Shift (⇧)
Ability 1 – 10	1 – 0
Ready	Y
Recharge	R
Camera up/down/left/right	W/S/A/D
Rotate camera left/right	Q/E
Scale up/down	G/T
Proximity level	Z
Free scaling	Middle mouse button
Active fighter camera	Start of line (↖)
One floor above/below	F/C or mouse wheel
End of stroke	End of line (↘)
Call Ranger	P

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Game Screen

1 — Masking status

If a hooded figure icon is displayed in this area, and blue overlays are displayed at the corners of the screen, the enemy is not aware of the presence of your unit. This is called disguise. Your squad will begin most missions with a disguise, allowing you to impose a fight on the enemy by your own rules.

2 — Tasks

Shows the status of the main and secondary tasks of your job. The main objective of most tasks is to kill all enemies, and the additional task varies from mission to mission.

3 — End Turn / Select Fighter / Rotate Camera / Call Ranger

These buttons allow you to end your turn, select squad members, rotate the camera, and call for a Ranger transport to evacuate.

4 — Soldier flag

Detailed information about the selected soldier is displayed here: health, action points, status of armor, cover, observation and disguise, as well as all positive and negative effects.

5 — Weapons and ammunition

Displays the selected soldier’s weapon and remaining ammo.

6 — Actions

All actions that the selected soldier can perform are displayed here. To see the effect of an action, click its icon. Actions that cannot be performed are shaded, and the number of turns after which the action can be performed again may be displayed. The red, yellow, and gray icons above the action icons indicate the number of enemies in the soldier’s line of sight.

7 — Soldier’s name and special actions

Displays the name, class, and rank of the selected soldier, as well as the special actions they can perform.

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Tactical gameplay

Tactical in XCOM 2 refers to the gameplay during missions. Most of the tactical maps in XCOM 2 are procedurally generated, meaning each mission is unique.

Health

Rectangular markers on a soldier’s flag show his health. You can restore health or stabilize a seriously wounded soldier in combat using first-aid kits or a Gremlin drone (this is the ability of Specialist class soldiers). First aid kits are collected in the «engineering compartment». To use a first aid kit during a mission, you must equip a soldier with it before the start of the mission.

Soldiers killed in battle are permanently removed from the squad and cannot be revived. Soldiers may attempt to evacuate the bodies of their dead, shell-shocked, or badly wounded comrades using the Move Unit action. If you successfully evacuate a dead soldier, then keep all of his weapons, items, and equipment. Seriously wounded soldiers recover over time and return to the squad.

Action points

Each soldier can use two action points per turn. They are represented by chevrons on the soldier’s flag and are spent on movement, attacking, and using abilities. For the selected soldier, the blue outline shows the range of his movement per one action point, and the yellow outline shows the range of the charge per two action points.

Areas marked with a red eye icon are within the enemy’s line of sight. When you enter them, the disguise is lost. Various icons indicate that moving through the cell will remove the disguise due to noise (such as broken glass) or that the soldier will be exposed to dangerous effects, such as flames.

You can set the movement of the soldier along the exact route. To do this, when selecting cells, hold down the key «Control» (ctrl) — this will allow you to avoid dangers and cells that remove disguise.

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Disguise

At the start of most missions, the squad is cloaked, meaning the enemy is unaware of your presence. Disguise is indicated by blue overlays at the corners of the screen and a hooded figure icon at the top of the screen, as well as on soldier flags. Disguise is lost when shooting, moving into enemy line of sight (on cells with a red eye icon), or excessive noise. Use disguise to set up ambushes and force the enemy to fight on your own terms.

Shelter

Cover reduces the chance of soldiers being hit by enemy fire and allows soldiers to survive. Most items can serve as cover, as indicated by the shield icons on the map: a half shield means low cover, and a full shield means high cover. Soldiers are best protected behind high cover, but low cover is better than none.

NOTE: a yellow shield icon indicates that the enemy is flanking the soldier in the direction of the shield. A red shield icon indicates that the soldier will be unprotected from the rear if he moves to this place. Soldiers exposed from the rear are especially vulnerable to an enemy attacking from behind.

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Actions

Actions are commands that members of your squad can perform on a mission. Soldiers of all classes can perform a number of common actions.

Fire: soldiers attack the selected target. Highlight a target to view the soldier’s chances of hitting it, estimated damage, and critical hit chance.

Reload: soldiers reload their weapons. If the weapon’s magazine is empty, the soldier must reload it to fire.

Surveillance: soldier stays in place and automatically attacks any enemy in his line of sight, but with less accuracy. If observation is used while disguised, the soldier will only attack after the disguise is removed.

Shield Wall: Strengthens the defense until the next turn, but narrows the soldier’s line of sight.

Hack: Some items and enemies can be hacked by turning them off or taking control of them. To attempt a hack, move a soldier into the interaction range and take the hack action. For a successful hack, rewards of different levels are given — the higher the level, the more difficult it is to complete the hack, but the reward is also higher. Any party member can hack, but only specialists can use Blocking protocol for hacking mechanical and robotic enemies.

Interaction: this action is used to open and close doors, plant explosive devices, and other interactions with the environment.

Trophies: Defeated enemies sometimes drop trophy resources and equipment. A dropped trophy is shown on the map with a radius marker and a turn timer. To collect the trophy, move the soldier within this radius before the timer expires. The trophy can be destroyed when killing an enemy with explosives. All trophies left on the map when the task is completed are automatically given to you.

Evacuation: Evacuation zones are used to rescue VIPs and fallen squad members, and to complete the mission by withdrawing all soldiers. You can set an extraction zone using the action «Call Ranger» , the icon of which is located in the upper right corner of the screen. A colored grid will be displayed on which you can place the evacuation zone. Invalid areas are marked in red. An extraction zone can only be placed in an area with a fully blue grid. In some tasks, evacuation zones are predefined.

Carry a unit: this action allows you to pick up a dead and wounded soldier. If you deliver the deceased soldier to the extraction point, then keep all his items and equipment for yourself. By delivering a wounded soldier, you will not let him die.

Other Actions : Soldiers of each class have unique abilities, and new abilities are unlocked with each promotion. Some compartments also provide additional abilities that can be used in combat.

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Soldier classes

A soldier’s class determines his role on the battlefield. Each class has a number of unique abilities that are unlocked as the soldier advances in rank. Abilities are divided into two different specializations.

Ranger

Rangers are great at staying undetected and are effective in close combat. The Recon Specialization grants stealth-preserving abilities. Specialization « Assault «gives abilities that improve the ranger’s ability in combat and when moving.

Specialist

Specialists use the Gremlin drone to help the squad on the battlefield. Specialization « First Aid » gives the ability to heal comrades and give them bonuses. Specialization « Combat Hack » gives abilities that improve the skills of a specialist in hacking and destroying enemy systems.

Grenadier

Grenadiers favor large, heavy weapons and explosives. Specialization « Demoman «Gives abilities that improve the use of explosive devices, including the grenadier grenade launcher. The Heavy Weapons specialization provides abilities that increase the effectiveness of the grenadier’s armor and cannon.

Sniper

The Sniper is an expert on sniper rifles and pistols. Specialization « Sniper » gives ranged abilities. Specialization « Marksman » gives abilities that improve skills with pistols.

Psi Agent

Psi-Agents were created as a result of the advanced research of ADVENT technologies and joined the XCOM squad very recently. Little is known about their abilities, but there are rumors that they can increase the effectiveness of comrades or interfere with the actions of the enemy on the battlefield. Psi agents are promoted for training in a psi lab, not for merit in combat.

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Strategic gameplay

To strategic gameplay in XCOM 2 refers to actions between jobs. This is the choice of the next task and improvement of the «Avenger» — the mobile headquarters of XCOM.

Avenger

The Avenger is a massive XCOM mobile HQ recaptured from ADVENT. The game starts with a few base rooms, and most of the Avenger’s rooms are littered with alien debris. When new compartments are required, the Engineers can be ordered to clear these rooms, collecting valuable resources along the way.

Original compartments

Chief’s quarters: View the Avenger’s monthly status report, XCOM project archives, and current tasks here.

Bridge: here you can use the globe, track the activity of ADVENT and join the ranks of the resistance.

Laboratory: research work is carried out here and you will be invited here as new scientific projects are realized. You can only participate in one project at a time. You can also view the research archive and a list of scientists working for you.

Armory: where you can view and manage your soldiers — promote them in rank, change names and appearance, recruit new recruits, change equipment, and upgrade weapons.

Engineer Bay: New items, weapons, armor and bays can be crafted here. You can also view the current inventory and a list of engineers.

Bar/Memorial: This is where your people usually relax after work and combat missions. In addition, here you can see the memorial to the fallen soldiers.

Habitation: Soldiers, engineers and scientists live here. In this compartment, you can view the list of personnel and their current assignments.

Personnel management

Assign Scientists, Engineers, and Gremlins to Squads to gain bonuses, such as reduced research time or improved healing for wounded soldiers. Before building new compartments, the premises on the Avenger must be cleaned by engineers.

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Globe

There is a globe on the Avenger’s bridge that allows you to monitor XCOM operations. You can detect alien hostility, contact resistance cells, find valuable resources, or move the Avenger. To track ADVENT activity and advance in time, click the scan icon next to the Avenger’s current location.

Events: ADVENT sets more and more new goals in the fight against resistance, and if their sinister plans are realized, then the enemy gains advantages. Events announce the advancement of ADVENT towards its goals. They can be countered by choosing missions like «Partisans».

Job types

Priority missions: stop ADVENT from carrying out the mysterious Avatar Project.

Partisans: prevent ADVENT from completing secondary tasks (events) and help supply the resistance.

Resistance Tip: Strengthen and replenish the ranks of the resistance.

Strike Back: Stop ADVENT from destroying resistance outposts and save as many people as possible.

Rumors from the Resistance: Investigate rumors for important resources and information. These quests do not take part in your squad, instead they are completed after a certain amount of time.

Avenger Defense: The Avenger has been attacked by ADVENT forces and must land for repairs. Hold the Avenger’s defenses until repairs are complete.

Raids for materials: attack ADVENT supply lines and steal valuable resources.

Alien Object: Destroy critical ADVENT objects to keep them out of Project Avatar.

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Online game

In XCOM 2 , you can fight online against other players using squads consisting of XCOM soldiers, ADVENT units and aliens. You can also arrange matches on the local network.

In your message, briefly describe the problem you are having with XCOM 2 . We will do our best to help you.

Email: [email protected]

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Warranty

Please refer to the warranty information provided by Steam.

Creators and developers

Original developer:

Firaxis Games

Original publisher:

2K

Developer for Macintosh:

Feral Interactive

Macintosh Publisher:

Feral Interactive

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XCOM: Useful tips. Management. | Kanobu

There are two options: either an alien has settled around this corner, or not. Both options are equally terrifying.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is one of the few modern projects in which, if you want, you can find not only a double, but a five bottom, and even then you will find out later that things are not at all the way you thought — the bottom is here and not in sight.

First, the main thing : always calculate your actions several moves ahead, the more the better — like in chess. Under each carelessly missed bush is a detachment of mutons. Tomorrow your satellite over the US will try to shoot down. Captain Stepan Kulebyaka, a formidable enemy of all extraterrestrial scum, will suddenly be attacked from the flank and die, and the newcomer, seeing the death of the commander, will hysteria and shoot the sniper whom you have been protecting for two months. It is impossible to prevent all these events at once — the game is still quite dependent on luck, and this is the key to constant tension. Minimizing the risks is your main task as the commander of the XCOM squad, the last bastion of the defense of the Earth.

I would also like to warn about spoilers — the text implies the fact that you have completed the campaign at least once. If these spoilers bother you, then please do not read further, but complete the game on the normal difficulty level (for which this text is not needed).

Base and geoscape

* Choosing the location of base at the beginning of the game is not as important as it might seem — all these bonuses can be obtained by covering the entire continent with satellites. Although the bonus of 30% monthly income is quite attractive.

* Engineers in XCOM: Enemy Unknown are much more important than scientists: for buying most of the necessary items, building new “buildings”, etc. a certain minimum of these invaluable people is needed. Engineers speed up the construction process. Engineers make almost everything that you can buy for money cheaper. Additional scientists simply speed up the research process, and for this there are bonuses from captured aliens. So plan a 2×2 block for workshops in your base.

* In the first month of , try to launch as many satellites as possible, one will definitely not be enough. This, of course, requires some luck in terms of income. But satellites increase a tiny chance of reducing panic in the countries under their supervision, which is a very strong incentive. It is best to launch satellites at the end of the month and based on the situation.

* Money is the biggest limiting factor in the game and the scarcity increases exponentially with difficulty. Sell ​​as many captured shipwrecks and enemy corpses as you can. Some items, mostly damaged fragments of downed UFOs, can be sold immediately — the game even mentions this in the description. However, items like alloys or fragments of alien weapons will be very useful on your own. In addition, requests from countries participating in XCOM, which ask for the supply of any weapons or parts, cannot be ignored — they always promise a good profit.

* In the case of the location of the nearest “steam” cell in the base is too far from the center, it makes sense to start the game again, and not spend money on a lot of weak generators.

* Soldiers you start the game with have 2 less base health than hired recruits.

* The time from the start of the game to the first Terror mission should be spent wisely — you can’t refuse to complete it, and in it you will meet the chrysalids for the first time, which, before researching powerful types of weapons, are a serious opponent. Try to get hold of at least a couple of laser rifles.

* One of ‘s highest priorities should be to build the Officer Training School and get the maximum number of soldiers on the mission to 6. (Important point: do not destroy the school after researching all the upgrades you like! You will lose them and find yourself in a very difficult situation.)

* Choose one of the three tasks is best according to this priority: the country is on the verge of panic (5 red bars) > engineer award > scientists award > recruit reward (of the class you need) with the rank of captain or higher > cash reward.

* The mission to clear alien base will reduce panic around the world by 2 points — I recommend waiting a while to get the maximum benefit.

* Ammo Conservation technology research should be one of the priorities. Most importantly, your Heavy class fighters will be able to suppress the enemy two turns in a row. For other classes, this upgrade is also very useful — say, for Assault with a shotgun.

* Improved first aid kits are one of the most important victory factors.

* If you have the opportunity to “step over” laser types of weapons directly to plasma ones — do it.

* Ghost armor is one of the things that break the game. In stealth, your fighter will not “trigger” groups of aliens he has detected, which will allow you to set up deadly and effective traps and make the most of the Assault class perk called Close Combat Specialist. Not to mention the obvious ways to use it, such as unhindered entry into the flank of the enemy and rescuing a fighter who got into trouble with one button.

* S.H.I.V. is currently quite buggy, so I would not recommend their use. An extreme case is if all your best fighters are in the hospital, and someone needs to complete the mission.

* Build at least one Firestorm as soon as it becomes available.

* The loss of several countries is inevitable. However, watch out for the general panic indicator!

Rookie to Colonel

Assault

* Tactical Sense is always better than Aggression if you play defensively.

* Lightning Reflexes beats Close & Personal by no means. The tactics unlocked by learning this passive ability are phenomenal.

* Rapid fire is also much better than Flush — there will be many more situations in which you need to shoot twice.

* Close Combat Specialist — See Lightning Reflexes. These two abilities define the entire class.

* Resilience vs. Killer Instinct — Choose between defensive and aggressive playstyles.

Heavy

* Bullet Swarm and Holo Targeting are very difficult choices. I would advise Holo Targeting, because. the main striking power is represented by other classes. But Bullet Swarm allows you to shoot twice per turn, which is not obvious from the description.

* Suppression You will absolutely need , and you can do without Shredder Rocket (even in the case of sectopods).

* HEAT Ammo is a great option if you rely on Heavy fighters to fight mechs. Rapid Reaction turns out to be successfully used too rarely.

* Danger Zone The is ideally better than the extra Grenadier grenade, but the aliens don’t crowd around each other very often.

* Mayhem in the late game is much more useful than an extra Rocketeer.

Sniper

* Snap Shot and Squad Sight — both perks have a very, very big impact on your tactics in combat. I still prefer Squad Sight.

* Damn Good Ground is always better than Gunslinger — most importantly, don’t forget to take the heights (with the help of a cat from Carapace armor!).

* Disabling Shot makes capturing an enemy easier, but Battle Scanner is a pretty critical item. If you usually have 2 snipers in your squad, split these perks between them.

* Opportunist is always better than Executioner. Dot.

* In The Zone and Double Tap depends on your playstyle. If you are a tactical genius and love to attack the enemy out of cover — In The Zone wins, but Double Tap is much more useful for defense.

Support

* Sprinter is better than Covering Fire. You don’t want to be shot at at all, but you want to get to a fighter in time who needs urgent medical attention.

* Field Medic beats Smoke and Mirrors without a hitch.

* Revive will save many lives, while no one will die without Rifle Suppression.

* The choice between Dense Smoke and Combat Drugs obviously depends on your play style.

* Savior is much more useful than Sentinel in the mid-late game.

Psionic

* Psi Panic is still more efficient than Psi Inspiration.

* Telekinetic Field for defensive players. Mind Control for exotic lovers. There is nothing more pleasant after long months of loss and deprivation than to throw their own grenade into the crowd of invaders who have arrived.

On the battlefield

* The composition of squad may vary depending on the mission, but in general I would recommend using the following set: 2 Assaults, 2 Supports, 1-2 Snipers, 1 Heavy.

* ‘s aggressive playstyle — without snipers and with three attack aircraft — is quite viable, and on the Impossible difficulty level it is almost necessary.

* Always take 1-2 newbies into battle to have a large supply of trained fighters. Losses are inevitable! In no case do not send all your best veterans on a mission — unless, of course, this is the final mission.

* Be aware of all the advantages and disadvantages of each fighter and the abilities available to him! You should not keep a sniper on the front line, and leave attack aircraft to cool off in the rear.

* The soldier with the star next to his name in the lower left corner is the “commander” of the squad in this mission. The chance of panic for other fighters in the event of his death is increased. Usually the fighter with the highest rank is appointed commander.

* Never use the full range of motion fighter at the start of the turn. Read this tip again.

* Shelter! There is practically no reason in the game why your fighters in a combat situation would have to be out of their range. Half of the «shield» gives full vision, but only 20 defense points. A full «shield» gives 40 points of protection, but vision decreases. Hunker down doubles the cover’s defense bonus. Under the spoiler is a picture that clearly explains the principles of the mechanics of shelters.

* Hiding places are not nearly as safe as you think. The best way to save a fighter from death after the end of the turn is to move him to a zone in which the aliens simply cannot see him.

* Covers can be destroyed and the enemy often takes advantage of this. Use and you!

* Destroying the walls of with an ambush device can be very effective — especially if it is the wall of the downed UFO’s command post.

* Use suppressive fire! It destroys covers and takes a significant percentage of the enemy’s accuracy.

* Don’t crowd together unnecessarily! Many types of enemies will gladly take the chance and throw a grenade or worse at you.

* Use Overwatch either as part of a plan or at the end of a turn — when your fighters are sure not to spot any random enemies. And in general — never do anything not according to plan or without any purpose.

* Keep in mind that an enemy within Overwatch range of your fighters will 100% of the time not move and attack!

* In the PC version of , you can select fighters that have already spent all their moves and, say, open doors, change weapons or deactivate bombs.

* Arc Thrower is your best friend. Having captured an alien who needs to be interrogated according to the plot, in no case should you stop. Use suppressive fire and two fighters with Arc Thrower at the same time to reduce the chance of failure. In the game, time is against you, and the bonuses to research that different types of opponents provide after interrogation are simply priceless. In addition, the weapon that the alien uses, if the stun succeeds, goes to you (another way is to kill the alien in control)! Unfortunately, it will still be possible to use it only after research. In general, capturing aliens alive is a huge bonus, the more aliens you capture at the beginning of your “career”, the easier it will be at the end. (Important point: Cyberdiscs, Sectopods and Crystallids are immune to stuns — they cannot be captured.)

* The F1 button is your second best friend. It will allow you to fully appreciate all the minuses and pluses of each specific combat situation in which the fighter finds himself, you will be able to evaluate your cover, understand why the chance of hitting the enemy is so low, etc.

* The maps in the game are not actually randomly generated , so after countless battles you will most likely already know what danger is waiting for you around the corner.

* Aliens will only attack you if you “activate” their group — find them as a regular non-stealth fighter. Immediately after that, they will start moving towards the hideouts — use this if you spot aliens with a scanner or a fighter in Ghost Armor.

* Aliens will always try to flank , and the best way to counter this is to flank yourself. However, be careful — this way you can stumble upon an extra detachment of alien reptiles.

* Be ready to retreat — this allows you to lure the enemy into already known territory.

* Combat scanners snipers work as an additional fighter — that is, they will not detect an enemy hiding on the other side of the van. In addition, at the moment they often fall “under the floor”, as a result of which they become completely useless.

* Psionically controlled enemies can cause panic in your fighters if they die. It is not yet clear whether this is a bug, an oversight by the developers, or a deliberately introduced mechanic — so just in case, be careful.

* The final mission even in Ironman mode is allowed to be repeated with the same fighters, move your validol.

And also some little things:

* To disable intrusive logos at the beginning of the game on a PC, you can do the following: in the folder …\steamapps\common\XCom-Enemy-Unknown\XComGame\Config open the DefaultEngine.