XCOM Enemy Unknown Starter Guide

Before you head into the unknown, take these few strategy tips and tactics into account. They can spell the difference between life... and life on another planet.

BASE BUILDING

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Before adding any new facilities to your base, pay close attention to the adjacency bonuses offered by each. For example, building two Satellite Uplinks or Satellite Nexus’ next to each other allows you to launch one additional satellite. Building Laboratories next to each other increases research speed by 10% for each adjacent facility. Building Power, Thermo, or Elerium Generators next to each other produces +2 power for every adjoining facility. Adjacency bonuses can be applied to facilities on different levels of your base. So if you have a Laboratory on the second level of your base, you can take advantage of the adjacency bonus by building another Laboratory directly above or below it.

Need more engineers? Build more Workshops. Each workshop adds five new engineers to your staff. Workshops also reduce the cost of constructing new facilities, vehicles, and Foundry projects. Scientists are not obtained by building Laboratories. Instead, scientists are awarded monthly from certain countries with satellite coverage. Scientists and engineers can also obtained as a reward for completing certain Abduction and Council missions.

Build an Officer Training School as soon as possible. This is the only way to increase your squad size from four soldiers to six through the Squad Size I and Squad Size II options. As missions become more challenging, you will need to field as many soldiers as possible. This facility also allows you to invest in several other worthwhile perks that benefit your soldiers. The Rapid Recovery option is always welcome, reducing the amount of time it takes for injured soldiers to return to active duty.

SATTELITE COVERAGE

Early in the game, get as many satellites into orbit as possible. This often requires the construction of multiple Satellite Uplinks. Always build these facilities next to each other to take advantage of the additional satellite bonus. Choose satellite placement carefully as it will greatly affect the funding and panic levels of the chosen country. Deploying a satellite over a country instantly reduces the nation’s panic level by two. So consider holding back at least one satellite to rescue a country on the verge of collapse. Deploying satellites can also improve your grade on the monthly Council Report.

Instead of deploying satellites all over the world, consolidate your coverage over two continents to begin with. Chances are you won’t be able to save every country. So launch satellites over countries and continents that give you the biggest return on your investment. Deploying satellites across all countries in a continent can yield a big boost in funding as well as a monthly allowance of more scientists or engineers.

Don’t launch satellites over continents where you have no interceptors stationed. Tracking UFOs by satellite is only useful if you have something to shoot them down with. In some instances, un-challenged UFOs may shoot down your satellites. Investing in the Stealth Satellites project at the Foundry can make your satellites more difficult for UFOs to detect.

RESEARCH

Research Alien Materials as soon as possible. Once research is complete your engineers can construct the Nano-Fiber Vest. Early on, the Nano-Fiber Vest is a soldier’s best defense against alien weaponry, significantly reducing fatalities among your squad. Make sure all Rookies are equipped with a  Nano-Fiber Vest before beginning a mission. Unlike most forms of armor, the Nano-Fiber Vest occupies an equipment slot, often requiring you to ditch a grenade. But the vest is more likely to save your soldier’s life than a single grenade. The vest can also be layered beneath other forms of armor to provide extra protection. The Nano-Fiber Vest should get you through the first few mission until you can acquire Alien Alloys and begin constructing Carapace Armor.

After researching Weapon Fragments, choose Beam Weapons as your next project. This allows you to construct laser-based weapons, giving your squad a much-needed boost in firepower. Make sure your squad is equipped with Laser Rifles before going on your first Terror Mission. Laser Rifles are essential for taking out Chryssalids and Cyberdiscs,

While laser weapons are a nice addition to your arsenal, waste no time getting your hands-on alien plasma-based weapons. To do this you must incapacitate aliens with the Arc Thrower, preventing their weapons from self-destructing. Once you’ve obtained a plasma-based weapon you must research it before a member of your squad can equip it. Stealing plasma-based weapons is far more preferable (and cheaper) than constructing them; the funds and resources you save can be funneled into other projects. So make sure at least two squad members are equipped with Arc Throwers. If you can harvest at least one plasma weapon per mission, you’ll have no problem building-up a nice collection of hard-hitting weapons.

HANGAR MANAGEMENT

Your Raven interceptors, armed with Avalanche Missiles, are more than capable of taking down the small UFOs encountered early during the campaign. However, you need to take immediate steps to upgrade their firepower. Research Experimental Warfare to gain access to the Phoenix Cannon. This short-range weapon can chew through UFOs fast but should only be deployed against small and medium sized contacts. Ultimately, focus on getting Plasma Cannons equipped on all your aircraft to deal with the larger threats. You must obtain and research a Light Plasma Rifle before you can research the Plasma Cannon and begin constructing them for your fleet.

Even Ravens armed with Plasma Cannons won’t be enough to take down the largest UFOs. Once you’ve secured a UFO crash or landing site, research the Alien Nav Computer and UFO Power Source. This will unlock the New Fighter Craft research project allowing you to ultimately construct the Firestorm. The Firestorm is a UFO-like aircraft capable of high speeds and sustaining heavy damage. Steadily replace your old Raven fleet with Firestorms to counter the increasing alien threat. If you have Plasma Cannons equipped on your Ravens, be sure to move them over to your new Firestorms.

Don’t sell all of your Sectoid, Floater, and Cyberdisc corpses in the Gray Market. This dead weight can be used to enhance your aircraft with the Defense Matrix, UFO Tracking, and Uplink Targeting options. These upgrades give your aircraft the ability to dodge, aim, and boost their speed during UFO engagements, greatly increasing their performance and success rate.

MISSION TACTICS

When playing the game on Classic or Impossible difficulty, always make an effort to place your soldiers behind full cover, as indicated by the full shield icon. The aliens are much more accurate on these challenging difficulty levels putting your soldiers at greater risk of getting hit, even if they’re behind low cover, indicated by the half shield icon. If cover is sparse, use the support soldier’s Smoke Grenade ability to boost the defense of allies caught in the open.

Having trouble capturing aliens alive? Getting in close to shock an alien with the Arc Thrower can be a dangerous task for any soldier. For best results, use the sniper’s Disabling Shot ability to temporarily render the target defenseless for two turns. This should give your Arc Thrower-toting soldier more than enough time to rush toward the alien and incapacitate them. The Arc Thrower is most effective when targeting a heavily wounded alien. So make sure the target’s health is extremely low to increase your chances of successfully shocking the alien into submission. Capturing aliens alive allows your research staff to interrogate them, sometimes revealing crucial information. Shocking aliens with the Arc Thrower also allows you to capture alien weapons and grenades. Obtaining alien weaponry significantly evens the playing field, giving your soldiers a much better chance to turning the tide against the invasion.

The assault soldier’s Lightning Reflexes ability (available at Sergeant) allows the soldier to effectively dodge reaction shots. So if you’re approaching an alien on Overwatch, always use your Lightning Reflexes enabled assault soldier to trigger the alien’s reaction shot. Once the alien has wasted their reaction shot, you can move other soldiers into position without worrying about incoming fire.

Do not underestimate the power of the heavy soldier’s Suppression ability. It’s always better to suppress a target than it is to risk a low-percentage shot. Suppressing an alien confers a –30 aim penalty on the target. But if your heavy soldier also has the Holo-Targeting ability, it gives your allies a +10 aim bonus when attacking the suppressed target. So make a habit of suppressing a target before attacking with the rest of your squad. Adding the Mayhem ability to your heavy soldier (at Colonel) actually allows suppressing fire to inflict damage on the target based on the tech level of the heavy soldier’s equipped weapon; LMGs cause one damage, Heavy Lasers two damage, and Heavy Plasma three damage. This can come in handy for taking out aliens with low health.


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