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XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Finishing this game will require quite some time.
The main reason for this is the number of required playthroughs - FIVE!
There are several cumulative achievements that will count over several
playthroughs, which means there is no real need to grind.
However, if you want to speed up some achievements then this guide will give
you some advice on how to go about it.
I would like to thank and credit mr. XDude for the chart on the last page.
Always have a nice mix of Medipacks and Arc-Throwers in your squad's load-out.
Prioritize these items over Grenades. Grenades just destroy alien equipment,
making it less valuable and often useless. If you have a choice between a killshot
and a stunshot then choose the stunshot. Stunned aliens will surrender their
weapon which you can use to equip on one of your soldiers (or possibly satisfy a
Council Request).
Grinding is fine, but don't overdo it. Grinding is done by not researching priority
research, or not building priority facilities. Instead you scan the earth for
missions to gain XP and resources. However, keep in mind the game doesn't care
about your story progress. The aliens will keep increasing in difficulty, which
means your next story progress might be harder than expected.
Snipers are cool, but don't overdo it. Other types of soldiers are useful too. To
utilize squad sight, you do need your squad to explore the map and spot the
aliens. Often the Snipers on overwatch will all empty their rifle at the same
enemy. In this case, two shots with 95% hit chance is just as good as three shots
at 95% hit chance.
Always have your snipers on overwatch. Even if they move, you can still put
them on overwatch. Simply press X before they move and they can use their
(Plasma) Pistol for an overwatch shot. It might not be as powerful as the Sniper
Rifle but every hit counts, right?
CHEATS
Note: Using these cheats will prevent achievements.
Change the name of your soldiers to unlock the XCOM heroes.
CLASS
FIRST
NAME
Heavy Joe
LAST
NAME
STATISTI
CS
Kelly
HP 20
Defense
0
Will 100
Aim 100
HP 20
Sniper Ken
Levine
Defense
0
Will 100
Aim 200
HP 100
Assaul
Otto
t
Zander
Defense
0
Will 100
Aim 100
HP 20
Suppo
Sid
rt
Meier
Defense
0
Will 200
Aim 100
The Table of Content is as follows:

FIVE PLAYTHROUGHS -explains why five playthroughs are required.
TUTORIAL - learn to play while aquiring some achievements.
STORY-RELATED - the story-related achievements
ANY DIFFICULTY
XCOM-HQ ACTIVITIES - achievements from the HQ
ENGINEERING - achievements from engineering
BATTLEFIELD ACTIVITIES - achievements from combat
CLASSIC OR IMPOSSIBLE DIFFICULTY - achievements obtainable during classic or
impossible difficulty
SOME GRINDING REQUIRED
XCOM-HQ ACTIVITIES - grinding achievements in the HQ
RESEARCH - grinding research achievements
ENGINEERING - grinding engineering achievements

BATTLEFIELD ACTIVITIES - grinding combat achievements
MULTIPLAYER - the one multiplayer achievement
FIVE PLAYTHROUGHS
Finishing and getting 1000 gamerscore in XCOM: Enemy Unknown will take quite
some time. The reason for this is because the game requires a minimum of 5
playthroughs. The reason for 5 playthroughs can be found in this achievement:
A Continental Fellow392 (50)

Win the game from each of the 5 starting locations.
Unlocked by 694 tracked gamers (2% - TA Ratio = 7.83)42,715
There are 5 starting continents which automatically means 5 playthroughs for
continental fellow. These continents are:
Africa - Monthly XCOM funding increased by 30%.
Asia - All projects in The Foundry and the Officer Training School cost 50% less.
Europe - Labs and Workshops cost 50% less to build and maintain.
North America - All aircraft and aircraft weapons cost 50% less to purchase, build
and maintain.
South America - Autopsies and Interrogations are completed instantly.
Let us do some analysis of the benefits these countries offer. Asia, Europe and
North America offer discounts. South America speeds some parts of research
which offer research benefits. Africa offers extra credits on a monthly basis.
Another thing to consider is the extra credits we get from enabling the tutorial.
The tutorial will only allow us to select Europe or North America as our HQ. In
addition, the tutorial will not be accessible on the Impossible difficulty. The next
three bold lines will inform you about the choices. Keep in mind these choices are
not the only possibilities. For alternatives look at the page "More Hints and Tips".
Let us do three playthroughs on Easy or Normal with Asia, North America and
South America.
Humanity's Savior59 (30)

Beat the game on any difficulty.
Unlocked by 10,995 tracked gamers (26% - TA Ratio = 1.96)42,715
While doing the easy/normal playthroughs try to keep one soldier alive and
included in every single mission. The North America playthrough with the tutorial
enabled would be less suited for this achievement. During the tutorial mission,
three of the four soldiers die and the remaining soldier is a Heavy. Obviously a
Heavy is harder to keep alive or healthy than a Sniper who remains in the back of
the field.
Ain't No Cavalry Comin'207 (50)

Have a soldier survive every mission in a full game.
There is no need to do a Classic playthrough. The Earth First achievement will
unlock once we finish our Impossible playthrough. However, if you want to have
a challenge, then you could try a playthrough with North America and the tutorial
enabled.
Earth First268 (60)

Beat the game on Classic difficulty.
For the Classic Ironman playthrough we choose Europe with the tutorial enabled
for extra credits. Admittedly we could also choose North America for this.
However, the aircraft and aircraft weapons become an issue later in the game.
By that time they are cheaper, because of the many engineers we get from the
Workshops. In addition, the Workshops are nice to have even early in the game
because they make all building(s) cheaper.
No Looking Back599 (100)

Beat the game in Ironman mode on Classic or Impossible difficulty.
The Africa-benefit seems to be the most beneficial and versatile. This is why we
choose Africa for the Impossible playthrough.
Our Finest Hour614 (90)

Beat the game on Impossible difficulty.
Unlocked by 917 tracked gamers (2% - TA Ratio = 6.81)42,715
TUTORIAL
When you start up XCOM: Enemy Unknown you will be presented with a small
static menu along the bottom of the screen. At this menu select single player.
Next up is a popup-menu. Dont be hasty in selecting a difficulty, but explore the
advanced options X first. The default advanced options should be for the
tutorial to be enabled and Ironman to be disabled. Finally select the easy
difficulty.
Before play, you see some wise words by Arthur C. Clarke. Following these words
is a little video about the recent extraterrestrial incursion. The world needs
saving and you are the last line of defense. You will be transported to your first
mission in vehicle Voodoo 3-1. Your first mission is in Germany and is named:
Operation Devils Moon. When done reading the mission objectives, you can
launch your very first mission.
The tutorial will gradually teach us the basics. First there is moving into cover.
Quickly followed by the number of moves indicated on the soldiers UNIT FLAG.
You move the first three members into cover and Delta 4 has to dash (double
time) into cover. Dashing consumes both moves and ends the soldiers turn.
Delta 4 finds the first member of the German recon team. She will also pick up a
help request from a German transmission.
We move on until Delta 2 sees a lot of blood near a bus-stop. Investigation
reveals the second member of the German recon-team. Delta 3 makes a dash for
an alien object in front of the building. He has no idea what the object is, but he
can confirm it to be no satellite.
Time to move inside the building. First Delta 1 moves inside with a windowsmashing animation and finds some cover. Delta 2 dashes inside with a doorsmashing animation and finds cover behind a forklift. Delta 3 uses the now open
door to dash into cover behind some crates. Upon finding cover there is a movie
showing the third armed- member of the German recon team. Finally, Delta 4
dashes into cover while verbally trying to persuade the recon-man to drop his
weapon. Unfortunately he appears to be in shock and doesn't respond to her
request.
Delta 1, 2 and 4 dash from cover to cover and get closer to the target. Delta 3 is
ordered to approach the target and disarm him carefully.
This is where the mission starts to go wrong. In quick succession we are attacked
by a mind-controlling alien and shot upon by two X-Rays (aliens). This reduces
our team by two members. Time to use our flanking and grenade throwing skills.
Theres another X-Ray who kills Delta 4. Now we only have one member left.
Luckily the layout of the building enables us to flank the last alien.
This completes the mission and the tutorial, which means we get our first
achievement.
And So It Begins...15 (15)

Complete the tutorial mission.
Even though we got the achievement this does not mean the tutorial is over. The
visit to XCOM HQ, the subsequent mission and the first Council Mission also
belong to the tutorial.
Now we can select the location of your base. With the tutorial active we can only
select between North America and Europe. The North America benefit applies to
the latter half of the game. This is why we select Europe to be our base.
Welcome to XCOM HQ. First we have to promote our lone survivor for his
excellent performance during the tutorial mission. Apparently he has an aptitude
for heavy weapons and we will train him along those lines. His first training will
be teach him how to fire rockets. He is awarded a Rocket Launcher in addition to
his standard weapon.
Moving on to the Research Lab. Here we can research the alien equipment
acquired during the mission. This research will enable us to develop equipment
for our own soldiers. The research department needs us to bring some focus to
their research. Currently there are three things to choose from. Wait a minute,
Apparently Xeno-Biology requires 4 Sectoid corpses which we dont have. Guess
that leaves us with just two research options: Weapon Fragments and Alien
Materials. Weapon Fragments will result in better weapons. Alien Materials will
result in better armor. At this point it depends on your personal style of play
which one you choose.
Upon leaving the Research Lab we are asked to go to Mission Control. Do so by
pressing the Y button. We get to choose one mission. Since panic level is not yet
a consideration we should look at the reward. The value of the rewards in
ascending order is: Engineers > Scientists > Credits.
Engineers are preferred because they enable us to build more and cheaper. In
addition there is an achievement for getting 80 engineers during play.
Scientists are less preferred because winning the game doesn't rely heavily on
quick research. There is an achievement for getting 80 scientists.
Credits are least preferred because we started playing with the tutorial on. This
means you get more starting money anyway.
To be honest, the importance of scientists and money is about equal. The 80
scientist achievement makes the scientists a bit more valuable than money.
However, choosing money over scientists is not a decision that will cost you the
game.
Enough talk, lets choose a mission and begin the assault. Everybody recognize
this map from the demo? Well the map might be the same but our squad and the
enemies are quite different. The game tells us how to utilize our first two
soldiers. Then we get to choose the moves of the two remaining soldiers
ourselves. Exciting isn't it? I chose one soldier to rush inside the building, into the
second room and into cover behind the crates. My last soldier rushed straight
ahead, along the building, and into cover at the crates near the alien device
(drop pod?).
Second turn we get to control our veteran Delgado. He can choose between two
possible targets by pressing the bumpers on our controller. Lets see, one target
has a 52% hit chance and the other one has a 68% hit chance. Tough choice, but
the game helps us by not letting us select the 52% option. Exit one alien. Now
we have three soldiers left to take out one alien. You can toggle between the
soldiers by using the bumper buttons on our controls. Easiest way is to choose
the soldier outside the building. Move, but do not dash, him to the right of the
alien device and make him find cover behind the crates (not the blue material).
Basically this will make him flank the alien and give us a +50% bonus on our
critical taking it up to critical 60%. Exit alien number 2.
For the rest of the mission the game will let us make all decisions. Oh the
responsibility! At this point you might want to make a save and explore the map
and ponder a strategy. Your strategy should involve getting through the mission
while taking as little damage as possible. Another thing to consider is the XP you
get from killing. Basically Im trying to say: try to let every team member make a
killing shot.
Beyond the containers, two Sectoids await. At this point it is tempting, and the
game even mentions it, to use the Rocket Launcher and take out the Sectoids.
However, not using explosives will give you some more recovered materials and
a better distribution of the available XP. Choose wisely or else
Why choose when we can have the best of both worlds. This is why we made a
save earlier.
Just fire the rocket with Delgado. Take out the structure and the aliens with it.
Wow, doing a mission without losing a soldier gives us an achievement.
We Happy Few11 (10)

Complete a mission without losing a soldier.
Artifacts Recovered:
2 x Sectoid Corpse
4 x Weapon Fragment
One soldier is up for promotion.
New Facility available: Laboratory
Mission Reward for successfully completing operation.
If youre up for a challenge, then re-load the game and shoot the Sectoids with
your regular soldiers. Doing so will give you some more promotions. (up to three
promotions)
The game explains the Situation Room with the Doom Tracker. Next we return to
Mission Control where the satellite network is introduced. Pressing LT will show
the hologlobe which will show panic levels on Earth. We can use the right analog
stick to scroll across the globe. Personally, I find the display in the Situation
Room to be more informative regarding the panic levels. Another function of
Mission Control is the ability to scan the earth. Basically this is a way to progress
the game after youre done with managing the base.
Go ahead and scan Earth in Mission Control. After 5 days of scanning the
research of Alien Materials or Weapon Materials is completed. Achievement time:
What Wonders Await5 (5)

Complete a Research Project.
Choose the next research subject (Xeno-Biology) and were called to Engineering
Department. At Engineering we can select the Nano-Fiber Vest and start building
them. These vests complete immediately. Since there are four soldiers in our
squad we should select to make 4 vests. This will unlock another achievement:
Combat Ready5 (5)

Build an item.
Our business at the Engineering Department is finished and were called to the
Barracks. At the Barracks we can view our soldiers. Select a soldier and have a
look at his loadout. Time to equip the newly fabricated Nano-Fiber Vest instead of
the Frag Grenade.
While we are in the Barracks we can handle any promotions before moving on to
the Situation Room.
Next up is a Council Mission. The Council wants us to do a target extraction of an
escaped abductee.
We will use this mission to grind the Bada Boom achievement. This
achievement can be attained over multiple plays. However, this would mean the
use of explosives during those plays and the resulting loss or damaging of loot.
Rather than losing loot over several plays we can simply grind out the
achievement now.
Before launching the mission we can modify all our soldiers to have Frag
Grenades. Follow these steps:
Step 1: At the start of the mission we make a save (SAVE 1).
Step 2: Then we proceed into the mission and use the grenades and the Heavys
Rocket Launcher to kill as many Thin Men as we can. When we run out of
explosive ordinance we make another save (SAVE 2). Next we load up SAVE 1.
Step 3: Repeat Step 2 until the Bada Boom achievement unlocks.
Bada Boom20 (10)

Kill 50 aliens with explosive weapons.
Lets finish the extraction mission and return to XCOM HQ.
NOTE: Finishing this Council Mission does not give us the Happy to Oblige
achievement.
Once were back we can deal with the promotions of our soldiers. Then were
called to the Situation Room. As a reward for successfully finishing the Council
Mission were awarded a satellite. Launching the satellite gives us another
achievement:
Eye in the Sky6 (5)

Launch a Satellite.
Now we get a movie in which the importance of capturing live aliens is explained.
Following this were summoned to the Engineering Department. At the
Engineering Department were told to build an Alien Containment Facility.
Next we go to the research lab where a priority research subject, the Arc
Thrower, awaits our approval.
Both the Alien Containment Facility and the Arc Thrower project take 7 days to
complete. While waiting for them we can do some scanning with our new
satellite in Mission Control. Scanning has us detect an UFO. We can take it down
with the Interceptor we scramble. After we shoot the UFO down we get a little
status report followed by a movie in which our success is applauded. Following
this movie we get an achievement:
Tables Turned11 (10)

Shoot down a UFO.
Now we must send Skyranger to the UFO crash site. During this mission we get
to see our first Outsider, a being of almost pure energy. Taking the Outsider out is
probably the last thing you do during this mission.
Upon our return to XCOM HQ we get our last info on the Engineering Department.
This also concludes the tutorial.
STORY-RELATED
An outsider can be stunned by using the Arc-Thrower. Because the outsider starts
out with 3 hitpoints the use of the Arc-Thrower isn't complicated. Because he
only has 3 hitpoints you might not want to put your soldiers on overwatch.
Secret Achievement13 (10)

Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement. (Secret)
Show secret details
Once the outsider is stunned he transforms into an Outsider Shard. Researching
this shard will result in the skeleton key being ready for engineering to fabricate.
Researching the shard will also start a movie during which the location of the
alien base is discovered.

Show secret details
Once you engineer the skeleton key you have the option of assaulting the alien
base. You may have some time to grind and improve your equipment. However
keep in mind that the aliens will also continue to improve. Take too much time
and you will be facing very strong aliens like Chrysallid, Mutons or worse. In
addition the global panic level also begins to become an issue.
I would suggest to start the assault when you have laser weapons equipped
(sooner is better).

Show secret details
Once you successfully finish the assault on the alien base you will have retrieved
the Hyperwave Beacon. Researching Hyperwave Communication will unlock the
Hyperwave Relay. This is a facility to be built in the Engineering Department.
Hold off on building the Hyperwave Relay until you have made some more
progress. At this point it is useful to research and build the Firestorm. This is
convenient, because some strong Overseer UFO will show up after building the
Hyperwave Relay. Not being able to handle the Overseer UFO will strongly
influence panic levels because it keeps showing up until you shoot it down.
The commander of the alien base was a sectoid commander. Researching him
will unlock the PSI-lab. Use the Engineering Department to build the PSI-lab. Use
the PSI-lab to find which of your soldiers have psionic aptitude and unlock this
achievement.

Show secret details
At this point we will build the Hyperwave Relay and progress the story and our
achievement-gain.

Show secret details

After building the Hyperwave Relay the Overseer UFO will show up. Shoot it down
with your new Firestorm (equipped with the most powerful cannon you can
build). Assault the downed Overseer UFO and recover the Ethereal Device.

Show secret details
The Ethereal Device is a priority research subject. However, hold off on this
research and research the Ethereal Corpse first to unlock the Mind Shield
research subject.
Researching the Mind Shield will unlock the PSI Armor which you also want to
research. The combination of Mind Shield and PSI Armor will give you a fighting
chance against the psionically proficient Ethereals.
Researching the Ethereal Device will unlock the Gollop Chamber. Building the
Gollop Chamber will unlock an achievement.

Show secret details
Equipping the combination of Mind Shield and PSI Armor will enable a psionic
soldier with high will to enter the Gollop Chamber.
Using the Gollop Chamber is a point of no return in the game. Once you activate
it you can't do anything else but assault the Temple Ship. So, if you want to do
any more researching, engineering or equipping then do so before activating the
Gollop Chamber.
Activating the Gollop Chamber will trigger a video and pop the achievement:

Show secret details
Your volunteer will gain the Psionic Rift ability from his visit to the Gollop
Chamber. Time to assault the Temple Ship and kick some alien butt.
ANY DIFFICULTY
XCOM-HQ ACTIVITIES
At this point we have left the tutorial behind us. The missions in this game are
random. While scanning the hologlobe in Mission Control you will at some point
get a transmission from the council. The council has a council-mission and
completing it will give you this achievement:
Happy to Oblige18 (15)

Fulfill a Council request.
Soldiers earn XP by making kills during mission. When going for a kill you should
consider which soldier gets the honor of administering the coup de grace.
Eventually your soldiers will earn enough XP to reach the rank of colonel.
The Hardest Road14 (10)

Advance one of your soldiers to Colonel rank.
ENGINEERING
Let's visit the Engineering Department and have a look building facilities. At the
end of the tutorial you started building and Alien Containment facility. Once this
facility completes you will get this achievement:
Up and Running6 (5)

Build a base facility.

When you have a careful look at the construction area you will notice there are
some rectangles with "steam" written inside them. These rectangles are suitable
for construction of a Thermo Generator. Building a Thermo Generator is always
more benificial then building a normal Power Generator. A Thermo Generator
delivers 20 power while a Power Generator delivers 6 power. Both types of
generator have a +2 power adjacency bonus. Basically a Thermo generator
equals about 3 Power Generators.
In the construction area we want to reserve a 4x4 area for workshops. And we
also want a 4x4 area for satellite uplinks/nexus. While planning all this we have
to keep in mind that construction gets more expensive with every layer we go
deeper.
There is an achievement for building a laboratory. However, we don't really need
a laboratory, because research is fast enough as is. This is why we make a save
before building a laboratory. Just ignore everything until the lab completes and
the achievement is ours.
Theory...13 (10)
Build a Laboratory.
Load the save we made just before we built the laboratory. Now we start building
our first workshop. Workshops are very useful, because they add 5 engineers to
our staff. Getting extra engineers lowers building costs and helps us towards the
80 engineers achievement. In addition the workshops provide a 7% refund on
resources when building vehicles, foundry projects and facilities.
...and Practice13 (10)

Build a Workshop.
The Engineering Department also has a factory which allows us to build items,
armor and vehicles. New items become available after the necessary research
has been done.
One of the items is the S.H.I.V. This is a robot with a weapons platform which we
can take on missions instead of a soldier. Later during the game several
upgrades become available. Upgrades to the robot itself or to the weapons it
carries.
You Have 5 Seconds to Comply16 (10)

Build a S.H.I.V.
Research enables us to build different kinds of armor. Eventually we will be able
to build powered armor. Powered armor is available in three varieties: Titan
Armor, Ghost Armor and Archangel Armor. Titan Armor is typical heavy armor
which I like to equip my snipers with. Ghost Armor makes the wearer invisible for
one turn and any shot fired during invisibility gets a huge critical bonus.
Archangel Armor allows the wearer to hover or fly. Building any of these armors
will give you an achievement.
Man No More16 (10)

Build a suit of powered armor.
While the game progresses you will notice the interceptors have a harder time
taking down the UFO's. At some point in time you might even have to sent two or
more interceptors after the same UFO. Time to upgrade our intercept-capability.
The best way to do this is by building the next generation interceptor: Firestorm.
When you have built the Firestorm do not forget to upgrade it's weapons.
NOTE: In the hanger the Firestorm is identified as "DEMON".

Show secret details
BATTLEFIELD ACTIVITIES
After researching Xeno-biology you can proceed to research the Arc-Thrower.
Once this research is done we use the engineering department to build an ArcThrower and an Alien Containment Facility. The Arc-Thrower enables you to stun
enemies. Stunned enemies can be imprisoned in the Containment Facility. Later
in the game you can use the foundry to advance the Arc-Thrower, as can be seen
in the table below the basic Arc-Thrower works fine for enemies who have 3 or
less hitpoints remaining. Obviously the advanced Arc-Thrower has a much higher
chance to stun.
No matter how good the Arc-Thrower is there is one main disadvantage. Range
on the Arc-Thrower is very limited. Basically you have to get very close. For
simple enemies, like Sectoids and Thin Man, this isn't a big problem. Just run up
to them and stun them. However for enemies with more than 3 starting hitpoints
some more work is required. You want to hurt them enough to take their hitpoints
below 4 without killing them.
In addition you don't want the aliens to shoot the soldier with the Arc-Thrower as
he approaches them. To help you in this there is several equipment which is
useful:
Smoke grenades: Throw these at the soldier carrying the Arc-Thrower as he
approaches the enemy or when he fails to stun the enemy.
Sniper: Advanced snipers gain the ability "disabling shot". This ability does some
damage (2 HP) to the enemy and it disables the enemy's main weapon. Once the
main weapon is disabled the enemy has to reload and can't shoot for one turn.
Just be careful to not kill the enemy with the damage from the disabling shot.
ARC-THROWER STUN
CHANCE
BASIC
ADVANCED
4HP = 49%
7HP = 49%
3HP = 70%
6HP = 70%
2HP = 80%
5HP = 75%
1HP = 90%
4HP = 80%
3HP = 85%
2HP = 90%
1HP = 95%
Successfully using the Arc-Thrower on an alien makes them surrender their

weapon.These weapons can be equipped by your soldiers. This is a cheap way to
equip your soldiers since you don't have to pay any engineering-costs for the
captured weapons.
The first time you successfully use the Arc-Thrower you get the achievement:

Show secret details
One of the options for the above "Man no more" achievement is to build the
Archangel Armor. Archangel Armor is required for the "Angel of Death"
achievement. Have one of your snipers equip this armor and use it to hover.
Hovering is sufficient for the achievement and you don't have to actually fly
anywhere.

Show secret details
The "Xavier"-achievement becomes available during the latter half of the game.
Basically you need to examine your soldiers until you find one with psionic ability
and high will. Mindcontrol is determined by will. Higher will gives a higher chance
of success. There are several ways to increase your will. PSI-armor and Mind
Shield is equipment which gives a permanent boost to will.
If you have several psionics in your squad you can do more to improve your
chances of a successful mindcontrol. PSI-inspiration will boost your will. Mind
Fray will lower the enemy will, do multiple Mind Fray because the will-reduction is
stackable.

Show secret details
CLASSIC OR IMPOSSIBLE DIFFICULTY
Lone Wolf achievement has to be done on an UFO crash mission. This means you
have to intercept an UFO and do the subsequent mission. There are several ways
to approach this mission:
Early game: There won't be many aliens and a grenade and a rocket from the
heavy can take out quite a few of the aliens.
Late game: Your soldier will be superior to the aliens, especially with psionics.
For this achievement you can actually use an easy save. Load the save and use
the main menu to switch difficulty.
You can to combine the "valkyrie"-achievement with the "lone wolf"-achievement
if your soldier is a female.
Lone Wolf100 (20)

Clear a UFO crash site with one soldier on Classic or Impossible difficulty.
The achievement-description mentions "very hard" but this should read "very
difficult". The number of abduction missions will decrease as your satellite
coverage increases. To expedite the mission it helps to try it on a small map
without buildings.
Wet Work48 (10)

Complete a Very Hard abduction mission in five turns or less on Classic or
Impossible difficulty.
SOME GRINDING REQUIRED
XCOM-HQ ACTIVITIES
Earning 1,000 credits does include the credits gained from selling resources at
the grey market. A quick way to get the achievement is to make a save, then sell
all your resources. Reload your save after the achievement pops up.
Alternatively you can just take your time and play the game normally. Eventually
the monthly council contribution will be a couple of thousand credits. Global
satellite coverage will increase the monthly council contribution.
Worth Every Penny31 (20)

Acquire 1000 credits in one month.
Getting global satellite coverage will take some time. It is not a matter of
building and launching satellites. The satellites need to be able to communicate
via Satellite uplink and Satellite Nexus. These facilities can be built in the
Engineering Department. Try to build these facilities in a 4x4 area to benefit from
the adjacency bonus. Eventually you will need a total of 16 satellites to cover the
Earth.
Global coverage will give a global panic reduction of 2. In addition the monthly
coucil contribution will increase.
All Together Now15 (10)

Get satellite coverage over every country on one continent.
If you have not reached 40 UFO's then you can grind them. Instead of attacking
the temple ship you keep scanning the earth and shoot down every UFO with
your Firestorm. A firestorm with Plasma Cannon will easily take out even the
biggest UFO's. While scanning you can ignore any non-UFO and possibly lose
some countries in the process. However by reloading a save this shouldn't be a
big issue.
Shooting Stars133 (35)

Shoot down 40 UFOs.
While grinding for the "Shooting Stars"-achievement you might get the
"Hunter/Killer"-achievement. There are only 6 UFO-types:
UFO-types
SIZE
NAME
Small
Small
Scout
Medium
Large
Scout
Medium Overseer
Large
Abductor
Large
Supply
Barge
Very
Large
Battleship
The Overseer ship will keep appearing until you manage to shoot it down.
The Battleship might not show up. However there is a trick to make it spawn.
Simply let one UFO fly around without intercepting it. Then the next UFO will be a
Battleship.
Hunter/Killer36 (15)
In a single game, shoot down one of each alien craft.
RESEARCH
How to gain scientists:
Missions and Council Request: some missions will award you with scientists.
Launching satellites over Africa, Europe, North America and South America.
Launching satellites over countries is most scientist-awarding but it will take
some time before you have reached these numbers:
+2 scientist/month for 3 satellites over Africa.
+8 scientist/month for 4 satellites over Europe.
+4 scientist/month for 3 satellites over North America.
+2 scientist/month for 2 satellites over South America.
Oppenheimer38 (20)
Staff the Research Labs with 80 scientists.
Try to stun new aliens as they appear. Once you have captured a live alien you
can interrogate them and subsequently do an autopsy on the resulting corpse.
Don't get this order wrong :-).
For completeness sake I will include the Arc-Thrower table again.
ARC-THROWER STUN
CHANCE
BASIC
ADVANCED
4HP = 49%
7HP = 49%
3HP = 70%
6HP = 70%
2HP = 80%
5HP = 75%
1HP = 90%
4HP = 80%
3HP = 85%
2HP = 90%
1HP = 95%
All Employees Must Wash Hands...18 (10)

In a single game, complete every Autopsy.
Autopsies are part of the research projects. This means you will unlock "all
employees must wash hands" while trying to get the "edison" achievement. Thus
the same advice applies: try to stun new aliens as they appear. Once you have
captured a live alien you can interrogate them and subsequently do an autopsy
on the resulting corpse. Don't get this order wrong :-).
Completing all research projects is quite a chore. See the Technology page for a
complete list of all research projects and their results.
Edison78 (25)
In a single game, complete every Research Project.
ENGINEERING
"Drums in the deep" will unlock when the build the bottom part of the access lift.
Every level deeper will cost more to build. This achievement will come naturally
when you're expanding your base.
Alternatively you can make a save and proceed to build the whole access lift
while ignoring everything else. Reload the save once the achievement pops up.
Drums in the Deep16 (10)

Gain access to the lowest level in your base.
How to gain engineers:
Build workshops: every workshop will add 5 engineers.
Missions and Council Request: some missions will award you with engineers.
Launching satellites over Asia, Africa, North America and South America
Launching satellites over countries is most engineer-awarding, but it will take
some time before you have reached these numbers:
+8 engineers/month for 4 satellites over Asia.
+3 engineers/month for 3 satellites over Africa.
+4 engineers/month for 3 satellites over North America.
+2 engineers/month for 2 satellites over South America.
One Gun at a Time37 (20)

Staff the Engineering Department with 80 engineers
Completing all foundry-projects might take some time, because of the amount of
resources needed. This is the list of all 18 foundry projects:
Heavy Weapons Platform
Alien Grenades
Improved Medikit
Improved Arc Thrower
Advanced Repair
S.H.I.V. Laser
S.H.I.V. Plasma
S.H.I.V. Repair
Drone Capture
Ammo Conversation
Advanced Flight
Advanced Construction
Improved Pistol I
Improved Pistol II
Improved Pistol III
S.H.I.V. Suppression
Stealth Satellites
S.C.O.P.E. Upgrade
Skunkworks48 (20)
In a single game, complete every Foundry project.
BATTLEFIELD ACTIVITIES
The "welcoming committee"- and "pale horse" achievements are counted over
several playthroughs. If you choose to do some grinding it is possible to get all
500 kills in one playthrough.
Welcoming Committee28 (20)

Kill 150 aliens.
Pale Horse93 (50)

Kill 500 aliens.
Obviously this has to be done during a terror mission. The three categories are:
Aliens killed: Kill them all.
Operative lost: Soldiers can be wounded but don't let them be killed.
Civilians rescued: Rescue at least 75%. The number of civilians, total, killed and
rescued, is indicated at the top of the screen.
If you have trouble with this achievement, then you should adopt a more
aggressive strategy. Kill the aliens as quick as possible. Any remaining civilians
will be counted as rescued once you kill the last alien.
As A Scalpel40 (25)
Earn the "Excellent" rating in every performance category on a terror mission.
Once you have recruited enough female soldiers to fully staff your squad the
"valkyrie"-achievement is easy to obtain. It does not matter if any members of
your team die.
Alternatively you could try to combine the "valkyrie"-achievement while going for
the "lone wolf"-achievement.

Show secret details
How to get poisoned:
Thin Man spitattack: This is ideal for the achievement because this brings the
poison cloud near your squad.
Thin Man deathcloud: Advantage of this is they pose no more danger.
Chryssalis attack: This happens when they do a melee attack. Unfortunately
melee attacks have a very high chance to hit and do critical damage. This is the
least favorable way of getting poisoned, because of the high chance of a one-hitdeath.
Poison-immunity:
Carrying a medipack gives immunity.
Wearing Titan Armor gives immunity.
Curing poison: use a medipack. Use support soldiers with the ability "Field
Medic". This allows the support soldiers to use a medipack up to three times.
Basically have a soldier run through a poison cloud with his first move. Cure that
soldier. Have the same soldier run through the same poison cloud with his
second move. Cure the soldier again. This way you get two healings on one
soldier in one turn.
Try to get the "poison control"-achievement during a bomb-disposal- or an
escort-mission. Both of these missions have Thin Man as the main enemies.

Show secret details
MULTIPLAYER
XCOM only has one multiplayer achievement. This achievement can be acquired
in either a ranked match or in a private match.
For boosting the private match is most suitable. Meet with your boosting-buddy
in the lobby. Start up the match and have your buddy quit out.

Show secret details
The research table shows which technology can be researched and what
becomes available.
RESEARCH
TECHNOLOGY
AVAILABLE
Xeno-Biology
Alien Containment
Arc Thrower
Arc Thrower
Outsider Shard
Skeleton Key
New Fighter Craft
Hover S.H.I.V.
Firestorm
Hyperwave
Communication
Hyperwave Relay
Ethereal Device
Gollop Chamber
S.C.O.P.E.
Weapon Fragments
S.C.O.P.E. Upgrade
Alien Materials
Nano-fiber Vest
Foundry
Experimental Warfare
Phoenix Cannon
Alien Grenades
Elerium
Improved Arc Thrower project
Psi Armor
Psi Armor
Carapace Armor
Carapace Armor
Alloy S.H.I.V.
Skeleton Suit
Skeleton Suit
Titan Armor
Titan Armor
Ghost Armor
Ghost Armor
Archangel Armor
Archangel Armor
Advanced Flight project
Laser Pistol
Beam Weapons
Laser Rifle
Improved Pistol II
Scatter Laser
Precision Lasers
Laser Sniper Rifle
Heavy Lasers
Heavy Laser
Laser Cannon
S.H.I.V. Laser project

Plasma Pistol
Plasma Pistol
Improved Pistol III
Light Plasma Rifle
Light Plasma Rifle
Plasma Rifle
Plasma Rifle
Heavy Plasma
Heavy Plasma
S.H.I.V. Plasma project
Plasma Sniper
Plasma Sniper
Alloy Cannon
Alloy Cannon
Plasma Cannon
Plasma Cannon
Fusion Lance
Fusion Lance
Guided Fusion Launcher
Blaster Launcher
Satellite Nexus
Alien Nav Computer

Stealth Satellites
UFO Power Source
Elerium Generator
EMP Cannon
EMP Cannon
S.H.I.V. Repair project
Interrogate Sectoid
Beam Weapons: research credit
Interrogate Floater
Basic Armor Technology: research

credit
Interrogate Muton
Plasma Technology: research

credit
Interrogate Sectoid
Commander
Psionics: research credit
Interrogate Berserker
Armor Technology: research credit
Interrogate Thin Man
UFO Technology: research credit
Interrogate Heavy Floater
Flight: research credit
Interrogate Muton Elite
Weapons Technology: research

credit
Interrogate Ethereal
All Technology: research credit
Sectoid Autopsy
Uplink Targeting (Aim)
Sectoid Commander
Autopsy
TOP SECRET
Floater Autopsy
Defense Matrix (Dodge)
Thin Man Autopsy
Improved Medikit project
Muton Autopsy
Ammo Conservation project
Chryssalid Autopsy
Chitin Plating
Cyberdisc Autopsy
UFO Tracking (Boost)
Berserker Autopsy
Combat Stims
Heavy Floater Autopsy
Advanced Repair project
Muton Elite Autopsy
Plasma Weaponry: research credit
Drone Autopsy
Drone capture
Sectopod Autopsy
Advanced Construction project
Ethereal Autopsy
Mind Shield
These Engineering tables show what can be built and what the resource-cost
would be. In addition to the resource-cost there is also a credit-cost. The creditcost is not included in the tables because it varies with the number of available
engineers.
ENGINEERING
BUILD ITEMS
MATERIALS
Nano-fiber Vest
5 engineers
S.C.O.P.E.
5 engineers
Arc Thrower
5 engineers
5 alloys
Chitin Plating
4 chrysallid corpse
15 engineers
18 elerium
6 alloys
Mind Shield
1 ethereal corpse
35 engineers
2 alloys
Combat Stims
1 berserker corpse
15 engineers
Medikit
5 engineers
39 elerium
30 alloys
Blaster Launcher
1 fusion core
2 UFO flight computer
35 engineers
14 elerium
Plasma Sniper Rifle
17 alloys
25 engineers
17 elerium
Heavy Plasma
17 alloys
25 elerium
Alloy Cannon
11 elerium
28 alloys
25 engineers
11 elerium
Plasma Rifle
16 alloys
20 engineers
8 elerium
Light Plasma Rifle
11 alloys
20 engineers
5 elerium
Plasma Pistol
11 alloys
20 engineers
13 alloys
Laser Sniper Rifle

12 engineers
13 alloys
Heavy Laser
12 engineers
13 alloys
Scatter laser
12 engineers
8 alloys
Laser Rifle
12 engineers
5 alloys
Laser Pistol
10 engineers
ENGINEERING
BUILD ARMOR
MATERIALS
PSI Armor
23 elerium
11 alloys
30 engineers
31 elerium
Ghost Armor
24 alloys
40 engineers
21 elerium
Archangel Armor
30 alloys
35 engineers
5 elerium
Titan Armor
20 alloys
25 engineers
5 alloys
Skeleton Suit
15 engineers
7 alloys
Carapace Armor
10 engineers
ENGINEERING
BUILD VEHICLES
MATERIALS
5 elerium
11 alloys
Firestorm
1 UFO Power Source

2 UFO Flight Computer
20 engineers
Satellite
5 engineers
Hover S.H.I.V.
11` elerium
16 alloys
20 engineers
1 barracks capacity
10 alloys
Alloy S.H.I.V.
10 engineers
1 barracks capacity
5 engineers
S.H.I.V.
1 barracks capacity
6 elerium
Fusion Lance
9 alloys
35 engineers
5 elerium
EMP Cannon
8 alloys
30 engineers
5 elerium
Plasma Cannon
5 alloys
20 engineers
Laser Cannon
6 alloys
10 engineers
Phoenix Cannon
5 engineers
3 floater corpse
Defense Matrix (Dodge)

10 engineers
2 cyberdisc wreck
UFO Tracking (Boost)
10 engineers
3 sectoid corpse
Uplink Targeting (Aim)
5 engineers
ENGINEERING
FACILITIES
MATERIALS
3 power
Laboratory
10 scientists
3 power
Workshop
65 engineers
5 power
Satellite Uplink
80 engineers
Power Generator
8 power
85 engineers
Satellite Nexus
25 alloys
30 elerium
Elerium Generator
40 alloys
2 UFO Power Source
Thermo Generator
ENGINEERING
FOUNDRY
Heavy Weapons Platform
5 engineers
Alien Grenades
1 Alien Grenade
20 engineers
20 Weapon Fragments
10 Elerium
25 Alloy
4 Thin Man corpse
Improved Medikit
15 engineers
20 Weapon Fragments
4 Drone wreck
10 engineers
Improved Arc Thrower
20 Weapon Fragments
20 Elerium
20 Alloy
4 Heavy Floater corpse
20 engineers
Advanced Repair
10 Elerium
30 Alloy
10 engineers
S.H.I.V. Laser
15 Weapon Fragments
30 Alloy
20 engineers
30 Weapon Fragments
S.H.I.V. Plasma
30 Elerium
45 Alloy
10 engineers
S.H.I.V. Repair
15 Elerium
15 Alloy
Drone Capture
4 Drone wreck
10 engineers
20 Weapon Fragments
6 Muton corpse
15 engineers
Ammo Conversation
20 Weapon Fragments
90 Alloy
2 Heavy Floater corpse
2 Drone wreck
2 Cyberdisc wreck
Advanced Flight
25 engineers
50 Elerium
50 Alloy
2 Sectopod wreck
30 engineers
Advanced Construction
20 Weapon Fragments
30 Elerium
50 Alloy
5 engineers
Improved Pistol I
5 Weapon Fragments
10 engineers
Improved Pistol II
25 Weapon Fragments
20 Alloy
Improved Pistol III
20 engineers
50 Weapon Fragments
10 Elerium
10 Alloy
S.H.I.V. Suppression
15 engineers
20 engineers
Stealth Satellites
20 Elerium
20 Alloy
10 engineers
S.C.O.P.E. Upgrade
15 Weapon Fragments
ABILITIES
Soldiers start with the rookie rank. At some point the rookie will be up for
promotion to squaddie. During this promotion the game will assign a class to the
rookie. The player does not have any say in the class-assignment. To change the
built-up of your squad use new soldiers and level them up from rookie to
squaddie. Repeat this until you have the classes you want. When you run out of
soldiers then you can hire new ones from the "Barracks"-menu. Don't overdo this
in the early game because the game difficulty keeps ramping up and disregards
your progress.
Every soldier will get training in class-specific abilities with every additional
promotion. With some promotions only one ability becomes available. With most
promotions there is a choice between two abilities. Below the tables I will give
some advice on which choice is preferred. However keep an open mind regarding
the abilities. While the recommendations given are suitable for easy, normal and
classic difficluty. For the impossible difficulty you might seriously reconsider the
choices you make.
ASSAULT CLASS
RANK
ABILITIES
ROOKIE
no ability
SQUADDIE
Run & Gun
CORPORAL
Tactical Sense
Aggression
SERGEANT
Lightning Reflexes
Close and Personal
LIEUTENANT
Flush
Rapid Fire
CAPTAIN
Close Combat Specialist
MAJOR
Extra Conditioning
COLONEL
Resilience
Bring Them On
Killer Instinct
Run & Gun: Allows firing or Overwatch after Dashing on the turn Run & Gun is
activated. 2 turn cooldown.
The most obvious use of Run & Gun is to run towards enemies and flank them.
Flanking enemies will disable the defense they have from cover. Consequently
your hit chance will go up with 20% - 40% and your crit will also go up.
The other use for Run & Gun is to explore and go into overwatch. Revealing
enemies this way can be useful in combination with snipers, in overwatch, who
have squadsight.
Tactical Sense: Confers +5 Defense per enemy in sight (max 20).
Preferred choice; Tactical Sense is preferred over Agression.
When you use Run & Gun to explore and end up in a group of enemies. At that
point it is nice to have extra defense to make more enemies miss. Nice synergy
between Run & Gun and Tacitical Sense.
Aggression: Confers +10% critical chance per enemy in sight (max +30%).
Unfavored choice; Tactical Sense is preferred over Agression.
Compared to Tactical Sense this is a one-use ability (once per turn).
If you get the full 30% bonus then you're probably in a bad situation where some
more defense would be preferred.
Lightning Reflexes: Forces the first reaction shot against this unit each turn to
miss.
Preferred choice; Lightning Reflexes is preferred over Close and Personal.
When you use Run & Gun to explore and end up in a group of enemies. At that
point it is nice to have at least one enemy miss his shot.
With this ability you can move your soldier even when an enemy is in overwatch.
Needless to say this can be used to gain a tactical advantage with the rest of
your squad.
Close and Personal: Confers +30% critical chance against adjacent targets. The
bonus declines with distance from the target.
Unfavored choice; Lightning Reflexes is preferred over Close and Personal.
If you get the full 30% bonus then have to get real close to your enemies.
Chances are there is more enemies than the one you're gunning for. Having one
of those "extra" enemies miss is nicer than a crit-bonus.
Flush: Fire a shot that causes enemies to run out of cover. The shot is easy to hit
with, but does reduced damage.
Preferred choice; Flush is preferred over Rapid Fire. However your playstyle
should determine your choice.
To get enemies out of cover and let the snipers, with squadsight and overwatch,
shoot them.
Reduced damage is great for shooting high-health enemies. Doing so will prepare
your target for a stunshot with the Arc Thrower.
Rapid Fire: Take two shots against a single target in quick succession. Each shot
carries a -15 penalty to Aim.
Unfavored choice; Flush is preferred over Rapid Fire. However your playstyle
should determine your choice.
In combination with Run & Gun the penalty to aim isn't much of an issue. Taking
two shots with the alloy cannon, or any other shotgun, will cause great grief to
any enemy.
Close Combat Specialist: Confers a reaction shot against any enemy who closes
to within 4 tiles. Does not require Overwatch.
Preferred choice; Close Combat Specialist is preferred over Bring 'Em On.
Bring 'Em On: Adds 1 damage on critical hits for each enemy the squad can see
(up to 5).
Unfavored choice; Close Combat Specialist is preferred over Bring 'Em On.
Extra Conditioning: Confers bonus health based on which type of armor is
equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus.
Depending on your playstyle choose between Titan Armor or Ghost Armor.
Resilience: Confers immunity to critical hits.
Preferred choice; Resilience is preferred over Killer Instinct.
On higher difficulties the enemies get crit bonuses. Negating those bonuses will
be very helpful.
Killer Instinct: Activating Run & Gun now also grants +50% critical damage for
the rest of the turn.
Unfavored choice; Resilience is preferred over Killer Instinct.
Good synergy with other crit-improving equipment. Shotgun (Alloy Cannon) and
Ghost Armor come to mind and your total crit will approach 200%.
SUPPORT CLASS
RANK
ABILITIES
ROOKIE
no ability
SQUADDIE
Smoke Grenade
CORPORAL
Sprinter
Covering Fire
SERGEANT
Field Medic
Smoke and Mirrors
LIEUTENANT
Revive
Rifle Suppression
CAPTAIN
Dense Smoke
Combat Drugs
MAJOR
Deep Pockets
COLONEL
Savior
Sentinel
Smoke Grenade: Deploy a smoke grenade once per mission. The smoke confers
+20 defense to all units, not just allies, and lasts during the enemy turn.
Works on allies and aliens. Best used after your squad has done all their
shooting-actions.
Late game you have to deal with psionics. Psionics is not affected by defense.
Sprinter: Allows the support to move 3 additional tiles.
Preferred choice; Sprinter is preferred over Covering Fire.
The advantages of extra movement are obvious. You can get the medikit that
much faster to your squad-mates.
Covering Fire: Allows reaction shot to trigger on enemy attacks, not just
movement.
Unfavored choice; Sprinter is preferred over Covering Fire.
When enemies shoot at you they generally are in cover. This means your
reaction shots have less chance to hit. Reaction shots which trigger on
movement will have a higher chance to hit the aliens.
Field Medic: Allows medikits to be used 3 times per battle instead of once.
Preferred choice; Field Medic is preferred over Smoke and Mirrors.
Having medikit can be a matter of life and death. Without medikits you will lose
soldiers. Having one soldier who can use a medikit three times is equivalent to
your whole squad carrying medikits.
Smoke and Mirrors: Allows 1 additional use of Smoke Grenade each mission.
Unfavored choice; Field Medic is preferred over Smoke and Mirrors.
Having an extra use of a smoke grenade can be useful. However, having three
medikits sounds much more attractive.
Revive: Allows Medikits to revive critically wounded Soldiers at 33% of maximum
health instead of just stabilizing them.
Unfavored choice; Rifle Suppression is preferred over Revive. However you might
decide differently depending on your playstyle.
Reviving a soldier means you have more firepower.
Rifle Suppression: Fires a barrage that pins down a target, granting reaction fire
against it and imposing a 30 penalty to aim.
Preferred choice; Rifle Suppression is preferred over Revive. However you might
decide differently depending on your playstyle.
This makes the support soldier more versatile by giving you more options.
Can be useful in assisting a squadmate who is moving in to stun an alien.
-30 to aim. What's not to like. Need I say more.
Dense Smoke: Smoke Grenades have increased area of effect and further
increase units' Defense by 20.
Unfavored choice; Combat Drugs is preferred over Dense Smoke.
Combat Drugs: Smoke Grenades now contain powerful stimulants that grant +20
Will and +10% critical chance for all units in the cloud.
Preferred choice; Combat Drugs is preferred over Dense Smoke.
Another choice which makes the support soldier more versatile.
Especially the +20 Will can be useful when dealing with psionic aliens.
Deep Pockets: Confers an additional item slot in inventory.
So many useful items to choose from: medkit, chitin plate, arc thrower or a
grenade.
Savior: Medikits restore 4 more health per use.
Preferred choice; Savior is preferred over Sentinel.
If you have improved medkits then you can heal up to 10 health. Very useful if
you consider the amount of damage you can take from late game enemies or
during impossible difficulty.
Sentinel: Allows two reaction shots during Overwatch, instead of only one.
Unfavored choice; Savior is preferred over Sentinel.
Firing two shots during the enemy turn is useful indeed.
HEAVY CLASS
RANK
ABILITIES
ROOKIE
no ability
SQUADDIE
Fire Rocket
CORPORAL
Bullet Swarm
Holo-Targeting
SERGEANT
Shredder Rocket
Suppression
LIEUTENANT
HEAT Ammo
Rapid Reaction
CAPTAIN
Grenadier
Danger Zone
MAJOR
Will to Survive
COLONEL
Rocketeer
Mayhem
Fire Rocket: Fire a rocket using an equipped launcher. This ability can not be used
after moving, nor more than once per mission.
One use per mission.
Requires both action points. You can not move and fire the rocket in the same
turn.
Bullet Swarm: Firing the primary weapon as the first action no longer ends the
turn.
Unfavored choice; Holo-Targeting is preferred over Bullet Swarm.
Adds versatility to the heavy. Firing and reloading or moving is possible in the
same turn.
Holo-Targeting: Shooting at or suppressing enemies also confers a +10 Aim to
any allies' attacks on those enemies.
Preferred choice; Holo-Targeting is preferred over Bullet Swarm.
Suppressing enemies makes them easier to hit. All you have to do is wait for
your next promotion and choose the suppression-ability.
Shredder Rocket: Fire a rocket that causes all enemies hit to take +33% damage
from all sources for the next 4 turns. The rocket's blast is weaker than a standard
rocket's.
Unfavored choice; Suppression is preferred over Shredder Rocket. However your
playstyle should determine your choice.
Useful for the late game enemies which can have close to 20 health.
Suppression: Can fire a special shot that grants reaction fire at a single target.
The target also suffers a -30 Aim penalty.
Preferred choice; Suppression is preferred over Shredder Rocket. However your
playstyle should determine your choice.
Can be useful in assisting a squadmate who is moving in to stun an alien.
-30 to aim. What's not to like. Need I say more.
Uses a lot of ammo. Reloading is a must after using suppression.
HEAT Ammo: +100% to damage against robotic enemies.
Preferred choice; HEAT Ammo is preferred over Rapid Reaction.
Robotic enemies show up after the early game: Floater, Heavy Floater,
Cyberdisc, Drone and Sectopod. Especially Sectopods are tough enemies which
have to be taken down ASAP.
Rapid Reaction: Confers a second reaction shot, if on Overwatch and the first
reaction shot is a hit.
Unfavored choice; HEAT Ammo is preferred over Rapid Reaction.
Heavies usually have low aim. Which means they generally miss the first reaction
shot and the second reaction shot is not fired at all.
Grenadier: Allows to carry 2 grenades in a single inventory slot.
Unfavored choice; Danger Zone is preferred over Grenadier.
Explosives prevent you from maximising your resource-gain during a mission.
Danger Zone: Increases hit area of rockets and suppression by 2 tiles.
Preferred choice; Danger Zone is preferred over Grenadier.
Basically this adds an Area of Effect (AoE) to suppression.
Will to Survive: Reduces all normal damage taken by 2 if in cover and not
flanked.
Always try to be in cover.
Rocketeer: Allows 1 additional standard rocket to be fired per battle.
Preferred choice; Rocketeer is preferred over Mayhem.
Having two rockedts can be useful when facing a Sectopod.
Usually the splash damage is sufficient to kill the drones which are supposed to
heal the Sectopod.
Mayhem: Confers additional damage based on weapon tech level to Suppression
and all area-effect abilities (1 damage per tech level).
Unfavored choice; Rocketeer is preferred over Mayhem.
The damage increase is relatively small.
SNIPER CLASS
RANK
ABILITIES
ROOKIE
no ability
SQUADDIE
Headshot
CORPORAL
Snap Shot
Squadshight
SERGEANT
Gunslinger
Damn Good Grourn
LIEUTENANT
Disabling Shot
Battle Scanner
CAPTAIN
Executioner
Opportunist
MAJOR
Low Profile
COLONEL
In The Zone
Double Tap
Headshot: Fire a shot with +30% critical chance and extra damage on critical hits
based on the tech level of the sniper rifle. 2 turn cooldown.
Headshot has a cooldown time which means you have to choose your targets
wisely. High chance to hit and high health targets only.
Snap Shot: Removes the sniper rifle's restriction on firing and Overwatch after
moving. Any shots taken suffer a -20 Aim penalty.
Unfavored choice; Squadsight is preferred over Snap Shot.
If Snap Shot appeals to you then just switch to your pistol. You will do less
damage but suffer no aim penalty.
Squadsight: Allows firing at targets in any ally's sight radius.
Preferred choice; Squadsight is preferred over Snap Shot.
Squadsight really makes the snipers shine. Usable in overwatch and to support
Running & Gunning assault soldiers.
Gunslinger: Confers 2 bonus damage with pistols.
Unfavored choice; Damn Good Ground is preferred over Gunslinger.
Consider this ability if you want to have mobile snipers.
Damn Good Ground: +10 Aim and +10 Defense against enemies at lower
elevation in addition to the usual elevation bonuses.
Preferred choice; Damn Good Ground is preferred over Gunslinger.
Archangel Armor or Skeleton Armor become good equipment choices with this
ability.
Disabling Shot: Allows the Sniper to fire a shot that causes the target's main
weapon to malfunction. The target may use Reload to fix the weapon. The shot
cannot inflict a critical hit. 2 turn cooldown. -10 Aim penalty.
Preferred choice; Disabling Shot is preferred over Battle Scanner.
Disabling shot damages the target without a chance of a crit. This can be used to
prepare targets for a stun shot.
Disabling shot can keep enemies from firing on your squad members.
Can be used on mindcontrolled allies to prevent them from firing on your squad
members.
Battle Scanner: Scanning device, when thrown creates a new source of vision for
2 turns. Can only be used 2 times per battle.
Unfavored choice; Disabling Shot is preferred over Battle Scanner.
If you only have one sniper then he can benefit from this device for one turn.
revealed enemies will not scatter.
Executioner: +10 Aim against targets with less than 50% health.
Unfavored choice; Opportunist is preferred over Executioner.
Useful in case the forward troops fail to kill a tough enemy.
Opportunist: Eliminates the Aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows reaction
shots to cause critical hits.
Preferred choice; Opportunist is preferred over Executioner.
Combined with squadsight this is very useful for snipers in overwatch.
Low Profile: Makes partial cover count as full.
Only useful if your sniper is near the front line.
In The Zone: Killing a flanked or uncovered target with the sniper rifle does not
cost an action.
Unfavored choice; Double Tap is preferred over In The Zone.
In the Zone has a higher kill potential than Double Tap but takes some planning
to get it to work.
Limited by the number of bullets in the magazine.
Double Tap: Allows both actions to be used for Standard Shot, Headshot, or
Disabling Shot, provided no moves were made. 1 turn cooldown.
Preferred choice; Double Tap is preferred over In The Zone.
Two shots in one turn will take care of most enemies.
PSIONICS
RANK
ABILITIES
PSI ADEPT
Mindfray
PSI SPECIALIST
Psi Inspiration
Psi Panic
PSI OPERATIVE
Telekinetic Field
Mind Control
VOLUNTEER
Rift
Mindfray: Causes the target to lose grip on reality, inflicting penalties to Aim,
Will, and mobility, and doing 5 base damage. Robotic units are immune. Lasts 2
turns. 1 turn cooldown.
The penalties are stackable. Useful if you want to mind control an ethereal.
Psi Inspiration: Removes Mindfray and panic from all allies within 3 tiles, and
strengthen their Will by +30 for 2 turns. 4 turn cooldown.
Preferred choice; Psi Inspiration is preferred over Psi Panic.
This ability can be spammed to quickly reach the next psionic rank.
Useful when having to combat psionic aliens.
Psi Panic: Cause target to panic on its following turn, if the target's Will is
overcome. Robotic enemies are immune. 2 turn cooldown.
Unfavored choice; Psi Inspiration is preferred over Psi Panic.
Panicked aliens can be unpredictable and still shoot your squad members.
Telekinetic Field: Create an immobile telekinetic field that lasts through the
enemy turn. The field distorts and deflects incoming attacks, granting +40
Defence.
Unfavored choice; Mind Control is preferred over Telekinetic Field.
Benificial to enemies inside the field.
The field is quite big and hard to aim so it doesn't include aliens.
Mind Control: Very difficult psi technique that, if successful, grants control of the
target for 3 turns. Robotic enemies are immune. 5 turn cooldown.
Preferred choice; Mind Control is preferred over Telekinetic Field.
Free extra squad members. YEAH!
Rift: Very powerful area effect attack. Produces damage inversely proportional to
the amount of Will a target has; targets with low Will suffer more damage while
targets with high Will suffer less damage.
Unlike other psionic abilities Rift will work against robotic enemies. Robotic
enemies have will 0 and take massive damage. This makes the two sectopods
very easy to deal with during the final mission.
Soldiers who walk into the rift area will take damage.
DEFENSE AND AIM
The aim-stat of your soldier is the basis for calculting the to-hit percentage. This
to-hit percentage is primarily influenced by line of sight, distance to the target
and the type of weapon used. Line of sight and fall-off due to distance are
outside the scope of this chapter.
To-hit percentage is further modified by defense of the target. Basically the to-hit
percentage is calculated as AIM - DEFENSE.
Aim and defense are determined by cover, abilities and equipment.
COVER
Cover, half: + 20 defense; negated by flanking or 1 tile adjacency.
Cover, full: + 40 defense; negated by flanking or 1 tile adjacency.
Elevated ground: + 20 aim; all units receive offensive bonuses against enemies
on lower ground.
ABILITIES
Hunker down, basic; doubles defense bonus while in cover.
Overwatch, basic: Fire on the first enemy that moves within your line of sight at a
small Aim penalty. The exact aim penalty is not known. Different sources mention
different aim-penalties of -10, -15 or -20. Using overwatch on a dashing enemy
will double the aim-penalty to -20, -30 or -40. It might be that the penalty
depends on the game-difficulty.
Tactical Sense, assault: max + 20 defense. Confers +5 Defense per enemy in
sight (max 20).
Flush, assault: + 20 aim; fire a shot that causes enemies to run out of cover. The
shot is easy to hit with, but does reduced damage.
Rapid Fire, assault: - 15 aim; take two shots against a single target in quick
succession. Each shot carries a -15 penalty to Aim.
Smoke Grenade, support: + 20 defense; deploy a smoke grenade once per
mission. The smoke confers +20 defense to all units, not just allies, and lasts
during the enemy turn.
Rifle Suppression support: - 30 aim; fires a barrage that pins down a target,
granting reaction fire against it and imposing a 30 penalty to aim
Dense Smoke, support: + 40 defense; smoke Grenades have increased area of
effect and further increase units' Defense by 20.
Holo-Targeting, heavy: + 10 aim; shooting at or suppressing enemies also confers
a +10 Aim to any allies' attacks on those enemies.
Suppression, heavy: - 30 aim; can fire a special shot that grants reaction fire at a
single target. The target also suffers a -30 Aim penalty.
Snap shot, sniper: - 20 aim; removes the sniper rifle's restriction on firing and
Overwatch after moving. Any shots taken suffer a -20 Aim penalty.
Damn Good Ground, sniper: +10 Aim and +10 Defense against enemies at lower
elevation in addition to the elevated ground bonus.
Disabling Shot, sniper: - 10 aim; allows the Sniper to fire a shot that causes the
target's main weapon to malfunction. The target may use Reload to fix the
weapon. The shot cannot inflict a critical hit. 2 turn cooldown. -10 Aim penalty.
Executioner, sniper: + 10 Aim against targets with less than 50% health.
Opportunist, sniper: Eliminates the Aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows
reaction shots to cause critical hits.
Low Profile, sniper: + 20 defense; makes partial cover count as full.
Telekinetic Field, psionic: + 40 defense; create an immobile telekinetic field that
lasts through the enemy turn. The field distorts and deflects incoming attacks,
granting +40 Defence.
EQUIPMENT
Light Plasma Rifle: + 10 aim bonus.
S.C.O.P.E.: + 10 aim bonus.
Improved Pistol II: + 10 aim; applies to all pistols. Does not apply to other
weapons.
Skeleton armor: + 10 defense.
Archangel armor, evasion trait: +20 defense; Enemies targeting this unit when it
is airborne suffer a -20% Aim penalty.
Ghost armor: + 20 defense.
Psi armor: + 10 defense.
RANK AND CLASS
CLASS
Every soldier starts his career being a rookie. Once a rookie levels up to a
Squaddie they get assigned a class. With normal play it is not possible to choose
the class. Class-assignment is done by the game. Usually the first four classassignments will give you one of each class; assault, heavy, sniper and support.
Any other class-assignements will be random. However there are two methods to
get what you want:
Use new soldiers and level them up from rookie to squaddie. Repeat this until
you have the classes you want. When you run out of soldiers then you can hire
new ones from the "Barracks"-menu. Don't overdo this in the early game
because the game difficulty keeps ramping up and disregards your progress.
Make a save before you kill the last alien in a mission. Proceed to kill the alien
and return to XCOM HQ. This is where the class-assignment occurs. If you are not
happy with the result then simply reload the save and hope for the class you
want.
RANK
All soldiers can gain the same set of ranks no matter their class.
RANK
ROOKIE
SQUADDI
E
CORPORA
L
SERGEAN
T
LIEUTENA
NT
CAPTAIN
MAJOR
COLONEL
To rank up the soldiers have to gain XP by killing aliens. During a mission a
soldier can only rank up once. When enough XP to level up has been collected a
line of text will appear onscreen to inform you. Any further XP collected by that
particular soldier is wasted. Let other soldiers kill the aliens and gain XP.
When playing on higher difficulties it may be a bit harder to rank up. Especially
ranking your sniper up to corporal can be a bit of a challenge. Seriously consider
to let your sniper make the kill by utilizing a grenade. I should make a play on
words her involving "coup de grace" and "coup de grenade". :-)
The Table of Content is as follows:
STARTING LOCATION
SOUTH AMERICA
EUROPE
AFRICA
ASIA
NORTH AMERICA
BASE BUILDING
GENERATING CREDITS - the one multiplayer achievement
STARTING LOCATION
There are 5 starting continents:
Africa - Monthly XCOM funding increased by 30%.
Asia - All projects in The Foundry and the Officer Training School cost 50% less.
Europe - Labs and Workshops cost 50% less to build and maintain.
North America - All aircraft and aircraft weapons cost 50% less to purchase, build
and maintain.
South America - Autopsies and Interrogations are completed instantly.
Exploiting some of these benefits might not be obvious. Some benefits seem
obvious but have some disadvantages. What follows is food for thought when
deciding on your starting location.
SOUTH AMERICA
South America is generally considered to be less desirable as a starting location.
Often people will use the argument that it only takes two satellites to aquire the
South America Continent and benefit.
However starting out with South America can give you a nice boost in
development. Instead of the usual satellite-rushing we will rush research to win
the arms-race.
Alien Base: To assault the alien base we have to research Xeno-Biology, Arc
Thrower and the Outsider Shard. Engineering has to focus on building the Alien
Containment Facility, Arc Thrower and Skeleton Key. If done properly then the
alien base will have been conquered before heavy enemies show up. Properly
means you might lose some countries during the first month. It is important to
note the importance of scientists here. Do not focus solely on getting engineers.
Researching those first projects is important.
Once you have the Arc Thrower it is time to make South America shine and win
the arms race. Consider the below table and you will notice nearly all
interrogations are related to psionics, weapons or armor.
Interrogate Sectoid
Beam Weapons: research credit
Interrogate Floater
Basic Armor Technology: research

credit
Interrogate Muton
Plasma Technology: research

credit
Interrogate Sectoid
Commander
Psionics: research credit
Interrogate Berserker
Armor Technology: research

credit
Interrogate Thin Man
UFO Technology: research credit
Interrogate Heavy Floater
Flight: research credit
Interrogate Muton Elite
Weapons Technology: research

credit
Interrogate Ethereal
All Technology: research credit
EUROPE
Europe is a good starting continent with a benefit which is usable in the first
month. You might well consider Europe for the impossible playthrough instead of
Africa. Which would mean Africa for the Classic Ironman walkthrough. (you would
lose the benefit of using the tutorial)
The secret to using Europe successfully is PATIENCE. Resist the temptation to
spend your money on day 1 of month 1. Instead wait for a mission with
engineers for a reward. These will reduce the building price even more and
enable you to build more during the first month. This will then mean you get
more income from the council for the additional building.
The main disadvantage Europe has is the number of countries: 4. Needless to
say panic control is a bit harder. Then again you don't have to launch 4 satellites
to get the continent's benefit.
Europe is highly scientist-oriented with a monthly reward of 8 scientists/month.
This does mean you have to get your engineers elsewhere. Luckily workshops
are cheaper :-)
AFRICA
On the "Story Walkthrough"-page this continent was recommended for the
Impossible walkthrough. Having extra credits is nice and gives some flexibility in
your engineering. Having said that there are also some disadvantages:
Initial funding is quite low. And 30% of nothing does not amount to a lot. The
advantage really starts to kick in when your funding goes up. (about month 3.)
During impossible the first few months are the hardest. With bad strategy your
soldiers will die like flies and levelling your squad becomes a nightmare. This is
true for all continents.
ASIA
Initially you might think Asia is suitable for the impossible walkthrough. Seems
like you can give your soldiers an initial boost by utilizing the Officer Training
School. HOWEVER the training school is not available on impossible and has to
be built. This means there is no advantage during the starting month on
impossible and rushing the Officer Training School instead of workshops is quite
debatable.
The main disadvantage Asia has is the number of countries: 4. Needless to say
panic control is a bit harder. Then again you don't have to launch 4 satellites to
get the continent's benefit.
The advantage of choosing Asia is not to be found in the continent-benefit. The
monthly reward of 8 engineers is the main benefit of Asia.
NORTH AMERICA
Whenever you launch a satellite into a "virgin" continent you have to launch
some interceptors too. Even on easy I would recommend a minimum of 2
interceptors. Upgrading the interceptors with some advanced weapons increases
their survivability. This is the obvious part of the North-America benefit.
Another benefit is starting with a United States satellite which gives a nice credit
boost.
Overall North America is a good consideration for a Classic Ironman or Impossible
walkthrough. (you would lose the benefit of using the tutorial when choosing
impossible)
BASE BUILDING
Never build a laboratory. Research is fast enough, especially if you have satellitecoverage over south-america. Which only takes 2 satellites. Only exception to
this is when South America is your starting continent and you want to rush
research instead of workshops.
It's best to have a 2x2 block of workshop and a 2x2 block of satellite
uplink/nexus.This will optimize the adjacency bonuses. If possible try to get a
block of 3x3, 3x2 or 2x3 workshops.
Regarding the satellite uplink/nexus there are some considerations. Having a
block of 2 uplink with 2 nexus is enough to support global satellite coverage.
Obviously this is also most base-space efficient. However going with uplink only
is also a valid option. Uplinks are cheaper to build because they don't use
resource which you might need for other projects. For global coverage you
eventually would need 6 uplink facilities. Because the fifth and sixth uplink don't
need the adjacency bonus this does give you some flexibility in building the
base.
For power always try to build a steam generator, 2 is even better. They only cost
credits and give lots of power. Sometimes the second steam generator is not
feasible because it's too expensive and time-consuming to build. One
row/column with a steam generator, an elerium generator and a power/normal
generator is enough to power the whole base.
The complicating factor is the random location of the steam-blocks. If the steamlocations are really bad you should consider starting a new game.
GENERATING CREDITS
There are several sources of credits:
Monthly income from the council
Income from council missions

Workshops return credits when they finish a project. More workshops means
more return.
Sell items from the Grey Market.
Selling items from the Grey Market deserves some more explanation. You can
locate the Grey Market in the Situation Room. If you look at the grey market
menu. Scroll through the items available. Any items which can be sold without
influencing the game (research or engineering) have a green text. This text tell
you the item is useless and can be sold without negative consequences. Every
time you do an UFO mission you will gather some of these sellable items. This is
why you should check the grey market after every UFO-assault.
On higher difficulties you might consider selling corpses as well. Do not consider
this at lower difficulties because you need all the resources you can get. Higher
difficulty means you get more enemies and thus more corpses. This is why you
can sell some.
Never sell Weapon Fragments. Weapon fragments are needed for research- and
engineering projects. See the technology page for the costs of the projects. For
completeness sake I have made a little table with the costs for researching
weapons. Pay attention to the Weapon Fragments.
RESEARCH
WEAPON
MATERIALS
10 weapon fragments
Beam Weapons
5 alien alloys
10 weapon fragments
Precision Lasers
5 alien alloys
10 weapon fragments
Heavy Lasers
5 alien alloys
40 fragments
Plasma Pistol
5 Elerium
40 Weapon fragments
Light Plasma Rifle
10 alloys
5 Elerium
Plasma Rifle
40 Weapon fragments
10 alloys
5 Elerium
40 Weapon fragments
Heavy Plasma
10 alloys
5 Elerium
50 Weapon fragments
Plasma Sniper
10 alloys
5 Elerium
40 Weapon fragments
Alloy Cannon
25 alloys
5 Elerium
75 Weapon fragments
Guided Fusion Launcher
20 alloys
10 Elerium
30 fragments
Plasma Cannon
10 Elerium
75 Weapon fragments
New Fighter Craft
10 alloys
10 Elerium
EMP Cannon
20 Elerium
The best way to generate income is equal in importance to acquiring engineers.

A lot depends on your starting country. For example if you start with Africa;
getting engineers is more important than getting credits.
In general I would pay attention to the following:
- satellite coverage and consequently building satellites and satellite uplinks.
- workshops
As you see the secret is in the Engineering department. Build, build, build and
the credits will follow.
When the council sends the monthly message look at the top. It will tell you
which actions are rewarded by the council.
I would like to thank and credit Mr. XDude for the below chart.
Find anything you think is wrong with this walkthrough? Help us fix it by posting
in its Walkthrough Thread.
This walkthrough is the property of TrueAchievements.com. This walkthrough and
any content included may not be reproduced without written permission.
TrueAchievements.com and its users have no affiliation with any of this game's
creators or copyright holders and any trademarks used herein belong to their
respective owners.
Small Print
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Xbox, Xbox Live, and all other Xbox Live specific terms are registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corp.
TrueAchievements is a proud member of the Xbox Community Developer
Program
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XCOM: Enemy Unknown

The Table of Content is as follows:

ENGINEERING - grinding engineering achievements

A Continental Fellow392 (50)

Humanity's Savior59 (30)

Ain't No Cavalry Comin'207 (50)

Earth First268 (60)

No Looking Back599 (100)

Our Finest Hour614 (90)

And So It Begins...15 (15)

We Happy Few11 (10)

What Wonders Await5 (5)

Combat Ready5 (5)

Bada Boom20 (10)

Eye in the Sky6 (5)

Tables Turned11 (10)

Secret Achievement13 (10)

Secret Achievement14 (10)

Secret Achievement39 (25)

Secret Achievement17 (10)

Secret Achievement17 (10)

Show secret details

Secret Achievement18 (10)

Secret Achievement18 (10)

Secret Achievement19 (10)

Happy to Oblige18 (15)

The Hardest Road14 (10)

Up and Running6 (5)

Unlocked by 32,522 tracked gamers (76% - TA Ratio = 1.14)42,715

...and Practice13 (10)

You Have 5 Seconds to Comply16 (10)

Man No More16 (10)

Secret Achievement16 (10)

Successfully using the Arc-Thrower on an alien makes them surrender their

Secret Achievement12 (10)

Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement. (Secret)

Secret Achievement21 (10)

Secret Achievement35 (10)

Lone Wolf100 (20)

Wet Work48 (10)

Worth Every Penny31 (20)

All Together Now15 (10)

Shooting Stars133 (35)

All Employees Must Wash Hands...18 (10)

Drums in the Deep16 (10)

One Gun at a Time37 (20)

Welcoming Committee28 (20)

Pale Horse93 (50)

Secret Achievement25 (10)

Secret Achievement47 (10)

Secret Achievement69 (25)

New Fighter Craft

Improved Arc Thrower project

S.H.I.V. Laser project

Light Plasma Rifle

Guided Fusion Launcher

Alien Nav Computer

Beam Weapons: research credit

Basic Armor Technology: research

Plasma Technology: research

Psionics: research credit

Armor Technology: research credit

Interrogate Thin Man