X-Com UFO Defense FAQ
By : M-Chan
Copyright M-Chan 2002

Any Questions or Corrections e-mail me at RecycledAnimals@Yahoo.com

Author's Note:
I hope this comes of some use to people who are just starting out in 
the game, I know it is very difficult to pick up at first. I luckily 
had a friend who showed me the ropes.

I also had to buy this game used on PSX and it had absolutely no 
instructions with it. If I had absolutely no past experience with it, I 
would have been lost. So this is for all the people out there that fall 
into the same category.

This is my comprehensive faq on basically everything that there is in 
the game. I'm surprised that not many people know of the greatness that 
X-Com personifies. I have personally been playing this game for a 
little more than 7 years and I haven't lost any interest or urge to 
pick up the game and just play for hours on end. X-Com is one of the 
best if not the best Turn-based strategy games ever made it also has 
factors of maintenance through your base and it's functions. And 
without further ado..Sit back, take your pants off, and feel the love 
vibrations.

And if this is your first time playing it on PSX : ^_^ Put it on the 
Point & Click Interface. Moving on.

Ver. 1.0
-First Update (07-20-2002 ~ 07-24-2002)
     *Still need to do What Game Says on Alien Units

Table of Contents

Section A : Game Basics
I.    Base Location
II.   Geoscape Menu
       -Intercept
       -Bases
       -Ufopedia
       -Options
       -Funding
       -Graphs
       -Time
III.	Base Menu
       -Equip Craft
       -Soldiers
       -Research/Development
       -Manufacture
       -Purchase/Recruit
       -Sell/Sack
       -Transfer
       -Build Facilities
       -Base Information
       -Geoscape
       -Build a New Base
IV.	Game Over


Section B : Fighting
I.    Interception
II.   Situations
 -UFO Recovery
       -Terror Site
       -Base Attack
       -UFO Base Assault
III.  Getting Started
IV.   Battle Menu
V.    Basics
 -Time Units
       -Movement
       -Looking
       -Snap, Aim, Auto Shot
       -Explosives
VI.   Conditions for Victory
VII.  Points


Section C : Units, Ships, and Aliens
I.     X-COM Units
II.    Aliens
III.   X-COM Aircrafts
IV.    Base Facilities
V.     Alien Ships
VI.    Alien Research


Section D : Weapons
I.     Pistols
II.    Rifles
III.   Launchers
IV.    Explosives
V.     Tanks
VI.    Aircraft Weapons
VII.   Armor
VIII.  Misc


Section E : Research Guide


Section F : Tactics & Tips



SECTION A : GAME BASICS

(Base Location)
* When you start the game you will be asked to choose where you want to 
place your first base. Anywhere technically can fit the bill, just 
don't put it in Anartica or anything. But I would reccomend that you 
put it somewhere in the US for one simple reason the funding they give 
you is unmatched. It is so much higher than everyone else, many 
countries' worth combined. So it is important to protect them and keep 
them happy, while other countries pay you only a fraction and don't 
necessarily need to be kept an eye on. You could place it in the 
Eurasia area and you will have many countries in check that add up to 
the US funding, but really stick with the US.


(Geoscape Menu)
* You will see this screen quite a bit so get used to it.

-Earth
You will see various dots all over the Earth, each of them representing 
something. The small square represents where your base is. 

Whenever there is an alien ship it will be seen as a red dot and when 
it lands a green X. An alien base will be another square that isn't one 
of your own bases. 

Terror sites are a pink X that appears. Everytime one of these appears 
you will get a warning screen, showing you the location of each, except 
for a base..you will have to comb the earth for it or at the end of the 
month it will tell you.

-Intercept
This tells you what ships you have at your disposal. At the beginning 
you will have 1 Skyranger and 2 Interceptors. The first being your 
transport ship and the others are your combat aircrafts. The 
Interceptors are what you will send out when you are alerted of a ship 
that has been spoted. Choose which of them you like and then click on 
the UFO from there it will do the rest.

-Bases
This will bring you to the base menu.

-Ufopedia
Simply put, this will tell you in detail about the various weapons and 
things that you have researched and found out from the weapons you use 
to the aliens that you have killed. It's all here for your reference.

-Options
Basic stuff. Saving, loading, aborting game, sound options, and 
controls.

-Funding
This shows you how much money each of the countries is contributing to 
the X-COM program. This should give you an idea of who you should keep 
happy, when they are pleased you will see +'s on the right of the 
totals and when you do badly -'s will follow. If a country is truly 
displeased with your work they will sign a pact with the aliens and 
drop funding all together. Bad. 

At the end of every month you will get an update on how well you are 
doing and if there is any sort of change in the funding.

-Graphs
Will give you basically any information that you want, from UFO 
activity in specific areas to funding.

-Time
5 Seconds : When you want to "pause" the game. Makes it so slow that 
nothing will really happen.
1 Minute : No real use.
5 Minutes : No real use.
30 Minutes : You can use this for when you are intercepting an aircraft
1 Hour : Can progress through in this mode, though a little slow.
1 Day : Nothing to do, just waiting for something to attack, research 
to finish, manufacuturing to complete.


(Base Screen)
*Will appear when you click the bases button on the Geoscape screen. 
Your actual base is composed of the squares that are on the left, all 
the little boxes under your base name and funding will help you to move 
from base to base when you have multiple

-Equip Craft
Here you will be able to tinker with the aircrafts that you have in 
your hangers. With Interceptors you click on it and then you can alter 
it's weaponry though the 1 and 2, along with other assault aircrafts. 
With transport ships you will be able to assign soldiers to it, load up 
equipment, and give certain soldiers armor when the time comes.

-Soldiers
This is for getting lots of information about all of the soldiers you 
are keeping at your base. You can see which of your soldiers is the 
best and also change their names to your likings if you are willing to 
take the time, I assure you they die to fast to name unless you hate 
the person. ^_^ Then have fun, because they won't last long.

-Research/Development
A very important part of X-COM, is the researching part of the game. 
You will need to get many scientists and build a few Labratories so you 
can quickly learn about and gain the ability to use strong weapons. 
Just click new project, choose a gun/alien/theory and assign as many 
scientists as you have.

The more scientists the faster..you can allocate then to your desire to 
have multiple projects at once. Unknown, Poor, Average, Good, 
Excellent. Those will appear by the side of the project to show 
progress.

At anytime you can add more scientists.

-Manufacture
Not very important at least to me. You need to buy engineers and have a 
workshop to use this option. After you are finished researching a 
weapon or aircraft, you can make it for use. Just choose New Project, 
click the thing you want manufactured..it will give you the details 
such as cost of what is needed, then allocate your engineers and then 
tell how many of the thing you want made. Afterwards it will show you 
how long it will take to build. 

At anytime you can add more engineers to a project.

-Purchase/Recruit
This is what you can buy. From Soldiers to Handguns..this is where you 
buy it. Just click up to increase the number of how much you want and 
then go to the bottom and click sale. It will show you the total cost 
in the upper left of the screen.

-Sell/Sack
Can sell all of the excess stuff that you have in your inventory to 
empty up the space used in your General Stores. Click on the up next to 
the item to increase the amount and then sell. It will show you the 
total of amount of money gained in the upper left.

-Transfer
When you have more than one base you can move materials and people 
through this to the other base. Just choose like you would in the 
buying screen and then send it. There will be a charge and it varies 
depending on how big the order is.

-Build Facilities
A small menu will pop up showing you the various faciltities you can 
add on to your base. You just click the one you need, it will then show 
cost the cost and how long it will take to build..then just choose a 
spot on the base where you can put it.

All pieces must be attached to an existing piece of the base.

-Base Information
Gives you indepth details about how your base is doing, gives you the 
ratios of your People to Living Quarters, Scientists to Lab Space, and 
so on.

Also it will give you your expenses. Yes, you must pay for everything 
even after you buy them. It costs money to maintain the base and you 
have to pay the wages of the people who are still alive. Scientists 
being the most expensive and they don't die in battle unfortunately.

-Geoscape
Brings you to the Geoscape screen.

-Build a New Base
This will put you through the same process that you had to do in the 
beginning, just repeat..the cost of a base will depend on where you put 
it and can go up to a million dollars.

Remember, you can only build base facilities adjacent to already 
existing structures. So you can't just build it all in one swoop.


(Game Over)
*When you go in debt over 2 million dollars for two months or if you 
lose all of your funding by the countries all signing with the aliens 
you will lose the game.

SECTION B : FIGHTING

(Interception)
*After an alien ship has been spotted you choose your aircraft that you 
will use to intercept on the GeoScape menu. After you do that click on 
the red dot that signifies the UFO. This will cause your aircraft to go 
intercept it. Once it catches up to it you will get the combat menu.

All of have to do is choose which attack style you like and the game 
will do the rest for you. Slowly the dot will come closer into a range 
of one of your weapons and it will fire.

There are various forms of attack. Standard, Aggressive, and Cautious. 
Each is pretty much self explainitory. Cautious will keep the UFO at a 
distance, Standard will gradually bring it closer, and Aggressive will 
bring it closer faster. Depending upon your weaponry and the size of 
the ship choose the one that best works. There is also a disengage 
option which lets you run if it is too big and at the bottom is button 
of a UFO that will show you what the UFO looks like.


(Situations)
*There are multiple situations in which you must fight aliens.

UFO Recovery
-This is your standard issue combat situation, this occurs after you 
bring down a UFO or when one is already on the ground and you send your 
soldiers out to the scene.

Terror Site
-These appear at random at a random city in the world, these are 
important to do right away as they disappear quickly from the map and 
if you miss them they will go against your score quite a bit. Just send 
your soldiers to the scene.

Base Attack
-If you base is without defense and you let a few UFO's go by without 
stopping them this happens. You will have to fight in your own base as 
a battle screen. It is rare though and will most likely only happen in 
the beginning until your defenses are up.

UFO Base Assault
-Eventually the aliens will set up their own base somewhere on the map, 
most of the time you have to search for it or it will tell you at the 
end of the month. Simply take your aircraft and send soldiers to the 
base to initiate the battle.


(Getting Started)
*After you have started the mission you will be given a chance to equip 
the soldiers you have brought with various weapons you put on the ship. 
Just click on the weapon and drag it into their hands or either of the 
other areas where it will fit.

The more equipment you put the more it will weigh the person down and 
the less they will be able to move in battle. In the upper right it 
will allow you scroll between soldiers and unloading a weapon is under 
it, drag the loaded weapon to the button and click. Then when finished 
click ok.


(Battle Menu)
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/x_com_battlescape.txt
Refer to this great FAQ by Ledmeister for a detailed and graphical 
reference to all of the buttons that are on the Battlescape Menu.

(Basics)
*Here are the essentials, bare-bone things you need to know.

Time Units
-These are your blood, your lifeline...Everything costs time units. 
From looking, walking, shooting, and reloading. When you run out you 
cannot move that soldier until the next turn so keep an eye on them.

Most soldiers start out with about 50-60 TU's and it can increase 
slightly the higher they go in rank.

Movement
-For the most part movement one square forward costs 4 TU's, unless you 
are going up hill or through a door. Then it can alter the cost. Just 
click a soldier and move the square to a different place, click, and he 
will move.

Looking
-Always look around. For PSX hit O to look and right click on the 
computer. It cost about 2 TU's for each directional change.

Snap, Aimed, Auto Shot
-Usually these are the three options of firing you get when you are 
shooting at an alien. Not every weapon will have these shots, some you 
will be limited to Snap and Aimed. Each of them are different in how 
effective they can be. Just move over to the weapon in either of your 
hands and choose which you want. Then move the crosshairs over to the 
alien, click.

Snap Shot costs the least amount of time unit out of all the shots, but 
it is the most innaccurate and only fires a single bullet.

Aimed Shot is the most expensive shot. But it is an extremely accurate 
single shot.

Auto Shot is when you give up accuracy for the amount of shots fired 
with it you get three rounds each time. It is not as costly as Aimed, 
but it is more expensive than Snap with less accuracy.

(Conditions for Victory)
*Kill or incapacitate all aliens. Duh.

(Points)
*After all is said and done and you finish the battle you will get a 
scorecard of how you did on the battle. It also tells you of promotions 
of exceptional soldiers.

For every alien that you kill or capture you will get positive points, 
every artifact you acquire is a plus. Along with every civilian that is 
saved if you are doing a terror site. 

But points will be deducted for loss of soldiers, MIA soldiers, death 
of civilians by X-COM or Aliens.

In the end it is added up and that is your total score overall at the 
bottom.


SECTION C : UNITS, SHIPS, AND ALIENS

(X-COM Units)

Scientists
-Research at your base.

Engineers
-Manufacture artifacts at your base.

Soldiers
-Fight the UFO's. Can gain rank according to their actions on the 
battlefield. Going from Rookie, Squaddie, General, Captain, Corporal, 
and finally Lieutenant. The ranks increase depending upon how many 
battles they have been in and how many aliens they have killed.

(Aliens)
*All alien corpses sell for $20,000. You only need 1 for research so 
sell all of the rest.

[Sectoids]
Difficulty: ** 
Appearance: Your classic little grey, big headed stereotypical alien.
Abilities: Decent psychic powers
Usual Weaponry: Psyconics and Energy weapons
Terror Unit: Cyberdisks

My Thoughts: Overall I find them to be rather easy and not too much of 
a threat. Of course they have the psychic ablities, but tend not to use 
them that much on your soldiers. Even then they aren't that great and 
usually don't take them over on the first try. Usually die in a single 
shot.

What the Game says:
Corpse:

[Floaters]
Difficulty: * 1/2
Appearance: Purple with capes, have no legs only a silver sphere.
Abilities: Flight
Usual Weaponry: Energy Weapons
Terror Unit: Reapers

My Thoughts: Sometimes they can be a little difficult to find simply 
because they can fly around and be on rooftops. But other than that, 
they are just usual aliens with a quirky little novelty ability.

What the Game says:
Corpse:

[Snakemen]
Difficulty: *
Appearance: Bright orange with shoulder pads, snake tail lower body.
Ablities: None
Usual Weaponry: Energy Weapons
Terror Units: Cryssalids

My Thoughts: Absolutely nothing special here, unless you want to call 
their neat orange color something. They can take a shot or two, but 
usually fall in one. No special powers, ablities, nodda. But their 
friends in Terror Sites are a different story.....I'll get into that 
evil later.

What the Game says:
Corpse:

[Etherial]
Difficulty: ********** out of 5
Appearance: Huge brown robes, no skin seen.
Ablities: Ungodly Psychic ablities
Usual Weaponry: Psyonics and Energy Weapons
Terror Units: Sectopods

My Thoughts: If satan was an alien unit. He'd be an Etherial. I hate 
these aliens with a passion. They are extremely good at taking over 
your own men and killing you with them. With just one left Etherial it 
can take over a man in your ship and drop a grenade. Everyone dead. 
Trust me it's happened. Fear any large ship with them and any base. 
Even their traveling terror friends are hard. So be weary of them. 
Luckily they show up later in the game if it's on easy.

What the Game Says:
Corpse:

[Muton]
Difficulty: **** 
Appearance: Big muscular aliens, tight green suits with purple faces.
Ablities: Good Defense
Usual Weaponry: Heavy Plasma
Terror Units: Celatids and Silacoids

My Thoughts: Usually it comes down to Mutons and Etherials towards the 
end of the game and these guys make up the muscle. Can be quite 
annoying at times and not want to fall down even after being shot a 
couple of times. 

What the Game Says:
Corpse:

[Cyberdisk]
Difficulty: **
Appearance: Big floating disks.
Ablities: Flight.
Usual Weaponry: Energy Blasts

My Thoughts: Will not fall to anything but energy weapons, which can be 
a problem in earlier on if you don't have them researched so make sure 
to do it quickly. Killing them can be a pain or a gift. Because when 
they die, they explode in quite a big radius. So it will sometimes kill 
Sectoids or other Cyberdisks in the process, but you do have to 
distance yourself when shooting it and it can kill cilivians when 
fighting them in terror sites.

What the Game Says:
Corpse:

[Reaper]
Difficulty: *
Appearance: Big orange, bull-like creatures with two legs.
Ablities: Um..take up four squares
Usual Weaponry: Biting

My Thoughts: Not hard at all seeing as they have to walk all the way up 
to you so that they can attack. They do have good movement, but most of 
the time you kill them before they can even get close to you.

What the Game Says:
Corpse:

[Cryssalid]
Difficulty: *********** out of 5
Appearance: Grey insect like, bipedal aliens
Ablities: Reproduction by Contact
Usual Weaponry: Claws

My Thoughts: EVIL. I hate these. Everytime I see a Cryssalid I cringe. 
The instant you see one kill it, immediately. It has excellent range of 
movement. After it attacks you or a cilivian, the victim will become a 
host and when shot will be a new Cryssalid. Make sure you have more 
than one soldier attacking, because zombies will at least take 2 shots 
or more to fall dead totally. 

What the Game Says:
Corpse:

[Sectopod]
Difficulty: *****
Appearance: Giant bipedal mechs, red tinted glass window.
Ablities: Strong Armor
Usual Weaponry: Energy blasts

My Thoughts: Paired with Etherials they are the perfect combination of 
strength and psionics. They will take many, many shots. Unless you use 
lasers.

What the Game Says:
Corpse:

[Silacoid]
Difficulty: *
Appearance: A blob of pink and purple goo.
Ablities: None
Usual Weaponry: Shoots stuff.

My Thoughts: Easy, not many time units at all. Has a fair amount of 
movement. Other than that. No real threat along with their partner the 
Celatid.

What the Game Says:
Corpse:

[Celatid]
Difficulty: *
Appearance: Flying pink lima bean that giggles.
Ablities: None
Usual Weaponry: Acid or Energy whatever, it shoots.

My Thoughts: Easy. Very easy. Weak. One shot. Nothing to be afraid of, 
make up for the emmense strength that the Muton's have. Will always die 
in one shot.

What the Game Says:
Corpse:


(X-COM Aircrafts)
*To recieve the other aircrafts you must research these things.

Alien Alloys + UFO Navigation + UFO Power Source + Elerium 115
=
UFO Construction
=
New Fighter Craft
FIRESTORM
=
New Transport/Fighter
LIGHTNING
=
Ultimate Craft
AVENGER

[Skyranger]
Type of Ship: Transport
Soldier Capacity: 14 Soldiers total
Carrying Capacity: 14 Total
Weaponry: None
Speed: 760 mph
Rating: ***

My Thoughts: You start with one already in your base and you will 
depend on it for a while. It holds enough people and cargo, it will 
suffice until you acquire something better.

What the Game Says: "Troop transporter, the fastest of its kind, with 
vertical take-off and landing (V.T.O) capablities"


[Interceptor]
Type of Ship: Combat
Soldier Capacity: 0 Soldiers
Carrying Capacity: 0 Total 
Weaponry: 2 Slots
Speed: 2100 mph
Fuel Capacity: 2000 gallons
Armor: 150
Rating: **

My Thoughts: You are given 2 of these to fight with in the beginning 
and can do the job for Very small ships all the way up to Large, but 
that's pushing it. Hurry to get the Firestorm when possible because the 
Interceptor tends to get blown away by larger ships and also cannot 
keep up.

What the Game Says: "Combat Aircraft with dual pulse detonation engines 
and specially shielded with electronic systems. The best available 
Earth based technology."


[Firestorm]
Type of Ship: Combat
Soldier Capacity: 0 Soldiers
Carrying Capacity: 0 Total
Weaponry: 2 Slots
Speed: 4200 mph
Fuel Capacity: Elerium-115
Armor: 500
Rating: ****

My Thoughts: I like this ship. It is your classic UFO shape and is only 
available after you do the research requirements. It is fast enough to 
catch up to the larger ships, twice as fast as the Interceptor. Perhaps 
my only problem with the Firestorm is that its fuel capacity is 
somewhat lacking and can easily run out of fuel by the time you get 
near to UFO's that are a good distance away from the ship.

What the Game Says: "Combat craft. This one-man fighter replicates the 
classic alien flying saucer design with central propulsion unit."


[Lightning]
Type of Ship: Combat / Transport
Soldier Capacity: 12 Soldiers
Carrying Capacity: 12 Total
Weaponry: 1 Slots
Speed: 3100 mph
Fuel Capacity: Elerium-115
Armor: 800
Rating: *

My Thoughts: One word best describes this ship....Worthless. That or 
pointless. I have really never ever made one of these, don't waste your 
time. Its one weapon slot is really not enough unless you put a Fusion 
Ball Launcher. The cargo is lacking. Just make a Firestorm and wait for 
the Avenger. Trust me.


What the Game Says: "Transporter and Combat craft. A crude, but 
effective replication of alien propulsion systems."


[Avenger]
Type of Ship: Combat / Transport
Soldier Capacity: 26 Soldiers
Carrying Capacity: 26 Total
Weaponry: 2 Slots
Speed: 5400 mph
Fuel Capacity: Elerium-115
Armor: 1200
Rating: *****

My Thoughts: "Ultimate Craft" that name fits this ship like a speedo. 
It is the fastest ship, the most fortified ship, holds the most people, 
tends to fly the furthest, 2 weapon slots. This is one killer ship. Get 
it as fast as you can and when you can afford it.

What the Game Says: "Transporter and Combat spacecraft. The ultimate 
replication of alien technology."


(Base Facilities)

[Access Lift]
Cost: $300,000
Maintenance: $4,000 per month
Days to Build: 0 Days
Purpose: Center of Base.
Research: No.

My Thoughts: Have to have it. Nuff said.

What the Game Says: "The access lift allows equipment and personnel to 
be transferred into or out of an underground base. It is always the 
first facility to be constructed on a new site. The lift area is 
vulnerable to intrusion from any potential hostile force."

[Hangar]
Cost: $200,000
Maintenance: $25,000 per month
Days to Build: 25 Days
Purpose: Holds Aircrafts
Research: No

My Thoughts: An absolute necessity. Depending upon where your base is 
you want to put at least 2, one can work if you have mulitple bases 
with other bases around with aircrafts ready to go. 

What the Game Says: "Each hangar can accommidate one craft. There are 
facilities for maintenance, refuelling and repairing  the X-Com craft. 
Each craft stationed at a base must have a free hangar assigned to it 
which cannot be used by other craft, even if the assigned craft is out 
on a mission."


[Laboratory]
Cost: $750,000
Maintenance: $30,000 per month
Days to Build: 26 Days
Purpose: Research Facility / Holds Scientists
Research: No

My Thoughts: In your first base you will want quite a few of these to 
increase the room for more scientists. Labs are what make you quite 
strong and give you the ability to use new weapons. I usually never 
play without the ability to have 100+ Scientists.

What the Game Says: "Up to 50 scientists can work in a laboratory 
facility. Laboratories are equipped with the latest technology for 
research into materials, biochemistry, and cosmology. There is 
privileged access to the best research labs throughout the world, 
including military establishments."


[Workshop]
Cost: $800,000
Maintenance: $35,000 per month
Days to Build: 32 Days
Purpose: Manufacturing Facility / Holds Engineers
Research: No

My Thoughts: Not the most important thing in the world. You'll mostly 
need them for creating the new aircrafts and a few weapons here and 
there. Just make a few and buy a couple of engineers.

What the Game Says: "A workshop contains all the equipment necessary to 
manufacture equipment based on designs from science labs. Up to 50 
engineers can occupy a workshop, although items under construction will 
also consume some space."


[General Stores]
Cost: $150,000
Maintenance: $5,000 per month
Days to Build: 10 Days
Purpose: Holds 50 Total Supplies 
Research: No

My Thoughts: Another one of those definates. You will need a couple to 
hold all of the supplies you will acquire. They are cheap, quick to 
build, and insignificant Maintenance fee. 

What the Game Says: "All equipment, weapons systems, munitions, 
recovered materials, and heavy weapons platforms are placed in stores, 
with the exception of the equipment assigned to crafts in hangars."



[Living Quarters]
Cost: $400,000
Maintenance: $10,000 per month
Days to Build: 16 Days
Purpose: Holds 50 People
Research: No

My Thoughts: Required to have. Depending upon how large the base is you 
will need to build a few of these to hold the people. Engineers, 
Soldiers, and Scientists all go towards the count. Rather quick to 
build and cheap to maintain.

What the Game Says: "Each accommodation block provides up to 50 
personnel. The facilty provides basic recreation, food, and sleeping 
areas."


[Small Radar]
Cost: $500,000
Maintenance: $10,000 per month
Days to Build: 12 Days
Purpose: Radar, Short Range
Research: No

My Thoughts: Your first base has one. That's the last one you will ever 
see or need. From then on, build Large Radars..unless you are that 
straped for cash.

What the Game Says: "A small detection system has an effective radar 
range of 300 nautical miles and is linked to satellite systems for 
ground search. Each system has a 5% chance of detecting an average 
sized object every 10 minutes." 



[Large Radar]
Cost: $800,000
Maintenance: $15,000 per month
Days to Build: 25 Days
Purpose: Radar, Larger Range
Research: No

My Thoughts: Replaces the small radar, making it totally worthless and 
obsolete. Just build these until you get a Hyperwave Decoder.

What the Game Says: "A large detection system has an effective range of 
450 nautical miles and is linked to satellite systems for ground 
search. Each system has a 5% chance of detecting an average sized 
object every 10 minutes."


[Missle Defense]
Cost: $200,000
Maintenance: $5,000 per month
Days to Build: 16 Days
Purpose: Defends Base - 50% Accuracy / 500 Def. Value
Research: No

My Thoughts: Not worthwhile in my opinion. I think you can hold out 
until you get Fusion Missle defense, but if you are paranoid of aliens 
attacking your base then by all means build one until you get stronger 
defenses.

What the Game Says: "Missle defences provide protection against 
intrusion by hostile craft."


[Alien Containment]
Cost: $500,000
Maintenance: $15,000 per month
Days to Build: 18 Days
Purpose: Hold up to 10 Live Aliens
Research: No

My Thoughts: Not too important early on in the game since your ability 
to stun aliens is limited to the prod. Hehehe. Don't use that. Just 
wait till you have Small Launchers Researched and then make one. To 
keep the number of them down..research them as soon as you can.

What the Game Says: "Living aliens are likey to require a special 
habitat to maintain their life systems. The containment facility can 
keep up to 10 alien life forms in self contained units."


[Laser Defense]
Cost: $900,000
Maintenance: $10,000 per month
Days to Build: 24 Days
Purpose: Defends Base - Accuracy 60% / Def Value 600
Research: Laser Weapons > Laser Pistol > Laser Cannon > Laser Defense

My Thoughts: Well, it's better than the Missle Defense..But I'd still 
wait until you research Fusion Missle because it is the best offensive 
defensive array.

What the Game Says: "Laser defenses provide protection against 
intrusion by hostile craft."


[Plasma Defense]
Cost: $600,000
Maintenance: $12,000
Days to Build: 34 Days
Purpose: Defends Base -  Accuracy 70% / Def Value 900
Research: Heavy Plasma > Plasma Cannon > Plasma Defense

My Thoughts: Same as Laser, if you can't wait for Fusion then get this 
instead of Laser Defense.

What the Game Says: "Plasma beam defenses provide powerful and 
efficient protection against intrustion by hostile craft." 

[Fusion Missle Defense]
Cost: $1,800,000
Maintenance: 14,000 per month
Days to Build: 36
Purpose: Defends Base - Accuracy 80% / Def Value 1200
Research: Blaster Launcher > Fusion Missle > Fussion Defense

My Thoughts: Your base should at least have one of these when it is 
available. This is the best defense. It is a little pricey, but it is 
worth it. Being twice the value of the Laser Defense and it's high 
accuracy this will keep the aliens away.

What the Game Says: "Fusion missiles provide the most effective defense 
against alien attacks. These missles create an anti-matter implosion 
which destroys everything within a specific radius."


[Grav Shield]
Cost: $2,300,000
Maintenance: $15,000 per month
Days to Build: 38 Days
Purpose: Prevents aliens from landing in base
Research: UFO Construction...Ultimate Craft > Grav Shield

My Thoughts: Expensive. But combine it with the Fussion Missle Defense 
and you have yourself the perfect combination. With those two that's 
all you really need in my opinion to defend your base.

What the Game Says: "The Gravity Sheild repels alien craft attempting 
to land near the base long enough for all defense systems to fire 
again. In practice this will double the effectiveness of any defense 
system at your base."


[Hyperwave Decoder]
Cost: $2,000,000
Maintenance: $30,000 per month
Days to Build: 26 Days
Purpose: Ultra Radar (Tells aliens race, purpose, and type of ship)
Research: Live Alien Navigator 

My Thoughts: Possibly the greatest base facility there is. Once you 
have this you can get rid of all your Large Radars, this is so much 
better. It also gives you indepth details about what to expect and when 
it says Etherial and Battleship. Cry.

What the Game Says: "Alien communications rely on a super-dimensional 
wave which travels almost instantaneously. The decoder facility 
intercepts UFO transmissions and decodes the information. This will 
show the type of UFO, the alien race, and the type of activity."


[Mind Shield]
Cost: $1,300,000
Maintenance: $5,000 per month
Days to Build: 33 Days
Purpose: Aliens cannot find base
Research: Live Etherial/Sectoid Leader > Psi-Lab > Mind Shield

My Thoughts: Not really necessary, just another 1.3 million to throw 
into defense if you are paranoid and really need it. Fusion and Grav 
defenses should do the job, but if you are complusively defensive or 
just like to have it in your base for the sake of it being there. Then 
by all means.

What the Game Says: "Since alien craft rely on brain waves to detect 
human presence then the most effective counter measure is to shield 
brain waves from the base. This facility will drastically reduce the 
chances of detection by alien craft."


[Psy Lab]
Cost: $750,000
Maintenance: $16,000 per month
Days to Build: 24 Days
Purpose: Trains soldiers in Psyonics
Research: Live Etherial/Sectoid Leader

My Thoughts: Pretty useful, can be a bother to put soldiers in and be 
unable to use them while in training. Most use it for defensive 
purposes, but it can be amusing to take over an alien and return the 
favor for all the times that you have been controled.

What the Game Says: "The psionics lab can assess the psionic potential 
of all soldiers at the base and give them the necessary training to 
utilize their psionic skills. Each lab can train up to 10 soldiers. 
Training is allocated at the end of each month. Psionic skills used in 
connection with a Psi-Amp can be used for psionic attacks during 
combat."



(Alien Ships)
*There are various sizes of UFO's that can appear, but not all of them 
are the same despite the size..it can be a scout or a harvestor. A 
hyperwave decoder will tell you also you can look at the UFO while in 
interception battle and you can see what craft it is.

Be weary of Fusion Ball Launchers they tend to blow up ships or the 
good stuff inside of them.

If you want to see some excellent diagrams of the ships go to 
http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/x_com_ufo_defense.txt


[Very Small]
Purpose: Scout
Passengers: 1 Alien
Usual Outcome: UFO Destruction
Reccomended Ship: Interceptor and higher
Reccomended Weapons: Usually everything destroys it
Damage Capacity: 50 dmg
Weapon Power: 0
Weapon Range: 0
Max Speed: 2200 knots

My Thoughts: Simple. Blow it up. If you ever amazingly make it crash 
land, there will be one alien..the ship is 1x1 square big with no power 
source.

What the Game Says: "This tiny craft is primarily used for 
reconnaissance or research. It normally precedes larger vessels at the 
start of an alien mission."


[Small]
Purpose: Scout
Passengers: 6-8 Alien Passengers
Usual Outcome: Crash with High Damage
Reccomended Ship: Interceptor and up
Reccomended Weapons: Anything will usually drop it
Damage Capacity: 200 dmg
Weapon Power: 20 dmg
Weapon Range: 120 km
Max Speed: 2400 knots

My Thoughts: A small mission ship, not too many people in it. If the 
power source does blow up it will usually kill at least one or two 
aliens. One room only with navigation and power source.

What the Game Says: "A medium sized scout vessel thus poses liable 
threat to earth forces. Normally appears before larger vessels during 
missions."


[Medium]
Purpose: Scout / Abductor
Passengers: 12-15 Alien Passengers
Usual Outcome: Crash with Minimal Damage
Reccomended Ship: Interceptor and up
Reccomended Weapons: Missles and Energy Weapons
Damage Capacity: 250 dmg         
Weapon Power: 20          
Weapon Range: 272 km        
Max Speed: 2700 knots     

My Thoughts: The Scout is a decent mission ship, with a good amount of 
aliens to kill in total there are 4 rooms in the ship and is in the 
shape of a cross. In the middle there is a room with a power source 
where the engineer of the ship usually is. Going to the right will lead 
straight to the main chamber, the left you will go into another room 
and then to the main chamber.

The Abductor is shaped like a Red Hot Chili Peppers symbol or a * if 
you will, it actually has 2 levels with an elevator on the far left. In 
total there are 5 rooms. With two power sources on the left and right 
of the ship in the 3rd room.

What the Game Says: "The largest alien scout craft is a general purpose 
vessel that is used in all types of alien missions."


[Large]
Purpose: Terror Ship / Harvester / Supply Ship
Passengers: 20-26 Alien Passengers with Terrorist Units
Usual Outcome: Crash Landing with No Damage
Reccomended Ship: Firestorm and Up
Reccomended Weapons: Plasma Cannon and Fusion Ball Launcher
Damage Capacity: 500 dmg    Damage Capacity: 2200 dmg 
Weapon Power: 40            Weapon Power: 60 
Weapon Range: 176 km        Weapon Range: 288 km 
Max Speed: 4000 knots       Max Speed: 3200 knots

My Thoughts: Harvesters have three levels with 2 Power Sources. They 
don't hold any terror units. Like all large ships they carry a lot of 
aliens inside of them, but this one holds no terrorist units. At times 
can hold a leader and/or commander? (I'm not quite sure.), and it can 
take a while to finish off.

Terror Ships, you can just imagine a Terror site that is contained 
inside of a UFO and you have this one. It is two levels in all with two 
entrances on the left and right, with an elevator in the center of the 
ship. In total there are 7 rooms and 4 Power Sources. There are many, 
many aliens held within this one and yes, there are terror units like 
the dreaded Cryssalids.

Supply Ships are very big. 3 Levels tall, 3 Power Sources, and 13 
rooms. Luckily it isn't well armed and is simple to take down. When you 
find one there is either a base already up or one that will be up soon 
so keep your eye out. You can make a base stay up and take out all of 
the Supply Ships that come to it since it is quite profitable to 
recovery them. No Terrorist Units.

What the Game Says: "The Harvester has a trap door in its base and is 
equipped with liftin gear to haul up cattle or other beasts. Laser 
Cutters are used to extract the desired material and the carcass is 
dumped on the ground. There are also storage containers for body 
parts."

"The supply vessel is used during the construction of alien bases or 
for supplying existing bases. It carries alien food containers and 
reproduction chambers."

[Very Large]
Purpose: Battleship
Passengers: 30+ Alien Passengers and Terrorist Units
Usual Outcome: Your Ship Destruction or Crash Landing
Reccomended Ship: Avenger, maybe Firestorm
Reccomended Weapons: Plasma Cannon and Fusion Ball Launcher
Damage Capacity: 3000 dmg
Weapon Power: 140
Weapon Range: 520 km
Max Speed: 5000 knots

My Thoughts: Be afraid, be very afraid. These things are monsters. 
Packing a good 30+ Aliens and Terrorist Units inside of them. There are 
3 floors in total with multiple entrances in the ship, 4 Power Sources, 
and a countless number of rooms. It would be good to have the Avenger 
to take this thing down and also to do the actual mission because you 
will need every soldier you can get. On the plus side there is an Alien 
Commander in every one of these ships.

What the Game Says: "The battleship is the largest and most powerful 
alien craft. It is normally the primary alien mission craft, equipped 
with powerful and numerous crew members."


(Alien Research)
*Just little nice extra things you find out through researching live 
aliens for the most part.

[Alien Origins]
"It is clear that we are fighting a losing battle on earth. The alien 
hordes are overwhelming in number. The best we can do is to slow down 
their progress. The only hope for humanity is to tackle the aliens at 
their source. Our research seems to indicate a nearby base of 
operations within our solar system. Aliens indicate this place to be 
their center of an ancient civilization that pre dates human history. 
We must locate this place as soon as possible. However we need to 
capture and interrogate an alien leader to cgain more detailled 
information. The larger UFO's probaby contain at least one alien 
leader."

[The Martian Solution]
"Our research now points to Mars as the base of alien operations. The 
base is well hidden and contains all the manufacturing and cloning 
facilities to fuel the infilitration of earth. It also seems to contain 
a controlling computer of some kind that controls the whole operation. 
It seems that the hive-like alien society has some kind of 'queen bee' 
This is their fundamental weakness. If we can eliminate the brain then 
the body will die. We must step up our research efforts before it is 
too late. In order to progress we must capture the highest ranking 
aliens - the commanders - which only reside in alien bases."

[Cydonia or Bust]
"It is now clear that the alien hordes are being controlled from an 
underground base in Cydonia - which is an unused area of Mars featuring 
five sided pyramids and a large formation resembling a human face. 
Cydonian civilization once flourished on Mars many million years ago, 
but we do not know why it died out, or what the connection is with the 
latest alien activity here. Whatever the explaination we must send an 
expedition to Cydonia. This is the only way that we can defeat the 
aliens. We must destroy the controlling master brain. We need an 
Avenger craft equipped with the most awesome destructive power at our 
disposal. There is nothing more we can learn here - we must await the 
outcome of the Cydonian assault."

[Alien Research]
"The alien research mission is used for collection basic data on earth 
and its inhabitants. Small vehicles are prodominatly used, with 
occasional landings in deserted areas. This type of alien activity 
poses the least threat to X-Com with little concern from government or 
the public."

[Alien Abduction]
"This is the most insidious form of alien activity. The abduction by 
aliens is widely reported, dispite the alien's attempts to erase the 
experience from their victims' memories. Abductees report being subject 
to humiliating physical examinations, including impregnation of alien 
faetuses and bizarre genetic experiments. The purpose behind this 
activity appears to be linked to genetic mutations and manipulation of 
the aliens own genetic material. This activity causes great alarm and 
occurs in populated areas or cities."

[Alien Retaliation]
"If X-Com interceptors are bein particuarly successful in shooting down 
UFO's then the aliens may take some retaliatory action. This could 
result in a direct attack against an X-Com base. However, the aliens 
have to find an X-Com base in order to attack it, and provided UFO's 
are kept away then there should be little danger of an assault."

[Alien Supply]
"Once an alien base is constructed then it is resupplied on a regular 
basis by a special supply vessel. If one of these vessels is detected 
then it is certain that an alien base is nearby or soon coming." 


SECTION D : WEAPONS

(Pistols)
*You trade in accuracy and power for less TU's when fired.

[Pistol / Pistol Clip]
Shot Types: Snap Shot and Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 60% & 18%  -  78% & 30% 
Power: 26 dmg
Ammo Type: Armor Piercing
# in Clip: 12 Bullets
Price: $800 / $70

My Thoughts: Weak, Innacurate, Not enough Bullets, Weak. Do not use or 
create. Period.

What the Game Says: "The standard issue X-Com pistol is a high powered 
semi-automatic with a 12 round capacity."


[Laser Pistol]
Shot Types: Auto Shot, Snap Shot, Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 28% & 25% - 40% & 20% - 68% & 55%
Power: 46 dmg
Ammo Type: Laser Beam
# in Clip: None.
Sell Value: $20,000

My Thoughts: Great for the beginning of the game, get these as soon as 
possible. After the start of the game they are totally worthless, so 
enjoy them while you can and then get rid of them fast.

What the Game Says: "The laser pistol is an effective implementation of 
new technology. It has the convenience of a pistol with faster and more 
accurate firing."


[Plasma Pistol / Plasma Pistol Clip]
Shot Types: Auto Shot, Snap Shot, Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 50% & 30% - 65% & 30% - 85% & 60%
Power: 52 dmg
Ammo Type: Plasma Beam
# in Clip: 12 shots
Sell Value: $84,000 / $44,400

My Thoughts: Stick with the rifle, but isn't that bad overall for a 
pistol. So if you are bent on using a pistol I would reccomend that 
this be the one that you equip your men.

What the Game Says: "Plasma pistols are a lethal alien weapon based on 
accelerating particles from within a minute anti-gravity field"

"Power source for the small alien plasma pistol contains Elerium-115 
the source of all alien power."


(Rifles)

[Rifle / Rifle Clip]
Shot Types: Auto Shot, Snap Shot, Aimed Shot 
Acc / TU's: 35% & 35% - 60% & 25% - 110% & 80%  
Power: 30 dmg
Ammo Type: Armor Piercing
# in Clip: 20 rounds
Price: $3000 / $200

My Thoughts: Well, it's better than the pistol. That's about all I can 
say, use this until you get laser weapons.

What the Game Says: "This highly accurate sniper rife has laser guided 
sights and takes 8.7mm ammunition in 20 round clips."


[Laser Rifle]
Shot Types: Auto Shot, Snap Shot, Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 46% & 34% - 65% & 25% - 100% & 50% 
Power: 60
Ammo Type: Laser Beam 
# in Clip: No Clip 
Sell Value: $36,900

My Thoughts: This is a great weapon until you get Heavy Plamsa Rifles. 
But you can just skip it. The power is high enough and is such a 
significant jump from regular bullets. If you can research Heavy Plasma 
first, then do so.

What the Game Says: "The laser rifle is a more powerful and accurate 
version of the earlier pistol design."


[Heavy Laser Rifle / Heavy Laser Clip]
Shot Types: Snap Shot and Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 50% & 33%  -  84% & 75%
Power: 85 dmg
Ammo Type: Laser Beam
# in Clip: No Clip
Sell Value: $60,000

My Thoughts: No Auto Shot, No Good. That's how I sum up this rifle. The 
only good thing it is for is the selling value which is double the 
price of how much it is to manufacture it.

What the Game Says: "The heavy laser is cumbersome, but extremely 
effective."

[Plasma Rifle / Plasma Rifle Clip]
Shot Types: Auto Shot, Snap Shot, Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 55% & 36% - 86% & 30% - 100% & 60% 
Power: 80 dmg
Ammo Type: Plasma Beam
# in Clip: 32 shots
Sell Value: $126,500 / $6290

My Thoughts: I've never used this gun. Why use this when you can use 
Heavy Plasma? That's my logic. It's just a step down and aliens use it 
less.

What the Game Says: "This is a devestatingly powerful weapon based on 
accelerating particles from within a minute anti-gravity field."

"This small object is used as a power source for a plasma rifle - a 
medium powered alien weapon. Contains a small quantity of Elerium."


[Heavy Plasma / Heavy Plasma Clip]
Shot Types: Auto Shot, Snap Shot, Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 50% & 35% - 75% & 30% - 110% & 60% 
Power: 115 dmg
Ammo Type: Plasma Beam
# in Clip: 35 shots
Sell Value: $171,600 / $9,590

My Thoughts: The single greatest overall weapon in the game. It is 
extremely powerful and used by all of the aliens. Therefore you really 
never have to manufacture any because of the artifact collection, you 
can even sell the rest. Yes, you get that many. So use this. Aliens do, 
why not you?

What the Game Says: "This is a devastatingly powerful weapon based on 
accelerating particles from within a minute anti-gravity field."

"This compact device is used as ammunition for a Heavy Plasma Gun. It 
contains a small quantity of Elerium."


(Launchers)

[Rocket Launcher / Small, Large, Incindary Missles]
Shot Types: Snap Shot and Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 55% & 45%  -  115% & 75%
Power: 75 dmg - 100 dmg - 80 dmg
Ammo Type: Small, Large, Incindary
# in Clip: 1 
Price: $4,000 / $600 / $900 / $1,200 

My Thoughts: Great Weapon in the early going, just fire it and watch 
the explosions go. Tends to be very accurate even if using just a Snap 
Shot. I've used this even after getting Heavy Plasma, but once Blaster 
Launcher comes..forget about this one.

What the Game Says: "The rocket launcher is a laser guided system which 
can fire three different sizes of missle."


[Small Launcher / Stun Bomb]
Shot Types: Snap Shot and Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 65% & 40%  -  110% & 75%
Power: 90 dmg
Ammo Type: Stun Bomb
# in Clip: 1 
Sell Value: $120,000 / $15,200 

My Thoughts: Invaluable. The best stun weapon in the game. Looks like a 
water gun to me. But anyways, you will definately need this for 
capturing live aliens and most importantly the Alien Commander for 
finishing off the game.

What the Game Says: "A small launcher which fires stun bombs. Very 
useful for capturing live aliens."

"The stun bomb is used for capturing live human specimens, but it can 
also be used against most alien races. It is fired from a small 
launcher."


[Blaster Launcher / Blaster Bomb]
Shot Types: Aimed Shot 
Acc / TU's: 120% & 80% 
Power: 200 dmg
Ammo Type: High Explosives
# in Clip: 1 
Price: $144,000 / $17,028

My Thoughts: Awesome weapon. When you just feel like blowing absolutely 
everything up without a care for getting artifacts, corpses, or power 
sources. The strongest explosive weapon in the game and always hits as 
you guide it's path. I usually have a guy at the ship and just fires 
the Blaster Bomb to anywhere. You have a max of 10 directions to give </pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
it.

What the Game Says: "This is an alien guided missle launcher which 
fires powerful 'blaster bombs'. When you click to fire the weapon it 
will generate way points for the blaster bomb to follow. When you have 
positioned enough way points click on the special launch icon."

"This device is a highly explosive missle that has an intelligent 
guidance system. It is fired from a blaster launcher."


(Explosives)

[Grenade]
Damage: 50 dmg
Price: $300
My Thoughts: I find these pretty useful in the early goings in the 
game, when you are restricted to just weak Pistols and Rifles.

What the Game Says: "This standard issue grenade has an accurate and 
sophisticated timer for precision control"


[Smoke Grenade]
Damage: 60 dmg
Price: $150
My Thoughts: I never use them at all. Period. Don't waste your time.

What the Game Says: "Smoke grenades are useful for providing cover in 
exposed combat situations. Use with care because they can benefit the 
enemy as well."


[Proximity Grenade]
Damage: 70 dmg
Price: $500
My Thoughts: Pretty good, you just need to be careful not to step in 
the blast radius yourself because it doesn't distinguish between alien 
and X-Com units.

What the Game Says: "A proxmity grenade can be thrown like an ordinary 
grenade but is triggered by nearby movement after it lands, great skill 
and care is required to use these devices properly."


[High Explosives]
Damage: 110 dmg
Price: $1,500
My Thoughts: The best explosive device besides the Alien Grenade. The 
blast radius is a little larger than the regular grenade so be careful 
when first using it.

What the Game Says: "This explosive should only be used for demolition 
purposes. Keep personnel clear of demolition sites."


[Alien Grenades]
Damage: 90 dmg
Sell Value: $14,850
My Thoughts: Great. I always make sure every one of my soldiers has one 
of these in their hands or in their belt. Good blast radius, Aliens 
constantly drop them so your supply will never drop.

What the Game Says: "This device works in the same way as a terrestrial 
grenade, except that it is more powerful."


(Tanks)
*Also known as HWP's or Heavy Weapons Platforms.

[Tank/Cannon]
Time Units: 70
Health: 90
Front Armor: 90
Left Armor: 75
Right Armor: 75
Rear Armor: 60
Under Armor: 60
Weapon: Armor Piercing
Weapon Power: 60 dmg
Ammunition: HWP Cannon Shells
Rounds: 30
Price: $420,000 / $200

My Thoughts: Fairly decent. But I much perfer the explosive power of 
the Rocket Launcher Tank over this one. It is stronger and makes a 
better scout than one soldier, but other than that you should really 
just use the other ones.

What the Game Says: "Automated heavy weapons platforms are designed to 
complement on X-Com squads. The combination of high power and strong 
armor make these units valuable for open terrain fire fights. Make sure 
that there are sufficient cannon shells in your stores. They are armed 
automatically when you assign them to a squad."


[Tank/Rocket Launcher]
Time Units: 70
Health: 90
Front Armor: 90
Left Armor: 75
Right Armor: 75
Rear Armor: 60
Under Armor: 60
Weapon: Rocket Launcher 
Weapon Power: 85
Ammunition: HWP Rockets
Rounds: 8
Price: $480,000 / $3,000

My Thoughts: Better of the first 2 tanks that are available to you at 
first, like a walking rocket launcher that takes a couple of shots 
before it dies. Use these if you have the space and feel it is 
necessary such as big UFO ship situations.

What the Game Says: "This automated weapons platform is armed with 
powerful rockets. This will be devastating for any alien foe. Make sure 
your stores are kept supplied with HWP Rockets"


[Tank/Laser Cannon]
Time Units: 70
Health: 90
Front Armor: 90
Left Armor: 75
Right Armor: 75
Rear Armor: 60
Under Armor: 60
Weapon: Laser Beam
Weapon Power: 110
Ammunition: Lasers
Rounds: Unlimited
Sell Value: $650,000

My Thoughts: This is the best regular tank out of all of them. It has 
the strongest armor and a laser weapon equiped so it can take out the 
stronger aliens without having to use an explosive round.

What the Game Says: "Laser weapons are a useful addition for HPW's. It 
combines heavy firepower with no ammunition restrictions."


[Hovertank/Plasma]
Time Units: 130 
Health: 90
Front Armor: 130
Left Armor: 130
Right Armor: 130
Rear Armor: 130
Under Armor: 100
Weapon: Plamsa Beam 
Weapon Power: 110
Ammunition: Plasma
Rounds: Unlimited
Sell Value: $980,000

My Thoughts: Once you get hovertanks they become quite useful and are a 
vast improvement over the regular ones. Plasma is the best regular 
weapon there is and this makes for a good killer being able to take 
shots and not flench while having the strength to take out basically 
any alien in a shot.

What the Game Says: "Alien technology has given the HWP a new lease of 
life. The added maneuverablility of air travel and the power of plasma 
beams is a lethal combination."


[Hovertank/Launcher]
Time Units: 130
Health: 90
Front Armor: 130
Left Armor: 130
Right Armor: 130
Rear Armor: 130
Under Armor: 100
Weapon: Fusion Ball Launcher
Weapon Power: 140
Ammunition: HWP Fusion Bomb
Rounds: 8
Sell Value: $1,043,000 / $31,500

My Thoughts: A mobile, flying, blaster launcher that can take good 
damage. This thing is great for just annihilating everything in sight 
and keep on going and going. Having one of these is a good asset in any 
battle.

What the Game Says: "This hovertank has a fusion ball launcher that is 
capable of immense devastation. Use it with great care. You will have 
to manufacture the Fusion Balls to keep these HWP's fully armed. A 
fusion ball is an intelligent guided weapon. In order to fire you must 
select a number of 'way points' with the cursor and then click on the 
launch icon to fire the fusion ball."


(Aircraft Weapons)

[Stingray Launcher / Missles]
Damage: 70 dmg
Range: 30 km
Accuracy: 70%
Reload Time: 15 seconds
Price: $16,000 / $3,000

My thoughts: I personally do not like this missle all that much, when 
the Avalanche is all around better in all aspects.


[Avalanche Launcher / Missles]
Damage: 100 dmg
Range: 60 km
Accuracy: 100%
Reload Time: 20 seconds
Price: $17,000 / $9,000

My Thoughts: Of the two missles at your disposal, the Avalanche is the 
better choice. It has better stats in everything and will suffice until 
you get to larger ships and when energy wewapons are at your disposal.


[Cannon / Rounds]
Damage: 10 dmg
Range: 10 km
Accuracy: 10%
Reload Time: 2 seconds
Price: $30,000 / $1250

My Thoughts: Worthless. Your Interceptors start out with one of these 
attached, get rid of it. You have to get right up to the UFO to fire 
and with the accuracy and power it isn't worth it. There is also a 
better chance of your ship getting damaged.


[Fusion Ball Launcher / Balls]
Damage: 230 dmg
Range: 65 km
Accuracy: 230%
Reload Time: 25 seconds
Sell Price: $280,000 / $53,000 

My Thoughts: UFO Destroyers. These things annihilate all ships that get 
in its path. Do not use unless you are going against a Large or Very 
Large UFO or it will either destroy it or blow up the Power Sources and 
you need that Elerium-115.


[Laser Cannon]
Damage: 70 dmg
Range: 21 km
Accuracy: 70%
Reload Time: 4 seconds
Selling Price: $211,000

My Thoughts: Pretty good. It is really better to wait for it's 
counterpart the Plasma Cannon because it is better in all stats. But if 
you can't wait I reccomend this over any sort of missle.


[Plasma Beam]
Damage: 140
Range: 52 km
Accuracy: 140%
Reload Time: 6 seconds
Selling Price: $267,500

My Thoughts: A pair of these are my weapons of choice on all of my 
crafts, besides a Fusion Ball Launcher. These give you ample distance 
and are of enough strength to really take down anything without real 
significant damage. Also you don't have to create any ammunition for 
it.


(Armor)
*Well, it's better than the standard issue uniform.

[Personal Armor]
Front Armor: 50
Left Armor: 40
Right Armor: 40
Rear Armor: 30
Under Armor: 30
Sell Value: $140,000

My Thoughts: Not the most useful, thought it is a slight increase in 
defense. In spite of this, for the most part whenever I equip someone 
with the armor they die in one shot like all the rest who aren't. So 
unless you want to see a pretty new sprite on the BattleScape, just 
stay away from this armor. 


[Power Suit]
Front Armor: 100
Left Armor: 80
Right Armor: 80
Rear Armor: 70
Under Armor: 60
Sell Value: $310,000

My Thoughts: Better. A good armor. Noticable increase of punishment it 
can endure from personal experience. But once again, wait for the next 
one it is the same thing with a useful twist.


[Flying Suit]
Front Armor: 110
Left Armor: 90
Right Armor: 90
Rear Armor: 80
Under Armor: 70
Sell Value: $420,000

My Thoughts: Better than a Power Suit though the only noticable 
difference is the little box on the front of the suit. As the name says 
you can fly and can get to hard to reach places rather quickly with no 
effort. There is no limit on how long you can fly. Just try to be 
careful with the people wearing them as they do require Elerium-115 to 
make.


(Miscellaneous)

[Heavy Cannon / Piercing, Explosive, Incindary Ammo]
Shot Types: Snap Shot and Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 60% & 33%  -  90% & 80%
Power: 56 dmg - 52 dmg - 60 dmg
Ammo Type: Piercing, Explosive, Incindary
# in Clip: 24 shots
Price:  $6,400 / $300 / $500 / $400 

My Thoughts: Too heavy and hinders the movement of your soldier. Not 
much of use, rather use Rocket Launcher. 

What the Game Says: "The heavy cannon is devastating, but cumbersome, 
weapon. Its versatility comes from the fast shots it can take three 
types of ammunition - armor piercing, incendiary, and high explosive."


[Auto Cannon / Piercing, Explosive, Incindary Ammo]
Shot Types: Auto Shot, Snap Shot, Aimed Shot
Acc / TU's: 32% & 40% - 56% & 33% - 82% & 80%
Power: 42 dmg - 44 dmg - 48 dmg
Ammo Type: Piercing, Explosive, Incendiary
# in Clip: 24 shots
Price: $13,500 / $500 / $700 / $650

My Thoughts: Horridly inaccurate. You will shoot everything, but the 
aliens a lot of times. Luckily while blowing up everything an alien 
might die if it is within the range. Still you should just skip over 
it.

What the Game Says: "The auto-cannon conbines the versatility and power 
of a heavy cannon with a faster fire rate."


[Motion Scanner]
Use: Shows alien movement on BattleScape
Sell Value: $45,600

My Thoughts: Somewhat useful. Gives the general direction of where an 
alien is, so if you are down to the very last one it can help to finish 
off a battle.

What the Game Says: "This sophisticated device uses a variety of 
detectors and advanced computer algorithms to identify moving enemy 
units. However, it requires some practice to use effectively. Click on 
the motion scanner icon on the tactical display. Select 'use scanner' 
from the menu. The scanner display shows an arrow in the center which 
is the direction the soldier is facing. The flashing dots show units 
that have moved recently. Large units, or fast moving units, will 
provide a larger dot. Static units will not be detected."


[Medikit]
Use: Heals injuries / Wakes up unconcious soldiers
Sell Value: $46,500

My Thoughts: Only moderately useful. Most of the time soldiers die upon 
being shot or just a few turns afterwards so you might not have the 
time to get to the soldier in time. There are times where it is good to 
have one, but I never use it.

What the Game Says: "The medi-kit combines a healing facility with pain 
killers and stimulants. In order to use the medi-kit you must face 
towards the soldier requiring treatment. If the soldier is stunned you 
must stand over the body. Click on the medi-kit icon and select the 
'use medi-kit' from the menu. HEALING > Red body parts show fatal 
wounds. Click on a body part that is wounded. Click on the heal button. 
One fatal wound will be cured and some health will be restored. 
STIMULANT > This will restore energy and revive unconcious soldiers. In 
order to revive an unconscious soldier you must stand directly over the 
body. PAIN KILLER > This will restore the morale of wounded soldiers up 
to an amount equivalent to the soldier's lost health."


[Electro-Flare]
Use: Lights up dark spots on BattleScape
Price: $60

My Thoughts: I've personally never used one. In theory it sounds like a 
good thing to just keep on the belt of a soldier during a night mission 
in a Terror Site.

What the Game Says: "This compact device produces a bright flare light 
when it is thrown. This will highlight enemy units in the vicinity of 
the electro-flare during night time missions."


[Stun Rod]
Use: Stuns Aliens / Hand to Hand Combat
Price: $1,260

My Thoughts: Don't use. Period. Wait for Small Launcher.

What the Game Says: "This device can only be used in close combat, but 
will stun a living organism without killing it by using electric 
shocks."


[Psi-Amp]
Use: Increases psychic powers
Sell Value: $194,700

My Thoughts: Very good for when you use psychic powers. If you are 
having soldiers trained in psionics, then definately give them one of 
these when they go out into battle. That will give you an edge 
psychically.

What the Game Says: "The Psi-Amp can only be used by soldiers with 
psionic skill. During combat, click on the Psi-Amp, select the type of 
attack and select a target unit with the cursor. There are two types of 
psionic attack. PANIC UNIT > If the attack is successful it will reduce 
the target's morale and may cause it to panic. MIND CONTROL > If this 
is successful then you will gain immediate control of the enemy unit as 
if it were one of your own. [except that you cannot access the object 
screen.] It is more difficult to be successful with this type of 
attack."


[Mind Probe]
Use: Shows Alien information during battle.
Sell Value: $334,000

My Thoughts: Not the most useful thing. If you are really curious to 
know what you are fighting on the battlefield then by all means use it, 
but I'm more of the shoot the alien and find out what he had when I 
have it in stores at my base. Though, it can be really useful in 
finding a commander in a Battleship or Alien Base.

What the Game Says: "The mind probe is an alien communication device 
which is used to take information directly from brain waves. X-Com 
units can use this device in combat to display an alien's 
characteristics. Click on the mind probe and the use option. Then click 
on an alien with the cursor."


[Elerium-115]
Use: Powers all things Alien
Sell Value: $5,000

My Thoughts: The bloodflow that keeps you alive in the latter parts of 
the game. Everything good runs off of it or requires it in 
manufacturing. NEVER SELL IT. NEVER. NEEEEEVER. Make sure you don't 
blow up alien power sources as they are what gives you the Elerium when 
you finish the mission.

What the Game Says: "This element has the unusual property of 
generating anti-matter power when bombarded with certain particles. 
This creates gravity waves and other forms of energy. It is not 
naturally found in our solar system and cannot be reproduced."



SECTION E : RESEARCH GUIDE

*Medi-Kit

*Motion Sensor

*Laser Weapons > Laser Pistol > Laser Rifle > Heavy Laser > Laser 
Cannon > Laser Defense

*Alien Alloys > Personal Armor + Elerium-115 > Power Suit + UFO 
Navigation > Flying Suit

*Heavy Plasma + Heavy Plasma Clip > Plasma Cannon > Plasma Defense > 
HoverTank Plasma

(either or)

*Plasma Rifle + Plasma Rifle Clip > (Also) Plasma Cannon > Plasma 
Defense > HoverTank Plasma

*Blaster Launcher + Blaster Bomb > Fusion Ball / HoverTank Launcher > 
Fusion Defense

Alien Alloys + Elerium-115 + UFO Navigation + UFO Power Source > UFO 
Construction > New Fighter Craft FIRESTORM > New Fighter Transport 
LIGHTNING (HoverTank Plasma) > Ultimate Craft AVENGER (Grav Shield)

*Etherial or Sectoid Leader > Psy-Lab / Psy-Amp > Mind Shield

*Alien Navigator > Hyper Wave Decoder

*Alien Soldier > Alien Mission Information

*Alien Medic > Species Information

*Alien Engineer > UFO Blueprints

*Alien Leader > "The Martian Solution"

*Alien Commander > "Cydonia or Bust"

*Alien Corpse > Dissection of Species


SECTION F - TACTICS & TIPS

(Team Work)
*Most of the time I tend to just use teams of 3 or four and keep the 
rest inside of the ship. They work the best, you don't have to keep 
track of a lot of soldiers at once. The only problem with this is that 
Etherials and Sectoids can take over someone in the ship, who can then 
proceed to drop a grenade and polish off your entire group. This has 
happened to me. So when you start to see some psychic attacks on your 
soldiers in the ship, either have them run out like crazy. Or you can 
have the one drop his/her weapons on a turn that it hasn't fallen under 
control.

(Hiding)
*I would have to say that hiding behind anything and everything is a 
very safe way to go. Even when just leaving the ship the wheels can be 
a lifesaver and provide excellent coverage on both sides. When in a 
forest it is very easy to just go from tree to tree, because if they do 
see you you have the tree to block the shot. So HIDE! 

(The Door Trick)
*This applies to UFO's and the rooms..you can place soldiers on either 
side of the door so when the aliens pop out you can shoot them during 
the "Hidden Movement". Also it allows for extra time units the next 
turn so you can run in shoot and go back to where you were.

(Blaster Launchers)
*Yes. Blow stuff up with them. You can just stay in your ship and 
launch these in every direction until your entire field is a burnt mark 
on the ground. You can also get a group of soldiers with flying suits 
and blow the roof off of a UFO, then send them in through the top with 
regular soldiers entering from the regular entrance. Pincer Attack.

(Suicide Man)
*It happens lots of times you enter a room and a UFO shoots you. You 
send another soldier in and it shoots you again. If you don't feel like 
losing another soldier pointlesly, prime the grenade to 0 and just hold 
it then have the soldier run in. If he doesn't die, shoot the alien to 
hell. If he does die, he'll drop the grenade and it will explode 
killing the alien.

(Make a Door)
*Tired of walking around house structures or going to where there are 
holes in a fence, simply take aim at a wall and fire away. Instant 
door. Simple trick, but useful.

(Triad of Ultimateness)
*That's what I call it anyways. Three bases. One in Washington, Moscow, 
Toyko. Then you have the entire world covered pretty well. You can make 
them specialize in each field. I personally like the first one to be 
all around while the others are mostly just soldier deployment and 
radar posts.

(Aliens Supply your Base)
*You see an alien base? Fogettaboutit. Just allow the Supply ships to 
come and you can ransack them every time getting all of the supplies 
from them and taking them down fairly easy because they are a supply 
ship.

(Heavy Plasma)
*When it comes to weapons, just use the Heavy Plamsa Rifle. It is 
exceptionally strong, the clip holds a good ammount of bullets, has 
Auto Shot, and you really never have to manufacture any because the 
aliens use them constantly as their weapon of choice. So if you need to 
reload or need a gun fast you can also just pick up their Heavy Plasma. 

(Selling = Money)
*Seriously. SELL SELL SELL! Get rid of that extra stock. You will 
within a couple months of doing missions get a huge pile of Heavy 
Plamsa that if you sell will get you millions of dollars on the spot, 
add that to all the other stuff that piles up and you will never have 
to worry about debt ever.

(Research Intelligently)
*Don't waste time with worthless guns or weapons you will never use. 
Get straight to the point and research what you need, then go back and 
do the other less important things. Heavy Plasma as fast as you can and 
then Alien Grenade. That makes up the required weapons. Then go all the 
way to Avenger, Small Launcher...then go back and get all the other 
stuff that is less important.

(Auto Shot ALWAYS)
*Sure it looks tempting to waste all of your time units on a dependable 
high accuracy shot, but that's not always the case. It most of time 
just misses as bad as all the other shots. I never use any gun unless 
it's a Launcher that doesn't have Auto Shot, the three combined shots 
give you a better chance to hit. Even if it does have the lowest 
accuracy out of all the shots, trust me you have a better chance.

(Amount of Units)
Beginning               Later
Soldiers : 20           Soldiers : 45 
Scientists : 100        Scientists : 30
Engineers : 30          Engineers : 20 


Favourite Unit : Scientist
Favourite Soldier : Virgil Galligher
Favourite Ship : Avenger
Favourite Craft Weapons : Plasma Cannons x2
Favourite Weapon : Blaster Launcher
Favourite Base Facility : Hyper Wave Decoder
Least Favourite Alien : Etherials



Special Thanks to:

Alexa - ^o^ I love you itooshi! -flails- For being the wonderful and 
loving darling that she is.

Vikkah - My Tag Team partner. >o -hardy, mazoku thrash- For talking to 
me during the creation of this.

Aki - ^^ For keeping me company during the lonely days I was doing this 
and itooshi was away.

MICROPROSE - For making this great game.