Exalt Mechanics

Exalt first shows up a few months into the game (usually in the middle of May), arriving with a cutscene and a small credits sabotage.

Unlike vanilla or LW1.0, Exalt attacks do not automatically reveal a cell, so keeping up with scans is of upmost importance. LWR provides scan reminders that are perfectly accurate, so simply scanning when reminded will always find an Exalt cell. Scans cost 200 credits (modified by campaign length).

Upon being revealed by a scan, Exalt cells can be left alone for a while (~5 days), but will eventually go into hiding again, or perform a debilitating attack if you wait too long.

Attacks can have the following effects:

Sabotage: Steals credits (can go into negative credits)
Propaganda: Causes panic increase in some country
Hack: Increases research time on an ongoing research

An average campaign will have approximately 12 Exalt missions and the Exalt Base Assault (modified by campaign length).

Exalt Missions

Info on Exalt missions can be found here.

Exalt Units

Info on Exalt units can be found here.