UFOpaedia - User contributions [en]

Brainsucker Launcher

2006-06-24T15:01:32Z

Senryu:

The brainsucker launcher is the first alien weapon X-Com agents usually encounter on the battlefield. As its name implies, this weapon is used to fire Brainsucker Pods (which hatch into brainsuckers) in a manner similar to a grenade launcher. Of all the alien weapons, it is perhaps the weakest, but a measure of caution should still be used when facing them - a well-placed brainsucker pod can result in an unwary agent being taken over. Also, an alien armed with this weapon will drop any spare pods when killed, which may hatch if agents approach the corpse (Note that a pod loaded into a launcher will not hatch). Counter-measures include:

*Grenade any corpses to destroy the pods.
*If you reach the body without any hatching, pick up the pods. Pods carried by agents do not hatch (Be careful if the agent gets killed and drops them again).
*If all else fails, simply do not approach a dead alien which was armed with a brainsucker launcher, or approach it only with android units.

The Brainsucker Launcher is unusable to X-com, and wouldn't be very useful even if it was. It also makes little to no money when sold.

==See Also==
* [[Alien Artifacts (Apocalypse)|Alien Artifacts]]

Boomeroid

2006-06-18T15:24:02Z

Senryu:

An alien proximity mine with a difference. The aliens aquire these roughly at the same time as the Vortex Mine, and tend to be used gratuitously by Anthropods and Skeletoids. While it is comparabley weak compared to other alien explosives, it's deadliness is enhanced by a unique feature: the grenade has the ability of independant movement. If the Boomeroid senses motion beyond it's pre-set detonation range, it responds by leaping in the direction of the moving target and detonating when it reaches the required distance. The Boomeroid can cover several squares in a single bound and can move faster than most agents - continuing to run once a grenade begins it's pursuit will most likely result in the explosive catching up and causing serious injury. There are methods to escape, however:

* Flight - The grenades cannot sense vertical motion. A flight-capable agent can fly upwards until they are out of range of the blast. [''Note: I haven't played the game in a while - can someone confirm this? Thanks. [[User:Senryu|Senryu]] 08:23, 18 June 2006 (PDT) '']

* Prematurely detonating the mine with explosive weapons.

* Standing still and hoping it chooses another target, or leading it off with another agent.

The Boomeroid doesn't pack a particularly huge punch, but is capable of softening up the tougher aliens, and cutting down shields quickly. When you first face aliens with this weapon, [[Anthropod]]s especially will toss them around like confetti often causing massive damage to the building you are fighting in and occasionally killing a soldier or two. It is a step up from [[Marsec]] [[Proximity Mines]] in firepower. It is also very common, and is used enough by the aliens later on that there will often be more than enough for routine use, even after [[Dimension Missiles]] and [[Vortex Mines]] are in use by the aliens.

Overall, it is a rather dissapointing and unsatisfying weapon, causing minimal damage (again, for an explosive) against shielded humans, taking down on average a third or so of an [[X-com]] soldier's shield, and maybe half of an alien soldier's shield. It does not cause too particularly much damage unless used a lot, so it is a safe explosive to use in buildings with whom your relations with the owners are sensitive

==See Also==
* [[Alien Artifacts (Apocalypse)|Alien Artifacts]]

Boomeroid

2006-06-18T15:23:38Z

Senryu: Added stuff on it's movement ability

Blaster Launcher

2006-06-12T16:46:22Z

Senryu: /* Tips & Tricks */

== Blaster Launcher ==
The man-portable total destruction device. Fires the football-shaped [[Blaster Bomb]] which can hover and route through up to nine programmable waypoints before detonating on impact with a small explosion. 'Small' being a relative term for battlefield nuclear weapons. A safety radius of 10-20 meters is a good guideline. Blaster Bombs are ''outside'' toys.

== Stats ==
Blaster Launcher:
*Size: 3 high x 2 wide
*Weight: 16
*TUs: Aimed: 80% TUs, Accuracy 120%
*Manufacturing: $90,000 for parts, 1,200 Engineer Hours, 1 Alien Alloy
*Sell Price: $144,000

Blaster Bomb:
*Size: 2 high x 1 wide
*Weight: 3
*Strength: 200 High Explosive
*Manufacturing: $8,000 for parts, 220 Engineer Hours, 3 Elerium
*Sell Price: $17,028

== Tips & Tricks ==
* Left-click to set waypoints. Set at least two and up to nine. To guarantee detonation, the last two waypoints should guide the bomb towards something solid such as a wall or floor.
* To unset waypoints, right-click anywhere on the map. Each right click will "undo" one waypoint, allowing you to set new ones.
* The Blaster Bomb will often veer slightly off course between waypoints. If it strikes an object (including a wall) before reaching its next waypoint, it will explode. It may even sometimes strike the floor. For this reason, exercise ''extreme caution'' when using Blaster Bombs indoors. Do not expect them to reliably thread through obstacles or skirt along a wall.
** A bomb fired from within the [[Skyranger]] cannot be relied upon to cleanly exit the craft. Firing from the lip of the craft ''may'' be safe, especially if you angle your first waypoint away from the edge adjacent to the firer.
** Even if it misses a waypoint, the bomb will restart its path from that waypoint once it passes it.
** When firing a Blaster Bomb outdoors, send the bomb flying well above the soldiers and other obstacles on the ground to minimize the danger of this phenomenon.
** Set waypoints close together to minimize the degree of drift between points -- particularly when trying to thread obstacles or right before the bomb nears the intended target.
** [[Hovertank/Launcher]]s' Fusion Balls exhibit the same "drift" phenomenon.
** [[Firing Accuracy]] does not seem to affect whether a bomb will drift or not.
* BB's can break open a single section of '''UFO outer hulls''' (see [[Destroying Terrain]]). They will carry through with enough power to detonate the nav modules on the other side of the hull, if you hit north or west sides. See [[Explosions#When_Is_a_Wall_not_a_Wall]].
* To go through a ceiling hole or up/down lift tubes, waypoints must be at a slight angle (eg. from square next to hole, to square under hole) rather than directly vertically. Pure vertical movement is buggy.
* The vertical movement bug causes the BB to fly off south instead of down. If it exits the map cleanly, but there are at least two more waypoints to go, it will reappear at the next waypoint and continue. EG inside the UFO. [NKF]
* Aliens are not good at understanding the vertical-fire issue, and have been known to blow themselves up because of it.
* Soldier does not need to face target or waypoint when firing.
* BB [[explosions]] have an 11 tile radius. A soldier on the 11th tile can still be '''killed''' as BB's do average 90 points damage '''at the edge''' of the explosion.
*If the aliens have brought Blaster Launchers onto the battlefield, soldiers caught out in the open are wise to crouch. A BB shot directly at a soldier on a level course will simply fly harmlessly over their head (Needless to say, this tactic only works in '''wide''' open spaces; ducking down isn't going to save someone if it impacts on nearby terrain).
*If a BL is reaction-fired, or fired with only one waypoint set, an 'empty shell' is left inside the Launcher (a blaster bomb clip with no ammo). At the end of the skirmish, these empty clips will be returned to your stores as actual ammunition. This makes for a good method to save ammo, albeit an awkward one, since it restricts the setting of extra waypoints.
=== Avoid Reaction Firing ===
* In case it's not obvious, reaction-fired blasters are generally a bad thing. There is no chance to guide them, so they fly straight forward. Unless the target is far away and the shot is very accurate, you can expect several friendly casualties. Keep your blasters out of the line of sight of the enemy, and/or unloaded until needed.
* BB's can be reaction-fired, but then the empty casing "dud" must be unloaded before using again. Same problem if only one waypoint is used or if the bomb explodes before reaching its first waypoint. Known bug.
* The time to reaction-fire a blaster is significantly less than the time it takes to normally shoot one.

== Blaster Launcher tactics: a brief guide. ==

'''Building:''' Nuke it.

'''Orchard:''' Nuke it.

'''UFO:''' Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it.

'''Underground bases:''' Nuke large rooms first. ''Exercise caution when firing indoors.''

'''Base Defence:''' Use waypoints to hit the rear side of your entry lift. (This helps avoid destroying adjacent modules!) Send another through the resulting hole to nuke the lift contents. Now nuke the hangars. Keep in mind that the bomb may veer off course and explode prematurely -- ''exercise caution when firing indoors.''

[[Category:Equipment (UFO Defense)]]

Blaster Launcher

2006-06-12T16:38:28Z

Senryu: /* Tips & Tricks */

== Blaster Launcher ==
The man-portable total destruction device. Fires the football-shaped [[Blaster Bomb]] which can hover and route through up to nine programmable waypoints before detonating on impact with a small explosion. 'Small' being a relative term for battlefield nuclear weapons. A safety radius of 10-20 meters is a good guideline. Blaster Bombs are ''outside'' toys.

== Stats ==
Blaster Launcher:
*Size: 3 high x 2 wide
*Weight: 16
*TUs: Aimed: 80% TUs, Accuracy 120%
*Manufacturing: $90,000 for parts, 1,200 Engineer Hours, 1 Alien Alloy
*Sell Price: $144,000

Blaster Bomb:
*Size: 2 high x 1 wide
*Weight: 3
*Strength: 200 High Explosive
*Manufacturing: $8,000 for parts, 220 Engineer Hours, 3 Elerium
*Sell Price: $17,028

== Tips & Tricks ==
* Left-click to set waypoints. Set at least two and up to nine. To guarantee detonation, the last two waypoints should guide the bomb towards something solid such as a wall or floor.
* To unset waypoints, right-click anywhere on the map. Each right click will "undo" one waypoint, allowing you to set new ones.
* The Blaster Bomb will often veer slightly off course between waypoints. If it strikes an object (including a wall) before reaching its next waypoint, it will explode. It may even sometimes strike the floor. For this reason, exercise ''extreme caution'' when using Blaster Bombs indoors. Do not expect them to reliably thread through obstacles or skirt along a wall.
** A bomb fired from within the [[Skyranger]] cannot be relied upon to cleanly exit the craft. Firing from the lip of the craft ''may'' be safe, especially if you angle your first waypoint away from the edge adjacent to the firer.
** Even if it misses a waypoint, the bomb will restart its path from that waypoint once it passes it.
** When firing a Blaster Bomb outdoors, send the bomb flying well above the soldiers and other obstacles on the ground to minimize the danger of this phenomenon.
** Set waypoints close together to minimize the degree of drift between points -- particularly when trying to thread obstacles or right before the bomb nears the intended target.
** [[Hovertank/Launcher]]s' Fusion Balls exhibit the same "drift" phenomenon.
** [[Firing Accuracy]] does not seem to affect whether a bomb will drift or not.
* BB's can break open a single section of '''UFO outer hulls''' (see [[Destroying Terrain]]). They will carry through with enough power to detonate the nav modules on the other side of the hull, if you hit north or west sides. See [[Explosions#When_Is_a_Wall_not_a_Wall]].
* To go through a ceiling hole or up/down lift tubes, waypoints must be at a slight angle (eg. from square next to hole, to square under hole) rather than directly vertically. Pure vertical movement is buggy.
* The vertical movement bug causes the BB to fly off south instead of down. If it exits the map cleanly, but there are at least two more waypoints to go, it will reappear at the next waypoint and continue. EG inside the UFO. [NKF]
* Aliens are not good at understanding the vertical-fire issue, and have been known to blow themselves up because of it.
* Soldier does not need to face target or waypoint when firing.
* BB [[explosions]] have an 11 tile radius. A soldier on the 11th tile can still be '''killed''' as BB's do average 90 points damage '''at the edge''' of the explosion.
*If the aliens have brought Blaster Launchers onto the battlefield, soldiers caught out in the open are wise to crouch. A BB shot directly at a soldier on a level course will simply fly harmlessly over their head (Needless to say, this tactic only works in '''wide''' open spaces; ducking down isn't going to save someone if it impacts on nearby terrain).
=== Avoid Reaction Firing ===
* In case it's not obvious, reaction-fired blasters are generally a bad thing. There is no chance to guide them, so they fly straight forward. Unless the target is far away and the shot is very accurate, you can expect several friendly casualties. Keep your blasters out of the line of sight of the enemy, and/or unloaded until needed.
* BB's can be reaction-fired, but then the empty casing "dud" must be unloaded before using again. Same problem if only one waypoint is used or if the bomb explodes before reaching its first waypoint. Known bug.
* The time to reaction-fire a blaster is significantly less than the time it takes to normally shoot one.

== Blaster Launcher tactics: a brief guide. ==

'''Building:''' Nuke it.

'''Orchard:''' Nuke it.

'''UFO:''' Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it.

'''Underground bases:''' Nuke large rooms first. ''Exercise caution when firing indoors.''

'''Base Defence:''' Use waypoints to hit the rear side of your entry lift. (This helps avoid destroying adjacent modules!) Send another through the resulting hole to nuke the lift contents. Now nuke the hangars. Keep in mind that the bomb may veer off course and explode prematurely -- ''exercise caution when firing indoors.''

[[Category:Equipment (UFO Defense)]]