UFOpaedia - User contributions [en]

Base Defence

2012-10-15T03:01:06Z

Tartrazine: /* Battleships */

==Briefing==
An Alien vessel has landed nearby. Our base is in severe danger. As per standard procedure all non-combat personnel and X-COM craft have been evacuated. Alien units will enter the base via hangar doors or the access lift. Defend the base and its vital installations at all costs - this is a fight to the death.

"this is a fight to the death" - implies that when you hit Abandon Mission, Xcom forces decide it is better to die and take the enemy with them, rather than admit defeat, and blow the base up.

== Battleships ==

An inbound [[Battleship]] on a "[[Alien Missions#Alien Retaliation|Retaliation]]" mission means there is a high chance that a Base Defense mission is in the offing for you. These ships will come in at a very low altitude and at their top speed. They obviously do not care about the well being of the craft, to run it that hard in a full atmosphere!

You can bring down these battleships with sufficient [[Base Defense Measures]], but the game is programmed to just send another on the exact same mission. (To be precise, the game does not check/remove the "Xcom Base detected, send in the battleship" flag).
It has been proven that about 6 or 7 [[Fusion Ball Defences]] with [[Grav Shield]] (total defensive strength 6000) can hold off incoming battleships (hull strength 3000) indefinitely, but since you get no bonus for blowing a battleship out of the sky, not even to monthly score, it is better to let them land eventually and just run the mission. Once you've run the mission, win or lose, the attacks stop coming. The aliens seem to forget where the base is...
Blowing the battleship out of the sky with Aircraft Interception ALSO seems to uncheck the Battleship assault flag, so keep that in mind.

Only battleships actually assault your base. Don't worry too much about other alien craft on "Retaliation" missions, they're just scouts. Shooting these down far away from your base may confuse the aliens as to where your base actually is. Shooting them down will also ruin their base finding mission, saving your base until the next scout is sent to replace the first.

If you decide to dismantle the base while there is a battleship enroute to attack it, the battle ship will head for that base's ex-location anyhow. It will then realise it's been duped, BUT, after consulting its alien masters, will simply head to the next closest base. In a straight line, top speed. HOWEVER, once it arrives there, it will realise that they only have the lift access codes to your old base, and will then simply hang there hovering over your base for ages and ages. In fact, this is due to the nature of the code which sends out the scouts. If successful, it sets the "aliens know where base is" flag, and applies it to the next battleship launched on a retaliation mission. This flag is only removed after a battleship actually manages to land and send troops inside your base. This flag is not removed by base defence blowing up battleships, craft blowing up battleships (I think), or, as I just mentioned, by removing that base entirely. Nor is this flag restricted to that base in particular.

== Battle Tips ==

A good [[Base Layout Strategy]] is of paramount importance here. Make sure your base is designed to make it easy to defend.

You really want everybody at home for a base defense mission. If you're caught with your Skyranger off at some UFO crash site, you'll have to defend the base with a rookie, two guys on crutches that were in med-bay, and the antique [[Tank/Cannon]] you hadn't got around to selling yet. And in Collector's Edition, you don't get to use the injured guys in med-bay. Even worse, if you don't have a single soldier who is fit for duty, you lose the base automatically. Yes, even if you have 10 Ace soldiers who only have 1 day of recovery remaining, 10 Hovertank Launchers and 5 Hovertank Plasma, and you managed to *almost* destroy the incoming battleship with your 6000 defence strength... you still automatically lose.

Losing or abandoning the battle means losing the base, and everything in it. Although sometimes you can still come out with a positive score for your trouble.
Any aircraft which are assigned to this base will be lost... even if they are outside the base at the time. Your Interceptor enroute for shootdown will abruptly self destruct. Your Skyranger with your best soldiers returning from a successful Alien Base Assault will crash and burn.

In battle, the odds are in your favor. You know the layout, it's fully lit (even the Hangars give 20 tiles of vision, despite visual effects to the contrary), and you (should have) designed in choke points.

Equipment assigned to your craft is available for base defense missions, unless the craft is out of the base. Equipment loaded on craft in the base becomes part of the general 80-item pool. If it were otherwise, your psionic troopers would likely be useless for want of Psi-amps.

Battleships will unload both regular aliens and their associated [[Terror Units]]. You won't ever see the battleship, but you will get to see all those nifty modules you've been constructing in the Base Planner view, close-up! Base modules have two levels. Soldiers will normally spawn/start in Living Quarters and Storage modules. Aliens spawn/start in Hangars and the Access Lift.

A soldier with a [[Motion Scanner]] in an upstairs closet near the access lift combined with a [[Tank/Rocket_Launcher|rocket tank]] at standoff range will keep the aliens at bay until the rockets run out. ''-see also [Stewart's] strategy on xcomufo.com forums.''

[[Blaster Bomb]]s can clear your base in just a few turns, if you launch a few into the hangars and access lift. ''The problem is getting the program to supply your soldiers with blaster bombs before hitting the 80-item limit.''

Hovertank/Launchers are almost as good at clearing out your base, except for the fact that their missiles are more prone to inaccuracy and often veer off and blow up against the wrong walls. ''Since the game has a "free ammo for HWP in base defence" bug, I don't see HOW you can lose as long as you keep 3-4 of these things in every base.''

Doing too much damage to a room can also [[#Destruction Of Base Facilities|collapse it]], and you will lose that room permanently. Any rooms that can only be accessed by going through the collapsed room will also be lost. Spawn-point rooms such as Living Quarters, Stores, Access Lift, and Hangars (plus the Alien Containment chamber) can't be collapsed.

You can recover lots of alien weapons from a successful base defense. In at least one version of the game, there is a bug where you can collect an extraordinary amount of Elerium, enough to start <i>selling</i> it.

It might be best to disarm all your psi-weak soldiers at this base if there are Ethereals or Sectoids attacking.

If you built a General Stores near the Access Lift, the double doors are a great place for ambushing aliens as they leave the Access Lift. Each chamber will hold two soldiers. Eight soldiers stepping out and firing one or two bursts of laser or plasma shots will almost guarantee that no alien penetrates further into your base. Also, so long as no soldiers or tanks are visible during the aliens' turn, they will not make psi attacks (visible to any alien, not just the psionic alien). The [[Destroying Terrain#Terrain structures|doors]] have a damage rating of 75, which means they will withstand an alien grenade detonated right beside them. This tactic has one downside against Sectoids: Cyberdisks will explode when killed at the chokepoint and destroy a large proportion of the loot.

Alien Weaponry that has been researched can be used for Base Defense even if it's ammunition has NOT been researched. In other Missions you simply cannot load the ammo in your transport, but when defending a base this is not necessary. The clips will be labeled as alien artifacts, but can be used as if research was finished (except that it cannot be thrown).

''[A somewhat unorthodox strategy, forced by necessity, paid off for Zombie: "I armed my best soldiers with the stun rods, hid them in the General Stores next to the Access Lift, and went to work. Every round a Snakeman would appear from the Access Lift, and every round one of my soldiers would stun the alien while another veteran grabbed the body and hauled the poor alien upstairs for observation. I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants!" - as copied from strategycore. Mental picture of a Snakeman with a pillowcase over his head, zipcuffed arms behind his back, old army sock stuffed in the mouth, being heaved into a darkened storeroom on top of his buddies. "We get $20K for each, alive or dead, right?" --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 08:34, 14 Oct 2005 (PDT) ]''

== To Surrender or Not To Surrender ==

There are only two costs incurred when you lose a base:
# You lose the base and everything in it;
# You lose points for the soldiers and tanks that died defending the base.

The loss of the base is presumably erased from the annals of history. It's all kept very hush-hush from the public. The non-combat staff and all ships that were at the base are disbanded and are not lost in the battle. X-Com ships vanish without a trace, probably stolen by wretched engineers. The deaths of the soldiers on the other hand are a lot harder to explain, and friends and families are bound to make inquiries.

Therefore, if you find yourself in a situation where you are defending a base against an enemy that you have no hope of winning against, should you surrender without a fight, or fight it out? You will need to base this on who you are fighting with and what you have to fight them with.

For example, a fresh batch of recruits in jumpsuits armed with regulation standard pistols and rifles against an elite squad of [[Ethereal]]s and [[Sectopod]]s. This can be classed as a hopeless battle should you not be able to utilise the weapons used by the attackers. In a situation like this, you should cut your losses and surrender without a fight.
This will incur a 0 point penalty along with the loss of the base.

On the other hand, should it be against [[Floater]]s, you could push on and try your luck.

Alternately, you could also try to kill as many raiders as you can before surrendering.
As long as you did not lose any soldiers in the process, you will get a positive score for losing the base. If this is an option, go for it. If not, don't.

It is understandable that some commanders may be too proud to go down without a fight. There is nothing wrong with that, but do try to consider the consequences of any actions before taking them.

'''Note:''' All of the above relates to raids on bases when you have more than one base. If you are put into a situation where you cannot save your very last base, then you should consider restarting the game.

''If you have have advance warning about a base raid that you're going to surrender-- i.e., a hyperwave decoder, or you can see that battleship making a beeline for your base on a normal radar-- take the time to transfer as much as you can out of that base to other bases before the raid hits.
If you've got free hangars in other bases, transfer the craft, save any elerium there, and transfer out all the personnel you can.
An obvious thing, but can be quickly forgotten in the shadow of a battleship. --[[User:Papa Legba|Papa Legba]] 17:36, 22 Nov 2005 (PST)''
:You should always transfer pretty much EVERYTHING out of a base even if you expect to win easily. In base defense missions you WILL hit the 80 item cap. You need to thin out your extra gear before the aliens get there by selling the stuff you don't really need and transferring the stuff you want to keep. You don't want to defend with just smoke grenades and electro-flares. My tiny radar bases always have a general stores for that purpose.--[[User:Brunpal|Brunpal]] 01:06, 11 August 2008 (PDT)

''As stated earlier, the aliens can attack your base pretty early (especially on superhuman; For example, I got my first raid before laser pistol research was done!)There can sometimes even be Base Defense mission on Veteran on the first month (I got mine on January 8th against Sectoids and i had to quit because they had psi abilties and all I had were rifles and pistols with only 4 people with laser rifles but everyone was going berserk) - pistols and grenades may work well against sectoids, but are pretty worthless against cyberdiscs - still, even in this case, the answer should be clearly "not to surrender!" - In the early stage of the game, there are two ways of winning against cyberdiscs: first: get a soldier to stand near it and provoke a reaction shot by a different alien and hope it hits the disc, leads to its death and doesnt let it explode. Or just stun it - 2-3 soldiers with stun rods do a great job there, especially in a base with its plenty of cover.. '' [[User: Player11]] 23:47, 23 oct 2006

==Alien Deployment==
<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Rank</th>
<th>Beg./Exp.</th>
<th>Vet./Gen.</th>
<th>Super.</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Soldiers</td><td>4-8</td><td>6-10</td><td>8-12</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Navigators*</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Medics* ** ***</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Engineers*</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Leaders***</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Commanders***</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Terrorists</td><td>0-2</td><td>2-4</td><td>4-6</td></tr>
<tr><th>Totals</th><td>9-15</td><td>14-20</td><td>22-28</td></tr>
</table><br />

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Ethereals use Ethereal Leaders in place of Navigators, Medics, and Engineers.<br>
<nowiki>**</nowiki>Snakemen use Snakeman Soldiers in place of Medics.<br>
<nowiki>***</nowiki>Mutons use Muton Soldiers in place of Medics, Leaders and Commanders.

== Destruction Of Base Facilities ==

Excessive damage to the structure of your base can result in some [[Base Facilities (EU)|modules]] being completely destroyed, ''even if'' you win the overall battle.

Certain modules have "special" tiles in them, and if ''all'' of these are visibly damaged (or completely obliterated), then that module will be considered lost. Furthermore, if any other modules used the destroyed areas for passage to the access lift, they'll be forfeit as well!

Fortunately, these tiles only exist on the upper floors of your base, and the aliens make no attempt to target them once they encounter your troops (... if they ''don't'' encounter your troops, they'll spend the first few dozen turns beelining these tiles - and if they're allowed to reach one under the CE version of the game, when they fire it'll crash). While explosions on the lower floors may damage the upper flooring, they leave the ''furnishings'' unscathed - ''even if'' the floor gives way completely, they'll still hang safely in midair. Presumably the builders had the foresight to attach them to the ceiling with wires.

For example, the [[Fusion Ball Defences]] contain eight gun arrays made up of four tiles each. All 32 of these must be destroyed in order to take out the module.

<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th>Module</th><th>Targets</th><th>Module</th><th>Targets</th></tr>
<tr><td>[[Grav Shield]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-gravshield.gif]]</td><td>[[Small Radar System]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-smallradar.gif]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Hyper-wave Decoder]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-hyperwave.gif]]</td><td>[[Workshop]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-workshop.gif]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Laboratory]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-laboratory.gif]]</td><td>[[Missile Defences]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-missile.gif]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Large Radar System]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-largeradar.gif]]</td><td>[[Laser Defences]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-laser.gif]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Mind Shield]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-mindshield.gif]]</td><td>[[Plasma Defences]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-plasma.gif]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Psionic Laboratory]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-psilab.gif]]</td><td>[[Fusion Ball Defences]]</td><td>[[Image:targets-fusion.gif]]</td></tr>
</table><br />

The remaining modules - the [[Access Lift]], [[Alien Containment]], [[General Stores]], [[Hangar]] and [[Living Quarters]] - are completely indestructible, and can take any amount of damage without danger of collapse.

== Bugs ==
Base defenses can be DEADLY.

But not for the reason you think.

*When you have more than 80 items present at a base, the game will only make available the first 80 items on the stores list (See '80-item Limit' in [[Known Bugs]].) . This will result in conventional weapons/stun rods/electroflares/etc. being available instead of lasers/plasmas. To prevent this there are 3 possible solutions before that Battleship strikes the base:
1) Transfer the unwanted items to another base.<br>
2) Load your transports (if there's any) with the unwanted items and launch them before the UFO lands. This saves the work of having to transfer those items back but if the base gets destroyed the transport will disappear and the waypoint to which it was headed will remain visible for the rest of the game. <br>
3) [[Spring_Cleaning_Tips|Sell unnecessary stuff]]. ''"Imminent Alien Invasion Yard Sale! Everything Must Go!"''

* If you had 40 heavy plasmas in your base and forgot to get rid of those 40 smoke grenades, all your troopers would be lacking the clips for the heavy plasma. Good luck defending a base with nothing but 40 smoke grenades. ''[Darksun: Lucky for my stupid self, I had a couple of laser tanks to convince the aliens to lend me some ammo.]''

* A relatively easy way to counter this problem is to keep your stores of "conventional" weapons low and keep 20 or more [[Laser Rifle]]s in base inventories. Laser Rifles are high on the inventory list and are distributed before most other items. As they do not require ammo, any laser is immediately combat-ready.

*Another ANNOYING bug I find is the disappearing bodies and booty from aliens. This is related to the 80 item bug problem.

*Also much feared is the dreaded "walled off section" or [[Known_Bugs#Base_Disjoint_Bug|Base Disjoint Bug]]. Sections of your base along the extreme south and east edges will often be separated from each other by dirt walls. Heavy plasma and blaster launchers are needed in this scenario to excavate the dirt. Soldiers spawning in Stores or Living Quarters here may be trapped for the duration.

*A much nicer bug is that [[Heavy Weapons Platforms|HWP]]'s automatically get a free load of ammo (which is added to your stores if unused). Note you still need at least one soldier as aliens landing at an unguarded base - or a base defended only by HWP's - take it without a fight.

*If you have a combination of many soldiers and few spawn points, soldiers will start taking alien spawn points. Which usually means less aliens (unless you built a lot of hangars).

*The last point also applies to aliens: if the aliens don't have enough spawn points they will start using the X-COM ones, which can turn base defense into a nightmare!

Masochists: at superhuman, you get the same quantity of aliens as in the battleship, e.g. +25 aliens, +8 terror units. To get the full compliment to attack your base, you need AT MINIMUM 2 hangars. (Unless you want aliens to spawn in general stores downstairs corridor). Four hangars guarantee maximum alien load if you use 15 soldiers and conservative loadouts. ''I usually defend with 10 guys, 2 tanks VS four hangars. LasR ''

* On a related note, Xcom can only have a maximum of 40 soldiers on base defence. HWPs are prioritized and will be spawned before any soldiers. Each HWP counts as 4 soldiers. Therefore a base with 9 HWPs will only spawn 4 soldiers. Having 10 HWPs in base might cause your game to crash. (it will attempt to create the Equip Soldier screen but will face problems).

*Elerium collection from a base defence mission can only happen if elerium pods are generated in the battlescape. If you have 10 units in storage, the game will generate 10 pods in the base, given sufficient space in the object table. But because the way the game automatically converts 1 pod into 50 units at the end of the mission, you're basically getting 5000% more elerium from your own pods (those that don't get destroyed, anyway). None of them come from the aliens! This will only happen in earlier versions of the game.

==See Also==

*[[X-Com Base Terrain]]
*[[Base Layout Strategy]]
*[[Alien Retaliation]]

{{Mission Types Navbar}}
[[Category:Missions]]
[[Category: Tactics]]

Battleship

2012-10-15T02:58:25Z

Tartrazine: /* Alien Infiltration */

{{tocright}}
==General Information==
The battleship is the largest and most powerful [[UFOs|alien craft]]. It is normally the primary alien mission craft, equipped with powerful weapons and numerous crew members.

This ship appears in ''[[X-COM|UFO: Enemy Unknown]]''. For the ''[[TFTD|Terror from the Deep]]'' equivalent, refer to the [[Dreadnought]].

==Statistics==
<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Statistic</th>
<th>Value</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Size</td><td>Very Large</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Max Speed(km/h)</td><td>5,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Weapon Power</td><td>148</tr>
<tr><td align="left">Weapon Range(km)</td><td>65</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Weapon Range(range units)</td><td>520</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Damage Capacity</td><td>3,200</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">UFO Downed points</td><td>700</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">UFO Destroyed points</td><td>1,400</td></tr>
</table><br />

==Alien Missions==
Battleships are normally associated with retaliation, base construction and Infiltration missions, however, unlike Terran Battleships the alien battleship can fulfill a very diverse set of mission profiles. Unlike [[Supply ship|Supply Ships]], [[Terror ship|Terror Ships]], [[Harvester]]s, or [[Abductor]]s, a Battleship's presence does not lend itself to one or two specific [[Alien Missions|alien missions]]. For an [[X-COM]] Commander tracking a Battleship using radar, he or she must observe the Battleship's movement patterns in order to guess its mission. The Commander must then take appropriate measures to deal with the battleship. He or she may even choose to ignore the Battleship, as their size and firepower require an extensive commitment of personnel and equipment that may not justify the attack. Though not often, Battleships can occasionally accomplish nothing, with no penalty aside from a slightly raised [[UFO Activity]] graph. (''See: Alien Retaliation'')

Battleships can be involved in the following missions:

===Alien Base===
The construction of [[Alien Base Assault|alien bases]] are marked by heavy UFO activity in rural areas. In addition to the scouts and Supply Ships sent by the aliens to survey the potential base site, a Battleship is sent to inaugurate the base as soon as the construction is completed. To be precise, the moment the battleship appears in orbit means that the base is fully operational.
So, if a Very Large UFO appears as part of a large force of Small and Large UFOs, then it is likely to be on an Alien Base mission, and is likely to make a landing. It is possible to capture the Battleship's commander and 4 power plants intact at this time. It is much easier to find the commander on the bridge of a Battleship than deep inside the maze of an Alien Base.

Note that shooting down the Battleship will not prevent base construction, so if you see a Battleship on an Alien Base mission this is a signal to start looking for the base.

===Alien Infiltration===
Two Battleships are always the primary component in the final phase of an infiltration. The Battleships are part of a large force of five ships sent, much like in Alien Base missions. However, ships involved in an Alien Infiltration mission will instead land in urban locations. Battleships contain the alien "diplomats" who will persuade (with 100% success rate, best door to door salesman ever!) one of Earth's countries to cease funding X-COM, and form a [[pact]] with the aliens. The alien "diplomats" leave the ship immediately upon entering the Earth's atmosphere, presumably through teleportation or alien parachutes, however, and continue their goal of signing a pact with one of Earth's countries regardless of what happens to their base ship. This means that a ground assault on the UFO will not prevent the aliens from accomplishing their mission. In addition, this alien diplomat will then convince the nation he has just converted to build an alien base for their new allies, which will be completed in a matter of hours.

In effect, as soon as you see the Battleships appear (with Hyperwave Decoder informing you that it is) performing Alien Infiltration, you have lost 1 funding country, and an alien base has just appeared in or next to that country.

Battleships are most often seen on this type of mission. When two Battleships follow the rapid appearance (in order) of a Large Scout, Terror Ship, and Supply Ship (this group of 5 UFOs is sometimes referred to as the Mass Infiltration Fleet), then it is very likely an Infiltration mission.

===Alien Retaliation===
Alien Retaliation missions have two main components: Search, and Destroy. The Battleship quite often fulfills the "destroy" component for obvious reasons - it's the troop carrier. The heavy firepower of a Battleship is required to breach any barricaded underground [[Hangar]]s and [[Access Lift]]s, and they contain the troops, weapons, and terror units for the subsequent assault on any [[Base Defense|X-COM Base]] itself.

There are two theories on what occurs with the Battleship itself.
1st theory: After unloading its troops, a Battleship on a retaliatory mission will return to space instantly, disappearing from our detection range instantaneously. Perhaps is engages some form of FTL drive.
2nd Theory: Based on how the Battleship comes from space, enters Earth's atmosphere at Very High altitude, very rapidly switches to Very Low altitude, does not decelerate from it's maximum speed at any point, and disappears from radar existance as soon as it makes contact with the Xcom Base... it seems highly possible that the aliens use a kamikaze ramming attack in order to create a direct insertion of troops into the Xcom Base, thus explaining why your forces perform an interior assault defence, instead of exterior. This also explains why your base defences only have time for 1 volley, unless you use the Grav Shield to repel the battleship.
In any case, is thus impossible to assault the Battleship after the base has been defended.

Any Battleship that is going to attack your base will head on a direct path for the base at near-maximum speed. It is thus impossible to shoot down the Battleship except with the Avenger, or with base defenses. Even then, the chances of shooting down a battleship with an Avenger from the target base is very minimal. If a Very Large craft is detected on a direct course for one of your bases, then start [[Base Defense|base defense]] preparations immediately.

There are other Battleships that appear on Retaliation missions, however. In the final stages of a Retaliation mission in an area, two Battleships will be deployed to search for your base. However, Battleships do not appear to have any sensing equipment, so Battleships acting in this capacity will generally just fly around for a bit and then leave.

An easy way to tell whether the battleship is a "searcher" or a "destroyer" is it's altitude. It always starts Very High, but if it almost immediately shifts to Very Low, your base has been found and it is going to head straight for your base and land at top speed. If it remains Very High, then it is merely searching.

Battleship movement on an Alien Retaliation mission is characterized by either a fast, direct course for one of your bases, or a repeated "weaving" pattern around where many UFOs have been downed recently. Often, a battleship which has not detected your base will make a fast direct course towards your base, but will then begin it's weaving pattern. They will only land to attack your base. A Battleship searching for your base will soon give up and head for space.

===Alien Harvest===
Alien Harvest missions also include a Battleship in their final stages (after the Harvesters). The aliens' motivations for sending a Battleship to do this are unknown, but it performs the same function as a Harvester within these missions (lands several times, counting as a successful Alien Harvest each time).

== Intercepting Battleships ==
===Speed===
Despite being the largest class of ships, alien Battleships have four [[Elerium-115]] powered [[UFO Power Source|power sources]], and as such can travel through Earth's atmosphere at a surprisingly high speed - they have been known to travel at over five thousand knots during atmospheric entry and exit. Because of this, it is very difficult for standard [[Craft|X-COM craft]] to intercept a Battleship during these phases of its flight. X-COM Commanders must usually wait for the Battleship to slow down as they approach their mission zone in order to intercept it.

===Weapon===

When X-COM forces have engaged a Battleship, the commander and pilots must be extra cautious due to the powerful nature of the battleship's weapon. The battleship's weapon has a range of sixty-five kilometres - equal to the Fusion Ball Launcher, which mean it has a firing range greater than every other weapon. Battleships have a damage range of 74-148 damage per hit. The Battleship will just barely fire 3 times before X-COM craft can get within Plasma Beam range to return fire.

To get a rough idea of how long the various aircraft can survive against direct hits from the Battleship weapon, refer to the following table.

<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Ship(health)</th><th>Hits to destroy</th>
<tr><td align="left">[[Interceptor]] (100)</td><td>1 ~ 2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">[[Skyranger]] (150)</td><td>2 ~ 3</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">[[Firestorm]] (500)</td><td>3 ~ 6</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">[[Lightning]] (800)</td><td>5 ~ 10</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">[[Avenger]] (1200)</td><td>8 ~ 16</td></tr>
</table>

From here we can see that the lighter class Terran [[Interceptor]]s must rely on luck to survive the initial barrage from the UFO before they can get within [[Plasma Beam]] range. This means they have the great risk of destruction when sent against a battleship.

Advanced ships are therefore recommended due to their greater hit point allotments, allowing them to withstand more attacks. Multiple aircraft will always improve the odds of survival no matter the aircraft setup.

===Armour===
A Battleship is well armoured (3200 to be destroyed, 1600 to crash it). Native terran technology - [[Cannon]], [[Stingray]]s, and [[Avalanche]]s - have little chance of downing a battleship quickly unless used in high quantity. Anything less than an [[Avenger]] with single or twin [[Plasma Beam]]s is not discouraged as even an Avenger will sustain moderate damage when intercepting a Battleship by itself. [[Fusion Ball Launcher]]s may be effective, but only when intercepting with multiple craft or used in combination with a Plasma Beam.

If for what ever mad reason you suddenly decide to use cannons against the Battleship, four fully armed cannons are the absolute minimum, with some allowances given for multiple misses. The four cannons spread across two or more Avengers are required for any chance of success.

===Geoscape Engagement: Summary ===

The Battleship is the fastest, strongest and most durable UFO in the alien fleet. Only the best available ships armed with powerful long ranged weapons should be used to engage it in air to air combat.

Even with the best preparations, any ship can sustain heavy damage from a Battleship, resulting in long repair time. Engaging with multiple aircraft improves the efficiency of the interception and reduces overall damage received while allowing you to shoot down the Battleship sooner.

As a counterpoint to attacking a Battleship, because their appearance is often merely an obligatory gesture and is independent on the success rate of an Alien Base or Infiltration mission, there is no immediate benefit to shooting down a battleship to directly influence the effect of the mission. It may therefore be preferable to do an ordinary ground assault on a Battleship that has landed rather than attack it in the air.

Shooting down the Battleship also causes you to lose some of the power units, and consequently the elerium pods that come with them. Few aliens will be lost as between 0 to 1 engineer will be in any one of the Battleship's four struts. It must be noted however that Engineers on Battleships are armed with Blaster Bombs, making each engineer killed rather significant. Furthermore, these struts are considered fairly good UFO entry points, and a blown up power source will usually result in busted walls in the strut.

The primary advantage of shooting down a Battleship is therefore to forcibly ground it for a few hours, allowing you to attack it when you are ready.

== Assaulting/Recovering Battleships ==
===Mission Spoils===

Assaulting a landed or downed Battleship with ground forces is a dangerous operation, and the rewards from a successful raid are equally proportionate to the difficulty.

A Battleship has four [[UFO Power Source|power sources]], and two hundred units of [[Elerium-115]]. In addition, these Power Sources are far away from each other, which gives them vastly better survival rates compared to the Power Unit clusters found in Terror Ship. In short, the Battleship has the highest probability of any shot down UFO to have at least 1 surviving Power Source.

Battleships carry many [[Alien Entertainment]] and [[UFO Navigation]] units, and is constructed of vast quantities of [[Alien Alloys]].

Battleships are manned by a large crew comprising of every possible rank and alien combination in addition to their terror unit counterpart(s). From soldiers to the commanders X-COM needs to capture to end the war. Because the crew size is large, one can often find large amounts of alien [[Weapons|weapons]] and ammo. The Battleship is the *ONLY* UFO where it is possible to find and recover the Blaster Launcher and Blaster Launcher Bombs.

===Ground Threats===
The Battleship carries a large crew complement. These are often equipped with [[Heavy Plasma]]s and [[Alien Grenade]]s, which pose a large threat. In addition to the regular alien species, their associated [[Terror Units]] accompany them on Battleships. Last but not least, high ranking officers on a Battleship are armed with the dreaded [[Blaster Launcher]]. Squad leaders must be careful in their deployment of personnel on the battlefield.

===Entry===

Heavy Weapons Platforms can enter the central lift and navigate much of the second floor, however the lift on the third floor is closed off via small doorways. HWPs are very useful for opening the main doors on the bottom level and allowing soldiers to fire at any aliens inside, or to send a blaster bomb up into the interior of the UFO.

Forced entry using a Blaster Bomb is often used, as it also reduces the risk of succumbing to an alien ambush on the second or third floors. The four corner legs can be one entry point, although elerium may be damaged from such an entry. If [[Flying Suit]]s are available, then an entry from the top level is also an effective tactic that also minimizes the risk of damaging elerium. Entering via the top floor also gives a good chance of surprising and capturing alien officers. A pincer movement, with two or more fire teams working from multiple entry points, is a very effective tactic while storming a Battleship.

==Battleship Layout==

The Battleship consists of three layers. The ground level, mid section and the top level.

See [[#Terrain Maps|Terrain Maps and Floorpans]] for visuals of the various layers.

===Level 0: Ground Level===

The ground level has four "legs" one on each corner and a central leg that acts as the primary carriage way for the ship. lift shaft. The corner legs cannot be entered from the outside, as they house the power sources. The center leg or lift has two doors that give access to a wide lift.

Due to the compass orientation that the battleship always lands, the doors always open towards the south and west, the other directions are effectively blind. The doors are large enough to allow passage of large terror units and [[Heavy Weapons Platforms]] into the UFO. This pair of doors is the only formal access point in or out of the Battleship, therefore a siege is very effective here.

Be warned that any groups of soldiers sieging the the Battleship will be vulnerable to hostile blaster bombs, so use the tactic with discretion and consider your troop spacing with care. Alien Engineers have been known to patrol the fields with their trusty blaster launchers, and most aliens will carry alien grenades.

=== Level 1: Middle Level ===

The second level has four major hallways (or two, if you look at it that way). Each leads to a small lift that accesses the four outer pods holding the Power Sources. There are three main rooms, two of which seem to be used for storage. One is filled with the red spheres and cylinders on blue support legs that we have not yet identified. The fourth room, constructed heavily out of alien entertainment walls, is best thought of as the recreation deck.

Note that there is a small access grav-lift in the north-western portion of this floor, which can allow you to enter the upper level indirectly.

=== Level 2: Top Level ===

Unlike the level below it, the lift on this level is surrounded by strong walls. This level of the UFO has lots of smaller rooms and tight corridors, making it very dangerous. There are two major rooms which appear to be the navigation room, and bridge. Both rooms have the distinctive blue chairs, yet only one has any navigation modules. The two rooms are on opposite ends of the ship. The third level is also where X-COM forces are most likely to find any Alien Navigators or Alien Leaders, or possibly even the commander on non-Muton Battleships.

=== Level 3: Roof ===
The roof is a flat surface and nothing much else. It is of no threat to anyone. Suitable entrances into the level underneath it can be made with the aid of Blaster Bombs.

As with any UFO, soldiers wearing flying suits can also land on the roof and provide support for troops that are storming the UFO from the ground entrance by operating a motion scanner.

==Recoverable Components==
<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Item</th>
<th>Sell Price</th>
<th>Quantity</th>
<th>Value</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">UFO Power Source</td><td>$250,000</td><td>4</td><td>$1,000,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">UFO Navigation</td><td>$80,000</td><td>4</td><td>$320,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Alien Food</td><td>$5,000</td><td>0</td><td>$0</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Alien Surgery</td><td>$38,000</td><td>0</td><td>$0</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Alien Entertainment</td><td>$20,000</td><td>24</td><td>$480,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Examination Room</td><td>$9,000</td><td>0</td><td>$0</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Alien Alloys</td><td>$6,500</td><td>231</td><td>$1,501,500</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Elerium-115</td><td>$5,000</td><td>200</td><td>$1,000,000</td></tr>
<tr><th colspan="3">Totals</th><td>$4,301,500</td></tr>
</table><br />
Also see [[UFO Recovery Values#Battleship|UFO Recovery Values]].

==Alien Deployment==
<table width="100%" cellpadding="5"><tr>
<td><table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<caption><b>Sectoids/Floaters</b></caption>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Rank</th>
<th>Beg./Exp.</th>
<th>Vet./Gen.</th>
<th>Super.</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Soldiers</td><td>4-8</td><td>6-10</td><td>8-12</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Navigators</td><td>1</td><td>1*</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Medics</td><td>1</td><td>1*</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Engineers</td><td>1</td><td>1*</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Leaders</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Commanders</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Terrorists</td><td>0-2</td><td>2-4</td><td>4-6</td></tr>
<tr><th>Totals</th><td>9-15</td><td>14-20</td><td>22-28</td></tr>
</table></td>
<td><table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<caption><b>Snakemen</b></caption>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Rank</th>
<th>Beg./Exp.</th>
<th>Vet./Gen.</th>
<th>Super.</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Soldiers</td><td>5-9</td><td>7-11*</td><td>10-14</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Navigators</td><td>1</td><td>1*</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Medics</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Engineers</td><td>1</td><td>1*</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Leaders</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Commanders</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Terrorists</td><td>0-2</td><td>2-4</td><td>4-6</td></tr>
<tr><th>Totals</th><td>9-15</td><td>14-20</td><td>22-28</td></tr>
</table></td>
<td><table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<caption><b>Mutons</b></caption>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Rank</th>
<th>Beg./Exp.</th>
<th>Vet./Gen.</th>
<th>Super.</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Soldiers</td><td>7-11</td><td>10-14*</td><td>14-18</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Navigators</td><td>1</td><td>1*</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Medics</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Engineers</td><td>1</td><td>1*</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Leaders</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Commanders</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Terrorists</td><td>0-2</td><td>2-4</td><td>4-6</td></tr>
<tr><th>Totals</th><td>9-15</td><td>14-20</td><td>22-28</td></tr>
</table></td>
<td><table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<caption><b>Ethereals</b></caption>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Rank</th>
<th>Beg./Exp.</th>
<th>Vet./Gen.</th>
<th>Super.</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Soldiers</td><td>4-8</td><td>6-10</td><td>8-12</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Navigators</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Medics</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Engineers</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>-</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Leaders</td><td>4</td><td>5*</td><td>9</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Commanders</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Terrorists</td><td>0-2</td><td>2-4</td><td>4-6</td></tr>
<tr><th>Totals</th><td>9-15</td><td>14-20</td><td>22-28</td></tr>
</table></td></tr></table>
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Needs testing to determine actual number.

==Terrain Maps==
<gallery>
Image:UFO_160MAP-L1.JPG|Level 0
Image:UFO_160MAP-L2.JPG|Level 1
Image:UFO_160MAP-L3.JPG|Level 2
Image:UFO_160MAP.JPG|Level 3
</gallery>

==Floor Plans==

<gallery>
Image:Battleship_0.gif|Level 0
Image:Battleship_1.gif|Level 1
Image:Battleship_2.gif|Level 2
</gallery>

==TFTD Note==
[[TFTD]] also has "Battleship" as a craft title.
However, it is relegated to the place of TFTD's version of the [[Terror Ship]].
TFTD's direct Battleship parallel is the [[Dreadnought]].

==See Also==
{{UFO Navbar}}

[[Category: UFOs (EU)]][[Category: Research (EU)]][[Category:Tactics]]

Laser Sniper Rifle (EU2012)

2012-10-11T01:30:23Z

Tartrazine: /* Stats */

Laser Sniper Rifle (EU2012)

2012-10-11T01:27:39Z

Tartrazine: /* Stats */

STUB

==Description==
* ''Flavor text from Enginering-Build/Buy Items menu''

==Stats==
{| class="wikitable" width="25%"
|+ '''Item Name'''
|-
! width="30px" align="center" | Property !! Info
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|-
| align="center" | Requires: || align="center" | [Research (EU2012)|Research Project Name]
|-
| align="center" | Cost: || align="center" | §xx
|-
| align="center" | Grey Market Value: || align="center" | §xx
|-
| align="center" | Damage || align="center" | ''6''
|-
| align="center" | Shot Type || align="center" | ''text here''
|-
| align="center" | Terrain Damage || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Range || align="center" | ''Long''
|-
| align="center" | Reaction Range || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Reaction Angle || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Radius (Explosives) || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Critical Chance || align="center" | ''30''
|-
| align="center" | Critical Damage || align="center" | ''9''
|-
| align="center" | Abilities || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Suppression || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Size || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Health Points Bonus || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | Will Bonus || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | text here || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | text here || align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | text here || align="center" |
|-
|}

==Notes==
''Any relevant information such as where the item is equipped, how it can be used, or information about damage/abilities. Listing of foundry upgrades have been here as well.''

==See Also==
''Place here internal links to wiki pages that might be relevant to the topic of the page''

[[Category: Enemy Unknown (2012)]]