View source for Alien Missions

UFOs are sent out periodically to conduct a number of types of '''Alien Missions''', some of whom the purpose is fairly inscrutable, others are fairly obvious in their reasoning. Especially once the [[Hyper-wave Decoder]] is deployed knowing the mission of the aliens can help make strategic plans for further actions that the aliens may attempt in the near future.

==Alien Research==
The Alien research mission is used for collecting basic data on Earth and its inhabitants. Small vehicles are predominantly used, with occasional landings in deserted areas. This type of Alien activity poses the least threat to X-COM, with little concern from governments or the public.

Aliens do not directly [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] for this mission.

==Alien Harvest==
The Aliens have many uses for Earth's fauna. Animals are abducted secretly, and returned with various organs removed. Cattle mutilations are predominantly reported along with [[UFOs|UFO]] sightings. This type of Alien activity causes great concern by governments and considerable anxiety amongst the population. This type of activity occurs mainly in farming land. The theory behind the 'Alien Harvest' suggests that Alien races originally "seeded" the planet with its flora and fauna, and now they have returned to reap the harvest they have sown.

If successful the aliens will [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] 30 points, which is eventually subtracted from your score.

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

If successful the aliens will [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] 50 points, which is eventually subtracted from your score.

==Alien Infiltration==
This Alien mission represents the worst threat to X-COM. Earth governments can be infiltrated by Alien agents which are Human in appearance. This can result in official contact between Aliens and governments at the highest level. The climax of this activity is characterised by intense [[UFOs|UFO]] activity in the vicinity of major cities. The aliens will attempt to sign a [[pact]] with an earth government by offering knowledge of their superior technology. In return, the government will allow the Aliens to conduct their activity unhindered. 

If a government agrees to a pact then its funding will cease. If successful the aliens will [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] 150 points, and an alien base will also be constructed which generates daily activity points, which are eventually subtracted from your score. 

Initially, several Scouts will perform investigations prior to the main infiltration attempt.

In the main Infiltration wave, A Large Scout will appear, followed by a Terror Ship, Supply Ship and a Battleship. It has been shown that shooting down all 4 of these craft IMMEDIATELY will delay the coming of the final Battleship, by perhaps 2 weeks. Any delay in shooting them all down will result in the 2nd Battleship making it's appearance really fast and will join the other 4 ships in landing.
It has been conclusively shown that shooting down the UFOs or [[UFO Ground Assault|assaulting the landed ships]] will NOT stop the infiltration from succeeding. Shooting down the earlier ships will delay, but not entirely stop the 2nd Battleship. The moment the 2nd battleship appears in Earth's atmosphere, the infiltration is successful and complete.

When a country is successfully infiltrated an alien base will be instantly created in or near the country. Always search for the alien base after the 2nd Battleship. And once you know that the base is there, you have several options available to you...

==Alien Base==
Aliens will construct secret underground bases in remote locations. After some initial reconnaissance flights some intense [[UFOs|UFO]] activity will occur as the base is being built. These bases are known to contain experimental labs for human abductees, and supplies for further activity in the region. The presence of Alien bases will generate a large amount of reported Alien activity without the presence of UFOs. In order to locate a base, an [[Craft|X-COM craft]] must patrol an area for a few hours to stand some chance of detection. An [[Alien Base Assault]] will remove the threat but should never be taken lightly.

If successful the aliens will [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] 50 points, and an extra 5 points per day which is eventually subtracted from your score.

There is no limit to the number of alien bases that can be built, but there is a limit as to how many can exist on the globe at the same time. Only fifty Geoscape Tokens (bases, waypoints, ships, etc) that can exist on the globe at any given time, and because you have to share this space with pretty much everything that you can interact with on the Geoscape, you can only have as many Alien bases as there are unused slots.  

Note: UFO flight pattern investigation has found that the base is placed as soon as the battleship arrives in the atmosphere, so if it shows, the aliens have a base.

==Alien Terror==
When the Aliens [[Terror Mission|terrorise]] a city, they will deploy some [[Terror Units|special forces]] with awesome powers. [[Civilian]]s will be directly threatened, and governments will be forced to evacuate whole areas. The main purpose behind this activity is to generate sufficient public hysteria so that governments will threaten the X-COM project.

If successful the aliens will [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] 1000 points, which is eventually subtracted from your score.
However, merely arriving at the Terror Site and aborting immediately will render the Terror Mission a failure for both parties. The aliens will only gain points equal to the number of killed civilians.

==Alien Retaliation==
If X-COM [[Interceptor]]s (or Avengers/Firestorms/Lightnings) are being particularly successful in shooting down [[UFOs]] then the Aliens may take some [[Alien Retaliation|retaliatory]] action. This could result in a direct attack against an [[Base Defense|X-COM base]]. However, the aliens have to find an X-COM base in order to attack it, and provided UFOs are kept away then there should be little danger of an assault.

Aliens do not directly [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] for this mission. Losing a base will give you negative points depending on what was in the base.

Scouts of various sizes will attempt to locate your base. If you shoot them down, they will be unable to do so. A battleship will appear at the end of this wave. If your base was detected,  the Battleship will zoom in at top speed and immediately land, making it only possible to intercept with an Avenger, coming from head-on. If you managed to stop the scout's search efforts, the battleship will appear, fly around for a while, (as if challenging your interceptors to a fight) then fly off again into space.

==Alien Supply==
Once an Alien base is constructed, it is resupplied on a regular basis by special [[Supply ship|supply vessels]]. If one of these vessels is detected while landing then it is certain that an Alien base is nearby.

Aliens do not directly [[Scoring#Alien_Scoring|score]] for this mission.

Note that supply ships on supply missions are always at a speed that makes them impossible to shoot down by interceptors, even shortly before landing or after taking off. This means they can only be attacked while landed unless new aircrafts have been researched and built. Since they will certainly land this would be a waste of [[Elerium]] since your craft will need some for the interception and the Elerium in the ship might be destroyed.

Piracy time. You may want to let the Alien base exist, just for millions of dollars plundered from the Supply "Blimps". Arrrrrr, avast ye Space-Lubbers!

==See Also==
[[Alien Life Forms]]<br>
[[UFOs]]

[[Category:Missions]]
[[Category:Research]]

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