Air Combat Guide (LWR) - Revision history

Loladarulz: /* Word on Battleships */

2025-07-23T13:06:14Z

Word on Battleships

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	== Word on Battleships ==		== Word on Battleships ==

	Lategame, depending on alien level and resources (had them appear in January 2031), aliens will start sending very large flashing UFOs. These are Battleships and you pretty much can do nothing against them. The best you can do is research Stealth Satellites Foundry technology which will give your Satellites 50% chance to remain hidden. If Battleship shoots down the Satellite take the loss and launch a new one. Same goes for Battleship bombing runs. If you ever build fleet of Fusion Lances you may try to shoot down this bad boy. Battleships are armed with Fusion Lances and they ~~shoot it with 2 sec cooldown, unlike~~ XCOM ~~version, which fields 8 sec one~~.		Lategame, depending on alien level and resources (had them appear in January 2031), aliens will start sending very large flashing UFOs. These are Battleships and you pretty much can do nothing against them. The best you can do is research Stealth Satellites Foundry technology which will give your Satellites 50% chance to remain hidden. If Battleship shoots down the Satellite take the loss and launch a new one. Same goes for Battleship bombing runs. If you ever build fleet of Fusion Lances you may try to shoot down this bad boy. Battleships are armed with Fusion Lances and they will quickly annihilate XCOM ships.

Loladarulz: /* Large endgame UFOs */

2025-07-23T13:05:24Z

Large endgame UFOs

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	== Large endgame UFOs ==		== Large endgame UFOs ==

	There are several large UFOs, like Abductors, Battleships, Terror Ships and they are all heavily armored and have huge amount of hit points. As such they are not worth the effort of shooting them down, but it is possible if you employ Fusion Lances. Some are bit easier to take down then others, you may check stat for details, but in any case it is unwise to risk ~~the fleet without at least 3 Fusion Lances. With 5 Fusion Lances you can pretty much 1-shot or 2-Shot any alien ship if you are up for fun~~. You can even stop Terror missions this way by killing Terror ship.		There are several large UFOs, like Abductors, Battleships, Terror Ships and they are all heavily armored and have huge amount of hit points. As such they are not worth the effort of shooting them down, but it is possible if you employ Fusion Lances. Some are bit easier to take down then others, you may check stat for details, but in any case it is unwise to risk attacking them. You can even stop Terror missions this way by killing Terror ship. Best to check UFO stats in detail before attempting such feat.

	*Harvesters - There is one exception and that is unarmored large Harvester ship. Offensively it is equivalent to Destroyer but it will have more HP. If you spot one, hit it with Plasma weapons, Laser Cannons and Fusion if you have those and it should drop, do the mission and enjoy the resources.		*Harvesters - There is one exception and that is unarmored large Harvester ship. Offensively it is equivalent to Destroyer but it will have much more HP. If you spot one, hit it with Plasma weapons, Laser (Pulse) Cannons and Fusion if you have those and it should drop, do the mission and enjoy the resources.

	== Word on Battleships ==		== Word on Battleships ==

Loladarulz: /* Endgame weapons (Plasma Cannon and Fusion Lance) */

2025-07-23T13:02:43Z

Endgame weapons (Plasma Cannon and Fusion Lance)

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	*Plasma Cannon is true endgame weapon that you can field on multiple Interceptors or Firestorms. It is designed with huge DPS, but tier 4 penetration, lower accuracy and slightly longer fire rate. This is to stop them from blowing up alien UFOs too easily (balance). Plasma Cannons have low accuracy and benefit greatly from any aim bonuses you can get, fire rate bonuses are also of great use here. Use the best pilots and keep your plains healthy. Damaged planes lose 10 aim which is a big no for Plasma weapons.		*Plasma Cannon is true endgame weapon that you can field on multiple Interceptors or Firestorms. It is designed with huge DPS, but tier 4 penetration, lower accuracy and slightly longer fire rate. This is to stop them from blowing up alien UFOs too easily (balance). Plasma Cannons have low accuracy and benefit greatly from any aim bonuses you can get, fire rate bonuses are also of great use here. Use the best pilots and keep your plains healthy. Damaged planes lose 10 aim which is a big no for Plasma weapons.

	*Fusion Lance is highest damaging weapon in the game with whooping damage and tier 6 penetration. To compensate it has lower accuracy and fire rate, but it is still the weapon that will quickly dispatch most UFOs you encounter. Large UFOs will still be out of reach unless you have multiple Fusion Lance Firestorms. Restriction is that it can only be armed on Firestorms and it requires Fusion Cores to be built. Fusion Cores are very rare resource - you can get one from council Gangplank mission, and one from ABA mission. And likely you want to build 2 MEC-3 suits and Blaster Launcher (Fusion rocket launcher) so you already require 3 there. Extra Fusion Cores can be gotten from raiding landed Assault Ships, which will rarely appear during 2031 year in the game. If you play long enough you can equip several Firestorms with Fusion Lances, but that is not necessary to win the game.		*Fusion Lance is highest damaging weapon in the game with whooping damage and tier 6 penetration. Restriction is that it can only be armed on Firestorms and it requires Fusion Cores to be built. Fusion Cores are very rare resource - you can get one from council Gangplank mission, and one from ABA mission. And likely you want to build 2 MEC-3 suits and Blaster Launcher (Fusion rocket launcher) so you already require 3 there. Extra Fusion Cores can be gotten from raiding landed Assault Ships, which will rarely appear during 2031 year in the game. Large UFOs will still be out of XCOM reach unless you have multiple Fusion Lance Firestorms. If you play long enough you can equip several Firestorms with Fusion Lances, but that is not necessary to win the game.

	== Large endgame UFOs ==		== Large endgame UFOs ==

Loladarulz: /* Firestorms */

2025-07-23T13:00:04Z

Firestorms

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	Near the end of the year and before some of the endgame air weapons you will unlock Firestorms. Firestorms represent the best XCOM has to offer, tier 4 armored aircraft with 50% more HP. They do cost more, including 4 UFO Flight Computers, and maintenance cost is 2$ daily (double that of interceptors) so massing them is a bit of challenge. Luckily, you don't need to field many Firestorms, one per continent will probably be enough, but if you can get couple more they will help a lot. Firestorm can tank UFOs fire much better than Interceptors. They receive only half the damage from Single Plasma weapons that are used by everything mentioned so far, except Destroyers which field Double Plasma. Double Plasma will pierce Firestorm armors, but it can't critically hit it, and thanks to higher HP, Firestorm can handle some amount of fire before retreating. Upgraded Fighters are also a bit of threat, but not as much.		Near the end of the year and before some of the endgame air weapons you will unlock Firestorms. Firestorms represent the best XCOM has to offer, tier 4 armored aircraft with 50% more HP. They do cost more, including 4 UFO Flight Computers, and maintenance cost is 2$ daily (double that of interceptors) so massing them is a bit of challenge. Luckily, you don't need to field many Firestorms, one per continent will probably be enough, but if you can get couple more they will help a lot. Firestorm can tank UFOs fire much better than Interceptors. They receive only half the damage from Single Plasma weapons that are used by everything mentioned so far, except Destroyers which field Double Plasma. Double Plasma will pierce Firestorm armors, but it can't critically hit it, and thanks to higher HP, Firestorm can handle some amount of fire before retreating. Upgraded Fighters are also a bit of threat, but not as much.

	Firestorms are well used as active aircraft to tank more of alien fire. They are also the only aircraft capable of arming Fusion weapons.		Firestorms are well used as active aircraft to tank more of alien fire. They are also the only aircraft capable of arming Fusion weapons. Recent buff to them was higher fire rate as well.

	== Overseers ==		== Overseers ==

Loladarulz: /* Combat stances, Boosters and Active aircraft */

2025-07-23T12:55:54Z

Combat stances, Boosters and Active aircraft

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	*Rear stance - This stance is used a lot in mid and late game. Your aim is reduced by 10, which is significant (cca 30%) reduction, but so is the aim of alien UFOs. Since XCOM can field multiple interceptors you may have enough dps and overwhelm UFOs while risking little in Rear stance. Experienced pilots will help reduce impact of aim loss as will aim Foundry upgrade. Dodge booster is available for use in Rear stance. Use it when you fight tough UFOs like Destroyer and Overseer to minimize damage received.		*Rear stance - This stance is used a lot in mid and late game. Your aim is reduced by 10, which is significant (cca 30%) reduction, but so is the aim of alien UFOs. Since XCOM can field multiple interceptors you may have enough dps and overwhelm UFOs while risking little in Rear stance. Experienced pilots will help reduce impact of aim loss as will aim Foundry upgrade. Dodge booster is available for use in Rear stance. Use it when you fight tough UFOs like Destroyer and Overseer to minimize damage received.

	*Lead stance - This stance grants you 10 aim, but in return aliens get 50% chance to hit your interceptors. This is something that you in general want to avoid using, unless you have to guarantee to shoot down UFO. If you keep sending interceptors on lead you can expect hefty repair bills. ~~One good use~~ is ~~for example with low cool down weapons like Stingrays, let them shoot and retreat if they miss. Aim booster is available for use in Lead~~ stance ~~and it is very interesting one since it guarantees that your active aircraft will hit first~~ its ~~2 shots~~. ~~If you have Firestorm with Fusion Lance and really want~~ to ~~hit your target, this could be just the thing. Aim booster requires 12 Floater corpses, which~~ is a ~~ton, so you will not have many~~ of ~~these~~.		*Lead stance - This stance grants you 10 aim, but in return aliens get 50% chance to hit your interceptors. This is something that you in general want to avoid using, unless you have to guarantee to shoot down UFO. If you keep sending interceptors on lead you can expect hefty repair bills. There are situation where using LEAD is the only way to kill UFOs so this stance has its place. Even when using LEAD XCOM can fail to kill UFOs as there is a dose of RNG in fights. Sometimes those 1% accidents happen.

	Remember, Boosters are working only on your ''active'' aircraft, NOT on all the aircraft in the fight.		Remember, Boosters are working only on your ''active'' aircraft, NOT on all the aircraft in the fight.

Loladarulz: /* Handling Destroyers - using advanced air weapons */

2025-07-23T12:53:02Z

Handling Destroyers - using advanced air weapons

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	*Upgraded Laser Cannons (Pulse tier) - These are harder to research, after ABA is done, and it is more Elerium heavy research path, Laser Cannons are upgraded by researching ''Supercapacitors''. Despite huge dps increase, these are still No Penetration weapons so they just tickle Destroyers. Don't use them vs Destroyers. Pulse tier Laser Cannons are excellent against Raiders and UFOs and it is advisable to have at least couple of them to handle these type of UFOs. Surprisingly, they are quite efficient at killing Fighters.		*Upgraded Laser Cannons (Pulse tier) - These are harder to research, after ABA is done, and it is more Elerium heavy research path, Laser Cannons are upgraded by researching ''Supercapacitors''. Despite huge dps increase, these are still No Penetration weapons so they just tickle Destroyers. Don't use them vs Destroyers. Pulse tier Laser Cannons are excellent against Raiders and UFOs and it is advisable to have at least couple of them to handle these type of UFOs. Surprisingly, they are quite efficient at killing Fighters.

	*EMP Cannon - Now we are talking, these are Destroyer counters! EMP Cannon ~~is Tier 4 weapons and it~~ pierces Destroyer armor doing ~~full~~ damage to it. For that reason you should highly prioritize researching and building ~~at least one of~~ these weapons. You may replace Phoenix Cannon interceptor with EMP Cannon, unless you have more than 3 Laser Cannons, in which case you are probably better to replace Laser. One EMP Cannon can not handle Destroyer on its own, but with some Phoenix help, you should be able to get it to 50%~~. With 2 EMPs you will likely be able to shoot down even Destroyers regularly~~. Cover your continents with 1-2 of these asap, later on you likely want 3 per continent.		*EMP Cannon - Now we are talking, these are Destroyer counters! EMP Cannon pierces Destroyer armor doing large amounts of damage to it. For that reason you should highly prioritize researching and building these weapons. You may replace Phoenix Cannon interceptor with EMP Cannon, unless you have more than 3 Laser Cannons, in which case you are probably better to replace Laser. One EMP Cannon can not handle Destroyer on its own, but with some Phoenix help, you should be able to get it to 50%. Cover your continents with 1-2 of these asap, later on you likely want 3 per continent. Do not expect to destroy Destroyers, primary objective is to damage them to 50%.


	[[File:destroyergraphal6.png\|600px\|thumb\|center]]		[[File:destroyergraphal6.png\|600px\|thumb\|center]]

	From graph it can be seen that only Upgraded Phoenix Cannon has decent enough DPS to hurt Destroyers. Using lower weapons is last resort. EMP is first real weapon vs them, and Plasma is good upgrade. Fusion is great and will ~~one-shot these~~ Destroyers~~. They will eventually upgrade enough HP to survive, but with some help from other weapons they will be shot down~~.		From graph it can be seen that only Upgraded Phoenix Cannon has decent enough DPS to hurt Destroyers. Using lower weapons is last resort. EMP is first real weapon vs them, and Plasma is good upgrade. Fusion is great and will handle lategame Destroyers.

	== Upgrading your airforce ==		== Upgrading your airforce ==

Loladarulz: /* First medium UFOs - Raiders */

2025-07-23T12:48:25Z

First medium UFOs - Raiders

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	== First medium UFOs - Raiders ==		== First medium UFOs - Raiders ==

	Raiders are not very scary to deal with. Their offensive power is that of Scouts and ~~Fighter~~, but they come with ~~hefty~~ amount of HP ~~(3000 HP + 25% per upgrade)~~. Luckily they are unarmored UFO. If you see medium UFO and it is not flashing - you are dealing with Raider. If Raider is flying (NOE) - nap of earth - it will land so you don't have to engage it with interceptors. Let it land and do the mission, success will net you large amount of resources. If Raider is flying low, then by all means try to shoot it down to generate tactical mission.		Raiders are not very scary to deal with. Their offensive power is that of Scouts and Fighters, but they come with heftier amount of HP. Luckily they are unarmored UFO. If you see medium UFO and it is not flashing - you are dealing with Raider. If Raider is flying (NOE) - nap of earth - it will land. Ans if you covered whole continent with satellites you don't have to engage it with interceptors. Let it land and do the mission, success will net you large amount of resources. But, when the continent is not fully covered with satellites, you are risking to miss raider mission - so it is advisable to shoot it down if possible. If Raider is flying low, then by all means try to shoot it down to generate tactical mission.

	Shooting Raider requires lots of DPS so having multiple Laser Cannon interceptor is desirable. ~~Some people like~~ to ~~have 4 Laser Cannons and only 2~~ Phoenix ~~for this reason, but then you risk losing Satellites~~ to ~~Fighter attacks. That may~~ be ~~acceptable risk, it is ultimately player's decision~~ to ~~decide what to prioritize~~. Combination of Laser and Phoenix can shoot down Raiders as well, medium UFOs are slower so you will have some extra time.		Shooting Raider requires lots of DPS so having multiple Laser Cannon (or Phoenix) interceptor is desirable. In general Lasers do more damage to Raiders than Phoenix so get a healthy mix of both to be able to kill both Raiders and Fighters. Combination of Laser and Phoenix can shoot down Raiders as well, medium UFOs are slower so you will have some extra time.

	Fun fact: Raider (AL1) can appear even in first month of the game and it is possible to shoot it down with 4 Avalanche interceptors.		Fun fact: Raider (AL1) can appear even in first month of the game and it is possible to shoot it down with 4-6 Avalanche interceptors, use LEAD stance if you have to.

	== Expanding to second continent - doing Alien Base Assault (ABA) ==		== Expanding to second continent - doing Alien Base Assault (ABA) ==

Loladarulz: /* First challenge - handling alien Fighter */

2025-07-23T12:41:11Z

First challenge - handling alien Fighter

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	Usually, during May you may expect aliens to send their first armored Fighter, easily recognized as threating flashing UFO on the globe map. Fighter flying high will try to shoot down your Satellite, while the one flying low will bomb your population increasing panic. It is imperative to try to damage or kill high flying Fighter, since losing a Satellite is quite a setback. It is not a game over, just keep always one Satellite as backup for worst cases and redeploy it if needed. Low flying Fighter will increase panic somewhat in your countries, but this one is much more easily ignored. If you are not ready, you can just not engage against it and eat the panic increase.		Usually, during May you may expect aliens to send their first armored Fighter, easily recognized as threating flashing UFO on the globe map. Fighter flying high will try to shoot down your Satellite, while the one flying low will bomb your population increasing panic. It is imperative to try to damage or kill high flying Fighter, since losing a Satellite is quite a setback. It is not a game over, just keep always one Satellite as backup for worst cases and redeploy it if needed. Low flying Fighter will increase panic somewhat in your countries, but this one is much more easily ignored. If you are not ready, you can just not engage against it and eat the panic increase.

	Fighter ~~is still small UFO, so it starts with 600 HP only, but~~ in May it will be probably be upgraded, so it will have double or triple starting HP. The tough part is that Fighter has T3 armor. For every level of ''tier'' difference between weapon and armor damage will be reduced by 25%.		Fighter in May will probably be upgraded, so it will have double or triple starting HP. The tough part is that Fighter has T3 armor. For every level of ''tier'' difference between weapon and armor damage will be reduced by 25%.
	*This means that Avalanche Missiles will do only 25% of its original damage. This makes them highly ineffective - they will deal only about 10-15% damage of Fighter HP on average during whole engagement.		*This means that Avalanche Missiles will do only 25% of its original damage. This makes them highly ineffective - they will deal only about 10-15% damage of Fighter HP on average during whole engagement.
	*Stringrays are T2 level, meaning they will deal 75% of their damage. That is respectable amount, and depending on damage randomization and Fighter level you may need ~~2-4 of~~ Stingray hits to hurt the Fighter. Ideally, you would want to have Phoenix Cannons before first Fighter, they should make the job more manageable. ~~If not, with some luck 2~~-~~4 Stingray will~~ do ~~the trick~~. ~~But don~~'t be late with upgrades, aliens will upgrade UFOs.		*Stringrays are T2 level, meaning they will deal 75% of their damage. That is respectable amount, and depending on damage randomization and Fighter level you may need several Stingray hits to hurt the Fighter. Ideally, you would want to have couple of Phoenix Cannons before first Fighter, they should make the job more manageable. Primary goal is to damage Fighter to 50% - do not try to destroy it unless fight is going surprisingly well. Don't be late with upgrades to Phoenix, aliens will upgrade UFOs.

	[[File:fightergraph2.png\|600px\|thumb\|center]]		[[File:fightergraph2.png\|600px\|thumb\|center]]

	Few observation from graph: Stingray is 3x better than Avalanche. Phoenix is 30% upgrade on Stingray. ~~Upgrade~~ Phoenix is again 30% upgrade on Phoenix. Laser Cannon is worse than Stingray, but Upgraded Laser Cannon (Pulse tier) is super good and almost equal to Upgraded Phoenix Cannon. EMP Cannon is 35% upgrade on Upgraded Phoenix and Plasma is 50% better than EMP. ~~Fusion is 65% upgrade~~ over ~~Plasma and will regularly one-shot AL1-AL9 fighters and occasionally even higher levels~~.		Few observation from graph: Stingray is 3x better than Avalanche. Phoenix is 30% upgrade on Stingray. Upgraded Phoenix (Coilgun) is again 30% upgrade on Phoenix. Laser Cannon is worse than Stingray, but Upgraded Laser Cannon (Pulse tier) is super good and almost equal to Upgraded Phoenix Cannon. EMP Cannon is 35% upgrade on Upgraded Phoenix and Plasma is 50% better than EMP. The number may change over the patches but roughly weapons are balanced in this way for long time now.

	== Upgrading your weapons (Laser and Phoenix Cannons)==		== Upgrading your weapons (Laser and Phoenix Cannons)==

Loladarulz: /* Understanding aircrafts stats */

2025-07-23T12:36:27Z

Understanding aircrafts stats

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	== Understanding aircrafts stats ==		== Understanding aircrafts stats ==

	Armor and HP - both XCOM aircrafts and alien UFOS have hit points (HP) and armor (or lack one). Notably, both XCOM interceptors and Scouts are unarmored, but interceptors starts with much more hit points than Scouts ~~(2000 HP vs 400 HP)~~. Aliens will be upgrading their aircraft each alien level so fights will become tougher. XCOM has also access to upgrades, but these are not so easily acquired. Armor is very important as it reduces damage received significantly - more on that later. HP represents health and if aircraft loses all its HP it will be destroyed. Repair time also depends on amount of damage taken.		Armor and HP - both XCOM aircrafts and alien UFOS have hit points (HP) and armor (or lack one). Notably, both XCOM interceptors and Scouts are unarmored, but interceptors starts with much more hit points than Scouts. Aliens will be upgrading their aircraft each alien level so fights will become tougher. XCOM has also access to upgrades, but these are not so easily acquired. Armor is very important as it reduces damage received significantly - more on that later. HP represents health and if aircraft loses all its HP it will be destroyed. Repair time also depends on amount of damage taken.

	Weapons - both XCOM and aliens have different kind of weapons. For the most part aliens keep the same weapons, they eventually do upgrades, while XCOM has quite a few choices during the game. Knowing which weapon to use against specific alien UFO will make big difference and it is essential to winning air game.		Weapons - both XCOM and aliens have different kind of weapons. For the most part aliens keep the same weapons - they eventually do upgrades, while XCOM has quite a few choices during the game. Knowing which weapon to use against specific alien UFO will make big difference and it is essential to winning air game.

	Speed - notably influences duration of fights, which is important since that is the time you have to shoot down the UFO, before it escapes. You usually have chance to send at least another batch of interceptors to shoot down UFO if first one fails. Alien Scouts and Fighters are small UFOs and have higher speed than rest of larger alien aircrafts. They are harder to hit and you have less time before they escape, but they are at the same time more fragile.		Speed - notably influences duration of fights, which is important since that is the time you have to shoot down the UFO, before it escapes. You usually have chance to send at least another batch of interceptors to shoot down UFO if first one fails. Alien Scouts and Fighters are small UFOs and have higher speed than rest of larger alien aircrafts. They are harder to hit and you have less time before they escape, but they are at the same time more fragile. Note that damaged interceptors have reduced aim and stay shorter in fights so they have even less time to defeat the UFO.

	== Understanding starting weapons (Avalanche vs Stingray) ==		== Understanding starting weapons (Avalanche vs Stingray) ==

Loladarulz: /* Starting steps */

2025-07-23T12:33:50Z

Starting steps

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	== Starting steps ==		== Starting steps ==

	First priority of XCOM and player is to take the control of its starting continent and build enough interceptors to control airspace. XCOM starts with 3 interceptors, unless you choose one of starting bonuses that grants extra interceptors. Interceptors are expensive and take long time to build so it is advisable to start building 4th one already early in March. By the end end of the March you should usually start building 5th interceptor, and in the April 6th one. With that done, XCOM will have fully protected starting continent during second month in the game. Money to build air force should not be issue as XCOM has very few things to build in the beginning. If played well you will never lose these starting interceptors and they will turn out to be excellent long term investment. You can already have fleet below in the first month even on highest difficulty.		First priority of XCOM and player is to take the control of its starting continent and build enough interceptors to control airspace. XCOM starts with 3 interceptors, unless you choose one of starting bonuses that grants extra interceptors. Interceptors are expensive and take long time to build so it is advisable to start building 4th one already early in March. By the end end of the March you should usually start building 5th interceptor, and in the April 6th one. With that done, XCOM will have fully protected starting continent during second month in the game. Money to build air force should not be issue as XCOM has very few things to build in the beginning. If played well you will never lose these starting interceptors and they will turn out to be excellent long term investment. You can already have fleet below in the first month even on highest difficulty. In newest patch XCOM can have up to 10 interceptors on the continent giving players more flexibility or power if needed to guarantee beating RNG.

	[[File:interceptors.png\|900px\|center]]		[[File:interceptors.png\|900px\|center]]