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Alien Life Forms (LWR)

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Alien Pods

Pod Composition

Pods are comprised of one Leader (who sometimes possesses more stats and perks) and several regular troopers whose type is often related to the leader. Later in the game, high level leaders with noticeably larger models and massive HP pools can make an appearance in missions.

Pod composition is dependent upon the leader, with leaders tending to contain supporting troopers of the same or lesser type. For instance, Mechtoid pods tend to contain several Sectoids, whose Mind Merge ability can empower the Mechtoid with a powerful Psi Shield, while Cyberdisc pods tend to contain Drones which focus on repairing damage dealt to the Cyberdisc; conversely, pods led by Sectoids often contain units of the same type as the leader. The quantity of aliens in a pod is dependent upon overall Alien Level as well as the total number of aliens on mission; pods are rolled randomly and random numbers of aliens are added to said pods until all available units have been assigned.

Pod Behaviour

All pods begin not activated, that is, aliens move or stay together and don't attempt to take cover or shoot XCOM soldiers (though they may shoot civilians, if any). An exception is drop-in pods, arriving during a mission, which activate immediately upon arrival if they see any XCOM soldier, but may activate or not, randomly, otherwise. Activation can't ever be undone, even if line of sight to XCOM soldiers is completely broken. XCOM is aware of every activation, with a close-up scene playing, even if none of the pod aliens are seen by soldiers. Upon activation, a pod scampers, which may cause chain activation of other pods in the area.

A pod activates immediately if and only if any of its members at any point in time: sees an XCOM soldier (but the reverse visibility doesn't matter) or sees another pod that just got activated this way, is significantly affected by anybody (direct hit, explosive damage including friendly fire, suppression, holo, etc., but not battle scanner), is shot at and missed. A pod activates at the end of the alien's turn if any of its members sees another activated alien or notices a corpse of an alien killed during the mission. Note that unactivated pods are not activated by aliens calling for help nor by bumping into other unactivated pods.

While members of an activated pod do not coordinate among themselves any better than disparate aliens from different pods would, there is one significant mechanic which is pod-dependent: retreat mode. If a large portion of aliens of a given pod are destroyed (usually all but 1-3, depending on the original size), the surviving members of the pod will begin to fall back, retreating out of sight of XCOM and toward good cover or other, unactivated pods. The aliens will remain in retreat mode at least until they can see XCOM again, though destroying more units from the pod is sufficient to resume the retreat. Aliens entering into retreat mode will be identified by visual and auditory cues; the camera will pan toward the alien shouting or talking, and one of your soldiers will mention that they're falling back. Note that retreating aliens never call for help, but they activate any pods they run into all the same, see chain activation.

Conversely, if XCOM is pushed back and out of sight of the aliens, they'll call for reinforcements to hunt XCOM soldiers down. In general, if active aliens exist on the map, aren't in retreat mode, and none of them has any XCOM operatives in sight range at the end of the aliens turn, they'll call all unactivated pods on the map (aside from the Command Pod, if any) to help them hunt down XCOM. Each unactivated pod will begin moving toward XCOMs current location inexorably, will activate at some point in a normal way and attack the soldiers, and short of retreating or being wiped out, the only possibility left for XCOM is to defeat all such enemies.

Pod Size & Distribution

A single pod can contain any number of aliens between 1 and 8. While increases in pod sizes do not necessarily lead to more aliens on missions, extra aliens rolled that can't fit into any available pod are discarded. This has the largest effect during early Large UFOs, which typically call for way more aliens than can fit in their Small Pods. To partially compensate, missions taking place while pod sizes are small typically get an extra pod or two to work with. Larger pod sizes typically means the same amount of aliens overall, just compacted into less pods.

As well, while most of the time these pod restrictions are followed, various factors can lead pod sizes to vary from the general trend.

The number of aliens on every mission is restricted to between 3 x Num_pods to 8 x Num_pods, and a minimum of 6 aliens.

Pod Types

Pods come in three basic types: Soldier Pods, Terror Pods, and Command Pods. Soldier pods pull from a pool of most aliens and comprise the vast majority of pods encountered on all missions; Terror Pods pull from a slightly different pool. Command Pods only appear in UFOs and have relatively rigid compositions. Lastly, for Covert Operations, Exalt have special mechanics which govern the quantity and size of their pods.

  • Soldier Pods: Soldier Pods are the most common type of pod, appearing as the majority pod type in every mission except Terror Sites & Covert Operations.
  • Terror Pods: Terror Pods are a special type of pod that only appear in Terror Sites, Large UFOs, Alien Base Assault, and Retaliation missions. They tend to have a greater probability of being higher-mobility aliens and are the only pod which contains Chryssalids and Zombies, which in turn occur only in terror pods, at any level. Exalt also make an appearance in later months.
  • Command Pods: UFOs additionally have a special pod called the Command Pod which contains a fixed number of aliens based on UFO type. They consist entirely of Outsiders. Be warned: if a Command Pod spots XCOM and activates, it will immediately call all remaining alien forces on the map to its current location; this makes an early engagement against the command pod a risky affair.
  • Exalt Pods: While Exalt have a chance of appearing in Terror Pods, they appear most often in Covert Operations. All covert operations include drop ins of lone Exalt operatives who may or may not appear in cover and may or may not overwatch (Note: On Normal and Classic difficulty they will never overwatch).

Alien Appearances

Each pod created in the game has a chance to consist of different alien types. This changes the higher the Alien Level is (based on accumulated alien research). Below are the Alien Appearance Tables that describes the chance each alien has to be a leader of a pod at each Alien Level.

In the Alien Appearance Weightings table, the number in brackets beside each alien type is their relative weighting change. As an example, at Alien Level 3, the chance a pod will be a seeker pod is: (10) / (10 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 15 + 10) = 10 / 58 = 0.172. So each pod will have a ~17% chance of being a seeker pod at Alien Level 3. You can see all the calculated appearance chances in the Alien Appearance Chances table.

Note that certain aliens can be scripted to appear on missions and will not rely on this table. An example of this is Cyberdiscs, Mechtoids, Muton Elites, Sectoid Commanders, and Ethereals appearing on UFO missions based on the number of months passed instead of alien level. These guaranteed pods will always be a 2 unit pod and will usually be listed after the outsiders on UFO Intelligence if the hyperwave encoder is built.

Alien Appearance Weightings

Alien Appearance Weightings
Alien Level Cumulative Weighting Alien Type (Weighting Change)
Level 1 17 Sectoid (10) Drone (3) Thinman (2) Floater (2)
Level 2 38 Thinman (8) Floater (8) Muton (5)
Level 3 58 Muton (10) Seeker (10)
Level 4 73 Cyberdisc (15)
Level 5 103 Thinman (5) Muton (-5) Mechtoid (15) Berserker (15)
Level 6 147 Sectoid (-7) Thinman (10) Floater (-2) Muton (-7) Muton Elite (25) Sectoid Commander (25)
Level 7 162 Floater (-5) Heavy Floater (20)
Level 8 177 Sectopod (15)
Level 9 207 Sectopod (15) Ethereal (15)
Level 10 222 Ethereal (15)

Alien Appearance Chances

Alien Appearance Chances


Alien Leaders

Chance for an Alien Leader

The percent chance for an Alien Leader to appear in each pod is: 

3/4/5/6/7 [for Easy/Classic/Brutal/Impossible/Pain] x (Alien Level + 5)

Alien Leader Chance is multiplied by one tenth of the Alien Level for the following Aliens: Cyberdiscs, Mechtoids, Sectoid Commanders, Sectopods, Ethereals. This is capped at AL10 giving them a 1x multiplier and thus making them have the same spawn rate as other leaders.

Alien Leader Chance is reduced by half if the Alien Level is equal to 2.

Alien Leader Chance is set to 0% if the alien level is the first level this alien appears.

Alien Leader Chance is set to 100% on the following missions: Terror Sites, Alien Base Assaults, the Exalt Base Raid, and the Temple Ship Assault, regardless of alien level.

Alien Leader Chances

Multiple Alien Leaders:

At AL6 and later there is a small chance for multiple leaders to appear in each pod. This percent chance per non-leader unit is: 

(Alien Level - 5) x 0/1/2/3/4 [for Easy/Classic/Brutal/Impossible/Pain]

This chance is set to 0% if the alien level is the first level this alien appears unless the mission is a Terror Site, Alien Base Assault, the Exalt Base Raid, or the Temple Ship Assault.

Alien Leader Level

The formula to determine Leader Level is: 

Leader Level = (Alien Level + Rand(Alien Level))/2 + Modifiers

Difficulty Modifier:

  • Easy: -2 leader levels
  • Classic: -1 leader levels
  • Brutal: 0 leader levels
  • Impossible: +1 leader levels
  • Pain: +2 leader levels

UFO Size Modifier:

  • Medium: +1 leader level
  • Large: +2 leader levels
  • Extra Large: +3 leader levels

Terror Site Modifier:

  • +1 leader levels

Council Mission Modifier:

  • leader levels halved

Exalt Base and Temple Ship Assault

  • Automatic leader level 8

Bonus Leader Levels and Alien Level cannot make the Leader Level go higher than 8.

Champion (Level 9) Alien Leaders

After determining leader level, if the level is 8, there is a 20% chance to be promoted to level 9 (max), which will produce a champion. This can only occur every 13/9/6/4/3 leaders (based on difficulty).

The Exalt Base Assault will have preset Champion Alien Leaders. The Temple Ship Assault will have 1 guaranteed Champion (the Uber) and other aliens will have their chance of promoting to champion increased to 100% (but still be capped in how often they can be promoted).

Features of Alien Leaders

Aliens leaders have purple HP and are identified in the HUD by taller alien head. Champion aliens (level 9 leaders) have gold HP. Both types of leaders usually have a plethora of bonus stats and perks.

Killing or capturing an alien leader provides the squad with additional xp.

Alien Armour HP

Alien forces are susceptible to taking injuries when losing health similar to XCOM forces. Like XCOM, aliens will begin to suffer 'red fog', penalties to their statistics as they take damage. Certain alien and Exalt soldiers will have a portion of their overall health converted into armour health, meaning they will only be affected by red fog once they start taking damage into their base health.

The conversion ratio will round down the final result. For example, if an alien has overall health of 7 and 30% of their overall health is converted into armour, that would translate into 2.1, which is then rounded down to 2. Meaning that alien will have 5 base health, and 2 armour health.

Each individual enemy type listed below will indicate what their armour health is.

Enemy Health to Armour Conversion
Health Converted To Armour Enemies Affected
No Armour Sectoid, Thinman, Zombie, Sectoid Commander, Ethereal, Uber Ethereal
20% Outsider
30% Floater, Berserker
40% Exalt Soldiers
50% Drone, Chryssalid, Muton, Seeker, Cyberdisc, Heavy Floater, Exalt SHIV
60% Muton Elite
80% Mechtoid, Sectopod

Alien Types

Note: All stats shown here are without difficulty modifiers or perk effects, so some values may differ in the actual game.

Sectoid

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3


Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down
Psi Panic
Mind Merge
Mind Fray
Psychic Storm

Sectoids have low mobility, HP, and aim. They have access to Mind Fray, Psi Panic, and Mind Merge. All Sectoids have the Plasma Ranger perk so they have no aim penalty when shooting with their plasma pistols at a distance.

Their signature Mind Merge ability is significantly more powerful, now granting the target +25 to aim, crit, and will, but has a long cooldown.

Bounty: 2 Elerium

Armor: Sectoids have no armor.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8.0 6 5 0 55 0 50 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 2): 

3 HP, 0.5 damage, 4 aim, 15 will

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen.

Leaders:

Sectoid Prodigy
Sectoid Executioner
Sectoid Shadow
Reticulan

Sectoid leaders often get Psi Mastery, allowing them to use an action after a psionic ability, and complement this with extra will to better use their psionics. The exception is the Executioner, who, as the name implies, has Executioner and the aim to take advantage of it.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Sectoid Prodigy 1 +1 - - +30
Sectoid Executioner 3 +3 +10 +30 -
Sectoid Shadow6+5+30+30+50
Reticulan9+11+50+40+40



Drone

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3



Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Flight
Repair
Orbital Ray

Drones can be encountered right from the beginning of the game. They can come in groups of their own or attached to Sectoid squads, and later they will accompany more powerful mechanized units like Cyberdiscs, Mechtoids and Sectopods.

Their holo rounds are effective at making your units easier to hit and they can be quite deadly against early game SHIVs due to their anti-mechanical perks.

Drones, like all mechanized units, have some damage reduction and are hardened. Their constant defense from flying with damage reduction and ability to repair the pod leader can make them difficult to kill.

Bounty: 2 Alloys

Armor: Drones have 50% armor converted from their health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 6.6 4 4 0 60 0 0 0 10

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 2): 

3 HP, 1 damage, 3 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Assault Drone
Battle Drone
Orbital Drone
Omega Drone

Drone leaders universally have significantly higher firepower. Later leaders also become quite tanky with massive health gains.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Assault Drone 1 +2 +5 +10 -
Battle Drone 3 +5 +10 +10 -
Orbital Drone6+10+40+40-
Omega Drone9+13+50+30-


Thin Man

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3




Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Acid Spit
Hunker Down

Thin Men have high mobility and good stats all-around. They can also jump to any height making them extremely dangerous when fighting at varying elevations. They can spit acid clouds at your units, leading to a corrosion effect.

Thin Men also have the Shadowshot ability, making Overwatch ineffective against their shots and allowing them to chip down any heavily armored targets with ease. While Overwatch is still triggered by their spit, movement and overwatching, it is often best to steady and/or shoot at them instead.

Some early game council missions tend to have disproportionally high numbers of Thin Men -- it is advised to bring engineers and medikits on these missions to help remove corrosion from your units.

As the game goes on, Thin Men prove quite competent foes; their large crit growth and high mobility can easily punish a soldier that's out of position.

Bounty: 2 Weapon Fragments

Armor: Thin Men have no armor

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 10.0 7 6 0 60 10 10 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

3 HP, 1 damage, 6 aim, 6 crit, 5 def

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen.

Leaders:

Thin Man Duelist
Whisper
Sidewinder
Typhon

Thin Man leaders all have Acid Tech, making their spit attack even more deadly and giving a chance to corrode on hit. Beyond that, most Thin Man leaders are harder targets to hit with Awareness besides the Whisper which is much tankier instead.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Thin Man Duelist 1 +2 +10 +10 +10
Whisper 3 +4 +30 +10 +30
Sidewinder6+10+20+20+10
Typhon9+11+40+30+50



Floater

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3



Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Flight
Launch
Hunker Down

Floaters tend to fly (granting +30 defense) and gain the Tactical Mobility perk, granting them extra defense while in flight or in cover until they take damage or become preoccupied. This makes them quite elusive. They also get some bonus aim when at an elevation meaning their aim can be quite high. In combination they can be quite deadly as accurate and difficult to hit enemies.

When engaging floaters at a distance, steadying your weapons can make it easier to hit them when they are flying high. Another effective counter is using rockets as none of the floater's defense will help it against explosives, unlike being in cover, flying does not give any DR as well.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Floaters have 30% armor converted from their health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 7.3 10 6 0 60 30 5 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

3 HP, 1 damage, 4 aim, 4 crit

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Floater Ace
Floater Sentry
Floater Reaver
Reaver Lord

Floater leaders universally have much more threatening weapons with extra damage and either multiple shots from Light 'Em Up or extra damage on Overwatch shots from Sentry. They also tend to get pretty tanky at later leader levels, with the exception of the Reaver.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Floater Ace 1 - +5 +10 +10
Floater Sentry 3 +3 +40 +10 +50
Floater Reaver6+15+20+20+20
Reaver Lord9+16+70+30+40


Outsider

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3




Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down

Outsiders are quite dangerous. They have passive HP regeneration, high aim, and decent HP. You'll first encounter them shepherding their UFOs, waiting inside for you to approach (unless you play on Brutal or Impossible difficulties where they will also be present on the first mission). Their DR, HP pool, and regeneration means that it will take a concerted effort from the whole squad to take them down early game. Be careful though, they all have Close Combat Specialist, meaning moving too close to them can be extremely dangerous.

Their Growth ability causes them to gain increased stats as the mission goes on (per turn growth chance is based on difficulty), beginning from the start of mission. Leaving them alone until the end of the mission is ill-advised as they can become too strong to fight. On larger UFOs, Outsiders will appear in much larger groups. They will also occasionally might not be found in the command room, but somewhere else instead.

When you first meet them, fighting Outsiders in a war of attrition across cover is a bad idea, since their HP regen, relatively high damage, and accuracy with their Alien Carbines means they may well win. Neutralizing the Outsider with concussion grenades and suppression while you move your troops up to set up for a one turn kill is more effective.

Bounty: 2 Elerium

Armor: Outsiders have 20% armor converted from their health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 6.0 6 7 10 70 0 0 0 50
2 HP Regen

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

2 HP, 1 damage, 4 aim, +0.5 HP Regen

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Outsider Navigator
Outsider Engineer
Outsider Old Guard
Outsider Pioneer
Gladius

Outsider leaders effectively act as mini-bosses with a potential plethora of bonus stats from a stronger Growth ability. Beyond the bonus to Growth, the Outsider leaders' enhancements are entirely through perks (with the exception of the Pioneer and Gladius), with a strong focus on offensive perks.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Outsider Navigator 1 - - - -
Outsider Engineer 3 - - - -
Outsider Old Guard5----
Outsider Pioneer7+3+30+30+30
Gladius9+9+50+50+50



Chryssalid

Appears Level 1
Ammo: unlimited





Skills
Melee Attack

Chryssalids have great mobility and defense, and gain the Hardened ability, making them extremely agile armored threats. They also have significant penetration and will corrode units on movement or hit, meaning you should attempt to kill them before they can get too close.

Since their attacks will penetrate all DR, high DR units are not effective in negating their attacks.

Pursuit will, as the name implies, allow Chryssalids to pursue soldiers if they attempt to move away from them. A clever commander may be able to use this to their advantage, but otherwise it will be difficult to keep Chryssalids away once they've closed the distance.

Damaging them can drastically reduce their lethality, once you eliminate their armor, thanks to Red Fog lowering their mobility and melee damage.

Bounty: 2 Alloys

Armor: Chryssalids have 50% armor converted from their health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 10.6 6 5 100 Auto 0 20 30 10
 Leap,

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

5 HP, 1 damage

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Chryssalid Charger
Chryssalid Warrior
Hive Queen
Hive Empress

Chryssalid leaders do more damage but also become much harder to take down at later leader levels due to great HP gains and defensive perks. All chryssalid leaders have the Skitter perk which lets them attempt to dodge incoming AoE abilities like grenades, rockets, flashbangs, flamethrowers and so on, as long as they have unobstructed (not in a smoke cloud) line of sight to the unit performing the action.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Chryssalid Charger 1 +3 +5 - +5
Chryssalid Warrior 3 +1 +10 - +10
Hive Queen6+3+30--
Hive Empress9+9+30-+10
 Grit,



Zombie

Appears Level 1
Ammo: unlimited





Skills
Melee Attack

Zombies are melee units with a large health pool. However, they are not hardened and do not take cover so you can usually crit them for high amounts of damage. They can occasionally spawn as a member of Chryssalid pods on any mission, and it is also be possible to encounter them as a special pod spawn during Terror missions.

Unlike in LW 1.0 and EU/EW, Zombies in Long War Rebalance do not transform into Chryssalids at the beginning of some turns.

Damaging them can drastically reduce their lethality thanks to Red Fog lowering their mobility and melee damage. At the beginning of the campaign zombies deal very low damage with their punches, but as the war drags on, they will eventually outscale the damage dealt by chryssalid melee attacks. Unlike other melee enemies, zombie punches have no penetration so high DR units can withstand part of their damage.

Bounty: No bounty

Armor: Zombies have no armor

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8 12 4 0 Auto 0 0 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

7 HP, 3 damage

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats.



Muton

Appears Level 2
Ammo: 3



Skills
Standard Shot
Suppression
Overwatch
Alien Grenade
Hunker Down
Blood Call

Mutons are sturdy aliens that gain a lot of DR and crit resistance when protected by cover.

Mutons have a Deflection Shield ability which activates when they end their turn on a move or with AP remaining, granting them huge defense against ranged attacks that scales with distance. They have access to the Blood Call ability which will grant various stat increases to allies of the same species in range as well as remove most of the debuffs they are affected by, it also heals a small portion of HP which can stop bleeding.

Overall, Mutons create resilient roadblocks in the enemy formations that are best dealt with by flanking or removing their cover.

Unlike some of the other aliens, Muton intelligence is low and can lead to poor strategies like: running out into the open, performing poor attacks, or retreating early if some of their squad mates have been killed.

Bounty: 2 Weapon Fragments

Armor: Mutons have 50% armor converted from their health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 7.3 16 6 0 60 0 10 0 10

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 4): 

5 HP, 1 damage, 5 aim, 5% base DR

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Muton Optio
Muton Sentinel
Muton Decurion
Sargon

Muton leaders are especially dangerous due to Taunt, which makes retreating difficult. This combines well with their overall resilience making them effective units at pinning XCOM units in an engagement.

Muton leaders focus on becoming offensive powerhouses with a variety of perks that enable them to fire more often (and often with Shredder). They also gain large amounts of HP at later leader levels, which will be especially rough if Will to Survive is able to provide DR.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Muton Optio 1 +1 +10 +10 +10
Muton Sentinel 3 - +30 +10 +40
Muton Decurion6+8+20+30+20
Sargon9+11+45+30+60



Seeker

Appears Level 3
Ammo: 3



Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Strangle
Flight
Stealth

Seekers can be found both in pods made up entirely of Seekers, and accompanying squads of other aliens. This makes them dangerous, since a Seeker itself isn't much threat, but a Seeker supporting other aliens can be a deadly distraction. As mechanized units they have some damage reduction and are hardened. However, if they happen to get close to your units they may strangle them, incapacitating them and dealing significant damage and causing bleeding. As well, they form a protective cocoon when strangling making them difficult to dislodge. Seekers will only stop strangling once they take damage to their base HP and incur red fog.

The Proximity Sensor item can detect and uncloak nearby Seekers, providing an early counters to Seekers. If not proximity sensor is available, XCOM units can use Combat Readiness to reveal any invisible seekers with a short range. Holo Rounds prevents Seekers from cloaking again, usually forcing them to resort to their pistols. Seekers can only stay cloaked for up to 3 turns before revealing themselves. Any explosive/area effect attacks (bar the MEC Flamethrower; Seekers are fireproof - though an 'IMMUNE' popup will still appear) that catch an invisible Seeker in their area will force them to decloak.

Due to their significant crit malus they are not as deadly when flanking compared to many other alien units, but their base penetration means they can still deal reasonable damage from afar.

Bounty: 2 Alloys

Armor: Seekers have 50% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 7.3 10 5 20 70 -50 0 0 10

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 4): 

4 HP, 0.5 damage, 4 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Stalker
Wraith
Battle Wraith
Hydra

Seeker leaders possess much more threatening weapons, and gain a mix of offensive and defensive perks alongside high HP growth for later leader levels. Their high level leaders notably gain a lot of defense and the deadly Close Encounters perk that can lead to multiple attacks at close range. It is important to note that seeker strangle damage equals 25% of the seeker's HP, so strangles by high level leaders can lead to very quick (if not instant) deaths.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Stalker 1 +2 +5 - -
Wraith 3 +6 +20 +20 -
Battle Wraith6+9+30+30-
Hydra9+13+40+50-



Cyberdisc

Appears Level 4
Ammo: 5



Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Alien Grenade
Flight
Transform

Cyberdiscs are usually accompanied by Drones and Seekers, and usually prefer to shoot rather than throwing their grenade.

Cyberdiscs pose a significant threat throughout the game due to high aim and high damage (further bolstered by their high crit chance, especially as the game goes on). They can transform between open and closed states: their open state is required to do any action besides movement and their closed state will grant them hardened, crit immunity, and +20 defense. If they take damage in their open state that exceeds 10% of their max HP, they will automatically close. However, they must open in order to act (though Overwatching units will fire before they open up, and they can go into overwatch while being closed). Thus, they are best dealt with through high damage single attacks (e.g. a Magnum sniper or units with Critical System Targeting) when open.

As well, their shots are explosive and damage units near their target so spreading out is ideal.

If they're not dealt with quickly or retreated from, they are very likely to flank and hit you with raw firepower or simply toss explosives at you.

The Drones escorting a Cyberdisc are quite dangerous as well, for two reasons. First, they can tag a target with Holo Rounds, making it easier for the parent Cyberdisc (and any other enemies, for that matter) to hit the victim. Second, they can fix any damage and corrosion you have done to the Cyberdisc with their Repair ability.

Bounty: 20 Alloys

Armor: Cyberdisks have 50% converted armor from their health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8.0 28 8 25 90 30 0 0 15

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 5): 

3 HP, 2 damage, 10 aim, 10 crit, 5 pen

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Cyberdisc Rover
Cyberdisc Gunship
Dreadnought

Cyberdisc leaders turn an already scary enemy into an even scarier one. Basic leaders (Rovers) gain a defensive perk, while the later leaders gain offensive perks focused on Overwatch and crits (in addition to each having stat increases).

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Cyberdisc Rover 1 +2 +5 +5 0
Cyberdisc Gunship 5 +4 +10 +10 0
Dreadnought9+10+15+150



Mechtoid

Appears Level 5
Ammo: 5




Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Mortar Barrage

Mechtoids will appear with Sectoid and Drone escorts, and later with Sectoid Commanders. They are very resilient units that deal high damage and have moderate aim. All mechtoids also have Lock'n Load, which can catch an unaware commander by surprise.

Mechtoids are one of the few "big" units vulnerable to psionics - Mind Fray will restrict their movement and prevent them from charging to flank as well as reducing their accuracy. Psi Panic will completely disable a Mechtoid. Their will is a little higher than regular troops, but not stellar, so they are excellent targets for psionic abilities. Acid Grenades are also useful as Mechtoids have a significant amount of base DR and the corrosion will lower their accuracy and mobility.

The Psi Shield granted to Mechtoids by Mind Merge grants a massive amount of temporary health, in addition to mind merge's 50% graze chance, crit, mobility and aim. As a result, it is almost imperative that you find and kill the Sectoid that set up the link (helpfully indicated by the psionic streams) before targeting the Mechtoid.

Like cyberdiscs their shots are explosive and damage units near their target.

While Mechtoids do not explode for damage, a Mechtoid that falls backwards in a fight it will crush cover it lands on. Be careful not to destroy your own cover in close quarters combat.

Bounty: 20 Meld, 20 Alloys

Armor: Mechtoids have 80% armor converted from health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8.0 36 10 10 70 0 50 0 40

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 6): 

6 HP, 2 damage, 5 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Vulcan Mechtoid
Leviathan Mechtoid
Colossus

Mechtoid leaders become significantly scarier all around, possessing much stronger weapons and gaining solid defensive power through perks and HP.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Vulcan Mechtoid 1 +6 +10 +0 +20
Leviathan Mechtoid 5 +6 +30 +0 +40
Colossus9+9+30+30+60



Berserker

Appears Level 5
Ammo: unlimited





Skills
Melee Attack

Berserkers commonly appear accompanied by mutons early on, their blood call synergy can turn encounters with them very dangerous.

Like Chryssalids and Zombies, anything you can do to slow down a Berserker will greatly reduce its threat. They are Hardened and as such, will have a reasonable amount of DR. They are particularly weak to psionics due to their low will (though the leader Berserkers are not so susceptible). Disorienting a Berserker will reduce its movement range to well below Concussion throw range, while also crippling its melee damage, so is a good way to neutralize a Berserker you're not ready to kill. Acid Grenades can achieve a weaker but situationally useful reduction to their mobility.

Also, like Chryssalids, their attacks will penetrate all DR so high DR units are not effective in negating their attacks.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Berserkers have 30% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 9.3 28 10 100 Auto 0 10 0 20

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 6): 

8 HP, 1 damage

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Alpha Berserker
Juggernaut
Mongo

Berserker leaders possess Taunt, which can be difficult to work around at times given that the Berserker is liable to chase anyone who damages them to break it. They also gain significant bulk from defensive perks and deal much more damage. Mongo also has much higher will as well as deflection shield, making them quite resilient to psionic attacks and non-reaction-fire ranged attacks.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Alpha Berserker 1 +4 +10 0 +10
Juggernaut 5 +8 +15 0 +20
Mongo9+13+200+70



Muton Elite

Appears Level 6
Ammo: 5



Skills
Standard Shot
Suppression
Overwatch
Alien Grenade
Hunker Down

Muton Elites are similar-looking to Mutons, but with red armor/helmet and carrying a heavy plasma weapon.

They have a lot of firepower at their disposal. Their heavy plasma weapons are both destructive and highly damaging, and they still benefit from Blood Call, though they cannot activate the ability themselves. All muton elites have danger zone so their suppression can paralyze clustered xcom units.

They are even sturdier then their regular and berserker counterparts as they have more defensive perks, more hp and more innate DR.

Bounty: 10 Meld

Armor: Muton Elites have 60% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 9.3 22 10 20 80 0 10 0 20

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 7): 

5 HP, 1 damage, 8 aim, 5 base DR

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Muton Elite Centurion
Muton Elite Praetorian
Bashar

Leader Muton Elites are much like their regular counterparts, in that they gain the ability to fire more shots (though their reaction fire is unmodified) and possess Shredder and Taunt. Like their regular counterparts, they also gain extra will to resist psionic attacks.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Muton Elite Centurion 1 +3 +20 +10 +20
Muton Elite Praetorian 5 +4 +30 +10 +80
Bashar9+10+40+20+90


Sectoid Commander

Appears Level 6
Ammo: 3

Sectoid Commanders represent a substantial step up from their early game counterparts, and a substantial step up in terms of difficulty. An unprepared commander could easily have their entire squad decimated by a Sectoid Commander.

They carry new psionic abilities as well as much better statistics. Sectoid Commanders are brave, and greatly prefer using psionic abilities over shooting. They have the Psi Mastery ability, and will be able to use multiple psionic abilities each turn. When not using their psionic abilities they will resort to their regular sectoid pistols though with far better aim and solid penetration.

Their Distortion ability makes them very difficult to take down as your damage against them will be significantly reduced and split among other aliens within 8 tiles.

Their Greater Mind Merge is now quite powerful, granting multiple targets various bonuses as well as activating Telekinetic Field for free. They can also use 2AP to attempt Enthrall which can pull your soldiers out of cover on your next turn and do significant damage unless stopped by reaction fire or prevented with suppression.

Everything considered, these will likely be the most difficult aliens you fight when they are first revealed.

Bounty: 20 Elerium

Armor: Sectoid Commanders have no armor

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8.0 14 4 20 90 0 110 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 7): 

2 HP, 1 damage, 5 aim, 20 will

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen.

Leaders:

Sectoid Master
Sectoid Lord
Reticulan Commander

Sectoid Commander leaders gain Overdrive, greatly amplifying their psionic potential, and also become more threatening with their pistol as well at later leader levels. With Overdrive doubling the chances of Countercharge triggering and the commander's high will, it is guaranteed to trigger when its conditions are met in all but the lowest difficulties (or early forced appearances such as in Alien Bases, Terror missions and so on).

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Sectoid Master 1 +1 +5 +10 +10
Sectoid Lord 5 +1 +10 +20 +20
Reticulan Commander9+5+25+30+40



Heavy Floater

Appears Level 7
Ammo: 3



Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Alien Grenade
Flight
Launch
Hunker Down

The Heavy Floater is a significant improvement over the original Floater. Unlike regular Floaters, Heavy Floaters can throw grenades.

The Heavy Floater is a versatile full-package enemy. It has strength in almost every area with high penetration, crit, aim, and damage as well as high defense and damage resistance, their will is notably lacking however. Large groups of Heavy Floaters will be some of the most difficult encounters of a campaign.

Bounty: 10 Meld

Armor: Heavy Floaters have 50% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8.0 22 10 20 80 50 10 0 20

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 8): 

4 HP, 1 damage, 5 aim, 5 crit

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Heavy Floater Ace
Aircobra
Archon

Like regular Floaters, the leader variants gain a mix of offensive perks, but also gain a very large amount of health at later leader levels. Archons are also highly resistant to psionic attacks and can even shred XCOM units.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Heavy Floater Ace 1 +0 +10 +0 +10
Aircobra 5 +4 +25 +15 +20
Archon9+5+55+15+80


Sectopod

Appears Level 8
Ammo: 5




Skills
Cannon Fire
Overwatch
Mortar Barrage

Sectopods are massive mechanical war machines. They represent one of the two late game enemies that are extremely dangerous. Taking them down without suffering casualties may not be possible. As with all aliens, their strength and power progresses with time, making them even more dangerous as the war drags on. Often, entering a mission with multiple Sectopods is an indication to retreat.

They have 3 main attacks: their chest cannon (Cannon Fire), their green turret cannon, and their Mortar Barrage.

Their Cannon Fire ability grants an additional +40 penetration (on top of their innate 20 penetration) when there is only 1 target in sight. However, if you have multiple targets in sight the Cannon Fire ability will often fire twice (at different targets). Which is more dangerous will depend on the situation you are in.

The green turret cannon does -50% weapon damage and will activate for reaction shots.

Sectopods are not inhibited by terrain. As such, they can and will break down walls and terrain as they move. This makes it difficult to use cover to try to block line of sight as they will often just walk through the cover.

Sectopods have extremely high damage and aim. Tanking their shots should only be done by resilient units, and those may still lose the majority of their HP.

Not only do they output incredible offensive power, their HP and base DR is extremely high. It is almost mandatory to bring some form of corrosion when fighting them in order to crack through their armor.

Bounty: 80 Alloys

Armor: Sectopods have 80% armor converted from their health

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8.0 40 16 20 90 50 0 0 70

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 9): 

8 HP, 3 damage, 10 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Sectopod Destroyer
Sectopod Titan
Atlas

As one would imagine, Sectopod leaders are even scarier than their base form, possessing much more firepower at the later leader levels while also becoming incredibly tanky. The Titan introduces the squadsight threat which can pick off unsuspecting soldiers from afar. The Atlas doubles down by almost never missing its heavy damage shots with its huge aim bonus.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Sectopod Destroyer 1 +2 +10 +10 0
Sectopod Titan 5 +2 +20 +20 0
Atlas9+10+30+800



Ethereal

The Ethereals are the floating psionic leaders of the alien race -- they represent the highest threat a Commander will encounter. Using a Psionic Lance attack that does damage based on will and hit chance based on aim, as well as the feared Enthrall and Rift abilities, Ethereals represent the pinnacle of psionic deadliness. Moreover, they have Psi Mastery which can let them perform 2 attacks each turn. Those attacks can include upgraded psionic abilities in the form of Chain Panic and Mind Rend.

Just like Sectoid Commanders, they have the Distortion ability, reducing any damage dealt to them. They also regenerate health, have high innate defense, and the Psychic Tether ability. Overall, this makes them extremely resilient.

They are the other late game enemy that is extremely dangerous and likely to cause fatalities and/or full squad defeats. Fighting an ethereal often results in a pyrrhic victory, if a victory at all. Take great care when engaging one as there are few aliens more deadly.

Bounty: 40 Elerium

Armor: Ethereals have no armor.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 9.3 30 0 0 100 0 100 70 3 HP Regen

Attribute Increases occur on even Alien Levels (starting at AL 10): 

4 HP, 20 aim, 20 will, 1 HP Regen

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats.

Leaders:

Ethereal Primus
Ethereal Overmind

Unlike all other leaders in the game, Ethereal Leaders gain no extra perks aside from the generic leader ones, but the massive stats they gain makes their psionics and toughness some of the strongest you will come across in your campaign.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Ethereal Primus 1 0 +20 +20 +20
Ethereal Overmind 9 0 +40 +40 +40


Uber Ethereal

The Uber Ethereal is the ultimate threat of every campaign. As one would expect, they are essentially an uber-powerful version of a regular Ethereal.

The Uber Ethereal has the Uber perk, which upgrades Distortion to disperse 100% of the damage with allies within 200 tiles, including those not in vision; you will have trouble hurting the Uber Ethereal until all of its allies are gone across the entire map. It also caps shred at 50%, prevents acid, and allows the Uber to use an unresistable psychic storm for 0 AP.

They also have access to the devastating ability Mind Control to really turn the tides against you. Finally, the Uber Ethereal is able to more freely use Psychic Storm, even before it has seen you; therefore, once you get close, engaging quickly would be wise.

The Uber Ethereal is accompanied by four random high-level leaders (which will never include sectopods, outsiders or ethereals).

Good luck Commander; you'll need it.

Bounty: Campaign victory

Armor: The Uber Ethereal has no armor.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 12.0 70 0 0 110 0 120 70 8 Regen
 Uber,

Attribute Increases occur on ALL Alien Levels (starting at AL 9): 

10 HP, 10 aim, 20 will, 1 HP Regen

At Alien Level 15 (max) it gains 4x those stats.

Exalt

Most Exalt units share a few key traits:

  • They have Lock N' Load, which primarily reduces the power of relay hacks, but also lets them put on continuous pressure in a long firefight (only exception is Exalt SHIV unless they are an MKIII leader or above)
  • They feel a strong urge to move towards the objective, often to the point of staying out of cover to get closer.
  • Their human units can panic in a similar manner to XCOM's soldiers. Operative and Vanguard Exalt leaders have Steadfast preventing the effect on themselves however.
    • 30% chance if they are hit for more than 30% of their remaining health (20 will test)
    • 30% chance if a squad mate in vision dies (20 will test)
    • 30% chance if a squad leader in vision dies (40 will test)

Because of their tendency to move towards the objective, Overwatch is a very powerful tool against most Exalt soldiers.

Exalt Operative

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3




Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down

Exalt Operatives are regular frontline soldiers that fill the ranks of EXALT. Operatives aren't a major threat outside of Opportunist overwatches, but their Repulsor perk means taking them down quickly can prove difficult. The Close Encounters perks makes them both dangerous and resilient at close range.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Operatives have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 7.3 5 4 0 60 20 20 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

0.5 HP, 0.5 damage, 6 aim, 6 crit

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Operative)
Exalt Sergeant (Operative)
Exalt MSGT (Operative)

Exalt Operative leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as large damage increases through Critical System Targeting and Aggression.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Corporal (Operative) 1 +2 +5 +5 +20
Exalt Sergeant (Operative) 3 +3 +10 +10 +40
Exalt Master Sergeant (Operative)6+4+20+20+60



Exalt Marksman

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3




Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down

Exalt Marksmen are pure glass cannons just like XCOM's Snipers; they boast the lowest health, will, and mobility of any enemy in the game, but can pelt away at you from Squadsight range with high-damage strike rifles that can very easily wound or kill an unprepared soldier. If you can directly attack them in almost any way, they'll die quite quickly, but the longer they sit in the backlines, the more likely it is that they'll get that critical shot they need to kill a soldier. Just like XCOM soldiers using long rifles, Exalt Marksmen have poor aim at close range, so if you can close the distance they'll be unlikely to have a good chance to hit you, even after moving.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Marksmen have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 6 3 5 15 70 20 5 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

1 damage, 8 aim, 8 crit

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Sniper)
Exalt Sergeant (Sniper)
Exalt MSGT (Sniper)

Exalt Marksman leaders gain a modest amount of stats (primarily offensive), as well as large situational damage increases.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Corporal (Sniper) 1 +1 +3 +10 +20
Exalt Sergeant (Sniper) 3 +2 +6 +20 +40
Exalt Master Sergeant (Sniper)6+3+9+30+60



Exalt Heavy

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 4




Skills
Standard Shot
Suppression
Overwatch
Hunker Down

Exalt Heavies are very similar to XCOM's own Tank Gunners. Will to Survive makes them difficult to take down through cover, and the combination of Suppression, Danger Zone, and Holo Rounds offers incredible offensive support. If flanks aren't an option, Psionics or Supports may help you survive until you can push aggressively behind their cover.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Heavies have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 4.6 8 6 0 45 0 10 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

2 HP, 0.5 damage, 4 aim, 4 crit

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Heavy)
Exalt Sergeant (Heavy)
Exalt MSGT (Heavy)

Exalt Heavy leaders gain a modest amount of stats (mostly defensive) as well as becoming more threatening overall with Shredder and eventually Critical System Targeting, and are even bulkier in cover.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Corporal (Heavy) 1 +1 +7 +5 +20
Exalt Sergeant (Heavy) 3 +2 +14 +10 +40
Exalt Master Sergeant (Heavy)6+3+21+20+60



Exalt Vanguard

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 3



Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down
Medikit Heal
Smoke Grenade

Exalt Vanguards are tanky support units. They provide solid defensive support in the form of Medikits (boosted by Field Medic and Savior) and Smoke Grenades (boosted by Dense Smoke and Smoke and Mirrors) while also being quite tanky due to high base DR and Grit and relatively strong against Psionics and panic because of decent will. Offensively they're the weakest of Exalt's forces, but can still be a nuisance due to Ready For Anything providing automatic Overwatches.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Vanguards have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8 12 4 0 60 20 40 0 20
 Grit,

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

3 HP, 0.5 damage, 5 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Corporal (Vanguard)
Exalt Sergeant (Vanguard)
Exalt MSGT (Vanguard)

Exalt Vanguard leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as gaining extra defensive prowess in the form of Shadowstep and Awareness.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Corporal (Vanguard) 1 +1 +4 +5 +20
Exalt Sergeant (Vanguard) 3 +2 +8 +10 +40
Exalt Master Sergeant (Vanguard)6+3+12+30+60



Exalt SHIV

Appears Level 1
Ammo: 2





Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch

Exalt SHIVs act much the same as their XCOM counterparts, even gaining many of the same perks that modules and SHIV Advancements normally provide. Just like XCOM's variant, they can be used as cover by both Exalt and XCOM alike, although that cover won't benefit you from the shots that the SHIV itself takes at you.

Exalt SHIVs are the only mechanical enemies that show up on Exalt missions, so it may be worth carrying a spare Arc Rifle or Arc Pistol to manage them. Exalt SHIVs will prove to be very tanky if the squad lacks a clear anti-mechanical solution, and they output much more damage compared to regular Exalt soldiers, especially the leader variants.

It's also worth noting that Exalt SHIVs are just as immobile as XCOM's, and cannot access high ground in any way besides a ramp, stairs, or small ledges (unless they happen to already be there at mission start). As you might expect, they also cannot panic, but can trigger panic in other Exalt soldiers upon destruction. Unlike other exalt units, SHIVs do not have Lock N' Load unless they are a Mk III leader or above, which can make relay hacks a reliable way to stall their damage in earlier ALs.

Bounty: Shiv Chassis

Armor: Exalt SHIVs have 50% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 7.3 24 6 0 55 0 0 25 30

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

2 HP, 1 damage, 3 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

SHIV Mk II-IV
UHIV

Exalt SHIV leaders gain a suite of both offensive and defensive perks, letting them shoot more frequently and with greater effect while also being much tankier. They're likely to be the biggest individual threat you come across on your typical Exalt mission. The UHIV is a special leader who can (and will) only spawn on the EXALT Base Raid.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
SHIV Mk II 1 +1 +2 +10 0
SHIV Mk III 3 +3 +4 +10 0
SHIV Mk IV6+5+6+200
UHIV9+8+25+500



Exalt Elite Operative

Appears Level 6
Ammo: 3




Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down

Exalt Elite Operatives are much like their regular counterparts, but with improved stats all-around and the addition of Enhanced Metabolism. This makes them significantly more deadly and difficult to finish off without sources of guaranteed damage or large accuracy bonuses if they can't be killed from above half health in a single shot.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Operatives have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8 10 6 0 70 20 30 0 10

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 7): 

1 HP, 0.5 damage, 8 aim, 8 crit

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Operative)
Exalt Captain (Operative)
Exalt Major (Operative)
Exalt Commander Iago Van Doorn

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Operative leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as large crit damage increases through Critical System Targeting and Aggression.

Exalt Commander Iago Van Doorn deserves a special mention here, as he serves as the boss of the Exalt HQ Assault and exclusively shows up there. Packing immensely increased stats, most gene mods, Overwatch immunity on shooting and movement, and his own powerful Overwatches, Iago is a menace for any squad, prepared or not. Concussion Grenades are invaluable for locking him down, and a strong tank will be necessary to mitigate his damage. Like other champions, the Plasma Shield will ensure that he gets a chance to act, especially given that the Exalt HQ often forces players to fight from the helipad with little room for retreat. Enhanced Metabolism is even more concerning here, given the sheer durability of Iago; activating this at the wrong time can spell death for your squad. Iago is likely to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest individual enemy you encounter before the final mission, so be careful Commander.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Lieutenant (Operative) 1 +2 +5 +5 +20
Exalt Captain (Operative) 3 +3 +10 +10 +40
Exalt Major (Operative)6+4+20+20+60
Exalt Commander Iago Van Doorn9+13+40+40+120
 Grit,



Exalt Elite Marksman

Appears Level 6
Ammo: 3




Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down

Exalt Elite Marksmen are much the same as their non-elite counterparts, with improved stats and the addition of Muscle Fiber Density genemod allowing for more high-ground use and more flanks. Very few soldiers can survive a flank shot from an Elite Marksman, so be on the lookout!

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Marksmen have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 6.6 6 7 15 80 35 15 0 0

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 7): 

1 HP, 1 damage, 10 aim, 10 crit

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Sniper)
Exalt Captain (Sniper)
Exalt Major (Sniper)
Exalt General (Sniper)

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Marksman leaders gain a modest amount of stats (primarily offensive), Low Profile, as well as large situational damage increases. Generals become much more offensively threatening due to Light 'Em Up allowing two shots per turn.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Lieutenant (Sniper) 1 +1 +3 +10 +20
Exalt Captain (Sniper) 3 +2 +6 +20 +40
Exalt Major (Sniper)6+3+9+30+60
Exalt General (Sniper)8+7+12+40+80



Exalt Elite Heavy

Appears Level 6
Ammo: 4




Skills
Standard Shot
Suppression
Overwatch
Hunker Down

Exalt Elite Heavies are like the other elites, in that they're an improvement on their regular form but not all that much different. Heavies are blessed with Iron Skin which makes them significantly tankier, even against flanks. A bit of penetration on your weapons will go a long way, as well as crit chance increases.

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Heavies have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 5.3 16 9 0 55 0 20 0 10

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 7): 

3 HP, 0.5 damage, 6 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Heavy)
Exalt Captain (Heavy)
Exalt Major (Heavy)
Exalt General (Heavy)

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Heavy leaders gain a modest amount of stats (mostly defensive) as well as becoming more threatening overall with Shredder and eventually Critical System Targeting, and are even bulkier in cover.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Lieutenant (Heavy) 1 +1 +7 +5 +20
Exalt Captain (Heavy) 3 +2 +14 +10 +40
Exalt Major (Heavy)6+3+21+15+60
Exalt General (Heavy)8+7+28+20+80



Exalt Elite Vanguard

Appears Level 6
Ammo: 3



Skills
Standard Shot
Overwatch
Hunker Down
Medikit Heal
Smoke Grenade

Exalt Elite Vanguards follow the same pattern as the other elites, being a stat improvement and the addition of a gene mod. In the Elite Vanguard's case, this takes the form of Smart Macrophages, making shred and corrosion useless against them. When combined with Grit, this can make finishing off Elite Vanguards difficult; make sure to have a plan for when they get low, or burst them from full health to begin with!

Bounty: 2 Meld

Armor: Exalt Elite Vanguards have 40% armor converted from their health.

Mobility
Mobility 		Health
HP
Damage

Damage
Pen 		Aim
Aim
Critical Hit Chance

Crit 		Will
Will 		Defense
Defense
Base DR 		Perks
Attributes 8.6 24 6 0 70 20 60 0 40
 Grit,

Attribute Increases occur on odd Alien Levels (starting at AL 3): 

4 HP, 0.5 damage, 7 aim

At Alien Level 15 (max) they gain 4x those stats, plus 30 Pen and 30 Base DR.

Leaders:

Exalt Lieutenant (Vanguard)
Exalt Captain (Vanguard)
Exalt Major (Vanguard)
Exalt General (Vanguard)

Much like their regular counterpart, Elite Vanguard leaders gain a modest amount of stats as well as gaining extra defensive prowess in the form of Shadowstep and Awareness. Generals become a much more relevant offensive threat due to the addition of Sentinel and Opportunist to suddenly turn Ready For Anything from a nuisance to a huge threat.

Leader Name
Leader Level
Damage

Bonus Damage 		Health
Bonus HP 		Aim
Bonus Aim 		Will
Bonus Will 		Additional Perks
Exalt Lieutenant (Vanguard) 1 +1 +4 +5 +20
Exalt Captain (Vanguard) 3 +2 +8 +10 +40
Exalt Major (Vanguard)6+3+12+30+60
Exalt General (Vanguard)8+4+16+35+80



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