Overview
This XCOM Enemy Unknown/Within guide aims to provide easy to read reference for misc bits I believe haven’t been covered well enough. These tips are subjective from my experience with the game (120+ hrs, watching youtube vids and wiki walks, 74 achievements and counting). I welcome questions and suggestions for updates! Just be polite. 🙂
Introduction
Many have already written a great deal on XCOM EU/EW. The 2 best guides are by Rensje and Toastasaurus Rex. If you haven’t already, you might read those and take a look at the wiki. This guide will touch on the most important elements but much much more briefly than other resources. Keep in mind that these tips are SUBJECTIVE from only my own experience with the game, and you are free to make different choices. This guide is meant to help inform you, NOT TO BE PERFECT. Hopefully you will learn something new here. (Also, this guide is for general play. If I feel a need to make a guide for classic, impossible, and/or ironman that will be a separate guide.)
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Starting your game
If you are new to XCOM EU/EW, you may want to start on easy or normal! Easy will give you a pleasant introduction to all the game mechanics but is very light on difficulty. It’s good for some of the pesky achievements but doesn’t really give you that “XCOM” experience. Normal is just right if you want to start to feel the pressures of resource management and combat your first time. Africa is probably the best starting continent.
I recommend not choosing the “save scum” option. I find it more fun to actually play the odds and not reload much. It builds character, and will help you prepare for iron man. Do save at the beginning and end of each mission, and obviously before quitting or minimizing the game.
For second wave options, do a little bit of reading on the wiki and forums before enabling these! They are quite game changers, and may hurt your experience.
Play with slingshot and progeny on for 2 powerful named characters (and 3 generic psychics)! It will be fun, trust me.
Concerning failure conditions, if your entire squad is killed the game will continue. You lose when 8 countries leave, not when your characters die.
Action Points
Spending your action points properly is crucial! Always make your farthest move first. Dashing is ok if you are confident that that unit won’t run into new enemies or need to shoot that turn. Dashing is also pretty crucial for getting meld before it goes poof.
In general, don’t end any unit’s turn with overwatch till all other units have moved up as much as they’re going to. Consistent overwatch can help as enemies will often rush you as the game progresses. If you have turns to burn, feel free to overwatch as this may catch patrols and aggressive enemy packs you weren’t expecting.
Someone said you can use the first move to scout and second to retreat. Kindof, but enemies aren’t always predictable. You don’t know what’s out there.
Dealing with Rookies
Rookies are the beginning of every soldier. You will deal with rookies and other low level units at various points in the game, especially due to starting new games and replacing dead soldiers. Rookies aren’t all bad however, and much can be done to help them along.
Giving rookies grenades helps as grenades have perfect accuracy. Alien grenades are reusable and can be stolen with arc thrower or created after a foundry project. Scopes, light plasma rifles, gene soldiers with adrenaline surge, and heavies with holo targeting can help the accuracy of rookies. The OTS and Star of Tera can help rookies level up faster. Having rookies survive missions also gives them EXP although not as much as killing things.
Rookies can use upgraded armor and weapons if you have them. Putting them in good armor, chitin plating, scopes, and lprs should help in later missions should you need to train more rookies. However SHIVs may be more useful for high risk roles.
Assaults, Supports, Heavies, and Snipers
I tend to go defensive on assault skills regardless of weapons, but taking rapid fire. Assaults are the most defensive class, even more than heavies imo. I prefer shotguns because of high accuracy at close range. Range isn’t a big deal because assaults can get closer despite overwatch.
Supports I use as full blown medics, and snipers with squadsight/double tap. Heavies are best at making things go boom. All 3 of these classes have other viable roles, but to me these are the obvious choices. There are lots of ways to spec all your classes and have been covered in aforementioned places thoroughly.
Heavies are my LEAST favorite class. Explosives hurt your research, suppression is hard to use well and burns too much ammo, and they have poor accuracy which means that bullet storm is often firing twice just to hit once.
I color code my soldiers by class. But you could also give all your units helmets and color code them by power ranger personas.
Covert Ops
Every squad needs a dedicated covert op. Snipers are good covert ops because of their high accuracy and pistol skill. Take squad sight, gunslinger, battle scanner, executioner, and double tap. Supports make good covert ops because they still can be good medics without a good gun or foundry upgrades. Assaults are good covert ops because of their defensive skills, and can rapid fire pistols without reloading.
Take healing legs and skin camo for covert ops if you can. Healing will supplement lack of armor, and camo will help disable enemy coms.
Covert ops may also benefit from hp increasing items as they cannot wear armor.
If you aren’t playing on ironman, you can use save reloading to find the enemy exalt base. It’s a bit cheap feeling, but if you don’t like exalt it’s a way to get rid of them earlier. However they will use elite units in their base defense regardless.
Moving covert ops or civilians can trigger enemies, depending on the mission. You may want to hunker down and get the rest of the squad reloaded and in full cover first before moving.
Gene Mods
Gene mods are much more versatile and unintrusive than mechs. Maybe they don’t look as cool as mechs, but IMO are the more useful. Gene mods augment all 4 vanilla classes, but mechs are really only 1 class.
Neural feedback vs dampening: I prefer dampening, but the mods are very similar.
Hyper reactive pupils vs depth perception: I prefer pupils for most situations. Getting a height advantage can be rare.
Adrenal neurosympathy vs secondary heart: 2 hearts is better on ironman and can save you a reload on non-ironman, but adrenals are better. Because adrenals increase your aim, movement, and crit they really help.
Bioelectric skin vs memetic skin: Bioelectric skin is good for seekers and navigating tight spaces with hidden enemies. Memetic skin is imo less flexible and costs too much meld. Memetic skin doesn’t work if enemies can see your starting position even if camo is active, so it’s imo too limited. However many people (not me) seem to get good use out of Memetic skin despite its limitations.
Muscle fiber density (jumpy legs) vs Adaptive Bone Marrow (healing): I like healing. It helps your units get out of med-bay faster and supplements healing items. Jumpy legs can be kinda replaced by grappling hook armors and *gasp* ladders. I do like jumpy legs a lot but sadly they are on the same slot as healing.
Mechs (MECs)
Although Mechs cannot take cover and have smaller clips, they get many of the best skills from the other classes and can fist punch things like berserkers. Mechs are (with upgrades) faster than supports in skell-suits, have high hp, and do the best damage of all classes except maybe assaults. Mechs also have a variety of new skills. Mechs are upgradable through research/foundry. Mechs are the most complex and versatile class, and when upgraded properly are far better than a non gene modded soldier. However take in consideration their poor defense and high meld cost.
Mechs have horrible aim progression but keep stats of soldier when converting. Convert heavies right away but leave other classes till Colonel. Snipers are best unless you need a base class ability like distortion field or shock absorbent armor.
Mechs are very expensive in the Meld department. If you hate to push for meld, gene soldiers will let you be more frugal with Meld spending. However, Mechs only go out for 3 day surgery once, and gene modded soldiers need up to 5 visits (15 days).
Mechs are only 1 class, and gene mods improve all 4 regular classes. Mech soldiers cannot be gene modded, which is a big disadvantage. This means they are vulnerable to mind control and miss the other miscellaneous perks that gene soldiers get. Because Mechs are best converted from Colonels for 3 out of 4 base classes, and because Mechs greatly benefit from foundry projects and a richer xcom, they are obsolete in the early game compared to gene mods imo.
Psi Soldiers
Psi soldiers are a sub class for human soldiers. It can be combined with gene mods for crazy op units. Below is an analysis of the various skills. Playing with operation progeny will guarantee you 4 psi soldiers, but it’s somewhat late in the game. Also Annette has kindof an unpleasant demeanor. :<
Mind fray: Often higher accuracy than a gun shot, conserves ammo, and basically suppresses the unit. Allows snipers to move and attack in one turn, gives medics a stronger attack, and helps shotgun assaults fight at range. Mind fray is great.
Psi inspiration: Unless you are struggling with panic, pass. Because squad leaders share will, everyone should have good will anyway.
Psi panic: Wastes your targets turn and afaik lowers their accuracy. It’s not amazing, but I like it.
Telekinetic Field: If you like smoke grenades you should like this. I struggle to remember to use smokes because I prefer offensive abilities.
Mind Control: At its best, mind control will waste a whole bunch of enemy turns with infighting. At its worst, you’ve accidentally converted an enemy unit to a friendly and that’s a confusing situation. But still interesting. 🙂
Rift: Only for the volunteer, but spam the heck out of it.
Shivs and Foundry
Shivs are easily replaceable units. With proper foundry upgrades, they can auto heal themselves and fly. However they are a waste of exp that could go to not-colonel units. Shivs are very durable and easily replaceable if you do not mind their lack of utility and boring non-personalities.
You may prefer Shivs to Supports or other units for meld running and scouting.
Foundry: Get ammo conservation, improved medkit, scope upgrade, and tactical rigging upgrades ASAP. Foundry upgrades are very useful if you run Mechs or Shivs.
Items and Armor
My favorite items are scopes and chitin plating. They help with survivability and consistency, and don’t require conscious use. Mind shield is good for psi squad leader (with psi armor). Medkits are good with medics (you can even take 2 per medic). Grenades are good for rookies/squadies who can’t aim. I’m not good with the other items, but you are welcome to experiment.
I prefer skeleton/ghost armor for mobility, defense, and grappling hooks. Titan armor is more economical than ghost if resources are tight, and can help you absorb more damage.
Enemy Types
Sectoids: If they mind link, kill the mind linker for a chain reaction. Grenades will help rookies in the early game sectoid firefights.
Thin Man: Beware of poison! Wear good armor to negate poison. Medkits and respirators also protect holders.
Berserkers/Chrysalids: A good reason to take close combat specialist on assaults. Also strangely on Shivs.
Etherials/Sectoid Commanders: Use gene mods properly and they shouldn’t be too big a deal.
Seeker: Huddle together and overwatch! Close combat specialist also works here. 🙂 Electric skin and battle scanners also work.
Sectopod: With EW buff is most dangerous enemy in the game. Use psi rift in final mission.
Achievements
Guardian of Earth: Save 1 of each of your medals for Annette.
Ain’t no cavalry coming: Play on easy, give a sniper healing legs, and keep him safe. Don’t let him get shot, don’t send him in for psi testing or extra gene mods.
Mental Minefield: Get the feedback mod, and soften a sectoid commander but leave him alive. He will use mind control and kill himself.
Tingling sensation: Get the skin mod and grenades.
Xavier: Give Annette mind shield and psi armor. Get “iron will” ots upgrade too.
Rising dragon: 21% of game owners get Zhang, but only 5% bring him to the end. It isn’t that hard lol.
Trivia and Closing
According to Jake Solomon’s twitter, the volunteer lives after the final cutscene! Wow!
The aliens aren’t here to eliminate the human race. The Ethereals (or whatever they are) want to enslave the humans and genetically engineer them and put in cybernetic augments, kindof like the alien units you see through autopsies. This is seen explicitly in the dialog if you die during the final mission.
Zhang is seen using a pistol in cutscene but can’t use one at any point in game.
MEC stands for MEChanized exoskeletal cybersuit. Ugh. It didn’t need to be an acronym.
If you botch a required story mission the game won’t fail you, even on iron man. The only only only way to lose is through panic and losing 8 countries. (Iron man does make losing easier though.)
XCOM has a multiplayer mode! The online is slow to find matches but you can privately play against friends. I’ll bet you didn’t know that.
Jake Solomon nearly killed XCOM multiple times during its lengthy development period. You can read about it in the Polygon article.
That’s all folks! If you have questions or suggestions about anything please comment. Hopefully something contained here was helpful. If you appreciate this guide consider rating it up and favoriting it for quick reference. 🙂