Part 12

Learn how to defeat Sectoids, Mechtoids, Seekers, and Thin Men in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Includes tips for early and late game.

Sectoids

Sectoids can perform mind merges with each other. A blue aura link will appear between the casting and receiving units. The receiving unit gains 1 extra HP, 25 extra Will, and a greater chance to critical hit. Killing the casting unit results in both units dying. Only kill the casting unit when it is convenient and not worth sending soldiers into hazardous positions.

Mechtoids

When a Mechtoid squad is spotted, you will see Sectoids (usually 2) and a giant bipedal mech with large gun arms known as the Mechtoid. The Mechtoid will go on overwatch as soon as it is sighted, while the Sectoids will generally run around. This unit is one of the hardest units to fight early game because it does 9 damage on Classic (11 on Impossible, 7 on Normal, 6 on Easy) and gets to shoot twice. This unit is also one of the first to have a defense bonus. By the time you fight this unit, you should have either lasers, MECs (Mechanized Combat Exosuit) and soldier classes available. Assuming you have these, it shouldn't be too much trouble to shoot the Mechtoid dead as soon as you see it. Two hits from a tier 2 Mech weapon should kill a Mechtoid. The tough part is that the game often spams these units. If you fail to kill the Mechtoid on its first turn, the Sectoids accompanying it will mind merge with it, giving it +6 HP and a shield that reduces damage to it by half. Unlike mind-merged Sectoids, killing the mind-merged unit only damages the Mechtoid by 3 points (it has 22 HP on Classic), so it is imperative that you do not let this happen. Use full (cover (press the cover button to crouch behind walls or objects)) as much as possible and have your squad focus fire on the unit. If this unit gives you trouble, consider having more Heavies with the 'Heat Ammo' upgrade or field more MECs (and give these MECs tier two weapons).

Seekers

Seekers are flying octopuses that cloak when spotted and then proceed to move next to soldiers, decloak, and attempt to strangle them. There is generally a one-turn delay between strangling attempts. A unit that gets strangled will lose 2 HP per turn, with additional HP lost for the number of turns they've spent strangled. When freed, a unit will be 'short of breath' and suffer a 75% move penalty and 50% penalty to Aim (but not rocket aim). Seekers are not very deadly unless you have heavily wounded soldiers or you've made everyone immune to strangling. If everyone is immune to strangling, the Seekers will start shooting plasma bolts (3 damage), which can be dangerous due to their cloaking ability and point-blank shots. You cannot see cloaked Seekers, but your soldiers can bump into them (this will not decloak them) and area of effect (AoE) lockons still occur. Hitting them with a grenade while cloaked causes them to decloak and damages them. Getting a unit strangled only does 2 damage, so if you are not fighting another squad, you can either have the entire squad go on overwatch while near each other or simply shoot the Seeker when it is strangling someone. Be careful, as getting strangled always results in 2 damage the instant it occurs. Seekers are not considered a major threat but are an excuse to get Carapace Armor early.

Thin Men

Thin Men have high base accuracy (75 on Classic) and a light plasma rifle that gives them +10 aim. They are one of the few enemies that use light plasma rifles exclusively. They can kill a soldier in high (cover) (45% chance to hit is bad) and tend to run away and jump to roofs when encountered. Chasing them may activate yet another squad of Thin Men due to cramped maps. Only laser weapons can kill a Thin Man in one shot. At this point in the game, you likely only have 4 guys with average accuracy trying to shoot enemies who have run far away (range penalty), jumped to a high ledge, and are hiding behind (cover) (cover penalty), giving you a 0% to 20% chance to hit. MECs have low defense, while Thin Men have a fairly high-damaging weapon and ridiculous critical hit chances, making it possible to lose a MEC. Since the Thin Man has easy access to high ground, he gets a 20 bonus to aim from elevation, bringing his aim to 105. If a Thin Man feels he cannot hit your guy, he can use an insta-hit poison which reduces the aim of the victim and deals 3 HP over several turns. The best strategy to fight Thin Men is to have Snipers with Opportunist go on overwatch so that those Thin Men will get shot running for cover when you activate them. Snipers with Squad Sight can also provide excellent fire support for killing entrenched Thin Men.