Part 16

Learn XCOM: Enemy Unknown Part 16 tactics for Thin Men, Target Extraction, Target Escort, and Asset Recovery missions. Includes air combat tips.

Thin Men in XCOM: Enemy Unknown can deal significant damage and perform critical hits, even in difficult conditions. Multiple Thin Men present a serious threat, capable of killing well-armed soldiers. If you advance too cautiously, bombs will activate, giving you 3 turns to reach the extraction zone. Failure to evacuate all soldiers within these 3 turns results in a mission failure.

MECs significantly ease this mission due to their ability to advance 12 tiles and then use overwatch or shoot, allowing for simultaneous advancement, node disabling, and alien elimination. If MECs are unavailable, ensure your squad composition provides good coverage: Snipers for Thin Men, Heavies for group attacks, Supports for grenades and healing, and Assaults for rapid advancement.

Target Extraction

You begin on one of three maps: in front of a museum, on a highway, or in a quiet neighborhood with a fountain. The extraction target is always in the same location. On the highway map, a soldier near the start will indicate the extraction target's location. Initially, one or two aliens will be present near the target. More aliens will appear once you pick up the target and as you move them towards the extraction point. The key is to delay picking up or moving the extraction target until your soldiers are prepared. Only pick up the NPC (non-player character) when all aliens on the map are eliminated and your soldiers have established an overwatch (a defensive stance where soldiers automatically fire at enemies entering their line of sight) perimeter around the NPC. Similarly, only move the NPC towards the extraction zone when soldiers have an overwatch perimeter set up covering the NPC's movement radius.

Target Escort

This mission is similar to Target Extraction, but the NPC is already under your control and can be very annoying. Target Escort can occur in an alley, docks, or observatory. The same principles as Target Extraction apply. The primary difference is that aliens will drop on the first turn around your starting position, with at least one expected to appear behind your squad. Establish an overwatch perimeter to eliminate any aliens not caught by it before advancing. Always set up a forward overwatch perimeter before moving the NPC.

Asset Recovery

This is a straightforward elimination mission. Each map contains a valuable object that must not be destroyed, either by your own explosives or by aliens. Examples include a helicopter wreckage on a highway overpass, an old computer in an office, grey crates in a harbor, crates in a truck stop, and the large observatory scope in an observatory. These missions are generally easy as you can take your time, allowing you to engage aliens one squad at a time.

Air Combat

When a UFO (unidentified flying object) is spotted in flight, you can scramble an interceptor to engage it. You can choose which interceptor to send, and it will engage the UFO based on its armaments. Interceptors can win, lose contact, or be destroyed. You can withdraw an interceptor at any time and launch another if available. Equipping crafts is done via the hangar menu, where you can select a craft and assign a weapon. Interceptors can also be dismissed or transferred between continents.

In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, air combat is simplified compared to previous titles. An interceptor equipped with an Avalanche missile launcher can handle small and large scout UFOs. By the end of the first month, an interceptor with a laser cannon should be sufficient to handle most naturally occurring UFOs on Classic difficulty. The hit points of UFOs increase with difficulty, with Impossible having significantly more HP. By the fourth or fifth month, research new fighter craft and capture aliens for plasma technology. Researching light plasma rifles unlocks the plasma cannon, the second-strongest armament, which, combined with new fighter craft, ensures no UFO survives interception.