Part 9

Cover Mechanics: Soldiers must be next to a piece of cover to receive its defensive bonus. Intervening objects that are not directly leaned on do not provide cover. If a unit has actions remaining while in cover, they can use the 'Hunker Down' ability, ending their turn for double cover bonus and immunity to critical hits.

Flanking: A flanking bonus is awarded to an attacker if they have a direct firing solution to the target, bypassing the target's cover. If the line of sight from attacker to target does not cross the cover object, the target is flanked, granting bonuses to hit chance and critical hit chance. When a unit shoots from high cover, they briefly move, so consider flanking from the left and right. Height is not a factor in flanking; a soldier above an alien can still be flanked.

Shooting Enemies: Little alien heads at the bottom right indicate visible and shootable enemies. Red heads are in cover, yellow heads are flanked. Clicking a head moves the camera to that enemy. Snipers may see additional icons like a crosshair. Selecting the shooting icon initiates shooting mode, showing percent chance to hit and critical hit chance. Factors like range and the attacker's Aim stat influence hit chance. Clicking 'More Info' provides a breakdown of shot factors and target stats (if autopsied). Targets can be changed using arrow keys or by clicking other alien heads. Fire by clicking the fire button or pressing '1', or cancel by pressing 'Escape'.

Area of Effect (AoE) Abilities: Using abilities like grenades, Flush, or rockets typically ends the unit's actions. To use AoE abilities, click the icon, then select the target area. The game shows the effect radius in red. The height of AoE effects can be adjusted with the middle mouse button. If friendly fire is detected (sometimes inaccurately), the area turns yellow, requiring confirmation. Some AoE abilities activate around the user, with the radius displayed beforehand.

Overwatch: This ability allows a unit to fire at enemies moving within their line of sight. Overwatch typically occurs once per turn per unit. If a unit fires at one enemy, they cannot fire at another in the same turn. Overwatch has no target priority, firing at the first enemy that moves. There is an aim penalty for Overwatch shots, and enemies targeted are considered in half cover (adding 20 defense). Enemies that can shoot without moving may not trigger Overwatch unless specific abilities are used.