Weapons (EU2012)
- For the original UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994) version, see Weapons
- For the version that appears in The Bureau, see Weapons (Bureau)
Tech Levels
Your soldiers' primary weapons will fall under three tech tiers/levels: Conventional, Laser, and Plasma.
Conventional Weapons
Conventional weapons include the X-9 Assault Rifle, the standard issue for all XCOM rookies, Supports and Assaults, as well as Class-specific ballistic weapons, and the Frag Grenade. You have unlimited amounts of conventional weapons.
Conventional weapons can't destroy terrain features, with the exception of the Frag Grenade and the Rocket Launcher, which is one of their biggest drawbacks when compared to Laser/Plasma weapons. Their Damage level is adequate against the initial aliens encountered but as advanced races start to appear they will become less and less useful.
Minigun (EW DLC)
Laser Weapons
The Laser level is one of the larger priorities for early research. Descriptions imply some pre-war laser weapons development, but the attempts were failures due to overheating issues (and may explain why a laser shotgun has pump-action: some kind of cooling mechanism), and that the models XCOM produces are just on this side of "safe" and have been made operable by techniques derived from captured alien weapons.
It is only required to complete research on 3 topics to unlock all 6 laser weapons: Beam Weapons (Laser Pistol and Laser Rifle), Precision Lasers (Laser Sniper Rifle and Scatter Laser) and Heavy Lasers (Heavy Laser and Laser Cannon for aircraft).
Interrogating a Sectoid halves all laser-research time by half, and their engineering requires the durable alien alloys. Council requests will occasionally ask for these, and you can agree to them at a fair markup of the production cost to your benefit.
Railgun (EW DLC)
Plasma Weapons
The Plasma level weapons are reverse-engineered alien technology, and even carry some improvements, in the case of Alloy Cannons, Blaster Launcher, and Plasma Sniper Rifles. When these are fully acquired, the playing field becomes more equal, but you'll be also facing some of the toughest aliens. Naturally, their research takes the longest time and requires captured advanced materials, and will often be among your final research projects. Research time can be halved by interrogating a Muton, and Engineering requires both alloys and Elerium to power them. However, capturing an alien weapon (either by stunning an alien, or MCing it and letting it get killed), recovers it intact, and can be modified for human ergonomics at no cost (once that kind of weapon has been researched). Late-game, these will be frequently be requested by Council nations, and can be thusly sold for a massive profit.
Particle Cannon (EW DLC)
Weapon Stats
Precision Weapons
The game has a bug when calculating Critical Damage for Precision Weapons that gives different damage results during missions than the weapons stats listed on the Barracks. Instead of the 3 listed values, the damage output will only consist of 2 results, with one having a 66% chance of being chosen, and the 2nd a 33% chance.
Weapon | Base Damage | Listed Crit Damage 1 | Actual Crit Damage 2 | Critical Chance | Range | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pistol | 1-2 | 2-4 | 2 or 3 | 0 | Medium | All except Heavy | 10 | Unlimited ammo |
Laser Pistol | 1-3 | 3-5 | 3 or 4 | 10 | Medium | All except Heavy | 125 | Unlimited ammo |
Plasma Pistol | 2-4 | 5-7 | 4 or 6 | 0 | Medium | All except Heavy | 125 | Unlimited ammo |
1 Listed on the Barracks on the Enemy Within DLC. 2 Actual mission results (EU and EW DLC), bold value more likely to appear. See Random Damage for more details. |
- Pistols are secondary weapons, designed to be carried as a complementary sidearm, to be used either in regular fire or in Overwatch mode.
- They have low power and nearly all have a zero chance for critical hits but they don't need to be reloaded.
- Pistol Critical Hit chance, Aim Bonus, and Base Damage of can be increased via Foundry research. Pistol upgrades don't stack with S.C.O.P.E. and its upgrade.
- Generally speaking, upgraded Pistols should be given to Snipers, then to shotgun wielding Assault soldiers (for Overwatch at longer ranges).
- Pistols cannot be used by the Heavy class due to them being replaced by Rocket Launchers.
- Gunslinger ability adds +2 damage to all pistols.
Weapon | Base Damage | Listed Crit Damage 1 | Actual Crit Damage 2 | Critical Chance | Range | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assault Rifle | 2-4 | 5-7 | 4 or 6 | 10 | Short | Assault/Support/Rookie | 20 | |
Laser Rifle | 4-6 | 8-10 | 7 or 9 | 10 | Medium | Assault/Support/Rookie | 125 | |
Light Plasma Rifle | 4-6 | 8-10 | 7 or 9 | 10 | Medium | Assault/Support/Rookie | 125 | Aim +10 |
Plasma Rifle | 6-8 | 11-13 | 10 or 12 | 10 | Medium | Assault/Support/Rookie | 125 | None |
1 Listed on the Barracks on the Enemy Within DLC. 2 Actual mission results (EU and EW DLC), bold value more likely to appear. See Random Damage for more details. |
- Assault Rifles are most common squad weapon, offering medium firepower and versatility.
- They can be used by Rookies, Assault and Support classes, but not Snipers or Heavies.
- They are an upgrade from pistols but their damage ratings are below those of specialized firearms (Shotgun, LMG, Sniper Rifle)
- They are both capable of Overwatch and Suppression, as well as inflicting Critical Hits.
- Assault Rifles can fire 4 shots (before Ammo Conservation upgrade).
Weapon | Base Damage | Listed Crit Damage 1 | Actual Crit Damage 2 | Critical Chance | Range | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shotgun | 3-5 | 6-8 | 6 or 7 | 20 | Short | Assault | 40 | Limited range |
Laser Scatter | 5-7 | 9-11 | 9 or 10 | 20 | Medium | Assault | 125 | Limited range |
Alloy Cannon | 8-10 | 14-16 | 13 or 15 | 20 | Medium | Assault | 125 | Limited range |
1 Listed on the Barracks on the Enemy Within DLC. 2 Actual mission results (EU and EW DLC), bold value more likely to appear. See Random Damage for more details. |
- Shotguns are close-range, high-power firearms capable of inflicting Critical Hits.
- All shotguns receive a aim penalty if the target is too far. However, they receive a higher Aim bonus at closer range relative to rifles.
- Shotguns can fire 4 shots (before Ammo Conservation upgrade).
Weapon | Base Damage | Listed Crit Damage 1 | Actual Crit Damage 2 | Critical Chance | Range | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LMG | 3-5 | 6-8 | 6 or 7 | 0 | Medium | Heavy | 60 | |
Heavy Laser | 5-7 | 9-11 | 9 or 10 | 0 | Medium | Heavy | 125 | |
Heavy Plasma | 8-10 | 14-16 | 13 or 15 | 0 | Medium | Heavy | 125 | |
1 Listed on the Barracks on the Enemy Within DLC. 2 Actual mission results ((EU and EW DLC), bold value more likely to appear. See Random Damage for more details. |
- Heavy rifles are an upgrade to Assault Rifles on damage capability.
- Due to their size they can only be carried by Heavy troopers.
- In addition to Overwatch, they also offer the possibility of Suppression for soldiers who possess that ability.
- LMG offers significant less ammo before reloading. 3/6 rounds (before/after Ammo Conservation upgrade), compare to Assault Rifle's 4/8 rounds. This means LMG is less efficient at Suppression (spends 2/3 of ammo) when compared to Support's Rifle Suppression (consumes only 1/2 of ammo).
- All tiers of S.H.I.V. carry the LMG/Heavy Laser/Heavy Plasma with similar stats and ammo count.
Weapon | Base Damage | Listed Crit Damage 1 | Actual Crit Damage 2 | Critical Chance | Range | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sniper Rifle | 3-5 | 6-8 | 6 or 7 | 25 | Long | Sniper | 30 | Limited move |
Laser Sniper Rifle | 5-7 | 9-11 | 9 or 10 | 30 | Long | Sniper | 125 | Limited move |
Plasma Sniper Rifle | 8-10 | 14-16 | 13 or 15 | 35 | Long | Sniper | 125 | Limited move |
1 Listed on the Barracks on the Enemy Within DLC. 2 Actual mission results (EU and EW DLC), bold value more likely to appear. See Random Damage for more details. |
- Sniper rifles have the best Damage and Critical Hit chance (which increases with each tech upgrade) of all non-explosive firearms.
- They also have a range of 100, although it requires for the Sniper to have the Squadsight ability to shoot targets out of their own sight.
- Units revealed by a Battle Scanner are counted as being in the throwing Sniper's own vision for firing purposes (if they don't have Squadsight, for example.)
- Their drawbacks are their restrictions on movement and firing (which can be addressed with the Snap Snot ability with a -20% Aim penalty).
- Unlike other weapons (Assault Rifle, LMG, Shotgun). Sniper rifles will receive a Aim penalty if the target is too close. However, this does not mean that Sniper Rifle will receive bonus against distant targets. It will just receive no penalty.
- Sniper Rifles can fire 5 shots (before Ammo Conservation upgrade).
Weapon | Base Damage | Listed Crit Damage 1 | Actual Crit Damage 2 | Critical Chance | Range | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minigun | 4-6 | 8-10 | 7 or 9 | 10 | Medium | MEC Trooper | 60 | Collateral Damage |
Railgun | 6-8 | 11-13 | 10 or 12 | 10 | Medium | MEC Trooper | 125 | Collateral Damage |
Particle Cannon | 9-11 | 15-17 | 15 or 16 | 10 | Medium | MEC Trooper | 125 | Collateral Damage |
1 Listed on the Barracks on the Enemy Within DLC. 2 Actual mission results (EU and EW DLC), bold value more likely to appear. See Random Damage for more details. |
- These weapons can only be used by MEC Troopers, a new class of soldiers introduced on the Enemy Within DLC.
- Unlike other precision weapons, they allow for a MEC Trooper to directly target and destroy terrain through the Collateral Damage ability, although it will consume a lot of the weapon's ammunition.
- MEC Troopers with the Vital Point Targeting ability gain a static +2 damage bonus against any enemy which you have completed Autopsy research for. This includes EXALT soldiers, even though you can't autopsy them.
- MEC Trooper weapons have the lowest ammo of any in the game, containing only 2 shots. Expanded Storage ability increases ammo by 50% to 3 shots, and stacks with the Ammo Conservation upgrade (+100% ammo). Collateral Damage will always consume all of the weapon's ammo, regardless of its capacity.
Weapon | Damage | Critical Chance | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arc Thrower | 0 | 0 | Any | 0 | No reaction shot |
Drone Beam | 1-3 | 0 | Drone | 2 | Repair |
Death Blossom | 7-9 | 10 | Cyberdisc | 2 | Suppression +3 |
Chest Cannon | 9-11 | 0 | Sectopod | 801 | Overwatch |
Psi Lance | 10 | 25 | Ethereal | 0 |
Area Weapons
Weapon | Damage | Critical Chance | Class | Terrain Damage | Blast Radius | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rocket Launcher | 6 | 0 | Heavy | 500 | 336 | Limited move No reload |
Blaster Launcher | 9 | 0 | Heavy | 500 | 336 | Limited move No reload |
Poison | 1 | 0 | Thin Man | 0 | 175 | |
Cluster Bomb | 6 | 25 | Sectopod | 250 | 144 | Limited move No reload |
Flamethrower EW DLC | 6 | 0 | MEC Trooper | * | Arc | Fire takes time to destroy cover |
Grenade Launcher EW DLC | 4 | 0 | MEC Trooper | 125 | 300 | |
Proximity Mine Launcher EW DLC | 8 | 0 | MEC Trooper | 125 | 300 | |
Electro Pulse EW DLC | 5 | 0 | MEC Trooper | 0 | 300 | Disables robotic units for 1 turn |
- Launchers can pack a high explosive charge capable of inflicting damage over a large area and knocking out terrain features.
- They have restrictions on movement and firing and are usually 1 shot weapons.
Weapon | Damage | Critical Chance | Class | Terrain Damage | Blast Radius | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frag Grenade | 3 | 0 | Any | 250 | 240 | |
Smoke Grenade | NA | 0 | Support | 0 | 336 | Defense +20 |
Alien Grenade | 5 | 0 | Any | 250 | 240 | |
Needle Grenade EW DLC | 3 | 0 | Any | 0 | 240 | Doesn't destroy cover |
Gas Grenade EW DLC | 1 | 0 | Any | 0 | 240 | Damage applied per turn, between 1-3 turns |
Ghost Grenade EW DLC | NA | 0 | Any | 0 | 240 | Causes units on radius to be invisible |
Flashbang Grenade EW DLC | 0 | 0 | Any | 0 | 240 | -50 aim and movement for enemy units in radius for 1 turn |
Melee Weapons
Weapon | Damage | Critical Chance | Class | Terrain Damage | Abilities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chryssalid Claw | 6 | 20 | Chryssalid | 1 | No reaction shot |
Zombie Fist | 8 | 0 | Zombie | 1 | No reaction shot |
Muton Blade | 9 | 33 | Berserker | 125 | No reaction shot |
Kinetic Strike Module EW DLC | 12 | 0 | MEC Trooper | 0 |