UFO Crash Site

For the Overseer mission, see Overseer Crash Site.

Soldiers approach a downed UFO.

UFO Crash Site is a mission type in XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

This mission type is nearly identical to UFO Landing Sites. Other than the method of acquisition and 18 hours added to the permissible response time, some of the alien ship's crew may not survive the crash, and equipment on board the UFO may be damaged.

Mission Brief

XCOM: Enemy Unknown:

“

XCOM Interceptors have splashed a UFO. Intel indicates some surviving crew. Exercise caution when engaging the enemy; the craft may contain usable salvage.

”

XCOM: Enemy Within:

“

XCOM Interceptors have splashed a UFO. Intel indicates some surviving crew. Meld energy signature readings are positive. Exercise caution when engaging the enemy; the craft may contain usable salvage.

”

Mission Objectives

XCOM: Enemy Unknown:

• Locate the crashed UFO
• Sweep the area for surviving crew and neutralize them
• Avoid additional damage to the craft if possible; some components may be recoverable

XCOM: Enemy Within:

• Locate the crashed UFO
• Sweep the area for surviving crew and neutralize them
• Locate and secure Meld canisters
• Avoid additional damage to the craft if possible; some components may be recoverable

Acquisition

This mission type is available at any stage of the game. UFO detection happens as part of the "random event pool" which also includes landing sites and city-based missions.

UFO Crash Site missions are available after a successful intercept of alien craft. If XCOM has built the Hyperwave Relay facility, information concerning the crew size and species aboard the ship is available, a useful tool when planning squad configurations and loadouts.

XCOM has 48 hours to start a crash site mission before it is considered to be ignored and is no longer available. This mission type can safely be ignored (once the ship has been shot down) without an increase in panic.

UFO Types

UFO Crash Sites can involve the following alien ships:

• Abductor
• Battleship
• Large Scout
• Small Scout
• Supply Barge

Mission Site

A rural UFO crash site in XCOM: Enemy Within.

UFO Crash Site missions take place in rural areas without the presence of civilians. The terrain is randomly chosen from a pool of 14 available maps (18 in XCOM: Enemy Within), but is limited by the type of enemy craft (e.g. Abductor crash sites take place on one of only two maps). The layout of enemy craft is fixed.

In XCOM: Enemy Within, crash sites can occur on a few urban maps, including atop of a high rise building. The Skyranger may also cause the player to start at different locations on a map compared to XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

The Skyranger lands at a distance from the enemy UFO, with the exception of Battleship-class craft, in which case, it lands directly on the ship. The squad is required to make its way to the UFO on foot. There are enemy forces scattered through the area, and aliens often remain inside the UFO.

Enemy Types

Depending on the size of the UFO and the stage of the alien invasion, these missions can feature every enemy type, with the exception of Zombies, but they can appear if a chryssalid kills a friendly soldier.

Outsiders are a unique enemy type that appear in the core navigation rooms of alien ships, and are no longer encountered after XCOM successfully raids the alien base. They are replaced by Sectoid Commanders, and later Ethereals following the Overseer Crash Site mission.

Tactics

If the alien craft was a small ship, it is likely that there will be alien forces scattered throughout the area. Often, some of them will roam the map. Due to this, it is advisable to progress through the area carefully. Soldiers should be always kept in cover, and be able to use Overwatch every turn.

On big alien ships, distinguished by a rectangular or otherwise non-rounded shape, most of the enemy force often reside within the craft, sometimes roaming the ship. It is best to progress through the ship carefully, with minimal movement and good positioning. There are many open areas within these ships, and taking a position that allows to see through the whole area carries a risk of making the soldier visible to every enemy group within the area, thus alerting them. Due to this, it is advisable, perhaps counter-intuitively, to keep positions that allow the soldiers to watch each others back and open reaction fire when an enemy approaches any team member, but at the same time avoid having too good visibility into the areas that have not been scouted yet.

Rewards

UFO Crash Site missions don't provide you with any extra rewards from the Council nations, but they bring a substantial reward on their own in the form of loot from the alien craft. Aside from alien corpses, Weapon Fragments, and any intact weapons from enemies captured alive, the ship is looted for artifacts, including:

• Alien Alloys
• Elerium
• UFO Flight Computer
• UFO Power Source
• Alien Food (vanity item, only available on Alien Base and Supply Barges)
• Fusion Core (only available on Battleship-class UFOs)

The exact amount of equipment varies. If the UFO was shot down with any weapon other than the EMP Cannon, some artifacts will be damaged and serve no purpose other than to be sold at the Gray Market at a discount. Every artifact destroyed during ground assault shootouts will become damaged as well.