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For the standard Floater unit, see Floater.

A Heavy Floater is an alien in XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Description[]

The Heavy Floater is a superior version of the Floater, boasting upgraded weapons and heavier armor. It is more accurate than the standard Floater unit, and has three times the health. The Heavy Floater loses no mobility from its extra armor and weapons, as its jump jets now glow green and seem to be more powerful. It has braces over its upper arms that seem to assist it in hefting its Plasma Rifle, particularly due to the fact that it seems to always fire said Plasma Rifle one-handed. The Heavy Floater has a net increase in accuracy however, apparently due to the night vision goggle-like helmet it wears.

Deployment[]

Heavy Floaters first appear during the sixth month (August), or December if the "Marathon" Second Wave option is enabled. Their chance of being deployed declines over the following two months (Marathon: three months, from February to April 2016), to a rate on par with Berserkers.

Abilities[]

Ability Description
Airborne  Airborne Flying units can bypass ground obstacles. They can remain in flight if they have sufficient fuel.
Launch  Launch Move anywhere on the battlefield in a single turn. Launch cannot be used indoors.
Bombard  Bombard Throw or launch grenades over exceptionally long distances.

Traits[]

Ability Description
Evasion  Evasion Enemies targeting this unit when it is airborne suffer a -20 Aim penalty.

Capturing[]

Research[]

Multiplayer[]

The Heavy Floater works the same as the regular Floater, except they have more health pools than other Floaters. Even though their health is rated high, a Plasma Sniper Rifle can still one-shot a Heavy Floater. A Mindfray has a possible chance to instant-kill Heavy Floaters or Floaters. It can be thought of as an uprated, flying Muton; albeit with the same weaknesses- it even has an Alien Grenade, which combined with Bombard can easily steal an enemy's victory. It, like the Muton and Thin Man, has relatively average aim, so one shouldn't trust it to perfectly hit shots. Like most other aliens the Heavy Floater can suppress targets. An enemy using a Plasma Pistol or Assault Rifle- even the LMG or Sniper Rifle if one is daring- is a relatively unassuming threat due to the heavy Floater's health, but Laser Rifles, Light Plasma Rifles, and Plasma Rifles are a serious threat. The Muton Elite is very close to this unit in cost, but not only has more health, but also aim and particularly firepower- its Heavy Plasma Rifle will have a 60 percent chance to hit while flying, and it will always leave the Heavy Floater on 2-4 health, making even a lowly Assault Rifle able to finish it.

Good against: Under-equipped soldiers, Berserkers, Chryssalids.

Poor against: Psionic units, Muton Elites.

Tactics[]

  • Heavy Floaters are nearly identical to regular Floaters, save for their upgraded armaments and health.
    • Similar to regular Floaters, a Heavy Floater will use its Launch ability (usually at the start of its turn) to get in a position that flanks any visible enemies but also keeps it behind cover.
  • Unlike regular Floaters, the Heavy Floater has a Alien Grenade that it can use at significant range in conjunction with its Bombard ability.​

Notes[]

  • Despite their heavily mechanical appearance, like the Floater, the Heavy Floater is considered a biological unit.
  • They drop Meld5 when killed (with anything BUT explosions or a Flamethrower) in XCOM: Enemy Within.

Gallery[]

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