Beginner's Guide

Strategy layer

The strategy layer can run at the following speeds:

• Slow: 5 seconds pass every real world second.
• Normal: 5 minutes pass every real world second.
• Fast: 20 minutes pass every real world second.
• Fastest: 100 minutes pass every real world second.

The blue circle around a base indicates its radar range. If a UFO flies over a base's radar range it will be detected and can be attacked using squadrons. Each squadron can have up to 3 interceptors. Shooting down a UFO will prevent it from causing Panic in the local region and if shot down over land it will enable a UFO Crash Site tactical mission that allows recovering valuable alien technology. Once a squadron reaches an UFO it will bring the following options:

• Commence Attack: Starts an air battle between the squadron and the UFO.
• Autoresolve Attack: Automatically resolves the air battle between the squadron and the UFO. If the outcome is not desired the battle can be tried again as a regular air battle.
• Tail Target: Squadron will follow the UFO until they run out of fuel and can attack at any point.
• Tail Until Over Land: Squadron will follow the UFO until it travels over land and then re-engage the UFO. This will ensure shooting down the UFO will always enable a UFO Crash Site tactical mission.

Medals

Medals are automatically given to soldiers who distinguish themselves over their career. Each medal will increase all soldier attributes by 1. There are 9 models available for each soldier:

Medal	Requirements
Crimson Heart	Suffered 30 HP damage during a mission
Crux Solaris	Eliminated 4 hostile units during the same mission
Distinguished Service Medal	Completed 10 missions
Golden Star	Eliminated 5 hostile units