Battle

**Tactical battles** are a core part of Phoenix Point's gameplay. When a battle occurs, the game loads into its tactical layer, using a terrain layout selected based on the mission type and local surroundings. Any units you have selected to participate in the battle will appear, as well as any enemy or allied units.

Each battle is called a **Mission,** and each has a certain set of win conditions that must be achieved to end the battle; i.e., "kill all enemies". Failing these conditions or losing all your soldiers ends the mission in a loss.

## Mission Types

### **Scavenging Site**

These missions are found through routine exploration of unexplored sites on the Geoscape, marked with a ?. Afterwards, their accompanying site becomes marked with a treasure chest. Originally, Scavenging Site missions required the player to eliminate all enemies, while defending a number of resource-bearing crates from attack. Every crate that survived until the end of the mission granted the player 100 resources of the crate's type *(i.e. Tech, Materials, Food)* as a reward. Equipment crates bearing ammo and/or weapons & armor were also commonly present, and could be looted mid-battle at the player's leisure, though their contents were looted automatically upon mission success.

In the Year One Edition, the mission parameters changed. Now, it has crates spread throughout the map. The soldiers need to collect packages (each containing a 100 resources of a type depending on its color) from them, and optionally other equipment. Each package weights 3 units and takes up an equipment slot. The enemies can't be eliminated; instead, they keep respawning until the soldiers evacuate through a designated area, which can be done at any point, regardless of how many if any packages were collected.

### **Ambush**

While exploring a site, the player's forces may become ambushed by Pandorans in the area. When this happens, a battle begins immediately with the forces the player has at the site, with no chance to re-equip or train units; thus, it is wise to ensure all units are ready before exploring sites. Ambush missions do not require the elimination of all enemies; in fact, enemies will continually spawn at the edge of the map until the end. Instead, ambushes are won by first surviving for a minimum of 3 turns, after which a wide rectangular zone appears at a random edge of the map that the player can Evacuate their units from. Once all units are evacuated, the mission ends in victory.

**NOTE:** Unlike most missions, items left on the ground are **NOT** automatically recovered upon mission end; these must be picked up manually by your soldiers if you wish to loot them.

### **Haven Defense**

When a Haven comes under attack *(by Pandorans or otherwise)*, you may choose to aid in its defense. Depending on the area of the haven under attack, the objectives will be different; i.e, if it is a Residential district, you must protect a certain number of allied civilian units, while an Energy Generation district will have you defending key structures from attack. All conditions require the elimination of all enemy units from the field.

### **Base Defense**

When one of the player's own bases falls within the operating range of a Pandoran Colony, it may be attacked in the same manner as a Haven. Before this happens, the player will receive a few hours of Geoscape time as advance warning, allowing them to send reinforcements if they are close enough. Base defenses simply require the elimination of all enemies. Originally, the stakes werere ***very*** high -- should the player fail, the base was completely destroyed, wiped off the map and lost forever. Year One Edition changed that; now, the base can be retaken back, but will suffer damage to structures which must be repaired.

### **Pandoran Colony**

When a Pandoran Colony such as a Nest is discovered on the Geoscape, the player may send a squad to the site to fight a battle to destroy it. Colony destruction missions do not require all enemies to be eliminated; they simply require the destruction of one or more key targets, after which the mission immediately ends in victory. Like Ambushes, enemies will continue to enter the map throughout, so the player is encouraged to bring plenty of ammunition & equipment to sustain a heavy assault.

### **Special Mission**

These are story-centric missions created as part of the game's plotline, or as each human faction's secondary plot in which the player is given missions to improve relations with that faction. Each mission has its own unique win conditions. They are notable for being one of the few missions in which the player may fight human enemies without taking hostile action against a major faction.