XCOM Enemy Guide: Thin Man

XCOM Enemy Unknown was released in 2012.  It is a remake of the popular 1994 game.  XCOM is a turn based strategy game in which you try to halt an alien invasion.  You choose what you want to research and what you want your engineers to build, as well as managing your troops and relations with all of the countries in the XCOM project until a mission comes up.  Once you accept the mission you get a taste of the real gameplay.

You will drop 4-6 soldiers into an area where they will have one of several objectives, though you will always have to fight aliens, which will develop and you will end up fighting stronger enemies the farther into the game you progress.  Each turn your soldiers get two actions.  One is to move, and then you can move again or fire your weapon, reload, etc.  You will need to move your troops into cover, hopefully flanking the enemy’s position in order to get bonuses to aim and  critical hit chance.

The Thin Man can be a very difficult alien to fight early on, especially if you’re playing above normal difficulty, as they will have more than three health, which will make them much tougher to kill.  They are equipped with a light plasma rifle, which is much more deadly than the plasma pistol carried by sectoids.  It is more accurate and deals significantly more damage.  Thin Men can also poison your troops, which can be extremely debilitating.  Be careful when fighting Thin Men in close combat because they will explode in a poison cloud, poisoning anyone adjacent to them.  They can also spit poison instead of firing their weapon and this attack always hits (as far as I know, if there is a chance to miss, it is incredibly low).

Thin Men also have an easy time getting around the map.  They have a large movement range and can jump up or down from buildings.  This makes fighting Thin Men dangerous in areas with multiple levels.  If you come into contact with one, try not to lose sight of it.  If it runs off somewhere, it could easily jump down from a building to flank and kill one of your troops with pretty much no way for you to stop it unless you get a lucky overwatch.

All of that being said, Thin Men are frail, and will almost always die in one shot once you upgrade your weapons.  Titan armor will pretty much obsolete the Thin Man, as poison is their only real selling point.  Floaters are better at everything else they do.  Of course, no enemy is ever to be taken lightly.  It is possible for a light plasma rifle to get a critical hit for nine points of damage.  Always stay on guard, always keep your men in cover, don’t let the enemies shoot back and you should be fine.

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