Wraith

Wraith Ingame

The Wraith is one of the four types of support aliens. In missions with their participation, they will not be as numerous as the main alien species. Wraiths have less preferences to support sebelians. They appear in the middle of the game, and continue to encounter until the end of the game, including the last mission. The main feature of wraiths is their ability to teleportation.

In-Game

The wraith is a serious opponent with high resistance, weapons for fighting at medium distances, and the ability to teleport. This ability allows them to instantly move ignoring any obstacles, without calling back fire, but with the expenditure of all available AP. It can help the alien both escape from the battlefield and vice versa to get to the most advantageous place to attack. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the wraith can't teleport between floors, and the AI can teleport him directly to the open area under the firing line of your soldiers, which guarantees his quick death. Otherwise, he is comparable to andros and caesans - he also knows how to use covers, grenades, and prefers to fight at medium distance.

Tactics against wraith

Due to the large amount of health, wraith are very difficult to kill. Even explosives often cannot kill an alien at once. Fire concentration and suppression helps a lot in the fight against wraith- after suppression, wraith cannot use their ability, and will most likely force them to escape, which can cause retaliatory fire from your soldiers.

The ability of teleportation should not be ignored, especially when it comes to fighting in alien bases. The cramped, enclosed spaces that they present themselves with give a lot of room for maneuver, such as teleportation for numerous corners and obstacles that interfere with a simple view, which then allows them to deliver a strong blow to the rear. Therefore, it is recommended not to leave blind spots. The teleportation sound should signal a change of position, and while the wraith has 0 TU, you should try to find and neutralize it, or make sure that wraith is far enough away not to cause problems.

Autopsy Data

A Wraith stands roughly 180cm (6 foot) tall and is probably the most exotic of the extraterrestrials encountered to date. Only vaguely humanoid, it has triple-jointed legs and a bulbous head with a glowing, fleshy protrusion on each side. Disturbingly, they are reported to possess the ability to teleport around the battlefield - allegedly even through solid objects.

Wraiths have a well-developed muscular system that is otherwise unremarkable, leaving them closely matched with humans in terms of strength and resilience. They possess four main internal organs, all of which are completely unrecognizable and appear to have hybrid functions. Each is protected by surgically implanted armor plating composed of the same materials used in UFO construction, though in this case it is only a few millimeters thick and possesses unusual flexibility. It appears both effective and unobtrusive; quite why subdermal armor is not present in other aliens we cannot say. This suggests these aliens have an important role within the alien hierarchy. Though I doubt we are looking at the alien leaders, the Wraiths may well represent the alien elite forces.

The vast heads of these creatures contain a thick skull reinforced with protective armor plate, underneath which lies an expansive brain. The glowing nodules on either side of the skull comprise largely soft tissue packed with respiratory cells that produce immense amounts of energy (the glow seems to be a side-effect of this). These biological reactions consume almost fifty thousand calories every hour and thus cannot be a product of natural evolution. The only plausible explanation is that it is fed directly into the bloodstream through the ubiquitous valves surgically implanted into the necks of extraterrestrial soldiers.

The other discovery of note is that these nodules sit atop an opening in the skull, meaning any blow of significant force would likely kill the creature outright (a bullet will certainly do the job). As the rest of the skull is well-protected, these nodules must be extremely important - likely linked to the power of teleportation. We plan to amputate them from any live specimen captured immediately to test the theory - if it does not teleport out of its containment tank once it regains consciousness, we will be proved correct. If not, I foresee having some difficulty interrogating the beast...

Interrogation

Amputation of the glowing nodes on either side of the prisoner's head appears to have stripped it of the power of teleportation - though I will retain the armed guards to ensure we are not being deceived. As usual, a summary of the creature's vulnerabilities has been distributed to your men and should increase their combat effectiveness by roughly ten percent.

The Wraith is a genuinely alien beast. While other specimens watch sullenly from inside their glass prisons as we work, our captive Wraith is distractingly twitchy - it refuses to expose its back to us, instead of turning its whole body to face whoever is closest to the holding tank. If approached simultaneously from different directions, it will spin on the spot until they leave (for literally hours at a time if necessary). Your men find this hilarious, but it is utterly infuriating if one is trying to concentrate.

Ridiculous mannerisms aside, the Wraith scored excellently on all tests performed - demonstrating high levels of intelligence, superb sensory awareness, and lightning reflexes. They are also capable marksmen and their physiology is deceptively resilient, even without their subdermal armor. The power of teleportation only makes them more effective; we have verified accounts of the beasts teleporting straight through the walls of a sealed room. Thankfully, there appears to be a limited range on this ability and the aliens take some time to re-adjust to their surroundings after having made a "jump", preventing them from firing their weapons immediately. Nevertheless, I suggest your soldiers watch their backs as closely as this beast guards its own.

Ranks, characteristics and available equipment

• Soldier
• Warrior
• Elite
• Officer

Soldier wraith on the battlefield

Action Points	60
Resilience	120
Strength	60
Accuracy	55
Reflexes	40
Bravery	60

Weapon (All possible)	Others
Alien Heavy Plasma Alien Rifle Alien Plasma Cannon	Alien Plasma Cell Alien Grenade

Warrior andron on the battlefield

Action Points	62
Resilience	180
Strength	60
Accuracy	60
Reflexes	45
Bravery	65

Weapon (All possible)	Others
Alien Heavy Plasma Alien Plasma Cannon Alien Assault Plasma	Alien Plasma Cell Alien Grenade

Elite andron on the battlefield

Action Points	65
Resilience	270
Strength	65
Accuracy	65
Reflexes	50
Bravery	70

Weapon (All posible)	Others
Alien Heavy Plasma Alien Plasma Cannon	Alien Plasma Cell Alien Grenade Advance Alien Grenade

Officer andron on the battlefield

Action Points	62
Resilience	150
Strength	60
Accuracy	60
Reflexes	45
Bravery	70

Weapon (All posible)	Others
Alien Heavy Plasma Alien Plasma Cannon	Alien Plasma Cell Alien Grenade Advance Alien Grenade

Gallery

Autopsy

Live Captive

Wraith Autopsy