Aliens

From Terra Invicta Official Wiki

This page describes mechanics of Alien faction in game. For story spoilers, see Aliens/Lore

Logo of the alien faction

The Aliens, or Hydra as they're sometimes referred after the first autopsy, are a non-playable faction. They have their own set of missions separate from human factions.

Aliens usually start on a Kuiper Belt asteroid (such as Haumea, Makemake, Orcus, or Quaoar) with a tier 3 Base and a tier 3 Habitat. They have 1 councilor on Earth and 5 more on Gunships that will soon crash land on Earth. They also start with a Destroyer that will arrive in early 2024. Aliens will expand from the edge towards the core of the solar system but will generally avoid attacking human fleets or habs until they are provoked.

Alien ships bringing councilors to Earth will create an UFO Crashdown Site visible to everyone. Other alien phenomena are created by alien councilor missions and have to be surveyed. Investigating an alien phenomena site will increase Xenology research by 1%.

Alien Threat Level

Alien threat meter

This panel represents our intelligence section's best estimate about the degree to which the aliens regard our faction as a threat. It is based on our monitoring of pro-alien groups and visible alien activity in the Solar System.

We believe hostile actions against the aliens or their proxies on Earth, and/or a large visible space presence, increases their concern about us, and we may expect the aliens to attack our interests on Earth and in space should the alert monitor reach the maximum level. We also suspect they may launch one-off retaliations in response to direct action by our operatives against them, but they may also lose interest if we avoid opposing them or their proxies on Earth directly for a time.

Our analysts emphasize this is an imperfect estimate. We will correct our estimates when the aliens take direct action against us or by speaking with one of them directly.

The estimate will turn entirely red if we conclude the aliens are in a total war footing against our interests.

~ Terra Invicta Codex, 0.4.85.

Alien Threat meter becomes visible in the Intel panel once the Alien Operations council engineering project has been completed. Alien threat is scored from 0 upwards, with every 10 points increasing the threat level by 1. Alien Threat Level caps at 5, at which point the aliens will start attacking a faction's habs and fleets. The points can go above 50, making it harder to lower it. Gaining threat via hostile actions will worsen relations with The ServantsThe Servants and The ProtectorateThe Protectorate as well.

See Diplomacy for more details on how threat is gained, reduced, and estimated.

Alien Resources

The Alien Faction has the exact same set of resource types as the Human Factions. However, there are several notable differences in how they interact with each resource type:

Control Point Capacity

Although the Alien Faction technically has a control pointsControl Point Capacity like any other faction, nothing can ever cause them to use any of it. Even the Control Points of the Alien Nation do not use any control pointsControl Point Capacity.

So while Human Factions suffer increased vulnerability to CrackdownCrackdown and PurgePurge missions from exceeding their control pointsControl Point Capacity, as well as incur an annual influenceInfluence upkeep equal to the excess amount squared, the Alien Faction can never suffer any of these penalties.

Mission Control Capacity

The Alien Faction has a mission controlMission Control Capacity like any other faction, but never actually benefits or suffers because of it:

  • For Human Factions, each Unused mission controlMission Control Capacity turns into a daily income of 0.075 researchResearch and 0.2 moneyMoney. But for the Alien Faction, there is no such benefit.
  • On the other hand, when Human Factions exceed their mission controlMission Control Capacity, they become unable to build new Habs, as well as suffer an attack/defense penalty equal to the excess on all hab capture Missions. In contrast, the Alien Faction does not suffer any of these penalties.

Nevertheless, the Alien Faction does still have a limit on the number of Habs they can build. See Aliens#Alien_Total_War for details. The AI will also stop building ships once the mission controlMission Control Capacity is reached, despite there being no penalty for exceeding it.

Notably, all mission controlMission Control produced by the Alien Nation is automatically given to The ServantsThe Servants. But any mission controlMission Control produced by Orgs equipped by Alien Councilors will be given to the Alien Faction as normal.

Research

The Alien Faction can produce researchResearch, but never actually uses it for their own development. In a sense, the Alien's research progress is simply modelled by their Abductions, instead of a tree of research projects.

Projects

The Alien Faction does not seem to have any interaction with projectsProjects. It is not even given to The ServantsThe Servants.

Money

The Alien Faction has a moneyMoney resource type like any other faction, but this represents Human currencies. So alien Habs and Spaceships have zero moneyMoney upkeep, since they are not paid in human currencies.

Nevertheless, moneyMoney is still a very useful resource for the Alien Faction, having various uses in their interactions with human society such as:

  • Buying Human Orgs, which can usually be equipped and used by Alien Councilors.
  • Trading with Pro-Alien Human Factions, who could usually use the moneyMoney.
  • Performing the Build FacilityBuild Facility mission, which costs 500 moneyMoney. Presumably this money is paid to the local humans in exchange for the local supplies and/or manpower for the construction of an Alien Facility in the target region.

Notably, since the Alien Faction does not have access to any Nations the early stages of the game, they cannot use the Spoils prioritySpoils Priority to rapidly accumulate human moneyMoney in early stages of the game. So this is one area where Human Factions can build up a significant lead, and it may be worth stealing any moneyMoney producing Orgs from the Aliens to starve them of human currencies for as long as possible.

After the Alien Nation is built, the Alien Faction will never invest its Investment pointsIP into the Spoils prioritySpoils Priority or the Funding priorityFunding Priority, but any Funding that was built in the nations that were annexed by the Alien Nation is taken by the Alien Nation. So the The AliensAlien Faction will be able to earn moneyMoney from the Alien Nation.

Influence

The Alien Faction has a influenceInfluence resource type like any other faction, but this represents influence among Human societies. So alien Councilors cost zero influenceInfluence to hire, meaning you can never stop the aliens from hiring councilors just by starving them of influenceInfluence.

Notably, while Human Factions passively earn an annual influenceInfluence income of 0.5 per million PopulationPopulation supporting their ideology, human populations cannot directly support the The AliensAlien ideology.

Instead, the Alien Faction passively earns the same amount of influenceInfluence that The ServantsThe Servants gain from their supporters in each Nation, but multiplied by Min(Total Abductions in Nation / 100, 0.5).

influenceInfluence is one of the more dangerous resources for the Aliens to possess, because the Alien Enthrall Missions can all spend influenceInfluence to get Bonus Attack. So it may be worth actively reducing global public support for The ServantsThe Servants as much as possible, to reduce the The AliensAlien Faction's influenceInfluence income.

Operations

The Alien Faction has a opsOps resource type like any other faction, and their interaction with this resource type is practically identical to any human faction. But notably:

Boost

The Alien Faction has a boostBoost resource type like any other faction, but can never use it to build Habs or Spaceships. Nevertheless, the Aliens can still trade any boostBoost they produce to the Pro-Alien Human Factions.

Notably, all boostBoost produced by the Alien Nation is automatically given to The ServantsThe Servants. But any boostBoost produced by Orgs equipped by Alien Councilors will be given to the Alien Faction as normal.

Exotics

The Alien Faction is the only faction that has exoticsExotics income. This income is determined by Campaign Difficulty (inverted when playing The ServantsThe Servants), and multiplied by the Alien Progression Rate Campaign Setting.

At the 100% Alien Progression Rate of the default Long Campaign Mode:

The Alien Faction's Monthly exoticsExotics income
Difficulty Cinematic Normal Veteran Brutal
Monthly exoticsExotics Income 10 20 30 40

Notably, the Alien Faction never builds Habs in Earth Interface Orbit, so they cannot sell exoticsExotics to Earth in exchange for moneyMoney. They can trade it to Pro-Alien Human Factions though. Furthermore, the Pass TechnologyPass Technology and Grant Alien ControlGrant Alien Control missions both transfer exoticsExotics from the alien faction to a pro-alien human faction.

The alien faction also gains 5000 exoticsExotics when their T3 technology unlocks.

Antimatter

The Alien Faction has an antimatterAntimatter resource type like any other faction, but do not have any Habs or Spaceships that cost antimatterAntimatter.

Nevertheless, the Aliens do produce antimatterAntimatter in their Nanofactory hab modules.

Notably, the Alien Faction never builds Habs in Earth Interface Orbit, so they cannot sell antimatterAntimatter to Earth in exchange for moneyMoney. They can trade it to Pro-Alien Human Factions though.

Basic Space Resources

The Alien Faction has the same five basic resources types as any other faction: waterWater, volatilesVolatiles, base metalsBase Metals, noble metalsNoble Metals, and fissilesFissiles. These basic resources are used in the construction of Habs and Spaceships just like for any other faction.

On the other hand, the technologically superior and highly automated Alien hab modules consume very little space resources compared to their Human counterparts.

One significant difference is that the Alien Faction does not receive any Space miningMining bonuses from equipped Orgs. Instead, these Space miningMining bonuses simply disappear, until The ServantsThe Servants research Hydra Diplomacy, at which point The ServantsThe Servants gain all of the Space miningMining bonuses from Orgs that are equipped by Alien Councilors.

Consequently, it is not too difficult for the player to mine far more space resources than the Alien Faction, simply by collecting these Space miningMining bonuses that the Alien Faction does not have access to.

Notably, the Alien Faction never builds Habs in Earth Interface Orbit, so they cannot sell these basic space resources to Earth in exchange for moneyMoney. They can trade it to Pro-Alien Human Factions though.

Alien Agents

Alien councilors always have 25 LoyaltyLoyalty, high SecuritySecurity, respectable EspionageEspionage and a set of unique missions. While powerful, these alien agents are usually unable to board a plane, forcing them to travel on foot, only moving between adjacent provinces. As the game progresses, regions that are owned or subverted by pro-alien groups may open up their airports, allowing alien councilors to fly between these regions.

Alien councilors are dangerous, and are notoriously difficult to deal with. Killing and detaining them is required to unlock certain research options, and to prevent the devastating outcomes of their activity. Alien councilors are also immune to natural death mechanics, and almost always have the Survivor trait, which prevents nukes from killing them.

Profession
Key Stats
Total
Stats Missions Scientist Traits Other Notable Traits Faction Affinities
Hydra
EspionagePersuasion
40-71
7-12Persuasion
2-5Investigation
10-15Espionage
5-10Command
4-8Administration
2-8Science
10-13Security
25-25Loyalty
Turn Councilor

AssassinateSabotage Project
Coup d'EtatStabilize NationIncrease Unrest

Advise
Protect Target
Surveil Location











Surv: 50%




Humanity First: Ban
The Resistance: Ban
Project Exodus: Ban
The Initiative: Ban
The Academy: Ban
The Protectorate: Ban
The Servants: Ban
The Aliens: Only

Note: Alien missions not shown.

Flight

At the start of the game, Alien Councilors cannot get on planes. They can only travel between adjacent regions, or pairs of regions that are so close that there exists a project that would connect the pair.

An alien councilor can fly from any valid source region to any valid destination region:

Condition Makes Region a Valid Source Makes Region a Valid Destination
Region contains a UFO Landing Yes No
Region contains an Alien Facility Yes Yes
Region is part of the Alien Nation Yes Yes
Region's Nation is allied to the Alien Nation Yes Yes
Region's Nation's executive is controlled by a faction that has researched Hydra Diplomacy Yes Yes

In addition, an alien councilor can also fly to any region within the Alien Nation from any region on Earth.

Note: The only factions that can research Hydra Diplomacy are the three pro-alien human factions, namely The ServantsThe Servants, The ProtectorateThe Protectorate, and The AcademyThe Academy.

Recruitment

At the start of the game, alien councilors can only be recruited at the alien's starting ground base. So any replacement councilors have to board an alien Transport ship and travel all the way from their starting ground Surface basebase to Earth, after which the transport ship crashes down on earth to deliver its occupant.

Alien councilors can be recruited on Earth under two conditions:

If both conditions are true, then new alien councilors can be recruited directly on earth, with a strong initial location preference for the Alien Nation over Alien Facilities over UFO Landings.

Note: This mechanism works by making the starting location of every alien councilor in the recruit list be somewhere on Earth. So even if the second condition is no longer valid, any recruits still sitting in the recruit list for the alien faction will still have their starting location be somewhere on Earth. This means that even after destroying all alien facilities, you may still have to kill up to 16 alien councilors before the earth is free of alien councilors.

Crashed UFOs

Alien Councilors that are not recruited on Earth have to board an alien Transport ship and travel all the way from their starting ground Surface basebase to Earth. When this Transport ship arrives in an Earth Interface Orbit[1], it then performs a Rapid Landing operation that takes only 0.75 days.

This Rapid Landing operation can target any Region of Earth that meets any of the following conditions:

When the Rapid Landing operation completes, the following effects happen:

  • The Alien Councilor that was on board the Transport ship is moved to the target region.
  • The Transport ship is destroyed. (But any other ships in the fleet are not affected.)
  • The target region gains 0.001 Xenoflora Growth Levels.
  • A crashed UFO marker is created in the region, allowing human Factions to perform Investigate Alien ActivityInvestigate Alien Activity Missions on it.
  1. ↑ The Earth Interface Orbits are Tiangong Orbit, ISS Orbit, Low Earth Orbit 1, and Low Earth Orbit 2.

Retaliation

Whenever an alien councilor is killed by a human faction that the alien faction is not at open war with, the alien faction will randomly select up to 3 space assets or space facilities belonging to that human faction, and mark them for death. Once a target is marked for death, the aliens will keep trying to destroy it for the next 5 years, even if they have vented all their hate against the human faction.

Note: A space facility can only be marked for death if it is in a nation where the human faction owns a control point, but The ServantsThe Servants do not.

Kill Method Will Retaliate?
Destroy Ship that contains Councilor Only if Councilor dies.
Destroy Hab that contains Councilor Only if Councilor dies.
Strategic nuclear barrageNuclear Weapons Only if Councilor dies.
Hard Target Councilor Trait Only if Councilor dies.
AssassinateAssassinate Councilor Mission Only if Normal Success.
Detain CouncilorDetain Councilor Mission Never

Alien Activity Investigation

Whenever a faction detects a mission that is performed by an alien councilor, the game places an Alien Activity site in the region where the mission occurred. The faction can then investigate this Alien Activity site by having one of their councilors perform the Investigate Alien ActivityInvestigate Alien Activity mission on it. Crashed UFO sites are also valid targets for Alien Activity investigations.

Effects

Investigating Alien Activities provides several beneficial effects for the faction:

Category Conditions Effect
XenologyXenology Science None +1% XenologyXenology Science per Alien Activity Investigation.
Alien Councilor Detection Faction is performing Surveil LocationSurveil Location mission in region or adjacent region +1 Strength per Alien Activity Investigation, capped between 1 and 12.
Xenoforming Auto-Detection Threshold None 65 Xenoflora Growth Levels - 1 per Alien Activity Investigation, capped between 0 and 65.
The Town That Stood Still Event Picked Option 3 Higher Chance for the Good Outcome.

Increases

The number of Alien Activity Investigations done by a faction is increased by:

  • +1 each time one of the faction's councilors performs the Investigate Alien ActivityInvestigate Alien Activity mission.
  • +2 each time one of the faction's councilors successfully performs the AssassinateAssassinate mission on an alien councilor.
  • +3 each time one of the faction's councilors successfully performs the Detain CouncilorDetain mission on an alien councilor.
  • +10 when the faction gets the Device Demystified event.

Alien Abductions

Our councilor has investigated some of these reported abductions, interviewing residents and local authorities. The local government continues to deny that anything has happened, and in fact has done its best to actively hinder us. Though we have no proof as yet, we suspect that other organizations are pulling strings to block our investigations.

Despite the obstacles, our councilor has confirmed that a small but statistically significant number of people and animals have gone missing in the area since the alien crash-landing. This is disturbing news – many among our faction had clung to the hope that despite their secrecy, the intentions of the aliens towards our species might be benevolent, or at least neutral. These apparent abductions leave little chance of that. But what is their purpose?

~ Investigate Alien Abductions Objective (The Resistance Variant), Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

Effects

Abductions provide several beneficial effects for the Aliens:

Category Conditions Effect
Councilor Missions

XenoformXenoform

Gain attack modifier bonus of region abductions × Difficulty Scaling.

Enthrall ElitesEnthrall Elites
Enthrall OrgEnthrall Org
Enthrall PublicEnthrall Public
Enthrall Unaligned ElitesEnthrall Unaligned Elites

Gain attack modifier bonus of average abductions per region in nation × Difficulty Scaling.
Enthrall PublicEnthrall Public Gain propaganda strength bonus of region abductions × Difficulty Scaling × 4 × region population fraction of nation / number of turns per month.
Build FacilityBuild Facility Enabled only if >15 Region Abductions.

Enthrall ElitesEnthrall Elites
Enthrall OrgEnthrall Org
Enthrall PublicEnthrall Public
Enthrall Unaligned ElitesEnthrall Unaligned Elites
Increase UnrestIncrease Unrest

Enabled for Alien Councilors only if Global Abductions > 6.

Coup d'EtatCoup d'Etat
Stabilize NationStabilize Nation

Enabled for Alien Councilors only if Global Abductions > 500 or the Alien Nation exists.
Megafauna Military TechnologyMiltech None 2 + Global Abductions / 100, capped at 6 Military TechnologyMiltech. (But can grow beyond the cap through other means.)
Invader Army Military TechnologyMiltech None 6.75 + Global Abductions / 5000, capped at 9 Military TechnologyMiltech.
Enable Random Event >0 Abductions Cults enabled.
Localized Panic enabled.
Sudden Flowering enabled.
>1 Abduction Vigilantes enabled.
Mysterious Obelisk enabled.
Terror from the Depths enabled.
>2 Abductions Haunted Forest enabled.

The Difficulty Scaling for Abductions is:

Difficulty Cinematic Normal Veteran Brutal
Difficulty Scaling 0.05 0.15 0.35 0.5

These numbers are also multiplied by the Alien Progression Speed. This is a slider you can adjust in Custom Campaign Settings. It is 100% on Long Campaign mode and 200% on Accelerated Campaign mode.

Furthermore, the Abduction bonuses to councilor missions are capped at 60 Abductions per region. While the aliens can continue to conduct more abductions in the region, the excess abductions do not provide any bonuses to any councilor missions.

Increases

Abductions are increased in the following ways:

Source Conditions Added Abductions
AbductionsAbductions Councilor Mission Normal Success 2 / (Turns Per Month),
rounded up to nearest integer.
Critical Success 4 / (Turns Per Month),
rounded up to nearest integer.
Alien Nation Each Month
Each Region inside the Alien Nation
1
Surveillance Hab Modules Each Month
Each Region outside of the Alien Nation
(2 × Sum of Module Tiers)% Chance
1
Invader Army Occupying Enemy Region
Each day it increases occupation
1
Surveillance Fleet Each Surveillance Operation
Each Region
(Region Population / 10 million) chance
Number of Ships with
Functional Surveillance Module
The Town that Stood Still event Alien Councilor Nearby
At most once every 6 months
0 to 6
Haunted Forest event >2 Abductions
Once Per Faction
0 to 4
Terror from the Depths event >1 Abductions
>25 Xenoflora Growth Levels
Region has access to oceans
At most once every 6 months
0 to 2

Removal

Abductions can be removed in the following ways:

Source Conditions Removed Abductions
Retire Alien Councilor None Months Since Recruited / 3,
randomly spread over all regions.
Destroy Alien Facility
  • Using Army or Councilor
  • Normal Success
20% of Abductions in region, rounded down to nearest integer.
  • Using Army or Councilor
  • Critical Success
40% of Abductions in region, rounded down to nearest integer.
Assault Xenoflora
  • Using Councilor
  • Critical Success
1

Note: 'Retire Alien Councilor' means make the Alien Councilor stop being an Alien Councilor, by any means. Detain CouncilorDetain included.

Alien Xenoforming

Alien Xenoforming

Scattered and garbled reports of unusual plantlife have now given way to confirmed sightings of vegetation never before seen on Earth. Strange growths have erupted from the affected land, connected by a pulsing lattice of tendril-like roots. Although this unknown flora appears superficially plant-like, its connected nature is more analogous to fungal growth. Furthermore, small movements have been detected among and around these growths, suggesting that whatever has been done to the local environment has enabled other, as yet undocumented, forms of alien life to survive here on Earth.

While these changes remain localized for now, the ultimate purpose of this "xenoforming" is as yet unclear. Do our visitors similarly require it for their own survival, it is to gain some strategic foothold, are they growing something else within the affected environments — or do they seek to transform our entire world into a simulacrum of theirs?

~ Detect Xenoforming Milestone, Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

Effects

Alien Xenoforming provides several beneficial effects for the Aliens, and also some beneficial effects for humanity:

Category Conditions Effect
Megafauna Spawning >100 levels of xenoflora growth Spawn a Megafauna army and lose 50 growth levels. If there is already a Megafauna in the region, spend up to 0.5 growth levels to heal the Megafauna to full.
Megafauna Healing >75 levels of xenoflora growth Allow Megafauna to heal in region.
Invader Army Healing >75 levels of xenoflora growth Additional 0.5% HP regen per day for alien armies in the region.
Councilor Missions

AbductionsAbductions
Turn CouncilorTurn Councilor[1]

Gain attack modifier bonus of region xenoflora growth level / 20 × Difficulty.

Enthrall ElitesEnthrall Elites
Enthrall OrgEnthrall Org
Enthrall PublicEnthrall Public
Public CampaignPublic Campaign[1]
Increase UnrestIncrease Unrest[1]

Gain attack modifier bonus of average xenoflora growth level in nation / 20 × Difficulty.
Mission Detection Alien Councilor Reduce noise by region xenoflora growth level / 5
Climate Change Every Month Remove 0.002875ppm CO2 × average xenoflora growth level.
UnrestUnrest Rest Value Alien Nation Reduce by average xenoflora growth level in nation / 20
Region Secession

To Adjacent Alien Nation
Checked every 4 days

Increase chance by region xenoflora growth level / 10000
PopulationAnnual Population Growth None Reduce by region xenoflora growth level × 0.005%.
Enable Random Events >0.25 levels of xenoflora growth Alien Friend enabled.
>25 levels of xenoflora growth Hunters enabled.
Terror from the Depths enabled.
Indigo Dreams enabled.
Pretenders enabled.
Visible to owning faction Unfriendly Locals enabled.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 This bonus also affects Missions done by The ServantsThe Servants.

Visibility

Region Xenoforming is hidden by default. But it automatically becomes visible to a Faction when there are at least 65 Xenoflora Growth Levels in the Region. This 65 level threshold is decreased by 1 for every Alien Activity Investigation done by the Faction.

Region Xenoforming can also be discovered by performing Surveil LocationSurveil Location Missions in the region or adjacent regions. As well as by gaining the intel from another faction who has discovered them.

Increases

Alien Xenoforming is increased by the following:

Source Can Create New Can Add to Existing Conditions Added Xenoflora Growth Levels
UFO Crashdown Yes Yes None 0.001
XenoformXenoform Councilor Mission Yes Yes Critical Success 11 to 20
Normal Success 1 to 10
Sudden Flowering event Yes Yes >0 Abductions 23.75 to 78.75
Depends on choice.
Hunters event No Yes >25 Xenoflora Growth Levels,
Pick the Pro-Alien option.
23.75 to 26.25
Mysterious Obelisk event Yes Yes >1 Abductions,
Pick Observe Obelisk option,
20% Chance
47.5 to 52.5
Pretenders event No Yes >25 Xenoflora Growth Levels,
<7 Cohesion,
Pick Leave Alone option
23.75 to 26.25
Unfriendly Locals event No Yes Xenoflora visible to owning faction,
Region in Australia,
Pick Xenofauna Harmony option
100
Daily Xenoflora Spread[1] Yes No

>50 to 80 Xenoflora growth levels
(Xenoflora growth levels / 2000) chance

0 to 1
Daily Xenoflora Growth No Yes None Xenoflora Growth Levels
(Up to a cap.)
  1. ↑ From Adjacent Regions, can use bridges after they are built.

The amount of xenoflora growth levels needed for xenoflora to spread is scaled by region size and type. Specifically, it needs X levels, where X is calculated as follows:

  1. Set X = (region area in km2) ^ 0.7 / 250, but capped between 50 and 70.
  2. Round X down to the nearest integer.
  3. Add 10 to X if the Region is Rugged.

The passive Daily Xenoflora Growth in a region is capped at X levels, where X is calculated as follows:

  1. Set X to a random value between 0.025 and 0.065.
  2. Divide X by 2 if the Region is Rugged regionRugged.
  3. Divide X by 2 if the Region has Latitude above 50 or below -50.
  4. Multiply X by 2 if the Region has an Alien Facility.
  5. Multiply X by the amount of atmospheric CH4 in ppm, then divide by 1.5.
  6. Multiply X by the amount of atmospheric CO2 in ppm, then divide by 400.

Reduction

Alien Xenoforming can be reduced in the following ways:

Attacker Mission Bonuses Conditions Removed Xenoflora Growth Levels
Strategic nuclear barrageNuke None No Surface-to-Orbit defensesSpace Defense Facility All Xenoflora Growth Levels
Region Damage None None Xenoflora Growth Levels × Damage Strength
Space Fleet Bombard None

Green Lasers,
Railguns,
or Coilguns.

Depends on weapon.
Army Assault Alien Asset None Normal Success Xenoflora Growth Levels × Army Military TechnologyMiltech / 10 × Army HP %
Critical Success Also Halve Xenoflora Growth Levels.
Councilor Assault Alien Asset None Normal Success (20 to 40) / (Turns per Month)
Remove 1 Abduction Critical Success (40 to 80) / (Turns per Month)
Unfriendly Locals Event Various Event Bonuses/Penalties Xenoflora visible to owning faction,
Region in Australia,
Did not pick Xenofauna Harmony option
100
Alien Friend Event Various Event Bonuses/Penalties >0.25 Xenoflora Growth Levels,
Picked Terminate Friend option
23.75 to 26.25
Pretenders Event Various Event Bonuses/Penalties Picked Humanity FirstHumanity First unique option 23.75 to 26.25
Indigo Dreams Event
Haunted Forest Event
Terror from the Depths Event Various Event Bonuses/Penalties >25 Xenoflora Growth Levels,
Region can access oceans,
Picked Naval Warfare option
(Needs a navy)
23.75 to 26.25
Hunters Event Various Event Bonuses/Penalties >25 Xenoflora Growth Levels,
Picked Anti-Alien option
23.75 to 26.25

The Alien Flora, Xenoflora Defoliants, Xenological Culls, and Invasive Species Containment projects each multiply the damage done by Armies and Councilors against Xenoflora by 125%, compounding. So researching 3 will almost double the amount of xenoflora growth levels reduced by army and councilor Assault Alien Asset missions, and researching 4 gives a total damage multiplier of roughly 2.44×.

Notably, with all 4 projects, an army theoretically only needs 4.1 Military TechnologyMiltech to clear out a entire region full of xenoflora with every assault. However, armies actually take damage first then deal damage in assaults. This significantly increases the Military TechnologyMiltech required, because an army that assaults a xenoflora takes the following damage:

  • On Critical Failure: (30% to 150%) / Base Military TechnologyMiltech
  • On Normal Failure: (15% to 112.5%) / Base Military TechnologyMiltech
  • On Normal Success: (0% to 75%) / Base Military TechnologyMiltech
  • On Critical Success: (0% to 15%) / Base Military TechnologyMiltech

Where the Base Military TechnologyMiltech is simply the army's home nation's Military TechnologyMiltech, with all modifiers ignored.

Megafauna

Alien Megafauna

Where previously the land altered by the alien visitors was almost eerily still, now mountainous and monstrous silhouettes move through the unearthly vegetation. There were, until now, still those who refuted the presence of extraterrestrial beings on our world, but the startling footage of these immense new entities is something to demolish the convictions of even the most staunch unbeliever.

Their titanic bulk blots out the light; the land trembles at their step. Trees and buildings are pushed aside as if they were tissue paper, or are uprooted by vast tendrils as if they were mere seedlings, and, even miles away, the very air seems to bend at their deafening cry. All the world knows it now: giants are among us.

~ Alien Megafauna Spawns Milestone, Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

A Megafauna is an army that can only fight other armies and cause damage to Regions. It cannot occupy Regions, or oppress UnrestUnrest. Nor can megafaunas be attached to NavyNavies, or cost a nation any Investment pointsIP to upkeep.

The base Military TechnologyMiltech level of a Megafauna army is 2 + Global Abductions / 100, but capped at 6 Military TechnologyMiltech. So it only takes 400 total abductions (slightly more than 1 per region) to reach the 6 Military TechnologyMiltech cap. However, multiple Megafaunas in the same region can merge together into one Megafauna army with an additional 0.1 Military TechnologyMiltech for every Megafauna merged into it.

  • When in battle with other armies, a megafauna behaves identically to any normal army.[1]
  • When in battle with a region, a megafauna simply does its Military TechnologyMiltech × its health % / 2000 damage to the region every day.
  • Outside of battle, megafaunas can only heal in the Alien Nation or in regions with >75 Xenoflora Growth Levels.
  • A megafauna heals by 100% / (60 * Number of currently healing Megafaunas in the region) per day.

In practice, megafaunas deal fairly negligible amounts of damage. Their inability to heal in most regions means that they usually quickly exhaust their health and die before causing too much destruction. That can change significantly after the Alien Nation is created, which gives megafaunas a safe harbor to recover in, and rampant xenoflora growth can lead to giant hordes of hundreds of megafaunas, which can then merge into one army with absurdly high Military TechnologyMiltech. When this happens, it can be helpful to remember the effects of a nuclear strike.

The following projects help to handle the megafauna threat:

All Human Factions complete the Alien Megafauna Spawns milestone when the first Megafauna spawns. Killing a Megafauna completes the Access Alien Megafauna milestone and unlocks the Destroy Megafauna Achievement.

  1. ↑ Though naturally, projects that give damage bonuses to specific types of armies will only apply their bonuses to those army types.

Alien Surveillance

Earth Surveillance Fleets

Survey human behavior from a close Earth orbit. Grants the equivalent of one abduction in every Earth region.

~ Earth Surveillance Fleet Operation Description, Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

Conditions

An alien fleet can perform an Earth Surveillance operation under the following conditions:

Category Requirement
Location The fleet must be in an Earth Interface Orbit
Not Busy The fleet cannot be in combat or in transfer.
Ship Module The fleet must contain at least one ship with a functional Alien Surveillance Module.

The operation will take 192 days to complete. During this time, any combat would force the operation to abort. Progress is not saved, so the fleet would have to restart the operation from the beginning.

Effects

For each region on Earth, there is a (region PopulationPopulation / 10 million) chance that the aliens will gain X Abductions in the region, where X is the number of ships in the alien fleet that have a functional Alien Surveillance Module.

Every ship in the alien fleet then exhausts their Alien Surveillance Module, which means they need to return to an alien space dock to restore its functionality.

Earth Surveillance Habs

As the Campaign progresses, the aliens will attempt to found a Surveillance Platform, Orbital, and Ring hab within the Earth-Luna planetary system. These habs serve the same role as their earth surveillance fleets.

Earliest Creation

The aliens are not allowed to found these Surveillance Habs until a certain number of years have passed. The exact number of years depends on the campaign settings:

Hab Cinematic Normal Veteran Brutal
Surveillance Platform 13 9 3 1
Surveillance Orbital 15 11 5 2
Surveillance Ring 17 13 7 3

These numbers are also divided by the Alien Progression Speed. This is a slider you can adjust in Custom Campaign Settings. It is 100% on Long Campaign mode and 200% on Accelerated Campaign mode.

Effects

Every month, for each region on Earth, there is an X% chance that the aliens will gain 1 Abduction in the region, where X is twice the sum of alien surveillance hab module tiers. If the region is part of the Alien Nation, then X is set to 100 instead.

Alien surveillance habs have static designs, so X is easy to compute:

  • The Alien Surveillance Platform has exactly one Alien Observation Post, so it adds 2 to X.
  • The Alien Surveillance Orbital has exactly two Alien Surveillance Arrays, so it adds 8 to X.
  • The Alien Surveillance Ring has exactly two Alien Watchtowers, so it adds 12 to X.

So if the aliens have built all three, then each region has a 22% chance each month to gain 1 Abduction. Unless it is part of the Alien Nation, in which case the region has a 100% chance each month to gain 1 Abduction.

Module Stats

Hab Module Build Cost Monthly Upkeep Monthly Income Special
Alien Observation Post 0.4 volatiles 4.5 base metals 0.1 noble metals 60 Days
Mass: 50 tons
15 Power consumption 16 Crew 4 influence
Alien Watchtower
  • Upgrades: Alien Surveillance Array
  • Project: The AliensAlien Only
10 volatiles 112.5 base metals 2.5 noble metals 120 Days
Mass: 1250 tons
80 Power consumption 64 Crew 25 influence
Alien Surveillance Array
  • Upgrades: Alien Observation Post
  • Project: The AliensAlien Only
2 volatiles 22.5 base metals 0.5 noble metals 90 Days
Mass: 250 tons
40 Power consumption 32 Crew 10 influence

Alien Coordination

This group has determined the aliens are of divine origin and has declared itself their heralds ... and defenders.

~ Encountering The ServantsThe Servants, Terra Invicta, 0.4.88.

As The ServantsThe Servants progress through their storyline, they begin to provide the alien agents with more support for their alien missions on earth:

Alien Coordination Mission Modifier at each level of The ServantsThe Servants' progress.
The ServantsThe Servants' progress Total Value of Attack Modifier
Start of Campaign 0
Researched Alien Signatures 1
Researched Alien Methods 2
Researched Alien Operations 3
Researched Alien Movements 4
Completed Alien Diplomacy Milestone 6
Researched Hydra Diplomacy 10
Researched The Alien Nation 14

Note: This bonus does not require The ServantsThe Servants to own any control points anywhere.

Alien Enthrall

The situation is worse than we had feared.

All of the countries with high abduction rates are now showing aberrant political trends. We have tracked rapid swings toward pro-alien views in ways that are extremely concentrated by geography, spreading in ways that more closely resemble infectious disease vectors than communications networks. These changes are being accompanied by sharp shifts in policy, with key officials and leaders either being replaced with pro-alien figures or – more disturbingly still – abruptly changing their beliefs and publicly expressing conciliatory views toward the alien presence on our planet. Multiple independent reports have noted sudden and uncharacteristic behavioral changes in these individuals, describing them as aloof, phlegmatic, and disinterested in any issues other than human-alien relations. None of our sources were able to offer any explanation for these changes.

~ Research Alien Operations Objective (The ResistanceThe Resistance Variant), Terra Invicta, 0.4.88.

The Abductions. The Xenoforming. The Surveillance. The Coordination.

Each of these actions, while providing some benefits of their own, serve one primary purpose: increasing the power of Alien Councilor Enthrall missions:

The Alien Enthrall Missions
Enthrall Mission Human Analogue Effect
Enthrall ElitesEnthrall Elites PurgePurge Takes the target control point from another faction, giving it to The ServantsThe Servants.
Enthrall PublicEnthrall Public Public CampaignPublic Campaign Increases public support for The ServantsThe Servants in the target nation. Does not need to be performed in the nation's capital region.
Enthrall OrgEnthrall Org Hostile TakeoverHostile Takeover Takes the target org from another faction. The org is not given to The ServantsThe Servants.
Enthrall Unaligned ElitesEnthrall Unaligned Elites Control NationControl Nation Takes the target empty control point, giving it to The ServantsThe Servants.

See Missions#Alien-Related_Missions for more details.

Alien Terrorize

Alien forces are attacking civilians in the ■■■■■ region of ■■■■■, causing widespread damage. Authorities there are pledging to seek conciliation with the aliens to prevent further attacks.

~ Terrorize UI Notification, Terra Invicta, 0.4.88.

Note: This section assumes that The ProtectorateThe Protectorate faction exists. If it does not exist in the chosen Campaign Settings, then The ServantsThe Servants will be used instead of The ProtectorateThe Protectorate.

Occasionally, an alien agent may choose to forgo subtlety and simply attempt to Terrorize Regionterrorize a region into submission. When successful, the leftmost control point that is not already owned by The ServantsThe Servants or The ProtectorateThe Protectorate will be given to The ProtectorateThe Protectorate. The executive can never be targeted unless it is the only control point in the nation.

If a faction's CP is taken away by the Terrorize RegionTerrorize mission, then the faction completes the Targeted By Terror Mission Milestone.

Depending on the outcome of the Terrorize RegionTerrorize mission, Propaganda for The ProtectorateThe Protectorate may automatically be performed on the nation. The strength of the propaganda is:

  • 40 on Critical Success
  • 20 on Normal Success
  • 0 (no propaganda) on Normal Failure
  • -10 on Critical Failure

Regardless of the Mission outcome, the region will suffer damage of strength between 0.01 and 0.07.

This mission is only granted by a unique alien org:

Org
Stars
Stats and Missions Bonuses and Resource Incomes Affinities and Requirements Purchase Cost
Salamander Shock Troops
3 Security
Terrorize RegionTerrorize Region
Extract CouncilorExtract Councilor
10% Oppression priority 8 ops Affinity: The Aliens
Banned: Humanity FirstThe ServantsThe ProtectorateProject ExodusThe InitiativeThe ResistanceThe Academy
Not on Market

Alien Space Territory

The aliens consider everything in or beyond Jupiter's orbit as their territory. They also claim any system where they have a hab, except for Earth.

Any human space assets sent into alien territory will be attacked by the aliens, even if the aliens are not at war with the space assets' owners. The only exceptions are:

  • The ServantsThe Servants, who can never be attacked by the aliens in space.
  • The ProtectorateThe Protectorate, after they establish a non-aggression pact with the aliens.

Alien Habs

Apart from their Earth Surveillance Habs, Alien habs primarily serve two roles for the aliens: mining and building ships. Their nanofactories also produce antimatterAntimatter, though this antimatterAntimatter is not used for anything (except maybe trade).

Capturing Alien Habs

But for the human factions, the alien habs are full of goodies, just waiting to be cracked open and harvested. Bombarding an alien hab does not give anything. Destroying an alien hab just gives 10% of the resources used to build the hab as salvage and completes the Access Alien Tech milestone. But capturing an alien hab may give several rewards depending on the type of capture and mission outcome.

Different Hab Capture Methods and Success Level
Success Level Capture Method Can Happen to Alien Habs?
-1 Normal Success on a Marine combat scoreMarine Assault. Yes
0 Critical Success on a Marine combat scoreMarine Assault. Yes
1 Normal Success on a Councilor Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset mission. Yes
2 Normal Success on a Councilor Control Space AssetControl Space Asset mission. No
Hab defects to faction in a random event. No
3 Critical Success on a Councilor Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset mission. Yes
4 Critical Success on a Councilor Control Space AssetControl Space Asset mission. No
5 Hab traded to faction. No
Rewards for Capturing an Alien Hab
Reward Category Reward Amount Minimum Success Level Conditions
Reveal all Alien Councilors to Capturing Faction -1 None
Complete Access Alien Tech milestone -1 None
Complete Access Griffin Corpus milestone -1 None
Reset Estimated Alien Hate Level -1 None
Gain Salvage Hab Build Cost × (2 + Success Level) / 10 -1 None
Gain Bonus exoticsExotics Hab Tier × (1 + Success Level) × (2.4 to 3.6) 0 None
Gain Bonus exoticsExotics from Under Construction Spaceships Ship exoticsExotics Cost × Success Level / 4 1 Hab is currently building Ships
Gain Intel on The AliensAlien Faction 5 × Hab Tier × (1 + Success Level) 0 None
Complete Access Hydra Corpus milestone -1 >1 Hab Tier
Complete Access Live Griffin milestone 3 None
-1 Hab contains Space Dock or Point Defense module
Complete Access Live Hydra milestone 3 >1 Hab Tier
-1 No Alien Councilors on Earth
Complete Access Salamander Corpus milestone -1 None
Complete Access Live Salamander milestone -1 None
Complete Access War Dog Corpus milestone -1 Hab contains Barracks or T2+ Point Defense Module
Complete Access Alien Ship milestone -1 Hab is currently building Ship(s)

Alien Mine Limit

Difficulty Cinematic Normal Veteran Brutal
Original Mine Limit 10 12 18 -
Years before Mine Limit Increase 25 20 10 0
New Mine Limit 10 15 25 35

These year values are divided by the Alien Progression Speed. This is a slider you can adjust in Custom Campaign Settings. It is 100% on Long Campaign mode and 200% on Accelerated Campaign mode.

Note: In some situations, the Aliens may exceed their Mine Limit by up to 50%.

Alien Primary Hab

The Aliens begin the game with one fully built t3 ground hab. This ground hab contains their wormhole module, which produces 200 volatilesVolatiles, 200 base metalsBase Metals, 50 noble metalsNoble Metals, 10 fissilesFissiles, 0.01 antimatterAntimatter, and 10 exoticsExotics every month, as well as provides 100 mission controlMission Control.

Note: The exoticsExotics income is multiplied by campaign difficulty (1 for Cinematic, 2 for Normal, 3 for Veteran, and 4 for Brutal), and by the Alien Progression Speed. This is a slider you can adjust in Custom Campaign Settings. It is 100% on Long Campaign mode and 200% on Accelerated Campaign mode.

The location of this Alien Primary Hab is always set to a Dwarf Planet beyond the orbit of Neptune, on a hab site that produces all 5 basic resources. The specific selection process is as follows:

  1. Consider all Dwarf Planet sites beyond the orbit of Neptune.
  2. Remove any that are missing one of the 5 basic resources.
  3. Let N be the highest noble metals produced by any of the remaining sites.
  4. Remove any site that does not produce at least 75% of N noble metals.
  5. Pick the remaining site whose total resource output sum is highest, but each of the 5 basic resources has the following weight multipliers:

Alien Ships

Killing an Alien ship in combat completes the Access Alien Ship milestone if the battle is won.

Ship
Hull
Hard Points Structural
Integrity
Construction Time (days)
nose hard point
Nose
hull hard point
Hull
utility slot
Utility
Space Dock
T1
Shipyard
T2
Spaceworks
T3
Human Alien Human Alien Human Alien Human Alien Human Alien Human Alien Human Alien
Destroyer 2 2 2 2 5 5 18 24red arrow up 202.5 384green arrow up 135 256green arrow up 81 128green arrow up
Fighter 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3
Monitor 0 1red arrow up 4 4 3 5red arrow up 16 22red arrow up 180 384green arrow up 120 256green arrow up 72 128green arrow up
Escort 0 0 2 2 2 4red arrow up 7 10red arrow up 90 96green arrow up 72 72 32.4 24red arrow down
Lancer 4 6red arrow up 3 4red arrow up 7 7 36 52red arrow up 540 540 360 360 240 180red arrow down
Titan 4 6red arrow up 6 8red arrow up 9 7green arrow down 64 90red arrow up 607.5 1080green arrow up 405 720green arrow up 270 480green arrow up
Assault Carrier 0 6 6 90 1080 720 480
Dreadnought 3 4red arrow up 8 8 7 9red arrow up 48 72red arrow up 540 720green arrow up 360 480green arrow up 240 240
Battlecruiser 3 3 2 3red arrow up 5 6red arrow up 24 48red arrow up 270 540green arrow up 180 360green arrow up 108 180green arrow up
Battleship 2 2 6 6 6 7red arrow up 40 60red arrow up 450 540green arrow up 300 360green arrow up 200 180red arrow down
Cruiser 2 2 3 4red arrow up 7 7 20 36red arrow up 270 480green arrow up 180 320green arrow up 108 160green arrow up
Gunship 1 1 0 0 2 3red arrow up 4 6red arrow up 60 64green arrow up 48 48 21.6 16red arrow down
Mothership 4 16 7 512 1152 768 512
Frigate 1 1 2 3red arrow up 5 5 12 20red arrow up 120 128green arrow up 96 96 43.2 32red arrow down
Corvette 1 1 1 1 3 4red arrow up 8 10red arrow up 90 96green arrow up 72 72 32.4 24red arrow down

Alien Assault Carrier

An alien transport has set down in the ■■■■■ region in ■■■■■. Reconnaissance imagery shows it disgorging what appear to be troops and war machines. We believe we only have 30 days to stop it.

Any attempt to assault the landing using armies will surely be regarded as a declaration of war upon the aliens and their interests on Earth.

~ UFO Landing UI Notification, Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

An Alien Assault Carrier is a slow transport ship that carries 3 Invader Armies to Earth. This is usually the first serious threat that a player has to face:

  • Shooting down the Assault Carrier generates roughly 31.5 alien hatred, lighting the spark for a long and grueling war in space.
  • Yet that is usually preferable to letting it land, because the aliens gain significant benefits from landing assault carriers on earth.

Earliest Creation

The aliens are not allowed to build Assault Carriers until a certain number of years have passed. The exact number of years depends on the campaign settings:

Difficulty Cinematic Normal Veteran Brutal
Years since Campaign Began 16 12 6 0

These numbers are also divided by the Alien Progression Speed. This is a slider you can adjust in Custom Campaign Settings. It is 100% on Long Campaign mode and 200% on Accelerated Campaign mode.

UFO Landing

When the Assault Carrier arrives in an Earth Interface Orbit[1], it will begin a Land Army operation that takes 3 days. If intercepted while performing this operation, the assault carrier's fleet must accept combat.

This Land army operation can target any Region of Earth that meets any of the following conditions:

But a region cannot contain two assault carriers at the same time. So each Land Army operation will land only one of the assault carriers in the fleet.

  1. ↑ The Earth Interface Orbits are Tiangong Orbit, ISS Orbit, Low Earth Orbit 1, and Low Earth Orbit 2.

Effects

The aliens appear to have moved to the next stage of their plan for Earth. This is no midnight visitation or surreptitious abduction: This is an open declaration that they are here, and they are powerful. We believe they are preparing to deploy an army of alien war machines -- our visitors having dispensed with all attempts at subterfuge, and arriving on Earth en masse, in plain sight and conspicuously well-armed. Whether this show of force is intended to be a deterrent or is but the vanguard of a full-scale invasion may well depend upon humanity's response to it.

~ Aliens Land Army Milestone, Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

As soon as the first Assault Carrier touches the Earth, the Aliens Land Army milestone is completed for all human factions. Simultaneously, the ManyAliensOnEarth flag is permanently set to true. This flag is used for many purposes, but its primary role is serving as one of two conditions needed for the alien faction to recruit their councilors directly on earth. Consequently, any attempts to remove all alien councilors from Earth are henceforth significantly more difficult.

The region that the Assault Carrier landed in also becomes a valid source region for Alien Councilors to fly away from, since it contains a UFO landing marker. This UFO landing site can be attacked and destroyed by ArmyArmies, Councilors, and Fleets.

If the ship is destroyed by an army or a councilor, then the responsible faction may complete the following campaign milestones:

Needs Critical Success? Milestone Conditions
No Access Alien Ship None
Access Alien Tech None
Access Griffin Corpus None
Access Hydra Corpus Faction can see Alien Councilors
Yes Access Live Griffin None
Access Live Hydra Faction can detain Alien Councilors

If the ship is not destroyed within 32 days, then the UFO landing marker disappears and is replaced by 3 Invader Armies that start at 50% health but will quickly recover to full if not immediately engaged in combat.

Invader Armies

An Invader Army mainly differs from normal armies in the following ways:

A nation that is being invaded by Invader Armies may find its Abductions increasing once per day per Invader Army. So even if the Invader Armies eventually fail to conquer the nation, the sheer number of Abductions generated may open the doors for the Alien Councilors to enthrall the nation's elites, handing it over to The ServantsThe Servants.

Killing an Invader Army unlocks the Destroy Alien Army Achievement, and completes the following milestones:

Alien Facility

The aliens are moving forward with whatever their plans are for Earth and are establishing fixed, defended installations in what they must consider their territory.

~ Alien Infrastructure Milestone, Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

Effects

An Alien Facility provides several beneficial effects for the Aliens:

Category Effect
Mission Detection -6 Mission noise for alien councilors in the region.
Flight Allow alien councilors to fly to and from the region.
Alien Councilor Recruitment Allow alien councilors to be recruited on earth, if an Assault Carrier has ever landed in the past.
Xenoflora 2x cap on daily xenoflora growth in the region.
Invader Army Healing Additional 1% HP regen per day for alien armies in the region.
Alien Nation One of the requirements for The ServantsThe Servants to give the nation to the aliens via the Grant Alien ControlGrant Alien Control councilor mission.

Visibility

Alien Facilities are always visible to The Aliensaliens and The ServantsThe Servants. Other factions can discover them by performing Surveil LocationSurveil Location Missions in the Region or adjacent Regions, or by gaining the intel from another faction who has discovered them.

Creation

An Alien Facility is built wherever and whenever the Build FacilityBuild Facility councilor mission is performed. All alien councilors can perform this mission. The ServantsThe Servants unlock a special org that grants them this mission after researching The Alien Nation project.

The following conditions need to be true for the Build FacilityBuild Facility councilor mission to be used:

Category Requirement
Cost 500 moneyMoney must be paid by councilor's Faction.
Reach The councilor must be able to travel to the target region.
Unique The region cannot already have an alien facility.
Nation Control The Servants The Servants or The Aliens Aliens must own every control point in the nation.
Abductions The region must have at least 15 Abductions.[1]
Occupation The region cannot be occupied or being occupied by war enemies.
  1. ↑ These abductions are NOT used up when building the facility.

Destruction

An Alien Facility can be destroyed in the following ways:

Attacker Mission Bonuses Conditions
Space Fleet Bombard None None
ArmyArmy or Councilor Assault Alien AssetAssault Alien Asset Remove 20% of Abductions in region (rounded down to nearest integer). Normal Success
Remove 40% of Abductions in region (rounded down to nearest integer). Critical Success
Gain 2.25 to 3.75 exoticsExotics. Normal Success
Gain 4.5 to 7.5 exoticsExotics. Critical Success
Complete Access Alien Tech Milestone. None
Complete Access Salamander Corpus Milestone An Assault Carrier has landed
Complete Access Live Salamander Milestone
Complete Access Hydra Corpus Milestone
  • An Assault Carrier has landed
  • Faction can see Alien Councilors
  • 50% Chance OR Mission Critical Success
Complete Access Live Hydra Milestone

Alien Administration

Flag of the Alien Administration

The aliens have carved a nation out of the former territory of ■■■■■. Through human politicians there, the new alien nation is presenting itself to the world as a unifying force capable of solving Earth's problems.

With the aliens as the power behind the throne, the nation appears invulnerable to usual attempts to assume political control - crackdowns, purges and coups simply will not succeed. Only an internal rebellion or an outright invasion has a chance to remove the aliens from power.

~ Alien Nation Founded UI Notification (war variant), Terra Invicta, 0.4.86.

The Alien Administration is a nation that is created either when an Invader Army occupies a region or when The ServantsThe Servants give a nation to the aliens via the Grant Alien ControlGrant Alien Control mission. The control points of the Alien Nation are always under the alien faction's control, and ordinary coups cannot succeed. The only ways to remove regions from the Alien Nation are:

Secession
Raising UnrestUnrest and wrecking cohesionCohesion in the Alien Nation can cause non-Capital regioncapital regions of the Alien Nation to randomly break off to form their own Nations or to join existing human nations that have claims on them.
Revolution
The game periodically checks whether UnrestUnrest in the Alien Nation is >9.9.
If so, a revolution occurs. But in contrast to revolutions in human nations, revolutions in the Alien Nation do not change who owns the control points.
Instead, regions within the Alien Nation may randomly break off to form their own nations or to join existing human nations that have claims on them. See Foreign_Relations#Alien_Related for details.
And then the aliens will gain 80 hatred, split up among the factions responsible for raising unrest in the Alien Nation.
War
Wars involving the Alien Nation differ from normal wars in that regions are never occupied.
Instead, every time an alien nation's region is occupied, it breaks off to form its own nation or to join an existing human nation that has claims on it.
If the Capital regioncapital of the alien nation is occupied, then all regions within the Alien Nation may randomly break off to form their own Nations or to join existing human nations that have claims on them. See Foreign_Relations#Alien_Related for details.
And then the aliens will gain 80 hatred, split up among the factions responsible for conquering the Alien Nation.

The creation of the Alien Nation can trigger a massive shift in inter-faction relationships, as humanity recognizes the growing threat that is now in their midst.

If the Alien Nation has >6 Military TechnologyMiltech, then killing Human ArmyArmies that are under the control of the Alien Nation completes the following milestones:

Overthrowing the Alien Nation, via revolution or war, completes the following milestones:

If more than one faction was responsible for overthrowing the alien nation, then each of these milestones are given to a random faction, weighted by how much they contributed to overthrowing the alien nation.

Alien Total War

See Diplomacy#Alien_Total_War.

Tier 3 Alien Technology

After enough time passes, the aliens unlock their third tier of ship technology. This new tier includes upgrades to their drive, power plant, lasers, magnetic guns, and missiles.

Years before Aliens get T3 Tech
Difficulty Cinematic Normal Veteran Brutal
Years 35 25 16 10

These values are divided by the Alien Progression Speed. This is a slider you can adjust in Custom Campaign Settings. It is 100% on Long Campaign mode and 200% on Accelerated Campaign mode.

Alien Progression Rate

Controls the general rate of alien progression in the campaign. Affects invasion speed and aggression towards human factions.

- Alien Progression Rate tooltip, Terra Invicta, 0.4.86

The actual effects of having X% Alien Progression Rate are:

Banned Orgs

These orgs are somehow immune to alien takeover.

Org
Stars
Stats and Missions Bonuses and Resource Incomes Affinities and Requirements Purchase Cost
Sahar Launch Systems

Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
5% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 5% Mission control priority 1.5 boost 8 mission control Affinity: Project Exodus
Banned: Humanity FirstThe ServantsThe InitiativeThe ProtectorateThe ResistanceThe AcademyThe Aliens
Not on Market
Bifrost Command Staff
3 Administration
Launch the BifrostLaunch the Bifrost
5% Mission control priority Affinity: Project Exodus
Banned: Humanity FirstThe ServantsThe InitiativeThe ProtectorateThe ResistanceThe AcademyThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
NGO12

Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
4% to 6% Welfare priority -5 to -1 money 25%: 1 to 2 influence Banned: The Aliens
NOT Sociopath
50 to 100 influence
Random
Engineering13
1 Science 3 projects 50%: 10 to 20 money 30%: 1 to 31 research Banned: The Aliens
Cybernetics
1000 to 1500 money 10 to 20 influence
Mission to the Hydra
3 Administration
Forge an AllianceForge an Alliance
Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset
Affinity: The Academy
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe InitiativeProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
NGO41

AdviseAdvise
Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
2% to 4% Government priority 1% Social Science -5 to -3 money 1 influence Banned: The Aliens
Arrival Domestic Politics
NOT Sociopath
25 to 50 influence
Spaceguard Section

Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset
Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
5% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 5% Mission control priority 1.5 boost 8 mission control Affinity: The Resistance
Banned: Humanity FirstThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusThe ProtectorateThe InitiativeThe Aliens
Not on Market
The Sword of the Devoted
3 Administration
Herald Our MastersHerald Our Masters
AbductionsAbductions
Affinity: The Servants
Banned: The ResistanceThe InitiativeThe AcademyProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Children of the Cog
50%: 1 to 2 Persuasion 2 to 3 Investigation 2 Science
Investigate CouncilorInvestigate Councilor
Investigate Alien ActivityInvestigate Alien Activity
Surveil LocationSurveil Location
1% Economy priority 1% to 2% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 1% Energy 1 projects 2 to 5 influence 50%: 0.5 boost 5 to 10 research Affinity: Humanity FirstThe ResistanceThe Initiative
Banned: The ProtectorateThe AliensThe ServantsThe Academy
Cybernetics
500 to 1000 money 100 to 200 influence
Anarchy Inc.
1 Persuasion 2 Espionage
Sabotage ProjectSabotage Project
Sabotage Hab ModuleSabotage Hab Module
Sabotage FacilitiesSabotage Facilities
Steal ProjectSteal Project
3% Information Science 2 to 5 money 2 to 4 influence 33%: 1 to 2 ops Affinity: Humanity FirstProject ExodusThe Resistance
Banned: The ProtectorateThe AliensThe ServantsThe Academy
Quantum Computing
250 to 750 money 100 to 150 influence
Random
NGO22

AdviseAdvise
4% to 6% Knowledge priority -10 to -6 money 25%: 1 to 2 influence Banned: The Aliens
NOT Sociopath
50 to 100 influence
Alien Administration Transition Team
3 Administration
Build FacilityBuild Facility
Grant Alien ControlGrant Alien Control
XenoformXenoform
AbductionsAbductions
Affinity: The Servants
Banned: The ResistanceThe InitiativeThe AcademyProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Janus Section
3 Administration
Close the GateClose the Gate
Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset
Affinity: The Resistance
Banned: Humanity FirstThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusThe ProtectorateThe InitiativeThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
NGO11

Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
2% to 4% Welfare priority 25%: -2 to 0 money 25%: 1 influence Banned: The Aliens
NOT Sociopath
25 to 50 influence
Special Activities Section
5 Investigation 5 Espionage 10 Command 3 Administration 3 Science 3 Security
Assault Alien AssetAssault Alien Asset
AdviseAdvise
Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
5% Found military priorityMilitary priorityBuild army priorityBuild navy prioritySpace defenses priority 10% Xenology 2 influence 4 ops 20 research Affinity: The Resistance
Banned: Humanity FirstThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusThe ProtectorateThe InitiativeThe Aliens
Not on Market
Reddington Agency
25%: 1 Persuasion 2 Investigation 25%: 1 Espionage 1 to 4 influence 2 to 3 ops 25%: 1 to 5 research Affinity: Humanity FirstProject ExodusThe Resistance
Banned: The ProtectorateThe AliensThe ServantsThe Academy
350 to 600 money
Random
NGO21

AdviseAdvise
2% to 4% Knowledge priority -5 to -3 money 25%: 1 influence Banned: The Aliens
NOT Sociopath
25 to 50 influence
Random
Engineering12
50%: 1 Science 2 projects 35%: 5 to 10 money 20%: 1 to 21 research Banned: The Aliens
Augmented Reality
250 to 500 money
The Pherocyte Masters
10 Persuasion 5 Investigation 10 Espionage 5 Command 3 Administration
Tame the EnemyTame the Enemy
Control NationControl Nation
PurgePurge
Public CampaignPublic Campaign
20% Unity priority 10 influence Affinity: The Initiative
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
The Protectorate Authority
3 Administration
Claim HegemonyClaim Hegemony
Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset
Dominate NationDominate Nation
Affinity: The Protectorate
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe InitiativeProject ExodusThe AcademyHumanity FirstThe Aliens
Not on Market
Shiva Rocketry

Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset
5% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 5% Mission control priority 1.5 boost 8 mission control Affinity: Humanity First
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusThe InitiativeThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Shield Initiative
1 Command 1 Science 2 Security
Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
AdviseAdvise
Defend InterestsDefend Interests
2% Military Science 1 projects 50%: 1 to 5 money 50%: 2 to 5 influence 5 to 10 research Affinity: Project ExodusThe ResistanceThe Initiative
Banned: The ProtectorateThe ServantsThe Aliens
500 to 750 money
Jolt Games
1 Command
Assault Alien AssetAssault Alien Asset
50%: 1 to 5 money 1 to 2 influence Affinity: Humanity FirstProject ExodusThe Resistance
Banned: The ProtectorateThe ServantsThe Aliens
50 to 100 money
Random
NGO43
10%: 1 Persuasion 10%: 1 Administration 25%: 1 Security
AdviseAdvise
Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
6% to 8% Government priority 3% Social Science -20 to -10 money 1 to 3 influence Banned: The Aliens
Arrival Governance
NOT Sociopath
100 to 200 influence
Pherocyte Deployment Team
15 Persuasion 5 Investigation 5 Espionage 5 Administration
Control NationControl Nation
PurgePurge
Public CampaignPublic Campaign
Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
20% Unity priority 10% Spoils priority 10% Social Science 4 influence 2 ops Affinity: The Initiative
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
New Epoch

Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset
Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
5% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 5% Mission control priority 1.5 boost 8 mission control Affinity: The Servants
Banned: The ResistanceThe InitiativeThe AcademyProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
NGO23
10%: 1 Persuasion 10%: 1 Administration
AdviseAdvise
6% to 8% Knowledge priority -20 to -10 money 25%: 1 to 3 influence Banned: The Aliens
Arrival International Development
NOT Sociopath
100 to 200 influence
Aegis Defense Division
1 to 2 Command 2 Security 1 to 2 influence 2 to 3 ops Affinity: Humanity FirstProject ExodusThe Resistance
Banned: The ProtectorateThe AliensThe ServantsThe Initiative
1000 to 1500 money
The Omega Solution
3 Administration
Trigger the WeaponTrigger the Weapon
Assault Enemy Space AssetAssault Enemy Space Asset
Affinity: Humanity First
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusThe InitiativeThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Espero
3 to 4 Administration 1 Science 50%: 1 to 15 money 1 to 2 boost Affinity: Humanity FirstThe ResistanceThe Initiative
Banned: The ProtectorateThe ServantsThe Aliens
Space Mining and Refining
Dallas
350 to 600 money
The Executioners
5 Espionage 10 Command 3 Administration 10 Security
Assault Alien AssetAssault Alien Asset
PurgePurge
AssassinateAssassinate
5% Oppression priority 10% Found military priorityMilitary priorityBuild army priorityBuild navy prioritySpace defenses priority 10% Military Science 5 ops Affinity: Humanity First
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusThe InitiativeThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Project Exodus Engineers
3 Administration 5 Science
AdviseAdvise
Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
5% Knowledge priority 10% Funding priority 10% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 10% Mission control priority 20% Space Science 1 projects 10% Space mining 9 boost 4 mission control 40 research Affinity: Project Exodus
Banned: Humanity FirstThe ServantsThe InitiativeThe ProtectorateThe ResistanceThe AcademyThe Aliens
Not on Market
Orbital Ventures

Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
5% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 5% Mission control priority 1.5 boost 8 mission control Affinity: The Initiative
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe AcademyProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
NGO13
10%: 1 Persuasion
Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
6% to 8% Welfare priority -10 to -5 money 25%: 1 to 3 influence Banned: The Aliens
Arrival Economics
NOT Sociopath
100 to 200 influence
Second Chance
2 Persuasion 50%: 1 Investigation 3 Security
AssassinateAssassinate
Assault Alien AssetAssault Alien Asset
Coup d'EtatCoup d'Etat
Detain CouncilorDetain Councilor
2% Military Science 2 to 3 ops Affinity: The ResistanceProject ExodusThe Academy
Banned: The ProtectorateThe AliensThe ServantsThe Initiative
Terrestrial Military Science
350 to 600 money
Random
Vigilante11
50%: 1 to 2 Security
Surveil LocationSurveil Location
Increase UnrestIncrease Unrest
2% to 7% Oppression priority 25%: 1% to 3% Spoils priority 2 to 3 ops Affinity: Humanity First
Banned: The ServantsProject ExodusThe AliensThe ProtectorateThe Academy
Not on Market
20 to 40 influence
The Shield of the Devoted
3 Persuasion 5 Command 6 Administration 10 Security
Control NationControl Nation
PurgePurge
Defend InterestsDefend Interests
10% Unity priority 5% Oppression priority 10% Xenology 3 influence 4 ops Affinity: The Servants
Banned: The ResistanceThe InitiativeThe AcademyProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
NGO42

AdviseAdvise
Stabilize NationStabilize Nation
4% to 6% Government priority 2% Social Science -10 to -6 money 1 to 2 influence Banned: The Aliens
Arrival Law
NOT Sociopath
50 to 100 influence
Random
NGO32
25%: 1 Science 4% to 6% Environment priority 2% Life Science -10 to -6 money 25%: 1 to 2 influence 20%: 1 to 21 research Banned: The InitiativeThe Aliens
Biotechnology
NOT Sociopath
50 to 100 influence
Random
NGO31
2% to 4% Environment priority 1% Life Science -5 to -3 money 25%: 1 influence 10%: 1 to 11 research Banned: The InitiativeThe Aliens
NOT Sociopath
25 to 50 influence
SpaceTech
3 Science 3% Energy 1 to 2 boost 20 to 30 research Affinity: Humanity FirstProject ExodusThe Resistance
Banned: The ProtectorateThe AliensThe ServantsThe Academy
Ad Astra
1500 to 2500 money
Academy Envoys
3 Persuasion 6 Administration 2 Science
Control NationControl Nation
Defend InterestsDefend Interests
AdviseAdvise
Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
10% Xenology 2 influence 10 research Affinity: The Academy
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe InitiativeProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
Engineering11
10%: 1 Science 1 projects 20%: 1 to 5 money 10%: 1 to 11 research Banned: The Aliens
50 to 150 money
Asterion Stellar Systems

Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
5% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 5% Mission control priority 1.5 boost 8 mission control Affinity: The Protectorate
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe InitiativeProject ExodusThe AcademyHumanity FirstThe Aliens
Not on Market
Random
NGO33
10%: 1 Persuasion 50%: 1 Science 6% to 8% Environment priority 3% Life Science -20 to -10 money 25%: 1 to 3 influence 30%: 1 to 31 research Banned: The InitiativeThe Aliens
Clean Energy
NOT Sociopath
100 to 200 influence
Gannet Exploration

Control Space AssetControl Space Asset
5% Found space program priorityBoost priorityBuild exofighter priority 5% Mission control priority 1.5 boost 8 mission control Affinity: The Academy
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe InitiativeProject ExodusHumanity FirstThe ProtectorateThe Aliens
Not on Market
Reeducation Team
5 Persuasion 3 Investigation 6 Administration
CrackdownCrackdown
Public CampaignPublic Campaign
Defend InterestsDefend Interests
5% Unity priority 10% Social Science 3 influence 2 ops Affinity: The Protectorate
Banned: The ResistanceThe ServantsThe InitiativeProject ExodusThe AcademyHumanity FirstThe Aliens
Not on Market