Rocket: Standard

Availability: from the start.

Rocket: Plasma

Availability: Engineering - Advanced Rocket Launcher.

Rocket: Elerium

Availability: Engineering - Elerium Rocket Launcher.

These are standard explosive rockets, with moderate damage, shred, and area of effect.


Availability: from the start.

Deals less damage than Tier 1 Standard Rocket, but Shreds more armor, and makes affected targets receive +33% damage from all sources. The percentage-based bonus keeps the rocket relevant at all stages of the game.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Experimental Rocket

Not technically a rocket, this is a single target armor-piercing projectile. Sabot receives bonuses to Aim and Crit based on target size. Aim bonus is bigger against large targets, while bonus to Crit is bigger against small targets. Sabot ignores Defense bonuses from Cover, but it still receives a bonus to Crit against flanked enemies.

Sabot deals high direct damage, and even higher critical damage. A critical shot will oneshot a Berserker at Legend difficulty, while 2 crits or 3 hits will destroy a Sectopod.

Sabot doesn't explode; it's a single target projectile, so it will deal environmental damage only if it misses.

Sabot hits will cause bleeding in organic enemies.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Experimental Rocket

Compared to standard rockets, Lockon Rocket has higher direct damage, but much lower area of effect damage. It doesn't Shred Armor but has a high Pierce.

Lockon Rocket can be used in several ways.

1) Top Attack - can be used only against Holo Targeted enemies, and both the shooter and the target must have clear sky above them. Top Attack has unlimited range and ignores Cover bonuses, but long-range shots will have a higher chance to miss.

This is the main intended way of using the Lockon Rocket, and it allows its main feature to shine - being able to fire rockets beyond visual range.

2) Direct Shot against robotic enemies. Doesn't require Holo Targeting, but requires 2 actions, and the target must not be in High Cover.

3) Direct Shot against Holo Targeted enemies. Unlimited range, but the target still receives Cover bonuses. Requires 1 action, the target must not be in High Cover.

This method is mostly intended as a fallback for situations where you can't get clear sky above both the shooter and the target.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Experimental Rocket

Sets the targeted area on fire, dealing low initial fire damage, and forcing enemies to move out of the area. Moving enemies will spread the fire on the ground as they move, and while running they will be more vulnerable to reaction fire, such as Overwatch and Suppression.

Enemies standing near burning enemies have a high chance to catch fire as well.

This rocket is mostly intended for area denial; for several turns, any targeted area will become a burning fiery hell.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Experimental Rocket

This rocket deals nearly no direct damage. Instead it sets enemies on fire and poisons them, as well as creates a cloud of toxic smoke in the target area. This rocket has a larger are of effect than most rockets, and the burn effect deals more damage than usual.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Experimental Rocket

This anti-personnel rocket deals high damage over a wide area, but it has very little environmental damage. Half cover reduces damage by half, full cover negates it completely. Less effective against armored targets.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Experimental Rocket

Deals high environmental damage, but doesn't Shred or Pierce Armor.

When deciding how much damage to do to every specific target, Thermobaric Rocket looks at the 3 x 3 Tile square around the target, and increases damage for every Tile that receives cover bonuses from a cover object nearby.

+1 Damage for every tile considered High Cover
+0.5 Damage for every tile considered Low Cover, though some Low Cover objects may be counted twice.

Enemies that have more than 2 Armor take only 50% damage from this rocket.

That Damage Preview for this rocket shows very high Max Damage values, but realistically you will never see them. To deal maximum damage, the rocket would have to roll the highest amount of Base Damage, and to receive maximum Bonus damage, the target would have to be surrounded by High Cover walls on all sides.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Powered Rocket

On first glance, this piece of heavy ordnance looks like a Plasma Blaster, but it works in an entirely different, all-new way.

Plasma Ejector deals super high damage in a line, but that damage gets weaker with each tile and with each affected target, and each Cover object it has to pass through.

Dealing damage to an enemy or shredding its armor will reduce the damage by the same amount. Plasma Ejector Damage and Shred are also reduced by 1 for each tile traveled.

For example, let's say you use Plasma Ejector against an enemy with 10 Health and 2 Armor. The next enemy standing right behind that enemy will receive (10 + 2 + 1 = 13) damage less.

Plasma Ejector can be used to vaporize tough and dangerous enemies or burn through several enemies at once, but in both cases, its effectiveness will be vastly reduced at long range, or if there are a lot of cover objects on the firing line.


Availability: Proving Grounds - Powered Rocket

This rocket showers enemies in a special acid effect that damages units at the end of every turn, and whenever they take actions or receive damage from another source. Acid shreds enemy armor with every application.
By default, Acid can be applied no more than 6 times, not counting the initial damage from the rocket.

Targeted area is also covered with Acid, any unit that steps on an affected tile will receive the same effect that will last up to three applications.