Mindfray is an ability used by Sectoid Commanders, Ethereals, the Uber Ethereal, and Psionic Class soldiers in XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
| “ | Causes the target to lose grip on reality, inflicting penalties to Aim [-25], Will [-25], and mobility, and doing 5 base damage. Robotic units are immune. Lasts 3 turns. 1 turn cooldown. | ” |
– In-Game Description, XCOM: Enemy Unknown | ||
The formula for the chance of a successful of Mindfray is:
Chance of Success = Psi attacker's Will - Target's Will + 40
In particular, the chance of success is independent of cover, distance, aim, etc. This means that a Psionic with at least 70 Will has a guaranteed chance of Mindfraying and instantly killing Floaters and Sectoids with a single attack. Those with at least 75 Will can guarantee killing Thin Men in Classic or lower difficulties.
Notes[]
- Either because of a bug, or because of a flying dead corpse making it's way, but an enemy just killed by Mindfray relatively next to a one tile wide normal terrestrial door opens said door. You need to factor this into your plans because it opens new areas for your vision thus may activate potential new hostiles, especially dangerous in Iron Man mode.
- At lower difficulties, it is an effective replacement for or supplement to Suppression.
- If an XCOM target is wounded, there is a greater chance to succeed due the Will penalty inflicted on the unit (relevant in multiplayer)
- As Mindfray doesn't factor in cover or distance, use Mindfray against targets that are in cover when your weapons have a lower chance of hitting them.
- This is especially useful with Assault class soldiers who are unable to sufficiently close the distance to a target and have to wait for a turn in half cover or take inaccurate potshots with pistols, especially if lacking Rapid Fire.
- Berserkers, Chryssalids, Zombies, Sectoid Commanders, and Ethereals are all difficult targets, due to their high Will stats. On the other hand, it is very useful against Mutons and Muton Elites as well as Floaters and Heavy Floaters.
- Can be used effectively to instantly kill Sectoids, Thin Men, and Floaters without expending ammunition or risking a miss.
- This attack can deal 6 damage if the targeted enemy was hit by a Shredder missile.
- Mindfray will be your bread-and-butter ability for Psionic units, as a Mindfray and Mind Control combo can easily lower an enemy's Will and then quickly take control of them.
- To do this, Mindfray an enemy, wait for the next turn, and then use Mind Control on it. A soldier cannot Mindfray and Mind Control during the same turn, since it takes two action points and requires one action point to take effect. There is also a one turn delay before taking control of the Mind Controlled unit; by then the enemy will be back to normal and lose the Mindfray debuff.
- This can be used by every Psionic Class in multiplayer, Sectoid Commander and the Ethereal. Mindfray coupled with Psi Lance can be a deadly combo as the lowered Will increases the damage of Psi Lance, not to mention that humans receive the "Battle Fatigue" debuff which lowers their Will if they sustain any damage.