Shredder Rocket is an ability of the Heavy Class in XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
| “ | Fire a rocket that causes all enemies hit to take +33% damage from all sources for the next 4 turns. The rocket's blast is weaker than a standard rocket's. | ” |
– In-Game Description, XCOM: Enemy Unknown | ||
Tactical Info[]
- Shredder Rocket can only be used once per mission.
- ... even with Rocketeer.
- Deals 4 base damage in a 4 tile radius with 90% accuracy and destroys cover.
- Damage is fixed (no random variation) and cannot score a critical hit.
- Cannot be used after moving or firing (even with Bullet Swarm).
- Shredder Rocket benefits from the following skills (for a maximum of 8 damage in a 6 tile radius with 90% accuracy):
- Danger Zone: +2 tile radius (the base tile radius is raised from 4 to 6)
- Mayhem: +1-3 damage (depending on main weapon tech level)
- HEAT Ammo: 50% increased damage (vs. mechanical foes)
- Blaster Launcher: +2 base damage (the base damage is raised from 4 to 6)
- Though undocumented in-game, upgrading a Heavy's armament to a Blaster Launcher causes Shredder Rocket to launch green self-navigating Blaster Bomb projectiles (same effect as the upgraded Fire Rocket ability).
Notes[]
- The Shredder Rocket is carried in addition to the Heavy's standard rocket, effectively giving the soldier one additional rocket per battle.
- Great against targets with a lot of hit points such as the Mechtoid or Sectopod. Be sure to fire the Shredder Rocket first, so all subsequent attacks cause extra damage.
- Suitable for weakening slightly stronger enemies, allowing non-Colonel troops to finish foes off to earn XP; the damage-enhancing de-buff applied to the targets afterwards also facilitates this task.
Trivia[]
- Similar to most other explosives in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the Shredder Rocket ignores cover when dealing damage, suggesting a mostly concussive explosive payload. A possible way the damage bonus is applied could be from inflicting concussive cranial injury in living targets and the damaging of sensors or gyroscopes in robotic enemies, slowing their reactions to incoming attacks. Alternatively, the name may refer to the manner in which it "shreds" or cracks open enemy armor, allowing subsequent attacks to inflict more harm.