Tell me more ×
Arqade is a question and answer site for passionate videogamers on all platforms. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 9 down vote favorite
1

The Ethereal alien species has a rather annoying habit of blocking and reflecting shots fired by my soldiers. I expected to gleam some insight as to how this ability works after performing an autopsy on one, but was rather surprised not to see anything related to this ability when examining an Ethereal in the unit analysis view (it had quite a few abilities though, so it's possible, though improbable, that I missed the description despite looking for it).

So how does this ability work? Is it related to the range at which the shot is taken (I've never seen them block a sniper's shot)? Is there simply some random percentage for a shot to be blocked? Is flanking a factor?

share|improve this question
5  
Pretty sure I've had a sniper shot blocked before. – Anna Lear♦ Nov 5 '12 at 23:36
yeah, I've had sniper shots blocked, but never reflected towards the sniper. Which would indicate there is maximum range to that. – vartec Nov 6 '12 at 14:27

1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote accepted

From my experience it seems to be a random chance to block all shots. But I am not able to tell you the exact % - I estimate it is around 20% from my own experience.

I have had the following shots blocked:

  • 100% chance to hit flanked shotgun at point blank range
  • Sniper 'headshot' from a long range and a normal sniper shot
  • Normal shots

I have also seen the reflection

  • On the first shot fired at him
  • On full health
  • On 1 health
  • On half health
  • On the 2nd,3rd and 4th shot fired at him (all in the same turn - i.e. he can do it more than once a turn)

What I have NEVER seen "reflected" is rocket and grenade damage. So if the Ethereal is on low HP - it might be better to kill him this way to guarantee yourself the kill. Likewise (if riskier), it can't block the Arc Thrower, and the upgraded one will guarantee a stun on 5 health and below.

share|improve this answer
1  
An arc thrower could also do the job on a low health Ethereal. – kotekzot Nov 6 '12 at 0:17
Are you sure the 100% chance to hit shot was reflected? I've heard rumblings that they can only reflect missed shots. – Raven Dreamer♦ Nov 6 '12 at 1:43
It was a shotgun, at point blank range, as a flank. I'm certain it was 100% to hit - but I'll try and do a test to confirm – TheShiftExchange Nov 6 '12 at 2:12
1  
@RavenDreamer - fyi - I can now confirm shots against Ethereals can "miss", "hit" and "reflect". So its not just 'missed' shots that reflect. – TheShiftExchange Nov 10 '12 at 6:46
IIRC (not sure) I got reflected headshot (from plasma sniper, ouch). And what I seen was block of reflections followed by not reflecting at all. So maybe its some ammount of damage it prevents? – user470365 Nov 10 '12 at 18:40
show 2 more comments

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.