I have constantly heard that the aliens cannot attack on their first sighting. I discovered that rule does not apply to melee enemies, apparently.
I had a Berserker show up, do his intro dance, and crush my soldier from the other side of a wall. I have had a Chryssalid show up, do his spitting intro, run up to my veteran soldier, and kill him.
I'm playing on Classic Ironman, so is this something that's specific to my difficulty? Or do melee enemies do this regardless?
Best Answer
It has never been the case that enemies can attack the player's squad members during the activation sequence. However if the enemies are activated on the very last available squad turn during a dashing move, the game will automatically progress from the activation sequence to the enemy's turn. A chryssalid or berserker can, during an activation sequence, move towards the player as part of their free move. If they end up next to a squad member, they can attack immediately on their next turn. If the game progress to their turn directly after activation, this gives the impression that the aliens attacked as part of the activation sequence.