What causes soldiers to panic

xcom-enemy-unknown

Through my experience while playing, I know that soldiers can panic if an ally dies, or if they take a lot of damage. I also know that the soldiers' Will score plays a role in determining whether or not they will begin to panic.

However, I'm looking for a more in-depth explanation of what causes a soldier to panic. I'm especially interested in detailed information in the role that Will plays, since the the Second Wave feature allows users to start with a Will score as low as 20.

What determines if a soldier will panic?

Best Answer

Panic in XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012) works by having something to trigger a panic roll. These rolls have base number, your soldiers Will points are added. Roll needs to exceed this number to cause your soldier to panic.

From there, your soldier can choose four actions, depending circumstances. If soldier is flanked and/or exposed, he will seek out new cover. If he is cover, he will either attack random target in FOV(Field Of Vision) or hunker down.

Now, on what triggers the panic roll, there is still not 100% sure knowledge of this, but current best known events are following:

  • Loss of teammate
  • Taking damage
  • Teammate in FOV panicking
  • Psi-Panic
  • (Normal/Elite/Berserker) Muton Intimidate

Furthermore, following events can cause will power to drop during the mission, increasing the chance for panic:

  • Being poisoned (also causes damage, so each turn soldier is poisoned, he has chance to panic)
  • Being hurt, called "Battle Fatigue".
  • Mindfray
  • Being critically wounded and then revived, which causes permanent Will penalty.
  • Team leader is dead (Leader is marked by a star)