Aliens: Dark Descent is a squad-based single-player tactical RTS in the iconic Aliens franchise. Players will take command of a squad of colonial marines as they seek to contain an outbreak of Xenomorphs on the planet Lethe. With many parallels to the XCOM series, players will want to be careful about how they manage their squad on the field, since there is a permadeath feature for any marines who are not properly cared for during a mission.
Fortunately, there are several ways of ensuring that soldiers are able to return, fighting-fit, into the fray once more. Keep in mind that for any treatments aboard the Otago to work, Marines must be properly extracted before the end of the mission.
Light Wounds
Marines will start each mission with full health in addition to extra armor. While armor cannot be regenerated, Marine's health can regenerate, provided that they are not critically wounded and unconscious. When Marines sustain damage down to 2HP (at which point the health bar will turn red), they will incur a Light Wound, which will hinder their abilities in some way until they are treated either in the field or in the Otago's Medical Bay. Light Wounds apply debuffs in the following way:
- Hemorrhage: The Marine suffers a Hemorrhage and will fall into a Coma if not healed within 180 seconds.
- Painful Wound: The Marine takes Stress Damage every few seconds.
- Commotion: The Marine is Stunned and cannot perform actions.
- Wounded Leg: The Marine suffers a Movement Speed penalty.
- Wounded Arm: The Marine is forced to use their Secondary Weapon.
These wounds can be fixed by using Medical Supplies, which are found throughout the game in the boxes marked with a red cross. Simply click on the injured marine and apply the First Aid interaction to heal. Keep in mind that this will render both marines engaged in this action combat ineffective for a short time. Medical Supplies can also be used to administer Naproleve, which will help to reduce the Marine's Stress levels.
Heavy Wounds
When a Marine's HP reaches zero, they will either die or fall into a Coma. Marines in a coma can be carried by others in the team and taken to the ARC for extraction. If they have survived, they can then be healed in the Medical Bay and return to action at a later date. Aside from that, not much can be done to help them in the field, though due to the XP gained by soldiers on deployment, it is always worth trying to extract fallen marines where possible. Heavy Wounds carry more severe penalties such as the following:
- Coma: The Marine is Stunned and incapacitated.
- Wounded Leg: The Marine has lost their leg. They will need Prosthesis and a long time to recover in the Medbay.
- Wounded Arm: The Marine has lost their arm. They will need Prosthesis and a long time to recover in the Medbay
On occasions where a Marine is fatally wounded and dies instantly, their Dog Tags can be recovered, which will distribute XP among the surviving members of the team.
Aliens: Dark Descent is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.