Rocket Launcher
One shot, one crater, and every alien in the blast radius pays the price.
The Rocket Launcher is a heavy weapon in XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012). It is a single-shot, splash-damage armament designed to hit multiple alien targets in a tight cluster, making it one of the most destructive tools available to a commander's squad. Because it occupies the heavy-weapon slot, a soldier carrying it forgoes their sidearm, creating a deliberate trade-off between raw area denial and personal close-quarters survivability.
- Type
- Heavy Weapon
- Damage Profile
- Splash / Area of Effect
- Appears in
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012)
- Equippable by
- Heavy class
- Slot
- Heavy weapon (replaces sidearm)
- Acquisition
- Research (lab)
Lore & Background
In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the Rocket Launcher is a heavy weapon wielded by the Heavy class. The weapon is a single-shot armament that produces splash damage, making it invaluable against clustered infantry. Its real strategic value lies in area denial: a well-placed rocket can turn a corridor, a doorway, or a cluster of alien structures into a kill zone that no enemy can safely occupy. The weapon is obtained through research in the lab, not from alien-tech salvage. Once researched, it can be manufactured and assigned to soldiers as a standard loadout option.
In Their Own Story
The corridor reeked of ozone and scorched polymer. Lieutenant Vasquez cycled the rocket's safety and felt the warhead's cold weight settle against her shoulder. Three Sectoids were stacked in the next room, their chittering voices overlapping like a broken radio. She didn't need to see them. She needed to see the floor. One tile. That was all the solution required. She exhaled, squeezed the trigger, and the world turned white. When the smoke cleared, there was no corridor. There was a crater, a smear of black residue, and the faint, fading hiss of a cooling warhead. Vasquez racked the empty tube, shouldered the Launcher, and walked through the smoke toward the next room. There were still aliens to find.
Reader's Guide
Rocket Launcher — Heavy Weapon
Damage: Splash / AOE. The warhead detonates on impact or at the end of its flight, dealing damage to the primary target and all enemies within a small radius. Exact damage values scale with the game's difficulty. The weapon is a single-shot heavy armament; the soldier must reload from their inventory after firing. Class suitability: Equippable only by the Heavy class. The source states: 'the Heavy class wields a rocket launcher.' No other class is mentioned as being able to equip it. Acquisition: Obtained through research in the lab. It is not an alien-tech salvage item. Once researched, it can be manufactured and assigned to soldiers as a standard loadout option. Tech-tree position: Sits in the mid-to-late research tree, after basic heavy weapons are available. It does not require alien-tech prerequisites, making it accessible purely through lab investment. Tactical niche: Best used as a squad's area-denial tool. Assign to a Heavy positioned at range with clear line-of-sight to a cluster of enemies. It excels against grouped infantry, against enemies behind partial cover (the splash can still reach them), and for clearing a room before the squad advances. Avoid assigning to a soldier who will be in close quarters, as the lack of a sidearm is a significant liability at melee range.
Did You Know?
- The Rocket Launcher is a single-shot weapon; the soldier does not need to reload from their inventory after firing.
- It is wielded exclusively by the Heavy class, which does not gain a high critical-damage bonus when using it.
- The weapon is obtained through research in the lab, not from alien-tech salvage.
- A well-placed rocket can destroy cover, leaving enemies exposed to follow-up attacks.
- The Heavy class can use the Rocket Launcher to kill enemies from afar, leveraging its splash damage against clustered targets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Rocket Launcher in XCOM?
It is a heavy weapon in XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012) that fires a single projectile and deals splash damage across a small area. Its purpose is to hit multiple clustered aliens in one shot, making it one of the most destructive tools a squad can bring to a mission.
How does the Rocket Launcher's damage work in combat?
Each shot creates an area-of-effect blast that strikes every alien inside the blast radius, not just the primary target. This makes it especially effective for wiping out tight groups of weaker enemies like Grunts or Mutons in a single turn.
What is the downside to equipping the Rocket Launcher?
Because it fills the heavy-weapon slot, the soldier carrying it loses their sidearm entirely. You gain massive area denial but give up close-quarters self-defense if an enemy closes to melee range, so it demands careful positioning.
How do I unlock the Rocket Launcher in XCOM: Enemy Unknown?
It is acquired through the research tree in your lab, so you must spend research points before any soldier can carry it. Once researched, it becomes available in the armory for Heavy-class soldiers to equip.
Why is the Rocket Launcher considered important to a commander's strategy?
It is one of the few weapons that can eliminate several enemies in a single action, which is critical when facing swarms that would otherwise overwhelm your squad. For a commander managing limited soldier resources, that area-denial punch can be the difference between a clean extraction and a full squad wipe.
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