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I want to maximize the number of weapon fragments I salvage, but sometimes bad dudes just need to be blown up to save my team. If there are differences in the amount of fragments I can salvage from different enemies or different weapon types, I can use that information to determine which enemies to blow to smithereens, and which to kill with normal weapons fire.

For each enemy I kill with normal weapons fire, what determines the amount of weapon fragments I receive at the end of the mission?

  • Is it just a set number of fragments per weapon?
  • Does it change depending on the enemy type or their weapon type?
  • Do robotic aliens with built-in weapons still provide weapon fragments, or do I only get them from enemies with hand-held weapons?
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    I don't know, but I think it's a constant number of weapon fragments per enemy weapon, probably two or three. When I was observing - late-game, when research speed was really high and weapon fragments were scarce - I noticed that the number was always even, and always close to double the number of aliens I killed.
    – jprete
    Commented Oct 19, 2012 at 14:52
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    Just observed - 13 thin men dropped 26 fragments. Will test more.
    – Orc JMR
    Commented Oct 20, 2012 at 14:21

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Each weapon gives 2 weapon fragments. Here are some rules regarding what will drop weapon fragments (WF):

  • An alien killed by rifles, pistol fire, psi attacks, or melee weapons will always give WF.
  • An alien killed by grenades, rockets, exploding cars, or exploding mechanical aliens will not give WF.
  • Some enemies (such as Mutons, Heavy Floaters, and Cyberdiscs) carry grenades which are also worth an additional 2 WF, if they are killed before they use them.
  • If an alien is killed while mind controlled or captured, its weapons will not become WF, but instead will be delivered home whole.
  • Chryssalids, Ethereals, and Zombies don't carry weapons, so they won't give WF no matter how they're killed.
  • Machines (Cyberdiscs, Drones and Sectopods) give 2 WF when killed, unless killed by explosives.

So, for example:

  • A Cyberdisc or Muton will drop 4 WF if they have not used their grenade, or 2 WF if they have.
  • A Drone or a Thin Man will drop 2 WF.
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  • also, if an enemy is killed while under the alien buff (i.e. scetoids), its weapons will become weapon fragments, even if they and the buffer was killed in the same explosion.
    – l I
    Commented Oct 20, 2012 at 22:42
  • ...or, to word it funnier, a mind merge initiator kills his merge target faster than the explosion that kills them both :) Such a caring comrade :)
    – Orc JMR
    Commented Oct 22, 2012 at 5:40
  • Just to clarify, if you stun/capture an enemy, you receive their weapon intact, which means you do NOT receive any fragments from them, correct? Is there any way to "scrap" weapons you have in order to turn them into fragments?
    – Damien Stark
    Commented Oct 24, 2012 at 16:29
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    @Ricardo, so apparently I was wrong. I can't say I know what happens to a stunned enemy's weapons if they are killed by an explosion. I'll try to experiment on this if I'll have the opportunity.
    – SIMEL
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 15:35
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    @Ricardo, I checked it and apparently, if a stunned enemy is killed by an explosion its weapon will disintegrate and you won't get the weapon nor the wp. Tested on a stunned sectoid and a rocket launcher.
    – SIMEL
    Commented Nov 13, 2013 at 14:02

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