The Bureau: XCOM Declassified Achievement Guide & Road Map

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified Achievement Guide

Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty:4/10
- Offline: 34 (1000)
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1000: 10-20 Hours
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1
- Missable achievements: 21 (See: Mop Up)
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: No
- Extra equipment needed?: None

Hangar 6 R&D DLC
- Difficulty: 2/10
- Time to 250: 2-3 Hours
- Unobtainable: None

Introduction:
The year is 1962, CIA agent William Carter is recruited by the mysterious Bureau. Then aliens invade Earth and shit happens. Carter leads a team of two agents, tasked with repelling the invaders and investigating their nefarious plot. Gameplay wise the Bureau is a mix of third person shooter with some tactical elements, with some home base exploration thrown in for good measure. It should feel very familiar to players of the Mass Effect series.

Despite the XCOM series being infamous for its punishing difficulty, The Bureau is a walk in the park. The majority of the achievements will be unlocked through natural progression through the story, completing side quests and killing aliens with certain weapons or abilities. There are no achievements based on story choices or collectibles.

Abbreviated Walkthrough:
The Bureau has only a single difficulty related achievement, and it is for completing the game on the highest difficulty, Commander. People experienced with tactical FPS games, (EG Mass Effect and Spec Ops: The Line on the highest difficulty) should have no trouble starting on Commander difficulty, even on the highest difficulty The Bureau is very manageable.

My advice for playthroughs on Commander or lower difficulties is almost identical. I recommend completing all of the available side quests, the experience points earned from completing them will be helpful for the last few fights in the game. If you are starting on a lower difficulty, don't worry about getting 'No One Left Behind.' It is actually easier to do on Commander difficulty.

The first thing to remember is to make sure that none of your squad mates die. If one does die, immediately reload the checkpoint. Try to make sure to complete all of the side quests. There are three different types: Minor Operations, Dispatch Missions and Investigations. It is advised to complete all of the side quest achievements in one playthrough, as completing some of the Investigations are necessary to unlock enough Dispatch missions for the achievement. The Investigations are missable, but the game should give a warning if you are advancing past them. See the guide for lists of side quest progressions.

There is only one context sensitive achievement in the game, 'We Will Fight Like Lions!' This is acquired at the end of the first level, and is easy to miss being a secret achievement.

Mop Up:
The Bureau creates a new autosave at the start of every mission. (Similar to how the saves in Bioshock Infinite work.) This makes it possible to load up practically any point in the game and then continue on with the campaign to gain any missed achievements. 'Let the Boys Have Their Fun' is really the only achievement that won't be earned in normal gameplay, and it can be obtained quickly reloading an old save.

Hangar 6 R&D

Introduction: Hanger 6 R&D is the first and only DLC for The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. It is a prequel to the main campaign, where experiments DaSilva is participating in taking place in some hangers raises the ire of the aliens. In practice it's a series of fights in small environments, with a little down time between each fight. It is entirely separate from the main campaign, and there is zero carry over between them.

Walkthrough: The achievements are simple, easy and most will be earned through normal play. However a few are very easily missable. Things to remember are:
- Never use an alien gun or grenades (Microwave Gun and Lightening Cannon are OK.) See: Conscientious Objector
- Don't choose any of the Lift, Drone, or Mind Control perks when leveling up. See: Only a Man
- Get a Squaddie of every class to rank 5 and take them in a mission. See: Know Your Groceries
Otherwise you're fine to carry on and kill aliens.

Note that DaSilva plays somewhat differently than Carter, and benefits from a more offensive playstyle. This will be apparent if you choose the perks for the Only a Man achievement, which makes him into even more of a glass cannon. It pays here to be aggressive and use the bombs like grenades when the aliens spawn in. As DaSilva comparatively lacks defensively, be sure to use the squaddies and their powers as a distraction and to draw fire to keep yourself from being overwhelmed.

Mop Up - Note that many achievements from the main achievement list can be earned in this DLC campaign. (Kills, Difficulty and Squadmate related achievements.) This is a very good place to get any achievements from the main list you may have missed. This is especially useful for getting No Man Left Behind(No squad-mate deaths). On Impossible difficulty the DLC campaign is harder, but it is much shorter.

Conclusion:
This is a fairly quick and easy list. Almost all of the achievements can be done in a standard playthough, and it is quick and easy to reload saves to get any missed achievements.

Credits:
Bowfinger2k9
PromoteViolence

[x360a would like to thank Merch for this Roadmap]

Not Playing Favorites

20
Take an agent of every class into the field within a single campaign
(3)
There are four different classes of squadmates: Recon, Engineer, Support and Commando. Take one of each of them on a mission.
Top. Men.

30
Get an agent of each class to Rank 5 within a single campaign
(1)
Getting squadmembers to the max rank should come quite quickly. In missions they will gain XP at about the same rate as Carter, but for every Dispatch Mission they will earn one to two levels. There is more than enough XP available from Dispatch Missions to get every squadmate to level five. (There are eleven total available.)
Away Team

10
Complete your first Minor Operation

This Achievement is unmissable as completing one Minor operation is required to advance.
Spring Cleaning

30
Complete all Investigations in the base within a single campaign
(7)
Investigations are short side quests that take place at the XCOM home base between major operations. NPCs that are related to Investigations will have a orange speech bubble with an exclamation point floating above their head. Successfully completing these will often unlock dispatch missions. Pressing will bring up a list of current objectives and completed quests for the current base session.
All Investigations must be completed for before the next major operation is started, or they will be missed/cancelled.

Investigations List:
After Mission 1:
Radio Interference - (Starts Automatically). Unlocks Dispatch Mission: Gearing Up
[Note: Heindrich mentions something about testing a device at the shooting range. He's lying to you, there's no quest.]
After Mission 2 and One Minor Operation:
Find the Missing Silacoids - Heindrich, Located in the Lab. Unlocks Dispatch Mission: Nanotechnology.
After Mission 3:
Sleepwalkers - Heindrich, Located outside the Breakroom. Unlocks Dispatch Mission: Sleepwalkers.
Keeping Things Secure - Barnes, Located in Engineering. Unlocks Dispatch Mission: The Russian.
Once Mission 4 is Available:
Vendetta - Officer Chulski, Located in the Comms Room. Unlocks Dispatch Mission: Vendetta.
After Mission 4:
Cure - Heindrich, Located in the Lab. Unlocks Dispatch Mission: Cure.
Test Flight - Barnes, Located in Engineering. Unlocks Dispatch Mission: Test Flight.
No One Left Behind

50
Complete the game without a single agent bleeding out
(5)
Even on the higher difficulties this really isn't that difficult. Try to keep the squadies close to you, having them just follow you is usually good enough. While reviving a fallen character, the reviver is completely invincible, running out in the open to save a downed team mate viable. Carter's medic ability will completely refill the bleed out bar of any downed agents. If one of your agents does die, just reload the last checkpoint.
Can't be Everywhere at Once

40
Complete 6 Dispatch Missions within a single campaign

Dispatch missions are first available after completing your first Minor Operation. In order to be able to access enough Dispatch Missions to complete the achievement it is necessary to complete some of the Investigations. See achievement: 'Spring Cleaning' for more information on them.
In Dispatch missions your agents are sent out of their own. Each mission will have a complexity rating, the sum of the deployed agent's levels must exceed this number for the mission to succeed. These missions run concurrently with Major and Minor ops, and there's no limit to the number of simultaneous Dispatch Missions besides the number of agents you have. This is the best way to level up recruits, they will earn much more XP from this mission than they would with Carter.

List of Dispatch Missions:
After Mission 2 and first Minor Operation:
Gearing Up - Complexity: 5. (Requires Investigation: Radio Interference to be completed before it's available?)
Recovering Leaders - Complexity; 7.
Nanotechnology - Complexity: 7. Requires Investigation Find the Missing Silicoids to be completed before it's available.
After Mission 3:
Sleepwalkers - Complexity: 8 Requires Investigation: Sleepwalkers to be completed before it's available.
The Russian - Complexity: 8. Requires Base Investigation: Keeping Things Secure to be completed before it's available.
Once Mission 4 is Available:
Vendetta - Complexity: 9. Requires Investigation: Vendetta to be completed before it's available. (This one is very hard to see. It's located on by Lake Ontario in western New York State.)
After Mission 4:
Behind Enemy Lines - Complexity: 10.
Cure - Complexity: 10. Requires Investigation Cure to be completed before it's available.
Test Flight - Complexity: 10. Requires Investigation Test Flight to be completed before it's available.
After Mission 5:
Space Junk - Complexity: 10.
Claiming What's Ours - Complexity: 10.
See the World They Said...

40
Complete 6 Minor Operations within a single campaign

Minor Operations are short optional missions, where Carter is sent to fight the alien menace across the continental United States. There is no reward for completing the missions, but usually a new weapon and a backpack schematic will be present somewhere in the level, not to mention the XP earned. There are six minor operations total. [Plus one DLC mission included in the first print of the game, which does count towards the achievement.] It is best to compete the Minor Operations as soon as they become available, as they contain new weapon and backpacks. All Minor Operations must be completed before starting Mission 6.

After Mission 2:
Operation: Grifter
Operation: Guardian
[DLC]Operation: Codebreakers
After Mission 3:
Operation: Longsword
After Mission 4:
Operation: Firestorm
Operation: Hawkeye
After Mission 5:
Operation: Angel
Glad My Trust Wasn't Misplaced

10
Complete your first Dispatch Mission

See: 'Can't be Everywhere at Once'
Let the Boys Have Their Fun

40
Complete an entire Operation without the player firing a weapon or using a grenade
(5)
The best mission for this is Operation: Grifter, a Minor Operation available after completing mission 2. This mission is short, and the enemies are weak for the most part. It’s recommended that this is not done on commander difficulty, as having squadmates incapacitated will make this much more difficult.

If you have already completed the game, go to Load Game and then select either Operation: Grifter or an earlier Base Visit 2 save. Next go to game options and reduce the difficulty if necessary. Recommended squad mates are a Recon, and a Support with the Weaken ability. Note that Carter can still use powers and melee attacks when going for this.
Vigilo Confido

50
Beat the game on Commander difficulty without ever changing it
(5)
Commander is the highest difficulty in the game. The main difference from the lower difficulties is if a squaddie is downed during a fight and then revived, they will be stabilized. In this state they will not bleed out, but won't get up until the encounter is over. However if Carter is downed, squadmates can still revive him like normal.
- Play conservatively. Advancing during a battle can trigger additional enemies to spawn. Try to kill enemies as quickly as possible, sometimes enemy reinforcement waves will spawn on a timer. Any breaks between enemy reinforcements will revive downed squadies, recharge abilities and heal the squad.
- Keep squadmates close. For the most part having them follow works well enough. Note thatmoving Squaddie to specific place seems to make them not automatically go to revive fallen allies.
- Save Healing until a squad member takes critical damage. Squadmates will often leave cover when aliens are shooting at them, and get torn to pieces. They have a health gate at critical damage, and healing them immediately should be enough for them to get back to cover.
- Abilities like Taunt, Disrupt and Weaken will make any affected enemy take much more damage from weapon fire. Especially useful against gunships and turrets.
Don't Run, You'll Just Die Tired

20
Attach 10 Sticky Grenades onto Outsider enemies within a single campaign
(2)
Sticky grenades are first encountered in mission four. The Achievement description is a bit misleading, it actually doesn't require Outsider type enemies, any alien will work. Mutons and Sectopods are the best enemy for this. First immobilize them with lift, and then stick them with three or more grenades and watch the fireworks.
Dead Head

25
Get 20 Headshot kills with any gun within a single campaign
(1)
The head is at the top of the body, it contains the brain and vital sensory organs. The impact of a high velocity profile or a beam of super heated plasma to this area will cause grievous bodily harm, likely ending in death or permanent brain damage.
Welcome to Earth

30
Finish off 20 aliens using melee attacks within a single campaign
(4)
Silicoids are the best enemy for this, because they are weak, run right at you and don't have guns. Even lone, seemingly weak Sectoid and Outsider enemies can down Carter very quickly in the open. It's best to weaken them, and then disable (Lift works well) or distract them before trying to melee.
Ready for Anything

30
Reach Rank 10

Reaching rank 10 isn't possible until very late in the game. If all the Minor Operations were completed, then it should unlock early in level seven. Getting to level ten as early as possible is helpful for the late game fights, so here are some ways to maximize XP gain.
- Squad member who scores the kill blow on an enemy will get a little bonus xp.
- Don't destroy the drop pods until they exhaust their spawns.
- Drop pods can be destroyed after a battle is over for 20xp.
- Look for side paths in the story missions. Going in them and collecting the back schematic will often spawn more enemies.
They Wont Know What Hit Them

50
Use all of the agent and player abilities in the field within a single campaign
(2)
There are twenty-one abilities that need to be used for this achievement. Carter has access to five, and each of the squad classes have four. However each individual squadmate can only have access to three different abilities, as at one point on their skill tree there is a choice between one or the other. It is then necessary to level up a second squadmate of every class and spec them with the ability that was not chosen. Two squadmates of each class are available at the start of the game (one of each needs to be recuited) and an additional Recon, Engineer and Commando can be earned from dispatch missions. There is no way to respec squadmates, so make sure to not choose the same power for all members of that class, or you'll have to reload.

Power List: (* Denotes powers that the Squaddies in Mission 1 have.)
Carter:
Heal - Starting Ability
Lift - Rank 2
Silacoid - Rank 4
Drone - Rank 6
Mind Control - Rank 8

Recon:
Critical Strike - Starting Ability*
Cloak - Rank 3*
Diversion - Rank 3
Fire Mission - Rank 5*

Engineer:
Scatter - Starting Ability*
Mine - Rank 2*
Laser Turret - Rank 4*
Rocket Turret - Rank 4

Support:
Combat Stims - Starting Ability
Shield Sphere - Rank 2
Disrupt - Rank 3
Weaken - Rank 3

Commando:
Taunt - Starting Ability
Pulse Wave - Rank 2
Personal Shield - Rank 4
Plasma Field - Rank 4
I've Seen Better, But Not Many

20
Reach Rank 5
(2)
See: 'Ready for Anything'
Sight Beyond Sight

20
Perform 15 unique scans within a single campaign
(4)
When in Battle Focus (), hold down then more the crosshair over the exclamation point diamonds. Enemies, weapons, and ammo can all be scanned during missions. It's also necessary to use this skill in a couple of the Base Investigations.
Bursting the Bubble

20
Take down 20 Outsider Shields using laser-based guns within a single campaign
(3)
All Commander and Elite Outsider type enemies have shields. Enemies will often not activate their shields until they see you, and all enemies have the ability to recharge their shield if it has been completely depleted. They are rare at the start of the game, and become increasingly common as the campaign progresses. The Laser Commander has the ability to give any enemy a shield. Laser weapons are the first set of alien weapons available. I recommend trying to unlock this early, as laser weapons are outclassed about half way though the game.
Leader of Men

40
Give 150 commands to agents while in Battle Focus within a single campaign

Giving any order to the squaddies Battle Focus (), such as moving to a specific point, targeting a specific enemy or using a power will count towards this. Should come naturally, this is supposed to be a tactical shooter after all.
What Are You Without Your Armor?

30
Strip all of the armor off of 5 Mutons before killing them within a single campaign
(2)
Muton's have six separate armor pieces: head, torso, both arms and both legs. (Except for the very first Muton encountered that only has a chestpiece. Killing him does not count towards the achievement.) To the right of the Muton's health bar is a diagram detailing the health of each armor piece, each piece will go from bright orange to black as it takes damage and finally destroyed. On the Muton's body the armor pieces will develop bright orange cracks as they take damage, and will disintegrate when destroyed. Liberal use of grenades and AoE abilities (mine, artillery strike, ect) will typically destroy all of the armor pieces without having to actually target them individually.
The Last Suit You'll Ever Wear

10
Customize an agent
(1)
Go to the Agent view menu and scroll over to the Customize tab. Change the colour of one of his clothing items, then switch to another tab. Done.
Enemy Within

25
Have Mind Controlled enemies get a total of 15 kills within a single campaign
(2)
This is actually more tricky than it may sound. Mind Control is unlocked when Carter reaches rank eight, which won't happen until fairly late in the game (Should be sometime during Mission 5.) The mind control power has a very long base recharge time (almost three minutes) and only affects an enemy for about thirty seconds. Any enemy besides the gunship (even robots) can be mind controlled. If you plan on using this ability more than once per fight, take a backpack that reduces recharge times and at level ten take the perk that reduces all ability recharge times, this will reduce the recharge time to just under a 100 seconds. At level nine take the perk that makes mind controlled enemies do more damage and have higher defenses. The perk that makes them explode doesn't seem to count toward the achievement and just sucks in general.

The number one thing to do when looking for an enemy to mind control is position. Mind controlled enemies will typically lock onto nearest alien, if there is a wall or floor obstructing the mind controllie's shot, then they will do nothing until it wears off. Look for any enemy to mind control that is flanking another, this will almost certainly guarantee at least one kill. On the flip side non armored mind controlled enemies will be killed in seconds. Mutons and Sectopods are very powerful against other enemies at close range, but make sure there are enemies very close by or they will just stare into space.
Clever Girl

25
Get 40 kills on Flanked enemies within a single campaign
(11)
Enemies are counter as flanked when they are in cover and attacked from the side, behind or a above by Carter or a Squaddie. Additionally in the Command View () it will show if an enemy is flanked by the selected soldier. This is another one that should come naturally.

Bringing down Goliath

20
Defeat a Muton

Plot related. Unmissable.
Is He Old Enough to Drive?

20
Defeat a Sectopod
(1)
Plot related. Unmissable.
A Dish Best Served Cold

25
Defeat a Titan

Plot related. Unmissable.
Exorcised the Demon

45
Retrieve and escape with information on the enemy base

Plot related. Unmissable.
... And the Body Dies

40
Confront the Outsider Leader

Plot related. Unmissable.
A Story of Axis and Allies

35
Closure

Plot related. Unmissable.
The Fat Lady Has Sung

50
Now, it's time to end this

Plot related. Unmissable.
The Devil's Tower

30
Infiltrated the Outsider Tower

Plot related. Unmissable.
All That Remains

20
Escaped Groom Range

Plot related. Unmissable.
So Just Let Me Introduce Myself

25
Secured the package

Plot related. Unmissable.
We Will Fight Like Lions!

25
Defeat all the Outsiders before escaping on the Skyranger
(4)
This is obtained at the test site at the end of the first mission (Invasion!). Once the nuclear test is activated, fall back to the raised platform helipad, and position your squaddies behind the crates near the base of the stairs, and place the Engineer’s turret nearby them. There is about a minute before the nuke explodes, (there will be a countdown for the last ten seconds) to kill all the aliens. There isn’t enough time to kill all of the alien reinforcements, so it’s necessary to destroy the drop pods first. Once the first drop pod appears on the right side, immediately target it with the Scout’s artillery, which should be enough to destroy it. A second drop pod will spawn on the left side, throw any grenades and plant the Engineer’s mine right beside it. Once it’s down, mop up what’s left of the Outsiders and Drones. The achievement will unlock once you enter the Sky Ranger.

There are 7 achievements with a total of 230 points

Mind Blown

40
Destroy 60 enemies with DaSilva's Demo Charges within a single Hangar 6 R&D campaign
This should come naturally, DaSilva's remote mines are very powerful and have a fairly short recharge time. The main weakness is it's short deployment range. A good strategy is to play aggressively, and quickly move to the drop pods as they deploy, then throw a mine at the bunched up enemies and imminently detonate it.
Conscientious Objector

40
Beat Hangar 6 R&D without firing any alien weapons
(1)
Despite the description, using sticky grenades will void the achievement. Not using any alien weapons is not as big a handicap as it may seem. The new AK47 is a very powerful weapon, and using the (also new and good) Microwave gun and Lightening Cannon will not void the achievement. Equipping squadmates with alien weapons is fine. Alien weapons will only become available for the last few missions. As the button used to pick up weapons is the same as reload and revive, be careful to not pick them up. If you somehow use alien weapon or grenade by mistake, then reload checkpoint.
Know Your Groceries

30
Take a level 5 agent of every class into the field within a single Hangar 6 R&D campaign
In Hanger 6 R&D, every squadmate begins at rank three and will gain one rank for every mission completed they are taken on. So make sure to take one agent of each class on at least two missions, there are ten missions in Hanger 6 total. Once an agent of every class is at rank five, bring all of them on a mission. Any squadmates swapped in or out at the supply boxes at the beginning of the mission will count as being brought for the achievement.
Only a Man

40
Complete DaSilva's perk tree without choosing Lift, Drone, or Mind Control
When ranking up there will be the option to choose between two different perks or abilities. Do not choose Lift, Drone, and Mind Control at ranks 3, 7 and 9 respectively. The achievement will unlock upon reaching rank ten, which is unmissable. There is no way to respec DaSilva if a wrong ability is chosen. It is possible to reload an autosave from before choosing the wrong ability, and to continue on normally from there.

Conduit Connection

10
Complete the first trial in Hangar 01
Plot related. Unmissable.
Drive Through

30
Trigger the Invasion in Hangar 6
Plot related. Unmissable.
It's In The Air

40
Defeat the Hangar 6 R&D Invaders
Plot related. Unmissable.