The Psi-Amp, or Psionic Amplifier, is device that allows X-COM soldiers to access and make use of the same psionic powers that are available to Ethereals and high ranking Sectoids. Unlike the Mind Probe, the Psi-Amp can only be used by soldiers with Psionic Skill.
The amplifier allows soldiers to attack enemies with two types of mental attacks. Panic and Mind Control. Panic, the easiest of the two attacks, saps a unit's morale, and puts it in a prime position to panic or go berserk. Panic attacks are an efficient means of training Psi Skill.
Mind control takes direct control over the target's actions, but is very difficult to perform until some skill is built up.
The range of the amplifier covers the entire field and does not require line of sight between user and target in order to operate. However, targets for the amp must be sighted (by any friendly unit) before they can be attacked.
The prerequisite for researching the Psi-Amp is the Psi-Lab.
How To Use
During combat, click on the Psi-Amp, select the type of attack, and select a target unit with the cursor.
There are two types of psionic attack:
- PANIC UNIT
- If the attack is successful it will reduce the target's morale and may cause it to panic.
- MIND CONTROL
- If this is successful, then you will gain immediate control of the enemy unit as if it was one of your own units (except that you cannot directly access the object screen). It is more difficult to control an alien than to panic it, but soldiers with high Psi Skill (say 60 or more) and Strength can capture many additional "soldiers" during a mission. See Psionics for the specific formulas.
Unlike other combat actions, failure with any of the above attacks will still count towards experience.
Note: if you mind control a large unit, such as a Cyberdisc, be sure to get all four quarters of the unit under control. If not, once moved, the Cyberdisc may shoot the 'Alien' quarters of itself because of its high reaction stat. Other large aliens (such as the Sectopod) do the same, but the Cyberdisc is deadly because of its explosive nature. Melee aliens like the Reaper will not attack themselves.
Additional Note on large units: An alternative, if you're lucky, is to Mind Control only 1 square of the unit, move as much as possible, Mind Control another square, move as much as possible, and repeat. This makes the unit a very effective scout but it tends to be self-destructive if it can shoot. The large aliens are actually 4 units moving at the same time so you can actually make the alien move in 2 directions without incurring Reaction Fire so long as you keep the piece(s) out of the other piece(s) line of sight since they will look the same direction as your Mind Controlled piece. You can also avoid reaction fire by making sure it doesn't have enough TU's to fire on your Mind Controlled piece(s) since the Alien-Controlled piece(s) have the same TU's you have at the moment. Ex.: Sectopod piece has 8 TU's left to move with. Other pieces can't shoot since they take more TU's than the ones currently available.
The Psi-Amp is two-handed. Holding something in your free hand may lower its chance of success.