Aliens: Fireteam Elite: Complete Guide

Everything you need to go from fresh Colonial Marine to Insane and Hardcore runs in Aliens: Fireteam Elite: classes and team comps, the perk board, weapons and attachments, consumables, every campaign, Horde mode, Challenge Cards, enemies, and the achievements worth planning around.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Alien Day 2024 update (April 26, 2024), the most recent content patch; the game is in maintenance with no new content announced. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Play with two humans or with the synth AI. Missions are for a fireteam of three. If you are solo, the synths Alpha and Beta fill in, and they were significantly improved in the October 2023 patch.
Pick a class, then level it. Every class has its own rank and perk board. You can switch classes between missions, and "Specialist" rewards getting one Kit to rank 8.
Consumables are your emergency buttons. Deployable turrets, mines, and similar gear turn the big holdout waves. Buy and bring them every mission.
Friendly fire is on. Crossfire, explosives, and flames hurt teammates, and one achievement ("Trigger Discipline") requires an Intense+ mission with no friendly fire damage.
Prioritise specials. Spitters, Prowlers, and Bursters kill more marines than the swarm. Call them out and shoot them first.
Challenge Cards are free now. Since the April 2024 update, card packs in SSGT Park's shop cost nothing, so use them freely for modifiers and extra rewards.
The credit cap is 100,000. It was doubled from 50,000 in April 2024, so you can save up for bigger purchases.
Collect hidden caches and intel. They give rewards and count toward "Keen Eye" (50 caches) and the CMISRS intel achievements.

Campaigns

There are four base campaigns with three missions each, plus a fifth from the Pathogen expansion (released August 30, 2022).

Campaign	Notes	Achievement
Priority One	The first campaign; introduces Xenomorph types and holdouts	Priority One
Giants in the Earth	Takes you deeper into LV-895 and its ruins	Giants in the Earth
The Gift of Fire	Heavier Synthetic encounters	The Gift of Fire
The Only Way to be Sure	Wraps up the base story	The Only Way to be Sure
Promise of a Flower (Pathogen DLC)	Three missions with new Pathogen enemies inspired by Alien: Covenant; the paid expansion also added eight weapons, outfits, perks, and emotes	Promise of a Flower

Every-campaign achievements stack by difficulty: "Expeditionary Service Ribbon" (Standard), "LV-895 Service Ribbon" (Intense), "LV-895 Campaign Medal" (Extreme), and "Reticulum Theater Medal" (Insane). Clearing all campaigns on a higher difficulty is the efficient route.

Difficulty

Difficulty	Notes
Casual	Easiest option for story runs (added after launch)
Standard	Normal; the baseline for campaign achievements
Intense	Where rewards and challenge ramp up; "Didn't Break a Sweat"
Extreme	Needs coordinated comps; "A Stand Up Fight"
Insane	Top standard difficulty; "My Kind of Crazy"
Hardcore	Numbered levels beyond the standard settings; "I Can't Lie About Your Chances" needs Hardcore 10

Classes

Seven classes are available: Gunner, Demolisher, Technician, Doc, Recon, Phalanx, and Lancer. Phalanx and Lancer were added after launch. Each Class Kit has two unique combat abilities plus its own unlockable perks, and the store page counts over 130 perks in total.

Class	Role	Notes
Gunner	Rifle DPS	Reliable damage; Overclock boosts fire rate. Best first pick
Demolisher	Heavy weapons and explosives	Deletes elites and groups; mind friendly fire
Technician	Support and area control	Deploys a sentry turret and tech abilities for crowd control
Doc	Healer	Trauma Station heals the team; essential on harder difficulties
Recon	Scouting and support	Reveals enemies and supplies the team
Phalanx	Frontline with a shield	Holds chokepoints and protects the team at close range
Lancer	Tactical firepower	Later addition for aggressive play

Recommended team comps:

Starter: Gunner, Doc, Technician. Damage, healing, and area control.
High difficulty: Doc plus Demolisher plus a flexible third (Gunner or Technician), depending on the map.
Horde: Technician and Phalanx to lock down chokepoints, Doc to sustain.

The perk board

Each class has a grid-shaped perk board. Perks come in different shapes and sizes, and you slot them into the board to shape your build. "Fully Rigged" requires filling every slot on a perk board.

Unlock more board space by ranking up the class.
Class-specific perks change how abilities work; general perks boost damage, survivability, or handling.
Rebuild your board when you change weapons; a perk that boosts one weapon type is wasted on another.

Weapons, Attachments, and Cosmetics

Weapon categories include pistols, magnums, SMGs, rifles, shotguns, heavy weapons, and more. Which ones you can use depends on your class.
Weapon levels: weapons gain stars as you use them, up to four stars ("A Personal Friend of Mine"; "All My Personal Friends" needs 30).
Attachments add stats (sights, magazines, muzzle devices). "Nukes, Knives, AND Sharp Sticks" wants three on one weapon.
Cosmetics: colours, decals, hats, outfits, and emotes are cosmetic only. Horde maps and challenge runs award many of them.

Attachment tip: the April 2023 patch fixed incorrect Range stats on several attachments, including Appended Magazine, Muzzle Brake, Holotab Sight, SmartAssist Sight, Vented Flash Hider, Weighted Magazine, and Forward Mount Laser. If you gave up on one of those earlier, test it again.

Smartgun: it can lock on to targets automatically. An accessibility option lets you toggle its "failed to target" audio.

Consumables

Consumables are bought before a mission and used in the field: deployable turrets, mines, and other support tools. They are what turn a failing holdout.

Bring at least one area-denial consumable per player on Intense+.
Place turrets covering the entrance you are not facing.
"Tower Defense" needs 500 consumables used, so don't hoard them.
"Got All I Need" needs a mission without aid kits, ammo crates, or consumables. Do it on a low difficulty with a strong team.

Enemies

Xenomorphs:

Enemy	Threat	Counter
Runners and Drones	Swarm fodder	Area damage and steady fire
Warriors	Tougher melee	Focus fire, stagger
Bursters	Explode in acid	Kill at range; spread out
Spitters	Ranged acid	Priority target; shoot early
Prowlers	Grapple and pin marines	Stay close to teammates so they can free you
Praetorians	Elite, heavily armoured	Explosives and focused fire
Crushers	Charging juggernaut	Dodge the charge; hit weak spots

Synthetics are armed androids in parts of the campaign, with more ranged combat. "Glorified Toasters" is 1,000 Synthetic kills.

Pathogen enemies from the DLC include creatures inspired by Alien: Covenant and explosive spore pods ("Pod Popper").

Horde Mode

Horde maps add wave survival with unique rewards.

Ruptured Cistern: originally a winter event map; the limited rewards were replaced by permanent ones in January 2023.
Terminal Containment: free Horde map from Alien Day 2023. A large single-floor interior with many entrances; the centre control room is a reliable spot to fortify. Reaching wave 10 on Intense, Extreme, or Insane unlocks unique rewards.

Terminal Containment reward	Difficulty needed (wave 10+)
3 emotes (Break Time's Over, Come Here - Rendezvous, Home Run)	Intense or higher
5 weapon colours (the Screentone set: Duplicity, Highrise, Downtown, Nightclub, Rush Hour)	Extreme or higher
5 weapon decals (Die Mad!, Extra Lives, Fireball, Game Over, Pixel Bricks)	Insane

Rewards are shared across modes now. Since the January 24, 2023 patch, every game mode draws from the same pool of non-cosmetic rewards, so any perk or attachment can drop anywhere. Cosmetics are still unique to their mode, which is the only reason to farm a specific Horde map. Horde reward previews are shown per set of 10 waves.

Horde tips:

Fortify one central spot and assign each player an entrance.
Spend between waves on consumables that cover blind spots.
Keep a Doc and a Technician in the team.

Challenge Cards

Challenge Cards add modifiers to a mission for extra rewards. Some make the run harder; others add chaos. "Confidence Course" needs one successful Challenge run; "Overwhelming Confidence" needs 25.

Since the April 2024 update, card packs in SSGT Park's shop are free, and losing a card after a failed mission or host disconnect is no longer a financial setback.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Spraying through teammates. Friendly fire adds up, especially with Demolisher and flamers.
Ignoring Spitters and Prowlers while you shoot swarm fodder.
Leaving consumables unused. They are designed to be spent.
Running Intense+ without a Doc. Healing is the difference between a clear and a wipe.
Forgetting to update your perk board after swapping weapons.
Separating from the team. Prowlers punish lone marines.

Advanced Tips

Stack damage types: fire and electricity have their own achievements ("Burn 'Em Out", "High Voltage"); build around them when grinding.
Explosive barrels and pods are free damage ("Improvised Explosives" needs 50 kills with them).
Hardcore modes stack difficulty on top of normal settings. Push them only with a coordinated comp and full perk boards.
Rotate classes to raise Kit ranks for "Kitted Out" (five Kits at rank 8 on one character).
Cosmetics per character: many collection achievements count on a single character, so avoid splitting your playtime across several.

Achievement Planning

Most achievements come naturally; these are the ones worth planning:

Achievement	Requirement	Tip
Kitted Out	Five Kits to rank 8 on one character	Rotate classes as each one hits 8
All My Personal Friends	30 weapons at four stars on one character	Swap weapons often; low difficulties are fine for levelling
Ready for Anything / State of the Art Firepower	25 attachments; one of every attachment type	Any mode can drop any attachment since January 2023
CMISRS Asset / CMISRS Resource	Return 39 and 48 pieces of intel on one character	Use a collectibles map; intel is per character
Keen Eye	Open 50 hidden caches	Search side rooms on every run
Supportive Squad	50 missions with nobody downed	Farm on a lower difficulty with a Doc
Suturing Expert	Heal the fireteam with an aid kit 100 times	Play Doc or carry aid kits regularly
Those Things Were Huge	2,000 elite kills	Comes with Horde and higher difficulties
Anti-Mutation Station / Pod Popper	300 Pathogen kills; 50 spore pods	Replay Promise of a Flower
I Think They Like Me	Get grappled five times in one mission	Let Prowlers catch you on a low difficulty
Collections	20 emotes, 20 hats, 40 weapon colours, 40 decals on one character	Cosmetics are tied to specific modes, so play every mode, including the Horde maps

FAQ

Can I play Aliens: Fireteam Elite solo? Yes. Two AI synths, Alpha and Beta, join you. Their behaviour was improved in October 2023.

How many campaigns are there? Four base campaigns with three missions each, plus Promise of a Flower from the Pathogen expansion.

Are Challenge Cards free? Yes, since the April 26, 2024 update.

What is the credit cap? 100,000 credits since April 2024.

Is the game still supported? The latest update was the April 2024 quality-of-life patch. Online play on PC continues; the Nintendo Switch cloud version was shut down on August 5, 2026 (the Switch release had launched on April 26, 2023).

Which class is best for beginners? Gunner for straightforward damage, or Doc if you like support.