These FAQ questions have been answered by Archon. Most of the answers have been integrated with the text in this manual, but I include the FAQ questions and answers here for reference.
Note: a few of the questions listed below were asked and answered before the Stretch Goals Box with updated replacement components were sent out, so a couple of them may ask about confusing wording in the original components that may have been fixed in the updated replacement components.
Q: Within the rulebook and components, we see "Range/Ranged Attack, Shoot/Shooting Attack". What is the difference? ANSWER: They all refer to the same thing. All instances of these phrases should be read as "Shooting Attack".
Q: Which Attacks are considered "Psychic"? ANSWER: Some Models have abilities containing the words "Psy", "Psionic" or "Psychic" in the ability’s name. Attacks affected by such abilities are considered Psychic.
Q: There is a reference to both Abduction Points and Abduction Tokens. Is there a difference? ANSWER: They all refer to the same thing. The Abduction Tokens are used as a reminder of how many Points you have, so if you wish for example to purchase an Alien Upgrade Node, you may spend 5 Abduction Points (i.e. discard 5 Abduction Tokens).
Q: Short/Long Range is mentioned, but I do not understand which symbol indicates each range band. ANSWER: Consider the symbol with a dot and one semi-circle as "Short" symbol, while the one with the dot and two semi-circles is "Long", matching the example with CPO Jack Clemson.
Q: Can Alien units be placed in an adjacent building square when the Blip Token is flipped, even if a wall separates the squares? ANSWER: Yes, they can, provided that there is an opening; a Building Event Card is drawn if the building has not yet been explored.
Q: What is the purpose of the Armoury Room Card? ANSWER: This card was changed to the Soda Bar, disregard the Armoury Room Card.
Q: Can a Blip Token act after it has been deployed and has moved 5 Squares? ANSWER: A Blip Token can perform two of three possible Actions: Move, Interact or Flip. So after moving, the Blip Token may still perform another Action.
Q: Can a Blip Token flip as an Action and then use a behaviour? ANSWER: No. If the Overmind chooses to Flip a Blip Token during their turn, then the behaviour is not activated as stated in the rules.
Q: How many reinforcements does the Overmind start off with each mission? ANSWER: The Overmind has 4 Reinforcement Points at the start of every mission, but may upgrade to have more, using the Alien upgrade tree.
Q: Where do Heroes deploy when not specifically stated? ANSWER: If the Deployment for the Heroes is not stated in the Mission Book, and there is no highlighted diagram, then the Heroes will spawn in two teams of three, on adjacent tiles on the board edge. Hero deployment must be more than two tiles away from the Alien Spawn point (also at the edge of the board).
Q: Do AI Blip Tokens stack and repeat? ANSWER: Once a Blip Token has been flipped, the Token is then placed at the bottom of the Blip Token stack so it can be spawned again later.
Q: Does the AI Overmind have reinforcements or access to upgrades? ANSWER: No, this feature is only accessible to the Overmind player.
Q: In the AI rules it says "The first attack during the Overmind turn must target the closest Hero". Does the first attack mean a Melee or Close Combat Attack? ANSWER: Close Combat/Melee Attacks take priority over Shooting/Ranged Attacks. However if a Close Combat/Melee Attack can not yet be made by any available Aliens, then a Shooting/ Ranged Attack is made instead.
Q: How do I use the Twilight Event Cards? ANSWER: The Twilight Event Cards replace the normal Building Cards during a TA51 game. Their cardback indicates them as Twilight Building Cards, although they are revealed each time a dark room is flipped instead of following the normal Building rules.
Q: When does the countdown start at mission 2A? ANSWER: The countdown of 5 turns starts from the next Hero turn.
Q: Can I remove a tile with models on it, or tiles with an objective? ANSWER: No, you cannot. If you are unable to target any other tiles, ignore the card’s instructions.
Q: Do Grey Tall Men treat all Red Squares as Green or only those they are standing on? ANSWER: Only those they are standing on.
Q: How do I use the Abyss Event Cards? ANSWER: The Abyss Event Cards replace the normal Building Cards during an Abyss game. Their cardback indicates them as Abyss Building Cards and they follow the normal Building rules.
Q: How do I use the Abyss Hazard Cards? ANSWER: The Abyss Hazard Cards replace the normal Hazard Cards during an Abyss game. Their cardback indicates them as Abyss Hazard Cards and they follow the normal Hazard rules.
Q: Mission 2B states that we have 5 Turns to extract and at the end we receive 4 damage. What happens if the Heroes survive? ANSWER: The heroes have 5 turns to extract safely.
Q: Which weapons’ range does the Diving Mask card increase? ANSWER: The Diving Mask card changes the Maximum range of Shooting Attacks during Abyss Missions.
Q: When does a Hero drown? ANSWER: Heroes drown when they lose their last HP as a cost to take an Action.
Q: Actions: Many in the community continue to say that you cannot make the same Action twice (i.e. otherwise Sprint is useless), but I cannot find it explicitly stated in the rulebook. This would affect whether multiple Melee, Shooting, or Interact actions could be made. ANSWER: In the rules, Page 12 it says: "When activated, a model may perform up to two different actions (the same action can't be chosen twice)
Q: Movement: Diagonal movement is not permitted through doors/windows, but also around wall corners, correct? If a model is flanked on one (or more) side(s) by a wall or model(s), then they cannot make a diagonal movement? ANSWER: This is correct, logically if you want to move around a corner you have to move around it orthogonally, the same applies to windows and doors.
Q: Overwatch: When does Overwatch trigger?
A (from KS comments): As soon as a model enters the LoS and Shoot range of the model that is in overwatch. Overwatch interrupt movement, movement may continue afterward.
Q: Overwatch: Can an Alien Unit use the Overwatch action? (I realize that it's useless for the Devoli Ridgewalkers, but the Greys could make use of it). ANSWER: Alien Units can, but Blip tokens can not. page 12 under Overwatch: "when a Hero/Alien model is in an Overwatch....."
Q: Hazard Squares: Do these block Movement or LOS (while still in play)? ANSWER: No, the hazards are usually chest-high objects so it can be shot over or easily traversed.
Q: Reinforcements: Do these need to be chosen before the game, or are they placed as needed, up to the Reinforcement value, throughout the game? ANSWER: They do not need to be chosen before the mission, they can be selected as the mission unfolds so the Overmind can adjust his/her tactics.
Q: Equipment: When Interacting with a Spanner Token, can Weapons or Armour be immediately equipped, or do they have to be stored in the backpack first if the In-Use slot is empty? (If they must be stored and then equipped, I'm curious why, because it just feels unnecessary) ANSWER: Equipment can be placed in an empty weapon or armor slot.
Q: If a Unit is Pushed Back, does the player choose one of the 3 adjacent squares directly behind each model? ANSWER: The player who's model/models are being pushed back decides, as they are the defender. the entire unit is moved back as long as the formation is still valid.
Q: Do defense abilities count as bonuses, or is a bonus strictly additional dice? (i.e. Heat Vision card when compared with Macon Grissler's Force Field MK IV) ANSWER: Yes they do.
Q: Do models block line of sight? ANSWER: Yes, models (both Hero and Alien) block line of sight.
Q: Can Alien units be placed in a building when the Blip token is flipped? ANSWER: Yes, they can; a building event card is drawn if the building has not yet been explored.
Q: Where is the Hangar Room card for the base? ANSWER: This is a misprint; this should be the Warehouse room card.
Q: How do you destroy extraction points? ANSWER: Extraction points can be attacked in the same manner as Hazards. Mission specifi c Extraction points (yellow squares) can not be attacked and are not counted in regards to certain hidden agendas.
Q: Do you have to be adjacent to or on a spanner token to collect it? ANSWER: A model must be on a spanner token to collect it.
CHARACTER ABILITIES
Q: Are the symbols in the top-right of the Hero cards the type of items they can place in their In-Use slot? ANSWER: The symbols on the top right of the Hero card show which type of items that hero can use.
Q: Dr. Yukari Fujikawa's abilities effect "tiles", but the Lv2 ability has a range of 5. Did you mean "field" for other abilities? Also does the Lv1 ability, "Triage", also require LOS (Line of Sight)? ANSWER: Tile is a misprint, it should say Square instead. And yes, the ability requires Line of Sight.
Q: Captain Jordan "Intersect" Bryce: There are a lot of questions on BGG (boardgamegeek.com) about how his Lv0 ability works. ANSWER: It works in the same manner as a normal overwatch or overwatch plus, this gives him an overwatch action, but with melee attacks and free movement.
SPACE STATION ROOMS
Q: Does the Meditation Room automatically enable the Heroes to defend against psychic attacks, or do they need to interact with it? ANSWER: The effect of the room is innate unless stated otherwise. The players do not need to interact with it or spend a turn in there.
Q: What is the purpose of the Armoury room card? ANSWER: This card was changed to the Soda Bar, disregard the Armoury room card.
ALIEN UNIT ABILITIES
Q: Psychic Attack: There seems to be some confusion about the Grey Dominator's "Psi Attack". Is this a Psychic Attack?
ANSWER (from KS comments): This is a psychic attack yes, it can be defended against by building the meditation room in the space station.
The Dominator can make a Psi attack (psychic attack) without line of sight (meaning ignoring walls, figures and hindering terrain) using 3 dice.
This can be combatted by building the meditation room to gain defense against psychic attacks. These guys are glass cannons that have to be cornered and taken out. They have a unit size of 1, so they have little staying power.
This was a design choice to give the player the sense that they are overwhelmed by an unknown enemy early on in the game (as you can imagine would happen in an actual alien invasion) but once you do the research and build the room and learn the techniques to beat it, it suddenly becomes less of a threat This will then force the overmind player to change their strategy.
MAP TILES
Q: Do the Hedge Boxes on tile C2 block LOS or Movement? (I'm inclined to think not, but they have the same thick borders as a Building Wall) ANSWER: They do block LOS as they have the white border around them, the same as the white border that comes on the buildings.
Q: How can buildings be joined? How are rooms added? ANSWER: As long as there is at least one opening on the touching walls, those can be considered as joined. An opening on one tile will negate a solid wall on another tile (as long as they are touching).
MISSIONS
Q: Where are the hero Deployment zone(s) and their extraction point on the first mission? Nobody seems to agree. ANSWER: Hero Deployment is on D2 and C1 and the extraction is on C2.
Q: In the mission book, it says "Ping token", what is this? ANSWER: This was a mistake in the mission book; Ping token is the same as Blip token.
Also: what is a "chest-high object"? Does this refer to a "chest" as in the part of a human body, perhaps 1.5 meter above ground, or does it refer to a "chest" as in a storage box, whose top if perhaps 0.5 meters above ground?