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I understand that psionics have been extensively discussed previously during beta testing, but I would like to start a new discussion purely from the point of gameplay. These are my original thoughts as far as I know. If they are coincidental with previous suggestions, I apologize and do not mean to take credit for another person's earlier statements. I would like to exclude metaphysics and fluff from this discussion (e.g. psionics is like a sixth sense that does not require LOS to use). In short, I believe that psionics need to rebalanced to give the player an active, immediate say to keep the game fun. In it's current implementation, psionics punish the player without the option for them to resist in any meaningful way. I have beaten Xenonauts already and I am honestly put-off from replaying it because of how patently unfun the game becomes in the endgame specifically because of psionics. The way it is now, whether or not my soldiers decide to start teamkilling is entirely out of my control. I do not know the formulas, but I feel that even with 70+ bravery, it is still quite possible for a Colonel to be mind-controlled or start berserking (i.e. teamkill). This is not even talking about any Xenonauts with low morale on a given strike team. Given how soldiers are usually flanking each other, are in close proximity, and have weapons that can reliably defeat their corresponding body armor with ease (i.e. Lasers vs. Jackal, Plasma vs. Wolf, MAG vs. anything), this implies late-game psionics allow the aliens to have a non-negligible chance of killing your soldiers without any risk to them every single turn. The crux of the issue is not that teamkilling occurs at all. Even if the formula was adjusted so that it occurred rarely but the same gameplay mechanics remained, the idea that makes psionics so frustrating would remain--psionics induce teamkilling without giving the player a meaningful option to prevent it. I cannot overstate how absolutely frustrating this is. This gameplay design effectively means a Xenonaut may drop dead at any point in time when assaulting either a Battleship or a Cesean Carrier in the late game. True, this gives the game an omnipresent sense of dread and desperation. The player is never really on par with the aliens because humans never develop psionics or true psionic resistance. Therefore, the aliens always seems mysterious and above the player's level. I agree with this design choice for the game's atmosphere, but I believe it has been taken too far. In the late game, I avoid taking on Carrier and Battleship missions because being punished by psionics is so fickle. Even if I execute sound tactical play, I can still be penalized for something over which I have no real control. Effectively, ground missions stop happening in the late game unless the player enjoys what amounts to being randomly punished. As psionics are currently implemented, my strategic instincts say late-game ground missions should only occur to capture a Praetor and then do the last mission because otherwise the player runs a risk of having their veterans wantonly teamkilled. This cuts out the biggest and, what used to be in the early and midgame, the most enjoyable gameplay component in the late game. To remedy these issues, I have suggestions for both mind control and berserking. I propose that mind control be restricted to direct LOS of the psionic or squad sight. That way, there is a way for a player to avoid the risk of mind control--aggressively kill every alien immediately upon contact or retreat. This puts the power in the player's hands: do I continue pushing and risk friendly fire on the immediate next alien turn, or do I take a few pot shots and run? With respect to berserking, I believe that units should not berserk immediately upon being affected by Fear (I am trying to refer to the ability that drops a unit's morale and puts them at risk of berserking). Instead, a unit should be put at a high risk of berserking on the next turn. After being notified that a soldier is at high risk of berserking, the player then has to make a decision: do I need this unit to continue doing whatever it is doing right now (e.g. covering the left flank) and risk a probable team kill on the next alien turn, or should I play it safe (e.g. retreat and drop weapon, therefore expose left flank and lose ground/momentum)? With this change, I think it would also be appropriate for the berserk-inducing-ability to not require LOS, as it would then be in the player's power to accept risk or not. Aside from psionics, I believe Xenonauts is for the most part balanced. I enjoyed playing the game, but found psionics to be excessively and arbitrarily punitive. These proposals address the key problem with psionics in my opinion: the fact that in their current implementation psionics punish the player without any real way for the player to resist. It's like playing chess and having one player risk losing a piece based on a statistically-independent dice roll that goes on in some remote backroom. That one player could be strategically and tactically outpacing the other player, but he/she is still being penalized by an inherently unfair system. Thanks for reading.