Craft EMP Weapons?

[Daedros]

Any chance for a mod that allows you to research and manufacture EMP Weapons for your aircraft? Like, if you shoot down a UFO using EMP Weapons, instead of generating a Crash Site, it'll generate a Landing Site for that UFO? Would make it easier getting Elerium from regular UFOs, rather than having to keep Alien Bases around so you can farm Elerium from the Supply Ships that land at them.

[Solarius Scorch]

That would require writing new code, a mod wouldn't be enough. Because forced landing is a completely new mechanics.

But yeah, more options are usually good to have - even though in this particular case I'd be wary of upsetting the game balance. Though it'd be OK if it was late tech.

[Dioxine]

Dunno, seems to me that lethal weaponry is already disabling UFO systems by overloading its power sources - else "crashed" ufos would look like so much debris strewn across miles. EMP weapons would work similarly. Also there is no evidence whatsoever that alien tech would be in any way susceptible to EMP, at least, not more than to any other form of energy. UFOs have very few moving parts and their computers have to work in different ways than ours - we read about "optical processors" whatever they are. But even leaving all that aside, since Alien Alloys are said to be superconductive, this amounts to UFO's hull being a huge Faraday's cage, which would naturally make it extremely resistant to EMP attacks.

[yrizoud]

Consider it a hacking of UFO navigation : "Virus installed" 

Such EMP would contradict the vanilla mechanism that big weapons are necessary against larger UFOs, while they may destroy smaller UFOs : It wastes some loot, but also saves your time on a easy battle which would have nothing new anyway (No leader or commander)

A different way to "milk" smaller UFOs is to use the  "Xcomutil Fighter transport" mod, and IMO it's quite balanced : By having soldiers in interceptors, you gain the ability to assault landed scouts in places where your skyranger would be too slow to reach in a timely manner, but you'll fight with a maximum of 6 soldiers instead of 14.

[Daedros]

The more recent XCOMs establish that EMP Weapons function quite well against UFOs. In the late game of 2012 XCOM, you can research and manufacture EMP Cannons that allow you to recover more resources from downed UFOs, but also means more live aliens to fight. https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=EMP_Cannon_%28EU2012%29
XCOM 2 also reinforced that EMP Weapons work well against UFOs, since the Aliens use a UFO armed with EMP weapons to down the Avenger (which is a commandeered Alien Supply Ship in XCOM 2), and use a continuously pulsating EMP Spike to keep it downed.

Yeah, EMP Weapons would be balanced as a late game tech. It's not like you even need that much Elerium until you start using the Avenger and Flying Suits in the late game.