XCOM 2’s expansion introduces new Factions, unique pockets of resistance unaffiliated with XCOM. Today we’re introducing the Reapers, a scrappy cell of human loyalists who live on the fringes of society and keep mainly to themselves.

https://youtu.be/xVJg_KrLzBA

The Reaper faction’s roots formed in the early days of the invasion, and this group of collective outsiders has been battling ADVENT for years. While previously the Reapers have preferred to favor isolation, a new change in leadership shows the group is now willing to work with XCOM to rid the earth of the alien threat.



The Reaper unit is an infiltration specialist and stealth marksman. With its enhanced concealment mode called “Shadow,” the Reaper gains access to greater mobility options over your standard XCOM soldier. Each action taken (including firing weapons) provides a chance for the Reaper to stay in Concealment. While in “Shadow” mode, a special HUD element will show the chance for your Reaper to break concealment for any available action.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/

Reapers utilize a powerful weapon called the Vektor rifle as well as a special Claymore explosive - a targetable incendiary device that, when placed and activated, does not cause the Reaper to break Concealment. We’ve even heard that the most skilled Reapers can attach Claymores to enemy units, turning them into walking ADVENT bombs.



That’s it for this update, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

           

XCOM 2’s expansion introduces new Factions, unique pockets of resistance unaffiliated with XCOM. Today we’re introducing the Reapers, a scrappy cell of human loyalists who live on the fringes of society and keep mainly to themselves.

https://youtu.be/xVJg_KrLzBA

The Reaper faction’s roots formed in the early days of the invasion, and this group of collective outsiders has been battling ADVENT for years. While previously the Reapers have preferred to favor isolation, a new change in leadership shows the group is now willing to work with XCOM to rid the earth of the alien threat.



The Reaper unit is an infiltration specialist and stealth marksman. With its enhanced concealment mode called “Shadow,” the Reaper gains access to greater mobility options over your standard XCOM soldier. Each action taken (including firing weapons) provides a chance for the Reaper to stay in Concealment. While in “Shadow” mode, a special HUD element will show the chance for your Reaper to break concealment for any available action.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/

Reapers utilize a powerful weapon called the Vektor rifle as well as a special Claymore explosive - a targetable incendiary device that, when placed and activated, does not cause the Reaper to break Concealment. We’ve even heard that the most skilled Reapers can attach Claymores to enemy units, turning them into walking ADVENT bombs.



That’s it for this update, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

           

XCOM 2’s expansion introduces the Chosen, unique ADVENT enemies tasked by the Elders to recapture the Commander at all costs. Today, we’re introducing the Assassin, a stealth-based melee unit who prefers to fight at close range.

https://youtu.be/yRLOkk-Lhdw
SUBSCRIBE ➜ http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT

The Assassin considers her tactics honorable, but often exudes a demeanor of self-importance. She believes humanity to be beneath her, and this inflated sense of self-worth is in part due to her status among the Elders but also due to her unmatched skills in combat.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/

The Assassin, and her siblings, present some persistent threats to War of the Chosen’s expanded campaign. They kidnap your soldiers, grow stronger over a campaign, and can even sabotage the Avenger. Each Chosen presents its own set of tactical strengths and weaknesses that dynamically generate with each new campaign. They’ll even taunt you if they’ve managed to escape a previous scuffle and come back for more.



The Assassin has mastered the katana and almost exclusively fights with it alone. Her ability to vanish from sight allows her to get in close on unsuspecting soldiers for a powerful slash. The Assassin can also stun and disorient groups of soldiers with Harbor Wave, an ability that sends a flood of psionic force from a distance.    

That’s it for this update, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

           

XCOM 2’s expansion introduces the Chosen, unique ADVENT enemies tasked by the Elders to recapture the Commander at all costs. Today, we’re introducing the Assassin, a stealth-based melee unit who prefers to fight at close range.

https://youtu.be/yRLOkk-Lhdw
SUBSCRIBE ➜ http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT

The Assassin considers her tactics honorable, but often exudes a demeanor of self-importance. She believes humanity to be beneath her, and this inflated sense of self-worth is in part due to her status among the Elders but also due to her unmatched skills in combat.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/

The Assassin, and her siblings, present some persistent threats to War of the Chosen’s expanded campaign. They kidnap your soldiers, grow stronger over a campaign, and can even sabotage the Avenger. Each Chosen presents its own set of tactical strengths and weaknesses that dynamically generate with each new campaign. They’ll even taunt you if they’ve managed to escape a previous scuffle and come back for more.



The Assassin has mastered the katana and almost exclusively fights with it alone. Her ability to vanish from sight allows her to get in close on unsuspecting soldiers for a powerful slash. The Assassin can also stun and disorient groups of soldiers with Harbor Wave, an ability that sends a flood of psionic force from a distance.    

That’s it for this update, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

           

We’re excited to announce XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, the expansion to the 2016 award-winning strategy game of the year, is launching on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation® 4 on August 29, 2017.

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen greatly expands upon the XCOM 2 campaign by adding three new resistance factions, each with its own Hero class, to aid XCOM in its fight to liberate Earth. ADVENT, in its bid to recapture the Commander, responds by deploying a deadly new enemy force called the “Chosen.” The expansion also includes other new enemies, missions, environments and increased depth in strategic gameplay.

https://youtu.be/n3bENBYSucQ
SUBSCRIBE to XCOM on YouTube: http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/
Here is a list of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen’s key features:

NEW FACTIONS & HERO CLASSES

Three additional factions have emerged to strengthen Earth's resistance – the Reapers, Skirmishers and Templars – each with its own unique abilities and contrasting philosophies. These factions provide powerful hero class soldiers to aid in missions and new opportunities for the strategy layer. 

THE CHOSEN

The Chosen are the most cunning enemies XCOM has ever faced, each with unique strengths and weaknesses that will be introduced with each new campaign. The Chosen are on the hunt for the Commander and will kidnap, interrogate, and kill XCOM’s soldiers to complete their objective. The Chosen can also invade the strategy layer and ravage XCOM’s global operations. Find and raid the Chosen’s strongholds to defeat the enemy for good.

NEW ALIEN & ADVENT THREATS

A deadly new alien known as the Spectre, capable of creating dark copies of XCOM soldiers, has snuck onto the battlefield. Adopt new tactics to counter it as well as  the explosive attacks of the ADVENT Purifier and the psionically charged ADVENT Priest.

NEW ENVIRONMENTS AND MISSION OBJECTIVES

Engage in tactical missions across new environments from abandoned cities devastated by alien bioweapons during the original invasion, to underground tunnels and xenoformed wilderness regions.

ENHANCED STRATEGY LAYER

Manage XCOM’s relations with factions and counter The Chosen’s operations from the Avenger. Employ new Resistance Orders to prioritize your personal strategy. Soldiers, scientists, and engineers can now be deployed for Covert Actions that award supplies and boost faction favor if successfully completed.

GREATER CUSTOMIZATION & REPLAYABILITY

Soldiers can develop bonds with compatible teammates for new abilities and perks. The SITREP system dynamically adds new modifiers to the tactical layer to make sure every mission provides a unique challenge. Advanced campaign options allow for finer adjustments to game length and difficulty.

CHALLENGE MODE

Utilize the perfect strategy in new regular one-shot community challenges to claim the top spot on the global leaderboard.

SHARE THE RESISTANCE

Customize and pose your soldiers, then add filters, text and backgrounds to generate your own unique resistance posters that appear in-game and can be shared with friends.

Follow the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #XCOM2, and be sure to follow XCOM on social media to keep up to date with the latest news and information on War of the Chosen.

        

We’re excited to announce XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, the expansion to the 2016 award-winning strategy game of the year, is launching on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation® 4 on August 29, 2017.

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen greatly expands upon the XCOM 2 campaign by adding three new resistance factions, each with its own Hero class, to aid XCOM in its fight to liberate Earth. ADVENT, in its bid to recapture the Commander, responds by deploying a deadly new enemy force called the “Chosen.” The expansion also includes other new enemies, missions, environments and increased depth in strategic gameplay.

https://youtu.be/n3bENBYSucQ
SUBSCRIBE to XCOM on YouTube: http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/
Here is a list of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen’s key features:

NEW FACTIONS & HERO CLASSES

Three additional factions have emerged to strengthen Earth's resistance – the Reapers, Skirmishers and Templars – each with its own unique abilities and contrasting philosophies. These factions provide powerful hero class soldiers to aid in missions and new opportunities for the strategy layer. 

THE CHOSEN

The Chosen are the most cunning enemies XCOM has ever faced, each with unique strengths and weaknesses that will be introduced with each new campaign. The Chosen are on the hunt for the Commander and will kidnap, interrogate, and kill XCOM’s soldiers to complete their objective. The Chosen can also invade the strategy layer and ravage XCOM’s global operations. Find and raid the Chosen’s strongholds to defeat the enemy for good.

NEW ALIEN & ADVENT THREATS

A deadly new alien known as the Spectre, capable of creating dark copies of XCOM soldiers, has snuck onto the battlefield. Adopt new tactics to counter it as well as  the explosive attacks of the ADVENT Purifier and the psionically charged ADVENT Priest.

NEW ENVIRONMENTS AND MISSION OBJECTIVES

Engage in tactical missions across new environments from abandoned cities devastated by alien bioweapons during the original invasion, to underground tunnels and xenoformed wilderness regions.

ENHANCED STRATEGY LAYER

Manage XCOM’s relations with factions and counter The Chosen’s operations from the Avenger. Employ new Resistance Orders to prioritize your personal strategy. Soldiers, scientists, and engineers can now be deployed for Covert Actions that award supplies and boost faction favor if successfully completed.

GREATER CUSTOMIZATION & REPLAYABILITY

Soldiers can develop bonds with compatible teammates for new abilities and perks. The SITREP system dynamically adds new modifiers to the tactical layer to make sure every mission provides a unique challenge. Advanced campaign options allow for finer adjustments to game length and difficulty.

CHALLENGE MODE

Utilize the perfect strategy in new regular one-shot community challenges to claim the top spot on the global leaderboard.

SHARE THE RESISTANCE

Customize and pose your soldiers, then add filters, text and backgrounds to generate your own unique resistance posters that appear in-game and can be shared with friends.

Follow the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #XCOM2, and be sure to follow XCOM on social media to keep up to date with the latest news and information on War of the Chosen.

        

June 12 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST.

➜ http://www.pcgamingshow.com/

June 12 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST.

➜ http://www.pcgamingshow.com/

Long War 2, the total conversion mod for XCOM 2, is available right now! We wanted to find out more about its creator, Pavonis Interactive (formerly known as Long War Studios). Thankfully, John Lumpkin, design lead and managing partner, was kind enough to answer a few questions for us!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=844674609

Thanks for doing this, John. First, can you tell us what your exact position at Pavonis Interactive is?

We got to make up our own titles! I’m the design lead. Also a managing partner. And public relations coordinator. And rookie-killing sadist.



How did Pavonis Interactive form?

Its informal beginning was when my partner Rachel “Amineri” Norman contacted me in early 2013 with some suggestions on how to dig into XCOM Enemy Unknown's code to make grenades a little less reliable. We started modding EU and then EW together with the help of several other talented programmers. We formed Long War Studios as a company as we got to work on our own title and shortly before signing a contract to develop the release-day mods for XCOM 2. With the release of Long War 2, we are rechristening our company Pavonis Interactive to capture that our future work will range beyond modding XCOM and toward developing our own independent titles. “Long War” will be indelibly linked with XCOM.

What are you and your team most proud of in Long War 2?

We think we’ve recreated a lot of the “Long War” feel in the XCOM 2 engine, although we tried to peg full campaigns at around 100 to 120 missions, which isn’t quite as many as the original.

In your own words, can you briefly describe how you’ve changed the Strategy Layer?

We’ve made a lot of changes. ADVENT now has a certain strength in each region on Earth, and it will move troops around in response to XCOM activity. This strength will determine how hard missions will be. This encourages XCOM to build a global Resistance and strike where ADVENT is weakest, just as a proper insurgency should.

In addition, in each region you’ve made contact with, you assign Resistance members to various jobs in a Haven: scavenging supplies, recruiting more rebels and soldiers, or gathering intelligence to generate missions. Many missions have set durations, and you must send a squad to infiltrate the target site over several days. The longer you infiltrate, the fewer enemies you will face, but larger squads need more time to sneak into the mission area.

Finally, it is now possible to liberate regions entirely from ADVENT control. Doing so will grant bonuses in resource gathering and more importantly trigger the AVATAR plot missions, but ADVENT will try to take them back.



How did you conceptualize and execute on these changes? Did you always have a vision in mind or is it something you guys stumbled upon by testing out different mechanics?

The general ideas of a hit-and-run insurgency and having mission difficulty scale both with strategic conditions as well as squad size are things we’ve had from the start. The general idea behind the infiltration mechanic was to replace our fatigue mechanic from the original Long War – we want to tie up your soldiers and force you to develop a deeper roster, and frankly the infiltration mechanic works better narratively than fatigue to fulfill this purpose, especially in a guerrilla war narrative. We also wanted to make squad size something organically determined rather than a straight set of upgrades you acquire over a campaign. Now, the extra flexibility provided by bringing 10 soldiers on a mission has costs, so it’s ultimately up to the player to decide how they want to take on a mission.

In your own words, can you briefly describe how you’ve changed the Tactical Mission gameplay?

We’ve implemented, and in many cases improved on, most of the content from our prior mods . We’ve also added an additional soldier class, the Technical, who can specialize in either the rocket launcher or flamethrower wrist weapons, which are available from the start. Each of our new classes has its own secondary weapon: The Sharpshooter has a holo-targeter, the Ranger a sawed-off shotgun, the Assault an arc thrower, and the Gunner a combat knife for self-defense. (We’re allowing all classes to equip pistols.) In addition, we’ve reworked the AWC bonus perk system to give each soldier a randomized mini-tree of offensive, defensive and pistol perks they can train, but they have to spend several days in the training tube to acquire the additional abilities.

We’ve added several mission types – ambushing a troop column, attacking an ADVENT military base, and rescuing multiple rebels from a jail, to name a few. We did try to add more pitched battles alongside the timed missions.

We’ve also made officers more integral to tactical play. They have the Command ability from Long War; they also provide bonuses to soldiers whom they have been on several missions with, and they have the ability to spend the intel resource to extend the timers on timed missions.

What else? All of Alien Pack is in there, plus some new ADVENT bad guys, sometimes in pods of up to eight enemies. Uncontacted enemy pods will now behave differently, sometimes trying to flank your squad or moving to defend the objective. The Skyranger now takes several turns to arrive when you throw the flare.



Which of the new mission types is your favorite and why?

Probably a toss-up between our alternate Haven defense mission, in which you have to defend an extraction zone in the center of the map while holding off increasingly strong Alien reinforcements and rescuing your rebels, and the invasion, when ADVENT tries to re-take a region. It functions something like a retaliation mission, but in a city.

What are you and the team most proud of in your changes to the Tactical gameplay?

I polled our playtesters, led by the illustrious Tim “Bilfdoffle” Evans, and they offered the following:

• The AWC/officer perks creating unique soldiers
  
• Corpse reanimation by unactivated sectoids
  
• Yellow alert and pod job mechanics
  
• The coil cannon
  
• All the new missions
  
• Changes to evac timer and meta around stealthier missions/
  
• Controlling Rebels and Civs
  
• Defending the Evac
  
• The new Arc Thrower

Thank you for your time, John!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PadaLO8o_P4&list=PL8mfplD2jGg9LjEoySAJQgXQxeKmn60os

The Long War 2 mod is available now as a free download through Steam Workshop for XCOM 2 on PC.

Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500

       

Long War 2, the total conversion mod for XCOM 2, is available right now! We wanted to find out more about its creator, Pavonis Interactive (formerly known as Long War Studios). Thankfully, John Lumpkin, design lead and managing partner, was kind enough to answer a few questions for us!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=844674609

Thanks for doing this, John. First, can you tell us what your exact position at Pavonis Interactive is?

We got to make up our own titles! I’m the design lead. Also a managing partner. And public relations coordinator. And rookie-killing sadist.



How did Pavonis Interactive form?

Its informal beginning was when my partner Rachel “Amineri” Norman contacted me in early 2013 with some suggestions on how to dig into XCOM Enemy Unknown's code to make grenades a little less reliable. We started modding EU and then EW together with the help of several other talented programmers. We formed Long War Studios as a company as we got to work on our own title and shortly before signing a contract to develop the release-day mods for XCOM 2. With the release of Long War 2, we are rechristening our company Pavonis Interactive to capture that our future work will range beyond modding XCOM and toward developing our own independent titles. “Long War” will be indelibly linked with XCOM.

What are you and your team most proud of in Long War 2?

We think we’ve recreated a lot of the “Long War” feel in the XCOM 2 engine, although we tried to peg full campaigns at around 100 to 120 missions, which isn’t quite as many as the original.

In your own words, can you briefly describe how you’ve changed the Strategy Layer?

We’ve made a lot of changes. ADVENT now has a certain strength in each region on Earth, and it will move troops around in response to XCOM activity. This strength will determine how hard missions will be. This encourages XCOM to build a global Resistance and strike where ADVENT is weakest, just as a proper insurgency should.

In addition, in each region you’ve made contact with, you assign Resistance members to various jobs in a Haven: scavenging supplies, recruiting more rebels and soldiers, or gathering intelligence to generate missions. Many missions have set durations, and you must send a squad to infiltrate the target site over several days. The longer you infiltrate, the fewer enemies you will face, but larger squads need more time to sneak into the mission area.

Finally, it is now possible to liberate regions entirely from ADVENT control. Doing so will grant bonuses in resource gathering and more importantly trigger the AVATAR plot missions, but ADVENT will try to take them back.



How did you conceptualize and execute on these changes? Did you always have a vision in mind or is it something you guys stumbled upon by testing out different mechanics?

The general ideas of a hit-and-run insurgency and having mission difficulty scale both with strategic conditions as well as squad size are things we’ve had from the start. The general idea behind the infiltration mechanic was to replace our fatigue mechanic from the original Long War – we want to tie up your soldiers and force you to develop a deeper roster, and frankly the infiltration mechanic works better narratively than fatigue to fulfill this purpose, especially in a guerrilla war narrative. We also wanted to make squad size something organically determined rather than a straight set of upgrades you acquire over a campaign. Now, the extra flexibility provided by bringing 10 soldiers on a mission has costs, so it’s ultimately up to the player to decide how they want to take on a mission.

In your own words, can you briefly describe how you’ve changed the Tactical Mission gameplay?

We’ve implemented, and in many cases improved on, most of the content from our prior mods . We’ve also added an additional soldier class, the Technical, who can specialize in either the rocket launcher or flamethrower wrist weapons, which are available from the start. Each of our new classes has its own secondary weapon: The Sharpshooter has a holo-targeter, the Ranger a sawed-off shotgun, the Assault an arc thrower, and the Gunner a combat knife for self-defense. (We’re allowing all classes to equip pistols.) In addition, we’ve reworked the AWC bonus perk system to give each soldier a randomized mini-tree of offensive, defensive and pistol perks they can train, but they have to spend several days in the training tube to acquire the additional abilities.

We’ve added several mission types – ambushing a troop column, attacking an ADVENT military base, and rescuing multiple rebels from a jail, to name a few. We did try to add more pitched battles alongside the timed missions.

We’ve also made officers more integral to tactical play. They have the Command ability from Long War; they also provide bonuses to soldiers whom they have been on several missions with, and they have the ability to spend the intel resource to extend the timers on timed missions.

What else? All of Alien Pack is in there, plus some new ADVENT bad guys, sometimes in pods of up to eight enemies. Uncontacted enemy pods will now behave differently, sometimes trying to flank your squad or moving to defend the objective. The Skyranger now takes several turns to arrive when you throw the flare.



Which of the new mission types is your favorite and why?

Probably a toss-up between our alternate Haven defense mission, in which you have to defend an extraction zone in the center of the map while holding off increasingly strong Alien reinforcements and rescuing your rebels, and the invasion, when ADVENT tries to re-take a region. It functions something like a retaliation mission, but in a city.

What are you and the team most proud of in your changes to the Tactical gameplay?

I polled our playtesters, led by the illustrious Tim “Bilfdoffle” Evans, and they offered the following:

• The AWC/officer perks creating unique soldiers
  
• Corpse reanimation by unactivated sectoids
  
• Yellow alert and pod job mechanics
  
• The coil cannon
  
• All the new missions
  
• Changes to evac timer and meta around stealthier missions/
  
• Controlling Rebels and Civs
  
• Defending the Evac
  
• The new Arc Thrower

Thank you for your time, John!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PadaLO8o_P4&list=PL8mfplD2jGg9LjEoySAJQgXQxeKmn60os

The Long War 2 mod is available now as a free download through Steam Workshop for XCOM 2 on PC.

Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500