The new Factions in XCOM 2: War of The Chosen aren’t just single heroic units you use in battle, they are part of a larger organized force. You’ll work with each of the Factions, perform Covert Actions and use Resistance Orders to improve your odds of success. It’s a whole new addition that resonates in both the tactical and the strategic layer and will shake up your decisions on each playthrough. And it was inspired, in part, by collectible card games.

Today, we’ll explain how it all ties together into the larger Geoscape in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen’s expanded campaign.

https://youtu.be/e4z7HT-UJiI?list=PL8mfplD2jGg8vQN0HZrwJxfDrg7eOq1rD

We’ve already talked about each of the three new Factions (Templars, Skirmishers, Reapers) you’ll be recruiting in the fight against the Chosen. Finding a new Faction opens up their HQ, which gives you a new place to scan and benefit from in the strategic level. For example; scanning at the Reaper’s HQ gives you additional Intel, operating from the Templar HQ heals your troops quicker, and the Skirmisher’s HQ allows you to build facilities faster.

Working with each Faction on Covert Actions is the key to defeating the Chosen once and for all. The more missions you undertake for a Faction, the better your influence is with them. The better your influence, the more Covert Actions will be available. More Resistance Orders become available and you’ll be able to assign more Resistance Orders per mission.



These are essentially non-combat missions. You’re allocating resources and soldiers to ferret out information seek out perks that’ll benefit XCOM, or rescue captured soldiers. A successful Covert Action can mean additional resources, new soldiers, a new mission, or information leading to a Chosen stronghold. Once players successfully complete three Covert Actions to locate and gain intel on a stronghold, that Chosen’s final mission will be available. But don’t think that this is simply a matter of you choosing a mission, then waiting for timers to tick down.



Covert Actions can – and will – go sideways. Each mission has a chance of seeing your soldiers get wounded. Worse, a mission could devolve into an ambush. When this happens, the game immediately changes focus from the Avenger to the soldiers deployed on the Covert Action.  The player has to move the soldiers to an extraction zone and safely get them out of the ambush. The odds, however, are stacked against you. You won’t have a full squad – usually two, maybe three soldiers – and you’ll be fighting off enemies as well as ADVENT reinforcements.

Of course, there are ways to mitigate risk. When setting up a Covert Action, you will sometimes be able to add additional soldiers and staff (scientists and engineers) to improve the odds of mission success. Or you’ll be able to employ Resistance Orders. We’ll get to that in a minute.

INTEL: Examples of Covert Actions

Some of the missions you may undertake in our fight against ADVENT.

Hunt the Chosen: Three separate missions that will lead you to a Chosen Stronghold.

Rescue Soldier: Only available after a soldier has been captured by the Chosen.

Locate Faction: Always available at the start of the game, used to meet the Factions and gain one of their soldiers.

Recruit Faction Soldier

Counter Chosen Activity: Prevents the Chosen from performing their scheduled monthly activity

Breakthrough Research: Activates one of the new breakthrough research techs

Resistance Order: Gives the player another Resistance Order card for the Faction


Think of Resistance Orders as modifier cards used in CCGs. According to XCOM 2’s Senior Producer, Garth DeAngelis, “Design leveraged the foundation of a tried-and-true card system to provide that variability from a mechanical standpoint. These Factions are unpredictable, just like the game itself, and you never know what services they can offer in a given playthrough.”

In addition to gameplay depth, unique narrative context was given to each of the new Factions based on those services. The accurate Reapers may allow your squad to insta-kill Lost if you hit them at all, while the Skirmishers may strong arm the Black Market into offering you more favorable deals – it’s your choice to take advantage of what you want.



INTEL: Examples of Resistance Orders

Once you gain the trust of the Factions, you may earn policy cards. Here are a few examples, by Faction.


Infiltrate: On timed missions, the timer does not begin until the squad has lost concealment.

Volunteer Army: There is a chance that a Resistance soldier will join the XCOM squad for the duration of the mission.


Bomb Squad: Experimental Grenade and Heavy Weapon projects are completed instantly in the Proving Grounds.

Modular Construction: Facility construction speed is increased by 25%


Mental Fortitude: All battle madness (panic, obsession, berserk, shattered) only lasts one turn.

Machine Learning: Research breakthroughs are twice as likely to occur.

Something to consider when you start playing the game: Maximize Resistance Orders by thinking ahead. If you know you’re going to be excavating or building several new facilities, use cards that help speed the process up. Did you just unlock a new weapon tier and know you’re going to use most of your resources to purchase them? Apply cards that will give you additional resources during a supply drop, reduce costs of facility actions, or give you bonuses that would usually cost money (ex. getting additional Resistance contacts).

Making use of these new features will give you more control in the Avenger to execute the perfect strategy in your fight against the Chosen.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
That’s it for this update. 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!

           

The new Factions in XCOM 2: War of The Chosen aren’t just single heroic units you use in battle, they are part of a larger organized force. You’ll work with each of the Factions, perform Covert Actions and use Resistance Orders to improve your odds of success. It’s a whole new addition that resonates in both the tactical and the strategic layer and will shake up your decisions on each playthrough. And it was inspired, in part, by collectible card games.

Today, we’ll explain how it all ties together into the larger Geoscape in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen’s expanded campaign.

https://youtu.be/e4z7HT-UJiI?list=PL8mfplD2jGg8vQN0HZrwJxfDrg7eOq1rD

We’ve already talked about each of the three new Factions (Templars, Skirmishers, Reapers) you’ll be recruiting in the fight against the Chosen. Finding a new Faction opens up their HQ, which gives you a new place to scan and benefit from in the strategic level. For example; scanning at the Reaper’s HQ gives you additional Intel, operating from the Templar HQ heals your troops quicker, and the Skirmisher’s HQ allows you to build facilities faster.

Working with each Faction on Covert Actions is the key to defeating the Chosen once and for all. The more missions you undertake for a Faction, the better your influence is with them. The better your influence, the more Covert Actions will be available. More Resistance Orders become available and you’ll be able to assign more Resistance Orders per mission.



These are essentially non-combat missions. You’re allocating resources and soldiers to ferret out information seek out perks that’ll benefit XCOM, or rescue captured soldiers. A successful Covert Action can mean additional resources, new soldiers, a new mission, or information leading to a Chosen stronghold. Once players successfully complete three Covert Actions to locate and gain intel on a stronghold, that Chosen’s final mission will be available. But don’t think that this is simply a matter of you choosing a mission, then waiting for timers to tick down.



Covert Actions can – and will – go sideways. Each mission has a chance of seeing your soldiers get wounded. Worse, a mission could devolve into an ambush. When this happens, the game immediately changes focus from the Avenger to the soldiers deployed on the Covert Action.  The player has to move the soldiers to an extraction zone and safely get them out of the ambush. The odds, however, are stacked against you. You won’t have a full squad – usually two, maybe three soldiers – and you’ll be fighting off enemies as well as ADVENT reinforcements.

Of course, there are ways to mitigate risk. When setting up a Covert Action, you will sometimes be able to add additional soldiers and staff (scientists and engineers) to improve the odds of mission success. Or you’ll be able to employ Resistance Orders. We’ll get to that in a minute.

INTEL: Examples of Covert Actions

Some of the missions you may undertake in our fight against ADVENT.

Hunt the Chosen: Three separate missions that will lead you to a Chosen Stronghold.

Rescue Soldier: Only available after a soldier has been captured by the Chosen.

Locate Faction: Always available at the start of the game, used to meet the Factions and gain one of their soldiers.

Recruit Faction Soldier

Counter Chosen Activity: Prevents the Chosen from performing their scheduled monthly activity

Breakthrough Research: Activates one of the new breakthrough research techs

Resistance Order: Gives the player another Resistance Order card for the Faction


Think of Resistance Orders as modifier cards used in CCGs. According to XCOM 2’s Senior Producer, Garth DeAngelis, “Design leveraged the foundation of a tried-and-true card system to provide that variability from a mechanical standpoint. These Factions are unpredictable, just like the game itself, and you never know what services they can offer in a given playthrough.”

In addition to gameplay depth, unique narrative context was given to each of the new Factions based on those services. The accurate Reapers may allow your squad to insta-kill Lost if you hit them at all, while the Skirmishers may strong arm the Black Market into offering you more favorable deals – it’s your choice to take advantage of what you want.



INTEL: Examples of Resistance Orders

Once you gain the trust of the Factions, you may earn policy cards. Here are a few examples, by Faction.


Infiltrate: On timed missions, the timer does not begin until the squad has lost concealment.

Volunteer Army: There is a chance that a Resistance soldier will join the XCOM squad for the duration of the mission.


Bomb Squad: Experimental Grenade and Heavy Weapon projects are completed instantly in the Proving Grounds.

Modular Construction: Facility construction speed is increased by 25%


Mental Fortitude: All battle madness (panic, obsession, berserk, shattered) only lasts one turn.

Machine Learning: Research breakthroughs are twice as likely to occur.

Something to consider when you start playing the game: Maximize Resistance Orders by thinking ahead. If you know you’re going to be excavating or building several new facilities, use cards that help speed the process up. Did you just unlock a new weapon tier and know you’re going to use most of your resources to purchase them? Apply cards that will give you additional resources during a supply drop, reduce costs of facility actions, or give you bonuses that would usually cost money (ex. getting additional Resistance contacts).

Making use of these new features will give you more control in the Avenger to execute the perfect strategy in your fight against the Chosen.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
That’s it for this update. 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!

           

Ever since we announced XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, people have been fascinated by the introduction of Soldier Bonds. With the upcoming expansion, you’ll see soldiers bond in the heat of battle and if they make it out alive, come out stronger – and closer than before. That’s saying nothing of how soldiers can now develop additional abilities.


Each soldier has a compatibility level with each other, the higher the compatibility, the more likely they are to bond while on missions together. But there are also incidents that can occur, mid-mission which can boost a soldier’s compatibility. Whether one solider rescues an unconscious squaddie from the battlefield or if more than half the squad is lost, the survivors bond. In watershed moments like these, two soldiers’ compatibility will shoot up.

When two soldiers are ready to bond, you will see them on the Avenger getting a drink together, practicing at the range as pals and more. Once two soldiers have bonded, neither soldier can bond with anyone else unless their bondmate dies…til death do us part. If a soldier’s bondmate dies, the survivor might not take it well and fly off in a berserk rage and suffer penalties. But they will recover and eventually be able to bond again.



Besides personalizing your in-game experience, there are some inherent benefits to sending bonded soldiers on a mission together

SOLDIER BOND LEVEL I

Teamwork: Grant an additional action point to a bondmate.

SOLDIER BOND LEVEL II

Spotter: This soldier is granted a bonus to aim when their bondmate has attacked or been attacked by the soldier's target. An extra bonus is granted if the bondmate is adjacent.

Stand By Me: When this soldier ends a move adjacent to their bondmate, the other soldier will be automatically cleansed of any negative mental effects.

Covert Operators: When deployed on a Covert Action together, the duration is reduced by one day.

SOLDIER BOND LEVEL III

Advanced Teamwork: Grant an additional action point to a bondmate.

Dual Strike: A combined standard shot attack by the soldier and their bondmate.

Whether or not your soldiers are bonded, though, they will need to rest.  The more missions you send a soldier on without a break will start to take a toll. Exhaustion and stress, as well as bad encounters in the field, could lower a soldier’s Will and develop negative traits. This can include a fear of certain types of enemies. For example, after a fight against Mutons that ended poorly, the soldier might panic when they see Mutons again. It could lead a soldier to constantly reload a weapon on their second action, a nervous tick, instead of listening to your orders. These negative traits can be cured by setting a soldier to heal in the infirmary.

Needing to rotate your squad makeup between missions does come with a couple benefits as well: You’ll have to make some interesting choices while selecting who deploys. The other notable perk is that your entire roster will benefit from being more evenly-powered.



The Training Center – replacing the Advanced Warfare Center from the base game – is an essential facility that XCOM can build. Not only is the Training Center there to enhance soldier bonds in War of the Chosen, but this is where you’ll spend Ability Points earned in combat to buy additional skills and abilities for the regular XCOM troops.

According to Senior Producer Garth DeAngelis, the design team wanted to offer a new way of soldier leveling with War of the Chosen. “Since XCOM: Enemy Unknown, progression has been a binary choice: Which of these two skills do I want,” says Garth. “This was an opportunity to allow more meaning to squad capacity overall. Will I dump most of my Ability Points into a promising hybrid XCOM recruit through the Training Center, or save those points for a balanced approach across multiple units? The AP system is also far more comprehensive by being a direct result of smart decisions by the player.” You earn AP by pulling off maneuvers like flanking and taking shots from height. Gaining a resource from intelligent combat play gives progression an entirely new feel.

This also allows the player to execute on a non-linear approach to spec’ing out Faction Heroes, since the tree now offers more than two choices at once. You can rush for the later abilities, or go for breadth and grab a number of low-cost abilities, up front.



This also impacts the original XCOM soldier classes. Take the Specialist, for example. With Ability Points, you can select previously passed-on abilities from either the Battle Medic or Combat Hacker skill paths. Or, you can opt for a third path made up of abilities from the other XCOM soldier classes. The assortment of available abilities is random for every individual soldier. Only a few of these abilities show up for each soldier.

Essentially, every soldier class gets more powerful in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen and we want you to have more of them in your ranks. And then, of course, are the even-more-powerful Faction Heroes joining the cause.

The Chosen are going to be in for one hell of a fight.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
That’s it for this update. 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!

           

Ever since we announced XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, people have been fascinated by the introduction of Soldier Bonds. With the upcoming expansion, you’ll see soldiers bond in the heat of battle and if they make it out alive, come out stronger – and closer than before. That’s saying nothing of how soldiers can now develop additional abilities.


Each soldier has a compatibility level with each other, the higher the compatibility, the more likely they are to bond while on missions together. But there are also incidents that can occur, mid-mission which can boost a soldier’s compatibility. Whether one solider rescues an unconscious squaddie from the battlefield or if more than half the squad is lost, the survivors bond. In watershed moments like these, two soldiers’ compatibility will shoot up.

When two soldiers are ready to bond, you will see them on the Avenger getting a drink together, practicing at the range as pals and more. Once two soldiers have bonded, neither soldier can bond with anyone else unless their bondmate dies…til death do us part. If a soldier’s bondmate dies, the survivor might not take it well and fly off in a berserk rage and suffer penalties. But they will recover and eventually be able to bond again.



Besides personalizing your in-game experience, there are some inherent benefits to sending bonded soldiers on a mission together

SOLDIER BOND LEVEL I

Teamwork: Grant an additional action point to a bondmate.

SOLDIER BOND LEVEL II

Spotter: This soldier is granted a bonus to aim when their bondmate has attacked or been attacked by the soldier's target. An extra bonus is granted if the bondmate is adjacent.

Stand By Me: When this soldier ends a move adjacent to their bondmate, the other soldier will be automatically cleansed of any negative mental effects.

Covert Operators: When deployed on a Covert Action together, the duration is reduced by one day.

SOLDIER BOND LEVEL III

Advanced Teamwork: Grant an additional action point to a bondmate.

Dual Strike: A combined standard shot attack by the soldier and their bondmate.

Whether or not your soldiers are bonded, though, they will need to rest.  The more missions you send a soldier on without a break will start to take a toll. Exhaustion and stress, as well as bad encounters in the field, could lower a soldier’s Will and develop negative traits. This can include a fear of certain types of enemies. For example, after a fight against Mutons that ended poorly, the soldier might panic when they see Mutons again. It could lead a soldier to constantly reload a weapon on their second action, a nervous tick, instead of listening to your orders. These negative traits can be cured by setting a soldier to heal in the infirmary.

Needing to rotate your squad makeup between missions does come with a couple benefits as well: You’ll have to make some interesting choices while selecting who deploys. The other notable perk is that your entire roster will benefit from being more evenly-powered.



The Training Center – replacing the Advanced Warfare Center from the base game – is an essential facility that XCOM can build. Not only is the Training Center there to enhance soldier bonds in War of the Chosen, but this is where you’ll spend Ability Points earned in combat to buy additional skills and abilities for the regular XCOM troops.

According to Senior Producer Garth DeAngelis, the design team wanted to offer a new way of soldier leveling with War of the Chosen. “Since XCOM: Enemy Unknown, progression has been a binary choice: Which of these two skills do I want,” says Garth. “This was an opportunity to allow more meaning to squad capacity overall. Will I dump most of my Ability Points into a promising hybrid XCOM recruit through the Training Center, or save those points for a balanced approach across multiple units? The AP system is also far more comprehensive by being a direct result of smart decisions by the player.” You earn AP by pulling off maneuvers like flanking and taking shots from height. Gaining a resource from intelligent combat play gives progression an entirely new feel.

This also allows the player to execute on a non-linear approach to spec’ing out Faction Heroes, since the tree now offers more than two choices at once. You can rush for the later abilities, or go for breadth and grab a number of low-cost abilities, up front.



This also impacts the original XCOM soldier classes. Take the Specialist, for example. With Ability Points, you can select previously passed-on abilities from either the Battle Medic or Combat Hacker skill paths. Or, you can opt for a third path made up of abilities from the other XCOM soldier classes. The assortment of available abilities is random for every individual soldier. Only a few of these abilities show up for each soldier.

Essentially, every soldier class gets more powerful in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen and we want you to have more of them in your ranks. And then, of course, are the even-more-powerful Faction Heroes joining the cause.

The Chosen are going to be in for one hell of a fight.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
That’s it for this update. 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!

           

As the fight against ADVENT continues, XCOM returns to the outlying areas and abandoned cities lost 20 years ago during the first invasion. It is here we start encountering new enemy units in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Following is a quick debrief on three new unit types you’ll face throughout the new XCOM 2 expansion: The flame-throwing Purifiers, the stealthy Spectres and the Psionically-amped Priests.

https://youtu.be/e4z7HT-UJiI



The Lost – the heavily-mutated inhuman hordes left in the abandoned cities – need to be cleansed. The ADVENT Purifiers are best equipped for the job. Often dispatched to deal with Lost swarms or in civilian retaliation strikes, the flamethrower units cause low, ongoing damage to a wide area.

Not only does the Purifier create sweeping arcs of damage up-close, they also are known to lob incendiary grenades. Keep this ADVENT unit at a distance. Advanced intel suggests that upon death, there is a chance a Purifier will explode.



A Priest’s abilities are the result of genetic manipulation of ADVENT forces.  While they wield magnetic rifles, their Psionic skills make them a serious threat. 

The Priest can Mind Control enemy units, lock targets in Stasis and – in the heat of combat – there is a chance if they sustain mortal damage, a Priest may still manage to come back from the brink of death and shield themselves.

Priests also have the ability to boost allies with a mind merge – Holy Warrior. This presents a challenge and an opportunity. Its targeted allies gain stat boosts, but if you’re able to neutralize a Priest while merged, the other unit will also die.



The Spectre is a newly-discovered humanoid alien that deals in misdirection. The Spectre is known to transform into a black nanorobotic cloud at will, able to Vanish from sight. 

Don’t allow this stealthy threat to get in close, though. The Spectre’s Shadowbind ability has been known to lock XCOM soldiers in place and create a shadow version that possesses the same skills. Be prepared to fight shadowy reflections of your own squadmates.

Be wary and keep your distance. Spectres have the Horror ability, which damages the enemy and heals themselves. The Spectres also possess lightning reflexes, making their nanobot form impossible to touch on the first Overwatch shot – so try to set up crossfire positions while stalking them.  

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
That’s it for this update. 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!

           

As the fight against ADVENT continues, XCOM returns to the outlying areas and abandoned cities lost 20 years ago during the first invasion. It is here we start encountering new enemy units in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Following is a quick debrief on three new unit types you’ll face throughout the new XCOM 2 expansion: The flame-throwing Purifiers, the stealthy Spectres and the Psionically-amped Priests.

https://youtu.be/e4z7HT-UJiI



The Lost – the heavily-mutated inhuman hordes left in the abandoned cities – need to be cleansed. The ADVENT Purifiers are best equipped for the job. Often dispatched to deal with Lost swarms or in civilian retaliation strikes, the flamethrower units cause low, ongoing damage to a wide area.

Not only does the Purifier create sweeping arcs of damage up-close, they also are known to lob incendiary grenades. Keep this ADVENT unit at a distance. Advanced intel suggests that upon death, there is a chance a Purifier will explode.



A Priest’s abilities are the result of genetic manipulation of ADVENT forces.  While they wield magnetic rifles, their Psionic skills make them a serious threat. 

The Priest can Mind Control enemy units, lock targets in Stasis and – in the heat of combat – there is a chance if they sustain mortal damage, a Priest may still manage to come back from the brink of death and shield themselves.

Priests also have the ability to boost allies with a mind merge – Holy Warrior. This presents a challenge and an opportunity. Its targeted allies gain stat boosts, but if you’re able to neutralize a Priest while merged, the other unit will also die.



The Spectre is a newly-discovered humanoid alien that deals in misdirection. The Spectre is known to transform into a black nanorobotic cloud at will, able to Vanish from sight. 

Don’t allow this stealthy threat to get in close, though. The Spectre’s Shadowbind ability has been known to lock XCOM soldiers in place and create a shadow version that possesses the same skills. Be prepared to fight shadowy reflections of your own squadmates.

Be wary and keep your distance. Spectres have the Horror ability, which damages the enemy and heals themselves. The Spectres also possess lightning reflexes, making their nanobot form impossible to touch on the first Overwatch shot – so try to set up crossfire positions while stalking them.  

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
That’s it for this update. 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!

           

When the Aliens invaded Earth, many of the world’s great cities were devastated by bombardment and bioweapons. Those mass graveyards and abandoned buildings have been left alone for 20 years. In War of the Chosen, XCOM forces go back … and find the Lost.

https://youtu.be/PfHWzevw7bI

The Lost were once human, now husks that fill the old cities.  These heavily mutated things are the result of prolonged exposure to the alien tech used to subdue humans during the early days of the invasion. Really, they are mindless ambling shells. A single Lost is no challenge; however, you will never find them alone. The Lost roam abandoned cities in hordes. If confronted, they will start swarming whomever gets in their way.



Worse, the Lost are drawn to loud noises. So, as you’re fighting off enemy forces, you’re potentially calling attention to your units. The Lost swarm in continuing waves, so don’t think you can hold them back. Eventually, you will get overwhelmed.



If there’s any good news here, it’s that the Lost are just as likely to attack ADVENT, aliens and XCOM. As you’re fighting back enemy forces, The Lost can show up on a map and throw everyone’s plans out the window.  There is a chance to fight back the Lost hordes for a bit, though. By successfully taking down the Lost with headshots, you score a free action. So, you quickly find yourself chaining headshots and making these micro-decisions while clearing out incoming Lost: What weapons are you using at the time? What’s their range and damage output? How much ammo do you have left? How close is the nearest target? Of course, at some point, you’ll be overwhelmed by them. One suggested tactic before you get overrun: Look for ways to lure the Lost to enemy positions and exfiltrate from battle before more Lost arrive.



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

           

When the Aliens invaded Earth, many of the world’s great cities were devastated by bombardment and bioweapons. Those mass graveyards and abandoned buildings have been left alone for 20 years. In War of the Chosen, XCOM forces go back … and find the Lost.

https://youtu.be/PfHWzevw7bI

The Lost were once human, now husks that fill the old cities.  These heavily mutated things are the result of prolonged exposure to the alien tech used to subdue humans during the early days of the invasion. Really, they are mindless ambling shells. A single Lost is no challenge; however, you will never find them alone. The Lost roam abandoned cities in hordes. If confronted, they will start swarming whomever gets in their way.



Worse, the Lost are drawn to loud noises. So, as you’re fighting off enemy forces, you’re potentially calling attention to your units. The Lost swarm in continuing waves, so don’t think you can hold them back. Eventually, you will get overwhelmed.



If there’s any good news here, it’s that the Lost are just as likely to attack ADVENT, aliens and XCOM. As you’re fighting back enemy forces, The Lost can show up on a map and throw everyone’s plans out the window.  There is a chance to fight back the Lost hordes for a bit, though. By successfully taking down the Lost with headshots, you score a free action. So, you quickly find yourself chaining headshots and making these micro-decisions while clearing out incoming Lost: What weapons are you using at the time? What’s their range and damage output? How much ammo do you have left? How close is the nearest target? Of course, at some point, you’ll be overwhelmed by them. One suggested tactic before you get overrun: Look for ways to lure the Lost to enemy positions and exfiltrate from battle before more Lost arrive.



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

           

The Elders are desperate to recapture the Commander in XCOM 2’s expansion. Among the Chosen tasked with finding the Commander: The Hunter, a ranged unit that can stalk its prey from across the map.

https://youtu.be/CTOrnMdFTQE

The Hunter revels in slowly tracking, wounding and disabling XCOM units in his crosshairs before striking the final blow. He grows bolder as he sees XCOM blood spilled, but his supreme confidence in his abilities means that he may underestimate your resolve..even as the Hunter actively taunts you on the battlefield.



The Hunter can perch in unusual places thanks to the use of his grappling hook.  From those hunting blinds, it can fire a Tracking Shot and target an XCOM solider from wherever they hide on the map. As soon as you see the laser-sighting beam, you have one turn to break line of sight before he takes the shot. The Hunter has also been known to toy with prey using Concussion Grenades and Tranquilizer Shots. Like his siblings, the real threat to your mission is that the Hunter will abduct your troops, interrogate them and try to discover the Avenger’s location.



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

           

The Elders are desperate to recapture the Commander in XCOM 2’s expansion. Among the Chosen tasked with finding the Commander: The Hunter, a ranged unit that can stalk its prey from across the map.

https://youtu.be/CTOrnMdFTQE

The Hunter revels in slowly tracking, wounding and disabling XCOM units in his crosshairs before striking the final blow. He grows bolder as he sees XCOM blood spilled, but his supreme confidence in his abilities means that he may underestimate your resolve..even as the Hunter actively taunts you on the battlefield.



The Hunter can perch in unusual places thanks to the use of his grappling hook.  From those hunting blinds, it can fire a Tracking Shot and target an XCOM solider from wherever they hide on the map. As soon as you see the laser-sighting beam, you have one turn to break line of sight before he takes the shot. The Hunter has also been known to toy with prey using Concussion Grenades and Tranquilizer Shots. Like his siblings, the real threat to your mission is that the Hunter will abduct your troops, interrogate them and try to discover the Avenger’s location.



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