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• gamedeal user

  Sep 3, 2017

  Massive improvement to an already great game. The simplest way to sum up War of the Chosen ( without too much of a spoiler ) : - RNG is now a much bigger influence on the strategic map, which in turn has a greater influence on your tactical combat rounds. - The timer on nearly EVERY tactical mission is almost completely gone, without resorting to mods. It's still there on some missions, but its much more subtle and managable. If thats still not enough, there's expanded options that allow you to double certain pressure timers if you so desire. - Stealth aka concealment is now a massive thing in some missions. You simply won't be able to cheese your way through things with overwatch spam like you could before. - There are now the Chosen in play on the aliens side, best summed up as three unique bosses that show up at various stages throughout your campaign and in tactical combat rounds. - Fatigue for your soldiers is now an added layer of management, It is also your 'will' stat on soliers, effecting their ability to resist will based attacks and influences. The best way to look at it is if you repeatedly use the same soldiers, they will become fatigued and suffer penalty's that result in alien psi powers hurting a lot more, and other negatives in combat. This essentially forces you to maintain much larger team of soliers than you would have previously. - 'Resistance' soldiers have been added, giving you three new troop types that bring their own unique skill set to your battles. One is a long ranged concealment specialist, one a mid to short range skirmisher, the last being a psionic melee specialist. - In keeping with just about every game in the last 5 years, there's zombies now, called the Lost, they represent a unique challenge on some play throughs, and require a specialist squad to be dealt with. This is probably the only thing I can fault the game for, though it's more of personal dislike of the zombie theme having been used to death ( no pun intended ) in games for so long. Overall a very solid expansion more than it is just another DLC. It's a bit pricey but well worth it as it's more like X-Com 2.5 than the vanilla version. You don't need to have brought the other lesser DLC's either, if you have them already great, but your not missing key strategic things without them either. There's also a very flexible options setup that allows you to choose any or all of the DLC's being a part of your current play through, along with other options that allow you to double the various countdown timers. War of the Chosen makes X-Com 2 much more RNG, but also adds far more in-depth strategy options, with a polished game interface, improved graphics and optimization, loads more options and this gives it a more complete feel. My praise goes to Firaxis, they have delivered a robust expansion in an age where average peicemeal DLC is the norm. Edit : There's also an online challenge mode, with leaderboards etc if your looking to scratch that competative itch. It's tactical missions done with set equipment and soldiers giving you a score at the end of the mission. The missions ( plus the soldiers and equipment ) change regularly so there's always something different and can be done relatively quickly, giving the ability to have a short play of what is an otherwise long game. 9/10 - though a bit pricey, much more akin to a proper expansion like days long past, rather than just another DLC. Highly recommended for fans and new players alike.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 2, 2017

  Never has DLC deserved to be called an expansion than War of the Chosen as it creates an entirely new feeling of XCOM 2 that is distinct from its base-game as well as Long War 2. With nearly 300 hours, WOTC is without a doubt my preferred campaign as it manages to retain the pace of the base-game while incorporating new additions inspired from LW2 and new mechanics of its own to create the guerilla warfare that was missing from its original release. If you are wondering whether to play War of the Chosen (or the Reinforcement Pack) as your first playthrough, then the short answer is no. Both expansions rework the game from the ground up that will be overwhelming with the number of features now added to XCOM 2. If anything about this content is worth its praise, LW2 should be viewed as the tutorial for WOTC as it will truly test the limits of its fairness to create the most gripping XCOM campaign. [h1]XCOM, XCOM, Read All About It![/h1] Of all the new features that seemed frivolous, there is a surprising amount put into the game to connect with enemies and friends, new and old. In-between missions, voice-overs from the Chosen, the Advent Leader, and the Resistance Factions create a greater impression of the friendly and the hostile faces of XCOM 2. Propaganda postures show up during missions and on the Avenger that can be custom-made projects or quick snapshots after missions to celebrate your team’s accomplishments. Contrasted with these moments, the Chosen screen showcases their history and their progression towards finding your ship. Even the new bond system adds additional mechanical benefits (and dangers like multiple mind-control) between your squadmates. All these small additions create a more personalized journey that outshines the base-game with its character creation system. The major difference is these elements are more integral to the game’s progression as well as mechanically changing the experience within each playthrough such as the “Nemesis-Like” system of the Chosen and the changes to every squad member. [h1]Everything You Know Has Changed[/h1] Out of all the overhauls to XCOM 2, the most welcomed additions are the three additional classes and the revamped changes to the stat/skill system, which manages to increase the value of items like mindshields and stats like Will over the entire game. These changes also extend to the Avenger base with new buildings to assign covert op missions for intel, supplies, soldiers, etc. and the training room to access increased soldier bonds and additional skills. Combined with the previous content with Rulers’ gear and the SPARK units, there is also the addition of Chosen weapons for three of the four original classes. These three new classes include their respected factions, the Reapers, the Skirmishers and Templars. Reapers are essentially the new sniper class as they are stealth-focused for scouting and setting up ambushes; Skirmishers are versatile soldiers with a ton of combat options and mobility; Templars are even greater psi-soldiers that have insane mobility and lethality when given Reaper. Each faction will only assign one—at most, if you are lucky, two—of these soldiers within your ranks if you maintain a healthy reputation through ops and missions. If you lose a soldier, you can earn another replacement. With the changes to the stat system, you may find yourself only equipping one or two per mission and all three when a mission requires their combined efforts. As initially stated, stats have undergone an overhaul in small, though vital, changes. During missions, soldiers exhaust themselves by movement, damage taken, mental fortitude and a host of other reasons that will tire them out. Where X2 felt like the Will stat was only a number that became meaningless, Will now is a stamina bar to showcase the soldier’s mental state, which can result in a random negative trait after the mission, and tiring soldiers results in a post-mission status of Fatigue. Fatigue is not a punishment; it’s rather a smart way to encourage players to vary their squads as you can send out tired soldiers at the cost of the possibility of negative traits and longer periods of rest afterward. This can be easily countered with mind-shields that resist mental statuses but also slow the degradation of stamina. On top of the stat changes, skills are no longer a binary choice; if you have the training room, you can purchase previous abilities and new ones with Soldier Ability points (individual) and XCOM points (shared). These points are earned for promotions, killing Chosen, mission objectives, etc. that act as an achievement system to reward players long-term. Covert Ops, Assassin’s Creed styled missions, can train soldiers who are lower ranks to maintain their relevance if you have no other options. Lastly, the new classes all utilize this system by default, which makes having to go to another screen for other soldiers an oversight modders will have to fix. If these mechanics were simply added without the additional map layouts, new mission varieties inspired by Enemy Unknown and Long War 2, new enemy types, the revamped research system, the new Chosen threats and the dozens of other improvements, WOTC would be worth its asking price. Together, these additions add a greater sense of direction with a higher degree of replayability (Second Wave options excluded), yet these latter additions appear to come at the cost of the game’s “fairness.” [h1]You Were Not Chosen for Success[/h1] Having given all this content praise, WOTC is perhaps where a default iron-man run without additional modifiers is perhaps not the intended experience. This is mainly due to the new Chosen enemies, the hunt for the Chosen, the new enemies/mission types, and the changes to the level design. The latter issues are easier to explain as you will get an insane number of enemies with the added Lost, which adds a “neutral” enemy that can refund action points with every kill and they can be summoned with explosives. You can flood ADVENT with an explosive to take them out or focus their attention on the new threats. However, some missions feel excessive with my worst case being a VIP escort with 22 enemies (Vipers, Spectres, Sectopod, etc.) and 30+ Lost that I managed to get everyone to the EVAC alive with a six-man squad. Level-design has changed with more verticality and less of the older maps, which is both a good and bad thing depending on each mission that brings only its balance into question. However, what is a more considerable challenge are the Chosen themselves, which may be greater threats than the Alien Rulers. Instead of having Ruler Reactions, the Chosen will appear in their dominated country randomly on missions to mainly daze your troops either to extract knowledge from them—and thus leaving with XP—or they will seize them as POWs. If you can defeat them in combat, they will vanish for that mission but they are not dead. Killing them requires a three-part covert-op mission with soldiers ranked as Majors to access these encounters for a final showdown. Picking troops up in-between combat scenarios with the ADVENT and Chosen isn’t the problem nor is their random nature a bad thing for the fairness of the game. What makes these units so diabolical are two issues: They are given randomized upgrades for every game that range from “No Overwatch for You” to immunity from melee attacks as well as having one—and only one—attempt to kill them at their strongholds. Failure to kill them will result in that opportunity never happening again, and you will be forced to fight them at the end-game maxed up. Individually, these enemies are fun challenges that have a general strategy to learn how to counter them, which makes them great. However, potentially having to fight all three in the final mission is a consequence that feels only tailored for XCOM veterans who accept XCOM was never meant to be a fair game.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 18, 2018

  It's bacically an enhanced edition of the game, like enemy within was for the first XCOM. New main antagonists (the chosen), new cool classes, new side missions, some new enemies and battle locations and also some new gameplay mechanics. Personally, I found it overpriced because it costs almost like a new AAA game, when it's basically a collection of official made mods enriching the gameplay of the core game. When they charge 5 euros for their stupid cosmetic DLCs though, you've got the idea of how high they rate their products... Recommended it only if you get it on a sale for half of its original price.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 21, 2021

  War of the Chosen is a massive expansion to XCOM 2. Let me get this straight; If you own War of the Chosen you are effectively rendering the base game obsolete. You will never even consider playing base XCOM 2. That's how good this expansion is. But what does it add? Well, the big and titular feature are the three Chosen, sort of mini-bosses who make a habit of randomly popping up to ruin your day. They do not die but instead retreat. You can only take them out for good if you assault their fortress. If you kill them off they will leave behind their weapons for you to use. During the month the Chosen will have their own schedule, this may be them training to gain additional perks in combat, lowering your income, sabotaging the Avenger or even launching a full on assault towards you! They will always start out with strengths and weaknesses, something like not triggering overwatch or taking increased damage from explosions. [b]The Chosen Assassin[/b] is focused on close-quarters hit and run tactics. She is able to cloak herself and strike without you even knowing she's there. She usually attacks with her sword but watch out! She is perfectly capable of dealing grand amounts of damage with her shotgun. [b]The Chosen Hunter[/b] is a long range marksman able to shoot at every unit you have. He will constantly try to get the high ground and attack your soldiers. Close up he likes to use his pistol to stun and then capture your troops. [b]The Chosen Warlock[/b] attacks your mind. He will summon psionic allies and mind control you if you don't watch out. He does have a rifle but barely uses it. The Warlock completely focuses on his little mind tricks. You also get a whole new enemy faction; [b]The Lost.[/b] They show up in abandoned cities and are basically zombies. They die easily and upon a kill your soldier gets their action back. Personally I really hate them. They do nothing but increase mission time substantially without providing any real challenge or reward. Another big thing are the different [b]Resistance Factions.[/b] Don't worry. Despite Bradford telling you they hate each other that's not more than fluff. It literally means nothing and only serves as a plot device for a singe, optional, scripted mission. [b]The Reapers[/b], who are recon units with a special type of concealment. They are easily the best, able to take out or significantly weaken enemy groups or single targets with their abilities and not be caught doing so. [b]The Skirmishers[/b], who specialize in hit and run tactics. They can throw grenades and shoot, shoot twice, grapple, interrupt an enemy's turn or quickly grapple themselves to the enemy's flank. [b]The Templars[/b], who use a special mechanic called "Focus" to enhance their attacks. They are close-range support units able to dish out immense amounts of damage. They are useless at range though. [b]Covert Operations[/b] form another big part of this DLC. Basically you build a special facility which allows you to dispatch groups of soldiers for various missions. These are completed offscreen and accomplish all sorts of goals. From recruiting personnel, to sabotaging the avatar project, to finding a Chosen's stronghold. The expansion also introduces [b]Soldier Traits[/b]. These are phobias your soldiers attain in combat. If a soldier has been strangled by a viper too much they may now fear them and have a chance to panic when spotting them. You can clear these traits. Soldiers may also get a positive, hidden trait when being sent into therapy. However, this positive trait will too be removed the next time you clean their traits. War of the Chosen truly expands the base game everywhere it can. Soldier bonding, the ability to shoot propaganda photos, new enemies, better optimization, the return of second wave and the ability to install way more mods not to mention. A must-buy and the definitive way to enjoy XCOM 2.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 4, 2018

  I was outraged when this released. 40$ for an expansion when they already got 25$ out of me for the season pass. That's 125$ total on this one game. I said I refuse to pay full price, no matter how much I wanted it, and I didn't waiting for it to go on sale before i bought. I wish I would have bought it day one. WOTC is the best thing I played in 2017. When my sharpshooter who had been with me since the tutorial died on the final mission and her bondmate went bezerk and killed two mutons I realized how emotionally invested in the game I was. It's the first time playing a strat game that I dind't feel like I was playing a board game. At that moment I was 'the Commander'. GOTY for me idc if it's an expansion, fite me.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 1, 2017

  For all of those who think the 40 euro is too much for a DLC: This is not a DLC, this is basically XCOM 2.5 There are so many changes, so many content that it almost feel overwhelming at start. [h1]Pros:[/h1] [list] [*]Factions with unique soldiers, tons of new abilities, Chosens who wreak havoc in your lines, but not overwhelmingly (unlike Alien Hunters). [*]The campaign got so much longer that even after 40 missions, i still havent finished the story and still didnt get bored with them. [*]Maps are heavily redesigned, now if you are in a city, then you have the feel that this is really a gorram city (multilevel, all screen covering buildings not just the outskirt of cities) [*]Also there are actually not only ground and above, but underground levels (sewer canal or metro line) or even complete underground maps. [*]Game got significantly harder even if you try to save scum in normal level due to the fatigue system (soldiers get tired after fights, so no more train your 6 men "A team" to win), you really need to have a good rotation of 10-12 people even in normal level, to be ready for anything. [*]New base def mission (not really different from the UFO shutdown, just different and both can happen). [*]Lost are interestring add-on, that can make your life miserable, but also can be your best friend in some cases. [*]The new skill system is reaaaaaaly a huge tumb up. Now if you get 2 usefull skill at same level, you can actually get both. Battle medic with restoration AND capacitor discharge? No probz. Saturation with Rupture for your grenadier? You bet! Conceal and run and gun for your sneaky ranger? Absolutely! [*]The faction soldiers bring alot of tactical value to your team, but they dont overshine your standard soldiers. [*]Chosen strongholds are like a mini final mission, which will guaranteed to make you cry but the loot is really worthy. [*]Covert missions, covert missions, covert missions! It was freaking frustrating that all your soldiers were coming from an assembly line and had absolutely the same stats. Not anymore! Do covert ops mission and earn bonus aim/hack/hp/mobility/will for your soldiers, and you can actually dedicate a specalist to actually hack things reliably. Or a grenadier that has aim bonus so he surely will land those important shredding hits. Or a sniper that can reach 100+ aim even with deadeye penalty. [*]Weapon upgrades! More damage, more modifiers. [/list] [h1]Cons:[/h1] [list][*]The integration of previous DLCs are not really nice. Shen's last gift was literally viped and you just create your SPARK. They kept the Julian voice tho (edit: this is by the default settings, but you can turn the "story mission" back at the settings when you start a new game) [*]Sometimes autosave gets stucked and no autosave will happen in missions. You need to delete a previous autosave and it will fix it. [/list]
• gamedeal user

  Dec 11, 2017

  War of the Chosen (WotC) is an overhaul of the base XCOM2 where you replay the same game but with added contents. It adds the 3 Chosens, 3 resistance factions and numerous mechanics surrounding them, a rework of the ability system and soldier bonding system, new enemy and environment types, and so on. These don't fundamentally change the experience, so I would only recommend it to those who already like the base game and don't mind replaying the same story; but for those who do, WotC offers enough new contents to warrant another playthrough, so it's well worth the price in my opinion. [h1]The Chosens[/h1] The Chosens are boss type aliens with preset appearances and abilities. They are [spoiler]the Assassin, a short range fighter that can cloak; the Hunter, a sniper with a grappling hook; the Warlock, a psichic that fights by proxy.[/spoiler] Each Chosen has randomly generated perks that are persistent for each playthrough and which develop as you progress. These perks are very powerful (examples: Chosen takes double explosive damage; Chosen may return fire when a shot against them misses) so it's important that you remember them and change your tactics accordingly. These perks are static: you don't need to discover them, nor are they affected by your actions. On each mission there is a chance that a Chosen will invade; on their own they generally stand little chance against an entire squad, but if they are backed by alien forces then the table can turn very quickly. When certain conditions are met Chosens can assault the Avenger, which is a different version of the Avenger defense mission; conversely, XCOM can assault the Chosen strongholds, which permanently kills a Chosen if successful. [h1]The Resistance Factions[/h1] The Skirmisher, the Reaper, and the Templar join you as playable characters. In game, [spoiler] the Skirmishers are mobile damage dealers that can attack multiple times each turn and have access to melee abilities; the Reapers are stealthy scouts that can remain in stealth while attacking but have low damage output (except with certain abilities); the Templars are psichic melee attackers with access to some creative tools such as swapping position with another unit and cover creation.[/spoiler] All 3 classes are very powerful and play very differently than vanilla classes. In addition, WotC adds resistance orders, which are basically friendly dark events; and covert actions, where you send soldiers to do mission in the background for various rewards. [h1]Updates to Soldiers[/h1] Soldiers can now become bonded with a single other soldier. However the effects of bonds aren't that interesting-the most important ability you get for bonding is Teamwork, which lets one share 1AP to their partner once per mission (twice at max bond level), which really isn't that exciting but is surprisingly powerful in practice since it allows a soldier to shoot twice in one turn or get out of danger where they otherwise would be doomed. WotC adds a skillpoint system. Ability awards are no longer randomly acquired, but are bought with skill points. This also means you can now unlock both abilities in the same tier for a soldier. Finally you can have a ranger with both implacable and blade storm. Soldiers can now also gain negative traits, although the variety of traits are pretty low: they can panic when certain enemy show up, when friendly suffers certain negative effect, or they can be obsessive reloaders. And the cheesy af photobooth. Most of the preset texts are extremely cringy but I like that XCOM is willing to not take itself too seriously and to have some fun. These photos will actually appear in game as posters, so go ahead and tell the world how bad that one guy is at aiming. [h1]Difficulty Concerns (the Lack Thereof)[/h1] *I ran out of space in the review so please see the comment. [h1]New enemies[/h1] WotC adds 3 alien units (excluding the Chosens), which are [spoiler]the priest, a psychic unit with defensive abilities; the purifier, a soldier with a flamethrower; the spectre, a nanomachine bot (son) that can create copies of your soldiers while incapacitating them.[/spoiler] In addition, WotC introduces a new enemy type called the Lost (basically zombies). On their own the Lost are quite boring to fight as all they do is charge forward, but it becomes interesting when you are involved in a 3 way firefight of XCOM, Lost and the aliens, who are all hostile to each other. This means you might want to intentionally spare some enemy so that they draw fire away from you, serve as your scouts, etc. I find XCOM to be at its best in these situations where there isn't a clear best solution. [h1]New Environments[/h1] WotC also adds three tilesets. Two of which are the derelict city and derelict underground, which are great in my opinion not only because they are visually appealing but also because the environments in XCOM 2 are strangely pristine for what is essentially a post-apocalyptic setting. The third tileset is the Chosen stronghold which is a more confined version of the final mission and of course is only used in stronghold assault missions. [h1]The Narrative[/h1] XCOM isn't exactly known for its story telling, and WotC is no exception, as it basically adds nothing to the narrative. It suffers from the Destiny syndrome (aka the "I don't have time to explain" syndrome), whereby the game tried to explain who the Chosens are and what their goals are, but after 5 minutes of cutscenes this was never brought up again or resolved; the Chosens and resistance factions supposedly hate each other, but again after one cutscene they just forgot about that and never let them interact again. The Chosens each have somewhat unique personalities, but instead of developing personal storylines that just meant each of the Chosen taunts you differently, two of which are your typical [spoiler] "humans are weak and so are you" "you are beating up my forces badly oh well they were useless anyway it's all part of the plan"[/spoiler] trope; they have a few inspired moments, such as at one point the Warlock [spoiler]refers to the Commander as the fourth Chosen[/spoiler], but they don't amount to much. However, the Hunter is funny and lighthearted [spoiler]in that he doesn't take his mission or the Elder's ideology seriously at all and just wants to have fun shooting things[/spoiler], making him by far the best character in the entire game, which is all the more frustrating that he doesn't get character development either. The resistance factions don't even show up in the narrative, only one scripted mission involves them. Although each faction gets a 30 second cutscene in the ending, none of them mean anything and it wouldn't change anything if they are removed entirely. [spoiler]Oh by the way there are zombies now (what? but how?) Well when the aliens first invaded millions starved (and how did they turn into zombies?) We've detected radioactive canisters around the city (is that's how people turn into zombies?) We should take cover beside one (you what). (I wish that were a joke but it's actually the extent to which they explain the Lost.)[/spoiler] [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Overall, it seems that WotC took inspiration from a variety of other games: the Chosen's random perks from Shadow of Mordor; the Reaper and Skirmisher classes from the Long War 2's SMG and ranger class; the will (stress) and trait system from Darkest Dungeon; the covert action from the Phantom Pain's soldier sortie. But I don't mean to suggest that is somehow a bad thing, if it's a good system it should only be natural that more games utilize it.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 12, 2019

  If you love the core game, then you'll love War of the Chosen even more! One of the major drawbacks of XCOM 2 for me was the lack of an antagonist. ADVENT was merely a hostile regime, but there was no real enemy behind it. The Chosen change this. The 3 Chosen hunt you relentlessly, in which they introduce a sort of Wildcard element. They can join a fight unexpectedly and can turn what might have been a 1 sided battle, into a very dangerous situation for your soldiers. War of the Chosen introduces a wide range of new features, such as new mission types and classes. Pros: 1. The Chosen are a genuine threat, forcing you to determine whether you should focus on hunting them down first, at the risk of the Avatar Project being allowed to progress. 2. The new classes are pretty badass! The Reaper can be quite useful for picking apart an enemy force and getting behind enemy lines, causing chaos or picking off key targets in a group. The Templar are quite adaptable melee fighters, in which they get progressively more powerful as they fight. They are devastating Vanguard units. 3. The new missions are exciting: Retaliation sites were a real chore in the core game, you just ran round saving random civies. These have been overhauled to have the Resistance actually RESIST the Aliens and help you fight them, without taking away your Soldiers Freedom to be badasses. There are also a number of new missions which helps to keep the game diverse. 4. The Lost: The Lost Faction is a pretty cool idea, bringing players back into the world of the original Enemy Unknown battles. They act as a Zombie unit that does not discriminate between ADVENT and your soldiers. The hordes can be very dangerous if you allow them to get too large and act as an interesting obstacle for you to overcome. 5. Resistance Ops: The Resistance Factions can now perform various tasks that can provide you with certain boosts, from resources, to specialist staff recruitment, to slowing down the Avatar Project and various others. There are also risks that your soldiers may be compromised or even abducted, which can cause issues. 6. New Enemies: ADVENT gets a few new weapons of their own, which can lead to some interesting scenarios. One of the things I loved about XCOM 2 was the dread of encountering a new Alien Monstrosity, in which you weren't sure how they behaved and just how much chaos they can cause. 7. The Meme Generator, uh I mean the Propaganda Creator: You can now have your soldiers take selfies after a battle, in which you can make your soldiers look awesome having trashed the Aliens, or you can just roast ADVENT and make memes, which lets you be creative on how you and your solders behave. Its just a fun little extra that can be quite funny. Cons: 1. You need to rebuild your Mod Library: Unfortunately, the drastic change in code that comes with this expansion breaks most of the original mods and thus you need to find the War of the Chosen versions. Whilst this does provide some exciting new possibilities, it is a bit of a chore to get the mods working again, some of which have not been ported. 2. Only 1 of the Chosen seems to be a genuine threat: I am of course talking about the Assassin, she is capable of ambushing your squad without warning and can pick your forces apart, forcing you to frantically do what you can to regain control of the situation and put her down. Her siblings however are nowhere near as challenging. The Hunter will often just snipe you from across the map, usually missing every shot. The Warlock however... 2. The Warlock Chosen kinda sucks: Despite Darin De Paul killing it as a voice actor, the Warlock is probably the most useless Chosen, he just sits in the corner of the map, sending Canon fodder and yelling "YAY ELDERS!" and thus you never really get to see what he can do. 3. The new Factions are kinda underwhelming: One of the most interesting aspects of the expansion was the idea that these 3 Resistance Factions hate each other, in which I believed you would have to make a choice on whether to side with one or the other, which could lead to you getting some cool new soldiers, but also lead to the others getting in your way, leading to a sort of civil war. This is completely squandered. Everyone loves each other and its just such wasted potential. Ultimately however, I feel the experience was largely balanced, introducing a variety of new features that expands upon the world and story of XCOM 2.
• gamedeal user

  Nov 3, 2018

  Let me be clear; XCOM2 and War of the Chosen are generally the upper limit of what I can stand regarding %-to-hit tactical games. While I love the base building, character customization, time management and in-game tactics aspects, the fact that X2 relies on and manipulates uncontrollable combat accuracy so much, especially on any difficulty above normal, is a huge personal point of contention. X2 is a love-hate relationship for me, and the last couple games on Commander difficulty have left me a bit sore. I still like and recommend X2 & WOTC, but both haven't done any favours in keeping it that way. WOTC is both simultaneously similar and distinct from X2; same dystopian setting, same new combat mechanics (stealth, PCS & weapon upgrades, etc), same facility construction and Avatar project doom timer mechanics. WOTC, however, also adds in a few new elements to shake things up: soldier fatigue, resistance orders, research breakthroughs, soldier ability upgrades, 3 new hero factions/units, 3 new standard enemies, and 3 new nemesis/enemy hero units in the form of The Chosen. Soldier fatigue is actually a cool feature, as it encourages B and C teams when your main group gets tired. With that said, recovery times are a bit too brutal, with only one very unreliable way to increase it via a Resistance Order. Speaking of which, Resistance Orders are both monthly buffs & passive overworld missions that allow resource gathering, buff acquisition, and passive soldier training. It also helps counter the doom timer. Breakthrough research projects are special, time-limited events that pop up randomly after research projects are completed. Some are very powerful, like unlimited PCS/weapon mod swapping, and global damage buffs. But some are traps, especially since all projects are hard capped to at least 5 days of research time, which adds up quickly. Finally, training updates are affected two-fold: first is the new points-based system that allows for multiple abilities of the same tier to be unlocked for soldiers, like for example; both Blast Padding & Shredder can both be given to a Grenadier via points. Secondly, a third row of soldier-specific, randomize perks can also be unlocked, often vastly changing their play style. For example, that same Grenadier can also roll Run and Gun as a potential tertiary ability. Hero factions replace the passive headquarter buff selection from X2. Hero units are powerful by themselves but generally limited to 1 each, sometimes 2 if you're lucky. Each faction can also provide passive bonuses via monthly resistance orders, some of which are extremely powerful and game changing. Reapers are ultra scouts and arguably the most powerful hero units. Their scouting abilities are so strong that you'll wonder how you ever got by on Ranger scouting alone. Later they also become stealth assassins, with one of the strongest single-target execution abilities in the game. Templar are very strong melee units with some secondary ranged abilities, most of which are utility based. They're very high risk, high reward, as melee range always threatens to pull additional enemy pods. Having a Templar roll the random Reaper sword-chaining ability elevates them to legendary status. Skirmishers are supposed to be highly mobile shooters, but they end up feeling too weak, even compared to non-hero units. Their guns are weak without heavy modification, and their abilities are too RNG-based to be reliable. They also tend to have weak tertiary abilities. Most of the new enemies are a little lackluster. Priests tend to only be good for unavoidable stasis attacks, and Purifiers tend to die too fast to do any damage. The Lost though are by far the most game changing; they refund action points when killed, but appear in swarms to compensate. They're good for farming XP but are hell to fight early game when accuracy is low. The biggest aspect to them is that explosives, an otherwise integral part of the game, summon more of them when thrown and generally prevent their use. Furthermore, the Lost World Dark Event makes them spawn on all missions, and subsequently prevents all grenade usage for the month that it's up. For this reason alone, it becomes the deadliest Dark Event in the game and should be countered at all costs. The Chosen are the biggest and most meaningful additions to the DLC by far. They're essentially enemy hero units that both passively and physically affect your game. Passively they tend to focus towards sabotaging monthly regional income, though they can also sabotage black market & inventory items too, albeit rarely. They also passively gather information on the resistance and can launch retaliation attacks given enough time, but this is again rare & more a punishment for passiveness/incompetence. Physically though, they can appear randomly on missions, causing havoc via ultra strong abilities and huge health pools. They can also capture soldiers, but again rarely. They too can roll randomized buffs, some of which are frankly too strong & game breaking, especially in the early game. The Assassin has ridiculous mobility, AOE disruption attacks, and the ability to dash away after a melee attack, often without any way to retaliate. She is always annoying, from early game to lategame. The Hunter has an unlimited use grapple, often opting to use it every turn & wasting time, even when not directly in combat. His shots cause unavoidable bleed damage & one shot early game soldiers 100% of the time. He also has an unlimited ranged, one-turn charge sniping attack that is more annoying than effective. The Warlock starts and ends as the weakest Chosen. He often hides & summons zombies every 3 turns which die very fast. Supposedly he has teleportation abilities, but he's never lived long enough in my games to ever use them. As it turns out, not having reliable hyper-mobility like the others makes him too exploitable to explosions + followup damage. As a side note, each Chosen drops their respective weapons for use, once defeated & researched. While the accuracy bonuses of the Assassin's weapons and psi-crit abilities of the Warlock rifle are strong in their own rights, the Hunter sniper rifle is by far the most powerful. Pairing 1AP attacks with Death From Above AP refunds & free auto-loader charges means that snipers can chain kills almost indefinitely. It single handedly turns good snipers into gods of destruction, especially with grappling armour. To conclude and summarize, all these changes tend to make the lategame more fun & manageable, but the early game even more hellish. Chosen are far too strong early on & can easily solo wipe squads with no counter play, and should never have been allowed to spawn on first month retaliation mission. Mid to lategame they're more manageable, and are interesting as nemesis units, but really needed to be toned down early on. At the end of the day though, WOTC is still held back by it's core design choices. Don't get me wrong, WOTC is immensely fun and colossally better than XCOM1, but it's heavily punishing early game & skill-circumventing accuracy manipulations have left me a little bitter from the last couple games. I'm fine the increased health and armour on higher difficulties, but I'm not fine with the constant minimum damage rolls and 80%+ accuracy attacks missing 50% of the time. I still recommend WOTC, but a little less now than I would have a few months ago. Most of the new features are great, but some are a bit too game breaking, and mods can only fix so much. The $54 price tag is also a bit much, despite the quality of the content in this DLC. It might be more worthwhile getting this one on sale if it's a big sticking point. Overall 7.5/10: a mostly good expansion, but with a few heavy imbalances and a steep price tag.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 4, 2018

  War of the Chosen is the expansion for epic turn based strategy game, Xcom 2. There’s a ton of new stuff, which definitely makes this a worthwhile purchase for any Xcom fan. The headline addition are the Chosen – three boss level aliens who can attack you on any mission. They have powerful weapons and Psionic abilities, and the presence of a Chosen immediately makes any mission more difficult. When you “kill” them, they will teleport away, regenerate, and come back in another mission. If you can’t find a way to permanently stop them, they will eventually attack the Avenger, which adds another layer of time pressure to the campaign (on top of dealing with the Avatar project). The Chosen aren’t the only new enemies you’ll have to fight against. The aliens have two new Advent soldiers – one armed with a flamethrower, and a Priest who focuses on psionic abilities. There’s also the Spectre, who can create a clone of one of your own soldiers to fight against you. And there’s the Lost – basically Xcom’s version of zombies. They attack in swarms, and they have special variants – the dasher can move further each turn, and the brute has more health. The Lost aren’t particularly difficult to defeat individually – every time you kill one, your soldier gains a bonus action, so you can quickly chain together multiple kills on one turn – but they can be annoying when you’re trying to fight the aliens as well. Although the aliens and the Lost will sometimes attack each other instead of your team, the sounds of battle will constantly draw more and more swarms of Lost, which can get a bit overwhelming if you’re not careful (seriously, on one especially tough mission I had to kill 63 enemies). Fortunately, you don’t have to face these new threats alone. You can contact three resistance groups who provide help in various ways. Each one allows you to recruit a new class of soldier. My favourite was the Reaper, a sniper who has a chance to remain concealed after firing, and can re-enter concealment after being spotted once per mission. The Templar is also quite powerful, they use melee attacks to generate focus, which is then spent to activate psionic attacks. I didn’t use the Skirmisher much, but they seem to specialise in using a grappling hook to move around the map, or to pull enemies towards you. The resistance also allows you to perform covert operations. You’ll send between 1-3 of your soldiers on a mission which happens off screen, and then you’ll be informed of the result after a few days. There is a chance that your soldiers can be wounded or captured on the mission, but afterwards they’ll gain XP and permanent stat boosts (aim, dodge, health). There are lots of available covert operations, but the main ones include gathering intel on the location of the Chosen or a captured Xcom soldier, recruiting an engineer, scientist or soldier, and gaining supplies or loot. Your soldiers can become even stronger in a couple of ways. When two soldiers work together on a few missions, they can become bonded, which gives them bonuses when you use them together in future missions. For example, a soldier can transfer an action point to their bondmate, which you can then use to get them away from danger, or to get closer to an alien for a better shot. However, a soldier will suffer penalties if their bondmate is killed. Soldiers also earn ability points by performing special actions like flanking shots or kills from elevation, as well as passively during combat based on their combat intelligence stat. You can then spend these points to acquire extra abilities. For example, instead of choosing one of two abilities at level up, you can take both. You can also unlock other classes’ abilities, for example I was able to acquire one of my favourite abilities – the Ranger’s run and gun - for a couple of my Grenadiers and Specialists. This review is already getting quite long, and there’s a ton of other minor additions that I haven’t mentioned yet. The HUD now shows you which aliens can be targeted from a square before you commit to moving there. There are more maps and objective types. The resistance will help you fight back on some civilian defence missions (and they’re actually pretty useful in combat). Your soldiers can gain negative traits (for example, fear of a specific type of alien) which can be removed in the infirmary. You can make propaganda posters featuring your soldiers – they don’t do anything other than decorate the environment, but its a nice touch. The aliens can also put up their own posters – after they captured one of my sharpshooters on a covert op, on the next mission I saw a poster of her kneeling under the word “captured”. The biggest negative I can mention is how this new content is inserted into the old campaign. Having already played through vanilla Xcom 2 twice, I was forced to replay all those old missions again. The Enemy Within expansion for Xcom 1 worked in the same way. If there is an Xcom 3, I would strongly prefer for its inevitable expansion to be a new, separate campaign, set after the main story.