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XCOM 2: War of the Chosen |OT| Mario + Rabbids + Autopsies

Is the endgame of WOTC any different from vanilla? I just took out the last chosen and I've snowballed to the point of being unstoppable. If there is no difference I might not bother finishing the campaign.
 

telasoman

Member
Is the endgame of WOTC any different from vanilla? I just took out the last chosen and I've snowballed to the point of being unstoppable. If there is no difference I might not bother finishing the campaign.

Uhh. Minor maybe not really a spoiler?

The ending is different. It has more cutscenes to it
 
how come i'm getting little to no alien alloys? do i need to establish more resistance contacts?

i never really thought about it in vanilla but it's time to do the first blacksite mission and i barely have enough to just do magnetic rifles, let alone the other stuff.
 
God bless that avatar project extender at the start. Now that I'm established and on the verge of plasma weapons and plate armor the push/focus on Intel and resistance networks to reach this blacksites is so much smoother. I had to throw away like 20 hours on a vanilla campaign originally because I fell behind and it was impossible to reach enough sites in time to not meet enragement

What is the rate at which the avatar project ticks naturally outside of black sites to bring it down?

I assume there is a cap on covert options to bring it down.
 
how come i'm getting little to no alien alloys? do i need to establish more resistance contacts?

i never really thought about it in vanilla but it's time to do the first blacksite mission and i barely have enough to just do magnetic rifles, let alone the other stuff.

supply raids usually yield a healthy amount of alloys. Other than that, you can get them from excavating on the avenger, black market, covert ops, and scanning events.
 

Sblargh

Banned
I was thinking about Starship Troopers today and with the propaganda posters feature, you know I almost want?
That this game didn't have the whole Elders storyline.

Aliens come to earth. They cure all diseases and stablishes world peace.
But we're dumb fucking humans and we revolt and now you lead a squad of people toppling the benevolent aliens because you're all just fucking dumb humans.

So you remove the story parts, but you keep the propaganda posters, the theories about burgers being made out of people, the factions (the xenophobes that eat aliens, the religious fanatics who think that psyonic power is a limited quantity and in order for them to have it all, they have to kill the aliens, the traitors) and suddenly you have a whole different game.
 

Rex_DX

Gold Member
Blasphemy!

But yes, Mox is Michael Dorn (Worf), Dragunova is Marina Sirtis (Troi) and Volk is Jonathan Frakes (Riker).

John de Lancie (Q) is also in there somewhere but I haven't gotten to him yet.
 
I know this is an Xcom 2 thread, but I've been playing some Xcom 1 on PC and I've been really enjoying, well more say I've been really enjoying the combat and not so much the spend your £10 and spin the globe for 10 minutes simulator between fights.

Does that part get better?
 

Sblargh

Banned
I know this is an Xcom 2 thread, but I've been playing some Xcom 1 on PC and I've been really enjoying, well more say I've been really enjoying the combat and not so much the spend your £10 and spin the globe for 10 minutes simulator between fights.

Does that part get better?

Not really.
 
This is the worst performing game I have ever owned or experienced. It's absolutely shameful how this games runs. Retaliation missions with fire and explosions everywhere are a slideshow, when bugs aren't rampant and soldiers are running around with just helmets and arms which has happened many times. On to of it all, the load times...

15 second black load screen to GET TO THE 2 MINUTE LONG SHIP LOAD, then 10 seconds of black to get to the landing pad. It's all fucking shameful and the fact that 2k doesn't seem to give a shit and let blind squirrel do their thing is so disappointing.

But goddamn, it's so addicting. The most painful game to support is the one you love but want to be better.

Hearing all those PC impressions for 2 weeks before the console release about how much better it ran realised my expectations only to come crashing down.
 
This is the worst performing game I have ever owned or experienced. It's absolutely shameful how this games runs. Retaliation missions with fire and explosions everywhere are a slideshow, when bugs aren't rampant and soldiers are running around with just helmets and arms which has happened many times. On to of it all, the load times...

15 second black load screen to GET TO THE 2 MINUTE LONG SHIP LOAD, then 10 seconds of black to get to the landing pad. It's all fucking shameful and the fact that 2k doesn't seem to give a shit and let blind squirrel do their thing is so disappointing.

But goddamn, it's so addicting. The most painful game to support is the one you love but want to be better.

Hearing all those PC impressions for 2 weeks before the console release about how much better it ran realised my expectations only to come crashing down.

It is unacceptable that Firaxis did all that work for the PC version and then half-assed the console ports. The game's main audience may be on PC but console gamers paid the same as everyone else and deserve a quality product.
 
Blasphemy!

But yes, Mox is Michael Dorn (Worf), Dragunova is Marina Sirtis (Troi) and Volk is Jonathan Frakes (Riker).

John de Lancie (Q) is also in there somewhere but I haven't gotten to him yet.

Plus, Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) is Betos, the Skirmisher leader.

Annnd Michael Dorn is also the Warrior SPARK voice. Double Dorn!
 

Staf

Member
Maybe i'm a bit rusty coming back after not playing xcom 2 for a year. But am i alone in feeling kind of overwhelmed? I mean, with all the systems and events of the original campaign plus the chosen stuff there is so much going on.
 
Maybe i'm a bit rusty coming back after not playing xcom 2 for a year. But am i alone in feeling kind of overwhelmed? I mean, with all the systems and events of the original campaign plus the chosen stuff there is so much going on.

Nah, it can definitely be pretty overwhelming in the beginning. I definitely had some times on the strategic map where there were about 5 different things competing for my supplies or whatever, and in the early game I didn't really know how to prioritize them. I do think that if you aren't on too high of a difficulty, there's more flexibility than it appears though, so it's harder to completely screw yourself than you think.

That said, I completely screwed myself on my first try and had to restart, but you know what I mean
 
This is the worst performing game I have ever owned or experienced. It's absolutely shameful how this games runs. Retaliation missions with fire and explosions everywhere are a slideshow, when bugs aren't rampant and soldiers are running around with just helmets and arms which has happened many times. On to of it all, the load times...

15 second black load screen to GET TO THE 2 MINUTE LONG SHIP LOAD, then 10 seconds of black to get to the landing pad. It's all fucking shameful and the fact that 2k doesn't seem to give a shit and let blind squirrel do their thing is so disappointing.

But goddamn, it's so addicting. The most painful game to support is the one you love but want to be better.

Hearing all those PC impressions for 2 weeks before the console release about how much better it ran realised my expectations only to come crashing down.

Totally agree and it's such a shame as the game itself is so addicting. I hope you let the developers know, on twitter or email, sometimes it helps.
 

Staf

Member
To be honest, the combat and story in XCOM 2 is why i'm here. The combat system in XCOM 2 is probably my favorite combat system ever, maybe second to Divinity:OS. Would love to just play a bunch of great combat encounters with story and skip all the avatar project, covert ops, research, timers and bars, buildings and blah blah blah.
 

SRG01

Member
Blasphemy!

But yes, Mox is Michael Dorn (Worf), Dragunova is Marina Sirtis (Troi) and Volk is Jonathan Frakes (Riker).

John de Lancie (Q) is also in there somewhere but I haven't gotten to him yet.

Wait, JdL is in this game too? Where?

Plus, Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) is Betos, the Skirmisher leader.

Annnd Michael Dorn is also the Warrior SPARK voice. Double Dorn!

There's a new Warrior SPARK now?

Are the strengths and weaknesses of the Chosen randomized? In my game the assassin just straight up ignores overwatch, and I don't know how to deal with it aside from taking sword swipes to the face and hoping I have a spare soldier to blindly run in the direction the assassin retreated to while my other soldiers are helping up the stabbing victim.

You don't overwatch chosen. You need to blow up cover and use bonded soldiers to gain extra moves.

Also, removing Daze on your soldiers completely messes up the assassin AI, as it primarily relies on Bleeding Rend and another wave move for offense.
 

Jintor

Member
To be honest, the combat and story in XCOM 2 is why i'm here. The combat system in XCOM 2 is probably my favorite combat system ever, maybe second to Divinity:OS. Would love to just play a bunch of great combat encounters with story and skip all the avatar project, covert ops, research, timers and bars, buildings and blah blah blah.

some kind of rpg using the tactics system would be very dope
 

FunkyMonk

Member
To be honest, the combat and story in XCOM 2 is why i'm here. The combat system in XCOM 2 is probably my favorite combat system ever, maybe second to Divinity:OS. Would love to just play a bunch of great combat encounters with story and skip all the avatar project, covert ops, research, timers and bars, buildings and blah blah blah.

Have you tried challenge mode yet?
 
some kind of rpg using the tactics system would be very dope

My dream is this engine and gameplay with the Marvel license.

You'd be able to have the classes -- tanks, psychics, etc. And then you could use the WotC AP system for each character's unique, individual powers.
 
Wait, JdL is in this game too? Where?

He's Geist, the Templar leader. You can't really miss his voice though.
(this is me atm: replaying Starcraft II: Legacy of the void, John de Lancie, play this game, John de Lancie, rewatching TNG, John de Lancie. Stop following meeeee)

Volk and Geist at least appear to have been modeled to represent their voice actors somewhat. Dragunova maybe a little, but you only see her without the helmet in the tutorial intro before gatecrasher.

Also, the Resistance Radio voice you can hear from the bar / memorial is Jake Busey (Ace from Starship Troopers)

A thought on the development atavism of the Chosen though, is that the loading screen artwork is distinctly feminine on all three, whereas the actualized Chosen (as in: actual in-game versions) are made to be male on the Warlock and Hunter in every other artwork. It seem to me that they were supposed to be all female at first, but then it got changed to be more mixed. Which may also mean that Besos was originally meant to be male like all Advent that the game shows, too. It would be consistent with the Ruler DLC, is why I'm speculating on this not being just in my head. It would be a normal change for a development project at any rate. Might still just be in my head, but I can't be bothered to ask the devs either (I don't do Twitter).
 

Belker

Member
It is unacceptable that Firaxis did all that work for the PC version and then half-assed the console ports. The game's main audience may be on PC but console gamers paid the same as everyone else and deserve a quality product.

I've tweeted to Jake Solomon and Blind Squirrel asking about a patch. A consumer asking a dev about patches to a game - so the consumer can buy it.

I'm not sure about the forum policy of linking to people's social media accounts, but I do think it's worth interested parties letting them know.
 
Which of the dlcs should I buy alongside this?

the DLC integrated option makes the Alien Rulers quite safe and pleasant (though still presenting a squad wipe risk) since they're tied to facilities (and resistance attacks) that you don't really need to attack anymore since the Covert Ops can deal with the doom bar. They're still crazy powerful though, just not showing up in random missions like in vanilla XCOM 2.

Shen's Last Gift gives you access to Sparks, which are basically the MEC's from EW, except the Johnny Five version of it, and not requiring sacrificing a trooper. I think they also don't tire, so dealing with long missions is not an issue for them. They can be used for different strategies, much like the MEC's were.

They both have story missions, but due to the tiring mechanic you won't be able to deal with those early on. The recommended setting is to have the story mission disabled, and have the DLC integrated on.

The other two DLC (aside from WOTC itself) are mostly cosmetic changes to soldiers, afaik.
 

Grimsen

Member
For someone's first playthrough, I recommend disabling the "integrated" dlc and checking each mission underneath that option to get both story missions.

The important thing to remember (it was the same in vanilla) is that you can choose to do those two missions whenever you want.

I usually wait till I have a squad of 6 and tier 2 weapons.
 

Unity2012

Member
For someone's first playthrough, I recommend disabling the "integrated" dlc and checking each mission underneath that option to get both story missions.

The important thing to remember (it was the same in vanilla) is that you can choose to do those two missions whenever you want.

I usually wait till I have a squad of 6 and tier 2 weapons.

Good point. Thank you.
 

Jintor

Member
i probably need a primer on how to not play shit again.

haven't failed yet but i probably need to tech up my armour asap. the avatar progress is considerable
 

Jintor

Member
ugh i don't know which of my mods is crashing the game at fucking random when i select an action sometimes. fuck me

also fuck advent officers. took my amazing gunslinger captain from me.
 
ugh i don't know which of my mods is crashing the game at fucking random when i select an action sometimes. fuck me

also fuck advent officers. took my amazing gunslinger captain from me.
WOTC seems to have problems with .ini files from the Workshop, which has been somewhat confirmed by a fellow modder's experiments. Dunno why, but it's a stupidly prevalent issue.
 
Man, it was so satisfying to completely wipe the floor with the Assassin on the Blacksite mission. I realized my biggest problem was that every mission she had shown up so far, I was hamstrung because her weaknesses are Reapers and Explosives and every single time she'd shown up my Reaper was Tired or Wounded and it was a Lost SitRep mission. Having my Reaper and being able to rain grenades on her without worry made her completely trivial.

She's about an inch away from finishing her knowledge but I only have tier 2 weapons and armor so I'm unsure if I want to try and breach her stronghold yet. Kind of interested to see what happens if the knowledge gets all the way up, but also terrified of what might happen.

Also thank goodness for the extending Avatar Project timer selection. Makes the map part of the game so much less stressful.
 
I have mixed feelings about this expansion. In the original xcom2, I only used 11 soldiers according to the post game stat page. Here, it took me a long time to get one soldier to captain rank for the 6-squad upgrade in the guerrilla tactics school. I now have 5 soldiers of each class.

And fighting the lost is annoying for me.
 

Staf

Member
For someone's first playthrough, I recommend disabling the "integrated" dlc and checking each mission underneath that option to get both story missions.

The important thing to remember (it was the same in vanilla) is that you can choose to do those two missions whenever you want.

I usually wait till I have a squad of 6 and tier 2 weapons.

Hmm. I played XCOM 2 before, but never the DLC. I bought the DLC on a PSN sale a few weeks ago and figured i would wait and play them until WOTC. So i made a mistake checking the "integrated" option at the start?
 

Naar

Member
Are psi operatives any good? I have 2 at max level and about 12 colonels with highest tier weapon, ammo, and armor.

Why should I use a psi soldier in place of say one of my rangers?

Or are they good mid way and towards the end a full team of colonels is better?
 

FunkyMonk

Member
Are psi operatives any good? I have 2 at max level and about 12 colonels with highest tier weapon, ammo, and armor.

Why should I use a psi soldier in place of say one of my rangers?

Or are they good mid way and towards the end a full team of colonels is better?

Fully trained psi-ops are pretty powerful IMO, inspire can help land that killing blow, stasis can either save a surrounded soldier or take a powerful enemy out for one turn, void rift can wreck a full pod, insanity guarantees crits through rupture, null lance is a hefty chunk of guaranteed damage and domination can basically give you an extra soldier for the mission just don't evac your psi-op before anyone else and remember you don't get control of a codex clone if it splits.

Slap a war suit on him/her and you have a good soldier there.
 

Sblargh

Banned
Are psi operatives any good? I have 2 at max level and about 12 colonels with highest tier weapon, ammo, and armor.

Why should I use a psi soldier in place of say one of my rangers?

Or are they good mid way and towards the end a full team of colonels is better?

Psi ops is the best support in the game. Their utility is irrepleceable.

Stasis let you ignore one enemy for a turn while you kill the rest of its pod (say, a sectopod or a gatekeeper)

Mind control has no turn limit, meaning that if you mind control anything from the first pod, that's an extra unit the entire mission, it's also an instakill of sorts.

Soulfire is little damage, but guaranteed.

Void (something?) is an aoe that can panic, mind control and rupture everyone got into it.

Mind control being it's only thing that is not a cooldown means you can generally just do stuff. Stasis don't even end your turn as it costs only one action. Psi ops is not a damage dealer, but it generally makes every mission easier.
 
Are psi operatives any good? I have 2 at max level and about 12 colonels with highest tier weapon, ammo, and armor.

Why should I use a psi soldier in place of say one of my rangers?

Or are they good mid way and towards the end a full team of colonels is better?

I just successfully finished a Commander/Ironman run and psi operatives were key to my success. I find them to be excellent and I took two fully-levelled psi operatives with me to the final mission.

So this is my advice on psi operatives: Only start using them once you have fully levelled them and provided them with the fully upgraded sci amp. Low-level psi operatives are not very useful but fully upgraded ones are incredible. Their attacks do an excellent amount of damage that ignores armor and their mind control (domination) ability has a 100% chance of success on practically every enemy in the game.
 

Staf

Member
I'm out. I love XCOM 2 but there's just too much stuff going on in this. I felt pretty overwhelmed in the OC but i powered through and ended up having a great time (timers still suck though). But with everything going on in the OC plus WOTC i'm feeling extremely overwhelmed and stressed the fuck out. Would have loved if they had made the WOTC outside the OC because i love the story, the chosen, the new characters and bonding (and especially the awesome photobooth!).

Hopefully they will do some streamlining for the next installment because i will be there day one since i love XCOM 1/2. See you guys then!
 

Jintor

Member
i've finally hit plasma and power armour and now that i realised the easiest way to cheese lost missions this game is totally rad again

still haven't seen a ruler yet, should be fun
 

ISee

Member
Man, it's humbling when you get your ass kicked on "Rookie" difficulty lol.

To be fair Xcom2 was always a hard game, even on lower difficulties. I'd even go the extra mile and claim that you are supposed to lose soldiers and to not finish every mission successfully and WotC is even harder then vanilla Xcom2 imo. The random nature of mission doesn't help either and can fuck you up, no matter what some people on GAF claim. You can easily find yourself in an unwinnable situation, at least without having to sacrifice either the mission, risk the death of a soldier or even both. But that's okay and part of the game, just like dying in dark souls. Btw. the early game is the hardest part and not the endgame. The endgame is a lot better, but gets a bit repetitive.

i've finally hit plasma and power armour and now that i realised the easiest way to cheese lost missions this game is totally rad again

still haven't seen a ruler yet, should be fun

And that cheese is? Lost + advent missions are the worst imo.
 

Staf

Member
To be fair Xcom2 was always a hard game, even on lower difficulties. I'd even go the extra mile and claim that you are supposed to lose soldiers and to not finish every mission successfully and WotC is even harder then vanilla Xcom2 imo. The random nature of mission doesn't help either and can fuck you up, no matter what some people on GAF claim. You can easily find yourself in an unwinnable situation, at least without having to sacrifice either the mission, risk the death of a soldier or even both. But that's okay and part of the game, just like dying in dark souls. Btw. the early game is the hardest part and not the endgame. The endgame is a lot better, but gets a bit repetitive.

I agree. But once i'm on the battleground i really only dislikes the conservative timers. I love the combat in this game, LOVE IT. It's everything around it that makes it un-fun, for me that is. I don't really have a problem with the difficulty per se, it's the systems upon systems upon systems. But i'm gonna give challenge mode a shake before calling it quits, it might be more to my taste. Also gonna youtube the story because from what i've seen so far from WOTC the story is superinteresting.
 
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