General information | War of the Chosen Guide XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Game Guide
Last update: 05 September 2017
The War of the Chosen expansion implements a number of improvements to XCOM 2 (you can read about these improvements in the chapter titled "About the War of the Chosen expansion"). Because of this, in order to succeed, players have to modify their strategies. Below, you can find several pieces of advice you can use when playing the game - remember, though, to check the advisory chapter in the XCOM 2 game guide.
1. Try to gain access to all three hero units of the resistance factions. Initially, only the Reaper faction is available, however, soon after you start playing the expansion, you will have the chance to rescue a Renegade, and after several weeks complete a mission for the resistance to unlock the Templar. The faster you do this, the better.
2. Make sure you have at least 3 full teams ready for action. It is best for a team to comprise 3 soldiers, one of each "basic" class (Ranger, Specialist, Sharpshooter, and Grenadier), 1-2 trained Psi Operatives, and well-developed resistance heroes. The reason behind this is simple - soldiers get tired and/or injured, thus you will not be able to use your favorites all the time and you will be forced to use the "substitutes".
3. Do not dispatch tired soldiers on a mission, as they are less effective in combat. This results in them becoming even more tired and the risk of acquiring negative traits by them increases significantly.
4. If a soldier has acquired a very serious negative trait, sent him to the Infirmary to remove the trait. However, you will not be able to use this soldier for several days.
5. Dispatch your soldiers on resistance's covert actions on a regular basis. This way, you will be able to acquire precious rewards such as additional pieces of gear, PCS, new soldiers, and experience points for your troops, who participated in a given mission. Additionally, each completed mission ordered by the resistance improves your relations with this faction.
6. Fighting Lost is simpler than it seems. To eliminate them more efficiently, all you have to do is prepare accordingly for a mission. Remember, upon killing a Lost unit, your soldier regains one action point he spent on an attack. With proper planning (and the right equipment), one soldier is able to eliminate over a dozen enemies.
7. Use the explosive charges and grenades with due care, whenever Lost appear on the battlefield. Each explosion attracts a large group of Lost. Should this occur at a wrong time - e.g. when you are fighting a large group of enemies - it can have dire consequences. Two explosions that occur one after another attract Lost units immediately, while one explosion will result in the Lost appearing on the map after several turns.
8. You can use Lost to your advantage. Causing an explosion (e.g. by detonating a charge remotely with a Reaper) near a group of aliens will cause the units of Lost to appear and attack the aliens - provided there are no soldiers nearby.
9. Meet new enemies, both Chosen and the "regular" ones. You can find detailed descriptions of them in the later part of this game guide. These descriptions will help you fight these enemies.
10. Chosen are stationed on a particular continent. This might result in their appearance during one of the missions taking place on their territory. The chance of encountering them increases as you progress through the game and as their influence grows.
11. Try not to engage both aliens and Chosen simultaneously. If a Chosen shows up on the battlefield you should wait until he reveals himself. The assassin will try to approach your soldiers and perform a melee attack, Hunter will try to shoot your troops from a large distance, while Warlock will stay away from your units and use his psi abilities.
12. Assassin, one of Chosen, always tries to mount a melee attack. Moreover, during her turn, she is invisible - she reveals herself when attacking and then disappears and retreats. You can detect her, however, if a soldier is in her field of view - this occurs only during player's turn.
13. Chosen Hunter attacks from large distances. His attack is based on targeting one of the XCOM soldiers and killing him with one shot during the next turn. You can avoid this attack by leaving Hunter's field of view (you can hide behind a building or a large rock). Moreover, it is possible to decrease the chance of his successful shot by hiding behind cover and using the defensive abilities.
14. Chosen Warlock keeps a safe distance and scourges your soldiers with his psi abilities. The zombies he can summon are the most dangerous - whenever they position themselves next to a soldier they activate an ability, which causes a powerful explosion upon their death and hurts the nearby soldiers. To avoid this, move your soldiers away from the zombies before you deal with them.
15. Monitor the bonds between your soldiers. After dispatching your troops on several missions they will be able to establish a bond, which will give them access to the ability enabling them to grant an additional action point to another soldier. During consecutive missions, they will develop the bond, and after filling the bar you can "train" the bond and level it up. More detailed information on this is available in the "Bonds between soldiers" chapter.
16. If a Chosen manages to capture a soldier, do not worry, as it is possible to rescue him relatively soon. After several weeks you will be notified about a new resistance covert action, during which you can rescue the captured soldier.
17. Pay attention to the SITREP reports. You can check them before starting a mission in the corner of your screen. SITREP adds modifiers to certain missions, such as the possibility of encountering large groups of aliens or Lost. Use this intel to properly assemble your team.
18. Dispatch teams with rookie onboard. It is a good idea to dispatch teams of experienced soldiers and one troop without assigned class (meaning no experience). This way you will not decrease their efficiency, since at the beginning of the game you will not encounter difficult enemies, and you will quickly train your soldiers. Later on in the game, you will be able to use the Guerilla Tactics School, where within several days you will be able to train a new recruit.
19. If you have the Alien Hunters expansion, complete the missions that unlock additional weapons as soon as possible. This way you will gain access to more powerful items - most importantly the Frost Grenades, which freeze the enemies for two full turns (this also regards Chosen).
20. Completing any research project gives you a chance for Inspiration or Breakthrough. In case of the former happening, the research will be completed a few days sooner. In case of the latter, the player can choose a technology to research - these techs are unique for each breakthrough and include things such as increasing weapon damage or reducing construction time. These are useful things, but it's impossible to plan them and they disappear if you don't decide to research them.