General information | The Chosen XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Game Guide

The Chosen are one of the mainstays of the War of the Chosen expansion. They are the aliens' elite warriors, much more powerful than regular units. Some of the fights with them, especially these later on in the game, are much harder than the earlier fights with the three lords (Viper King, Berserker Queen and Archon King). With the first of them - the Assassin, by default - you'll have a brief encounter during one of the first missions (the one where you unlock the Reapers and Skirmishers). The remaining two, i.e. the Hunter and the Warlock will appear after a few weeks of game time.

The chosen status screen.

There are many mechanics in the game that are either changed or introduced by the Chosen:

1. Each of them will be controlling one continent.
2. They can appear on the battlefield, provided the mission takes place on their continent - you can look that up before every mission in order to be able to prepare.
3. They move separately from the rest of the aliens - they have their own bank of Action Points, and their turn takes place after the aliens.
4. They can only appear on the battlefield if at least one soldier controlled by the player has been revealed. If the whole team is concealed, the Chosen cannot appear.
5. Each of them has a set of weak and strong sides, which all influence the way the fight unfolds. More info about that can be found in the chapter "The Chosen - Combat".
6. Defeating them in a regular battle doesn't mean getting rid of them permanently. After a few weeks of game time, they will be resurrected and ready to haunt your armies on their continent. There is a way of permanently killing them, however. This is achievable via special missions - more about that, in the section "Resurrection and Permadeath of the Chosen".
7. The longer you allow them to roam the land unchallenged, the more mayhem will they be able to cause (increased penalties to resource output or more expensive espionage). That's not all - if the Chosen's influence reaches its maximum value, they will attack the Avenger base. If you don't manage to defend it - game over, hope you've saved it recently. You can learn more about these types of operations in the chapter devoted to missions.

The following chapters contain info and tips concerning combat with the Chosen, ways of killing them once and for all, as well as the unpleasant consequences of leaving them too much room.