About expansion XCOM 2: War of the Chosen XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Game Guide

War of the Chosen is an expansion to XCOM 2. In order to play this add-on, you have to own a copy of the base game (it is not a standalone expansion). However, it is worth mentioning that it is not just a pack comprising several new missions, maps, character models and weapons' skins. The latest production of Firaxis Games introduces heaps of changes - there are so many new elements that it could have been released as a standalone game.

After you install the expansion, you will be able to adjust the gameplay settings upon starting the game.

Upon installing War of the Chosen, the following elements are added to the game:

1. Three new resistance factions - The Reapers, the Renegades, and the Templars. A player can (and has to) cooperate with all of them by completing special missions for them - these missions are rewarded with i.a. new orders, additional resources, soldiers, and even increasing the number of available resistance contacts.
2. Three new character classes linked with the resistance factions - Reaper, Renegade, and Templar.
3. Reaper is a perfect infiltration unit - these soldiers are equipped with sniper rifles and explosive charges. They also utilize the so call Shadow Mode allowing them to remain hidden and move much closer to the enemies than other hidden soldiers. Proper development of this class allows a player to increase his infiltration efficiency resulting in taking shots without the risk of being detected by the enemy.
4. Renegades are soldiers most efficient on short distances, like the Rangers. Each Renegade is equipped with a grappling hook allowing him to reach higher areas without spending his action point, as well as pull the enemies towards him. Developing this class allows a player to change his Renegades into real killing machines - they can be trained to attack several times during a single turn.
5. Templars are specialized for melee combat using their Psi Blades. This weapon is able to deal irresistible damage (the armor is ignored, and the soldiers never miss). Upon eliminating his target, a Templar can retreat behind cover or block one attack. After developing this class, a player can use multiple Psi abilities, such as a kind of teleportation, in which a Templar switches places with one of the enemies.
6. Three elite enemies, the titular Chosen. The Assassin is deadly on short distances and able to activate a camouflage; Hunter, who is equipped with a grappling hook, can hit a soldier from the other end of a map; Warlock exhibits Psi powers greatly exceeding those of the other units'.
7. Capturing soldiers by Chosen. Chosen are able to capture player's soldiers either during combat or while completing covert actions for the resistance. Captured soldiers can then be rescued by a player if he decides to dispatch a team for a special mission.
8. New 'regular' enemies - ADVENT Priests, Psi alien unit, ADVENT Purifier, soldiers equipped with flamethrowers, who explode upon dying, and Advent Specters - opponents very similar to CODES, who are able to stun player's soldiers and create their clones, who attack player's team.
9. Bonds between soldiers. If certain soldiers are often dispatched on missions together, they form a bond, which allows them to offer each other an additional action point. Higher levels of this relation (max 3) unlock much more powerful abilities, such as the one to perform a double jump by both soldiers.
10. The new mechanics featuring soldiers getting tired and acquiring negative traits. Now, during missions, soldier get tired, thus they have to rest for several days forcing players to have more units. Moreover, soldiers have a big change to acquire negative traits on their missions - these traits are numerous and feature fear of Chosen or fear of missing a shot.
11. Additional options to develop the soldiers with the skill points. Teams participating in a mission have a chance to acquire skill points, which a player can use later on to unlock additional abilities for his soldiers - either abilities, which were locked after reaching a higher level or some of the skills that are available for other classes.
12. A new group of enemies, Lost, who resemble the undead. A player can encounter these enemies on some maps. They attack both player's soldiers and the aliens.
13. The SITREP mechanic, which adds new features to some of the missions - such as the presence of the Lost,
14. Three new facilities: Training Center, Infirmary and Resistance Ring. The training center is used to unlock new soldiers' abilities (see above) and resetting the points you've already invested. The Infirmary shortens the soldiers' recovery time and allows ameliorating negative effects. The Resistance Ring is used to send soldiers on spec-ops missions.
15. Two new outposts, Guerilla Tactics School and Infirmary. The former one can be used to unlock new soldiers' abilities (see above) and resetting already spent points; the latter outpost accelerates the healing processes and enables a player to remove negative traits of their soldiers.
16. Entirely new locations - a player is bound to notice the sewers, which impose combat on smaller space.
17. New researches and the Breakthrough mechanics - whenever a player completes a research, there is a chance of a breakthrough in developing another technology, which will decrease the amount of time necessary to conduct a research on that technology, should a player immediately commence it.
18. More options affecting the gameplay - Chosen, who can sabotage player's actions on the world map or the new Resistance Orders, which a player can use to activate chosen bonuses.
19. New research mechanics - Insprations and Breakthroughs. Inspiration shortens the time needed to unlock a technology (by a couple days). Breakthroughs give access to unique technologies that provide small bonuses, such as slightly increased weapon damage or speeding up construction time. There's a chance for either of these to happen after a technology is researched.
20. Minor changes to the in-game story. This expansion introduces new cutscenes and modifies some of those available in the base version of the game.
21. Better implementation of the previous expansions. The War of the Chosen expansion intermingles the previous add-ons (such as Alien Hunters and Shen's Last Gift) directly into the gameplay - a player can encounter the alien rulers without starting a mission, or design a SPARK robot without the necessity to complete the difficult mission.