Introduction

Greetings! So you're probably reading this because you saw that an expansion to 2016's X-Com 2 is being released in only a couple of weeks! If you're like me and haven't actually played through a full campaign in what feels like a year, getting back on the Skyranger and dropping in hot on some Xeno scum might be a little intimidating! Well fear not, I'm writing this blog post as a way to assist you in relearning some important tactics and rules that apply to X-Com 2, as well as demonstrate some upcoming changes being brought to X-Com 2 via the War of the Chosen expansion. This post isn't really meant for people that have already completed those Ironman Legend difficulty runs, but if you're the type of Commander who wants to save-scum a little less and maybe eventually work their way up to Veteran then this is for you!

Pod Activation, Stealth, and You!

One of the most common causes of disastrous turns in X-Com 2 isn't tied to enemies that you see, but rather the enemies that you don't see. The common term to describe enemy clusters in X-Com 2 is to refer to them as Pods. Each Pod is a squad of enemy aliens that are all linked together. They will move in the same general direction, shooting at any one of these enemies will also activate the entire group of 2-4 enemies. After playing through on Regular, Veteran, and a little bit of Legend difficulty; I can assure you that the #1 cause of losing squad members and angrily save scumming is because you accidentally activated that unseen Pod of enemies just on the edge of your field of vision and then they get a full turn of flanking and ruining your day.

Unlike in X-Com: Enemy Unknown, you now have a tool to help alleviate the common problem of pushing up too far and running into this unfortunate scenario that will probably get a few red shirts killed. In most missions of X-Com 2, you will enter the combat field in Concealment. This Concealment Phase will persist until you either A) Shoot an Alien, B) Get seen by an Alien, C) Fail a Hack and that reveals your position. The Concealment Phase is incredibly powerful not only because you get to get the jump on an alien Pod, but also because you can scout out and get vital information.

After playing many many hours of the game, you'll develop a sixth sense for just how many Pods of enemies are on the field of play. The number of Pods on any given mission will correlate to the difficulty setting your playing on, how long your campaign has been going for (early game, mid-game, late game), and the difficulty of that specific mission. For example, if I'm playing on Regular difficulty and it's my 3rd mission and the mission difficulty is Easy, I'm going to guess that I'll be dealing with 5-6 aliens total which means it's either 2 Pods (2-3 + 3) or 3 Pods (2+2+2). Please note that enemy reinforcements can bungle all this up, that's always a wild card. Eventually you'll be able to build a room on your Avenger that will let you know precisely how many enemies to expect on each mission, but you will not be able to construct that until the mid to late game and only after completing several story missions.

As you advance in the campaign, you'll get more options for being able to scout effectively without having to reveal your team to the enemy Pods. For example, you can make a Ranger that specializes in Stealth, you can have a Specialist that has a wide area scan from their GREMLIN, and you can also build Battle Scanners that will reveal portions of the map. However all of these tools take time and supplies and will have limited uses, so it is still vital to learn to get the most out of your Concealment Phase.

How does X-Com 2: War of the Chosen help this?

From following the press releases, interviews, and live streams that Firaxis and Jake Solomon have given regarding the upcoming expansion there's a few things that are going to be happening in War of the Chosen to alleviate and assist the X-Com initiative. First of all we're going to be gaining access to powerful "hero" units from one of three factions: The Skirmishers, The Templars, and The Reapers. It would seem that these Hero Factions will all offer their own unique way of being able to handle the innate problem of accidentally activating Pods before you're ready for them. For example, the Reaper Hero will have a completely different version of Concealment that not only will allow them to take shots and remain concealed, but they will have additional ways to re-enter their concealment. This will give your squad a powerful scout and saboteur as you advance up the battlefield. On the other end of the spectrum are the Skirmishers, who are battle hardened ex-Advent warriors that will have the ability to take quick reaction shots. From the information that's been provided, Skirmishers seem to be capable of turning enemy ambushes on their head and provide quick and brutal answers for enemies in cover.

Hopefully there will be more that reveals itself when I get to actually play War of the Chosen because Pod activation was secretly the most important skill you needed to develop in X-Com 2 (especially on Legend).

In Part 2, I'll be discussing some other topics to remember about X-Com 2 including Timers, Upgrade Paths, and Loot!