XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

Direct from XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and acclaimed by critics, XCOM 2 is back today with its first expansion, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Twenty years after the surrender of world leaders to the alien threat, humanity has not given up. XCOM is still there, hidden in the shadows to fight the ADVENT menace that continuously stalks any form of opposition. Aboard the Talion, a ship that has become the new XCOM HQ, you are the commander at the head of operations. But in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, the ADVENTs, furious with XCOM's recent victories, decide to step up to speed and stop their commander. To accomplish this mission, the Ancients send on their their most formidable fighters, called the Chosen. Having each of them unique abilities, the Chosen are merciless and ready to do anything to annihilate you.

• Assassin The Assassin is a furtive unit preferring close combat. Considering that her tactics are flawless, she has a very high opinion of herself and thinks well above humanity because of her status with the Ancients. She is, however, equipped with daunting combat skills. Her weapon of choice is the katana, and she practically only fights with it. With her unique ability to disappear and reappear as she sees fit, she is, in fact, a formidable opponent capable of teleporting to the unattractive units and killing them with devastating blows. She can also stun and disorient entire groups of soldiers through waves of psionic force.

• The Sorcerer The Sorcerer is undoubtedly the most arrogant Chosen, having sacrificed his mental health by drinking more than reasonable at the source of psionic power. He thinks he's a god and thinks he's the only one to recognize psionic power. Armed with an assault rifle, the Sorcerer uses a wide variety of psionic abilities on the battlefield. He can summon a deluge of spectral zombies to rush on XCOM soldiers and explode in their ranks. He can teleport his allies to different places around the battlefield and even control his enemies by thinking, or even make them crazy, which can cause different effects. He is also capable of invoking additional guards that can perform deadly attacks, allowing him to enter into stasis, which makes him invulnerable as long as the guards are active.

• The Hunter The Hunter is a ranged unit that can track his prey to the other end of the map. With a sadistic strand, he likes to follow slowly, hurt and handicap the XCOM units before blowing the fatal blow. He becomes more audacious in seeing the blood of his enemies flow, but his excessive assurance can lead him to underestimate his opponent. He does not hesitate to insult you openly during the battles. The hunter can perch in unusual places thanks to his grapple. From these locations, he can launch tracking shots, allowing him to target and kill any XCOM soldier wherever he is. As soon as you see the laser beam, you have a turn to break the line of sight before taking the shot. The Hunter also likes to play with his prey with grenades and tranquilizing balls. He will not hesitate to remove your troops in order to get information on the location of Talion.

As you can see, the Chosen are a threat that you will not have to take lightly. You will be led to cross them successively and more or less randomly during the campaign. In order to allow unique games, certain strengths and weaknesses of the Chosen will change to each game. Of course, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, offers new factions within the resistance. Like the Chosen, the new factions are three in number.

• The Reapers The Reapers form a fragmented cell of human loyalists living on the margins of society and remain between them most of the time. The Reapers were formed at the beginning of the invasion, and this group of outsiders has been fighting against ADVENT for years. Previously, the Reapers preferred to favor isolation, but a recent change in their organization pushes them now to work with XCOM to rid the Earth of the alien threat. The Reaper is a infiltration specialist, he is a stealth sharpshooter. With his enhanced concealment mode called "Shadow", he accesses greater mobility options. He may even remain hidden by performing actions even when shooting, and you will be informed of the chances of breaking your concealment for each action. The Reaper uses a powerful weapon, the Vektor Rifle, as well as a Claymore explosive, a targetable incendiary device that, when placed and activated, does not affect concealment. The most seasoned Reapers can even attach Claymores to enemy units, turning them into ADVENT bombs.

• The Templars The Templars form a group of reclusive soldiers who have dedicated themselves to push the boundaries of their minds and bodies through psionic energy. They are led by Geist, one of the original Psionic soldiers. They fled ADVENT and their cities after surviving the fall of the XCOM project. In their isolation, they developed an almost religious zeal for the collection of psionic energy, and while ADVENT and the Sorcerer begin to siphon off the psionic energy of the planet, the Templars are on the verge of retaliating. The Templar is first and foremost a front line fighter wielding psionic swords. He also uses the concentration acquired during combat to trigger abilities. Concentration allows the Templar to increase the damage inflicted or to improve his mobility. He may choose to use his concentration to adjust to the needs of the combat. With experience, Templars can unlock many psionic skills to cause devastating attacks.

• The Skirmishers The Skirmishers are former ADVENT soldiers who have chosen to rebel against their masters. The Skirmisher is a real offensive pillar capable of countering its enemies at different distances. A grapple allows him to climb the structures, but he can also use it to get closer to his target, either by grabbing the enemy to draw him or by propelling himself towards him. He can then use his secondary weapon to stab his enemy. The Skirmisher also has capabilities to perform multiple actions during the same round.

In XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, new enemy units also make their appearance: Purifiers are true pyromaniacs and you must avoid their flames. Be sure of their death. Priests can take control of enemy units, and strengthen their allies. Specters use clouds of nanomachines to create shadows similar to your units. Losts are former humans who have mutated and now resemble zombies, they are never alone, preferring to attack in hordes. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen also brings a new major feature, allowing you to build relationships with your teammates and enabling you to get new abilities. The war against ADVENT is not over, and the threat is more formidable than ever. Join the resistance in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen!