X-COM XCOM 2 + War of the Chosen Expansion Thread

[Ivan]

Question about casualties: even if I'm on a Crash Mission or a Terror Mission, do I lose all gear associated with fallen soliders? It took me forever to build the Flying Suits, and I lost a few of them on 1 mission Is there any way to save their gear, maybe carrying their corpses before mission completion?

 

[ArchAngel]

Question about casualties: even if I'm on a Crash Mission or a Terror Mission, do I lose all gear associated with fallen soliders? It took me forever to build the Flying Suits, and I lost a few of them on 1 mission Is there any way to save their gear, maybe carrying their corpses before mission completion?

You save the gear by always having low level "scouts" for your suit wearing guys. New recruits are cheap, use them to draw enemy fire :D (and this feature is heavily missed in new Xcom games).

 

[Galdred]

Still a ton of work to do on this until it is useable, but at least, it gets worked on.
Meanwhile the open x-com mod seems to be in a much better state:


Btw, if you are looking forward to these, and you haven't already, just go play Chaos Gate(Chaos Gate doesn't have Space Marines with a score of 20 in bravery!).

 

[Sentinel]

Still a ton of work to do on this until it is useable, but at least, it gets worked on.
Meanwhile the open x-com mod seems to be in a much better state:


Btw, if you are looking forward to these, and you haven't already, just go play Chaos Gate(Chaos Gate doesn't have Space Marines with a score of 20 in bravery!).

and just like any promising mod, it's vaporware.

 

[cvv]

Goddamn, still waiting for some substantial price drop, definitely more than 20% since 40 jewro for a bloody expansion pack is pretty jewy.

Well at least I got Xenonauts for free on GOG.

 

[mastroego]

So guys,

I *have* been trying LW2 and didn't really "get" into it.
I tried to dig into the issue, and found some comments about the overhaul from the famous Beaglerush. I find his arguments resonate with what little I experienced personally with LW2, and this convinced me not to delve into it further since it'd be a massive undertaking and I probably wouldn't like it in the end, as he didn't.
Besides, it's not dragging me in right now. In other words, I might fall in cvv's camp.

Thus, I am considering WotC.
I know it's probably more popamole than LW2 is, but it's probably closer to the kind of game I'd like.
So, my question for you veterans is: is there some sort of general consensus about a WotC setup (I mean settings, mods, and so on) to make it a worthwhile experience, possibly in SOME way similar to Long War ONE?

 

[mastroego]

Well, I didn't listen to beags only, for instance you and alienman talked about it here and I decided to try it.
But while LW1 was something special for me from the beginning - enough that I could stomach the unavoidable grinding - I don't feel the "spark" with LW2.
Also it's too confusing on the strategic layer, I don't like "stealth" missions where you have to gamble with the patrol routes and so on. Too many things don't work for me, and I don't feel enough excitement to learn and possibly (?) overcome the feeling.

I would settle for a "fun" game actually, even if it'll be no LW1.
I was just hoping there were some mods with LW-like classes, AI improvements and stuff like that to make it a bit deeper. Mostly I'd miss the classes from Long War.
Balance isn't a crucial issue, I play SP after all.

I would play LW1 again otherwise but I know the maps by heart... perhaps some time in the future.

 

[Parabalus]

I played with the full A Better X set and found it pretty good, you might wanna give it a go. When it started getting a bit easy very late game I swapped to the increased pod size (+ version) and it felt ok.

 

[Falksi]

War of The Chosen is a very strange beast IMO. Thing is, it's fun and enjoyable, it's just way more arcadey/popamole than it was originally, and that often feels weird.

Without doubt it's way to easy on normal level now. You can take out entire pods in 1 turn no sweat, especially when you have a hold of the Chosen weapons. But it is still fun doing that.

And ultimately it still boils down to one thing - set off a pod early in the turn & you win, set it off with one of your last moves and brace for buttfuck.

I'd give it a blast, but think they're taking the piss charging £35 for it tbh. It's a gimmicky side-spin of a DLC IMO, feels like Buck Rogers in the 25th century or Battlestar Galactica's 2nd series, and not worth the full price they charge.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Yeah, I don't like the idea of hero units in XCOM. That's not what XCOM is about to me.
XCOM is about ordinary soldiers fighting an uphill battle against a relentless enemy. Sure, your soldiers may get better, but they are still ultimately no-named cannon fodder.
I don't mind there being a new class, but branding them as "hero" units feel really off to me.

A hero unit to me is like those cheat characters in XCOM EU. Or Zhang.

But yeah, 35 for a DLC is bullshit. That appears to be the standard procedure nowadays; they charge you 50, then they expect you to pay 100 - 200 more for stuff that should have been (and is, in same cases) in the game to begin with.
See : Warhammer Total War, Stellaris, Crusader Kings, Mordheim, XCOM 2, Borderlands Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 2, etc etc

 

[Parabalus]

The hero units aren't even that good though, only at the very start. Once you pass mid-game regular classes are usually better.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

The hero units aren't even that good though, only at the very start. Once you pass mid-game regular classes are usually better.

Its still kind of gimmicky though. I mean, the heros don't start off as no-name grunts, do they? They have a backstory. They are from a super elite group of super cool resistance fighters, each with their own flashy style of combat.
That alone detracts from the XCOM feel. I want my soldiers to start off as nobodies so they may become heroes. If a unit already has a backstory where they are already meant to be a veteran soldier, where are they supposed to go from there? It just doesn't feel right to me.

Still not as bad as being able to control the Commander though, complete with DBZ powers and Vegeta hair. That was dumb.

 

[Falksi]

Yeah, I agree. You slog you're bollocks off getting Rookies to a much higher rank, and in doing so develop a rapport for them.

Next thing you know, boom - here's someone way better for no/little effort. It undermines both an element of connection & reward in the game.

 

[Parabalus]

Yeah, I agree. You slog you're bollocks off getting Rookies to a much higher rank, and in doing so develop a rapport for them.

Next thing you know, boom - here's someone way better for no/little effort. It undermines both an element of connection & reward in the game.

But they aren't better mechanically in-game. They're designed to appear cool AF, but presentation and gameplay are two separate issues.

 

[Falksi]

Yeah, I agree. You slog you're bollocks off getting Rookies to a much higher rank, and in doing so develop a rapport for them.

Next thing you know, boom - here's someone way better for no/little effort. It undermines both an element of connection & reward in the game.

But they aren't better mechanically in-game. They're designed to appear cool AF, but presentation and gameplay are two separate issues.

Yeah I know, it just cheapens the value of it all IMO.

 

[mastroego]

Ok I hear you guys.

Still, there's also the performance issue. XCOM vanilla runs horribly, the loading times are infuriating and so on.
So this is definitely another incentive to try to go the non-LW2 route.
What about class mods? I see there are a few, even LW-inspired. Can they go with the A Better series?

I'm thinking I might give it a try after all, despite the lousy sale discount.
I wouldn't be happy to encourage this pricing practice, but unless there's some decent equivalent game coming shortly... Is there, by chance?

 

[Parabalus]

Ok I hear you guys.

Still, there's also the performance issue. XCOM vanilla runs horribly, the loading times are infuriating and so on.
So this is definitely another incentive to try to go the non-LW2 route.
What about class mods? I see there are a few, even LW-inspired. Can they go with the A Better series?

I'm thinking I might give it a try after all, despite the lousy sale discount.
I wouldn't be happy to encourage this pricing practice, but unless there's some decent equivalent game coming shortly... Is there, by chance?

There is A Better Barracks which adds/uses some LW2 stuff, has 8 classes and overhauls psi. I played with it and was fun, if you're unsure play for a bit and decide on buying afterwards, I found WotC worth it myself.

 

[Zanzoken]

And ultimately it still boils down to one thing - set off a pod early in the turn & you win, set it off with one of your last moves and brace for buttfuck.

This is what I clicked on this thread to find out. Pod activation is decline, decline, decline and makes FiraXcom unplayable for me. I have no idea what the design goal is for such a retarded system.

 

[Falksi]

The hero units aren't even that good though, only at the very start. Once you pass mid-game regular classes are usually better.

It's not really about their quality, it's about the connection the player has with the squad.

When you "grow your own" you get to like or hate them either way. Being given a "hero" kinda negates the whole process.

And ultimately it still boils down to one thing - set off a pod early in the turn & you win, set it off with one of your last moves and brace for buttfuck.

This is what I clicked on this thread to find out. Pod activation is decline, decline, decline and makes FiraXcom unplayable for me. I have no idea what the design goal is for such a retarded system.

I mean, it is still fun regardless, but essentially it highlights even more how everything what you do all comes back to that.

One thing which helps is that the maps are VERY varied now, I've rarely come across the same one twice so pod activation feels more random.

 

[Parabalus]

The hero units aren't even that good though, only at the very start. Once you pass mid-game regular classes are usually better.

It's not really about their quality, it's about the connection the player has with the squad.

When you "grow your own" you get to like or hate them either way. Being given a "hero" kinda negates the whole process.

But the heroes grow in the same way, arguably they have a cooler skill system. They still have to go from squaddie to corporal like everyone else. They're heroes in name only. For me at least I didn't find them too special, YMMW as is obvious.

 

[Falksi]

But the heroes grow in the same way, arguably they have a cooler skill system. They still have to go from squaddie to corporal like everyone else. They're heroes in name only. For me at least I didn't find them too special, YMMW as is obvious.

We're obviously talking about different things. I'm talking about the characters you get which come pre-ranked after doing covert ops.

 

[lightbane]

So, for a first time XCUM2 player, should i use WOTC or not? What about mods? Are there those recommended for a first game that do not require the latest DLC installed?

 

[luinthoron]

But the heroes grow in the same way, arguably they have a cooler skill system. They still have to go from squaddie to corporal like everyone else. They're heroes in name only. For me at least I didn't find them too special, YMMW as is obvious.

We're obviously talking about different things. I'm talking about the characters you get which come pre-ranked after doing covert ops.

Same applies to any regular soldiers you get from missions or the black market later in the game as well, though.

So, for a first time XCUM2 player, should i use WOTC or not? What about mods? Are there those recommended for a first game that do not require the latest DLC installed?

Might be a good idea to play it without first. It's a nice addition, sure, but in some parts spoils the story if you're not already familiar with it and for some reason certain story-related Avenger banter shows up before the actual event that should trigger it (looking at you, Councilman).

 

[Falksi]

But the heroes grow in the same way, arguably they have a cooler skill system. They still have to go from squaddie to corporal like everyone else. They're heroes in name only. For me at least I didn't find them too special, YMMW as is obvious.

We're obviously talking about different things. I'm talking about the characters you get which come pre-ranked after doing covert ops.

Same applies to any regular soldiers you get from missions or the black market later in the game as well, though.

So, for a first time XCUM2 player, should i use WOTC or not? What about mods? Are there those recommended for a first game that do not require the latest DLC installed?

Might be a good idea to play it without first. It's a nice addition, sure, but in some parts spoils the story if you're not already familiar with it and for some reason certain story-related Avenger banter shows up before the actual event that should trigger it (looking at you, Councilman).

Yep, they're just as pointless & cheap IMO.

 

[Parabalus]

But the heroes grow in the same way, arguably they have a cooler skill system. They still have to go from squaddie to corporal like everyone else. They're heroes in name only. For me at least I didn't find them too special, YMMW as is obvious.

We're obviously talking about different things. I'm talking about the characters you get which come pre-ranked after doing covert ops.

You mean you have issues with getting higher ranked char from cover ops or as pick ups from the strategic map?
Dunno, never bothered me really. As you go later it's kinda unrealistic to rank up people from squaddie, and the stuff you pick up are worse than people you groomed yourself anyway.

So, for a first time XCUM2 player, should i use WOTC or not? What about mods? Are there those recommended for a first game that do not require the latest DLC installed?

If you have the DLCs you might wanna turn integration off, else it won't make much sense.

For mods Stop Wasting My Time and some other UI mods are okay. I like Gotcha Again but that might be a bit controversial.