XCOM 2’s Creative Director, Jake Solomon, took to the PC Gaming Show at E3 to announce and detail the next expansion for the title, and it’s a doozy.
War of the Chosen, which launches on Xbox One, PC, and PS4 on the 29th of August, is the largest and most ambitious expansion in Firaxis’ time handling the IP.
Speaking on the PC Gaming Show stage Creative Director Jake Solomon detailed the new expansion, it’s three new factions, the three enemy champions who are out to reclaim The Commander, and The Lost.
The three new factions are other resistance groups seeking to gain ground against advent, each have their own techniques in combat (they are essentially new classes) however must be appeased before being brought on board. The Reapers are stealth marksmen, and exceptionally effective saboteurs; The Skirmishers are defects from Advent’s forces, mutilated and genetically modified they put their physical, brute strength and human will to great use as shock troopers; and, The Templars, psionic characters who gain power as they attack in combat, this combat makes them more effective in combat, but can also be spent on deadly, powerful attacks.
Up against those factions are The Chosen, three alien champions sent in explicitly to capture you, each have their own personality, and each get more powerful every time you fight them in a system which can only really be compared to Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system. The Assassin combines stealth and close-quarters combat, The Hunter is a long-range sniper, and The Warlock wields powerful combat abilities.
Aside from the above, and new environments, story elements, and weapons, the game adds one more major feature, one specifically tied to the fallen cities of Earth: The Lost.
The Lost are what is left of the humans who were in the cities destroyed when the aliens successfully invaded Earth 20 years prior — shortly after the start of the first XCOM, in this timeline. Heavily irradiated, and practically mindless, The Lost attack in large, seemingly endless droves once they are aware that prey is afoot. This might mean that you are set up to spring an ambush on an opposing faction, however when you do all of your positions are forfeit due to waves of Lost flanking your positions.
In a way it adds a zombie-horde element to levels which disrupts advanced player tactics. It can also, of course, work in the player’s favour as they are not preferential about what they attack.
You can find the announce trailer for XCOM 2: War of the chosen below, and can check out the full presentation on the PC Gamer Youtube channel, here.
War of the Chosen releases on August 29th for PC, Xbox One & PS4.
