XCOM 2 News

XCOM 2 gets a Free Weekend plus a MASSIVE discount

XCOM 2 is still to this day one of my absolute favourite strategy games, and now you can experience it free for a whole weekend and get it cheap if you want to continue with it.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/02/xcom-2-gets-a-free-weekend-plus-a-massive-discount

XCOM 2: WAR OF THE CHOSEN PLAY FOR FREE

Play XCOM 2: WAR OF THE CHOSEN for FREE on Steam this weekend. Reclaim Earth from alien invaders and save humanity!

XCOM 2 available to buy at a discounted price through 2/14/22

https://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/XCOM_2/

Twenty years have passed since Earth's leaders offered an unconditional surrender to alien forces. XCOM, the planet’s last line of defense, was left decimated and scattered. The aliens rule Earth, building shining cities that promise a brilliant future for humanity on the surface, while concealing a sinister agenda and eliminating all who dissent from their new order.

Always on the run, and facing impossible odds, the remnant XCOM forces must find a way to eliminate the alien threat once and for all. That's where you come in:

TAKE COMMAND of the Avenger, an alien supply craft converted to serve as XCOM's mobile and customizable headquarters.
RECRUIT RESISTANCE FIGHTERS with five distinct skill trees and assemble the perfect squad to fit your playstyle and execute your tactical plans.
RESEARCH, DEVELOP AND UPGRADE weapons and armor for your soldiers aboard the Avenger. Turn the aliens' technology against them!
TACKLE UNIQUE MISSIONS around the world, from wildlands to the hearts of alien-controlled megacities and the depths of alien installations. Countless combinations of maps, missions, and goals await.
EMPLOY GUERRILLA TACTICS to ambush alien patrols, loot enemy gear and artifacts, and rescue fallen comrades and VIPs.
CONFRONT POWERFUL ENEMIES including previously unseen alien species and the regime's ADVENT peacekeeping forces.
TEST YOUR SKILLS in head-to-head multiplayer battles that pit squids of humans and aliens against each other on randomly generated maps.

Ex-XCOM developers open new studio dedicated to turn-based tactics games

A small group of former Firaxis developers who worked on the XCOM games, led by the series' art director, have opened a new studio dedicated to making turn-based tactics games. Bit Reactor is their name, and turn-based tactics really is their only type of game. They haven't announced any specific game yet but say they have several titles in development.

Want to know more about the best XCOM 2 class builds? Victory is impossible without your soldiers. They are your first and only line of defence, sabotaging ADVENT activities in guerrilla raids, protecting civilians from retaliation, and acquiring intelligence regarding the alien threat. This game is considered a poster-child for turn-based strategy for a reason, but it's by no means a walk in the park.

Each soldier in XCOM 2 can specialise in one of four classes (plus some advanced builds from the War of the Chosen expansion and the psi-ops class), and it can be hard to navigate the nuances of each individual class given the options you have. Each new class has a direct analogue in Enemy Unknown, but can be used for different roles.

For each of the four fundamental classes, there are basic abilities your soldiers are given as soon as they leave rookiedom behind and become squaddies. Then, with every additional rank, you're given a choice between two skills from parallel disciplines. Luckily for you we're here to share with you some of the best strategies and biggest no-nos of each XCOM 2 class build.

Read the rest of the story...

The best XCOM 2 mods

Firaxis is a big supporter of XCOM 2 mods, and while the studio has now left the community to their own devices, it has also made it so easy for modders to change the whole game. Showing its commitment to the fans, Firaxis actually teamed up with Pavonis Interactive (the creators of the original Long War mod for Enemy Unknown) to make sure that the modding tools were as streamlined as they could be before releasing them into the wild.

Below is a selection of some of our favourite mods from the venerable turn-based strategy game, although it's worth pointing out this is a slightly fragmented list due to the slightly weird nature of the XCOM 2 DLC library.

The difference between vanilla XCOM 2 and War of the Chosen is a little bit like night and day, so the modding objectives for both versions of the game can be quite different. A mod for one won't necessarily work for the other without some tinkering. Some mods on our list have versions available for both, and we've marked them where relevant.