XCOM 2 was already stressful. You’re managing a global resistance, watching your favorite snipers get murdered by thin air, and trying to stop an alien countdown clock that basically feels like a gun to your head. Then Firaxis released XCOM 2: War of the Chosen and everything got way more chaotic. It didn't just add a few maps or some new guns. It completely rewrote how the game feels. It’s messy, it’s loud, and honestly, it’s kind of a miracle it all works together as well as it does.
If you haven't played it in a while, you probably remember the Chosen. They’re these three "boss" enemies that hunt you across the campaign. They have personalities. They talk trash. They teleport into the middle of a mission you were just about to win and ruin your entire afternoon. But there’s so much more going on under the hood that people forget.
The Chosen Aren't Just Bosses—They're Stalkers
The Assassin, the Hunter, and the Warlock. They aren't like the Rulers from the Alien Hunters DLC who just react to every move you make. The Chosen are smarter. They have strengths and weaknesses that randomize every single time you start a new campaign. In one run, the Assassin might be immune to overwatch shots, making her a total nightmare to pin down. In another, she might take extra damage from melee attacks, which gives your Rangers a chance to actually do something.
They don't always try to kill you, either. Sometimes they just want to daze your soldiers and extract information. If they succeed, they gain knowledge. If they gain enough knowledge, they find the Avenger. If they find the Avenger, it's basically game over unless you win a very specific, very difficult defense mission. It adds this layer of "oh no" to every single encounter. You aren't just fighting for the objective anymore; you're fighting to keep your squad's brains from being scanned by a psychic alien general.
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Why the Lost Changed Everything
Then you have the Lost. These are basically zombies—humans who were caught in the initial invasion gas and have spent twenty years rotting in abandoned cities. They change the tactical math of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen completely. In a normal XCOM mission, you're terrified of pulling a second "pod" of enemies. You move slowly. You use cover. You pray to the RNG gods.
When the Lost are on the map, you throw the rulebook out the window. Every time you use an explosive, you attract more of them. But here's the kicker: they hate the aliens just as much as they hate you. You can literally use a grenade to summon a swarm of zombies onto a group of ADVENT troopers and just sit back and watch the carnage. It turns the game into a three-way faction war.
The "Headshot" mechanic is the real MVP here. If you kill a Lost with a standard shot, you get your action point back. You can chain together ten, twelve kills with a single soldier if you're smart about it. It makes you feel like a god, right until your gun clicks empty and there are still fifteen zombies surrounding your specialist.
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The Resistance Factions: Your New Best Friends
You aren't alone anymore. The Reaper, Skirmisher, and Templar factions are easily the coolest part of the expansion.
- Reapers are stealth masters. They have a "Shadow" mode that is way more effective than standard concealment. They can stay hidden while literally standing three tiles away from an alien. Plus, they can blow up environmental hazards for massive damage without being spotted.
- Skirmishers are former ADVENT soldiers. They have grappling hooks. They can shoot twice in one turn. They are all about mobility and action economy.
- Templars are the weird ones. They use psychic blades and build up "Focus" with every kill. By the end of a mission, a high-level Templar is basically a Jedi, reflecting bullets and creating psychic clones of themselves.
The dynamic between these groups is actually pretty interesting. They don't like each other. You have to send your soldiers on "Covert Actions" to build trust and unlock perks. These missions happen in the background, but they're vital. You get things like "Resistance Orders" that can completely break the game in your favor—like making it so the mission timer doesn't start until you're actually spotted.
The Fatigue Problem (And Why It's Good)
In the base game, you usually ended up with one "A-Team." You had six super-soldiers you took on every mission while everyone else sat on the bench. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen fixes this with the Tired mechanic. Even if your soldier doesn't take a single point of damage, they get mentally exhausted. If you send a tired soldier back out, they might develop "Negative Traits."
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Maybe they start panicking every time they see a Muton. Maybe they reload their gun at random times because they're nervous. It forces you to actually care about your "B-Team" and "C-Team." You need a deep roster. You need to manage your personnel like a real commander, not just a babysitter for six elite snipers.
The Bonding System is a Heartbreaker
Soldiers now form bonds. If they go on enough missions together, they get perks. They can give each other extra actions. They can clear each other's mental statuses. It sounds great until one of them dies. If a soldier sees their "Bondmate" get killed, they often go into a berserk rage. They lose control. It makes the permadeath aspect of XCOM feel way more personal. You aren't just losing a Colonel; you're losing the best friend of your other Colonel, and now that guy is useless for the next three missions because he's mourning.
Dealing with the Performance Issues
Look, we have to be honest. When this expansion first launched, it was a bit of a mess. Load times were astronomical. The "Photo Booth" feature, while fun for making propaganda posters of your squad, seemed to bog down the engine. However, the 2026 state of the game on modern hardware is night and day. If you're playing on a modern PC or even a current-gen console, those minute-long loading screens are basically gone. The game runs smoother than it ever did at launch.
Practical Strategies for 2026 Players
If you're jumping back in or trying this for the first time, don't play like it's vanilla XCOM 2. You will get crushed.
- Rush the Resistance Ring. Build this room first. It's how you access Covert Actions. Without it, you can't hunt the Chosen, and you can't get the best buffs in the game. It is non-negotiable.
- Focus on the Assassin first. In almost every playthrough, she is the biggest threat. She can move, strike, and vanish back into the fog of war. Find her stronghold and take her out as soon as you have Tier 2 weapons. Her sword, the Katana, is the best melee weapon in the game because it literally cannot miss.
- Don't ignore the infirmary. With the tiredness mechanic and the new wounds, you need a way to get people back in the field.
- Use the Lost as a shield. If you're overwhelmed by ADVENT, use a grenade to break the floor or a wall. The noise will draw the Lost. Let them tie up the enemy while you retreat or reposition.
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is a maximalist game. It adds layers upon layers of systems, and while it can feel overwhelming at hour ten, by hour forty, you realize how much depth it actually provides. It’s about the stories you tell. Like the time your Templar missed a 98% shot, got punched by a Berserker, and was then saved by a Reaper who blew up a car from half a map away. That’s the XCOM experience.
Next Steps for Your Campaign
- Check your mod list: If you are on PC, the "Long War of the Chosen" mod is the definitive way to play if you want a 100-hour campaign that tests every fiber of your being.
- Prioritize the "Between the Eyes" Resistance Order: This makes every hit on a Lost an instant kill. It turns those missions from a slog into a power fantasy.
- Hunt the Chosen early: Don't let them reach max knowledge. The weapons you get from their corpses (the Darkclaw, the Arasaka-style Katana, and the Disruptor Rifle) are significantly better than anything you can build in the lab.
- Watch the Breakthroughs: Randomly, your scientists will offer a "Breakthrough" research project. Always check these. A permanent +1 damage to all assault rifles is worth pausing your main research for.