You know that feeling. Your best Ranger, the one you spent three hours customizing with a neon-pink mohawk and a cigarette, has a 98% chance to hit a Sectoid from two feet away. You click. They miss. The Sectoid mind-controls your Grenadier, who then proceeds to launch a frag grenade at the rest of your squad. Welcome to XCOM.
But when we talk about XCOM 2 War of the Chosen, we aren't just talking about the base game's cruelty. We’re talking about a layer of beautiful, chaotic stress that Firaxis slapped on top of an already difficult game. Honestly, calling it "DLC" feels like calling a hurricane a "breeze." It completely rewires how the campaign feels.
If you haven't played it since the 2017 launch, or you're just looking at it now in 2026, the game has aged like a fine, extremely aggressive wine. It’s the definitive way to play, but it’s also a total sensory overload for the uninitiated.
The Three Horrors: Meeting the Chosen
Basically, the "Chosen" are three elite alien siblings who think they're the stars of their own Saturday morning cartoon. They show up during your regular missions, talk a massive amount of trash, and then proceed to make your life miserable. Unlike regular enemies, they have specific traits—randomly generated strengths and weaknesses—that change every single campaign.
- The Assassin: Everyone's least favorite. She’s a stealth-based nightmare who can run across half the map, stab your favorite soldier, and then disappear into thin air. She’s often immune to overwatch shots, which is just unfair.
- The Hunter: A sarcastic sniper who sits at the back of the map and marks your soldiers for death. He’s the easiest to deal with, mostly because he spends half the time making fun of his siblings.
- The Warlock: This guy is a psionic nerd. He stays in the back, summons exploding "Spectral Zombies," and mind-controls your team while monologuing about the Elders.
The scary part? They don’t just kill you. They can "Daze" your soldiers and kidnap them. I’ve lost a high-ranking Sharpshooter for months because the Assassin knocked him out and dragged him through a portal. You then have to launch a rescue mission to get them back, and trust me, that soldier is going to need a lot of therapy (and the infirmary) afterward.
📖 Related: Siegfried Persona 3 Reload: Why This Strength Persona Still Trivializes the Game
Those New Friends: The Resistance Factions
To fight the siblings, you get help from three new factions. These aren't just regular soldiers; they are "Hero" classes with abilities that feel like cheating.
- Reapers: These are the ultimate scouts. They use a special "Shadow" concealment that is way harder for aliens to detect. A high-level Reaper with the "Banish" ability can dump an entire magazine into a boss in one turn. It’s disgusting. It’s beautiful.
- Skirmishers: Former ADVENT soldiers who have a grappling hook and can shoot twice in one turn. They are all about mobility, but honestly, they tend to fall off a bit in the late game compared to the others.
- Templars: Psionic melee warriors who get stronger the more things they stab. They generate "Focus," which they can then spend to create clones of themselves or unleash massive lightning storms.
The social dynamic is a bit weird, though. The Reapers and Skirmishers hate each other’s guts. You have to spend half the game playing mediator through "Covert Actions" just to get them to work together.
The Strategy Layer is a Mess (But We Love It)
In the base game, you were mostly worried about the Avatar Project timer. In XCOM 2 War of the Chosen, the "strategy layer"—the map where you fly the Avenger around—is a chaotic to-do list that never ends.
You’re trying to build a Resistance Ring to send people on missions. You’re trying to clear out rooms. Suddenly, the Warlock sabotages your ship. Then the Lost (zombies, basically) show up in a city. Oh, and the Hunter just stole some of your supplies.
👉 See also: The Hunt: Mega Edition - Why This Roblox Event Changed Everything
It’s constant. You’ll find yourself staring at the Geoscape, paralyzed by choice. Do you go for the extra supplies, or do you send your tired Ranger on a covert op to make sure the Chosen doesn't track down your base? There is no right answer, only varying degrees of "oh no."
The "Lost" Factor
One of the most polarizing additions is "The Lost." These are the husks of people left in abandoned cities. They operate on a "headshot" mechanic—if you kill one, you get your action point back.
It sounds fun until you realize that every explosion you use (grenades, claymores, car fires) attracts more of them. Suddenly, a simple mission against ADVENT turns into a three-way brawl between your squad, the aliens, and sixty screaming zombies. It changes the meta completely. You stop bringing grenades and start bringing auto-loaders and expanded magazines.
Is it Better than the Original?
Nuance matters here. Some purists think XCOM 2 War of the Chosen is "too much." The tone shifts from a gritty resistance story to something a bit more "superhero-ish." The Chosen talk a lot. Sometimes you just want them to shut up so you can finish the mission.
✨ Don't miss: Why the GTA San Andreas Motorcycle is Still the Best Way to Get Around Los Santos
Technical performance was a huge issue at launch, too. However, by 2026, most of those stuttering issues and long load times have been patched out or solved by modern hardware. If you’re playing the "Collection" version, it’s remarkably smooth.
Actionable Tips for Not Dying
If you're jumping back in, here is how you actually survive the first ten hours without throwing your keyboard:
- Build the Resistance Ring immediately. It’s the most important building. It lets you hunt the Chosen and get powerful "Resistance Orders" (buffs like "timers don't start until you're revealed").
- Don't ignore the infirmary. Your soldiers get "tired" now. If you keep sending them out, they’ll develop phobias. No one wants a soldier who panics every time they see a Muton.
- Flashbangs are your best friend. They break the Chosen’s daze effect and cancel out some of their more annoying abilities.
- Prioritize the Assassin. Find her stronghold and kill her for good as soon as you are strong enough. Getting her "Arashi" shotgun and "Katana" sword makes your Rangers god-tier.
- Use the "Double Mission Timers" option in the Second Wave settings if you hate feeling rushed. It’s not cheating; it’s preserving your sanity.
The expansion doesn't just add content; it changes the soul of the game. It makes the world feel lived-in and the stakes feel personal. When you finally breach a Chosen’s stronghold and put them down for the last time, the relief is genuine. You’ve earned it. Now, go save the world—just try not to miss that 98% shot.
To get the most out of your next run, focus on leveling a Reaper early to handle scouting, which significantly reduces the chance of accidentally "pulling" two enemy groups at once. From there, prioritize researching Magnetic Weapons by the second month, or the health pools of the Chosen will quickly outpace your damage output.