How to Disable Alien Rulers in XCOM 2: A Comprehensive Guide
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The Alien Rulers are formidable foes in XCOM 2, added by the Alien Hunters DLC. Their unique mechanics can be both challenging and frustrating, often prompting players to seek ways to disable them. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of how you can avoid these powerful enemies and what options you have to manage them:
The most direct way to disable Alien Rulers is to disable the Alien Hunters DLC completely before starting a new campaign. This prevents the rulers and their related story missions from ever appearing in your game. You can do this by navigating to your game library settings (such as Steam) and toggling off the DLC pack. Alternatively, in some platforms, you can do this directly through the game’s settings menu if available. By doing so, the related content including the alien rulers, associated weapons, and the initial story mission are never triggered.
Understanding Your Options
There are multiple ways to control, if not entirely disable, the influence of Alien Rulers on your XCOM 2 gameplay. Each approach offers a different experience and level of challenge. Here’s a closer look at the available methods:
Disabling the DLC
The most definitive method is to disable the Alien Hunters DLC at the platform level. This ensures that none of the Alien Hunter content, including the Alien Rulers, appears in your game. This effectively removes them from the campaign and ensures that you don’t stumble into them during gameplay.
- Platform Settings: This involves going into your game library settings (e.g., on Steam, PlayStation or Xbox) and toggling off the Alien Hunters DLC. Doing this completely removes the DLC and associated content from your game load.
- Game Menu (if available): Some platform versions may also have an option within the game settings to enable or disable individual DLC packs. You should look for an ‘Expansion Packs’ menu, in the game settings, and then use the corresponding toggles.
- Note: Once disabled, you need to relaunch the game for the changes to take effect.
Avoiding the DLC Mission
Another method to avoid the Alien Rulers, albeit less definitive, is to simply not trigger the Alien Hunters DLC mission. This is the initial mission that introduces the Alien Rulers into your campaign. If you don’t complete the mission, the Alien Rulers won’t appear randomly on the world map later on.
- No Story Mission: Without the introductory mission, the Alien Rulers won’t be part of your regular battles or randomly spawn in missions.
- DLC Content: While you are avoiding the rulers, you will also not obtain the special hunter weapons, which are rewarded for the mission.
Managing Alien Ruler Encounters
Even if you choose to play with the DLC enabled, it’s important to strategize and manage your encounters with these potent foes.
- Scouting: Using a Psi Operative with Stasis to quickly neutralize the rulers on first encounter is a good method.
- Ranger Positioning: If the ruler is accompanied by other aliens, eliminate the pod first and position the Ranger for maximum shotgun hit chances.
- Repeater Strategy: Equipping your soldiers with Repeaters can provide a chance of instantly killing a ruler upon hit. The Reaper’s Banish ability works exceptionally well with this.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some common questions players have about disabling and managing Alien Rulers in XCOM 2:
1. Can I disable Alien Hunters DLC mid-campaign?
No, you cannot disable the DLC mid-campaign. The DLC needs to be enabled or disabled before starting a new campaign. Once a campaign has started with the DLC enabled, it cannot be removed for that particular save.
2. Will disabling the Alien Hunters DLC affect my existing save files?
Disabling the DLC will not affect existing save files, but the disabled content (Rulers, weapons) will remain absent from the specific save. Any save file started with the DLC will continue to be affected by it. It is best to avoid disabling mid-campaign because it may cause conflicts in the data of that save.
3. Can I disable War of the Chosen in a similar way?
Yes, you can disable War of the Chosen DLC using the same method as Alien Hunters. By disabling it, you won’t have to play its story missions. Disabling War of the Chosen will change the starting squad, giving you a random faction soldier, and will make the Chosen encounters random.
4. How do I re-enable DLCs that I have disabled?
You can re-enable a DLC by going back to your platform’s settings (Steam, PlayStation, or Xbox) or the in-game options if available and toggling the DLC back on. Relaunch the game for the changes to take effect.
5. What happens if I trigger the Alien Hunters mission and then disable the DLC?
If you have triggered the mission and then disable the DLC in the platform, it is likely that the content will not be removed from the savegame. It's recommended to make the decision prior to starting a campaign to avoid any issues or conflicts.
6. What if I want the DLC weapons, but I don’t want the Rulers?
Unfortunately, obtaining the special weapons and avoiding the rulers is not possible. The introductory story mission must be played to acquire the weapons and upon completion of that mission, rulers will appear in the campaign.
7. How do I defeat Alien Rulers if I choose to keep the DLC enabled?
Using a **Psi Op with Stasis**, positioning your Ranger for high hit chance with shotguns, and utilizing weapons with Repeaters and the Reapers' Banish ability are very effective strategies.
8. Which Alien Ruler is considered the hardest?
The **Archon King** is widely considered the hardest due to its powerful abilities and aggressive behavior.
9. Can Alien Rulers be instantly killed?
Yes, it is possible for an Alien Ruler to be instantly killed by the activation of the Repeater weapon upgrade.
10. Will the Alien Rulers appear multiple times in the campaign if they are not defeated?
Yes, Alien Rulers will reappear in future missions if they escape or retreat. It is not advisable to let them run away since this will only make them more dangerous.
11. Does playing on a lower difficulty make the Alien Rulers easier to deal with?
Yes, Alien Rulers will have less health, lower armor, and do less damage in easier difficulty settings.
12. How do I avoid the Alien Rulers if I don’t want to disable the entire DLC?
The most common advice is to simply avoid the story mission which is tied to their introduction to the game. But remember, by avoiding the mission you will also be losing on the unique alien hunting weapons.
13. Is it possible to completely remove the Alien Rulers from my XCOM 2 game through mods?
Yes, there are mods that can completely remove the Alien Rulers or modify their behavior, depending on what you want. However, the game needs to be on a PC platform to use those mods, consoles will not be able to use mods.
14. How does the presence of Alien Rulers affect the difficulty of the game?
They significantly increase the difficulty, especially in the early to mid-game, due to their unique reaction mechanics and high health pools. It is very important to be prepared for a fight against these aliens.
15. Is it possible to use “cheats” to remove them?
While there are console commands and cheat tools available for the PC platform, using cheats can significantly change the game experience and are not advisable for a proper playthrough. It is best to deal with the rulers in the intended way.
By understanding these methods and strategies, you can tailor your XCOM 2 experience to match your desired level of challenge and enjoyment, whether that means disabling Alien Rulers altogether or learning to master their complex combat mechanics.