Leveling Up Your Soldiers in XCOM 2: A Comprehensive Guide
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Leveling up your soldiers in XCOM 2 is crucial for success against the alien invaders. Simply put, soldiers gain experience (XP) and level up by participating in missions and performing actions within those missions. This progression is essential for unlocking powerful new abilities, increasing their effectiveness, and allowing them to take on more challenging threats. The primary way soldiers gain XP is through mission assists and defeating enemies. Specifically, each mission assist is worth 1 XP, while killing an enemy grants XP based on the soldier’s class multiplier. For example, a Specialist kill awards 3 XP, a Ranger kill awards 4 XP, and a Sharpshooter or Grenadier kill awards 5 XP.
How Soldier Levels Impact Gameplay
The growth of your soldiers is fundamental to your success in XCOM 2. As they level up, they progress through the ranks: Rookie, Squaddie, Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and finally Colonel. Each level unlocks access to a new tier of abilities within their chosen class, letting you customize their skillsets to suit your specific playstyle and strategic needs. This means you can enhance their damage output, survivability, support capabilities, or utility, turning them into highly effective members of your squad.
Maximizing XP Gains
Understanding how XP is awarded will allow you to strategically use your soldiers in combat. Here are a few tips:
- Spread the Wealth: Don’t rely on one or two soldiers to get all the kills. Try to involve all your squad members in the fight, allowing everyone to gain XP. This is especially crucial for your lower-ranked soldiers that need to catch up with more experienced veterans.
- Focus Fire Strategically: While spreading kills is good, sometimes focusing fire is necessary to quickly eliminate dangerous threats. Try to balance spreading XP while also removing dangerous enemies.
- Mission Assists Count: Don’t overlook the 1 XP from assists. Even if a soldier doesn’t directly kill enemies, they can still contribute to their XP growth by providing cover, using support abilities, or performing other actions.
- High-Risk Missions: Difficult missions, though risky, often present a greater number of enemies. This can lead to a higher overall XP reward for your entire squad if successful.
- Combat Intelligence: In the War of the Chosen DLC, Combat Intelligence plays a crucial role. It increases how quickly your soldiers earn Ability Points (AP). This lets you buy abilities outside of the traditional level-up system. If you have this feature enabled, prioritize missions and actions that will give the most AP, which will help you gain experience faster.
- Train in the Training Center: The Training Center in the War of the Chosen DLC lets soldiers train and gain levels in a controlled environment, which is an invaluable way to quickly level up your troops.
Strategic Soldier Development
It is important not only to level up soldiers, but to also develop them correctly:
- Class Specialization: Choose classes that complement each other. A team of all rangers is not as good as a balanced team.
- Ability Point Spending: Spend AP wisely, choosing abilities that align with your strategic approach and the soldier’s specific role. Consider each skill before committing to a choice.
- Equipment: Equip your soldiers with the best gear available to enhance their effectiveness in combat. Weapons upgrades, armor upgrades and utility items all will help your soldiers earn XP, especially during high-risk missions.
- Rotation is Key: Do not forget to rotate your squad. Use veteran soldiers while you are leveling up new recruits, in order to make sure all troops are prepared for challenges.
- Don’t be Afraid to Lose Some: It’s an unfortunate reality of XCOM 2 that soldiers are lost in combat. While difficult, do not hesitate to use less experienced troops. Their loss is not devastating, but their XP gain may be very important to you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some common questions players have about soldier leveling in XCOM 2:
1. What are the soldier classes in XCOM 2?
XCOM 2 features various soldier classes, including Ranger, Grenadier, Sharpshooter, Specialist, Reaper, Templar, Skirmisher, and Psy-Operative, each with unique abilities and roles on the battlefield.
2. Is there a ‘best’ class in XCOM 2?
Many players consider the Reaper as the strongest class due to their stealth abilities and powerful attacks. However, other classes like the Grenadier for area control and the Ranger for direct damage are also highly effective. The ‘best’ class depends on individual play style and strategy.
3. How many soldiers should I have?
On Easy or Normal difficulty, having about 12 soldiers is sufficient. For higher difficulties like Impossible, it’s recommended to have around 24 or more soldiers to manage fatigue, injuries, and casualties.
4. How do mission assists contribute to leveling?
A “mission assist” in XCOM 2 means a soldier contributed to the mission. This includes things like spotting enemies, hacking, moving into positions, and many other actions during a mission. Every action you take contributes to your experience.
5. Can you carry dead soldiers?
Yes, soldiers can carry unconscious, dead, or bleeding out units. This is crucial for rescuing wounded comrades or recovering fallen gear.
6. What is the best team composition in XCOM 2?
A balanced mid-game team can include two Rangers, one Specialist, one Grenadier, and one Sharpshooter. This mix offers solid offensive capabilities, support, and utility.
7. What happens if I use a tired soldier?
Tired soldiers have a higher chance of Panicking if a squadmate is hurt. They cannot become Obsessed.
8. Can I rescue captured soldiers?
Yes, if a soldier is captured, they will appear as a VIP in a Council Mission or Rescue Soldier Covert Operation. Upon completion of the rescue mission, the captured soldiers will return.
9. What is the max force level in XCOM 2?
The Force Level ranges from 1 to 20, with 1 being the weakest enemy spawns and 20 being the strongest.
10. What is the most powerful weapon in XCOM 2?
The Plasma Bolt Caster is considered one of the most powerful standard weapons due to its high damage per shot, but it requires reloading after each shot.
11. What is the best enemy to mind control?
Mutons, Heavy Floaters, and Muton Elites are good targets for Mind Control because they have low Will and can cause significant damage to their comrades.
12. What happens if I ignore guerilla ops?
Ignoring Guerilla Ops will trigger the associated Dark Events in quick succession, potentially making the game more difficult.
13. Does time matter in XCOM 2?
Yes, XCOM 2 has a “doomsday meter,” where the aliens build a structure that increases time until defeat. This meter ticks upwards based on the structures the aliens build.
14. Can I lose Chosen weapons?
Yes, Chosen weapons can be permanently lost if the soldier carrying them is killed and not evacuated.
15. Is there an end to XCOM 2?
Yes, XCOM 2 has a final mission that concludes the campaign. However, the game will continue to spawn side missions if you don’t do the final mission. You never have to end the game if you do not want to.
By understanding how soldiers level up and how to maximize their XP gain, you’ll be better equipped to lead your squad and reclaim Earth from the alien invaders in XCOM 2. Good luck, Commander!