Taming the Tyrants: A Commander’s Guide to Stopping the Chosen in XCOM 2
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So, you’re staring down the barrel of an ADVENT blaster, the Chosen are breathing down your neck, and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance? Welcome to XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Don’t despair, Commander! Defeating these persistent and powerful adversaries is crucial to liberating Earth. The key to stopping the Chosen lies in a multi-pronged approach: identifying and exploiting their weaknesses, dismantling their knowledge network, and ultimately, storming their strongholds.
The Three-Pronged Strategy
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Unmask Their Weaknesses: Each Chosen has a unique set of strengths, weaknesses, and resistances. These aren’t always immediately obvious. Experiment with different weapon types, abilities, and tactics to uncover their vulnerabilities. For example, the Assassin might be weak to explosives, while the Hunter could be vulnerable to melee attacks (despite the generic “Immune: Melee” trait some Chosen might possess at some point in their evolution). The game cleverly uses the Knowledge system to simulate learning their strengths and weaknesses.
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Sever Their Information Flow: The Chosen gain strength by gathering knowledge about XCOM. This information is represented by a bar in the Geoscape. The higher the bar, the more powerful they become, and the more likely they are to launch an attack on the Avenger. Completing Covert Actions targeting the Chosen, such as raiding their communication network or sabotaging their operations, significantly reduces their knowledge. This buys you time and weakens them.
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Assault Their Strongholds: Mounting an assault on the hidden bases belonging to each of three members of the Chosen is the only way to permanently put them down. Until each base is located and stormed, and the Chosen inside defeated, they will keep showing up on missions in their territory. These missions are challenging, requiring careful planning and execution. Bring your A-team, exploit the Chosen’s weaknesses, and be prepared for a tough fight. Once their base is destroyed, they are removed from the game.
Understanding Your Enemy: The Chosen
Each Chosen presents a unique set of challenges. Here’s a breakdown of their tactics and how to counter them:
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The Assassin: This stealthy foe relies on concealment, close-quarters combat, and debilitating abilities like blinding grenades. Reapers are possibly the best class to use against her, as they can move quickly and spot her while in Shadow, and their Target Definition ability allows them to keep her spotted even when she reenters stealth after an attack. High-ground advantage and explosives are also effective against her. She uses a Katana.
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The Hunter: A long-range marksman with a penchant for traps and debilitating shots, the Hunter excels at picking off isolated targets. Heavy armor, high cover, and suppression tactics are crucial for mitigating his effectiveness. Bring along a specialist to heal his shots. He uses a sniper rifle.
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The Warlock: This psionic powerhouse can mind control your soldiers, summon spectral zombies, and unleash devastating psionic attacks. Psi Operatives are your best counter, as they can disrupt his psionic abilities. Flashbangs and suppression can also help control him. He uses a rifle.
Essential Tactics for Chosen Encounters
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Overwatch Traps: Setting up Overwatch ambushes can be highly effective against Chosen, especially the Assassin who likes to rush into close range.
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High Ground Advantage: Elevate your soldiers for improved accuracy and defense, especially against the Assassin whose weaknesses encourages soldiers to seek high ground.
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Suppression and Flashbangs: These abilities can disrupt the Chosen’s actions and buy you valuable time.
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Armor Shredding: Reducing the Chosen’s armor makes them more vulnerable to subsequent attacks.
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Exploiting Weaknesses: As mentioned, discovering and exploiting the Chosen’s weaknesses is paramount to victory. Adapt your squad composition and tactics accordingly.
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Target Definition: The Reaper’s target definition is extremely powerful.
The Long War: Managing Resources and Research
Defeating the Chosen is not just about individual battles; it’s about winning the war. This requires careful resource management and strategic research.
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Prioritize Covert Actions: Regularly send your soldiers on Covert Actions to weaken the Chosen, gather intel, and gain valuable resources.
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Strategic Research: Focus your research on technologies that provide an advantage against the Chosen, such as improved armor, weapons, and psionic abilities.
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Building Resistance Alliances: The War of the Chosen introduces new resistance factions, each with unique strengths and abilities. Building alliances with these factions provides valuable bonuses and support.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Stopping the Chosen
How do you counter a Chosen Assassin?
Reapers are exceptionally effective due to their Shadow ability, which allows them to scout and maintain vision on the Assassin, even when she’s concealed. Target Definition also helps keep her spotted.
Can you play XCOM 2 without War of the Chosen?
Yes, you can play the base version of XCOM 2 without the War of the Chosen expansion. However, War of the Chosen is intended to integrate into XCom 2. So it is not a matter of playing them in a particular order. Many consider it the definitive XCOM 2 experience, adding depth, challenges, and replayability.
What happens if a Chosen finds the Avenger?
When the Chosen gather enough information, they can launch an assault on the Avenger. When the gauge reaches maximum, the Chosen can randomly decide to assault the Avenger in their territory and force it to crash-land, triggering this mission. Defending the Avenger is crucial to prevent significant setbacks.
Is the Chosen immune to melee damage?
While individual Chosen may possess the Immunity: Melee trait, not all of them are inherently immune. The Hunter, for example, is often weak to it.
Did the Chosen used to be human?
Yes, it is hinted at by their voice lines and confirmed in the archives within the Commander’s Quarters that the Chosen were once human, changed into what they are now by the Elders.
Can you lose Chosen weapons XCOM 2?
Yes, the Chosen weapons are unique and cannot be replicated and will be permanently lost if the soldier equipped with them is killed and not evacuated. Always prioritize evacuating soldiers carrying Chosen weapons if they are in danger.
Is XCOM 2 better with War of the Chosen?
Most players consider XCOM 2 to be significantly better with War of the Chosen. It adds a substantial amount of content, including new enemies, factions, and gameplay mechanics.
Should I start with War of the Chosen or XCOM 2?
It’s recommended to start with the base XCOM 2 game to familiarize yourself with the core mechanics. However, many will advise jumping straight into War of the Chosen due to the improvements it brings.
When should I fight the Chosen?
The Chosen do not show up until after you break concealment. Once a Chosen arrives, the mission timer will be suspended. Chosen have a ton of HP, and cannot be controlled. If other enemies are active, you will want to kill them first, and your squad will be unable to focus on the Chosen.
What is the most powerful weapon in XCOM 2?
When it comes to damage per shot, the Plasma Bolt Caster is at the top of the list in XCOM 2; at least among the standard (non-heavy) weapons.
What is the weakness of the Assassin in XCOM?
Weaknesses are procedurally generated, but there are notable mentions when paired to The Assassin: Groundling: This encourages soldiers to seek high ground while someone (preferable a Reaper) move around to try break her concealment.
What is The Chosen spawn rate in XCOM 2?
Once a Chosen is encountered, it has 0% chance to appear on the next two missions, 50% chance to appear on the 3rd, and a 100% chance to appear on the fourth. Missions outside of guerilla missions may contain divergences.
Who is the strongest character in XCOM 2?
Reaper.
Who is the strongest enemy in XCOM 2?
The enemy with the strongest melee attack in XCOM 2 is undoubtedly the Berserker.
What happens if you ignore a retaliation strike XCOM 2?
Failing or ignoring a Retaliation Strike will scatter the Resistance in that region of the world. Contact with the region will be lost and must be reestablished, any radio relays in the region will be destroyed, and the income of the region will be permanently reduced.
Conclusion: Become the Master Strategist
The Chosen are formidable foes, but with careful planning, strategic thinking, and a willingness to adapt, you can overcome them and secure victory for XCOM. Remember to exploit their weaknesses, disrupt their information networks, and ultimately, storm their strongholds. Good luck, Commander! The fate of humanity rests on your shoulders.
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