The Brutal Truth: What Happens When You Lose a Mission in XCOM 2?
Losing a mission in XCOM 2 can be a gut-wrenching experience, especially for new commanders. Unlike many games, failure in XCOM 2 has tangible consequences that extend beyond a simple “game over” screen. The impact of a mission loss ripples through your entire campaign, affecting your resources, soldier morale, and overall strategic position against the alien occupation. In short, losing a mission in XCOM 2 is never good, but the exact ramifications vary depending on the mission type.
Essentially, failing a mission in XCOM 2 means you failed to achieve your objective within that specific mission. This could range from failing to secure a VIP to allowing the aliens to complete their objective. You do not immediately lose the game upon losing a mission. Instead, you will be taken back to your base where you will need to figure out how to move forward strategically. The core consequences fall under three main categories: Immediate Losses, Strategic Setbacks, and Specific Mission Impacts.
Immediate Losses
Loss of Soldiers
The most immediate and often most painful consequence is the potential loss of your soldiers. If a soldier dies on a mission and cannot be evacuated, they are gone for good. This loss is particularly devastating when it involves highly-ranked veterans with valuable skills and gear. Soldiers who are bleeding out will also be lost if they are not evacuated before they are out of time. While you can recover equipment if you can get the fallen soldier to the evac zone, their unique traits and skillsets are gone forever. This loss can hurt the overall strength of your squad, causing tactical setbacks in future missions.
Resource Drain
Another immediate loss involves the resources expended on the failed mission. Every mission requires ammunition, supplies, and sometimes special equipment. If you do not succeed in completing the mission, you have essentially thrown these resources away with no return, and it’s extremely detrimental to your campaign to continuously waste resources. Failing also means you likely did not gain the resources awarded for success. This can slow down research, weapon upgrades, and squad development.
Strategic Setbacks
Increased Alien Activity
Failing missions in XCOM 2 can indirectly empower the alien forces. As the resistance struggles, the aliens may become more aggressive and initiate more Dark Events, which add negative modifiers to your campaign. These events can result in more difficult missions, reduced income, or even increased research times.
Region Control
Losing certain missions can even have long-term strategic consequences for the area. For example, failing or ignoring a Retaliation Strike will scatter the resistance in that region, permanently reducing the region’s income and requiring you to reestablish contact from scratch. If you lose a Supply Raid, you also lose contact with that region. Such setbacks can significantly impact your funding and ability to conduct covert operations.
Research Slowdown
Failure can also slow your progress in the science and engineering departments. If you lose a mission that could have provided important intel or research progress, it sets you back, allowing the aliens more time to advance their technology. This setback can be incredibly damaging later in the game as you might not be able to keep up with enemy advancements.
Specific Mission Impacts
The impact of a lost mission can also vary significantly depending on the type of mission you are undertaking. Some missions are more critical to your campaign than others, and their loss can be more detrimental. Here are a few examples:
Story Missions
Failing core story missions can have unique consequences. For example, losing some story missions will mean you will be forced to face the chosen in the final mission and losing some can just mean that you must restart it, but that does mean you still wasted resources and potentially lost soldiers.
DLC Missions
Failing a DLC mission can potentially stop the ability to complete the DLC’s quest line, thereby stopping you from acquiring special gear and upgrades.
Retaliation Strikes
As previously noted, failure in these missions can have far-reaching strategic implications, damaging your ability to connect with resistance in that area.
Guerilla Ops
While failing a Guerilla Op means that its associated dark event will trigger, this might not be immediately devastating but can make your campaign more challenging over time.
The Bottom Line
Losing a mission in XCOM 2 is part of the game. The game is meant to be challenging and players will fail. However, understanding the consequences of these failures is critical. It’s a game of learning from your mistakes, adapting your tactics, and pushing forward in the face of overwhelming odds. Unlike some games, it isn’t simply “game over.” Rather it will be a test of your ability to recover and strategize while on the path to defeating the alien threat.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is losing a soldier in XCOM 2 game-ending?
No, losing a soldier, even a high-ranking one, is not game-ending, it’s simply detrimental. You will be forced to keep training rookies and adapt, but the game is not over. It does, however, severely impact your tactical capabilities and overall strategic depth.
2. What happens if I lose the Chosen mission in War of the Chosen?
If you fail the chosen mission, XCOM loses, meaning you will not be able to move forward with the campaign and will be given the end game screen. The Commander will not be able to continue. If you do not defeat the Chosen by the Alien Fortress Assault, they will appear during that mission, and you will not be able to progress until they are defeated.
3. Can I lose Chosen Weapons in XCOM 2?
Yes, if a soldier wielding a Chosen weapon dies and is not evacuated, that weapon is lost permanently. These are unique and irreplaceable, making soldier evacuation crucial.
4. What happens if I skip a Retaliation Strike?
Skipping or failing a Retaliation Strike will scatter the Resistance in that region. You will lose contact with the region, the region will lose its income, and any radio relays will be destroyed.
5. Can I skip missions in XCOM 2?
Yes, you can skip missions, especially Guerilla Ops and supply raids. However, skipped council missions and retaliation strikes will cause you to lose contact with the region.
6. What happens if I skip a supply raid mission?
Skipping a supply raid will cause you to lose contact with the corresponding resistance region, similar to failing a Retaliation Mission.
7. What is the “Final Mission Glitch” in XCOM 2?
A known bug causes the final mission to be stuck if the first Avatar is killed in stealth without triggering the first pack of enemies. This prevents the other Avatars from spawning. You will need to load a previous save or use the console command -restartmission.
8. Is it okay to lose missions in XCOM 2?
It is not “okay” in the sense that it’s advantageous. However, losing missions will happen. It’s crucial to learn from these mistakes, adapt your strategies, and focus on long-term campaign goals.
9. Do missions expire in XCOM 2?
Yes, most resistance missions, such as VIP rescues and supply raids, will expire in about 24 hours if they are not undertaken.
10. Does XCOM 2 continue after the final mission?
After completing the final mission, the game ends. However, you can start a new campaign with Ironman Mode enabled. The game itself will not continue spawning missions.
11. What is the strongest soldier class in XCOM 2?
The Reaper class is often considered the strongest due to their stealth capabilities and potent damage output. Grenadiers, Rangers, and Specialists also rank highly.
12. Can you lose the game if you ignore a Blacksite mission?
While you cannot “lose” if you ignore a blacksite mission, the alien’s Avatar Project progress increases with each one, and if that bar is completed it is an instant game over. Therefore, failing or skipping these mission can have very negative long-term consequences.
13. How many soldiers should I have in XCOM 2?
The number varies with the difficulty level. For Easy and Normal, 12 may be sufficient, but on higher difficulties, having around 24 is recommended to ensure you have replacements and various skilled personnel.
14. What is the most powerful weapon in XCOM 2?
The Plasma Bolt Caster is generally considered the most powerful standard (non-heavy) weapon, with the caveat that it needs to be reloaded after each shot.
15. Can you save dead soldiers in XCOM 2?
Yes, you can recover equipment from dead soldiers if you evacuate their bodies successfully. Unconscious soldiers can also be carried to the EVAC zone and will not bleed out if they reach it.