XCOM Showdown: Long War vs. War of the Chosen
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The world of XCOM 2 is vast and offers a wealth of gameplay experiences. Two titans frequently compared are the Long War mod and the War of the Chosen (WotC) expansion. While both dramatically alter the core gameplay, they do so in distinct ways. In essence, Long War is a sweeping, community-driven overhaul mod that significantly expands the scope and difficulty of the base game, focusing on strategic depth and tactical challenge. On the other hand, War of the Chosen is an official Firaxis expansion that refines the narrative and introduces new systems, enemies, and heroes to the existing framework.
Core Differences
The fundamental difference lies in their approach. Long War 2, specifically designed for XCOM 2 (not the original XCOM), is an extensive mod that aims to create a longer, more complex, and tactically demanding campaign. It does this by adding numerous new soldier classes, abilities, items, and a vastly expanded strategic layer that revolves around managing multiple resistance cells across the globe. It’s about empowering the player with more tools, but also throwing significantly more and more varied enemies in their path.
War of the Chosen, in contrast, focuses on narrative enhancement and dynamic gameplay alterations. It introduces the eponymous Chosen, three powerful alien antagonists with unique abilities and behaviors, and new hero characters with powerful skills. WotC adds new mission types, more character interactions, and a new system called Covert Actions that allows for deeper strategic engagement outside of combat missions. It enhances the existing XCOM 2 experience rather than completely overhauling it. In short, if you were to boil it down:
- Long War 2 is a massive mod focusing on increased strategic depth, tactical complexity, and a brutal, extended campaign.
- War of the Chosen is an official expansion that introduces narrative elements, new enemies (The Chosen), hero characters and enhances the campaign with new strategic and tactical layers.
Key Aspects of Each
Long War 2
- Strategic Depth: Long War 2 introduces a new resistance management system, where you must establish and manage rebel havens across the world. These havens need to be recruited and supported, requiring players to balance resources, intel, and manpower.
- Expanded Soldier Classes: The mod provides an extensive roster of new soldier classes, each with unique skill trees and combat roles. This greatly increases squad variability and strategic options.
- Increased Difficulty and Campaign Length: Long War 2 is infamous for its brutal difficulty and significantly longer campaigns. You’ll face more enemies, more varied enemy types, and a greater level of tactical challenge. Expect to play for significantly longer than a base XCOM 2 campaign.
- Infiltration System: You must now manage the infiltration of your soldiers before missions, influencing the number of enemies you encounter and the mission’s difficulty. This adds another layer to your strategic preparation.
- Mod-Based: It is a modification to XCOM 2, requiring installation and specific configurations.
War of the Chosen
- The Chosen: This is the most significant addition. The Chosen are unique and powerful alien commanders who have their own strengths and weaknesses. They stalk your squad across missions, occasionally appearing to harass your soldiers and disrupt your plans.
- Hero Characters: WotC introduces new hero classes (Reapers, Skirmishers, and Templars). These characters have powerful skills and can drastically alter your strategies.
- Covert Actions: This new strategic layer allows you to send soldiers on covert missions to gain resources, boost stats, sabotage enemy plans, or build relationships between your soldiers.
- New Enemies and Mission Types: Expect to face new types of ADVENT and alien enemies, as well as engaging in new and varied mission objectives.
- Campaign Integration: WotC seamlessly integrates its new content into the base XCOM 2 campaign, offering a more streamlined experience. It is an official expansion.
Which Should You Play?
The answer isn’t straightforward and depends on your preferences:
- For a challenging and expansive strategic experience: Long War 2 is ideal for players who love deep strategic mechanics, complex squad management, and a brutal tactical challenge that extends the length of the game significantly.
- For a more narrative-driven and streamlined enhanced XCOM 2 campaign: War of the Chosen is the preferred option, offering new enemies, characters, mechanics, and a deeper story that adds to the overall experience without completely overhauling it.
It is highly recommended that you play the vanilla XCOM 2 game before playing either of these to gain a solid understanding of the base mechanics. You should also keep in mind that Long War 2 is a mod, and so can introduce compatibility issues or be less polished than an official product like War of the Chosen.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Does XCOM 2 Long War work with War of the Chosen?
No, Long War 2 is not compatible with War of the Chosen. They are designed as separate experiences that drastically alter the core game mechanics. There is a community project aiming to bring Long War to WotC, but it is not an official or supported project.
2. What does Long War 2 change in XCOM 2?
Long War 2 overhauls the strategic layer with resistance havens, introduces new soldier classes, dramatically increases difficulty, adds an infiltration system, and introduces numerous new items, abilities and enemy types, thus making the campaign much longer and more challenging.
3. What does War of the Chosen change in XCOM 2?
War of the Chosen introduces the Chosen antagonists, new hero classes (Reaper, Skirmisher, and Templar), the Covert Actions strategic layer, new mission types, and new enemies, adding a significant layer of narrative and gameplay variety to the base game.
4. Is XCOM 2 War of the Chosen harder than the base game?
Yes, War of the Chosen is considered significantly harder than the base game due to the introduction of the Chosen and other new mechanics. It’s recommended that new players play the base game before jumping into WotC.
5. Should I play XCOM 2 before War of the Chosen?
Yes, it is strongly recommended to play the base XCOM 2 game before playing War of the Chosen. This allows players to learn the core mechanics, which provides a more enjoyable experience with WotC.
6. Can you play War of the Chosen without the Chosen?
No, the Chosen are a core part of the War of the Chosen expansion and cannot be removed from the game.
7. Is XCOM War of the Chosen canon?
Yes, War of the Chosen is considered canon within the XCOM universe alongside XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Chimera Squad.
8. How long is a Long War 2 campaign compared to vanilla XCOM 2?
A Long War 2 campaign is significantly longer than a vanilla XCOM 2 campaign, often taking several times as long to complete due to its increased difficulty and strategic layers.
9. Is XCOM 2 Long War worth it?
Long War 2 is worth it for players who seek a deep strategic and tactical challenge and who are willing to commit to a much longer campaign. It offers greater strategic options and tactical complexity.
10. What is the max squad size in XCOM 2 Long War?
In Long War 2, the maximum squad size can reach up to eight soldiers on most missions, and up to ten or twelve on special missions, compared to the base game’s 4-6.
11. Does Long War 2 add new classes to XCOM 2?
Yes, Long War 2 adds several new soldier classes with unique skill trees and combat roles, creating significant strategic depth and variability in squad composition.
12. What do hero classes bring to War of the Chosen?
The hero classes (Reaper, Skirmisher, and Templar) in WotC have powerful unique abilities, which can turn the tide of battle, and introduce new tactical options to squad composition.
13. What are Dark Events in XCOM 2 War of the Chosen?
Dark Events are global events that introduce negative modifiers for the player, making the campaign harder. War of the Chosen introduces ‘Grim Horizon’, which can make these events permanent instead of temporary.
14. Is XCOM 2 War of the Chosen a separate game?
War of the Chosen is an expansion pack, not a standalone game. It requires the base XCOM 2 game to play. However, it presents itself as a separate entity in the game launcher.
15. How much storage space does XCOM War of the Chosen require?
XCOM 2 and War of the Chosen combined require roughly 65 GB of storage space.