Mastering Guerrilla Ops: Unlocking the Rewards in XCOM 2

The rewards of Guerrilla Ops in XCOM 2 are varied and crucial to your campaign’s success. They range from canceling Dark Events to bolstering your resources and personnel, directly impacting your ability to resist the alien occupation. Understanding and prioritizing these rewards is essential for experienced Commanders.

Deconstructing the Guerrilla Op Reward System

Guerrilla Ops are short, often timed missions that serve as the backbone of your strategic resistance against ADVENT. The primary reward of successfully completing a Guerrilla Op is the cancellation of a corresponding Dark Event. Dark Events are global modifiers that significantly hamper your progress, making them a constant threat. Cancelling them through Guerrilla Ops is a must.

But the goodies don’t stop there! Let’s break down the various reward types and how they can benefit your campaign:

• Resource Acquisition: Many Guerrilla Ops offer Intel, Supplies, or Elerium Crystals as rewards. These resources are vital for research, base construction, purchasing equipment, and maintaining your troops. Intel is particularly valuable for expanding your network and uncovering new missions.
• Personnel Boosts: Some Guerrilla Ops reward you with new Scientists, Engineers, or even regular soldiers. Scientists accelerate research, while Engineers speed up construction and provide essential support in your base. Early game, especially, boosting these roles gives you significant advantages.
• Reduced Avatar Project Progress: While not a direct reward from the Guerrilla Op itself, preventing Dark Events can slow down the Avatar Project. This buys you precious time to prepare for the final assault and prevents an immediate game-over scenario. It allows you to research key technologies or build up your squad.
• Increased Resistance Contacts: In some instances, a successful operation will result in the ability to contact a new region on the globe. Expanding your resistance network is critical for gaining more resources, new recruits, and slowing down ADVENT’s progress around the world.
• Strategic Advantage: Successfully completing Guerrilla Ops can weaken ADVENT’s presence in a region. By disrupting their operations, you make it easier to conduct further missions and ultimately liberate the planet. Some operations may lower ADVENT vigilance, allowing you to operate more freely for a short period.
• Dark Event Prevention: Failing to complete or even skipping these missions leads to the selected dark event being immediately triggered. Some of these events can cause serious damage, and you should actively prevent them from coming to fruition.

Prioritizing Rewards: What to Look For

Not all Guerrilla Ops are created equal. Some rewards are more valuable than others depending on your current situation. Here’s a general guideline for prioritization:

1. Scientists and Engineers: These specialists are almost always worth pursuing. A single Scientist can significantly reduce research times, while an Engineer can drastically speed up base construction. Prioritize missions that offer these rewards whenever possible.
2. Intel and Supplies: Intel is crucial for expanding your network and uncovering new opportunities, while Supplies are the lifeblood of your operation. Prioritize these resources when Scientists and Engineers are not available.
3. Avatar Project Reduction: While not always directly tied to a specific Guerrilla Op, missions that prevent the Avatar Project from advancing are critical, especially in the mid to late game.
4. Resistance Contacts: Expanding your network allows you to reach new regions, granting more resources and mission opportunities.
5. New Soldiers: While recruiting soldiers might seem appealing, it’s generally less valuable than acquiring specialists or resources, especially in the early game where you’re still building your core squad. However, if you’ve suffered heavy casualties, a new soldier can be a welcome addition.
6. Equipment: Often times, rewards can include weapons, armor, or other equipment that is important to maintaining your soldiers. Check the requirements before going on the mission and ensure you are adequately prepared.

Guerrilla Ops in War of the Chosen

The War of the Chosen expansion significantly enhances the Guerrilla Ops experience, adding new layers of complexity and reward:

• Resistance Orders: Completing certain Guerrilla Ops can grant you access to new Resistance Orders, which provide powerful global bonuses. These orders can significantly impact your campaign and should be carefully considered.
• Faction Influence: Completing missions for specific factions increases your influence with them, unlocking unique rewards and abilities. This adds another layer of strategic depth to your Guerrilla Op choices.
• Covert Actions: Some Guerrilla Ops will trigger Covert Actions, which send a small team of soldiers on a secret mission. These actions can provide valuable resources, intel, or even unlock new abilities for your soldiers.
• The Chosen: Be wary, because a mission is a good opportunity for the Chosen to come and cause havoc to your efforts. Some of them are harder than others, and you should prioritize those that would cause the least amount of damage.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What happens if I skip a Guerrilla Op in XCOM 2?

Skipping a Guerrilla Op will cause the associated Dark Event to trigger immediately. This can have serious consequences for your campaign, so it’s generally best to avoid skipping them unless absolutely necessary.

2. How do I choose the best Guerrilla Op reward?

Prioritize Scientists and Engineers, followed by Intel and Supplies. Consider the overall impact on your campaign and choose the reward that will provide the greatest benefit at that specific point in time.

3. Can I repeat Guerrilla Ops?

No, Guerrilla Ops are one-time missions that appear randomly throughout your campaign. Once you complete or skip a Guerrilla Op, it will not reappear.

4. What are Dark Events?

Dark Events are global modifiers that negatively impact your campaign. They can increase ADVENT’s strength, hinder your research, or disrupt your economy. Canceling them is a high priority.

5. How do Resistance Orders work in War of the Chosen?

Resistance Orders provide global bonuses that can significantly impact your campaign. They can increase your resource income, improve your soldiers’ abilities, or disrupt ADVENT’s operations.

6. What happens if I lose contact with a region?

Losing contact with a region can result in a loss of resources and mission opportunities. It can also make it more difficult to expand your network and liberate the planet. You may need to re-establish contact through a mission.

7. Can I get new Scientists and Engineers in other ways besides Guerrilla Ops?

Yes, you can also recruit Scientists and Engineers through the Black Market or by completing certain story missions. However, Guerrilla Ops are a reliable source of these valuable specialists.

8. What is the Avatar Project, and why is it important?

The Avatar Project is the aliens’ plan to finalize their domination of Earth. If the Avatar Project progresses to completion, you will lose the game. Preventing its progress is a top priority.

9. How does War of the Chosen change Guerrilla Ops?

War of the Chosen adds Resistance Orders, faction influence, and Covert Actions to the Guerrilla Op system, making it more complex and rewarding.

10. What happens if a Chosen attacks the Avenger?

If a Chosen successfully attacks the Avenger, it will force it to crash-land, triggering a special mission to defend your base. This can be a challenging encounter, but successfully repelling the attack will significantly weaken the Chosen.

11. Can I lose Chosen weapons?

Yes, the Chosen weapons are unique and cannot be replicated. If a soldier equipped with a Chosen weapon is killed and not evacuated, the weapon will be permanently lost. Protect your soldiers who wield these powerful armaments.

12. What is the Black Market, and how can it help me?

The Black Market is a place where you can buy and sell resources, equipment, and even recruits. It can be a valuable source of items that you need but can’t obtain through regular missions.

13. How do I increase my influence with factions in War of the Chosen?

You can increase your influence with factions by completing missions that they sponsor or by assigning soldiers with specific traits to work with them.

14. Are there any mods that can enhance Guerrilla Ops?

Yes, there are numerous mods available that can enhance the Guerrilla Op experience, adding new mission types, rewards, and challenges. Experiment with different mods to find the ones that best suit your playstyle. The GamesLearningSociety.org is a great source of information on game mods.

15. How do I effectively manage my resources in XCOM 2?

Resource management is crucial for success in XCOM 2. Prioritize acquiring Intel and Supplies, and carefully consider how you allocate them to research, construction, and equipment. Avoid spending resources on unnecessary items, and always be prepared for unexpected expenses.

Understanding and mastering the Guerrilla Op system is vital for success in XCOM 2. By carefully prioritizing rewards and strategically planning your missions, you can effectively resist the alien occupation and liberate Earth. As you grow as a Commander, you’ll find that you’ll need the information provided by the Games Learning Society and other sites to perfect your strategy.