Sometimes, even when everything is done right, the stars will align against the players and threaten their whole squad. When this hyperlink happens, players should not hesitate to give up on the mission and safely Evac their soldiers as a free action. The consequences of failing a mission are often much less punishing than losing the best soldiers. Additionally, when making decisions that might leave a soldier exposed, such as rushing forward with a Ranger and having it miss, players should instead consider using Evac to save that soldier if it is likely they will die during the enemy's t

Engineers and Scientists are the most valuable rewards players can get in XCOM 2 and should be prioritized over any other. After unlocking the Black Market, it is important to check every month whether any can be purchased. These purchases cost Intel, which makes it a valuable resource in XCOM 2 . Scientists dramatically increase the speed of any research. Engineers are key to upgrade and maintain almost everything at HQ. Players should also aim to have at least one Engineer clearing debris for more rooms at all ti

However, Firaxis planned for the game to be much easier during most of XCOM 2's development. The game's implementation of stealth and a wide range of group-clearing skills had made the game too easy. This resulted in Firaxis rebalancing the game rather late in development to give it the same sense of challenge as the original. Even with the mixed reception of mission timers, most agree that this change was for the bet

Archons are basically Floaters that have been given upgraded weapons and an appearance that give them the look/style of the Egyptian gods. These flying aliens have a very high defense rating, increased health, and are armed with staffs capable of ranged attacks. Archons are also immune to flanking attacks. They have a special ability called "Blazing Pinions", which are essentially missiles that deal respectable damage and destroy any cover the player’s squad may be hiding behind. When severely injured in battle, an Archon can go into a battle frenzy which gives them extra actions per t

The percentage of shots in XCOM 2's early game will often prove unreliable. Grenades will be useful to deal guaranteed damage and to destroy enemy cover, helping the rest of the squad land a hit. Killing an enemy with any kind of explosion will destroy any loot it might drop, so it should be avoided unless absolutely necess

The Gears of War series has been known for its intense third-person action since its debut on the Xbox 360. Gears Tactics slows this down for a more strategic experience. Taking cover is still a big part of the gameplay, but that's because it plays like XCOM and Wasteland 3 . It is available for Xbox consoles too, but playing it portably offers an opportunity to take on some of the side quests on a bus or tr

That is because XCOM 2 lies to the player about a character's hit percentage. In actuality, the game gives players a much higher chance of hitting than what's on display. On easier difficulty settings, an 85% chance is closer to a 95% chance according to an interview with Jake Solomon , the lead designer for XCOM 2 . As for why 100% hits can miss, the game rounds up if a shot has half of a percent chance or higher of hitting. Don't expect this sort of percentage leniency on Legendary difficulty , however, as this percentage favoritism towards the player is disabled on higher difficulty setti

As a general rule, it is always a good idea to have a mission available that can reduce the Avatar timer. However, there is a way players can exploit it, even in Legend difficulty. Up to Commander difficulty, the timer that appears when all 12 blocks light up will always reset to its max whenever the progress is reduced by the player. This means players can exploit the timer if they have a way to revert Avatar progress. In Legend, the time that is lost during the timer is cumulative, but only up to seven days. Whenever the timer resumes after that, it will always start at seven d

Aliens spend all of XCOM 2 trying to take down your resistance operation while exploiting the planet they've taken over. It is your job to take your overlords out and reclaim the planet as your own ag

One of the first skills Templars can obtain is Parry. This simple ability allows you to mitigate the next hit you take instead of moving for your action. The damage of the hit does not matter, only able to be countered by the Hunter's tracking shot. If an enemy shoots at you and the hit would be lethal, Parry will instead mitigate the entire hit and deal nothing. It is incredible when your Templar is in a bad position and no cover is nea

While Enemy Unknown 's basic gameplay loop saw players taking uneasy steps into hostile territory, unsure of ambushes, it's the player who now stalks their alien prey. Squad members can be led, one by one, up to the very fringe of monitored areas. From there, it's possible to identify secondary targets or assets (now a core layer of the mission objectives), and surround enemy troops and traitors before they know what's about to hit them. And when it hits them... it's glori