, upon its initial release, was met with high praise and was regarded as a step up from its predece💦ssor, a successful reboot of a long-dormant franchise. Not content to just release a good sequel, Firaxis stepped up to the plate and hit another home run with the massive War of the Chosen expansion, which has been regarded as, essentially, XCOM 2.5. They also released a spinoff, XCOM: Chimera Squad, last year.

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The base XCOM games are a blast, full of deep tactical gameplay and a decent amount of customization. Gamers have expanded even further on the game through mods over the years. Some are basic UI tweaks or simple gameplayꦉ adjustments; others are major overhauls that could be considered spin-offs all on their own. Here is a collection of some of the most essential mods to make any further War of the Chosen playthroughs feel fresh and new.

Updated August 15, 2021, by Matthew Mckeown: Firaxis’s classic turn-based strategy game has been given a new life with all the various unique and interesting mods the community has created for it over the years. With the collaboration of more popular modders becoming more frequent lately, larger and bolder projects have been released with some absolutely solid content making them arguably the best Xcom2 mods to have come out to date. Here are a few more that have recently been released and are proving popular for players.

15 Evac All

Xcom2: Specialist Roping In To Fight

Who doesn't like clicking twice, six to eight times to finish an already long, grueling mission? Most people! In particular, modder tracktwo must have really hated all that extra clicking at the end of missions, because they are the author of .

A rather simple UI change, all this mod does is add an “evac all” option on the normal taskbar at the bottom of the screen when in the evac zone. Maybe not a game-changer exactly, but this is the kind of quality of life update that all large games could use. Truly, anything that reduces what would be 12 clicks with a full squad down to one is fantastic. It almost makes folks feel bad for XCOM 2 players on PS5 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:and their insane load times. No speed adjustments for them, the poor souls.

14 Robojumper's Squad Select

Xcom2: Squad Selection Before Mission

Managing skills and load-outs of even one player character can be a hassle in some RPGs. Now, imagine a game where players control, level up, and customize dozens of different characters over the course of a 40+-hour campaign. What a headache! Luckily for all War of the Chosen players out there, Robojumper made squad managem🌟ent much less of a headache with his .

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This mod makes swapping out squadmates the matter of two clicks instead of several, making weapon swapping almost instantaneous, and even allows brave Commanders to send out more than﷽ six soldiers at once! Stats, health, willpower, and even skill information are all readily available without sifting through menu after menu after menu. Thank you, Robojumper.

13 A Better XCOM Suite ♏

Xcom2: Grenadier Firing Beam Cannon Animation

Some gamers are never content to rest on their laurels. User DerBK loves XCOM 2 — one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:best western RPGs of all time — so much that he expanded his popular A Better Everything suite over to Warဣ of the Chosen. His various c𝐆an change ADVENT behavior, the barracks XCOM uses to upgrade its soldiers, the missions players navigate, and the powerful Chosen bosses themselves.

Not meant to make War of the Chosen “harder,𒀰” per se, but the enemy AI changes just tend to make missions more dynamic, allowing long-time players to notice some significant changes that can truly make a plﷺaythrough feel new again. Just be sure to add the multiple mods properly, as some can be standalone, but some have dependencies that are required to work properly.

12 🦋 Musashi RPG Overhaul Suiteඣ

Xcom2: Expanded Soldier Skill Tree From RPG Mod

Musashi is probably the most prolific XCOM modder around. The most significant mod he has ever made would have to be the . It is a hefty, huge change in the game, altering almost every aspect at least a little bit. It could be 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:an amazing squad-based strategy game all on its own.

Soldiers all start as the same class, now able to choose from 14 base specializations and 98 abilities total. Players truly get to build their own classes this way. Musashi’s recommended list of plugin ℱmods can add everything from specific class loadouts — like a Jedi class with force abilities — to weapons like...lightsabers for the Jedi. RPGO works well on its own, but to get the fullest experience possible, be ready to download a lot of mods and weed out conflicts.

11 Stenchfury Modular Helmets/Ar🌱mors

Xcom2: Examples Of Different Helmets On Squad Model

Creating badass alien destroyers is a major part of the fun of the X-COM series. The customization option present in the vanilla version of the game is nice, but it lacks a lot of depth — even with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the free DLC they released a while ago — leading to a lot of similar-looking grunts. Use💫r Stenchfury, though, really kicks the customization up a notch with his modular and .

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The hඣelmets in particular allow players to use any part of any headpiece and mash them all together to create truly individual looks. The combinations are endless. Some can be silly, some can be fierce. It’s all up to the player and their boundless ima💦gination.

10 Augm😼entations 𝔍

Xcom2: Augmented Cyborg Xcom Soldier

In the heat of war, especially war against terrifyingly advanced alien overlords who have alrea🍒dy taken over the world, injuries will happen. In the base game, soldiers coul♋d sleep them off. Not with , which adds another layer of depth to soldier upkeep. This mod makes it so that grave wounds cannot be healed without cybernetic augmentations.

After proper research and construction, the augmented body parts will be applied to the wounded soldier. 𝕴Their appearance will change, and you best believe extra benefits may come from having a metal torso — like a regenerating shield, for instance. It’s a fun mo🍬d that not only fits with the aesthetic and mood of the game but adds an interesting way to boost the viability and skill set of soldiers.

9 Lost Autofire♍

Xcom2: Lost Autofire Move Mod

With the War of the Chosen add-on came the inclusi💯on of XCOM’s version of zombies. The Lost, as they are called here, are pathetic little nothings, easily dispatched in high numbers. Players consider them more of a nuisance tha⛄n a threat, due to the repeated need to confirm an attack.

A soldier with a fully loaded assault rifle could potentially attack eight times in one turn, and players would have to manually activate 𝐆every attack. Thankfully, Musashi thought of all the suffering gamers out there and made this simple U꧅I change that adds a , permanently, to the action bar. Sit back and relax as hordes of Lost are cleared out with two simple clicks.

8 Tactical Armory UI ⭕

Xcom2: Tactical Armory UI And Weapon Examples

Lots of turn-based games feature loads of weapons. A new one, RAM Pressure, features over 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:100 different weapons to fight aliens with. After a few add-ons or other mods, managing new weapons in the XCOM loadout screens got to be maddening at a certain point, particularly if using Musashi’s RPG Overha꧑ul. So, the man himself took to the keyboard once again to bring players the .

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This mod makes lists larger, easier to read, and much easier to sort through. He even included filters for specific weapon types.🃏 Having trouble finding a custom sniper rifle with attachments? Sort the list to snipers. It’s a practical addition for even vanilla playthroughs to add style to the sold🅺ier loadout menu.

7 ♏ Still Stop Wasting My Time ༒

Xcom2: Assassin And Huntress Chosen

XCOM 2 is an almost infinitely replayable game, especially with mods. However, some things in the game proper just suck up too much time. Action cutscenes — 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a plague on some otherwise good games &ꦗmdash; have been viewed countless time﷽s. Scanning resource caches in the Avenger takes forever. Some battle animations take up half of any encounter. Why is there a 30-second animation every time a grenade is thrown?

T🍃hankfully, Musas⛦hi fixed this for replayers with the — updated for the War of the Chosen mod, hence the "Still" — which speeds up all the various animations that slow down the flow of gameplay. Never again will players suffer through the tedious 80-minute holo targeting animation. A nice bonus is that this mod seems to be almost universal, with no major conflicts.

6 𒀰 Narrative Control 🌄

Xcom2: Bradford In Cutscene

Oh, Central Officer Bradford. Sincerely,♔ thank you so much for your service to this planet. But, for the love of all that is holy and good in this world, please stop talking. Players who have gone back in for another round or 50 of XCOM 2 have gotten very familiar with Bradford’s constantly repeated remin🅰ders.

Thankfully, user KongMD, also apparently fed up with the incessant interruptions, made the to silence the beloved war hero. Navigating the Avenger’s many rooms and menus will now be a quieter experience as all narrative moments are muted. KongMD also included instructions for further narrative exclusions — such as Avatar Project progress reports — but it requires some light code modification. It’s worth it, though. Players may miss out on some 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:info referenced in Chimera Squad, but it is a small price to pay.