I've been following War of the Chosen closely over the past month and a ton of new info has surfaced. I had already written down all the new stuff previously, but it actually has become too much to do with all the info out. Instead, just watch this 80 minute video that shows almost all of the new stuff.

I really like how they are going for giving everything more personality in this expansion. The photobooth stuff is the right kind of dumb that the game can use. Overall I am quite impressed by the scale of this expansion. I truly loved what Enemy Within was to Enemy Unknown, but this kind of blows that out of the water in terms of expansiveness.

super excited for this, also I imagine modders will do more cool stuff this expansion

Ironically the thing I became most excited in watching this is the ability to double dip into regular soldier class perks in certain tiers. That kind of thing could be a massive power boost to them if used properly. Which makes me think that the AP especially Xcom AP will be the new most important resource in the game (somewhat similar to how meld became in Xcom:EU) making you try to go out of your way to obtain them, especially since it can be also used to improve soldiers from the 3 new super classes. So imo it's a really good choice to make that AP system applicable to not only the new classes but to vanilla soldiers as well, smart.

So far they seem to be doing everything right with the expansion. The new classes plus the AP system plus the Sitrep mission modifiers and Chosen quirks should vary up the tactical layer quite a bit and inject more variety into it. The same goes for the strategic layer with the fatigue system, plus the soldier personal bonds and infiltration missions locking up soldiers.

I do however wish there were more new enemy types (hopefully they will revel some more but i doubt it). 3-4 new enemy types plus the Chosen just don't feel like quite enough. Here is hoping the "a better advent" mod will be quickly updated when the expansion comes out.

(They've definitely took one or two pointers from LW2 too. But seem to be using some of those ideas in a more measured way.)

I wish i cared more about XCOM 2. I think XCOM (the first remake) Burned me out a lot on the sequel.

@zevvion: Speaking of personality, I've seen some comments elsewhere about the new content being much sillier in tone. I personally would prefer a grittier direction over this cheesy stuff. I've also seen people argue that some of the Chosen are one set of pointy ears away from being space orcs, and that the game seems to be sliding in a more fantasy direction. I definitely get where they're coming from on that. Personally, I don't know if any of that will stop me getting the expansion just for the gameplay, but what do you think?

I'll take any good excuse to play some more XCOM 2. I completed one playthrough and haven't touched it since.

Really happy I have that season pass now, these changes look really interesting. Pretty gigantic expansion pack. The "buddy system" is some of what I've been hoping for as regards the relationships in your team.

I mean... weren't the Sectoids and such always kind of goofy? Space Orcs seems like a weird term for a Call of Duty game, but in XCOM it doesn't seem that out of place. Nevertheless though, the footage we've seen so far from the Chosen makes them seem like a legit threat. If you haven't already, watch from 51:26 in the video I posted onward for a minute or two. Yeah, she seems goofy I suppose, but no more so than the other aliens I would say. Don't you get the sense that if you are playing something like her will be a challenging and menacing thing to fight? I do.

Just Checked the price for this it's 40 Bucks :O. That seems expensive even for a expansion-pack.

@soulcake: It looks like it's at least on par with a Civilization expansion in terms of new content and new systems, so it seems like the price tag is justified.

@zevvion: Her hissing lisp immediately made me think of a female version of Cobra Commander. Personally, that section of the video looks like they're adding more layers of RNG to be screwed by (never necessarily Xcom's redeeming feature, in my eyes) with the "procedural" strengths and weaknesses. I'm more intimidated by her new mechanics than her character. But mostly it was the iffy writing and sketchy voice acting that caught my eye. If it's not going to be any good, why do it at all? All that said, the player is getting a ton more tools and abilities as well, it's far too early to be worried about game balance until we can get in there ourselves.

Hmm yeah, it feels a bit pricey at 40 for what they have shown so far. Don't get me wrong what they have shown is good stuff but imo it just feels thin for that price tag. I'll still buy it for sure (for the amount of time I have spent with Xcom2 for me it's worth it), but I think I would have felt better if for example that 40 bucks (euro for me so even pricier) included all the previous small DLCs, and if you already had those then it was 30. That would have felt more reasonable.

I mean they say that it's way bigger then Enemy Within. But EW had a whole new faction to fight, meld soldiers and mechs (amongst other things obv. like unique missions and improvements). So far what I have seen seems to be about on about on par if not less content wise with EW style expansion, but better quality wise.

If you're talking about the season pass that the game started off with ie the "Reinforcement Pack" (that had all the small dlcs up till now like alien hunters and shens gift) this full on expansion is not included. This expansion alone is higher priced then the "Reinforcement Pack".

@chaser324: I don't replay Xcom games all that mutch so i am gonna wait for a sale :D. But yeah if you put in a other 40 hours in this game the price is justified.

@tennmuerti:Let's try to break this down.

I really do love Enemy Within. I am still bummed to this day that gene mods are not in XCOM 2. That is my only gripe with it. I loved how your characters looked different if they were gene modded and I loved the perks themselves and how they looked (Snap Shot snipers with Muscle Fiber Density were the shit). I am still playing Enemy Within actually, as I often have to take long train rides and I have my Vita right there.

But that said, War of the Chosen does seem to have a lot more content. Especially if you include the DLC actually. Because that adds things like MEC's (SPARKs) and three bosses and all that. Making the XCOM 2 package stand out that much more.

This is 10 bucks/euro more expensive than Enemy Within was. That seems fair to me. The EW package that had the previously released DLC was 40 bucks/euro on disc and wasn't an option available to PC owners.

@freedom4556 If you are looking for something gritty then I can see this doesn't do it for you. For me though, I always thought XCOM had this perfect silly/goofy tone to it, while still being able to make things feel tense and having high stakes. I feel like the Chosen play into that rather well. I wouldn't call the voice acting bad, it's just not meant to be your Last of Us-type thing. I think it serves the purpose of being goofy while still bringing tension nicely.

@zevvion: Ok with you breaking it down like that and put it all together it looks waaay better :P And I was definitely forgetting one or two items there.

Not that I wasn't going to buy it mind, but it does make me feel more ok with it, so thanks!

@zevvion: I just thought the lighter tone was a strange choice given how grim Xcom 2's actual premise is. Maybe they felt the need to balance that out, who knows.

@freedom4556: Yeah, on paper the premise sounds grim, but when you play XCOM 2 all of a sudden there is giant eye-humans, snakes with boobs and Sectoids that look like this:

It's $39.99...seems like a lot. I guess I thought EU was worth that price, but not sure I want to dump another $40 into this game :/

Then don't, im sure it will go on sale 6 months or so later if you still want it.

Tactics games are my personal fav genre so I'll get it but I too think it seems overpriced.

New video here directly from Firaxis themselves. The iconic duo of Jake and Garth with over an hour of gameplay. Lots of repeated info, but also some new stuff. Worth a watch I found.

@ethanielrain: Pricing is a subjective thing I suppose. I sometimes think 10 bucks for entire games is too much. I paid 30 for Enemy Within and thought it was worth every cent though. War of the Chosen seems even denser than that and it's only 10 bucks more so for me it is totally worth it.

@zevvion: Wow I didn't realize how much is being added with this expansion. I was planning on buying it before I saw your list breakdown but that 100% sealed it for me.

The XCOM games and now PUBG are really motivating me to get a gaming PC. Console optimization for the XCOM games isn't ideal, to say the least.

@zevvion@azrailx Well now I have to get it, GB's XCOM feature has me itching to play again ^_^

Man, I should really play XCOM 2...

Dammit, why does this have to come out so close to Mario + Rabbids!?