We finally have significant information on Long War 2, the upcoming overhaul mod for XCOM 2, including the major gameplay changes we’ll see when the follow-up to the world’s most popular XCOM add-on makes its way to XCOM 2 later this year.
We first got confirmation of the Long War follow-up earlier this month, just under a year after Pavonis Interactive founder John Lumpkin admitted to iDigitalTimes that his new company (then known as Long War Studios) had “ plenty of ideas ” for Long War 2. Now we’re finally getting an early look at the changes that will be introduced by the upcoming XCOM 2 add-on and we’re starting to understand why the folks at Pavonis Interactive all but disappeared after their first wave of XCOM 2 mods were complete.
To say Long War 2 is a game-changer feels like an early candidate for Understatement of the Year. Installing the mod drastically alters the landscape of the Resistance’s war against the aliens, forcing players to manage seven different theaters of war. Each region of the planet will now have dedicated rebel forces, which can be used to scavenge supplies, recruit new soldiers or gather intelligence for new missions. XCOM 2 players will only get one adviser in each region, an engineer, soldier or scientist, which can amplify the region’s performance in one area. In a bit of twist, captured MECs can be repurposed to help defend a region but players also have to watch out for Faceless hiding among their new recruits.
The Long War 2 mod will also implement new artificial intelligence, driving ADVENT forces, that will regularly interfere with the player’s efforts. It is possible to expel ADVENT from each region, through concerted efforts from local forces, but there’s no guarantee the enemy organization won’t try to fight its way back in down the road. LW2 even alters timeline progression in the XCOM 2 campaign, giving players a chance to assault multiple alien facilities simultaneously.
XCOM 2 is currently available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game’s next big add-on, Long War 2, is set to debut sometime in 2017.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes and follow Scott on Twitter for more XCOM 2 news throughout 2017 and however long 2K and Firaxis support XCOM 2 in the months ahead.
