XCOM 2: War of the Chosen - Unlocking the Reaper | Resistance Mission Guide

Tackle the first real new mission in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen with our starter guide, delving into the Skirmisher and Reaper units, Lost enemies, and your first fight against the Chosen. Learn how to handle all that and more with a few tips and explanations. Don’t worry Commander, we’ve got your back.

After the lengthy tutorial, if you’ve got the tutorials on, you’ll finally reach the factions introduction. Instead of tracking down the first two factions yourself, you’ll be introduced in a cutscene — and unlock a lengthy mission that pits you against the terrifying Chosen Assassin. Every Chosen has randomized strengths and weaknesses, but they’ll always use the same tricks. Follow the steps below and learn all about two faction heroes, two new enemies, and the first Chosen boss.

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Resistance Faction Mission | Starter Guide

Before you can begin working with the factions, every Commander will need to complete the Resistance Factions Tutorial — the Factions Tutorial will teach you a little bit about the Reapers, the Skirmishers, and how to get started working with everyone.

The Resistance Factions Tutorial begins after completing the regular tutorial missions. After scanning the ADVENT Officer Corpse, you’ll quickly unlock a cutscene with Volk, the leader of the Reapers. The group agrees to meet with XCOM in a tactical mission.

Preparation Phase:

The tactical mission for the Reapers / Skirmishers involves a new enemy, The Lost, and forces you to split your squad into two groups of two. Which characters go in which squad is completely random — but you’ll have hero resistance units on your side.

TIP: I recommend bringing grenades and rookies on this mission. The hero units will carry you, and the Rookies can gain valuable XP for promotions. The more actual soldiers XCOM has, the better.

Mission Phase:

In the mission itself, you’ll start with the Reaper class and two random soldiers you selected. The Reaper doesn’t follow the same concealment rules as XCOM.

Reaper Concealment: Reapers use an advanced form of Concealment called “Shadow” — instead of losing concealment after an action, a percentage will increase. Actions only increase the percentage chance of losing concealment — while in Shadow, Reapers can move farther and enemies have much smaller detection radii.

Reapers are the ideal scouts. Use them to explore ahead. Don’t forget that Reapers also have one charge of the Shadow ability — they can re-enter Shadow Concealment once per mission. You’ll quickly encounter a new enemy type — the Lost.

The Lost attack in huge swarms. Chain headshots to earn extra actions.

The Lost are mutated humans that attack in swarms. They don’t take individual actions — they move as a complete unit. They’re also very weak — start picking them off with your Reaper. She can perch in a fire escape and shoot them down, one by one. You’ll be outnumbered, but there’s a special mechanic you’ll want to take advantage of when fighting the Lost.

Headshot Chaining: When swarms of Lost attack your team, killing them counts as a “Headshot” — after killing a Lost with a standard attack, the unit will gain another standard action point. Pick your targets, and you can chain multiple kills in a single unit’s turn. NOTE: Special attacks, like grenades, do not grant extra action points.

Target the weaker Lost first — some only have two health instead of three. You’re guaranteed to get a kill, and the Sniper’s pistol attack does not use ammo, making them ideal for picking off multiple weak Lost.

Avoid the indoor areas, and remember your XCOM soldiers are NOT in Concealment. If you get too close to a group of Lost, they will immediately attack. Reload between encounters, move slowly (there’s no time limit on this mission) and don’t worry about cover. Don’t waste your Reaper’s Shadow Concealment either.

Your goal is the extraction point. Four Lost will cluster around it. Move everyone into shooting position and take them out — the Reaper is very accurate and should have no problem killing at least three. Once you position yourself at the rendezvous point, you’ll switch over to the second time.

Resistance Tutorial – Part 2:

You’ll rejoin the mission with your other two soldiers and a Skirmisher faction hero. These former ADVENT troopers are combat masters with powerful weapons and a grapple ability. They’re fighters through-and-through.

Skirmishers: The Skirmishers can fire their special Bullpup rifles twice in a turn (each shot uses one Action Point), or fire then move. They can also use their Grapple to move without using Action Points — or to reach hard-to-reach areas.

Instead of Lost, your XCOM team will encounter deadly ADVENT Purifiers. These are deadly flame-thrower soldiers that attack at medium-range with arcs of damage-over-time burn effects. Retreat and don’t let them get close. Send your Skirmisher across the bridge and leave your XCOM agents further back — lure the Purifiers out, then escape with the Skirmisher’s grapple.

Purifiers are deadly at close-range. Avoid the fire they leave behind.

Kill the Purifiers, then move through the gate to encounter a massive army. The Skirmisher, in the cutscene, blasts the entire army by detonating a tanker truck — you’ll have to hold your position for four turns as swarms of Lost appear. Groups of four will appear. Rookies or Support are useful here, they each have four shots. Reload after getting your kills.

Don’t waste shots on misses. Let them get close, then pick them off in a chain. When you’ve survived, sprint to the extraction point in three turns before the Lost swarm arrives. Sprint down the path, and use the Skirmisher’s grapple for free moves, covering your other XCOM soldiers so they can safely escape. The swarms are large, large groups, and new Lost will spawn very close.

Resistance Tutorial – Part 3:

After escaping, the Skirmishers and Reapers will meet only to encounter the Chosen Assassin. This is the first boss encounter, but you’ll have all six soldiers in one location to defend against the Chosen.

The Assassin attacks, then retreats to vanish in privacy. Chase her!

When they first appear, the Assassin will reveal her strengths and weaknesses. These are completely random, but I’ll list my rolls for example.

Assassin: Strengths
- Brutal: Attacks decrease the Will of any soldiers within sight.
- Shadowstep: The Chosen does not trigger overwatch or reaction fire.
Assassin: Weaknesses
- Brittle: Takes increased damage from close range attacks.
- Adversary: Reapers – Takes increased damage from Reapers.

Every Chosen boss gets their own Weakness, and every chosen has their own unique Adversary. Chosen take increased damage from Reapers / Templars / Skirmishers.

The Assassin, unfortunately, is both concealed -and- doesn’t trigger overwatch or reaction fire. That’s no true of every Assassin. If you get this strength, reload and be prepared to start shooting when the Assassin reveals itself.

NOTE: Immediately use Reaper to enter Shadow Concealment.

The Chosen Assassin will attempt to daze and capture your soldiers. When a soldier is dazed, move adjacent and use the new “Revive” ability to wake your dazed soldier. If you don’t, you risk that soldier being captured by the Chosen. When revived, the dazed soldier will become disoriented.

After the Chosen reveals itself with an attack, it will have to use Vanishing Wind to re-conceal. Use your chance to attack while it’s revealed! Follow it and attack — the Reaper is especially good at locating the retreating Chosen. Use the Skirmisher to grapple over and attack twice. Get a good hit and the Chosen will retreat — when they disappear, run over to the position where they vanished to re-reveal them.

Resistance Tutorial – Part 4:

After the Chosen retreats, another Lost swarm is summoned. An extraction point appears, and you’ll have unlimited turns to escape, so there’s no need to rush. You’ll have all six soldiers to help you escape — use everything you’ve learned and stay on the move. Don’t let anyone fall behind or they’ll get swarmed by an endless swarm of Lost.

NOTE: If you’re low on ammo, don’t use overwatch! Wait until Lost appear, then use the extra Action Points you earn from headshots to take out multiple enemies, or get a kill and reload.

Stay on the raised platform. The path straight to the extraction is blocked by a very large group of Lost. Reload, prepare, and fight through the swarm. Mox and Dragunova must survive, but if you stick together, everyone can make it out of the mission okay. Be prepared for a giant swarm inside the store between the extraction point and the street.

There are no Lost literally on top of the evac, so feel free to sprint directly to it once the interior is (mostly) clear. One or two straggles won’t be able to kill.

Reach the extraction to complete the mission. The Reaper will join you, but Pratal Mox the Skirmisher will be captured. After the mission, you’ll learn how to use Covert Actions to recover captured soldiers, and earn yourself another hero unit — the Skirmisher.

You’ll be able to complete Covert Actions at the end of the month. Complete “Rescue Soldier: Sq. Pratal Mox” first to get a second hero unit and stop the Chosen from collecting information on the Avenger’s location. Rescuing soldiers from the Chosen should always be your first priority.