XCOM 2: War of the Chosen - How To Beat The Assassin

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen introduces three new boss enemies that constantly, relentlessly hunt your army. All three are deadly opponents, and each one brings a different set of skills to the table. These skills are often randomized, as the more you engage the Chosen in tactical battles, the tougher these bosses will become.

It’s true that you’ll find each Chosen with random strengths and weaknesses, but there are still ways to subvert their tricks. They all like to engage XCOM on their own terms, but if you enter a Chosen’s territory with the right preparation, you can completely ruin a Chosen’s day, and send these suckers back to their Citadels.

Here’s all the best tips and tricks for handling the Chosen Assassin in combat. You’ll also find instructions for killing the Chosen once and for all — and what rewards you’ll get for crushing them.

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How To Beat The Assassin | Boss Tips & Tricks

Before delving into the Chosen Assassin individually, there are a few things you need to know about the Chosen.

Chosen will randomly appear when you enter a tactical mission on a specific Chosen’s territory.
The Chosen will unleash negative strategy layer events on specific territories or factions.
Each Chosen is weak to one of the three Resistance Factions.
When a Chosen reveals itself, you’ll be able to see all their Strengths and Weaknesses.
- These are randomly assigned when they first appear, but it’s important to keep weaknesses in mind before entering a Chosen’s territory.

Chosen are more likely to stun and capture your soldiers than kill them. When a soldier is dazed, stand adjacent to revive them — they’ll be disoriented, but won’t be susceptible to capture.

How To Kill The Chosen:

Build the Resistance Ring facility in the Avenger to unlock Covert Actions. Complete the “Hunt for…” Covert Actions — each Chosen has three “Hunt” Covert Actions.
Complete all three “Hunt” Cover Actions to reveal the Chosen’s Citadel. You’ll then need to infiltrate the Citadel.
At the center of the Citadel, destroy the Chosen’s Regenerative Sarcophagus and they’ll stay dead.

For killing the Chosen, you’ll earn unique weapons:

Chosen Weapon Rewards:
- Hunter: Sniper Rifle & Pistol
- Assassin: Shotgun & Blade
- Warlock: Assault Rifle & Psi Amp

And that’s everything you need to know about the Chosen in a very, very general sense. Let’s get into the specifics.

Chosen Boss Tips – Assassin:

The Assassin is a stealth-based Chosen boss that strikes from the shadows and retreats to cover. She prefers to toy with her prey, and her melee attack will always instantly put your units into a dazed state.

After attacking, the Assassin will inevitably retreat and hide. The Assassin appears on the map in Concealment, and can re-enter concealment with their Vanishing ability. Remove Concealment by getting close or dropping a grenade on their location.

NOTE: While dazed, soldiers can be captured. Use an action to revive dazed soldiers from an adjacent square. Reviving a dazed soldier will leave them disoriented for one turn.

Because the Assassin uses a melee weapon, cover is pointless in an Assassin engagement. Instead, move to the center of an area — preferably a place with very little tall cover and wait for the Assassin to reveal herself with an attack.

The further you are from hiding spots, the better. If she can’t retreat behind a tall wall, she’ll be left exposed. She will always retreat after striking, so you’ll have one turn before she returns — the Assassin will re-enter concealment from her hiding spot, then prepare for another attack.

Unfortunately, Assassins often have the ShadowStep ability. That means they will not trigger overwatch — at all. But, they will trigger mines or traps.

Move to areas with “chokepoints” so you can track her movements. Areas with windows and doors are good — she’ll be forced to open a door or break a window to get close. Give yourself lots and lots of space, her mobility is insane.

Reapers are incredibly effective against the Assassin. Assassins cannot find characters in Concealment, so if Reapers remain in Shadow after your XCOM team reveals themselves, your Reaper will be safe from attack.
- The Reapers have an ability to spot any enemy that leaves concealment permanently. This is a huge weakness for the Assassin — a silhouette will always be on your map, even if she re-enters concealment. This effectively removes her stealth after a single attack.
Grenadiers with larger and larger grenade blast radii are important for clearing out rooms or testing areas for invisible Assassins. The bigger the boom, the more area you can damage.
Lost Lures are incredibly useful when dealing with the Assassin. Lure the Lost to areas to effectively “block” pathways for the Assassin — if the Lost see her, she will lose concealment.
Frost Grenades (unlocked with Experimental Weapon research) are game-changers. Use them to freeze her in place, then use her weaknesses against her.

Watch where the camera moves after she retreats and follow her. She’ll always want to re-conceal after a fight, so you have a free turn to track her down. Demolish cover blocking your view and flank her. Save everything you’ve got to take her down.