XCOM 2 .ini Modifications & Cheats Guide

Firaxis has made it possible for players of XCOM 2 to cheat in the game by altering some of its .ini files. It’s no different from what every other PC-centric game studio does, and players will appreciate being able to alter the game without using any external programs to cheat.

All you need is to open some files in WordPad or Notepad and make some alterations. To get started, simply head into the following directory:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XComGame\Config

Here’s what you can change. Keep in mind that some of these changes will be overwritten by the game’s difficulty settings.

Modifying Enemy Stats

Edit DefaultGameData_CharacterStats.ini. You can mess around with all their stats. “CharacterBaseStats[eStat_HP]” defines how much health an enemy has, for example.

Increasing Squad Size

Edit DefaultGameData.ini and look for “MaxSoldiersOnMission”. You can set the value to whatever number you like, but keep in mind that the user interface will only show you the first 8 soldiers.

Modifying Weapon Damage

You can make changes to your weapons, such as their range and damage, by editing DefaultGameData_Weapon.ini. Simply look for the title of the weapon you want to alter and make the changes.

Better Shadowstrike and Conceal

Tired of getting detected by aliens? Open up DefaultGameData_SoldierSkills.ini and look for “ComGame.X2Ability_RangerAbilitySet”. Under “STEALTH_CHARGES” and “SHADOWSTRIKE_CRIT” simply raise the number to increase your crit hit chance and how many times you can use Conceal per mission.

Insta-kill Weapons Mod

If you want a weapon attachment that will instantly kill any enemies, edit DefaultGameCore.ini and look for “XComGame.X2Item_DefaultUpgrades”. Change the number listed with “FREE_KILL_BSC” to 100 to increase your chances of instantly killing an enemy to a hundred percent when you have that weapons mod equipped.

More Enemies

If you think the game is too easy and would like to ramp up the difficulty without messing around with the game’s difficulty settings, you can raise the number of enemies you’ll encounter in each mission. To do so, edit DefaultMissions.ini and look for “ADVENT ENCOUNTER DEFS FOR”. Look for MaxSpawnCount and raise the number to your preference.

If you think we missed anything, be sure to tell us in the comments.